May 2008 Archives

STRIKER Lee Hunt has left Rhyl and signed for Conference National club Barrow, reports the North West Evening Mail.
Hunt, 26, joined the Lilywhites in the 2003/04 season and scored 113 goals in 164 competitive appearances for the club.
He is also Rhyl's second highest all-time goalscorer in the Welsh Premier League with 73 goals.
The Liverpudlian had said some weeks ago he would leave Rhyl at the end of the season in protest at what he considered the unfair treatment he received at the hands of WPL referees.
Hunt has agreed to a one-year deal with Barrow.
Delighted AFC boss Dave Bayliss today revealed they had been up against two Football League clubs and bigger money offers from at least two non-league clubs.
Hunt joins Nick Rogan, Jason Walker and Paul Tait as the fourth striker in the squad.
Bayliss feels his fellow Scouser has all the energy and attributes to be a real crowd favourite.
He says: "Lee is big, aggressive, direct, mobile and is good in the air. He works his socks off and the fans should love him.
"He has a fantastic goal record in the Welsh Premier League and this will be a big year for him.
"It is a career move, he is not money-orientated. Rhyl and Droylsden offered him more but he knows what a big club Barrow is at this level.
"The two league clubs wanted him on trial. We have agreed a one-year deal and, after we've both had a good look at each other, may go longer term."
Bayliss said he has friends in the Welsh and Irish Leagues and went to watch Hunt last season after a tip-off.
Hunt has previously had trials with Football League clubs Chester City and Accrington Stanley.

RHYL'S top scorer for the last four seasons, Lee Hunt, is unlikely to be involved in next month's Inter-Toto Cup ties against Bohemian, a club source has confirmed.
Hunt revealed some time ago that he would leave Rhyl at the end of the 2007/08 season over his disdain at the treatment he receives from Welsh Premier referees.
The Liverpudlian is believed to be on the verge of signing for Conference National club Barrow although nothing has yet been confirmed.
Another absentee for the Bohemian games will be striker Chris Sharp, who has just undergone an operation, while gifted New Zealand under-20 international Michael White has not been contactable since the end last season.
The remaining contracted players at Belle Vue will all be available for the Inter-Toto games, the source added.

THE venue for Rhyl's pre-season friendly in Northern Ireland against fellow Inter-Toto Cup qualifiers Distillery has now been confirmed.
The match will take place at Ashfield Boys High School, Holyrood Road, East Belfast, at 2pm on Saturday, June 7 on a generation three plastic pitch of the type TNS play on.

RHYL have been given the go ahead to compete in Europe by the FA of Wales after meeting stringent new criteria.
The Lilywhites were one of seven clubs which appealed to the Club Licensing Appeals Body for a UEFA Licence. All were successful at the meeting held in Cardiff on Wednesday morning.
The outcome of the appeals at the Football Association of Wales headquarters means the four Welsh nominees for UEFA Club competition matches in 2008/09 are confirmed as follows: -
UEFA Champions League Llanelli AFC
UEFA Cup Bangor City FC and The New Saints FC
UEFA Intertoto Cup Rhyl FC

Following the meeting, FAW Club Licensing Manager and head of competitions, John Deakin said: "It is very pleasing to see seven Principality Welsh Premier League clubs granted a UEFA Licence, which will enable all of those who qualified for UEFA club competitions to participate, which is a just reward for their endeavours throughout the past season."
The Club Licence is a pre-requisite for competing in UEFA club competitions and this season has seen the introduction of UEFA's new Version Two criteria.
The criteria is much more stringent and demanding on clubs than the previous document, which was one of the reasons why no clubs were granted a Licence at the First Instance Body meeting held in April.
Deakin added, "This is a particularly commendable achievement, given the fact that the clubs were expected to achieve enhanced standards in all of the criteria, particularly financial.
"Since the introduction of Club Licensing five years ago, the majority of Welsh Premier League clubs, have made sterling efforts to improve all aspects of their activities, which has resulted in their off-field activities being conducted in a significantly more professional manner."
The most challenging criteria for clubs to achieve has been within the financial section as well as the introduction of player medicals, where all players have to undergo an Echocardiogram, ECG and annual medical.
The three other clubs to get licensed were Carmarthen Town, Welshpool Town and Aberystwyth Town. Indeed, the Seasiders are one of only three clubs to be licensed every season, with Rhyl and TNS being the other two since its inception in 2003/04 season.
All clubs in the UEFA Family of 53 nations, which participates in UEFA Club Competition, must meet the minimum criteria set by UEFA.
Therefore, Welsh clubs like Llanelli, Rhyl, TNS and Bangor City have all met the same minimum requirements as the likes of Real Madrid, Inter Milan and Man. Utd.
UEFA views the Club Licence system as a crucial and obligatory step forward for European clubs. They regard it as evidence to UEFA that clubs have reached a minimum quality of set standards. A licensed club will therefore have proven its commitment to a continuous improvement process and, importantly, to self-regulation and control in the area of finances.

FA of Wales technical director Osian Roberts is set to lead Rhyl FC for their forthcoming Inter-Toto Cup ties against Bohemian of Dublin.
But the club is to advertise for a fully-qualified coach to replace John Hulse, who quit Belle Vue on Saturday.
An advertisement is due to appear in the Daily Post today inviting applications for the post of senior coach for Rhyl FC with a closing date of early June.
"The ideal candidate will have the appropriate coaching badges," said the club's media officer Doug Mortimer. "There won't be any knee-jerk reaction, we want to appoint the right person."
Mr Mortimer added that Osian Roberts, who joined Rhyl's management team last November but whose involvement has been restricted due to his FAW duties, is expected to be in charge for the matches against Bohemian on June 21 and 28.
"Unless we appoint anyone in the meantime, Osian is head coach and will continue to work with the players."
* This story first appeared on www.rhylvisitor.co.uk yesterday.

JOHN Hulse will go down in history as one of Rhyl Football Club's most successful managers of all-time and whoever succeeds him in the Belle Vue hot-seat will have a tough act to follow.
In six seasons in charge of the Lilywhites the Birkenhead-based boss won seven trophies, including an unprecedented four in 2003/04.
Under his leadership the Lilies have qualified for Europe five years in a row and over the past five seasons have never finished outside the Welsh Premier League's top three.
Hulse first arrived at Belle Vue in 2000/01 as Lee Williams' assistant with a great pedigree.
After a playing career which included stints at West Ham United and Tranmere Rovers was cruelly cut short at the age of 23 through injury, the plain-speaking Wirralian went on to experience managerial success at
many levels of the game.
Numerous trophies in the West Cheshire League led to a couple of spells as assistant manager at Bangor City in the 1990s, first alongside Paul Rowlands in 1992/93.
Between 1995-97, Hulse was in charge at League of Wales club Conwy United, this time with Rowlands as assistant, and he led the Tangerines into the Inter-Toto Cup.
Then came a stint at Bangor City in 1997/98 alongside Everton and Scotland legend Graeme Sharp, the pair winning the 1998 Welsh Cup together.
Vauxhall Conference side Altrincham became Hulse's next port of call but he faced the one and only dismissal of his distinguished career at the Moss Lane outfit.
Following a season and a half as Lee Williams' number two, Hulse became manager of Rhyl in July 2002.
Over the past six years John has been great to work with. The relationship between manager and reporter has been as it should be - based on trust and respect.
Quite often he would tell me things "off the record" and not for print which never saw the light of day, but our regular chats also led to more than a few interesting stories for the Visitor or the Lilywhites Online blog.
We did not always see eye-to-eye, but whatever disputes did emerge - and they were rare - the matters were forgotten very quickly. John was always very professional in his approach and I did my best to match that.
Towards the latter end of his time at Belle Vue, Hulse attracted occasional criticism for what some fans perceived as negative football, too much of the long-ball approach rather than the passing game.
However, competing against full-time clubs and consistently giving them a run for their money, and also establishing Rhyl as the top part-time side in the WPL, few could argue the Hulse years were anything but an overall success.
Had he taken the club as far as he could? Maybe, but if a full history of Rhyl FC is ever published a very special chapter or two should be reserved for John Hulse.
JOHN HULSE'S ACHIEVEMENTS SEASON-BY-SEASON
2002/03:
The club finished sixth in the LoW but also won the League Cup, beating Bangor City on penalties in the final at Belle Vue and clinching their biggest trophy in Welsh football in 50 years.
2003/04:
Under Hulse's managership, the team won the quadruple of Welsh Premier League championship, Welsh Cup, League Cup and North Wales Coast Challenge Cup.
They also reached the FAW Premier Cup final, losing 4-1 to Wrexham but only after eliminating a full strength Swansea City 2-0 in the semis.
2004/05:
Rhyl had their first sojourn into Europe, losing 7-1 on aggregate to crack Latvian side Skonto Riga in the Champions League qualifiers. They finished second in the WPL and reached the League Cup final for a third successive time, only to go down 2-0 to Carmarthen Town.
2005/06:
Rhyl entered the UEFA Cup and created history by becoming only the second WPL club to win a European tie when they beat FK Atlantas of Lithuania on away goals. In the second qualifying round they gallantly lost 3-1 on aggregate to Viking of Norway, then managed by current Fulham boss Roy Hodgson.
The Lilies finished third in the league behind full-timers TNS and Llanelli, but qualified for the UEFA Cup again after lifting the Welsh Cup, beating Bangor City 2-0 in the final at Wrexham's Racecourse.
Another trophy was secured when Rhyl defeated Denbigh Town 2-1 in the North Wales Challenge Cup final.
2006/07:
There was early elimination from the UEFA Cup at the hands of Lithuania's FK Suduva, but Rhyl came second again in the league and once more made it to the League Cup final, losing on penalties in a farcical affair against Caersws.
2007/08:
The start of the season brought one of Rhyl's finest performances under Hulse as they defeated crack Finnish side FC Haka 3-1 at Belle Vue in the UEFA Cup, but sadly they went down 2-0 in the return and lost on away goals.
A fifth League Cup final appearance in six years brought a 2-0 loss to Llanelli, who also knocked Rhyl out of the Welsh Cup at the semi-final stage. Nonetheless, Rhyl finished a clear third in the league and sealed an Inter-Toto Cup spot.