May 2010 Archives

RHYL have made the first step towards a more positive future by capturing Greg Strong on a new three-year contract.
Greg did a fantastic job for the Lilywhites in difficult circumstances last season and is surely the man to re-establish Rhyl as a leading force in the Welsh Premier.
His professionalism, experience and ability to build a team spirit make him the perfect man to lead the Lilies to future glories.
Like all previous Rhyl managers I have worked with, Greg has never been anything but helpful and supportive to me in my quest to cover the club.
It is sad to see Dave Milner step down as managing director but I can fully understand his reason for doing so and in Jamie Digwood Rhyl have an excellent successor - another man with experience on how football clubs should be run.
Further announcements are expected this week on playing staff and club officials.
Rhyl FC have suffered a major blow in losing their Welsh Premier League status but have reacted in the right way by coming out and quashing the misfounded rumours surrounding the club and acting quickly towards forming positive plans for the future.
Here's hoping for more positive news in the coming days.

GREG STRONG is to remain player-manager of Rhyl FC having signed a new three-year contract with the Lilywhites.
Although Rhyl have been relegated from the Welsh Premier League after failing to gain a domestic licence and look set to compete in the Cymru Alliance next season, Strong's two years at Belle Vue as both a player and manager have been highly impressive.
In his first season as a player the former Bolton Wanderers and Motherwell defender was part of the Lilies title-winning side.
He was promoted to player-boss at the start of last season and despite the club's financial difficulties and the fact he lost the majority of the squad that had won the championship, Strong built a team good enough to finish sixth in the WPL, just four points off a Europa League place, and also reach the League Cup final.
"I'm delighted to be staying on as player-manager of the best club in Wales," said Strong.
"The season never ends and already I'm busy preparing for the next one. I'm very excited about the future."
Rhyl have also announced Dave Milner is stepping down as managing director to be replaced by Jamie Digwood, who was the club's director of football in 2008/09 before taking a year away.
"It is with mixed feelings that I have decided to step down as managing director," said Milner. "The past 10 years have been a golden period for Rhyl FC.
"Despite the trials and tribulations of this past season I truly believe that, if we all pull together both on and off the field, we can embark on another decade of success for the club.
"I am delighted to announce that Jamie will be returning to the club as managing director; his insight, experience and contacts in the game will serve us well.
"Both Jamie and I are delighted to announce that Greg Strong has agreed to re-commit to the club on a three-year contract as player/manager.
"Greg has been an outstanding player and manager for Rhyl FC. His commitment to the club this past season has been exceptional.
"As for myself, I will remain in a consulting capacity to the managing director as we set and implement the board of director's strategy for the future."
The club will release further information over the coming days regarding the squad for next season and the board of directors/officers.

FROM champions to relegation in just 12 months - the dramatic fall from grace of Rhyl Football Club is stunning by anyone's standards.
The question is why are one of the best-equipped and most ardently supported clubs in Wales facing life in the second-tier of Welsh football?
The basic answer is the Lilywhites failed to secure their domestic licence on appeal to the FAW on Monday.
But a subsequent follow-up statement from the club has not revealed enough as to why Rhyl are no longer a Welsh Premier outfit.
The reason the two-time champions failed the first round of applications for the all-important licence was they were unable to submit their accounts before the stipulated deadline.
Despite this, the club said it was confident it would meet all the necessary criteria by the time the appeals came round.
However, this was obviously not the case and Rhyl's omission from next season's Super 12 can only have a detrimental effect on the national league.
This was the statement released by the club on Monday: "Rhyl FC are to step back from the Welsh Premier League after the FAW rejected the licence application.
"Financially, the club has had a very difficult second half to the season. The manager, the players and all non-playing staff have been magnificent throughout this difficult period.
"We have taken steps to rationalise the operations and we are actively seeking new sponsors.
"We had hoped to remain at the top of Welsh football whilst working through the residual financial issues.
"Now we will continue to rebuild the club's finances and get back to the WPL as soon as possible."
"Step back"? So, are the club suggesting they decided to pull out rather than them being ejected by their own failure to meet the rules? If so, that begs the question how truly bad are things at the club?
It is obvious from the statement the financial situation at Belle Vue has prevented the club from getting the licence - the question is what happens next?
Can Rhyl recover from this crippling blow, regroup, win the Cymru Alliance and return to the top flight stronger?
Or could this be a case of another top club disappearing into obscurity a la Barry Town and Cwmbran Town. There is no point pretending it could not happen.
Only Rhyl Football Club and whoever is in charge can provide the answers.
Up to now, the fans who have made the Lilywhites the best supported club in the Welsh Premier for the past seven seasons have not been told enough.
They deserve answers. They deserve to be told how things have come to this.
If the club involves its supporters more it could go some way towards finding solutions which are so obviously needed for a better future.
Welsh Premier secretary John Deakin summed up the situation when he said: "Obviously it is disappointing to lose a club of Rhyl's stature and one that arguably has been the best-supported in the league for some years but hopefully they will regroup and return as quickly as possible.
"Rhyl have been hit by well-documented financial problems this season but the licensing criteria laid down was the same for all the clubs in the league."
Rhyl's relegation is all the more galling as player-manager Greg Strong did such a fantastic job last season in the most trying of circumstances.
Having to operate with a vastly reduced budget, Strong lost 15 members of the previous season's title-winning squad yet still managed to finish sixth in the table and reached the League Cup final.
The Rhyl fans were delighted with Strong and his team, many expressing more delight at the achievements than in the previous season when with the now withdrawn financial backing of Peter Parry the Lilywhites won the title.
Strong did not wish to comment on this week's news nor about his future at this stage, but one can only imagine how he, his players and the fans feel right now.
The Welsh Premier without Rhyl just is not right and it should not have been allowed to happen.

RHYL FC - WELSH PREMIER TOP 20 APPEARANCES (sub appearances in brackets)
1 Tim Edwards 226 (3)
2 Gareth Wilson 219 (32)
3 James Brewerton 183 (23)
4 Mark Powell 151 (21)
5 Andy Moran 148 (17)
6 Stuart Graves 144 (18)
7 George Horan 143 (2)
8 Lee Hunt 130 (5)
9 Mark Connolly 127 (18)
10 Greg Stones 112 (12)
11 Paul Smith 110 (0)
12 Scott Millington 106 (66)
13 Gary Curtis 102 (0)
14 Tim Steel 95 (26)
15 Gary Powell 88 (64)
16 Stuart Pickthall 83 (13)
17 Ian Haigh 75 (1)
18 Marc Limbert 74 (8)
19 Chris Adamson 72 (20)
20 Danny Barton 69 (3)

TOP 20 GOALSCORERS
1 Andy Moran 99
2 Lee Hunt 83
3 Danny Barton 41
4 Tim Steel 34
5 Mark Connolly 31
6 Matthew Williams 29
7 Gary Powell 28
8 Tim Edwards 26
9 Chris McGinn 25
10 Gareth Wilson 22
11 Neil Roberts 20
12 Scott Millington 16
13 Lee Trundle/Marc Limbert 15
15 James Brewerton/George Horan/Chris Adamson/John Stannard/Adrian Jones 14
20 Jamie Reed/Steve Jones/Stephen Jones 13

RHYL FC - LEAGUE AND CUP RECORDS

LEAGUE

WELSH PREMIER LEAGUE (1994/95-2009/10)
Played 558 Won 276 Drawn 106 Lost 176 Goals For 1000 Goals Against 761 Points 934
Highest Position: champions 2003/04, 2008/09.

CYMRU ALLIANCE LEAGUE (1992/93-1993/94)
Played 62 Won 48 Drawn 7 Lost 7 Goals For 184 Goals Against 50 Points 151
Highest Position: champions 1993/94.

NORTHERN PREMIER LEAGUE (1983/84-1989/90 Premier Division; 1990/91-1991/92 Division One)
Premier Division - Played 294 Won 97 Drawn 78 Lost 119 Goals For 425 Goals Against 447 Points 369
Division One - Played 84 Won 32 Drawn 17 Lost 35 Goals For 121 Goals Against 132 Points 113
Highest Position: Premier Division - 7th 1983/84; Division One - 5th 1990/91.

NORTH WEST COUNTIES LEAGUE DIVISION ONE (1982/83)
Played 38 Won 23 Drawn 11 Lost 4 Goals For 76 Goals Against 30 Points 57
Highest Position: 2nd 1982/83.

CHESHIRE COUNTY LEAGUE (1936/37-1979/80 Division One; 1980/81-1981/82 Division Two)
Division One - Played 1572 Won 617 Drawn 336 Lost 619 Goals For 2860 Goals Against 2800 Points 1570
Division Two - Played 76 Won 44 Drawn 15 Lost 17 Goals For 153 Goals Against 86 Points 103
Highest Position: champions 1947/48, 1950/51, 1971/72.

BIRMINGHAM AND DISTRICT LEAGUE (1931/32 - 1935/36) - as Rhyl Athletic
Played 179 Won 72 Drawn 28 Lost 79 Goals For 383 Goals Against 408 Points 172
Highest Position: 5th 1931/32

WELSH NATIONAL LEAGUE (NORTH) (1921-30)
Record unknown but won league championship 1925/26

NORTH WALES ALLIANCE (1919/20-1920/21) - as Rhyl Athletic
Played 51 Won 23 Drawn 8 Lost 20 Goals For 112 Goals Against 106 Points 54.
Highest Position: 7th 1919/20.

THE COMBINATION (1898/99 - 1910/11) - as Rhyl Athletic
Played 328 Won 104 Drawn 43 Lost 181 Goals For 582 Goals Against 866 Points 251
Highest Position: 2nd 1900/01.

NORTH WALES COAST LEAGUE (1893/94-1896/97; 1898/99; 1900/01-1901/02) - as Rhyl FC
Played 77 Won 32 Drawn 5 Lost 40 Goals For 195 Goals Against 217
Highest Position: champions 1894/95
* Also in this competition at various stages between 1897/98 and 1933/34 other teams carrying the name Rhyl represented the town, including Rhyl Town, Rhyl Amateurs, Rhyl United, Rhyl Victoria, Rhyl Church Guild, Rhyl Athletic and Rhyl Athletic Reserves, who lifted the title in 1933/34.

WELSH SENIOR LEAGUE (1890/91)
Played 7 Won 1 Drawn 2 Lost 4 Goals For 7 Goals Against 24 Points 2 (2 pts deducted for fielding ineligible players)
Highest Position: 5th 1890/91.

VARIOUS CUP RECORDS

FA CUP (1898-1991)
Played 217 Won 113 Drawn 33 Lost 71
Best performance: 4th round proper 1956/57.

WELSH CUP (1878-2010)
Played 327 Won 171 Drawn 48 Lost 108
Best performance: winners 1952, 1953, 2004, 2006.

EUROPE (2004-2009 - UEFA Champions League; UEFA Cup; Intertoto Cup)
Played 14 Won 2 Drawn 1 Lost 11 Goals For 13 Goals Against 40
Best performance: UEFA Cup second qualifying round 2005/06.

FAW PREMIER CUP (1998-2008)
Played 34 Won 13 Drawn 6 Lost 15 Goals For 51 Goals Against 55.
Best performance: runners-up 2003/04.

WELSH PREMIER LEAGUE CUP (1994/2010)
Played 80 Won 43 Drawn 17 Lost 20 Goals For 154 Goals Against 93
Best performance: winners 2003, 2004; runners-up 2005, 2007, 2008, 2010

ALL good things must come to an end and I'd like to think Lilywhites Online has been a good thing.
But after just over three years of running a blog dedicated to Rhyl FC the time has come to call it a day.
There are a few reasons for this, but the main one is I now feel it is wrong, given the job I do, to tie myself to any one club any more.
When I worked on just the local paper for the Rhyl area I felt there was no problem heading a project like Lilywhites Online.
But now that I am sports editor for four separate weekly newspapers across North Wales, and have increasing involvement with the Daily Post, being responsible for covering Welsh Premier clubs Bangor City, Prestatyn Town and Rhyl, I think it is time for change.
I have generally enjoyed producing Lilywhites Online for the past three years. I'd like to think I've had a good relationship with the majority of the fans and most of the people involved with Rhyl FC. One or two things in recent times have disappointed me, but they are not significant factors in my decision to wind up the blog.
I'll continue to cover Rhyl for the Daily Post and Denbighshire Visitor and look forward to continuing my excellent working relationship with Greg Strong and the players.
Thank you to everyone who has supported the blog, especially the managers and officials who have provided me with news, and the fans for their excellent and well-thought-out constructive comments.
Next season I will start a new blog covering the whole of North Wales football. This will be largely club-led with a window for all clubs across the region to publicise their news, including Rhyl.
I will not be as hands-on as I've been with Lilywhites Online, mainly because I need to reduce my considerable workload, but will still contribute regularly to the new blog.
More details will follow on this project which will be well-publicised.
I wish Rhyl FC all the best for the future and look forward to continuing working with the club in a newspaper capacity.
Dave Jones