Recently by Andy Davies

A NEW system was put in place for our trip to Aberystwyth with a recall for myself in a new role playing just in between the back four and midfield.
It was a system designed by the manager with the intention of making us hard to break down and hopefully allowing us to get a result from the game. For nearly an hour, it worked.
I don't feel it was a defensive move by the manager as I feel it allowed our other two midfielders to push forward and commit themselves to attack knowing that they had the 'insurance' of me sitting in. Indeed, we started really well and for a spell in the early stages penned the home side in and caused them problems.
The difficulty was always going to be after half time and who got the all important first goal. Aberystwyth got that goal and we quickly went two down a couple of minutes later and in was very much a case of back to the drawing board as we went in search of goals.
We just couldn't get a goal quick enough. If Dave Hayes' header comes back off the bar and one of our lads taps it home with 20 minutes left then I believe we would have got something out the game.
Unfortunately it wasn't to be and we were left to ponder another away defeat. The performance had been a good one with some good football played and excellent work-rate from the lads. With the game being our first with a new system, we coped well and will be better off for that experience if we ever choose to employ that formation again.
This Friday its back to home matters and a Connah's Quay side we have already faced in the League Cup twice and lost both times. In both games we felt we could have gained a result and I don't think you can pay much attention to those results. Friday will be an opportunity to continue our good home form and consolidate our position in the league.
Hopefully with a good crowd at the game to cheer us on, we can do just that.

Saturday's 1-0 home win against Neath would have delighted the manager because of one reason. We won 1- NIL.
For several weeks, even months, the manager has spoken to us about the need to keep it tight at the back and not concede goals.
Conceding goals has been a problem at home, away, in the league and cup competitions so far this year so the manner of our victory would have been as appreciated as the three points that came with it.
It was a gritty performance which we need to try and replicate this Saturday when we travel to a very good Aberystwyth team who will most likely be looking at our away form and thinking they can beat us easily.
But if we show the same grit and determination as Saturday and accompany that with our passing football and attacking play, we could cause them a few problems.
And having kept the opposition out on Saturday there should be a confidence in the squad that we can go away from home and do the same. When you've struggled away from home, as we have, its vital you go back to basics and start from the defensive side and work forward. Picking up a 0-0 or 1-1 will be by no means a disaster.
Of course we defend as a team and I'm confident that should we keep together as a group of players and work for each other, we will reap the rewards.
Questions have been asked recently of players morale and the answer is in the scoreline and the match report from Saturday. We stuck together and fought for each other and got the result.
Since I've been here the morale and team spirit has been fantastic. There may be issue's to be resolved over certain things and they will be sorted I'm sure.

As for Saturday, the time is right to kick on from last weeks result and start gaining momentum as the big games start to come thick and fast in December.

JOHN Deakin is in favour of scrapping Saturday games in favour of Friday nights and Sunday afternoons.
This idea was born out of the fact that there were good attendances when sides from the WPL were forced to play on a Sunday recently due to Wales' International match on the Saturday.
The fact is crowds were high because the weather was excellent on the Sunday (particularly in Llanelli where we played) and there was nothing else on in terms of Premiership action from England.
All of a sudden now based on that weekend we should tear the heart out of our traditions in favour of making our league a more 'family-friendly' product. It's nonsense and shows a complete lack of respect for those who play the most important role in the league- the players and managers and coaches who give up their time week in week out training and preparing for games.
Playing on a Sunday will drive players away because quite frankly, there is only so much time you can give. There are only so many occasions you can get an hour off work to travel to TNS on a weeknight to play in a cup format which defies any sense of logic.
There's only so many occasions players can give up time at home with their families to leave at 7am and get back at 10pm on a Saturday. To be forced to make that sacrifice on a Sunday before going to work on a Monday would be a bridge too far for many. In the current climate, risking losing your job over a game of football for many is unthinkable.
Friday nights to be fair have worked for us this season. So long as the games allow players and supporters from the away teams clubs time to finish work and travel to the game then they should remain. A lot of people who attend games on a Friday will view it as an opportunity to see their local team before the likes of United, Liverpool and other English sides take over on the Saturday.
But we have to keep playing on a Saturday, even if we reduce the prices and attempt to make those who attend the Friday games turn up on a Saturday, we have to give 'customers' an alternative.
We have to give them the option of not going to English league games or sitting in and watching Jeff Stelling on a Saturday. By scrapping Saturday games we will be merely turning supporters away.

Deakin said: "It begs a question whether we should be playing games on a Saturday. Certainly the attendances are better on Sunday and perhaps we need to be playing more games on Sunday than Saturday, although I'd stick with Friday. The traditional Saturday doesn't work for our league - there are so many alternative attractions.
"I know that's still the case on a Sunday but maybe we could time our kick-offs so they don't clash with the big 4pm game on Sky."
Reading that makes you wonder just where our game could end up.
As a player you can only hope that common sense will prevail over this issue and the idea is thrown out. If it's not, the WPL could become a product with a distinct lack of a workforce producing it.

The performance at Haverfordwest last Saturday was excellent and we can feel aggrieved not to have taken a point back up to North Wales.
For an hour we looked confident, energetic and comfortable after having survived a couple of early scares. The game was the first away performance where we gave ourselves a good platform to go forward in the game by keeping our opponents at bay and playing our way into the match.
When we took the lead early in the second half, it was like we had followed the 'away day plan' to the letter- keeping tight at the back, being patient then hitting them on the counter attack.
But again we were given a harsh lesson that teams at this level make the most of any opportunity given to them and when they scored their equaliser it was a huge blow as I felt had we been able to stay at 1-0 for 20 minutes after scoring, they would have got desperate and committed men forward leaving more gaps for us to exploit on the counter.
But it wasn't to be and with the wind at their backs and the momentum from equalising, Haverfordwest went on to win 3-1. It was another defeat, but not a disgrace. Instead we can look and analyse the game for when we host Haverfordwest and will most certainly feel we can beat them.
It's back on the road in the Welsh Cup this Saturday to Gresford who are still without a win in this season's Cymru Alliance. As has been said so many times before, league form counts for nothing in the cup and they, like Bala in the previous round, will be 'well up' for trying to claim a Welsh Premier scalp especially top a team they were competing with in the Alliance last term.
There is a belief in the squad that we could go far in the competition and when you consider cup performances against Rhyl (two years ago) and TNS (this season's league cup) why shouldn't we think we can go far.
But our dreams of a cup run will be dashed if we fail to perform this coming Saturday.

OUR 5-2 victory against Porthmadog on Friday once more showed how important home advantage can be.
In front of another excellent crowd we were able to put on another brilliant performance and respond to disappointments in the league to Llanelli and TNS in the cup by producing a five-star display.
Jon Fisher-Cooke returned from suspension with a hat-trick and showed just how big a player he can be for us. His trouble with injuries is hopefully behind him now and you hope he can stay fit and help us push forward up the league.
But now we have to prepare for another trip to south Wales and to a Haverfordwest side who are enjoying a good start to their season and will be out to send us back up the country on the back of a defeat. At Port Talbot and Llanelli, we have lost and struggled with the rigours of a long coach journey but like I've said before, we have to just put those defeats down to experience and hope that we soon get the right results away from home starting on Saturday.
While our home form is obviously pleasing, we can not rely on that alone to keep getting us points and we need to get results on the road as well.
The win on Friday means that only TNS, Rhyl and Llanelli have scored more than us which is a terrific achievement and shows that we certainly haven't come into the league looking to defend and hit teams on the counter attack.

We've managed to put a bit of breathing space between ourselves and the bottom teams and its important now that we keep looking to pick up points to pass the teams in front and not necessarily be looking over our shoulders, trying to avoid the teams below.
That means going to Haverfordwest this weekend and putting in a Friday night performance on a Saturday afternoon.

SUNDAY saw us suffer our heaviest defeat in the WPL at the hands of Llanelli on a day which may well see us learn more lessons than from any victory this season.
Serving the second of my three-game ban I took my seat in the stand gutted that I wasn't involved. The Llanelli away was one of the first fixtures I looked for when the games were announced and I so wanted to be on the pitch when we played the champions.
Also, as I mentioned in the previous blog entry, was already in south Wales having watched the weekends Wales games so only had to travel an hour on the train instead of the five hour coach journey the lads had to go through.
At any level that sort of travelling can effect your performance. We've had two long journeys down to Port Talbot and Llanelli and have lost both times and what Llanelli highlighted was how important it is to be able to get used to travelling those distances and performing. That of course comes with experience and the players finding out what they can do to make the journeys less arduous in the future.
Soon we will travel to Haverfordwest and its vital we try and cure our away day blues.
Llanelli was going to be tough wherever we played them, a lot of people saw the game against Rhyl and wrote them off but they're champions and you don't win titles without knowing how to overcome setbacks. They started like a house on fire and 2-0 down after five minutes was a nightmare which only got worse with Bevan's red card.
I've not seen the incident on television yet and the challenge and the referee saw it as a sending off. All of a sudden you feared the worst for the lads against the full timers with a man less but as we always do, we rallied and played some decent football.
But we were playing a team with good players and a team who are very good at using the wingers and full-backs to whip crosses in for Rhys Griffiths.
The second sending off looked ridiculous, the referee seemed to be stood between Griffo and the player he was shouting at Dave Hayes and yet the referee appeared to go on the advice of his linesman. It all seemed a bit surreal because no-one knew what had happened, even our players.
But like I've said before you hope these decisions even themselves over the course of a season. Four players sent off in two games sounds a lot worse than the situation is. At the moment we're maybe suffering a little from what happened at Bala.
Referee's are maybe looking at what happened there and being more watchful of what we do, but we just have to learn to keep calm and play our football (myself included).
But that game has gone and what we need to now is learn from it an move forward to what has become a massive game on Friday. Porthmadog at home is a game we'll go into confident we can win especially with being unbeaten at home in the league and having won our previous two Friday night home games.
It's our home form which is already looking vital in picking up points and climbing the table. The away results will come I'm sure as the squad gain more experience.
We haven't been the first team to concede six goals at Llanelli and certainly won't be the last, but like when Llanelli lost 5-1 to Rhyl, people may start to question our resolve.
As a squad of players we need to rally and bounce back with a winning reply on Friday.

We do of course have a game tonight in the final group game of the League Cup at home to TNS. Hardly the most ideal fixture to face after Llanelli but with nothing to play for the opportunity is there for players to make a claim for a place on Friday and if they play as they did for periods against Connah's Quay last week, it will present the manager with a selection headache for Friday.

LAST weekend I was able to attend three games down in south Wales.
Representing the club I was able to watch a thoroughly entertaining game on Friday night between Wales U21 and England U21 at Cardiff City's Ninian Park.
In front of a sell out crowd who created a terrific atmosphere, the Welsh lads played some excellent football. Packed with energy and imagination, the first half performance was as good a performance I'd seen from a Wales side at any level for years.
Aaron Ramsey looked a class apart for an hour before tiring and Church up front was exceptional. If Ramsey continue's to catch the eye as he did on Friday then Sir Alex Ferguson may regret losing out on his signature this summer to Arsenal.
England had a strong side packed with Premiership experience but are well away from the level they think they are. Steven Taylor will always give opposing strikers a chance, Noble worked hard but flattered to deceive and Tom Huddlestone served as a perfect example of why Spurs are in the position they are in. With the game evenly contested and frantic in the middle of the field, he was nowhere then suddenly once the impressive Agbonlahor had put England ahead he wanted the ball, looking to spread passes all over the field. It's this type of player and attitude which will keep Spurs languishing near the bottom of the Premier League table.

On Saturday I had the pleasure of watching the Wales senior side from the press box where Wales beat Liechtenstein 2-0 thanks to goals from David Edwards and a deflected Ched Evans header.
But the result was overshadowed by the performance. It was sloppy at best.
You could hear the press pack around me hammering their laptop keys after every missed place pass and poor first touch. It was sad to watch the difference between the game the night before which was full of energy and commitment and Saturday's had instead Karl Fletcher and Carl Robinson.
You wonder about these periods of transition which Wales are supposed to be in. In my view it simply isn't working. We're now at a stage now where I believe we may as well have an overhaul and drop the 'deadwood' in the squad for young, hungry players who the supporters can get behind. Is there not a Welsh centre half in any Premiership academy or reserve side?
Forget this 'feeling them in' nonsense and just play them. If we lose, as we did the night before, it will be not through like of effort.
For this to happen, a fresh approach is needed in terms of the manager. As one of the 'perks' of the weekend I was able to sit in on John Toshack's pre and post match press conferences. They were boring. Talk of Paisley and Shankly when he should have been talking about Vokes and (Ched) Evans. This Liverpool old boys act needs to stop. In fairness to Saunders he may well be a future Wales manager. But why is Roy Evans there? Why is there a constant need for Toshack to refer to either Liverpool's past or what he's done in the game? I sat there after the game fuming that Wales had at times struggled on Saturday and the buck stops with the manager. Every question was fended away with a reference to the fact that Saturdays game and the Germany game will be very different. Well I never!
For Wales to move forwards there needs to be an energetic team on the field and a manager looking at future success, not a team with Fletcher and a manager blinkered by glories of decades gone by.

DIMITAR Berbatov will not be the next Eric Cantona. To suggest it I believe diminishes Cantona's legacy as someone who was a class apart, a one-off, a great.
I sincerely hope Berbatov enjoys the same amount of success as Eric and indeed surpasses his medal haul in his five years at Old Trafford.
But another Eric there will never be. Never again will a player be with such troubled history be taken from their nearest rivals and adopted as one of their own. Never will a player inspire so much by doing so little during a game. Never will a player carry such an aura that to see him in the flesh would freeze the most hardened United supporters.
Cantona was loved at Old Trafford because he was a player that where many others shrunk when they walked out at the Theatre of Dreams, Eric grew. He grew in a way that made everyone in the crowd skip the first few United players who walked out ahead of him and instinctively look for Eric. There he'd be at the back, collar up, chest puffed out, the man had arrived.
Berbatov is an excellent player, but I doubt he'll ever stir up the frenzy Eric did. Paul Ince has already said the comparison is unjust, I'm sure the likes of Mark Hughes and Steve Bruce will say the same. The players that played alongside him know not only the talent he had, but the presence he possessed.
Everyone seems to have a memory or a story about Eric from trying to pay for chewing gum with a credit card to turning up for formal functions in a leather jacket. It was instances such as these that made him such a hero. The rebel, the artist, call him what you will; to many supporters he was one of them.
That's why expecting Berbatov to play in a similar way is laughable. Eric was signed for a bargain, he never wore gloves and in his words in the moment before he dies "will have this club in my heart".
Berbatov is at the point of his career where he is waiting to walk out onto the big stage, the question now is whether he shrinks under the weight of the expectation, or rises to it and achieve what the great man couldn't- European glory.
If Berbatov is looking for ways to answer his critics he could read this from an interview in the current edition of FourFourTwo:
The major criticism of you as a player at Man United was that you didn't perform as well or score goals in big European games. Why do you think that was? Was it just that the Premier League was easier?
Eric: "I scored goals in the European Cup. Like I scored goals for France. I played 45 times for France and scored 20 goals. I scored one goal in every two games in Europe. That's not bad. (smiles) When you are a striker you can prove yourself with numbers. You can play ten games, score five goals and assist five goals. You can give an answer very quickly if the press are against you by scoring goals. When you are a midfielder or defender you can't do that. If they don't want to see that you are a good player they won't see it. That's why I was a striker."

WHERE do you start in trying to write about a game which was as incident packed as any game you're likely to see at any standard this season?
The stage was set for a fantastic game and it didn't disappoint. There were great goals, frantic scrambles, woodwork struck, penalty claims and even a red card for myself (more on that later).
At the time it was hard to digest it all with everything that went on at Bala on Saturday but looking back now I think it was an excellent performance by ourselves and once more showed the huge amount of character we possess as a squad.
2-0 down inside ten minutes was a nightmare start but amazingly I don't think alarm bells started ringing. We didn't panic and instead played our way back into the game keeping the ball and working them all over the pitch.
Looking back I don't think the sending off of their player helped us. Had he not handballed Houlty's fine effort we would have pulled a goal back and we were already beginning to get on top. Instead we missed the penalty and from then on there was a fear that it wasn't the last time the referee would reach for his back pocket.
I've waited to see the highlights of the game before writing so and even after watching them I'm still unsure about the tackle where Fisher-Cooke was sent off. At the time I looked at it and thought "he's in trouble here". I think it was a poor tackle and was certainly late but it was a cup tie that had plenty of similar challenges.
I thought it was a maybe a booking and you'd think it would have been considering the action the referee took against our goalkeeper for his 'challenge'.
Ten against ten, still keeping the ball well, creating chances, we get the equaliser and its just now a case of keeping our cool and we'll win it in extra time.
Oh dear....
I've apologised to the manager and the team for my actions in getting sent off, I reacted when I shouldn't have in raising my hands and for that I had to go. No excuses, it was stupid.
The amount of contact I made or what went on before I reacted is irrelevant, as soon as I raised my hands I gave the referee the opportunity to send me off.
Nine against ten we played with so much effort and desire to win I felt it was only right that we should win the shoot-out. The chances we created during the game should maybe have seen us win in normal time and we certainly paid the price for a terrible start.

We now go to Gresford in the next round which is a decent draw for us although as we've seen, teams who were playing against us in the league last year now see us as a giant killing opportunity.
Its our job to show the same amount of ability, character and desire to show why we're in the top league in Welsh football, mixing it with the giants.

IT may sound hard to believe, but at one stage Friday's game could have gone either way.
In a game where both sides may have been cautious and guarded, in the first 20 minutes on Friday both ourselves and Caernarfon attacked at every opportunity and as the action swung from one end of the field to the other and at one point I was thinking the score could be 6-5.
The Cofi's will point to the decision of the referee not to give a penalty against Dave Hayes in the opening minutes. From where I was I couldn't be sure it was a penalty but we can point to instances already this season when penalty decisions have gone against us and maybe it was about time our luck changed.
Their sending off obviously helped us but by that point I felt we had control of the game and weathered the early storm which saw Caernarfon crash one against our bar. Maybe the score wouldn't have been five, but there's no doubt in my mind we would have beaten them even with 11 on the pitch.
It was a performance that showed how far we'd come since the Airbus game. When we went ahead in that game there was a bit of a shock about us because it was all so new to us. When we went ahead against Caernarfon, we kicked on and went looking for more goals.
That is what won us so many games last season, that ability to keep attacking and not rest on a lead. Doing so, as we've seen already can be fatal and the rise in standard as meant that we need to stay focussed for the full 90 minutes.

And so to Tuesday night. We need to keep going and go all out for another win. At this stage of the season a couple of wins can hugely improve your league position and another three points will help widen the gap between ourselves and teams near the bottom and suddenly it may not be a case of looking over our shoulders but instead chasing those in front.