Cwmbrân Town A.F.C.
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| Full name | Cwmbrân Town Association Football Club |
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| Nickname(s) | The Crows | ||
| Founded | 1951 | ||
| Ground | Cwmbran Stadium Cwmbrân |
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| Capacity | 10,500 (2,200 seated) | ||
| Chairman | Gareth Griffiths | ||
| Manager | Matthew Ryder | ||
| League | Gwent County League Division One | ||
| 2014/15 | 14th (of 16) | ||
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Cwmbrân Town is a football team based in Cwmbrân, Wales and play in the Gwent County League Division 1, the fifth tier of Welsh Football.
Contents
History
Cwmbrân's place in history is assured as the first ever team to be champions of, and later first to be relegated from the League of Wales.[1] Formed in 1951, Cwmbrân began in the Monmouthshire Senior League, playing their matches at Cwmbrân Park. In 1960 the club joined the Welsh Football League and they moved to their present home at the Cwmbran Stadium in 1975. Cwmbrân lost their place in the top division of the Welsh Football League in 1978 and it took them three years to return to the top level. Although they finished only eighth in the 1981–82 season, they were invited to join the National Division of the restructured League. Cwmbrân finished third in 1986–87 and almost won the title in 1989–90. In 1992 they were invited to become founder members of the League of Wales. Unprecedented success followed when they took the title by five points from rivals and near-neighbours Inter Cardiff, conceding only 22 goals all season and losing only three games (all 1–0).
That inaugural Konica League championship brought European reward in the form of a Champions Cup tie against Cork City from the Republic of Ireland. In the Preliminary Round, Cwmbrân won the home leg by 3–2, after being 3–0 in front but despite going a goal ahead early in the second match they lost 2–1 and went out on away goals. Cwmbrân had another taste of European football in 1997 in the European Cup Winners Cup, having lost 2–1 to newly crowned champions Barry Town in the Welsh Cup final.
Qualifying for Europe again in 1998 and 1999, Cwmbrân met FC Naţional Bucureşti of Romania, and Celtic respectively. In the 2003–04 UEFA Cup they lost 6–0 on aggregate to Maccabi Haifa of Israel, playing the away leg in İzmir, Turkey.
The Welsh Cup final defeat to Barry Town mentioned above has since been equalled on two occasions, in 1999–2000 when they lost to Bangor City, and in 2002–03 when again Barry Town proved too strong, in a penalty shoot-out.
Cwmbran's ground has a capacity of 8,200 and 2,000 seats under cover, however the average league attendance in 2005-06 was 163.
At the end of the 2005–06 season, the Crows were close to dropping out of the Welsh top flight for the first time since the League's formation. The Crows finished in the second relegation position but were saved from relegation due to a lack of teams in the feeder leagues wishing to be promoted. They were not so fortunate in the 2006–07 season, when they again finished in 17th place and were relegated following a 5–1 defeat by Llanelli on 20 April.
Financial problems (2006–07)
The season's respectable on-field performances were overshadowed by off-field financial problems. Towards the end of November 2006, reports surfaced that players were not being paid. The club initially denied this but on the 30th November, the club announced officially that it was unable to pay its players. A few of key players left, including top scorer Jody Jenkins, who joined Haverfordwest County.
Cwmbrân Town received some help from Newport County, who offered a friendly with all proceeds going to the Cwmbrân Town.
Post Welsh Premier League Relegation (2007–Present)
Season 2007–08 saw the club install Guillermo Ganet as manager but his reign was short lived, only staying one season. Although a skillful squad was assembled there was a high player turn-over which ultimately resulted in a mid-table finish. A year later, new manager Gary Proctor was unable to prevent relegation to Division Two.
A third manager in as many seasons saw Barrie Hughes take the reins. However, despite securing 14th place in the division, a league restructure saw the Crows demoted to Division Three. A third consecutive relegation followed with Hughes resigning mid-season.
Manager Mark Parfitt and assistant Jamie Jenkins built a new squad for 2011/12 using local players and managed a creditable 3rd place in Division 1 of the Gwent County League. Season 2012/13 started in promising fashion but a few games into the season Parfitt stepped down and Jamie Jenkins took the hot seat, finishing the long hard season near the bottom.
The following season Jenkins was joined by his brother and ex-Crow Daniel Jenkins and the pair oversaw a good run of results that saw the team fighting for the league championship until four defeats in the last five games resulted in a 7th place finish.
The Crows appointed former Cwmbrân Celtic manager Steve Morgan for the start of the 2014/15 season but a bad run of results with no wins in the first eight games saw Morgan resign. First Team Coach Andrew Howells stepped into the manager position and was joined by former PILCS manager Matthew Ryder with a third of the season remaining. Together they steered the team to the safety of 14th place. With Howells departing the club, Ryder takes over as manager for the 2015/16 season.
Honours
- League of Wales (Welsh Premier League) Inaugural Winners: 1992–93
- Welsh Cup Runners-up 1997, 2000, 2003
- Welsh League Division 2 Champions 1967–68
- Office Interiors Welsh League Cup Winners 1990–91
- Gwent Senior Cup Winners 1994–95, 1995–96, 2005–06
- Monmouthshire Challenge Cup 1954–55, 1955–56
European record
| Season | Competition | Round | Opponents | Home Leg | Away Leg | Aggregate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1993–94 | UEFA Champions League | Preliminary Round 1 |  Cork City |
3–2 | 1–2 | 4–4 |
| 1997–98 | UEFA Cup Winners' Cup | Qualifying Round 1 |  National Bucureşti |
2–5 | 0–7 | 2–12 |
| 1999–2000 | UEFA Cup | Qualifying Round 1 |  Celtic |
0–6 | 0–4 | 0–10 |
| 2000 | UEFA Intertoto Cup | Qualifying Round 1 |  Nistru Otaci |
0–1 | 0–1 | 0–2 |
| 2001–02 | UEFA Cup | Qualifying Round 1 |  Slovan Bratislava |
0–4 | 0–1 | 0–5 |
| 2003–04 | UEFA Cup | Qualifying Round 1 |  Maccabi Haifa |
0–3 | 0–3 | 0–6 |
Notable former players
Darren Campbell
Mark Aizlewood- Danny Gabbidon
- Richard Hurlin
- Kenny Morgans (former player-manager)
- Kaid Mohamed
Biggest victories and losses
- Biggest win: 10-0 v Gwynfi United 1968.
- Biggest defeat: 0-10 v Celtic F.C. in UEFA Cup 1999 and 8-0 v Newport County in Gwent Senior Cup in 2010
- Biggest Welsh Premier League win: 6-0 v Aberystwyth Town, and v Haverfordwest County, both in 1997-98
- Biggest Welsh Premier League defeat: 0-5 at Llanelli AFC in 1993-94 .
Current squad
2015/16 Season
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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Top scorers
| Season | Player | Goals |
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| 1992–93 | John Powell |
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| 1993–94 | Andrew Clissold |
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| 1994–95 | Andrew Mainwaring |
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| 1995–96 | Andrew Mainwaring |
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| 1996–97 | Mattie Davies
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15 |
| 1997–98 | Simon Dyer
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22 |
| 1998–99 | Chris Summers
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20 |
| 1999–00 | Chris Summers |
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| 2000–01 | Mattie Davies
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18 |
| 2001–02 | Craig Hughes |
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| 2002–03 | Chris Summers |
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| 2003–04 | Chris Summers |
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| 2004–05 | Jason Welsh |
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| 2005–06 | Kaid Mohamed |
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| 2006–07 | Jodie Jenkins |
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| 2007–08 | ? |
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| 2008–09 | ? |
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| 2009–10 | Steve Hughes |
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| 2010–11 | Kristian Powell |
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| 2011–12 | Chris Ham |
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| 2012–13 | Luke Thomas |
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| 2013–14 | Luke Thomas |
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| 2014–15 | Chris Pike |
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