Welsh football is in vogue, the football purists are in love with Swansea City and their pass percentages, the pragmatic fans are impressed with Cardiff City and their dogmatic performances and the La Liga lovers are still in love with Gareth Bale and his latest injury.
This article is all about what else lies beneath the footballing aristocracy in Wales, what I found is a truly remarkable football club, a community club with a very strong fan base both on the terraces and in the boardroom, a side managed by an ex- English Premier League defender and a chairman you would die for- I give you Newport County AFC.
Newport County are managed by ex-Tottenham Hotspur defender Justin Edinburgh and currently sit just outside the Sky Bet League 2 play-off places. Edinburgh has overseen a real shift in the clubs success over the past few seasons and this success has brought Newport County to the attention of Sofa Football.
Newport is a small town in South Wales, sitting not so quietly in the shadows of their Premier League neighbours but nothing about this football club should ever be dismissed. In its history the club has been liquidated, moved home, changed names and fallen out with the Football Association of Wales so badly that it had to go to the high court to prove Newport County had the right to play their football in the English league system and remain in Wales.
The club is nicknamed the Exiles, a blunt and evidently political nickname derived from two stints playing outside of Wales in England just to survive. At times they were forced to play their home matches 82 miles away in Gloucester just to function in the English league system.
Modern times are a lot brighter under Justin Edinburgh and he sees that the past can influence the future with the astute young manager using the clubs history to attract a certain type of player to the club, players with something to prove and a level of pride in their work. Ex- Coventry defender and club captain David Pipe returned from a prison sentence to lead his team back into the football league is testament to the player and the club.
I wanted to find out more about the club ethos at Newport County so this week I have been in conversation with Southampton Exile: @SotonExile and asked what is so special about supporting Newport County AFC. The reply is a deep understanding of the very principles of football fandom.
‘Because we don’t expect anything but celebrate every small accolade or victory, the fact that most of us have never seen any success makes what we are witnessing absolutely priceless.’
‘It’s cool supporting a fashionable club who are constantly surprising people, even in the Blue Square Premier we regularly took away 200-300 fans, now in League 2 we took over 900 fans to Exeter’.
The message is moving, local fans are no longer travelling to watch Cardiff or Swansea, they believe in their local team, a winning mentality and a fashionable identity is encouraging new fans to follow Justin Edinburgh’s side. They play attractive football; in their first match back in the football league they beat Accrington Stanley 4-1.
Edinburgh took over after the previous manager Anthony Hudson left them in the relegation places of the Conference; Edinburgh’s brief was to avoid relegation. His impact on the team was staggering, they avoided relegation and enjoyed their first ever trip to Wembley for the FA trophy final. Sadly, they were beaten by York City but the desire and passion of that cup competition drove the Exiles to promotion in the 2012 play-off final back into the football league. It was their centenary year but more ironically and typically Newport County it was against welsh opposition- Wrexham.
Their manager has ability, he played at the domestic highest level and this reputation attracts better players but like all successful management there is solid support at boardroom level and Newport County have a man in charge who gives his manager what he needs.
In 2009, Les Scadding picked up his EuroMillions card and pocketed a cool £45.5m, although Bristol born, Scadding has lived in the area for over 15 years and calls Newport his local club. When the previous chairman Chris Blight invited him to a few games he caught the football bug and the natural transition occurred but Scadding is no sugar daddy.
SouthamptonExile describes Scadding as ‘an unemployed lorry driver and one of the fans really, only more sensible’. It is a common misconception that he puts money into the club, he is a very wealthy fan that would step in if the club was under threat. There is a big difference between a businessman chairman and lotto winning chairman but this security gives the club stability.
A key example of where Scadding stepped in was when Newport bought Christian Jolley from AFC Wimbledon for £1,500 with Scadding footing the bill. The resulting signing played a crucial role in their promotion to the football league, netting in the final. He runs the club sensibly and has the respect of his manager, very Arsene Wenger.
So there you have it, Newport County AFC, a club to look out for, a fashionable club that appreciate where they have come from and the miracle journey they are currently on. Their rise through the divisions is only a matter of time. There is a now another team from South Wales in vogue, sorry Mr Laudrup its Mr Edinburgh we’d like to speak to.
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