The Rise of Wales - Carmarthen Town

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Killing it mate!! Fingers crossed for the treble and then for more European success next season.
 
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JD Welsh Cup Final

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So, as expected we managed to complete the treble with a routine win over Rhyl in front of a record crowd of 2,412. We dominated the game and should probably have won by a more comfortable margin. Tempers also seemed high as 8 yellow cards were handed out.

This concludes a fantastic season for us and will have to try arrange some transfers as soon as possible before focusing my attention on Euro 2020.

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End of Season Awards

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In a year of stand out performances the fans decided to award Rhoys Wiggins as their player of the year. He finished 3rd in the Welsh footballer of the Year award, set a record 7.99 average rating, picked up 20 assists and scored 2 goals. So not a bad year for the 32 year old.


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Matthew Spain's incredible season was recognised by my fellow managers, who voted him to be Player of the Year. His 24 League goals also meant that he left with the Golden boot, which is quite the feat for a right winger.

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I never expected the 18 year old, academy player to have a season like he did. On paper he doesn't look like much but he has been lethal all season down that right wing and has deservedly earned himself a call up tot he Wales U20 squad.

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Marsh-Brown has been a consistent performer for us this season at RB and has deservedly won Young Player of the Year. He might not grab the headlines but him and Spain have formed a very dangerous partnership on the right flank.

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No big surprise that i won Manager of the Year for the 4th time. We only lost 1 game all season, in all domestic competitions, so the aim has to be undefeated next year.


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The team of the year was pretty much just Carmarthen, with the addition of 3 players.

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Another very successful year for Carmarthen Town as we appear to of taken over Wales. Our average attendance is very slowly creeping up, as we begin to attract more fans into the ground (was 426 last year so not much of an improvement).

Getting past the 2nd qualifying round of the Champions League, has to be our main objective again for next season!


Here is an overview of the squad this season:
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I love how 7 finishing and composure along with 8 long shots bags 24 goals. You must be doing something right!
 
PatrickLFC said:
I love how 7 finishing and composure along with 8 long shots bags 24 goals. You must be doing something right!
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it's all about those phisicals. compared to the defenders in the welsh league he is Usain Bolt having a running contest with a 50 year old average joe.
 
alcool22 said:
it's all about those phisicals. compared to the defenders in the welsh league he is Usain Bolt having a running contest with a 50 year old average joe.
Click to expand...

Hahaha I know, I wonder what his conversion rate is like though :P
 
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Euro 2020 Squad

Goalkeepers
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1. Karl Darlow is likely to be my 1st choice goalkeeper. He has made a handful of appearances for Watford in the Championship this season, but has been my go to man in goal since being
appointed Wales manager.

2. Wayne Hennessey will be my back up option and has been a key player for Wigan this season. I have only played him once since becoming manager and that was when we got thrashed 5-2 in Iceland

3. You need to take 3 goalkeepers along in case of disaster and Daniel Ward is probably the best man for the job. He was loaned out to Preston from Liverpool last season and has been a regular in League One. Hopefully his services wont be required.
1. Ben Davies is our star man in the fullback position and is a massive asset to the squad. Although he has mainly been used as a substitute by Spurs he has performed well, when called upon. He was a big performer for us in Qualifying and am sure he can deliver at Euro 2020.

2. Neil Taylor is probably our 2nd most capable full back, but unfortunately has t o sit behind Davies in the pecking order. If something should happen to Davies I am confident in Taylor's ability to fill in. We have good depth in the LB position.

3. Chris Gunter is an experienced full back having won 85 caps for Wales already. He has been playing for Reading in the Premiership this season and has looked pretty good. This is likely to be his last major tournament, but am hoping his experience will pay off.

4. Adam Henley is a player I am quite fond of, but seems to be slightly under the radar. He is playing for Oxford in League One and not highly rated my many (including my assistant, Gerrard)but I am sticking my neck out and backing him. I personally think he is capable of playing in the Championship and am hoping he can repay the faith i have shown in him.



1. Jordan Williams is a young CB that has been playing well for Crystal Palace in the Championship. I rate him as our best National CB at present and at the age of 24, has many more years ahead of him.

2. Paul Dummett is possibly more natural playing down the left, but due to a lack of CB's he is required at the heart of our defence. Hopefully him and Williams can form a decent partnership in defence.

3. Ashley Williams is retiring at the end of the tournament and is well past his peak. Although his experience and leadership is invaluable and will be a massive addition to the squad.

4. Regan Poole is a young lad who is likely to be a key defender for us in a couple of years time. I threw him on for his debut against Italy in a friendly last month and managed to hold his own. He has been playing regularly for Rotherham this season and am pleased with the development he has made.

1. Aaron Ramsey is probably the best play in the squad at this time and am expecting him to deliver. Has won Welsh Player of the Year 5 consecutive times and been at the heart of Arsenal's defence for countless years now. He will be the man to pull the strings and make things happen from the midfield.

2. Joe Allen has struggled for game time at Liverpool the last couple of seasons and hasnt been performing particularly well. Despite his poor domestic form, he has the ability to be a big player for us in midfield and is likely to be in my starting lineup every game if fit.

3. Emyr Huws is currently playing his football over in Mexico after being released on a free contract 2 years ago. He is a decent player and has been the final piece of my 3 man midfield through the majority of our qualifiers and have been pleasantly impressed.

4. Lee Evans has been in fantastic form for Wolves this season in the Championship and could be in contention to start ahead of Huws, if he can impress me in the friendlies prior to the tournament. He is a useful replacement to have.

5. Joe Ledley only just made the 23 man squad, but am hoping his experience can bolster the midfield. He is heading towards the end of his career, having moved over to America to play for DC United, but is probably our most defensive minded Central Midfielder and his defensive prowess could be a big asset when facing stronger sides.

6. Jonny Williams is another late inclusion to the squad, but shows the strength in depth we have in our midfield. Although i wont necessarily need to use him, I believe he is worthy of being part of our Euro 2020 campaign.

1. Gareth Bale is our other star player alongside Aaron Ramsey and will need him to lead from the front if we are to achieve any success. Although he is a natural LW i will probably use him as a striker to best utilise our squad. He has struggled for form in Real Madrid this season making just 19 appearances and a possible move to Manchester City is on the cards.

2. Harry Wilson is a talented winger and set to be our starting RW. Frustratingly he has been kept at Liverpool all season and has struggled for game time, which has stalled his development. He is only 23 and already an integral part of my Welsh team.

3. George Williams is the reason why Bale will be playing up front. He is another young winger playing in the Premiership and has been a key player for Fulham this season. He is an experienced player and has looked good in qualifiers.

4. Lloyd Isgrove is only really in the team to provide cover on the wings. He is far from our best player but is versatile and useful addition as cover. He is currently playing his football in Scotland and has done enough to make the cut.

1. Tyler Roberts is a young striker currently contracted to West Brom in the Premiership. He has mostly been involved in reserve matches this season but have been impressed by his ability in previous Internationals and is definitely one for the future.

2. Liam Cullen is another young striker who i currently consider to be a fraction behind Roberts in terms of ability. He has however had more competitive game time with Leicester this season in the Championship and will perhaps be slightly sharper


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We have 3 friendlies prior to the start Euro 2020, where I will be looking to finalise my starting XI and perfect our formations. Belgium and Spain will provide us with some testing games and will be interesting to see how we cope. Results in these matches will give us huge confidence in our Group games.

Lets just hope for no injuries!!

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PatrickLFC said:
Hahaha I know, I wonder what his conversion rate is like though :P
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I will admit that a large number of his goals were tap ins! haha

He managed to achieve a 47% of shots on target (cant find a conversion rate %)
 
Godfish93 said:
How far are Thomas and Bradshaw off your international squad?
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Bradshaw was very close, but decided to take an extra CM rather than striker as am only playing 1 up front most of the time.

Do you mean Jamie Thomas? If so then Bradshaw and Vokes are still ahead of him in my opinion.
 
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Euro 2020 Preparations

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Our Euro 2020 preparations were pretty successful. All the games featured heavily rotated sides as i tried to figure out my starting XI for our opening match against Holland. So to come away with a win and 2 draws was very encouraging.

It was also a big moment for Ashley Williams, as he became Wales most capped player in history! A massive achievement for the skipper just before retirement.


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Our U20 side managed to come 3rd in the French Youth Invitational beating Belgium in the playoff. Carmarthen's very own Matthew Spain was an integral part of the squad

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We have been drawn a tough Group for the European League Division A, up against 2 of the best ranked European Nations. Hopefully we can avoid relegation but is going to be testing.


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Now lets get ready for Euro 2020!​
 
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Holland vs Wales

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Our opening game of Euro 2020 was against Group favourites, Holland. The game was to be played in Spain in front of a sellout crowd at the San Mamés Stadium, Bilbao. In what i anticipated to be our hardest group game, I started what i deemed to be our strongest XI.

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Half Time - The 1st half was a cagey affair with dragged by with no highlights to note, as both teams sized each other up. Harry Wilson picked up what appears to be a calf strain and will be replaced by Tyler Roberts.

52nd minute - Prommes whipped in an inch perfect cross from the right flank, finding Depay at the back post for a simple tap in. Fortunately he went a fraction to early and was caught offside to keep the scores 0-0.

61st minute - A flowing move started by Karl Darlow works its way out to Williams on the left wing, who then plays a neat one-two with Roberts putting him through on goal and neatly places the ball into the top corner beyond the sprawling Cillessen. 1-0 Wales.

70th minute - A swift Holland counter attack finds Classie in space on the edge of the area, and slips a neat ball in behind the ageing Ashely Williams who cant get back, allowing Depay to frive home the equaliser. 1-1.

79th minute - Bale cuts inside Willems onto his left foot and lets lose a rocket off a shot from just outside the area, which rattles the woodwork.

89th minute - Roberts whips in a cross from the right wing, which skims the top of the cross bar on the way through. So close to a spectacularly flukey match winner.



A fantastic performance today in our opening game against a strong Dutch side. We came to life in the 2nd half and were unlucky not to come away with the 3 points. There were some impressive performances from youngsters Williams and Roberts today which will give them massive confidence going forward. The bad news is Harry Wilson looks set to be out of action for around 2 weeks with a calf strain.

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Finland managed to pull off a shock 5-3 win over Norway in the opening round. Perhaps I underestimated Finland's ability...

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Game 2:
Norway vs Wales
(20/6/2020)

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Our second Group match came 4 days later against Norway, a team i had tipped to be a dark horse in the tournament. We were again playing in front of a sellout crowd in San Mamés, Bilbao. I had to make a number of changes, particularly at the back to compensate against fatigue. Although slightly jaded i felt i needed the likes of Bale and Ramsey in a crucial group match.

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4th minute - A floated cross from George Williams finds an unmarked Gareth Bale at the back post but Forren recovers in the nick of time to charge down the shot.

12th Minute - Wales counter from a Norway corner, as Bale ***** a perfectly weighted through ball over the top of Norway's backline, Roberts gets on the end of it but Nyland makes himself big and parries the effort to safety.

23rd minute - Taylor whips a cross in from the byline as Roberts gets ahead of Forren at the near post to head the ball in. 1-0 Wales.

57th minute - Another counter attack from Wales, as Evans slips the ball in behind the Norwegian defence, Roberts has too much pace and this time manages to put the ball past the sprawling Nyland. 2-0 Wales.

71st minute - Another cross in from Taylor down the left flank finds subsititute Liam Cullen unmarked on the penalty spot and floats a header past the wrong footed Goalkeeper. 3-0 Wales.

77th minute - Finally the Norwegian wonderkids link up as Ajer puts an inch perfect ball into the path of Ødegaard but is denied by Darlow. The rebound is then blocked by Jordan Williams and then Huws. Wales putting there bodies on the line to deny Norway.


A surprisingly comfortable victory in the end for us today. Tyler Roberts was outstanding for us today, leading the line and fellow young striker Cullen had an impact of the bench. Neither Bale or Ramsey are yet to have a major impact on proceedings, showing we are far more than just a 2 man team.

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Holland managed to beat Finland 4-1. We therefore just need a point against Finland to guarantee our progression into the knockout stages.

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Game 3:
Finland vs Wales
(23/06/2020)

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We only had 2 full days rest between matches and had to travel over 1,500km to get from Bilabo, to Rome, where we would be playing in the 70,000+ Olimpico Stadium. Not ideal circumstances and forced me to rotate the majority of the starting lineup from the Norway game, to combat fatigue. Despite the changes, I was confident of getting a result from the game, even without superstars Ramsey and Bale in the starting lineup.
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1st minute - An early freekick gave Finland an early opportunity, but Dummett won the resulting header, and started a Welsh counter attack. Gunter found himself in acres of space down the right wing to whip a cross in to the far post for Williams to tap in unopposed. What a start! 1-0 Wales.

2nd minute - Wales quickly win the ball back from the kickoff and work the ball out to Isgrove on the right wing, he beats his man and squares it to Cullen to tap in, but a Lam gets back to block what would of been a certain goal. Finland are on the ropes.

18th minute- Wales press again, as Jonny Williams bisects Finland's defence with a smart through ball straight down the middle, only for Cullen to slot in past the helpless goalkeeper. 2-0 Wales.

32nd minute - Davies sends in a deep freekick and find Huws wideopen, he has time to bring it down and shoot but Hradecky pulls off a smart save to deny him.

39th minute - Huws has the ball at his feet in the centre of the pitch assessing his options, only for Alexander Ring to dive in with a two footed tackle, missing the ball completely. The referee has no option but to send him off. Finland down to 10 men.

42nd minute - A mistake from Dummett as he rushes in to make the tackle, leaving his man. The ball finds its way to Pukki but Darlow is able to make the save.

52nd minute - Pukki again causing problems as he beats both Davies and Dummett down the right flank and manages to get a shot away, but it is from a tight angle and a simple stop for Darlow in the end.

59th minute - Dummett fails to deal with a simple cross, inadvertently knocking the ball straight into Vayrynen's path but Darlow is able to smother the ball and spare Dummett's blushes for a second time today.

87th minute - Huws drives a shot from the edge of the penalty area, which thunders into the crossbar and cleared to safety.


Were through to the knockout stages!

We completely dominated the game up until the red card, but for some reason we struggled to make use of our man advantage and let Finland back into the game. I was disappointed that we couldnt go on to win the game by a more comfortable margin, but it was a weakened starting line up our young talent stepped up tot he mark yet again.


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We ended up finishing 2nd in the group, behind Holland as they managed to score more goal, despite our equal goal difference. If only we could of made use of our man advantage and scored an extra goal for us to top the group! I am just delighted to have made it out of the groups though in all honesty.

The biggest shock was to see Belgium finish bottom in the "Group of Death".

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Our 2nd place finish in the group, draws us a tricky second round tie against France. Despite being underdogs, I am quietly confident that we can come away with a result. We have done pretty well against the bigger teams prior to the tournament, so am expecting a close match.

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Had we won the group we would of been drawn against Spain, so is possibly a good thing that we only finished 2nd.

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Well done on making the knockout stage. Now its time to really let the big boys know you mean business!
 
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2nd Round
Wales vs France
(27/06/2020)

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We had 4 days off to recover from our victory over Finland and travel up to the Amsterdam ArenA. The break meant that we were able to field a strong starting XI, with the exception of the injured, Harry Wilson. Unfortunately for us the French side looked extremely menacing and it was going to take a **** of a performance from us tonight to get a result.

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1st minute - Straight from the kick off Wales get on the attack and Roberts is able to put the ball through to the on rushing George Williams, but cant beat Lloris. What a start from Wales.

23rd minute - Kurzawa cuts the ball in from the left flank to Paul Pogba, who hits it on the volley from well outside the penalty area and the ball soares into the top corner! Darlow had no chance. 1-0 France.

65th minute - Cullen runs the ball down the right wing and digs a cross into the feet of Roberts at the near post, his touch is heavy and the defence gets across to block what looked a certain goal.

68th minute - A lovely floated freekick into the box is met by the head of Matuidi, who tries to guide it into the far corner, but is denied by an acrobatic save from Darlow.

70th minute - Davies fires in a driven cross towards the backpost straight onto the head of Liam Cullen who diverted the ball beyond Lloris for the equaliser . 1-1.

75th minute - A corner to France is met by the head of Morgan Schneiderlin who manages to squeeze the ball in off the post. 2-1 France.


Unfortunately our European Dream has come to an end at the hands of France. We gave them a good game and am proud of the teams performance, but it just wasn't to be today. We needed a moment of magic from one of our key players, but neither Ramsey or Bale managed to deliver on the big stage yet again. There has been some promising performances from our youth players and am looking forward to the start of the European League.

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I was slightly disappointed not to go a step further, but the Nation and the Welsh FA were delighted with our accomplishments. So it looks like they will trust me with the opportunity to try take Wales to there first World Cup since 1958.

Ashley Williams has playing career has now come to an end and will be proud to hold the Welsh Caps record. I will possibly try find him a job in the Welsh coaching staff or possibly even at Carmarthen. We shall see.

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Germany went on to win Euro 2020 with a 2-1 victory over England in the Final. As Harry Kane picked up the tournaments Golden Boot Award. Strangely no German players made the team of the tournament despite winning it (not sure if thats because i forgot to add the real German team).

The only Welsh Player of note was Liam Cullen who finished the tournament as joint 4th goalscorer with 4 goals. Not a bad effort from a 21 year old, mostly used as a substitute.

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Our World Ranking soared up 13 places after our Euro performance. I will be desperate our ranking as high as possible as i believe it will affect the seeding for the World Cup Qualifiers.

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Yeti01 said:
Well done on making the knockout stage. Now its time to really let the big boys know you mean business!
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Thanks mate - We gave it a good go, but ultimately the quality in there squad prevailed.
 
Hi mate - i think the world ranking affects the quality of the young regens coming through in your nation as well.

I've definitely noticed an increase in quality since the Aussie ranking has gone up.
 
Yeti01 said:
Hi mate - i think the world ranking affects the quality of the young regens coming through in your nation as well.

I've definitely noticed an increase in quality since the Aussie ranking has gone up.
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Really?!? I never really thought about that, although it is really hard to keep the ranking up when there aren't many international matches.
 
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Rankings

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We have finally made it to the top of Wales! It only took 5 seasons to knock TNS off top spot but have completed my first objective which was to make Carmarthen Town the most reputable club in Wales.

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We have soared up the European Rankings and into the top 400. A bit more success in Europe this season and I am sure we will be into the top 300 this time next year.


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The Welsh Premier League has risen half a star in reputation as we enter the top 100 competitions in Europe. Progress at last!​
 
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