Mood is buoyant at Glantraeth awards night despite club refusing promotion
DESPITE the fact the club has decided not to accept promotion to the Huws Gray Alliance, there was still a great atmosphere in the Joiners Arms, Malltraeth, as Glantraeth celebrated an incredibly successful season.
Kieren Jeffreys was the supporters’ choice as Player of the Year and his name will also be inscribed on the Len Jones Memorial Shield presented to the club by Len’s son, Aled.
Defender Iolo Hughes was the manager’s choice of Player of the Year, while 59-goal machine Corrig McGonigle picked up two awards, Leading Goalscorer presented by last year’s winner Mark Bridge, and Players’ Player of the Year.
Jamie Jones recorded the most appearances with 37.
Welsh Alliance League champions Glantraeth have decided not to move up to the Huws Gray Alliance.
The Anglesey club won the Division One title by 16 points, but have chosen to stay where they are in the thirdtier.
Glantraeth held a club meeting after which a statement was released.
It said: “In the past we have always accepted promotion from the Welsh Alliance and have enjoyed considera- ble success at the higher level. It was then a comparatively easy decision to make.
“However, it is now a whole new ball game with the huge changes to the criteria for membership of the Huws Gray Alliance that have been introduced.
“A 250-seater stand as required within two years is simply not possible on our privately owned ground, that is a fact.
“So accepting promotion would mean making a big commitment but with no long-term future in the higher league as we would be relegated back to the Welsh Alliance, no matter what our league position, due to not meeting the ground criteria as specified by the FAW.
“That would be an indignity in itself and hardly registers as progress. It would not give us the kind of stability we want so have decided we would be better served by continuing to operate and build as a Welsh Alliance club.”
Glantraeth secretary Stan Strickland added: “We might be accused of lacking ambition but this is a dilemma that many clubs in the Welsh Alliance are going to have to face in future if they finish in a promotion position. Our landowner Iolo Owen has generously allowed us to play on his land for over 30 years. He has allowed us to develop a tidy little ground that more than satisfies the kind of crowds we get and has in the past comfortably accommodated up to 500 for Welsh Cup ties, against Rhyl for example, but erecting a 250-seat stand that will rarely see more than 20 mseated spectators is a step too far. It would verge on a seat for every person in the village!
“The FAW have introduced these changes at Tier 2 level to bring the ground criteria closer to the Welsh Premier League and they are no doubt under pressure from UEFA. But there is a real danger of a huge gap developing, resulting in what will effectively be a two-tier pyramid divorced from the rest.
“We have spoken to many clubs in our league and those views are shared by most who are unable or unwilling to meet the revised ground criteria either because of the prohibitive cost to clubs, even after allowing for grant funding, or through taking the view that the requirements are well out of proportion to the size of their supporter base. The word ‘ridiculous’ has Picture: Aled Jones been used more than once! Accepting promotion would mean being involved in a league knowing we will be forcibly relegated no matter how well we perform on the pitch because we are not able to meet the ground criteria. Why should we subject ourselves to that?
“There is still much to look forward to in the Welsh Alliance. We still have hopes of one day winning the FAW Trophy, the Mawddach Cup (formerly the Barritt Cup) continues to evade us, there is still the Welsh Cup and there could be as many as 11 Anglesey clubs in the league next season making for strong local rivalry that always attracts good crowds.
“We appreciate there will be disappointment after all we have achieved this season. Some of our players will be happy to continue in the Welsh Alliance while others are ambitious to play at a higher level. We respect that and accept that some might leave, but I believe the decision we have made is the right one for the club.”
Glantraeth completed a double when winning the Cookson Cup.
They were runners-up in the Mawddach Cup, narrowly missing out on a treble after losing to Llanrug United on penalties in the final.