Crossing the divide

STEVE KENNEDY reports on the experiences of Colway Bay and Merthyr Tydfil – Welsh clubs playing in England…

EVERY now and again the suggestion that Scottish giants Rangers and Celtic could join the English Football League is mooted – and shot down – by the FA, clubs and fans south of the border.

However, less fuss is made about the teams from Wales who compete in the English leagues away from the somewhat overlooked Welsh League – which is currently ranked the 50th of 54 European leagues by UEFA, ahead only of competitions in San Marino, Gibraltar, Andorra and the Faroe Islands.

As of this season, six football clubs from the country ply their trade in England to varying success.

Swansea City – arguably the country’s biggest and brightest – play their football in the Premier League whilst Cardiff City are in the Championship.

Newport County compete in League Two and Wrexham currently sit just outside of the Football League in the Vanarama National League – both achieving modest success and drawing respectable crowds.

However, below that it’s a tough picture for the country’s other two imports. Merthyr Town and Colwyn Bay play their football in the Southern Premier League and the Northern Premier League Division One North respectively – tiers seven and eight of the English football pyramid.

So what does it say for Welsh football if clubs would rather play at Non-League level in England than compete in their own country’s higher divisions?

“Colwyn Bay were already in the English pyramid before the Welsh Premier League was introduced in the early 1990s and at that time we were very successful,” explained chairman David Titchiner.

“Because we naturally wanted to continue that hard-earned progress rather than step backwards into a fledgling Welsh League, we were forced into exile by the FA of Wales, meaning we had to play all our home games in England.

“The club had to fight a long, bitter and very expensive legal battle for the right to return to our Llanelian Road home in Colwyn Bay whilst staying in the English system. We eventually won our case in the High Court in London.

“The club still feel there are more opportunities to progress and grow in England rather than in a 'closed shop' Welsh Premier.”

It’s a similar story at the other end of the country as well - 163 miles away in Merthyr, the south Wales side are toiling away in the Southern Premier League, looking to make their way up the English pyramid.

“At the time of the formation of the League of Wales, it was felt there were far more opportunities for clubs to progress – such as promotion to a higher standard of football within the English pyramid system as well as the opportunity to enter the FA Cup,” said Merthyr Town communications officer Matthew Davies.

Playing your football in a separate country to the one you operate in is not just a jurisdiction issue. Long commutes can be a financial burden whilst attracting part-time players can also prove challenging.

Colwyn Bay – who average around 315 fans for their home games – find their closest away match just over 60 miles from their Llanelian Road home when they take the ‘short’ trip to Merseyside-based Prescot Cables.

In contrast, their longest away-day sees them travel almost 190 miles to Scarborough Athletic on the east side of England.

For Merthyr Town, however, the closest trip they get to enjoy is the 98-mile journey to Cirencester Town whilst the unenviable trip to King’s Lynn Town is a cool 240-mile roadtrip each way and sees the south Wales team journey the width of England.

For part-time clubs – and potential players – the prospect of leaving Wales and trawling across England for midweek fixtures could be one that’s rather off-putting.

Colwyn Bay have used their links to the north of England to their advantage, however, and have managed to fill their squad with a significant number of English players from the surrounding border counties who are willing to fight for the Welsh cause.

“Being in North Wales, there a lot of clubs in the Evo-Stik NPL Division One North or National League North not that far away and can be easily reached by the motorway network in a couple of hours or so,” said Titchiner. “There are a couple of long trips, but that's no different to having to travel four hours or so to some of the South Wales-based clubs.

“Most of the players come from the Merseyside, Wirral and Cheshire areas where there is a much greater population and more clubs playing at our level.

“We do have some North Wales-based players and a very healthy reserve, youth team and academy network which is looking