Somewhere Beyond The League: Everything is coming up Exiles…..

August 25, 2012 in Features, Non-League

It appears that nothing can go wrong for Newport County as of late.

Three wins from three games see Justin Edinburgh’s men sit pretty at the top of the Blue Square Premier and now they have a millionaire in their midsts. Les Scadding recently won £45 million on the Euromillions and has now accepted the offer to become the Exiles new chairman, replacing current incumbent David Hando. He will stay on as honourary president.

Scadding told the South Wales Press this about becoming the new head honcho;

I think it’s a feeling of every one of us being in this together and wanting the club to go forward, we have a shared vision for the club.

I am happy to do the job because I know I’m getting all the support from my fellow board members and other people around.

It’s not a case of one person being on their own, we are a team. We all want to see County back in the Football League.

Scadding has said though, he won’t be pumping money into the club at will – probably scared of what happened to the likes of Darlington – he instead will focus of making the club into a sustainable business model, to help realise his dream, and the dream of all the fans by getting back into the Football League.

The Welsh club has gone in the right direction to gain promotion from non-league, winning three on the bounce – with Aaron O’Connor scoring five already in this campaign. The gaffer Justin Edinburgh won’t be buying the bunting and breaking out the champagne yet, but he will be pleased with the way that Newport have started – and they’ve played some fantastic football. They’ll be hoping to make it four from four as they face Alan Devonshire’s Braintree – who have picked up four points from their opening three games, losing last week 3-0 to AFC Telford United.

The same can’t be said for Kidderminster, who have lost all three of their games so far in the league. Two tough opening games against Luton and Lincoln, before squandering the lead twice against Mansfield in midweek. Steve Burr has promised to make changes for the visit of newly promoted Dartford (who I will be covering later on) and I reckon Harriers fans will be expecting a change in fortune sooner, rather than later.

Hereford United are also unbeaten with seven points and will be up against Ebbsfleet United, who have had a mixed bag in the first few games. Winning 5-4 against Nuneaton, before a loss and a draw is quite a rollercoaster start for Liam Daish, who will want some stability, but may not get it, going against the unbeaten Bulls.

Also Luton Town should be good value for a win against AFC Telford United, Cambridge United are up against Nuneaton and early surprise package Tamworth are facing Southport.

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The FA Cup is also well and truly underway, with semi-pro and amateur teams across the land looking to realize the dream and get that big cup tie against Premier League opposition. Wembley FC are an almost bought and paid for fairytale story, with the club being controlled by FA Cup sponsors Budweiser. While it seems they’ve dressed up a club into a football version of TOWIE (they have their own reality TV show on ESPN) it is a good money-spinning, and it does mean their qualifying matches are shown on TV. They face Uxbridge, who will no doubt be looking to rewrite the script, and get one over on this team of now, semi-pro players and footballing legends.

Ugo Ehiogu will also be making his bow for Wembley in this game, signing on a one-game deal. I am keeping him, and the term legend apart – for common sense reasons.

Wootton Bassett Town will be hoping for a glory run as they face Hamworthy United. Made all the more interesting as the military base town doesn’t pay their players – its all for the love of the game. They’ve done brilliant well this season top of the table with 10 points, so they might be a force in the FA Cup preliminaries.  FA Vase winners Dunston UTS will be hoping to get to Wembley one more time as they start the preliminary round against Celtic Nation, which sounds like a cult – i’m certain their not though. Finally, AFC Liverpool of the North-West Counties Football League will be looking for an upset against Prescot Cables.

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Last week, I picked three teams to follow throughout the season – so lets have a look at how my picks have done so far.

Blue Square Premier – Dartford FC

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

They haven’t got to the best of starts….actually they’ve started terribly, An opening day 3-2 loss to Tamworth was followed by a 1-0 loss at Woking and then a 2-0 loss away at Macclesfield. However, they have winless Kidderminster at home this weekend – so hope springs eternal for Tony Burman’s boys.

Conference North & South  -Vauxhall Motors

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Motormen have won one, lost one in their opening two games this season. They started proceeding by beating Corby 1-0, skipper Tom Hannigan pressing home the advantage. They then lost 3-1 to Bradford Park Avenue, but have strengthened their ranks by signing  James Ellison from Southport and Morecambe’s Dan Parkinson.

Level 7 Leagues and Lower: Ryman League Division One South – Romford

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Romford have disappointing thus far, losing both of their games in the league. Losing 2-1 to Redbridge on the opening day, then 3-1 away at Thamesmead. They have Waltham Forest in the FA Cup this weekend, so hopefully that will be a welcome distraction.

That’s your lot for this week – the season is really starting to take shape and remember – there’s always football closer than you think, and its always somewhere, beyond the league.

 

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