JUSTIN EDINBURGH LEAVES NEWPORT COUNTY

29 April 2014
Last updated at 15:24

League 2 side Newport County today announced that manager Justin Edinburgh 'mutually departed' the club with immediate effect.

The former Tottenham full back had been in the role since October 2011 when he took over the then struggling conference league side from Anthony Hudson.

Under his tenure he not only took the club to safety but he took them to the finals of the FA Trophy, in which they lost 2-0 to York City. In his first full season in charge of the club he guided the club to promotion via the play-offs at the expense of fellow Welsh side Wrexham. This marked the return of league football to Newport since the 1980's.

Despite a strong start to the season, Newport had a disappointing end to the season. Problems with the pitch at Rodney Parade resulted in a series of rearranged matches and a congested fixture list. The Exiles had been early contenders for a another play-off run with early form, but from December onwards this plummeted. County succeeded in picking up only four wins since Boxing Day. Chairman Les Scadding cited this as the main reason for his decision in letting Edinburgh go.

"Justin Edinburgh will forever be remembered by this club and its fans as the man who restored this club to where it should be," he announced as part of a press release on the clubs official site.

"In my brief time as chairman of this club I have appreciated all the effort Justin and his coaching staff put into the team week in and week out. However, the board could not ignore the slump the team went through for the entirety of this year. Whilst we do appreciate there were problems with the pitch - which will be corrected in this coming pre-season - we felt we had to act with the best interests of the club."

"We thank Justin and wish him all the best for the future."

Assistant Jimmy Dack is also understood to have also left with Edinburgh. It is understood coach Wayne Hatswell will oversee temporary running of the club.

Newport County! I have a soft spot for them, good luck!

NEWPORT COUNTY APPOINT OSIAN ROBERTS AS MANAGER

18 May 2014
Last updated at 14:52

FAW Technical Director and Welsh national coach Osian Roberts has been appointed as the new manager of League 2 side Newport County.

Anglesey born Roberts, 45, has replaced Justin Edinburgh in the role who left the club last month after a dismal end to the last season.

Despite having a small reputation, Osian Roberts has been described by some as the 'the most influential man in Welsh football' - having been part of the national set up since the mid nineties in a variety of roles from managing at youth levels, to coaching the national team and most recently being the Technical Director. Roberts had a modest playing career, only playing for Bangor City. He started managing whilst out in America on a scholarship in New Mexico becoming a player-manager at the age of 27.

The rest of his managerial experience comes in the Welsh Premier League with stints at Porthmadog and Rhyl.

Speaking today at his unveiling Roberts spoke of his excitement to be back in management.

"To be presented with the opportunity to take charge of a club like Newport is exciting to me. There is so much in place here already for me to come into and put my own influence and ideas into. I feel like we could do something really special here

"I am willing to use all my experiences as a coach to create a level of football befitting of this team and its fans."

Former Wales international and BBC Sport pundit John Hartson spoke highly of Osian Roberts when asked about his appointment at Newport County.

"I had the pleasure of working alongside Osian in my time of being assistant manager to Wales. For me this is a great chance for him to finally get the credit he deserves as a coach. He has given so much to Welsh football and yet got such little credit to him.

"Its great seeing a team in Wales appoint an exciting Welsh coach. I really hope this works out as it could be something special."

Very good choice of manager!

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NEWPORT COUNTY SEASON PREVIEW

Compiled by Michael Pearlman

So round two in League 2 begins for County this week away at Accrington Stanley, a repeat of the opening fixture last season albeit at Rodney Parade. The end of last season saw the departure of Justin Edinburgh and the arrival of Osian Roberts in the managerial position. The fan reaction to this was mixed - whilst many were happy the board acting on the prolonged period of poor form shown by the Exiles at the end of last season the decision of Roberts has brought some concern. Many fans have the memory of Anthony Hudson still in their brains - the highly rated coach with limited managerial experience. It was the struggles Hudson suffered that led to the appointment of Edinburgh in the first place. However, encouraging performances in pre-season have led to some early season optimism.

Pre-Season Friendly Results

Squad

Goalkeepers
- Simon Thomas
- Jamie Stephens
- David Cornell

Defenders
- Andy Sandell
- Kevin Feely
- Ismail Yakubu
- Andrew Hughes
- Byron Anthony
- Christian Ribeiro
- Darcy Blake
- Darren Jones

Midfielders
- Kyle de Silva
- Robbie Wilmott
- Yan Klukowski
- Mark Byrne
- Adam Chapman
- Henry Jones
- Michael Flynn

Strikers
- Chris Zebroski
- Christian Jolley
- Danny Crow
- Rene Howe
- Shaun Jeffers

Transfers In

Darren Jones - AFC Wimbledon (Free)
Yan Klukowski - Forest Green Rovers (Free)
Kevin Feely - Charlton Athletic (Free)
Mark Byrne - Barnet FC (Free)
Simon Thomas - Vancouver Whitecaps (Free)
Christian Ribeiro - Scunthorpe United (Free)
Henry Jones - Swansea City (Loan)
David Cornell - Swansea City (Loan)
Kyle de Silva - Crystal Palace (Loan)

Transfers Out

David Pipe - Forest Green Rovers (Released)
Aaron Holloway - Unattached(Released)
Harry Worley - Stevenage (Released)
Ryan Burge - Unattached (Released)
Max Porter - Bristol Rovers (Released)
Aaron O'Connor - Unattached (Released)
Lenny Pidgeley - Unattached (Released)
Lee Minshull - Unattached (Released)
Ryan Jackson - Unattahced (Released)

Key Player

Darcy Blake



Osian Robert's biggest achievement as Newport County manager so far is keeping Welsh international Darcy Blake on for another season. Blake joined the Exiles midway through last season after being released by Premiership side Crystal Palace in a bid to keep up fitness. However, Roberts has convinced Blake to stay on at the club for at least one more year and he is bound to reap the results. Versatile in both defence and midfield, with the added benefit of a good pre-season behind him - Blake could start to show the promise he showed whilst he was a youngster at Cardiff City.

What are your plans with Danny Crow? Not sure how he goes on FM14 but I remember him from previous editions.

#feedthecrow #andhewillscore

2014-09-07 00:25#193490 Griffo : What are your plans with Danny Crow? Not sure how he goes on FM14 but I remember him from previous editions.

#feedthecrow #andhewillscore

Haha, now I'm all done updating I can finally thank you for your interest!

And yeah, I did try getting rid of Crow but I couldn't fit him out the door (read: he rejected a bid from Barnet). He was one of a few I tried to shift out due to wages - but none of the clubs would bite. Then again, he did absolutely boss against Donny' so who knows.

For those who want to join on the Danny Crow chat but don't know who he is here's a picture for reference. He's worse in real life. Trust me. I pay money to see him play.

Yeh when I started my Truro save, my friend was Newport and it was an argument over who was better between Danny Crow and Stewart Yetton.

Newport County 3 - 0 Accrington Stanley

Rene Howe (NEW) 1'
Shaun Jeffers (NEW) 73'
Danny Crow (NEW) 82'

3 August 2014
Last updated at 18:04

Newport County got the season campaign off to strong start with a convincing win over a poor Accrington.

Stanley didn't have a chance to touch the ball before County got their first goal. After a piece of possession play from County straight from the kick off Danny Crow headed the ball through to Rene Howe for the striker to score the first goal of the League 2 season.

The first half then showed a number of equal chances for either team. Danny Crow and Michael Flynn had chances to increase Newport's early lead whilst George Bowerman tested their resolve the other end. The best chance for an equaliser presented itself for Euan Purcell in the fortieth minute. Will Hatfield played a perfect lobbed pass that went over the County defence but fell perfectly for Purcell. His first touch made keeper Simon Thomas, who was already rushing off his line, go the wrong way. However, the shot went high and wide - much to the groans of the The Crown Ground faithful.

Deep in the second half County decided to make the most of the chances that were coming their way. In the seventy second minute substitute Shaun Jeffers blasted a shot from the far end of the box into the far end of the net.

Ten minutes later Howe returned the favour and set up Danny Crow with a neat pass for the later to make it a good debut for Osian Roberts new look County.

Teams

Accrington Stanley: Vigouroux, Winnard, Aldred (Hunt 74'), Edwards, Liddle, McCartan (Naismith 45'), Joyce (c), Hatfield, Mingoia, Bowerman, Purcell (Gray 51')

Substitutes: Dawber, Buxton, Stewart, Hewitt

Newport County: Thomas, Ribeiro (Anthony 64'), Feely, Jones (c), Sandell, Blake, Jones, Flynn (de Silva 45'), Adam Chapman (Jeffers 64'), Howe, Crow

Substitutes: Cornell, Hughes, Klukowski, Jolley

Wednesday 7th August


Way back in the day, when we were in Premier League, I used to like the League Cup. I think I was the only one of my mates who did. It made sense for a team like us then who were destined for the mediocrity of mid table. It was a decent chance outside of the FA Cup to have a good chance of actually achieving something.

Oh how I long for those mediocre Premier League days.

http://www.lesoir.be/sites/default/files/imagecache/475x317/2012/11/01/964084523_ID3455700_01_bob_be_111359_025HER_0.JPG

Now the League Cup is nothing but a drag. Why is the 1st Round two/three days after the opening game and the amount of time before the second league game. It acts as a massive distraction, a drain on players fitness and, more worryingly, another chance for someone to pick up an injury or suspension.

It's also terrible when you lose - embarrassingly lose.

Okay, its early days for Mr Peeters. You can see the system he's trying to put in place. We're certainly not shy of having chances on goal - it's just finishing them which is our problem.

Ten shots at goal against Brighton this past Saturday. Three on target. No goals.

Fifteen shots today against Newport. Three on target. No goals.

Newport on the other hand? Four shots on goal. Three on target. Two goals. Clearly they know the secret that's been hidden from us.

Whereas on paper this looks like a good ol' cup upset, but with not wanting to sound bitter and along with looking at the stats Newport were quite lucky to get the result they got. As I said, we had a high amount of shots, we just couldn't find the goal. We also had the better share of possession. They were just more clinical with their finishing through Adam Chapman.


I was more gutted about realised that former Tottenham defender Justin Edinburgh had left County in the pre-season. I couldn't translate my pre-prepared insults for him to new gaff' Osian Roberts, who in fairness has got his team playing as a cohesive unit in a short amount of time. I would put money on them doing well in League 2 this season.

The draw happened earlier today. The Exiles have been placed with an away trip to Norwich City. Good luck to them.