I seem to recognize your face - Newport County

Johnstone’s Paint Trophy – South Final, Leg 1

We couldn’t ask for a much better result from the away leg. We notched two away goals and head home with one foot firmly in the doorway to the final. Chalk this one up to a good team effort. We played good defense overall, only allowing three shots on goal all day. Unfortunately one got through, but we managed to fight back for the win. And fittingly enough it was a defender that notched the eventual game winning goal!

Johnstone’s Paint Trophy – South Final, Leg 2

We made good on our opening 2-1 away win with a matching 2-1 win at home. We were in control for most of the game until the last half hour or so, when Stevenage scored their only goal and threatened a handful of times for the tying score. And to be honest I think we got a bit of a favor from the refs because I think Stevenage’s penalty cries were warranted!

We’re onto the final to defend the cup and we will match up against League 2 members York.

League Table

We certainly reversed our bad fortune from January! We were unbeaten through the month of February and looked comfortable in doing so. We swept past Stevenage in the JPT to book a date in the final and found adequate depth to go unbeaten in our league games as well. Our lead at the top of the table has exploded to 15 points ahead of 2nd place Millwall with two games in hand. We are 17 points clear of 3rd place Crewe also with two games in hand. When asked about who I thought would win the league this month, I boldly proclaimed that we would! To get closer to that goal we will face off against Swindon (5), Rochdale (7), Portsmouth (16), AFC Wimbledon (19), Oxford (9), and Tranmere (24). Our magic number to clinch the league is now in sight – 13 points.

Transfers

No new faces this month.

Woo! Go joannes! Waiting for another trophy in your cabinet haha!

March 2015

vs Swindon

And there goes the fabulous winning streak. I decided to give Guy Madjo a spot start at poacher and we couldn’t score a goal. Should I have started Birchall who was perfectly fit and is on a fantastic run of form? Probably. Will this loss matter in the end? Probably Not. Magic number – 13.

vs Rochdale

This game makes me feel a little sillier about the previous one. Why didn’t I start Adam Birchall again? Rochdale did a great job of bottling up our offense but Birchall still found a way through. His early goal ended up being the only one score in the game. Magic number – 10.

vs Portsmouth

The good news is we won this game quite convincingly and clinched a playoff bid in the process. The bad news is we lost starting wide midfielder Daniel Jones (fractured ribs) for 7-8 weeks. Magic number – 6.

vs AFC Wimbledon

What an ugly game. We had less than 40% possession and I was frustrated by our inability to do much on the offensive end of things. Blah. Magic number – 2.

vs Oxford

What a perfect setting! A game at home against a team that we are favored against, and a win seals the league crown! Naturally we came out flat. We scored seconds before halftime and held that lead until the very end of the match. Then we switched off and allowed a last minute goal that made me facepalm. Magic number – 1.

vs Tranmere

After coming up just seconds short in our last game, we finished the drill this time around. This time it was our turn to strike late, thanks to a late substitution and a goal that came well into stoppage time. So with five games to spare we have done it once again! Another league crown and another promotion!

League Table

What started off with a loss ended with a win that secured the League 1 crown and automatic promotion to the Championship. We will be one step closer to accomplishing the first goal I have at Newport, which is to reach the Premier League. Our insurmountable lead at the top of the table is now a staggering 19 points ahead of 2nd place Colchester. Our final opponents this season will be Swindon (5), Walsall (12), Scunthorpe (10), Preston (6), and Oxford (11).

With nothing left really to play for, we have a very realistic shot at breaking the record for most team points, currently held by Charlton (101 points, 2011/12). 9 points in 5 games should be very reachable if we stay motivated.

Transfers

No new faces this month.

This story is quite familiar and you, sir, have quite an old face
Rocking to the top Joannes, well done! You'll be Champions of Europe in seasons at this rate

April 2015

vs Swindon

And it looks like the switching off has begun. Nobody looked terribly interested in this game, but even then we had a chance to salvage a draw. Giving away all the points in the dying minutes was especially annoying, and I’m hoping that maybe it helps motivates the guys to finish out the season strong.

vs Walsall

Yet another bland game where we relied on our defense to carry us to victory. We scored the game’s only goal within the first half hour and shut down the opposition for the remaining 60 minutes. The only thing that broke the boredom was an injury scare to Alan Julian. Our starting keeper had already gone down once this year, and while an injury wouldn’t have changed anything so late in the season, you never want to see one of your guys get hurt.

vs Scunthorpe

Now that’s more like it! The defense was there, as we’ve counted on so often, and our offense came through in a big way. Adam Birchall continues to shine with two more goals, bringing his league total to 36 in 41 games and 50 in 54 games overall.

vs Preston

With only this game and one more remaining, we still have a shot at setting the points record for the league which currently sits at 101. We have 100 points going into the final game and I’m still unsure whether I will field our entire starting unit or not. We lost the possession battle by a landslide and were fortunate to get a draw in this match. One thing’s for sure – we will need to get stronger offensively next season so our defense doesn’t have to carry such a heavy load.

vs Oxford

I decided to field a very strong side, and as luck would have it we fell short in our goal of setting the points record for League 1. Go figure. What’s worse is that we played a very strong game. We allowed a decent goal 30 minutes in and had several chances to at least tie the game, if not win by a comfortable margin.

Johnstone’s Paint Trophy – Final

We added another bit of silverware to the trophy cabinet as we successfully defended the JPT! This game got off to a fast start as both teams scored within the first 10 minutes of the match. In fact, a total of five goals were scored before the half as we went in leading 3-2. Two more quick goals were scored around the hour mark before we shut down the opposing offense for good. And look at the final stat sheet! 8 shots put on target between both teams, 7 goals scored between both teams.

We lost starting center mid Lee Evans due to a fractured wrist that ends his season early. He will be out 7-8 weeks with only two weeks remaining.

League Table

What started off with a loss ended with a win that secured the League 1 crown and automatic promotion to the Championship. We will be one step closer to accomplishing the first goal I have at Newport, which is to reach the Premier League. Our insurmountable lead at the top of the table is now a staggering 19 points ahead of 2nd place Colchester. Our final opponents this season will be Swindon (5), Walsall (7), Scunthorpe (16), Preston (19), and Oxford (24).

With nothing left really to play for, we have a very realistic shot at breaking the record for most team points, currently held by Charlton (101 points, 2011/12). 9 points in 5 games should be very reachable if we stay motivated.

Transfers

No new faces this month.

You're making the rest of us story-writers look bad with this story
Keep it going!

Competitions

npower League 1



FA Cup



Capital One Cup



Johnstone’s Paint Trophy



Transfers


First Team



Summary

Our fantastic voyage continues as we’ve made it three straight promotions and three straight league crowns! Can we cross one final hurdle and get to the Premier League in a dream run from the Blue Square Premier? At this point, why not believe? We’ve steamrolled through leagues so far but I have no illusions of doing so in the Championship. I fully expect a fight for a promotion spot with teams that are likely our financial superiors. I fear that even our best tactics will fall short against superior talent over the course of a long league season. Along with another league crown, we also bagged the Johnstone’s Paint Trophy for a second straight year. We also had a fantastic run in the Capital One Cup and a decent one in the FA Cup as well. All in all it was yet another fantastic year for the club.

Once again we will look to strengthen our roster as we will face stonger competition in the Championship. Our assistant manager (11CA, 14PA) has me feeling decent about the current roster and some key prospects.

At keeper we will bank on Alan Julian being able to step up to the task once again against tougher competition. Joe Fryer will be his main backup and we’ll look to get him on the pitch more often to help harness some of the potential he’s showing.

Our back line proved to be our strongest unit, which speaks highly of them given their age (average age of 21!). I highly doubt there will be any changes to this group and I hope we can keep them together for a long time. Alex Coleman and Ian Lewis have become a fantastic duo in central defense, with Chris Devaney getting playing time in that rotation as well. Full backs Nortei Nortey and Blair Adams are also doing well and provide a good mix of both defensive ability with some surprising attacking ability at times.

Midfield is the area that will likely see the most change. At right wide midfield we will start integrating Tom Boyle into the rotation as he has the potential to be the kind of explosive wing player we lack. At BWM, it may be time for a full rework. We have a promising youngster in Tom Hurley but I would like to work him slowly into the role as a backup first. I don’t know what to do at the AP spot. Both Lee Evans and Archie Love are decent, but they aren’t great. Both posted 7+ average ratings but neither stood out as the kind of playmaker we need at the heart of our midfield. I’d love to find a big time starter here. At left wide midfield we need to look for a long term solution. Daniel Jones is a solid player but I’d love to find a youngster with potential to back him up.

At striker we might have some changes and it all depends on how Adam Birchall looks in the Championship. He looked magnificent once again in League 1 but I really don’t know if he can pull off the same feats one league higher. If not, Abiola Badirou will side over to the poacher role and David Moli will step in as our trequart. Moli is one of two bring young strikers that should be contending for playing time on the first team very soon.

Well, we bought our stadium this past year! The next orders of business will be to get the stadium expanded so we can increase ticket revenue. A stadium with a capacity of five thousand will not cut it in the Championship and I’m hoping the board agrees with me! After that I’m hoping we can start improving the training and youth facilities.

Well that didn’t take long!



I thought I’d try to strike while the iron is hot and it worked! The same day we completed the purchase of our current grounds I walked into the boardroom to ask about expansion. I thought I had a decent shot at getting the board’s approval, given the wave of good fortune we’ve had lately – another league crown, another promotion, successfully retaining the JPT. I was a bit nervous when my only option was to ask for an entirely new ground but I decided to go for it any way. Well wouldn’t you know it, the board agreed with me! The 41m project will more than triple our current stadium’s capacity and I’m excited at the prospect of playing in Newport Co Stadium next year!

Friendlies 2015

I really wish we could’ve scheduled some bigger games. Nobody was available, though, other than foreign teams that would’ve cost us more money than we would’ve received at the gate. So we hit nearby teams for ~25k profit each time and steamrolled each one of them.

Abiola Badirou looked real comfortable at poacher; bagging 8 goals and 5 assists in 7 games. Alan Connell also looked good as trequart, bagging 5 goals and 4 assists in 3 games. This was against inferior competition, though. We’ll see soon enough how we look against more fitting opponents as we open up the season in the Capital One Cup against League 2 side Exeter.

Summer Transfers

Filipe Morais gives us depth at both wide midfield positions and can also play striker and center mid in a pinch.


Ben Pearson becomes the backup Advanced Playmaker. Our scouts love his potential and he has time to develop behind Lee Evans.


Lloyd Dyer steps in as the new starter at left wide midfielder, but he will likely be part of a steady rotation with last year’s starter, Daniel Jones. Both are mediocre and we still need an upgrade here.


Alfred Mugabo joins us on loan for the season and will be a backup at right wide midfield. Youth will certainly be served at this position as the 19 year old Mugabo will rotate with 19 year old starter Tom Boyle.


Alan Connell is more of a poacher but he will be a trequart for us. He is the starter for now but he will eventually give way to David Moli.


Matty Pearson gives us more depth on the back line. He can spell any of our four starters and depth will be needed as usual in a 46 game season.


Ken Foster is a long term project that we will groom as a trequart. He already has promising pace and flair so I’m hoping we can mold this 16 year old into our playmaker of the future.


George Clarke is another longer term project. This project came with a 12k price tag, however. He will also be groomed as a playmaker, this time as a central midfielder.

Total money spent – 12k

August 2015

vs West Ham

Our league opener could’ve been disastrous, starting our campaign against a West Ham team that just got relegated after a 3 year run in the Premier League. Allowing an early goal in the first half didn’t help things, either. Newcomer Lloyd Dyer notched his first goal to grab a tie, however!

vs Crystal Palace

We notched our first league win with a gritty performance on the road. We played defensive football for most of this match and it worked out. Lee Evans missed a sitter in the first half that could’ve made this game a lot more comfortable, but instead we went into the half leading 1-0 after a fantastic David Moli strike on a counterattack. The defense did the rest, frustrating Crystal Palace into only putting 2 of 13 shots on target.

vs Barnsley

This match felt great! Our offense was once again limited, but we put home all three shots we attempted. Adam Birchall showed that he’s still got the touch, bagging a brace in his first start of the season.

vs Colchester

We can consider ourselves lucky after this game. After the previous 2 hour affair in the Capital One Cup we had to start four new faces due to fatigue. Our offense looked horrendous and didn’t get a single shot off. And while our defense allowed tons of shots overall, we only allowed three on target and Alan Julian didn’t allow any through.

Backup center back Chris Devaney bruised his ribs in this game and will be out 6-9 days.