| Clubs in limbo for another eight days |
| Sunday 09 May 2010 |
 PLANNING for next season's Welsh Premier remains in limbo at several clubs for at least another eight days. The management at Bala Town, Haverfordwest and Newtown still hold out hopes of making the cut for next season's 12-club league as they await the decisions of the FAW's licensing appeals panel on Monday May 17. Top-10 finishers Bangor City, Rhyl and Airbus UK Broughton have yet to obtain their licences, along with Cymru Alliance champions Llangefni Town and Welsh League promotion hopefuls Afan Lido. Failure of any to win their appeals would open the door for clubs that finished eleventh and lower to gain a place in the new 'elite' league. Bala boss Colin Caton admits that formulating a playing squad is difficult in the current circumstances, especially recruiting any new players, without knowing which league the club will be playing in next season. However, reports from Maes Tegid suggest that, irrespective of the licensing outcome, the Lakesiders will retain a similar playing budget next season in a determined bid for a swift return to the top flight should they be relegated. Haverfordwest are also monitoring the licensing process closely as they await the outcome, which could plunge them into the Welsh League's Division One. Meanwhile, Newtown chairman Mike Jones (pictured) says the uncertainty is making it possible for other clubs to recruit players from Latham Park and has called for the licensing rules to be strictly applied. "We knew last summer that there were two competitions taking place this season - one to gain a domestic licence and another to achieve a top 10 finish," he says. "We rose to the licensing challenge thanks to the experience and expertise gained over recent seasons and, if we had mobilised the same resources and demonstrated the same clarity of purpose on the footballing challenge, we would achieved our objective of a top 10 finish. "We failed and we have only ourselves to blame for that but, when we entered the licensing and football competitions this season, the rules for both were perfectly clear and it was a level playing field for everyone. "Each club could choose how to allocate its resources - some clubs were able to spend heavily on both objectives and all credit to them. "For many however, it was an either/or situation with some clubs spending more on the team and others on the licence. "Many clubs spent heavily on their teams and achieved a top 10 finish but were refused a licence on the 31 March deadline. "I fully accept the rules of the football competition and won't be demanding a replay of those games we lost. "Equally, I expect the licensing rules to be imposed and accepted in exactly the same way. "As things stand at the moment nine clubs have achieved a licence and Newtown FC is one of them. "We therefore at this moment remain as proud, founding members of the Welsh Premier league until such time as we are told differently and we can only hope that we have the opportunity to fulfill our potential as a genuine premier league club," he added. |