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Aberystwyth Town F.C.

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Aberystwyth Town
Full nameAberystwyth Town Football Club
Nickname(s)Seasiders
Black and Greens
Founded1884; 140 years ago (1884)
GroundPark Avenue, Aberystwyth
Capacity5,000 (1,500 seated)
ChairmanDonald Kane
ManagerDave Taylor (interim)
LeagueCymru Premier
2023–24Cymru Premier, 10th of 12
Websitewww.atfc.org.uk

Aberystwyth Town Football Club (Welsh: Clwb Pêl-Droed Tref Aberystwyth) is a Welsh semi-professional football team, currently playing in the Cymru Premier, the top tier of football in Wales. They are the only top flight men's football team in Ceredigion.

The club was founded in 1884,[1] and plays at Park Avenue, Aberystwyth, where their ground accommodates 5,000 spectators with 1,000 of that capacity seated. The club is one of the founding members of the Cymru Premier.

The club's youth team, Aberystwyth Town Under 19's, currently play in the Welsh Premier Development League – South, whilst the Women's team play in the Genero Adran Premier. The club has an academy, which has produced many players that have played for the first team and some that have gone on to play at higher levels.

History

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Foundation and early years

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Although Aberystwyth Town FC was formed in 1884, the club probably existed in the 1870s in an earlier incarnation – the re-establishment of a "town" club is recorded in 1876.[2] The club was founded by Arthur Hughes, son of a local solicitor, and his brothers Jack and Hugh. Although football had been played in the town since at least the early 1870s, it was in October 1884 that Arthur Hughes placed an advertisement in the local press:[3][4]

Aberystwyth Football Club
Gentlemen wishing to join the above club are requested to attend a meeting to be held at the Belle Vue Hotel on Saturday, the 4th inst., at 4pm. Members' subscriptions to be paid in advance, 2s. 6d.[5]

It is possible the 1884 incarnation may have become inactive at some point as evidence exists of Aberystwyth Association Football Club forming in September 1892.

Football Club Banquet
Success to the Aberystwyth Association Football Club. He observed that the Club was started last year. One afternoon at the end of the summer when cricket was pretty well over, he saw three good looking but miserable individuals on the Terrace — Mr Di Morgan, better known as Llanybyther, Mr Boycott, and another Adonis —Mr Ellis. (Laughter.) They looked as miserable a trio as any trio he had seen for a long time. He went up to them and said, Why on earth don't you start a football club and get something to do." The idea was at once taken up, a meeting was held that evening. and ultimately on the 23rd September a meeting was called at the Town Hall which was attended by seventy or eighty persona, at which meeting no fewer than forty members were enrolled. (Applause.) That was the origin of the Club.[6]

The club's early days were limited to friendly matches, as the club did not join a league until 1896. It joined the Welsh League for a year, before reverting to playing friendlies again.[7] In 1900 Town beat Druids 3–0 in the Welsh Cup final and became the first team from mid-Wales to take the trophy.

1945–2000

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The club joined the Welsh League (South) in 1951, although they also continued to field a team in the Mid-Wales League, and for a while in the Cambrian Coast League. Aberystwyth returned to the Mid-Wales competition in 1963 but did not win the league championship until 1984, after having been runners-up six times. They retained the title the following season, both under team boss Meirion Appleton.

In 1987 they returned to the Welsh League (South). They were three times runners-up before they became founder members of the League of Wales in 1992. Aberystwyth achieved third in the first season. Aberystwyth Town are one of only two teams that have taken part in each season of the Cymru Premier; the other team being Newtown. Manager Meirion Appleton was replaced by Barry Powell after a 5–0 home defeat to Caersws. In 1998/9 they qualified to represent Wales in the UEFA Intertoto Cup.

Aberystwyth lost 3–4 over two legs against Floriana of Malta. The success of European qualification brought many changes to Park Avenue. There were a new BBC studio and TV gantry, followed by the new Dias stand which brought the number of seats in the two stands up to nearly 600. The Dias stand was named after David "Dias" Williams, who holds the club scoring record of 476 goals in only 433 games between 1966 and 1983.

The club did not qualify for European football again, but they gained entry to the FAW Premier Cup competition for the third year running. They reached the quarter-finals twice. Barry Powell left the club by mutual consent.

21st century

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Powell was replaced at the beginning of the 2001–02 season by Frank Gregan. Gregan was unanimously voted in as new manager before the start of the season. He was responsible for bringing in several players with extensive experience in the English pyramid. Town lost in the Welsh Cup to Aberaman Athletic in October 2001. This was combined with a poor away record and an exit from the later stages of the FAW Premier Cup at the hands of Caersws.

Gary Finley took over as player/manager immediately after Gregan departed for Weston-super-Mare. There was an instant improvement in form and minimal additions to the squad despite most of Gregan's signings departing. The club missed out on the FAW Premier Cup, ending up in ninth place in the league.

Finley took the club to fourth in 2003–04 and the club again qualified for the UEFA InterToto Cup, but following a policy decision to base the team on more local players, Finley departed and David Burrows took over as player/manager. The change of strategy produced a worsening of results in 2004/05, but the club's management decided to stick with the Ceredigion player policy despite seeing Park Avenue attendances slump by nearly 40%.

The club received a further setback in December 2004 when a serious fire destroyed much of the social club's facilities, ruling out the ground for the staging of cup finals until the new John Charles lounge was opened in 2005 by his widow, Glenda.

After several undistinguished seasons, the Seasiders reached the final of the Welsh Cup in 2009 under manager Brian Coyne, only to be beaten 2–0 by Bangor City F.C. Coyne stepped down early the following season with Alan Morgan appointed as the new boss, and the club finished fourth in the 2009–10 season, missing out on qualification for Europe.

Then in the first season of the Cymru Premier Super 12, Aberystwyth, although in the top six for most of the first half of the season, were in the bottom half of the table at the mid season split, being beaten to the top half again by Port Talbot. The club finished in seventh place, before beating Airbus in the UEFA Europa League playoff quarter final, and eventually losing out to Neath F.C. in the semi-final.

In the 2011–12 season Aberystwyth Town found itself in the bottom six again, and in a relegation battle. After a defeat to Cymru Alliance side Cefn Druids A.F.C. in the Welsh Cup, Alan Morgan stepped aside and Tomi Morgan returned as manager. Under Morgan the team finished in eighth place, and so qualified once again for the end of season Europa League playoffs. After beating Airbus U.K in the quarter finals, Aber faced Llanelli but lost in extra time.

The club created history for all the wrong reasons by losing 10–1 to The New Saints in their second home game of the 2019–20 season.

On 2 December 2022, Aberystwyth Town lost 11-0 to The New Saints, their largest ever defeat.

Records

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Biggest victories and losses

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European record

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Season Competition Round Opponents 1st Leg 2nd Leg Aggregate
1999 UEFA Intertoto Cup 1st Round Malta Floriana FC 2–2 1–2 3–4
2004 UEFA Intertoto Cup 1st Round Latvia Dinaburg 0–0 0–4 0–4
2014–15 UEFA Europa League 1Q Republic of Ireland Derry City 0–4 0–5 0–9

Players

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Current squad

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As of 3 August 2024

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
1 GK Wales WAL Dave Jones
2 DF Wales WAL Liam Walsh
3 DF Wales WAL Rhys Davies
4 DF England ENG Louis Bradford
5 DF England ENG Frankie Ealing
6 MF England ENG Jack Thorn (captain)
7 MF Wales WAL Jonathan Evans
8 MF Wales WAL Iwan Lewis
9 MF England ENG Niall Flint
10 FW Wales WAL John Owen
11 FW England ENG Zac Hartley
No. Pos. Nation Player
12 FW Wales WAL Tom Mason
14 FW Wales WAL Steff Davies
15 MF Wales WAL Iestyn Duggan
16 MF Wales WAL Ben Davies
17 MF England ENG Calum Huxley
19 FW South Africa RSA Devon Torry (on loan from Newtown)
20 FW Germany GER Christoph Aziamale
21 GK England ENG Sebastian Osment
22 MF Wales WAL Gwydion Dafis
23 MF England ENG Harry Arnison
28 FW Wales WAL Alex Darlington

Out on loan

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Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player

Development squad

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As of 28 November 2023

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
— GK Wales WAL Ben Evans
— GK Wales WAL Talfan Hyett
— DF England ENG Jamie Holmes
— DF Wales WAL Rhys Jenkins
— DF Wales WAL Isaac Pridmore
— DF Wales WAL Reuben Pridmore
— DF Wales WAL Oliver Purcell
— DF Wales WAL Caleb Rees
— DF Wales WAL Iestyn Duggan
— DF Wales WAL Taylor Richardson
— DF Wales WAL Rhys Jones
No. Pos. Nation Player
— MF Wales WAL Gwydion Dafis
— MF Wales WAL Kenneth Dzah
— MF Wales WAL Owain Evans
— MF Wales WAL Mat Thomas
— MF England ENG Samuel Braybrook
— MF England ENG Landon Walton
— FW England ENG Eddie Grantham
— FW Wales WAL Owen Griffiths
— FW Wales WAL Tom Mason
— FW Wales WAL Callum Wright

Staff

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Position Name
Chairman Scotland Donald Kane
Secretary Wales Thomas Crockett
Manager Vacant
Assistant Manager Wales Dave Taylor
Player/Coach Wales Alex Darlington
Player/Coach Wales Steff Davies
Goalkeeper Coach Wales James Devonald
Physiotherapist Wales Lucy Jones

Manager History

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  • Scotland Angus McLean (Player/Manager) (1951–??)
  • Wales Ron Cullum (1974–1977)
  • Wales Ron Jones (1977–1979)
  • Wales Brian Morris (1979–1980)
  • Wales Chris Brown (1980–1981)
  • Wales Meirion Appleton (1981–1992)
  • Wales Tomi Morgan (1992 – September 1994)
  • Wales Meirion Appleton (September 1994 – February 1999)
  • England Barry Powell (March 1999 – May 2001)
  • England Frank Gregan (June 2001 – November 2001)
  • England Gary Finley (November 2001 – August 2004)
  • Wales David Burrows (August 2004– November 2005)
  • Scotland Brian Coyne[8] (November 2005 – September 2009)
  • Wales Christian Edwards (interim)[9] (September 2009 – November 2009)
  • Wales Alan Morgan[10] (November 2009 – February 2012)
  • WalesTomi Morgan[11] (29 February 2012 – 9 May 2013)
  • Wales Ian Hughes[12] (21 May 2013 – 19 April 2016)
  • Wales Wyn Thomas (interim)[13] (14 January 2016 – 19 April 2016)
  • England Matthew Bishop[14] (24 May 2016 – 21 May 2017)
  • Wales Tony Pennock[15] (21 May 2017 – 15 June 2017)
  • Wales Neville Powell (12 July 2017 – 28 March 2018)
  • Northern Ireland Seamus Heath (28 March 2018 – 9 August 2018)
  • Wales Neville Powell (3 October 2018 – 27 January 2019)
  • Wales Gavin Allen (interim) (27 January 2019 – 24 March 2019)
  • England Matthew Bishop (24 March 2019 – 15 June 2020)
  • Wales Gavin Allen (15 June 2020 – 24 May 2021)
  • England Antonio Corbisiero (2 June 2021 – 12 May 2022)
  • Wales Anthony Williams (28 May 2022 – 8 October 2024)
  • Wales Dave Taylor (interim) (9 October 2024 – present)

Notable players

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  1. Players that have played/managed in the football league or any foreign equivalent to this level (i.e. fully professional league).
  2. Players with full international caps.
  3. Players that hold a club record or have captained the club.

References

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  1. ^ "Aberystwyth Town Club Information from Football Association of Wales – Football Association of Wales". Faw.org.uk. Archived from the original on 26 April 2016. Retrieved 16 April 2016.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  2. ^ "floral Jtrms, »■-H..|1876-12-09|The Aberystwith Observer – Welsh Newspapers Online – The National Library of Wales". newspapers.library.wales. Archived from the original on 9 January 2019. Retrieved 9 January 2019.
  3. ^ "Advertising|1884-10-03|The Cambrian News and Merionethshire Standard – Welsh Newspapers Online – The National Library of Wales". newspapers.library.wales. Archived from the original on 9 January 2019. Retrieved 9 January 2019.
  4. ^ "LOCA.L AND DISTRICT NEWS.|1884-10-11|The Aberystwith Observer – Welsh Newspapers Online – The National Library of Wales". newspapers.library.wales. Archived from the original on 27 August 2023. Retrieved 9 January 2019.
  5. ^ "Arthur Hughes". The History of Aberystwyth Town FC. The Old Black & Green. Archived from the original on 26 April 2012. Retrieved 21 December 2011.
  6. ^ "Football Club Banquet". Cambrian News. 5 May 1893. p. 6. Retrieved 23 June 2023.
  7. ^ "Early History". Aberystwyth Town FC. Archived from the original on 2 March 2012. Retrieved 21 December 2011.
  8. ^ "Coyne made new Aberystwyth boss". BBC. 9 November 2005. Retrieved 6 July 2012.
  9. ^ "Christian Edwards appointed as Aberystwyth Town's new manager". South Wales Echo. WalesOnline. 3 October 2009. Retrieved 6 July 2012.
  10. ^ "Morgan appointed Aberystwyth boss". BBC. 4 November 2009. Archived from the original on 27 August 2023. Retrieved 6 July 2012.
  11. ^ "Tomi Morgan appointed Aberystwyth Town manager". BBC. 29 February 2012. Archived from the original on 3 March 2012. Retrieved 6 July 2012.
  12. ^ "Ian Hughes appointed new Aberystwyth Town manager". BBC. 21 May 2013. Retrieved 6 July 2012.
  13. ^ "Club Statement". Aberystwyth Town. 14 January 2016. Archived from the original on 9 August 2016. Retrieved 9 June 2016.
  14. ^ "Aber delighted to announce Matthew Bishop as new manager". Aberystwyth Town. 24 May 2016. Archived from the original on 9 August 2016. Retrieved 9 June 2016.
  15. ^ "Pens Takes over as First Team Manager, Wolvesey Back in as Assistant". 21 May 2017. Archived from the original on 24 May 2017. Retrieved 21 May 2017.
  16. ^ "Tom Bradshaw: Walsall striker's call ends Wales international exile". BBC Sport. 4 November 2015. Retrieved 16 April 2016.
  17. ^ "Tom makes his senior Wales debut". cambrian-news.co.uk. 31 March 2016. Archived from the original on 19 September 2016. Retrieved 9 June 2016.
  18. ^ "Focus on: Wyn Thomas — Sgorio". S4c.cymru. 15 January 2015. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 16 April 2016.
  19. ^ "Swansea City striker Alex Samuel joins Morton on loan". BBC Sport. 1 September 2015. Archived from the original on 24 October 2018. Retrieved 9 June 2016.
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