retired_blondie_524

Friday 31st March

The chairman of TNS called me into the office today and told me how well I had done this season. The company was so pleased that they were prepared to offer me a new three year contract with a wage budget of £11.5K p/w and a transfer kitty of £38,000, the only catch was my wages were going down from £450 p/w to £350 p/w. Some reward I say, look - pay me my £450 and we'll talk.

Saturday 1st April

My improved contract is on my desk already so I sign it with a flourish and stick it in the out tray. The loss in February was only £2,000 thanks to the attendance against Cardiff. Six of the squad, Phelan, Holmes, Beck, Ward, Wilde and Brooks make it to the Team of the Month selection .

Home vs Bangor City (Welsh Cup S/F)

Wilde returns up front in place of Lloyd-Williams in the only change to the TNS squad. Wilde opened the scoring after four minutes, a goal that makes him the club's top all time scorer. It was Wilde who doubled his tally on 20 minutes when Cooney's backpass got nowhere near the keeper before Wilde niped in to pinch the goal.
John Lawless had to replace the injured Nicky Ward at half time but despite constant pressure TNS were not able to add to their winning score.
TNS 2-0 Bangor (att: 593)
(Wilde 4, 22)

Cwmbran beat Porthcawl to set up a cup final date with us at the Millennium Stadium on Wednesday 10th May, four days after our Challenge Cup final at the same venue.

Llanelli kept up the pressure in the league, winning 2-0 against Portmadog but both 3rd placed Carmarthen and 4th placed Port Talbot lost.

Nicky Ward has suffered a dislocated jaw and could be out for a month.

retired_blondie_524

5/3/06 Home vs Grange Quinns (VM Premier)

Lawless replacing the injured Ward was the only change for this game. It only took three minutes for Ahmed to slip Brooks in to open the scoring and ten more for Wilde to give Brooks the chance to outpace the defence and make it two. The surprise was that it took untill the 38th minute for Brooks to complete the hat trick. A 25 yard free kick from Lawless made it four on 59 minutes and a supurb overhead kick from Phelan gave him his first ever goal for us three minutes later. The sixth was a magnificent dribble through the box by Lawless who drilled it home from 12 yards.
TNS 6-0 Grange Quinns (att: 360)
(Brooks 4, 14 38, Lawless 60, 78, Phelan 63)

This was our game in hand so with just four games of the season left TNS have 66 points with a goal difference of +55, Llanelli are second with 58 points and a g.d. of +20 and Carmarthen trail in third with 48 points and g.d. of +6.

In the UEFA Champions League quarter finals Chelsea beat Barcelona 4-2 on aggregate, it's Man Utd 3-2 over Aresenal, Bayern Munich 5-0 over Everton and Real Madrid are 4-0 winners over Villarreal.

Thursday 6th April

In the UEFA Cup quarter finals Ajax put out Liverpool 2-1, Sporting CP knock out Newcastle 6-4, PSV take penalties over Werder Bremen and it's Valencia 3-2 winners over Sevilla.

retired_blondie_524

8/4/06 away at Carmarthen (VM Premier)

An unchanged starting eleven but Collister replaces Carter on the Bench. TNS are reduced to 10 men in the 6th minute when Adnan Ahmed reacts badly to a bad tackle, punches Leon Gierke and receives a straight red for his pains. Carmarthen take the lead after 25 minutes when McMahon latches on to a ball over the top of the defence and buries it past the onrushing Doherty. The 10 men are level on 35 minutes after Wilde breaks clear of the defence, his shot is parried right into the path of Brooks who sidefoots it home. The last five minutes of the half are a nightmare for the home side, first they had Aherne-Evens sent off for a professional foul and then in the last minute they gave away a penalty and Lawless cooly slotted home.
With both sides now a man short space opened up and Carmarthen equalized on the hour when Gierke got in front of the defence to head home the cross. TNS went back in front with fifteen minutes left when Phelan headed in Lawless' corner and that was to prove the winner.
Carmarthen 2-3 TNS (att: 379)
(Brooks 35, Lawless 45 pen, Phelan 76)

Llanelli battle on, hoping for a slip up from us, winning 2-0 at Rhyl and Caersws' second successive win lifts them off the bottom above Grange Quinns but still 6 points from safety.

With the plus 30 odd goal difference TNS now only really need one point from their remaining three fixtures to retain the Premier League title.

Thursday 13th April
Jamie Wood hit two more for the reserves win 4-0 against Glantraeth, Toner notching the other two.

[i]Saturday 15th April[/]
The disciplinary committee hands Ahmed a three match ban for his dismissal against Carmarthen.

away at Airbus UK (VM Premier)

We go into this game knowing a win would secure the title. Doherty is nursing a dead leg so David Mathieson comes in to replace him, Beck fills the suspended Ahmed’s role while Köse gets a start on the wing. TNS had most of the possession but failed to carve out any real chances and fell behind to a sucker punch in the 41st minute. Airbus broke away and Mathieson could only parry it to Desormeaux who stroked it home. For most of the second half TNS never really looked like getting back into it but they snatched an equalizer three minutes from time, Brooks got through the defence and substitute Wood headed in his cross.
Airbus 1-1 TNS (att: 491)
(Wood 88)

With two games left we are now six points ahead of Llanelli who beat Caernarfon 2-1, the +33 greater goal difference means the title is as good as ours but we have to wait to gain another point. Grange Quins are the first team to be relegated.

retired_blondie_524

Wednesday 26th April
Manchester United's 1-0 win at Old Trafford gives them a 1-0 aggregate win in the UEFA Champions League semi final over Chelsea while Bayern Munich put out Real Madrid 2-1 on aggregate.

Friday 28th April - Home vs Bangor City (VM Premier)

Doherty returns between the sticks as we go looking for the title in front of our fans. Five minutes into the game Brooks breaks down the wing and crosses for Wilde to flick in, his 67th league goal for the club. That makes him the all time leading league scorer and it could win the title! Wilde takes less than 15 minutes to double his tally heading in Lawless' cross from the other wing.
Five minutes into the second half Wilde bursts clear and finishes his hat trick. He appears to have taken a small knock so I send Wood on in his place, I'm taking no chances with two cup finals coming up and he milks the fans standing ovation. With eight minutes left Brooks picks up Phelan's ball into the box, turns sharply and drills home the final goal.
TNS 4-0 Bangor City (att: 332)
(Wilde 5, 18, 51, Brooks 83)

Llanelli have won 4-1 at Port Talbot but it doesn't matter, the title is ours again. The party goes on long into the night as the supporters sang songs about me and Michael Wilde. Wilde deserves it, I didn't think he was up to much but 32 goals in 46 appearances speaks for itself.

retired_blondie_524

Monday 1st May

Seven of the TNS squad made the April Team of the Month selection and Michael Wilde was voted Welsh Player of the Month. The Board were delighted with my performance but the loss was £51K this month.

Tuesday 2nd May
John Leah and M.o.M. Phil Baker scored the goals as the reserves beat Welshpool 2-0 to finish their program. The reserves only lost one game all season and finished on 63 points with a +45 goal difference, 25 points clear of second placed Connah's Quay reserves.

Saturday 6th May - Millennium Stadium, Cardiff.
Total Network Solutions vs Port Talbot Town
Loosemores of Cardiff Challenge Cup Final

While the rest of the league was finishing off the league program we were stepping out in the magnificent Millennium Stadium in search of our second ever challenge cup. The team chosen for the day was
Doherty, Phelan, Naylor, Evans, Holmes, Lawless, Ruscoe, Beaumont, Beck, Wilde, Brooks. Subs: Lloyd-Williams, Ward, Leah.
TNS get off to a real flyer when Ruscoe played a great ball for Wilde who powered past the defence and fired it just inside the post with only 56 seconds on the clock. Wilde created the second chance of the game in the 17th minute with a wicked cross that Brooks looked to have headed in but the Port Talbot keeper Martin Elliacott just got his fingers to it and tipped it over. It was all TNS and we forced seven corners as we piled on the pressure before finally Steven Beck latched on to Evan's ball over the defence in the 39th minute and fired it low and hard across the keeper into the far corner of the net.
HT: TNS 2-0 Port Talbot
I couldn't help but tell the players I was pleased at half time, we'd outshot Port Talbot 7-1 and had seven corners to their nil but most of all we were two up and seemingly cruising.
With just over twenty minutes left I threw on Lloyd-Williams for Brooks, Ward for Lawless and Leah for Beaumont. Port Talbot pressed hard in the last ten minutes but failed to get a result until the 90th minute when Port Talbot substitute Andrew Pearson connected with one 18 yards out and sent a curling shot into the top corner. It was all they could manage though and after 93 minutes referee Lawlor blew the final whistle.
TNS 2-1 Port Talbot
(Wilde 1, 40)
Attendance 1322, M.o.M. Steven Beck

TNS had won the Challenge Cup for the second time in their history and the fans partied long into the night and the next day as most of them were staying down in Cardiff for next Wednesday's Welsh Cup Final.

Caersws finally were relegated on the final day of the season and Llanelli finished second, six points behind TNS as they lost 0-1 at home to Cefn Druids.

retired_blondie_524

This is the Vauxhall Masterfit Welsh Premier League table with just ours and Port Talbots last game to complete.


<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">Pos Inf Team Pld Won Drn Lst For Ag G.D. Pts 1st C TNS 33 21 10 2 82 22 +60 73 2nd Llanelli 34 20 7 7 56 31 +25 67 3rd Aberystwyth 34 14 9 11 42 32 +10 51 4th Carmarthen 34 13 12 9 42 37 +5 51 5th Airbus 34 14 9 11 46 42 +4 51 6th Port Talbot 33 14 8 11 44 40 +4 50 7th Cefn Druids 34 15 4 15 39 38 +1 49 8th Welshpool 33 12 11 10 43 38 +5 47 9th Cwmbran 34 12 10 12 39 32 +7 46 10th Haverfordwest 34 13 7 14 40 49 -9 46 11th Porthmadog 33 11 10 12 30 39 -9 43 12th Newtown 34 11 8 15 35 42 -7 41 13th Bangor City 34 10 10 14 34 43 -9 40 14th Connah's Quay 34 10 9 15 36 48 -12 39 15th Rhyl 34 11 6 17 38 51 -13 39 16th Caernarfon 34 8 12 14 33 48 -15 36 17th R Caersws 34 8 10 16 29 54 -25 34 18th R Grange Quins 34 7 8 19 40 62 -22 29 </pre>

retired_blondie_524

sorry, try this

Holders - TNS



<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">| Pos | Inf | Team | | Pld | Won | Drn | Lst | For | Ag | G.D. | Pts | | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 1st | C | TNS | | 33 | 21 | 10 | 2 | 82 | 22 | +60 | 73 | | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 2nd | | Llanelli | | 34 | 20 | 7 | 7 | 56 | 31 | +25 | 67 | | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 3rd | | Aberystwyth | | 34 | 14 | 9 | 11 | 42 | 32 | +10 | 51 | | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 4th | | Carmarthen | | 34 | 13 | 12 | 9 | 42 | 37 | +5 | 51 | | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 5th | | Airbus | | 34 | 14 | 9 | 11 | 46 | 42 | +4 | 51 | | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 6th | | Port Talbot | | 33 | 14 | 8 | 11 | 44 | 40 | +4 | 50 | | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 7th | | Cefn Druids | | 34 | 15 | 4 | 15 | 39 | 38 | +1 | 49 | | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 8th | | Welshpool | | 33 | 12 | 11 | 10 | 43 | 38 | +5 | 47 | | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 9th | | Cwmbran | | 34 | 12 | 10 | 12 | 39 | 32 | +7 | 46 | | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 10th | | Haverfordwest | | 34 | 13 | 7 | 14 | 40 | 49 | -9 | 46 | | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 11th | | Porthmadog | | 33 | 11 | 10 | 12 | 30 | 39 | -9 | 43 | | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 12th | | Newtown | | 34 | 11 | 8 | 15 | 35 | 42 | -7 | 41 | | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 13th | | Bangor City | | 34 | 10 | 10 | 14 | 34 | 43 | -9 | 40 | | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 14th | | Connah's Quay | | 34 | 10 | 9 | 15 | 36 | 48 | -12 | 39 | | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 15th | | Rhyl | | 34 | 11 | 6 | 17 | 38 | 51 | -13 | 39 | | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 16th | | Caernarfon | | 34 | 8 | 12 | 14 | 33 | 48 | -15 | 36 | | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 17th | R | Caersws | | 34 | 8 | 10 | 16 | 29 | 54 | -25 | 34 | | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 18th | R | Grange Quins | | 34 | 7 | 8 | 19 | 40 | 62 | -22 | 29 | </pre>

retired_blondie_524

Here’s the final stats for TNS 2005/06



<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">| Pkd | Inf | Name | Apps | Gls | Ast | MoM | Pas | Tck | Drb | Sh T | Av Rat| | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | S1 | PR | Michael Wilde | 47 (2) | 33 | 27 | 2 | 76% | 0.44 | 1.71 | 59% | 7.49 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | - | | Jamie Brooks | 31 (7) | 28 | 12 | 7 | 70% | 0.47 | 2.34 | 60% | 7.61 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | - | | Marc Lloyd-Williams | 15 (19) | 17 | 4 | 3 | 71% | 0.53 | 1.58 | 61% | 6.82 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | MR | PR | Steven Beck | 45 (3) | 6 | 10 | 4 | 66% | 2.57 | 5.15 | 46% | 7.35 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | S3 | | Scott Ruscoe | 49 (1) | 6 | 11 | 2 | 76% | 2.44 | 0.48 | 27% | 7.30 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | - | | James Beaumont | 25 (4) | 5 | 4 | 3 | 75% | 3.82 | 0.91 | 26% | 7.24 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | ML | | John Lawless | 10 (6) | 4 | 4 | 1 | 66% | 2.36 | 2.66 | 33% | 7.06 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | S2 | | Nicky Ward | 39 (4) | 4 | 6 | 4 | 67% | 2.31 | 4.71 | 35% | 7.49 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | FC | | Jamie Wood | 8 (12) | 4 | 2 | 1 | 70% | 0.79 | 2.55 | 50% | 6.85 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | FC | | John Toner | 5 (6) | 3 | 4 | - | 74% | 0.54 | 1.27 | 57% | 6.73 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | DR | Unh | Thomas Roux | 9 (1) | 2 | 2 | - | 64% | 3.15 | 1.52 | - | 6.90 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | MC | | John Leah | 7 (5) | 2 | 1 | 1 | 73% | 2.81 | 0.64 | - | 6.75 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | - | | Terry Phelan | 37 | 2 | 5 | 1 | 65% | 2.58 | 0.79 | - | 7.30 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | DL | | Daniele Grassi | 16 (2) | 1 | - | - | 72% | 3.31 | 0.64 | - | 6.78 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | - | | Adnan Ahmed | 22 (16) | 1 | 7 | - | 70% | 3.73 | 1.95 | 21% | 7.03 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | DC | | Steve Evans | 53 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 67% | 4.03 | 0.19 | - | 7.30 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | - | PR | Tommy Holmes | 47 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 73% | 2.58 | 0.23 | - | 7.40 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | - | | Craig Williams | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | - | | Andrew Roberts | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | - | | Michael Collister | 3 (2) | - | - | - | 67% | 2.94 | 1.87 | - | 6.80 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | - | Unh | Steve Lalley | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | - | | Mark Davies | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | - | Unh | Wilfried Aloy | 2 | - | - | - | 77% | - | - | - | 7.50 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | - | | Kenan Köse | 4 (4) | - | - | - | 62% | 4.10 | 1.59 | - | 6.75 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | - | Slt | Taurean O'Sullivan | 2 (8) | - | 1 | - | 69% | 2.80 | 1.96 | - | 6.00 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | - | | Danny Brimble | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | - | Unh | Phil Baker | 0 (7) | - | - | - | 62% | 1.27 | - | - | 6.14 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | - | | Yann Synaeghel | 0 (4) | - | - | - | 76% | 2.76 | 0.92 | - | 6.50 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | GK | Unh | David Mathieson | 9 | - | - | 1 | 64% | - | - | - | 6.89 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | DC | | Alessandro Pozzo | 6 | - | - | - | 76% | 4.89 | 0.32 | - | 6.83 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | MC | | Barry Hogan | 5 (3) | - | 1 | - | 74% | 1.99 | 0.18 | - | 6.88 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | - | Unh | Chris King | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | - | Slt | Ken McKenna | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | - | Unh | Alfie Carter | 1 (12) | - | 1 | - | 66% | 3.45 | 1.15 | - | 6.38 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | - | PR | Gerard Doherty | 42 | - | 2 | 1 | 75% | - | - | - | 7.26 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | - | | Martyn Naylor | 44 | - | 9 | - | 65% | 3.16 | 0.89 | - | 7.07 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| </pre>

retired_blondie_524

Tuesday 9th May
Porthmadog beat Port Talbot 3-2 in the penultimate league game of the season while Swansea retained the FAW Premier Cup beating Cardiff 2-1 in at the White Rock Stadium, Swansea in front of 20,473.

Wednesday 10th May at Millennium Stadium, Cardiff
Cwmbran Town vs Total Network Solutions
Welsh Cup Final

Our second visit to the Stadium in a week. You could sense the squad was very relaxed as they laughed and joked on the pitch during the pre-match warm up. Ninth placed Cwmbran have never lifted the Cup in their 55 year history while we are looking to retain the trophy we won last season. The five games we have played in the cup this season has yielded nine goals to us and zero against. As Beaumont and Brooks are only on loan to us I decided to give our players the chance to win this so Leah comes in to midfield, Lloyd-Williams partners Wilde up front while Jamie Wood and Phil Baker take a seat on the bench. For most of the first half we were too laid back, sloppy in defence and leaving Doherty to make a few sharpe stops to retain our clean sheet but just as I was warming up to give the players both barrel's at half time they redeemed themselves. Wilde's shot on 39 minutes was pushed out to Lloyd-Williams to tap in from two yards. They almost threw it away in injury time when Thornton rattled the TNS bar and Moore struck the rebound straight into Doherty's arms.
Cwmbran 0-1 TNS
I didn't rant too much at half time, I just said don't let your performance drop - this one is ours.
It wasn't the most fluent of halfs but TNS kept control at the back and finally wrapped it up with 20 minutes to go, John Leah connected with Wilde's cross to steer home his first goal of the season.
Cwmbran 0-2 TNS
(Lloyd-Williams 38, Leah 72)
Attendance: 1,147 M.o.M. John Leah


Everyone is ecstatic as TNS win their third trophy of the season without conceding a goal along the way. The Welsh F.A. Chairman approaches me after the game and says that this season's performance's have put me in the Welsh hall of fame, the third TNS manager to do so.

13/05/06 away at Wekshpool
This final game of the season is totally meaningless so I field an almost entirely reserve team. Welshpool take advantage of this and open the scoring after 19 minutes but they can't hold out till half time. Daniele Grassi's touchline cross somehow eluded everyone and finished in the net for his first ever goal for us. In the second half the reserves show why they won their league comfortably holding out the home side and then going on to wrap it up in the last quarter of the game through goals from Wood and Leah.
Welshpool 1-3 TNS (att: 310)
(Grassi 45, Wood 69, Leah 82)

In one of the first games played at the new Wembley Stadium Arsenal come away with a 3-1 win over fierce rival Tottenham Hotspur in the F.A. Cup Final.

Sunday 14th May
I sit quietly in my office in a deserted ground. What a season! The Welsh Premier League Trophy, The Welsh Cup, The Welsh Challenge Cup and the Reserve League Troohy all glint at me in the gloom. 53 games we played in all competitions, 35 of those were won, 14 drawn and only four lost. Where does my career go from here? The certificate from the Welsh Hall of Fame hangs on the wall, one of these days I vow that'll be a certificate from the Italian Hall of Fame - maybe not soon, maybe many seasons but sometime, it'll be there. One thing’s for certain as well it won't list my club as TNS.

retired_blondie_524

Monday 15th May
I'm in a bit lighter mood at the Annual Vauxhall Masterfit Premier League Awards dinner. As expected we were kept busy running up to collect awards. Jamie Brooks wins the Welsh Premier Player of the Year, Nicky Ward comes in second. The Welsh Golden Boot goes to Michael Wilde with 24 league goals, Brooks is second with 23 and Jamie Harris of Llanelli comes third with 18. I picked up the Manager of the Year award and Holmes, Beck, Ruscoe, Ward, Brooks and Wilde are all selected in the Premier Team of the Season.

Wednesday 17th May
In the UEFA Champions League Final Bayern Munich soundly thrash Manchester United 3-1 at the Stadium De Kuip in Rotterdam. As it's Bayern's fifth Champions League win they'll get to keep the trophy.