Message of thanks from Paul

A message from Paul.

As the 2024/25 Cymru Premier League regular season has just come to an end I wanted to take this opportunity to thank everyone who supports and loves our club.

A you know, the season began back in July with our first ever European adventure which I know will live in our memories for as long as we around. I’m sure I won’t have to remind you of how it all went and in fact I think the best way to relive those days is by heading for the Cofis yn Ewrop documentary series on youtube. The programme captures our club and supporters perfectly and will be available for future generations to watch for themselves and for everyone who was there to enjoy again.

A number of clubs who qualify for Europe for the first time have seemed to suffer a hangover and struggled the following season. The fact that we have finished fourth in the league this time around is testament to the hard work that Richard Davies and his management staff and players have carried out during the past ten months. Richard has been with the club for so many years that it’s easy to forget that this has been only his second season as manager and so it is exciting to think what we may be able to achieve in the future with him, Mark and Kev as they continue to implement their ideas on the team.

The players have been immense this season and, after a quiet start to the domestic campaign the team has really kicked on in recent months. Finishing in the top six is a huge achievement and I think it’s fair to say that we have shown in the second phase that we belong there and now the challenge will be to try and improve as we move forward.

The league is so strong that we all know it won’t be easy but our role as the club’s Board is to find and use every avenue open to us to support Richard and the team to achieve the most that they can. It’s an exciting challenge that we welcome and embrace and we will continue to do everything we can to keep the club sustainable and successful.

And this brings me to the Board.

I know that my fellow board members would rather keep themselves in the background as they quietly go about their work but the truth is that the club would not be able to run without the hard work they put in. As chairman I suppose I am seen more than anyone else due to being asked to speak on behalf of the club on occasion but I can assure everyone that each member of our board works extremely hard and gives their all for the cause.

Each of us is a fan first and foremost and I really believe that this is an advantage to us. Yes, we have to make difficult decisions sometimes and we make them as professionally as we can but football is an emotional game and we make decisions with our hearts too which I hope helps us keep a real community feeling in the club. I am extremely proud of what this Board has been able to do in recent years and hope there is more we can achieve in the coming years.

I want to thank Dave Cavanagh at the Academy for the tremendous job he has done as our Head of Academy. It’s not an easy job and I am aware of the long hours and effort involved in his role but Dave is a real football person and the success of Academy teams in recent years is testament to what he and his staff, including all the coaches and clerical workers that help out do for us. The fact that the Under 19 team reached the Welsh Cup final for the first time ever this month and we keep seeing many of the Academy players getting minutes for the first team shows that we have a bright future ahead for local talent.

I also want to thank Simon, our general manager, who has made such a positive impact since starting his post six months ago and to all the volunteers who work so hard for us. Our secretary Geraint, President John Wakins, Wyn Owen, Jim Edwards, Jamie and Alyson Richardson, Dave and Sam and their helpers in the canteen, Mrs Crew, our media team Andy, Mabon and Begw and The Deep Creative and everyone else who helps the club whenever we ask are invaluable and will hopefully be available to continue with us for a good few more years yet.

Thanks also to all our sponsors for their continued support. Running a club at this level needs serious financial investment and it is their support that makes it possible or us to compete in the Cymru Premier League.

And finally, a huge thank you to the Cofi Army. Our supporters are what make this club special. Home and away, they are there for the players, staff and board members and the simple truth of the matter is that we all do what we do in our roles at the club for the supporters. We make all our decisions with the supporters in mind because they’re the most important people at the club. I have lost count of the times I have gone to other grounds and away supporters tell me how special the Cofi Army is and it really makes a difference to all of us involved in the club. Their club, our club.

By far my proudest moment in football was that night in Belfast when the supporters sang the team to victory in the penalty shoot out. I’ve been to hundreds of matches but none has, and probably every will, come close to that feeling.

The season is still not over, of course, as we now head on to the play-offs.

Words cannot really convey how proud I am of the club and one thing I can promise everyone who supports us is that we will continue to work as hard as we can to make the Cofi Army and the town of Caernarfon and the surrounding area proud.

Thanks again for all your efforts and support.

Paul #UnClwb