Getting to Know – Trearddur Bay FC
Prior to last season, we ran a really popular series of ‘Getting to Know’ taking a closer look at several of our lesser known non league clubs. This week we’ve had a Welsh double header, with a Brickfield Rangers blog going out on Tuesday.
This time, we’re heading right up to Anglesey for a closer look a Trearddur Bay FC, a club that in it’s current guise has only been around for a short time, but in that period has raced up the Welsh pyramid to take their place in this seasons Ardal League North West division, step 3 in the Welsh football system. We were lucky enough to have a chat with club secretary, Chris Davies, let’s see what else we find out….
Firstly, thank you for taking the time to speak with us, and many congratulations on your recent promotion to the Ardal North West League after comfortably winning the North Wales Coast West last season. A great achievement for the club and the local area. Tell us a little of what it means to Trearddur Bay to make this step up, and the local community in which you are based.
“The club have operated at tier 3 before and won the league losing only one game. Unfortunately we weren’t in a position to move up as our ground couldn’t meet the tier 2 criteria. This in turn meant players left and joined other local clubs and although we held a squad together and stayed at tier 3 it was becoming harder to attract the players needed. Since then we have joined the three clubs to make one, this means we now have a very strong foundation to the club as we have a full junior section along with girl teams, a ladies team and two senior men’s teams. We also have our Allstars team which caters for children up to the age of 16 that have disabilities or just haven’t got the confidence to play mainstream football.
We have and are working really hard to engage with the community and have a really good relationship with local pubs, cafes etc. The spectators watching us have steadily grown which is brilliant to see and hopefully is the benefit of our community engagement. We have now also put things in place to allow us to keep growing as a club and it was essential for us to move up the leagues quickly which has happened. We’ve now completed tier 5 and 4 without losing a league game. It’s vital for the whole club that the first team establishes itself at the highest possible level so the youngsters that play for our juniors have a pathway through our development squad to play at that level.”
Just like me, there are a lot of people that won’t know a great deal about Welsh non league football. For those that haven’t heard of Trearddur Bay FC, or know very little, please can you give us a brief history of the club? When and how they were formed, any notable players in the club’s past or any successes along the way.
“The club is incredibly old but has had a very uncertain history too. It has folded and re-emerged a few times. As we now look to move grounds to enable the continued growth we are trying to piece together the history of the club so it’s not lost for good. The current set up is only two seasons old as this is when we merged the three clubs (men’s/ladies/juniors) although the people involved in all of them have been around the club for years. We’ve had a number of great players through the years with many going on to do well on the game both professionally and at amateur level. We currently have the North Wales goalscoring record holder playing for us in Asa Thomas who has racked up over 700 goals to date, much of them coming for Trearddur Bay.”
Please can you tell us the biggest challenges a club the size of Trearddur Bay faces on a day-to-day basis?
“The biggest challenge for clubs at this level is the ground criteria. When starting from scratch at a ground it’s really hard to meet the criteria each time you get promoted. We’ve had to spend a lot of money and countless man hours at Trearddur Bay to try and meet the criteria for next season but we just couldn’t meet the required pitch width due to the infrastructure etc. We are relocating to play at Aberffraw this season for the first team but the improvements at Trearddur Bay will be a huge benefit to our ladies team, the development team and the juniors that play there.”
So, next season, with Trearddur Bay moving into the Ardal North West division, what new challenges will this pose for the club?
“I’d say it will be the jump in standard, it’s substantial at this stage. I believe we can put a team together that will hold its own and even challenge but the league has some teams that have operated at tier 2 for long spells so the competition is going to be tough. There are many other factors such as the cost etc that we know will be more than operating at tier 4.”
Playing in a higher league next season must be an exciting time for the club, especially with Holyhead Hotspur being so close locally, being in the same division. What are you looking forward to the most?
“Yeah it’s great testing ourselves at tier 3 but the ambitions are to keep improving and play in the Welsh Premier League. We know the challenges that we’re up against but we feel that once the new ground is in place then we can really start pressing on. There’s a lot of local derbies in the league this season which I’m sure will be enjoyed by the supporters of both clubs and more. There’s been a few posts on socials already as we are to play Holyhead in the first league game.”
Does the club have a target in mind for where they want to finish this season, or perform in cup competitions?
“The target always has to be to challenge for the league title and that’s what we will try and do. The club is ambitious and some of the players that have come in and old ones that have stayed on have all signed on because of that ambition and belief we can cause an upset at tier 3. We know it’s going to be extremely hard but as newcomers and I would say underdogs to the more established tier 3/2 tides then we have nothing to lose. It’s also nice to have a good cup run in either of the national cups so we’re hoping for some favourable draws.”
How’s the squad looking? Have you managed to retain most of your championship winning squad from last season, or have you added fresh faces for the new season ahead?
“A few of the title winning squad have stepped away due to a few reasons such as the extra travelling, will clash with work etc. The management team have worked hard to keep and bring in the right players to help us challenge and as a club we’re more than happy with how it’s building.”
Please can you tell us a little of the ground that you play in?
“Lon isallt has been the home ground of Trearddur Bay for many many years. It has changed a lot recently but still has the same layout it had all them years ago. We want it to be the hub of the village and hold a yearly fun day / family day on the ground to say a big thank you to all involved. When the time comes when the new ground is ready the decision has already been made that Trearddur Bay teams will still play at Lon isallt in the future due to its place in our history.”
Please tell us more about your role within the club.
“I’m part of the hardworking committee taking on the club secretary position. Just a very small wheel in the large cog that allows the club to flourish as it is. There’s a lot of people that have put in a lot of work to get us to this position. Our chairman Richard has been a revelation in the way the club thinks in regards to ambition etc. These are all volunteers that put in hours of work and are the backbone of the club.”
Chris, many thanks for taking the time in speaking with us, you have given us a fascinating insight into your club, and the amazing recent progress the club has made. We wish you all the best for the coming season. Good luck!
So, hopefully you now know a little more on Trearddur Bay FC, and Welsh non league football in general, and like us will follow their progress in the Ardal League this season!
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