12/04/2013 Sport Wales


12/04/2013

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Transcript


LineFromTo

Good evening and welcome to Cardiff City Stadium where hafts are surely

:00:24.:00:30.

beating a little bit faster as they inch their way to securing --

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promotion to become the second Welsh club to play in the Premier

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League. So stay with us for that and plenty more on tonight

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programme. We meet the rising star of motorsport, the Welshman who has

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set his sights on Formula One. aim is to be the next Welsh Formula

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One superstar. A as Glamorgan begin this season, we hear our -- how

:01:00.:01:07.

hopes are high. There is no reason why we should not go out. And in a

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special report, we look at the role of the League of Wales in

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developing Welsh footballers. Playing in the League of Wales with

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Carmarthen was my showcase. Cardiff City drawn Europe Sue five

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months at the top of the championship, the two recent

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consecutive draws will surely have tested fans' nerves as promotion to

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the Premier League remains tantalisingly close. Our reporter

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caught up with the club ahead of tomorrow's home game against

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Nottingham Forest. Cardiff City stand on the brink of Premier

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League football. They play five matches over the next four weeks

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and needs seven points to guarantee promotion. They have been close

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calls already. Last season's play- off semi-final defeat to West Ham.

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2011's Gloucester Reading at the same stage. And in 2010, they made

:02:09.:02:13.

the play-off final at Wembley but lost to blackball. This year the

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play-offs and not on the radar. Automatic promotion is key. Off the

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field, the club launched their latest community project this week.

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Even if owner Vincent Tan has called upon a higher power to help

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them in their bid. With a divine blessing and good luck to our

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players, we hope and pray we will be there. It is about sticking to

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the plan and your beliefs. That is what I do. We have to have a

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certain coldness and calmness about what we're doing. Our players are

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delivering the plan. To have or that nine-point gap with five games

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to go shows a great consistency and a great character. Two seasons ago

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Swansea City received an estimated �90 million in additional earnings

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from their promotion to the Premier League. That figure will now have

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almost increased after the Premier League signed a new �3 billion TV

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deal. This week Swansea revealed profits of �15.9 million. Looking

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on a commercial basis, the media coverage is probably the biggest

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thing that any club coming up will find. It is a totally different

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level. Commercially, exactly the same. The media coverage is

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:03:55.:03:55.

worldwide. When you found it difficult to do major sponsorship

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deals locally, now you can go worldwide. That is the biggest

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thing. Everybody can see what football at the top level does for

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a community and an economy and a nation. We want to be part of that.

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Everyone is looking for that prize. That is why there is so much

:04:21.:04:28.

investment in championship football clubs. Vincent Tan has put a huge

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amount of money in the club for four years. He has invested in the

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local community as well. That allows his investment to grow.

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the impressive Norwich defender Leon Barnett remaining with Cardiff

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until the end of the season, the first of Cardiff's final five games

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is at home to Nottingham Forest. They are a club that have a good

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squad and have had a lot of investment over the years. They are

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seen as one of the bigger clubs in the division. But we've had good

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teams put in front of assault -- of us all season. We are at home with

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a lovely surface and 25,000 people cheering us on. I am now joined by

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two former Wales internationals. You have both been there and

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experienced promotion to the Premier League. In your experience

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with Norwich, you won the championship in 2004, can you

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sympathise with what Cardiff City are going through? Yes. It is time

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for cool heads and not to panic. You have to take one game at a time.

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What kind of experience does Martin McKay bring to this set-up? He will

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be the key man in the dressing room. He will calm things down. You have

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to play the game and not the occasion. It is only natural that

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the crowd is on edge because of the disappointments they've had in

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recent years. It will be there until they get over that the

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finishing line. He has got experienced players. He has got

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players who have played in big games. These next five games are

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going to be massive. He knows he's got enough and that dressing room

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to get them over the line. If they were not performing and they were

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looking like a nervous team it would be different but I don't see

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that. From what I saw against Blackburn, it doesn't look like a

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team which is nervous and frightened to do the job. How much

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will Cardiff City especially wants to avoid the play-offs? They won't

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want that situation. I doubt the players will have spoken about it.

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They will want to go up as champions. I don't think they'll do

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it in the next two games but I do expect them to go to Burnley and

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win promotion at there. I'm the same. There is no doubt in my mind

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they will get promotion. It will be disappointing if they don't go up

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as champions. But I am confident Cardiff City will be in the Premier

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League. They have been the best side in the championship. They have

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won more home games than any other club in the championship. They have

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the best court and they deserve to go up as champions. Stay with me

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and we'll talk more football shortly but now we turn our

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attention to motor sport and last weekend Welsh driver Matt Parry had

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a great start to his former Renault season with two podium finishes in

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Hockenheim. We have been following the end was driver as he aims to

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become the first Welshman since Tom Price in the 1970s to race in

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Formula One. At just 18, Matt Parry has been racing since he can

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remember. A karting start, he is out combining a day-job with his

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bid to rise through the ranks drive form a one. -- Formula One.

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started with my dad. We used to look to the Welsh mountains and do

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some motocross. We used to take a bacon sandwich and go far hours on

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end. That gave me a love for motor sport in general. From then, go-

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karting seemed like a good thing to do and we started doing that at an

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amateur level. Then it progressed to European and world championships.

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It quickly escalated into something a return full-time. Without doubt,

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:09:24.:09:24.

I would not be where I am today. -- without my father. I have been with

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this company for over a year and they have become my family in terms

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of a team. We have got to know each other's characteristics and now we

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work very well together. This season, could you a race in the

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European Cup for the top British team. I did not sleep last night.

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This is the first time I have seen the car and I think it looks

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fantastic. The weather is not great so we were just to a few things and

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try out a few ideas. In this game, we're talking about tenths of

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seconds. Anything we can find to produce a better time is important.

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He is very aggressive. He is one of the fittest young drivers we have

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ever worked with. He does not get tired. He is a very exciting young

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driver. I think he will go a long way. There is no reason why he

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:10:53.:10:54.

can't go all the way to form a low one. -- Formula One. Tom Price was

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your last one in the 70s and is no reason why for it -- Wales can have

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another former One driver. I am a occupational therapist assistant.

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We lay on activities for the patient in mental health. We try

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and build on their life experiences in terms of cooking and cleaning

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and various different activities. Even hobbies like playing football

:11:29.:11:39.
:11:39.:11:40.

and gardening. We assess their abilities to do that activities.

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Then when the going to the community, they know what to do and

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they have or those key skills. -- they have those key skills. It is

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very difficult but it is something I wanted to do. It's great to get

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some life experiences. It is nice to have an academy of young drivers

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to bring them through. We are helping him out in these early

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stages. It is a fantastic tool to be able to learn theorist different

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circuits and also just to get a feel for formal one. Obviously the

:12:24.:12:34.
:12:34.:12:34.

braking force and acceleration is different. He is 18 and now and if

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he races in the top three here, he has a good chance of moving on.

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were able to get two propositions from the first two races. The first

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race was disappointing because I had a few technical issues with the

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tears but we hung on to 4th place which was a great result. The

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second and third race, we got onto the podium. The aim is to come --

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is to become the next Welsh Formula One superstar. I would love to have

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a career in motor sport but at the moment I am focused. It may only be

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the beginning of April but Glamorgan's season is under way

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with a four-day match against Northamptonshire. Last season

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proved to be another disappointing campaign for the Welsh county but

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the players and the coaching staff are desperate to make a big

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impression in 2013. When the former England captain Michael Atherton

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wrote last month that Glamorgan were no-hopers, it was a

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predictable observation to make considering last year's record of

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just eight wins in 38 matches. But in the off-season, there was no

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repeat of their head lens of past years. Last winter was the quietest

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the club that had for some time. With the coaching staff working

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hard to avoid a repeat of 25 -- 2012. We looked at last year and we

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did not get out side enough on the turf. Sometimes the weather

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prevents that. Through the club's initiative, we have got into our

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indoor and outdoor marquee. It has been amazing for the bowlers in

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particular to run in and bowl full tilt. To be bowling on grass when

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it's raining, it does not get any better than that. We had 10 days in

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South Africa to prepare as well. Our preparation has been first-

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When Murray Goodwin was released by Sussex last September, Glamorgan

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signed him up with three county championships to his name, he

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brings huge experience. What we hope he will bring is not only his

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runs, which are important, that experience of being involved in a

:15:06.:15:11.

winning unit. Having been in a successful environment, not only in

:15:11.:15:17.

western Australia, also with Sussex, it's the sort of culture that I'm

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used to. Then, to doom here, I could see that Glamorgan are making

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strides all the time in getting better as a county. For young

:15:26.:15:31.

players, young players, not talking about the first team, young players

:15:31.:15:36.

in the Glamorgan squad, they should watch and learn. Also playing his

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first game for the club is the Australian Michael Hogan. He wasn't

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a full-time professional until his late 20's. I think people that

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follow their cricket know he has done a good job in Australian

:15:52.:15:58.

cricket in the last three or four years. We are lucky he had a

:15:58.:16:01.

British passport. He was keen to come over here. We tried to sign

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him last year. He had an offer on the table, he honoured the contract

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here. That is great for our club. There is a little bit of

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expectation, I suppose, maybe a lot of it is put on by myself, the

:16:18.:16:23.

pressure to perform. I mean, I'd like to go out there and do a good

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job and take wickets and be on the winning team for the season.

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successes of the '90s are fondly remembered around the stadium.

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Recently, the supporter numbers have dwindled. There is a lot of

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good feeling around this club, if we doo-doo well the supporters will

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get on board. Even our one-day kit you will notice this year is

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receipt owe. Back to the last winning side. The guys in this

:16:50.:16:53.

squad are aware of what happened before. They are keen to emulate

:16:53.:16:58.

what went on as well. For me, it's about seeing our players reach

:16:58.:17:02.

their potential. And, if you get more players than not reaching

:17:02.:17:06.

their potential through a season, then the chances of you being a

:17:06.:17:12.

more successful unit are higher and greater. Despite the pre-season

:17:12.:17:14.

optimism it has been another disappointing start to Glamorgan's

:17:14.:17:19.

season. It's been an up hill struggle. At the end of Day Three

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they are 96-4 in the second innings, needing another 612 runs to force

:17:25.:17:31.

North Hants to bat again. Back to football now. A special feature on

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where the next Ryan Giggs or Gareth Bale might be unearthed. Ian Hunt

:17:36.:17:40.

has taken a look at the role of the Welsh Premier League and asking

:17:40.:17:43.

whether they could play an important part in developing the

:17:43.:17:49.

next generation of Welsh footballers. It's looking good at

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the top of the Welsh game. Cardiff and Swansea about to be reunited in

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the Premier League. Fresh young talent at national level. A world-

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class star in Gareth Bale. What chance of the Bale's and Giggs' of

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the future coming from the domestic league. It's important to develop

:18:12.:18:16.

players in Welsh football be that in the domestic or in particular

:18:16.:18:20.

the late developers. Playing in the League of Wales was my showcase.

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as a country have to be able to provide a football infrastructure

:18:24.:18:30.

for those talented players that, perhaps, haven't caught the eye of

:18:30.:18:35.

the Manchester Uniteds. This is where the powers that be see the

:18:35.:18:40.

local future. Local clubs opening their gates to the community and

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giving youngsters like these a chance to make it to the top. It's

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admirable, but is it realistic? How many kids at grassroots level will

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make it to the Premier League or international stage? Mark Delaney

:18:54.:19:01.

made the leap from Welsh Premier to English Premier and full Wales

:19:01.:19:07.

international. He moved to Aston Villa via Cardiff City with Wales

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caps along the way. It made me the person I was. It made me a strong

:19:10.:19:17.

character. No doubt about it. No scouting system really down the

:19:17.:19:23.

West Wales area. If there is, it's very limited. Me, playing in the

:19:23.:19:25.

League of Wales with Carmarthen was my showcase. That was the only

:19:25.:19:28.

place I could play on the off chance there would be scouts going

:19:29.:19:33.

to watch because it was the highest league in Wales. For me, Carmarthen

:19:33.:19:36.

was my steppingstone to play professional football and

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international football. How strong is the League? Clubs are struggling

:19:41.:19:49.

to survive on gate recipe -- receipts alone. The Football

:19:49.:19:53.

Association of Wales will try to help clubs by make an investment in

:19:53.:19:56.

so-called third generation all weather pitches. You are the man

:19:56.:20:02.

who runs the Welsh Premier League, how sustainable is it in its

:20:02.:20:06.

current format? Well, the investment in the League is

:20:06.:20:11.

�650,000 a year. That is more than doubled in the last four years. We

:20:11.:20:16.

are looking to 3G strategy which hopefully will make clubs more

:20:16.:20:23.

community-based and community hubs to give it more of an identity and

:20:23.:20:26.

sustainability. People are sick and tired of playing the teams over and

:20:26.:20:30.

over again with the format it is. The attendencies went up initially

:20:30.:20:35.

with the introduction of the Super 12 went down to what they were

:20:35.:20:39.

before. The average attendance this season 285? The attendances aren't

:20:39.:20:44.

good enough. The standard of play deserves better support. You are

:20:44.:20:49.

also asking about the Super 12 format. We are in the process at

:20:49.:20:53.

the moment of developing a strategy with our clubs, with our stake

:20:53.:20:57.

holders, and only one club mentioned they would prefer 16

:20:57.:21:02.

format. Many clubs need more cash if the league is to thrive. You

:21:02.:21:07.

only get �15,000 in prize money for winning it. Now the National

:21:07.:21:11.

Assembly has got involved, held an inquiry and made recommendations

:21:11.:21:14.

but no promises of major financial support. The Government are happy

:21:14.:21:18.

to take on the recommendation that is apply to them. Recommendations

:21:18.:21:21.

they should talk with the FAW, particularly around the community

:21:21.:21:25.

hub. Money is tight. Therefore, it's about making the best of money

:21:25.:21:30.

that is available to get the best outcomes. The FAW say they are

:21:30.:21:33.

disappointed the money is not match-funded is there any money

:21:33.:21:36.

from the Welsh Assembly? There is money for the sport. How much?

:21:36.:21:39.

don't know the figures. There is money there. It's careful use of

:21:39.:21:45.

that. It's good sensible use as well. It is not saying, there is

:21:45.:21:49.

Government money, off you go. It's saying, there a pot of money. How

:21:49.:21:59.
:21:59.:22:03.

can we get the best interest for everybody. Was it really worth be

:22:03.:22:09.

successful in the first place? were unfortunate getting into

:22:09.:22:16.

Europe. We drew. The trip had huge costs. We had to (inaudible) which

:22:16.:22:22.

cost money as well. We made a loss on what we got from UEFA. So we

:22:22.:22:29.

really didn't make a penny. There are plenty of tales around Neath

:22:29.:22:35.

went bust after gambling on big signings and wages. Bury Town

:22:35.:22:39.

struggled to stay afloat as they were left locked out of their own

:22:39.:22:46.

ground for a time. There are success stories. TNS have equaled

:22:46.:22:52.

Barry's record of seven Welsh Premier titles. We have a business

:22:52.:22:58.

that runs 365 day as year. We take babies into mothers clubs. We have

:22:58.:23:04.

kids' play areas. We have bowling. We are the hub of the social area

:23:04.:23:08.

so people with hire out our place. People get married here. We hire

:23:08.:23:13.

out the pitch. We put that revenue together and it allows us to use

:23:13.:23:17.

that profit to fund a full-time football team. How realistic do you

:23:17.:23:22.

think it is that the next Gareth Bale, Joe Allen, whoever, is going

:23:22.:23:28.

to come from the Welsh Premier? have to be able to provide a

:23:28.:23:31.

football infrastructure for those talented players that perhaps

:23:31.:23:35.

haven't caught the eye of the Manchester Uniteds, but would still

:23:35.:23:43.

be great players and, possibly, turn into Ryan Giggs' or Gareth

:23:43.:23:48.

Bale's if they had support. Clubs are trying to reach out to

:23:48.:23:50.

youngsters in their local communities. The Assembly and the

:23:50.:23:59.

FAW want to see more of what Rhyl are doing. The power of football is

:23:59.:24:04.

immense. Every English football club in the Premier League run a

:24:04.:24:08.

community programme. I think it's got to be the way forward for Welsh

:24:08.:24:12.

Premier League football clubs. can the most talented youngsters

:24:12.:24:20.

make the grade here? Before becoming part of the senior Wales

:24:20.:24:25.

setup this man managed in the league. A young player in Wales

:24:25.:24:27.

will have the opportunity to progress in some shape or form.

:24:27.:24:32.

Obviously, if they are picked up by the professional clubs, be it

:24:32.:24:38.

Wrexham, Newport County, Cardiff City or Swansea, they are in the

:24:38.:24:42.

system from the beginning. If they are not, we have the 12 Welsh

:24:42.:24:45.

Premier League academies that are funded by UEFA, because of their

:24:45.:24:50.

membership in the National League. Below that, there is excellent work

:24:50.:24:54.

being done by clubs who don't get that funding, but still think it's

:24:55.:24:59.

important to develop players in their community and their area.

:24:59.:25:03.

realistic is it that those young players could end up playing one

:25:03.:25:07.

day in the Premier League and for Wales? There are improvements to be

:25:07.:25:13.

made, the structure is in place to allow young players to centre that

:25:13.:25:17.

opportunity. While the opportunity is there, it seems likely the most

:25:17.:25:21.

talented youngsters would choose Swansea over the New Saints,

:25:21.:25:24.

Cardiff City over Carmarthen Town, even if there are plenty who

:25:24.:25:31.

started in the Welsh League and made it to the football league in

:25:31.:25:35.

the end. Gareth Bale, Bellamy's and Ryan Giggs will get there. They

:25:35.:25:39.

don't need that stepping stone. They will get picked up. The likes

:25:39.:25:44.

of people of my ability, that need the League of Wales, they need

:25:44.:25:51.

grassroots football to get there. Well, we have just seen a piece

:25:52.:25:55.

there on the League of Wales, how important is that league for Welsh

:25:55.:25:59.

football? It's important for Welsh people that they have their own

:25:59.:26:04.

Welsh league. The big thing, for me, is how to develop and how to make

:26:04.:26:12.

that league longer. I think only TTNS are the full-time side in that

:26:12.:26:14.

division. Probably, while that is still the case, there is not going

:26:15.:26:18.

to be the interest that maybe there should be. It's difficult for all

:26:18.:26:23.

the clubs now because professional clubs have got such a network of

:26:23.:26:27.

scouts out there that the best players will get, at a young age,

:26:27.:26:31.

will be taken from the local communities, from Community Clubs.

:26:31.:26:36.

I echo the fact it's massively important for the whole Welsh

:26:36.:26:39.

community, if you like, for the population of Wales to have their

:26:39.:26:43.

own league. I have a question mark, how much does it, in terms of

:26:43.:26:49.

making any impact on the prafgsal game? Let us talk about Wrexham and

:26:49.:26:54.

Newport. What a season it has been for both clubs. What do you see

:26:54.:27:00.

happening? A tough one to call. Delighted that they have both

:27:00.:27:04.

secured their play-off positions. I think they will both be slightly

:27:04.:27:07.

disappointed that they haven'ted a had more of a push towards that top

:27:08.:27:13.

spot in the Blue Square. Now, it's all about gaining momentum, going

:27:13.:27:23.

into the two legged semi-final. Mansfield look like winning the

:27:23.:27:29.

league, Grimsby, I can't see anyone else knocking into that top five.

:27:29.:27:35.

Everyone is hoping one of them gets up. It's not over and done and

:27:35.:27:38.

dusted. With kid minister in there as well and Grimsby Town it will be

:27:38.:27:42.

a fight to the end. They will forgive me for saying that maybe

:27:42.:27:45.

the automatic spot has gone. It would be nice to see one of them

:27:45.:27:50.

come through and get back into the League and underline how the upward

:27:50.:27:54.

curve Welsh football is on to make sure one of them gets in there.

:27:54.:27:57.

Thank you both very much for joining us on Sport Wales. That is

:27:57.:28:02.

it for this week. Best of luck to Cardiff City against Nottingham

:28:02.:28:08.

Forest tomorrow. We leave you with this, Rio Ferdinand thought that

:28:08.:28:12.

David Marshall's save against Watford last Saturday was the best

:28:12.:28:21.

since Banks banks at the 1970 World Cup. We will enjoy that again and

:28:21.:28:25.

leave you some great Welsh moments. leave you some great Welsh moments.

:28:25.:28:34.

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