Newport County Association Football Club ( cy, Clwb Pêl-droed Cymdeithas Sir Casnewydd) is a professional
football club in the city of
Newport,
South Wales. The team compete in , the fourth tier of the
English football league system. The club's usual
home colours are amber shirts and black shorts.
Formed in 1912, the club began life in the
Southern League before being invited to become founder members of the
Football League Third Division
The Football League Third Division was the third tier of the English football league system in 1920–21 and again from 1958 until 1992. When the FA Premier League was formed, the division become the fourth tier level. In 2004, following th ...
in 1920. They failed re-election in 1931, but were elected back into the
Football League the next year. They struggled for the next few seasons, but went on to be crowned
Third Division South
The Third Division South of The Football League was a tier in the English football league system from 1921 to 1958. It ran in parallel with the Third Division North with clubs elected to the League or relegated from Division Two allocated to ...
champions in 1938–39.
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...
meant they had to wait until the 1946–47 season to take their place in the
Second Division
In sport, the Second Division, also called Division 2 or Division II is usually the second highest division of a league, and will often have promotion and relegation with divisions above and below. Following the rise of Premier League style compet ...
, though they were relegated at the end of the campaign. They were relegated out of the Third Division in 1962. In the 1979–80 season, under manager
Len Ashurst
Leonard Ashurst (10 March 1939 – 25 September 2021) was an English football player, manager and administrator.
He spent most of his playing career with Sunderland, making 458 appearances, the second most in the club's history. He retired a ...
, they secured promotion out of the
Fourth Division and won the
Welsh Cup
The FAW Welsh Cup ( cy, Cwpan Cymdeithas Pêl-droed Cymru), currently known as the JD Welsh Cup for sponsorship reasons, is a knock-out football competition contested annually by teams in the Welsh football league system. It is considered the mos ...
for the first time. They reached the quarter-finals of the
UEFA Cup Winner's Cup the next year. In the 1980s they suffered financial difficulties with a double relegation costing them their Football League place in 1988 and the club went out of business in February 1989.
The club reformed but were initially unable to play at their home ground at
Somerton Park
Somerton Park was a football, greyhound racing and speedway stadium in Newport, South Wales.
Football
In April 1912 Newport County had been accepted to play in the Southern League for the 1912–13 season. Shortly afterwards, the site ...
, so picked up the nickname of the "Exiles". They immediately won the
Hellenic League in 1989–90 and were promoted out of the
Southern League Midland Division in 1994–95. While playing at
Newport Stadium
Newport Stadium, also known as Spytty Park, is an association football, rugby and athletics stadium in Newport, South Wales. It is the home of Newport City Football Club, Newport RFC and Newport Harriers Athletic Club. It was previously also ...
, they were relegated from the Premier Division in 1997, before winning promotion out of the Midland Division again in 1998–99. Placed in the
Conference South in 2004, they went on to be crowned champions in 2009–10 and after moving to
Rodney Parade
Rodney Parade is a stadium in the city of Newport, South Wales, owned and operated by the Welsh Rugby Union. It is located on the east bank of the River Usk in Newport city centre. The ground is on Rodney Road, a short walk from the city's c ...
in 2012, they returned to the Football League following a 25-year absence after winning the
Conference National play-off final in
2013
File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fa ...
under manager
Justin Edinburgh
Justin Charles Edinburgh (18 December 1969 – 8 June 2019) was an English professional football manager and player who played as a left back.
He notably played in the Premier League for Tottenham Hotspur, where he made 213 league appearance ...
.
History
1912–1988
Rise through the league
Newport County, originally nicknamed The Ironsides due to Newport being home to Lysaght's
Orb Works
John Lysaght and Co. was an iron and steel company established in Bristol, England, and with later operations in Wolverhampton, Newport, and Scunthorpe. The company was acquired by GKN in 1920.
The founder
John Lysaght (1832–1895) was bor ...
steel works
A steel mill or steelworks is an industrial plant for the manufacture of steel. It may be an integrated steel works carrying out all steps of steelmaking from smelting iron ore to rolled product, but may also be a plant where steel semi-finis ...
, started out in the
Southern League in 1912 at
Somerton Park
Somerton Park was a football, greyhound racing and speedway stadium in Newport, South Wales.
Football
In April 1912 Newport County had been accepted to play in the Southern League for the 1912–13 season. Shortly afterwards, the site ...
.
The official name of the club was The Newport & Monmouthshire County Association Football Club, although the shorter ''Newport County'' was soon adopted.
The club were reformed in 1919
and were first elected to the
Football League in
1920. They were not
re-elected after the
1930–31 season but rejoined for 1932–33.
After almost 20 years in the
Third Division South
The Third Division South of The Football League was a tier in the English football league system from 1921 to 1958. It ran in parallel with the Third Division North with clubs elected to the League or relegated from Division Two allocated to ...
, the club finally clinched promotion to the
Second Division
In sport, the Second Division, also called Division 2 or Division II is usually the second highest division of a league, and will often have promotion and relegation with divisions above and below. Following the rise of Premier League style compet ...
as champions in
1939 under manager
Billy McCandless.
Second Division
![Newport County FC League Performance](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/7c/Newport_County_FC_League_Performance.svg)
Hopes were high that the championship-winning side could prosper in the Second Division, but only three games were played of the
1939–40 season due to the outbreak of
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...
. Newport County managed a 1–1 draw with
Tottenham Hotspur
Tottenham Hotspur Football Club, commonly referred to as Tottenham () or Spurs, is a professional football club based in Tottenham, London, England. It competes in the Premier League, the top flight of English football. The team has playe ...
and a 3–1 win over
Southampton
Southampton () is a port city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire built-up area, which also covers Po ...
, finishing joint ninth out of 22 in the abandoned season. The War League operated for the remainder of the
1939–40 season and County finished 10th in the South-West Division.
After the war, the club reformed and competed in the temporary
Football League South
The Football League North and Football League South divisions of the Football League were created temporarily for the League to continue through the Second World War while limiting the amount of movement that was required by teams. The leagues star ...
for the
1945–46 season. On the resumption of national league football for the
1946–47 season Newport resumed their place in the Second Division but the reshaped team suffered a host of defeats – including a joint
Football League record 13–0 defeat at
Newcastle United. Newcastle player
Len Shackleton
Leonard Francis Shackleton (3 May 1922 – 28 November 2000) was an English footballer. Known as the "Clown Prince of Football", he is generally regarded as one of English football's finest ever entertainers. He also played cricket in the Minor ...
remarked "they were lucky to get nil". Despite victories over
Coventry City
Coventry City Football Club is a professional association football club based in Coventry, West Midlands, England. The team currently compete in the Championship, the second tier of the English football league system. The club is nicknamed t ...
,
Sheffield Wednesday
Sheffield Wednesday Football Club is a professional association football club based in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. The team competes in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. Formed in 1867 as an offshoot ...
and
Fulham, the club needed four wins out of the last four games to have any hope of safety. Despite a revenge victory over Newcastle United, defeats to
Birmingham City
Birmingham City Football Club is a professional association football, football club based in Birmingham, England. Formed in 1875 as Small Heath Alliance, it was renamed Small Heath in 1888, Birmingham in 1905, and Birmingham City in 1943. Sin ...
,
Luton Town
Luton Town Football Club () is a professional association football club based in the town of Luton, Bedfordshire, England, that competes in the Championship, the second tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1885, it is nicknam ...
and
Manchester City sealed their fate. County finished bottom of the Second Division and were relegated.
Third Division
Newport reached the fifth round of the
1948–49 FA Cup
The 1948–49 FA Cup was the 68th staging of the world's oldest football cup competition, the Football Association Challenge Cup, commonly known as the FA Cup. Wolverhampton Wanderers won the competition for the third time, beating Leicester City ...
under manager
Tom Bromilow, the furthest they have gone in the competition, later equalled in 2019. They only narrowly lost the game 3–2 away to
Portsmouth
Portsmouth ( ) is a port and city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. The city of Portsmouth has been a unitary authority since 1 April 1997 and is administered by Portsmouth City Council.
Portsmouth is the most dens ...
, the eventual FA Cup semi-finalists and
First Division champions that season.
After 11 further seasons in the Third Division South, the club narrowly avoided another effective relegation with the creation of the
Fourth Division for the
1958–59 season. The bottom 12 teams from the Third Division North and South were placed in the new division, with the remainder forming the revived
Third Division. County avoided this fate by a mere four points. However, in
1962
Events January
* January 1 – Western Samoa becomes independent from New Zealand.
* January 3 – Pope John XXIII excommunicates Fidel Castro for preaching communism.
* January 8 – Harmelen train disaster: 93 die in the wor ...
, with only seven wins all season, the club were relegated to the Fourth Division – their home for the next 18 years.
Fourth Division
Billy Lucas had the first of three spells as Newport County manager from 1953 to 1961. County reached the fourth round of the
1956–57 FA Cup
The 1956–57 FA Cup was the 76th staging of the world's oldest football cup competition, the Football Association Challenge Cup, commonly known as the FA Cup. Aston Villa won the competition, beating Manchester United 2–1 in the final at Wemb ...
losing 2–0 to
Arsenal in front of 20,000 spectators at Somerton Park. In the
1958–59 FA Cup
The 1958–59 FA Cup was the 78th staging of the world's oldest football cup competition, the Football Association Challenge Cup, commonly known as the FA Cup. Nottingham Forest won the competition for their second time, as of 2022, beating Lut ...
County faced
Tottenham Hotspur
Tottenham Hotspur Football Club, commonly referred to as Tottenham () or Spurs, is a professional football club based in Tottenham, London, England. It competes in the Premier League, the top flight of English football. The team has playe ...
in the fourth round. The game was played in heavy snow away at
White Hart Lane
White Hart Lane was a football stadium in Tottenham, North London and the home of Tottenham Hotspur Football Club from 1899 to 2017. Its capacity varied over the years; when changed to all-seater it had a capacity of 36,284 before demolition. ...
, and although County lost 4–1 their goal came from an incredible 35-yard effort by defender
Ken Hollyman. This made the score-line 1–2, giving County the hope that they could force an upset upon
Bill Nicholson's men (who were
double
A double is a look-alike or doppelgänger; one person or being that resembles another.
Double, The Double or Dubble may also refer to:
Film and television
* Double (filmmaking), someone who substitutes for the credited actor of a character
* ...
winners
a year later). However, two late goals for Tottenham ended County's hopes of pulling off a shock result.
County faced Tottenham again in the
1959–60 FA Cup
The 1959–60 FA Cup was the 79th staging of the world's oldest football cup competition, the Football Association Challenge Cup, commonly known as the FA Cup. Wolverhampton Wanderers won the competition for the fourth time, beating Blackburn Ro ...
third round at Somerton Park in front of a cup record 24,000 crowd, this time losing 4–0.
In January 1964 under
Billy Lucas in his second spell as manager, County took on another high-profile side –
Burnley
Burnley () is a town and the administrative centre of the wider Borough of Burnley in Lancashire, England, with a 2001 population of 73,021. It is north of Manchester and east of Preston, Lancashire, Preston, at the confluence of the River C ...
, the
1960
It is also known as the "Year of Africa" because of major events—particularly the independence of seventeen African nations—that focused global attention on the continent and intensified feelings of Pan-Africanism.
Events
January
* Jan ...
Division One
The Football League First Division was a division of the Football League in England from 1888 until 2004. It was the top division in the English football league system from the season 1888–89 until 1991–92, a century in which the First ...
champions and
1962
Events January
* January 1 – Western Samoa becomes independent from New Zealand.
* January 3 – Pope John XXIII excommunicates Fidel Castro for preaching communism.
* January 8 – Harmelen train disaster: 93 die in the wor ...
double
A double is a look-alike or doppelgänger; one person or being that resembles another.
Double, The Double or Dubble may also refer to:
Film and television
* Double (filmmaking), someone who substitutes for the credited actor of a character
* ...
runners-up – in the FA Cup fourth round, but again suffered defeat 2–1.
In the
1970–71 season the Newport team managed by
Bobby Ferguson set an unwanted Football League record by not winning any of their first 25 matches, losing 21 in the process. In the same season Newport equalled the worst defeat of a Football League club by a non-league club when they lost 6–1 to
Barnet in the
FA Cup First Round. Results improved in the following season under
Billy Lucas in his third spell as manager and in the
1972–73 season Newport missed out on promotion only on
goal average
A goal is an idea of the future or desired result that a person or a group of people envision, plan and commit to achieve. People endeavour to reach goals within a finite time by setting deadlines.
A goal is roughly similar to a purpose or ai ...
.
For the
1976–77 season the team managed by
Jimmy Scoular
James Scoular (11 January 1925 – 19 March 1998) was a Scottish football player and manager. Known as a tough, combative player with precise passing skills, Scoular made over 600 appearances in the Football League with Portsmouth, Newcastle ...
changed their playing strip to light blue and white striped shirts, light blue shorts and white socks akin to the Argentina national team in an attempt to turn around their fortunes. However, the team continued to struggle until
Colin Addison
Colin Addison (born 18 May 1940) is an English former professional footballer and manager.
Born in Taunton, Somerset, Addison started his playing career with York City before moving to Nottingham Forest, Arsenal and Sheffield United. His man ...
took over in January 1977. The season became known as "the great escape" as County avoided relegation with a 1–0 win at home to
Workington
Workington is a coastal town and civil parish at the mouth of the River Derwent on the west coast in the Allerdale borough of Cumbria, England. The town was historically in Cumberland. At the 2011 census it had a population of 25,207.
Locat ...
in the last game of the season.
Promotion, cup 'glory' and European run
![Somerton Park, Newport - geograph-1225331](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3b/Somerton_Park%2C_Newport_-_geograph-1225331.jpg)
The 1980s heralded both the brightest and darkest moments in Newport County's history.
Len Ashurst
Leonard Ashurst (10 March 1939 – 25 September 2021) was an English football player, manager and administrator.
He spent most of his playing career with Sunderland, making 458 appearances, the second most in the club's history. He retired a ...
was manager from 1978 to 1982, the club's most successful period in its history and under the chairmanship of Richard Ford. In the
1978–79 FA Cup
The 1978–79 FA Cup was the 98th staging of the world's oldest football knockout competition, The Football Association Challenge Cup, or FA Cup. The final saw Arsenal beat Manchester United 3–2, three of the five goals being scored in the last ...
County beat
West Ham United
West Ham United Football Club is an English professional football club that plays its home matches in Stratford, East London. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. The club plays at the London Stadium, hav ...
2–1 in round three before losing 1–0 to
Colchester United
Colchester United Football Club is a professional association football club based in the city of Colchester, Essex, England. The team competes in , the fourth tier of the English football league system.
Founded in 1937, the club spent its earl ...
in a fourth round replay. In
1980, promotion was finally achieved from the Football League Fourth Division, the club being only five points from being crowned champions although never being in contention to win the league and never being top. County sealed promotion in the last match of the season with a 4–2 win at high-flying
Walsall
Walsall (, or ; locally ) is a market town and administrative centre in the West Midlands County, England. Historically part of Staffordshire, it is located north-west of Birmingham, east of Wolverhampton and from Lichfield.
Walsall is th ...
. Walsall finished second in the league and were also promoted.
The team included a young
John Aldridge
John William Aldridge (born 18 September 1958) is a former football player and manager. He was a prolific, record-breaking striker best known for his time with English club Liverpool in the late 1980s. His tally of 330 Football League goals is ...
who later became one of the most prolific goal-scorers in English football history, most famous for helping
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a populat ...
win the
First Division title in 1988 and FA Cup in 1989, as well as helping
Oxford United
Oxford United Football Club is a professional football club in the city of Oxford, England. The team plays in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. The chairman is Grant Ferguson, the manager is Karl Robinson and t ...
win two successive promotions and the
Football League Cup.
Also in the promotion-winning team was
Tommy Tynan
Thomas Edward Tynan (born 17 November 1955) is an English retired professional footballer.
A hard working striker with flowing blonde hair, Tynan was signed as an apprentice for Liverpool by manager Bill Shankly after winning a talent contest ...
, one of the leading lower-league strikers of his era, who scored the all-important goal that sealed County's promotion.
Dave Gwyther
David Gwyther (born 6 December 1948) is a former Wales Under-23 international footballer.
Career
A tall, strong striker he began his career with Swansea Town and was their top scorer for four successive seasons scoring 60 goals in 216 matches. ...
completed the trio of prolific goalscorers whilst captain
Keith Oakes provided strength in central defence. Youth team products
Steve Lowndes and
Nigel Vaughan
Nigel Mark Vaughan (born 20 May 1959 in Caerleon) is a Welsh former professional footballer and Wales international. He gained ten international caps during his football career.
Club career Newport County
Vaughan started his playing career at ...
went on to attain international caps for
Wales
Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in ...
. This was also the year that County
won the Welsh Cup, entitling them to play in the 1980–81 season
European Cup Winners' Cup
The UEFA Cup Winners' Cup was a European football club competition contested annually by the winners of domestic cup competitions. The cup was, chronologically, the second seasonal inter-European club competition organised by UEFA. The tournam ...
.
The
1980–81 European Cup Winners' Cup
The 1980–81 season of the European Cup Winners' Cup was won by Dinamo Tbilisi in the final against Carl Zeiss Jena. Dinamo Tbilisi's side defeated English Second Division side West Ham United away before beating Carl Zeiss Jena in a final watc ...
turned out to be quite eventful – the first round against
Crusaders
The Crusades were a series of religious wars initiated, supported, and sometimes directed by the Latin Church in the medieval period. The best known of these Crusades are those to the Holy Land in the period between 1095 and 1291 that were in ...
of
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...
was won 4–0 on aggregate (4–0 at home and 0–0 away). The second round against
SK Haugar
Sportsklubben Haugar is an association football club from Haugesund, Norway, established in 1939. Its top women's team plays in the Second Division and the top men's team plays in the Fifth Division.
The men's team has played two Norwegian Foot ...
of
Norway
Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the ...
was even more convincing: after a 0–0 draw away, the home leg was won 6–0, taking the club into the quarter-finals against
Carl Zeiss Jena F.C. of
East Germany
East Germany, officially the German Democratic Republic (GDR; german: Deutsche Demokratische Republik, , DDR, ), was a country that existed from its creation on 7 October 1949 until its dissolution on 3 October 1990. In these years the state ...
. Aldridge was injured for both matches against Carl Zeiss Jena, though he was a non-playing substitute in the 2nd leg. The quarter-final away leg was drawn 2–2 with Tommy Tynan scoring both goals, including his equaliser in the 90th minute. However, despite dominating the home leg, Newport lost 1–0 in front of 18,000 fans at Somerton Park, denying them a high-profile semi-final with
S.L. Benfica
Sport Lisboa e Benfica (), commonly known as Benfica, is a professional football club based in Lisbon, Portugal, that competes in the Primeira Liga, the top flight of Portuguese football.
Founded on 28 February 1904 as ''Sport Lisboa'', Be ...
. Carl Zeiss Jena went on to be the eventual cup runners-up, losing the final to
Dinamo Tbilisi
Dinamo Tbilisi is a sports club from Tbilisi, Georgia. It was founded in 1925.
Among its highest honors, is the European trophy earned by its football team which won the Cup Winners' Cup in 1981, beating FC Carl Zeiss Jena of East Germany 2–1 ...
of the
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...
.
The Newport County squad for the first leg was: 1
Gary Plumley
Gary Plumley (born 24 March 1956) is an English former professional footballer who played in the Football League for Newport County, Hereford United and Cardiff City, and in the Hong Kong First Division League for Happy Valley.
A goalkeeper ...
, 2
Richard Walden, 3
John Relish, 4
Grant Davies
Grant Davies (born 11 September 1963) is an Australian sprint canoeist who competed in the late 1980s. At the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul
Seoul (; ; ), officially known as the Seoul Special City, is the Capital city, capital and la ...
, 5
Keith Oakes (Captain), 6
Tommy Tynan
Thomas Edward Tynan (born 17 November 1955) is an English retired professional footballer.
A hard working striker with flowing blonde hair, Tynan was signed as an apprentice for Liverpool by manager Bill Shankly after winning a talent contest ...
, 7
Nigel Vaughan
Nigel Mark Vaughan (born 20 May 1959 in Caerleon) is a Welsh former professional footballer and Wales international. He gained ten international caps during his football career.
Club career Newport County
Vaughan started his playing career at ...
, 8
Steve Lowndes, 9
Dave Gwyther
David Gwyther (born 6 December 1948) is a former Wales Under-23 international footballer.
Career
A tall, strong striker he began his career with Swansea Town and was their top scorer for four successive seasons scoring 60 goals in 216 matches. ...
, 10
Karl Elsey, 11
Kevin Moore
Kevin Moore (born May 26, 1967) is an American keyboardist, composer, and founder of the Chroma Key music project. He is also a former member of the American progressive metal/ rock band Dream Theater, co-founder of the progressive rock supe ...
, 12
Neil Bailey, 13
Steve Warriner, 14
Dave Bruton, 15
Bobby Ward, 16
Mark Kendall.
In the
1982–83 season Colin Addison
Colin Addison (born 18 May 1940) is an English former professional footballer and manager.
Born in Taunton, Somerset, Addison started his playing career with York City before moving to Nottingham Forest, Arsenal and Sheffield United. His man ...
, in his second spell as manager, led Newport County to their highest post-war league finish – 4th in the Third Division, just four points behind third-placed
Huddersfield Town
Huddersfield Town Association Football Club is a professional football club based in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, England, which compete in the . The team have played home games at the Kirklees Stadium since moving from Leeds Road in 1994. Th ...
. Huddersfield were promoted to the Second Division, along with champions
Portsmouth
Portsmouth ( ) is a port and city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. The city of Portsmouth has been a unitary authority since 1 April 1997 and is administered by Portsmouth City Council.
Portsmouth is the most dens ...
and local rivals
Cardiff City. County had actually gone top of the table in early April after a 1–0 win over Cardiff in front of 16,052 fans at Somerton Park, but a return of only four points from the last seven games meant County missed out on promotion. County faced
First-Division team
Everton in the third round of the
1982–83 FA Cup
The 1982–83 FA Cup was the 102nd season of the world's oldest football knockout competition, The Football Association Challenge Cup, or FA Cup for short. The competition was won by Manchester United, who drew the first final 2–2, but won the ...
. After a 1–1 draw at Newport, Everton won the replay 2–1.
In 1986 County reached the FA Cup third round under manager
Bobby Smith, losing 2–0 to
Sunderland. Newport appeared in the
Welsh Cup
The FAW Welsh Cup ( cy, Cwpan Cymdeithas Pêl-droed Cymru), currently known as the JD Welsh Cup for sponsorship reasons, is a knock-out football competition contested annually by teams in the Welsh football league system. It is considered the mos ...
final again in 1987 under manager
John Lewis
John Robert Lewis (February 21, 1940 – July 17, 2020) was an American politician and civil rights activist who served in the United States House of Representatives for from 1987 until his death in 2020. He participated in the 1960 Nashville ...
, this time losing 1–0 to
Merthyr Tydfil after a replay.
Freefall and bankruptcy
Despite reaching the Welsh Cup final, County were relegated from the Third Division in
1987
File:1987 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The MS Herald of Free Enterprise capsizes after leaving the Port of Zeebrugge in Belgium, killing 193; Northwest Airlines Flight 255 crashes after takeoff from Detroit Metropolitan Airport, ...
and in
1988
File:1988 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The oil platform Piper Alpha explodes and collapses in the North Sea, killing 165 workers; The USS Vincennes (CG-49) mistakenly shoots down Iran Air Flight 655; Australia celebrates its Bicenten ...
finished bottom of the Fourth Division with a mere 25 points, meaning that their 60-season stay in the Football League was over. They failed to finish their
first season in the
Conference and finally went out of business on 27 February 1989 with debts of £330,000. They were then expelled from the Conference for failing to fulfil their fixtures. Their record (four wins, seven draws and 19 points from 29 games) was expunged.
The BBC Wales current affairs programme ''Week in Week Out'' broadcast a documentary in 1989 about the winding up of Newport County and its controversial owner at the time, American Jerry Sherman.
1989 onwards
Reformation and exile
In June 1989 the club was reformed by 400 supporters, including David Hando as chairman and, later, club president. Former manager
John Relish was re-appointed team manager and they were elected to the
Hellenic League (then four divisions below the Football League). The club's main aim was to regain the Football League status lost in 1988. The club took on the name "Newport A.F.C." and adopted the nickname The Exiles, as a result of having to play home matches for the 1989–90 season at the
London Road ground in the north
Gloucestershire
Gloucestershire ( abbreviated Glos) is a county in South West England. The county comprises part of the Cotswold Hills, part of the flat fertile valley of the River Severn and the entire Forest of Dean.
The county town is the city of Gl ...
town of
Moreton-in-Marsh
Moreton-in-Marsh is a market town in the Evenlode Valley, within the Cotswolds district and Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty in Gloucestershire, England.
The town stands at the crossroads of the Fosse Way Roman road (now the A429) and the ...
, north-east of Newport.
Newport Council considered the new company to be a continuation of the old, and refused it permission to use Somerton Park on the grounds of unpaid rent.
Newport won the Hellenic
double
A double is a look-alike or doppelgänger; one person or being that resembles another.
Double, The Double or Dubble may also refer to:
Film and television
* Double (filmmaking), someone who substitutes for the credited actor of a character
* ...
, gaining promotion to the
Southern League.
After the 1990–91 and 1991–92 seasons back home in Newport at Somerton Park, the
Football Association of Wales
The Football Association of Wales (FAW; cy, Cymdeithas Bêl-droed Cymru) is the governing body of association football and futsal in Wales, and controls the Welsh national football team, its corresponding women's team, as well as the Welsh ...
(FAW) consigned them to a further two seasons of exile in England, ground-sharing at
Gloucester City's Meadow Park stadium for 1992–93 and 1993–94. The club was forced to resort to legal action to protect themselves from being forced out of the
English football league system by FAW secretary
Alun Evans
Alun William Evans (born 30 April 1949) is an English former footballer who made his name as a centre forward in the Liverpool side rebuilt by Bill Shankly at the start of the 1970s. He was born in Kidderminster, Worcestershire.
Career
Evans ...
, who was promoting the first national
League of Wales
The Cymru Premier, known as the JD Cymru Premier for sponsorship reasons, is the national football league of Wales. It has both professional and semi-professional status clubs and is at the top of the Welsh football league system. Prior to 2 ...
formed for the 1992–93 season. That litigation proved successful, with a landmark
High Court verdict enabling them to have a permanent home in Newport at the then newly built
Newport Stadium
Newport Stadium, also known as Spytty Park, is an association football, rugby and athletics stadium in Newport, South Wales. It is the home of Newport City Football Club, Newport RFC and Newport Harriers Athletic Club. It was previously also ...
.
The club's first season back in Newport, in 1994–95 under manager
Graham Rogers, saw them promoted to the
Southern League Premier Division
The Southern League is a men's football competition featuring semi-professional clubs from the South and Midlands of England. Together with the Isthmian League and the Northern Premier League it forms levels seven and eight of the English foot ...
, after winning the Midland Division Championship by a 14-point margin. On the way to that championship, the club set a then record for the Southern League by winning 14 successive league matches.
Further progress
In 1999, the club reintroduced the name Newport County A.F.C.
In the 2001–02 season the team managed by
Tim Harris reached the first round proper of the
FA Cup
The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic English football. First played during the 1871–72 season, it is the oldest national football competi ...
for the first time since the club was reformed, drawing
Second Division
In sport, the Second Division, also called Division 2 or Division II is usually the second highest division of a league, and will often have promotion and relegation with divisions above and below. Following the rise of Premier League style compet ...
side
Blackpool. Holding them to a 2–2 draw away, County lost the home replay 4–1 after
extra time. The following season, then managed by
Peter Nicholas, Newport reached the final of the
FAW Premier Cup
The FAW Premier Cup (until 1998 the FAW Invitation Cup) was a Welsh football cup competition, organised annually by the Football Association of Wales from 1997 to 2008. Since the FAW excluded clubs playing in English leagues (including six Welsh ...
beating
Swansea City and
Cardiff City along the way before losing 6–1 in the final against
Wrexham
Wrexham ( ; cy, Wrecsam; ) is a city and the administrative centre of Wrexham County Borough in Wales. It is located between the Welsh mountains and the lower Dee Valley, near the border with Cheshire in England. Historically in the count ...
.
Conference South
Subsequent reorganisation of the upper divisions of non-league football saw County take their place in the
2004–05 inaugural season of
Conference South, one of the two feeder divisions into the
Football Conference
The National League (named Vanarama National League for sponsorship reasons) is an association football league in England consisting of three divisions, the National League, National League North, and National League South. It was called the ...
.
Peter Beadle was appointed manager in October 2005 and in the 2006–07 season Newport again reached the first round proper of the FA Cup but lost 3–1 to Swansea City. In the same season, Newport reached the
final
Final, Finals or The Final may refer to:
* Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which decides a winner for an event
** Another term for playoffs, describing a sequence of con ...
of the
FAW Premier Cup
The FAW Premier Cup (until 1998 the FAW Invitation Cup) was a Welsh football cup competition, organised annually by the Football Association of Wales from 1997 to 2008. Since the FAW excluded clubs playing in English leagues (including six Welsh ...
for the second time, beating Wrexham along the way but losing 1–0 to
TNS in the final. In 2006–07 Newport finished just one position below the playoffs after losing 2–1 to
Cambridge City on the final day of the season.
In the 2007–08 season, Newport won the last-ever
FAW Premier Cup
The FAW Premier Cup (until 1998 the FAW Invitation Cup) was a Welsh football cup competition, organised annually by the Football Association of Wales from 1997 to 2008. Since the FAW excluded clubs playing in English leagues (including six Welsh ...
beating
Llanelli
Llanelli (" St Elli's Parish"; ) is a market town and the largest community in Carmarthenshire and the preserved county of Dyfed, Wales. It is located on the Loughor estuary north-west of Swansea and south-east of the county town, Carmarth ...
1–0 in the
final
Final, Finals or The Final may refer to:
* Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which decides a winner for an event
** Another term for playoffs, describing a sequence of con ...
, making a total of one win out of three finals. For the second consecutive season a last-day defeat prevented County reaching the Conference South playoffs. In April 2008 Peter Beadle was sacked as club manager, and was replaced by
Dean Holdsworth
Dean Christopher Holdsworth (born 8 November 1968) is an English former professional football player and manager. As a striker he scored 193 goals in 610 league games over a 22-year career. Despite playing for 16 clubs in 19 spells the majorit ...
.
In his first full season in charge, Holdsworth led Newport to a 10th-place finish in the league, despite a poor start.
Newport went top of the league in September of the 2009–10 season and held onto the top spot for the rest of the season. The league title was won in March 2010 after beating
Havant and Waterlooville 2–0 at Newport Stadium with seven league games remaining. The win made them the first team in the English football leagues to achieve promotion in the 2009–10 season. County finished the season with a Conference South record 103 points, 28 ahead of nearest rivals
Dover Athletic
Dover Athletic Football Club is a semi-professional association football club based in the town of Dover, Kent, England. The club currently competes in the National League South, the sixth tier of English football. The club was formed in 198 ...
.
Craig Reid was the league's top scorer with 24 goals in the season.
Conference Premier
Newport County were promoted to the
Conference Premier
The National League, known as the Vanarama National League for sponsorship reasons, is the highest level of the National League System and fifth-highest of the overall English football league system. It is the highest league that is semi-professi ...
for the 2010–11 season, the level they had played at prior to bankruptcy in 1989. Dean Holdsworth left Newport County to become team manager of
League Two
The English Football League Two (often referred to as League Two for short or Sky Bet League Two for sponsorship purposes, and known as the Football League Two from 2004 until 2016) is the third and lowest division of the English Football Lea ...
club
Aldershot Town
Aldershot Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in Aldershot, Hampshire, England. The team competes in the National League, the fifth tier of the English football league system. The club was founded in the spring ...
on 12 January 2011 with Newport County in fifth place in the Conference Premier table.
Tottenham Hotspur
Tottenham Hotspur Football Club, commonly referred to as Tottenham () or Spurs, is a professional football club based in Tottenham, London, England. It competes in the Premier League, the top flight of English football. The team has playe ...
reserve-team coach
Anthony Hudson was announced as the new manager on 1 April 2011. The team finished their first season back in the Conference Premier league in ninth place.
After a poor start to the
2011–12 season with the team last-but-one in the table after picking up just a single win out of the first 12 games, Hudson was sacked on 28 September 2011. He was replaced on 4 October 2011 by
Justin Edinburgh
Justin Charles Edinburgh (18 December 1969 – 8 June 2019) was an English professional football manager and player who played as a left back.
He notably played in the Premier League for Tottenham Hotspur, where he made 213 league appearance ...
with the task of saving County from relegation. Under Edinburgh, County finished in 19th place and so maintained their Conference Premier status. They also reached the
2012 FA Trophy Final and their first
Wembley Stadium
Wembley Stadium (branded as Wembley Stadium connected by EE for sponsorship reasons) is a football stadium in Wembley, London. It opened in 2007 on the site of the original Wembley Stadium, which was demolished from 2002 to 2003. The stadium ...
appearance coincided with the 100th anniversary of the club. County lost the final 2–0 to
York City
York City Football Club is a professional association football club based in the city of York, North Yorkshire, England. As of the 2022–23 season, the team compete in the National League, at the fifth tier of the English football league sys ...
who went on to secure promotion to the Football League a week later in a Wembley play-off match.
![West Stand, Rodney Parade, Newport](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/65/West_Stand%2C_Rodney_Parade%2C_Newport.jpg)
In May 2012, Newport County announced that they had agreed a deal to move to the city's rugby stadium,
Rodney Parade
Rodney Parade is a stadium in the city of Newport, South Wales, owned and operated by the Welsh Rugby Union. It is located on the east bank of the River Usk in Newport city centre. The ground is on Rodney Road, a short walk from the city's c ...
. In August 2012
EuroMillions
EuroMillionsgerman: Euromillionen or pt, Euromilhões is a transnational lottery that requires seven correct numbers to win the jackpot. It was launched on 7 February 2004 by France's Française des Jeux, Spain's ''Loterías y Apuestas de ...
lottery winner
Les Scadding succeeded Chris Blight as club chairman. In February 2013 a further 10-year lease to play at Rodney Parade was signed.
The centenary
2012–13
1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. I ...
season saw Newport County finish third in the Conference Premier league, reaching the play-offs for the first time. A 2–0 aggregate win over Grimsby Town in the two-legged play-off semi-final saw Newport County reach the
2013 Conference Premier play-off Final at
Wembley Stadium
Wembley Stadium (branded as Wembley Stadium connected by EE for sponsorship reasons) is a football stadium in Wembley, London. It opened in 2007 on the site of the original Wembley Stadium, which was demolished from 2002 to 2003. The stadium ...
. The final versus Wrexham was the first Wembley final to feature two Welsh teams, and Newport County won 2–0 to return to the Football League after a 25-year absence with promotion to
League Two
The English Football League Two (often referred to as League Two for short or Sky Bet League Two for sponsorship purposes, and known as the Football League Two from 2004 until 2016) is the third and lowest division of the English Football Lea ...
.
County were awarded
Freedom of the City of Newport on 17 August 2013 in recognition of this achievement.
Return to League Two, 2013–2017
On their return to the Football League in the
2013–14 season, Newport County finished a creditable 14th in
League Two
The English Football League Two (often referred to as League Two for short or Sky Bet League Two for sponsorship purposes, and known as the Football League Two from 2004 until 2016) is the third and lowest division of the English Football Lea ...
. On 7 February 2015, with Newport County in sixth place in League Two, it was confirmed that
Justin Edinburgh
Justin Charles Edinburgh (18 December 1969 – 8 June 2019) was an English professional football manager and player who played as a left back.
He notably played in the Premier League for Tottenham Hotspur, where he made 213 league appearance ...
had been appointed manager at
Gillingham.
Jimmy Dack stepped up from assistant manager at the club to caretaker manager and was later appointed manager until the end of the 2014–15 season. On 29 April, Dack stated he had been offered the manager's job beyond the end of the season but he had decided he would move on after the final game. Newport finished the 2014–15 season in ninth place in League Two.
Terry Butcher
Terry Ian Butcher (born 28 December 1958) is an English football manager and former player. He works as an academy coach for Ipswich Town.
During his playing career as a defender, Butcher captained the England national team, winning 77 caps ...
was appointed team manager on 30 April 2015. On 18 June 2015 Les Scadding resigned as Newport County chairman and director.
On 1 October 2015 Newport County Supporters' Trust took over ownership of the club. Butcher was sacked on the same day, with Newport bottom of League Two after gaining just five points from the first 10 matches of the 2015–16 season.
John Sheridan was appointed team manager on 2 October 2015 until the end of the 2015–16 season and results improved. Sheridan resigned on 13 January 2016 after just 14 league games to take up the manager's job at
Oldham Athletic
Oldham Athletic Association Football Club is a professional football club in Oldham, Greater Manchester, England, which competes in the National League, the fifth tier of the English football league system.
The history of Oldham Athletic be ...
. Assistant manager
Warren Feeney
Warren James Feeney (born 17 January 1981) is a football manager and former Northern Ireland international footballer, who is currently manager of Welling United.
In making his debut for the Northern Ireland national team, he became the third ...
was promoted to team manager on 15 January 2016. On 18 January 2016 County lost 2–1 to
Championship
In sport, a championship is a competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion.
Championship systems
Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship.
Title match system
In this system ...
team
Blackburn Rovers
Blackburn Rovers Football Club is a professional football club, based in Blackburn, Lancashire, England, which competes in the , the second tier of the English football league system. They have played home matches at Ewood Park since 1890. Th ...
in the FA Cup; the first time Newport had reached the third round of the cup since 1986. A good start saw Feeney gain 21 points from his first 12 games but results then worsened. Newport finished the season in 22nd place in League Two, avoiding relegation.
Feeney and Todd were sacked by Newport on 28 September 2016 with Newport County bottom of League Two having gained just six points from their first nine matches of the 2016–17 season. First team coach
Sean McCarthy and goalkeeping player/coach
James Bittner
James Mark Bittner (born 2 February 1982) is an English former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper. He is currently the goalkeeping coach at Reading.
Career
Bittner signed for Fulham in 2000 from Swindon Town by then manager Jea ...
were appointed joint caretaker managers. Effective from 10 October 2016
Graham Westley
Graham Neil Westley (born 4 March 1968) is an English former professional footballer and manager who was most recently manager of League Two club Stevenage.
Westley's playing career, spent mostly as a striker in non-League football, was curt ...
was appointed team manager with
Dino Maamria
Noureddine "Dino" Maamria (born 18 February 1974) is a Tunisian football manager and former player who played as a striker. He is the manager of League One club Burton Albion.
Maamria started his playing career with AS Marsa of Tunisia. He lef ...
his assistant and Mccarthy released by the club. On 9 March 2017 Westley and Maamria were sacked with Newport 11 points adrift at the bottom of League Two.
Progress under Michael Flynn 2017-2021
Following the departure of Westley, first team coach
Michael Flynn was appointed caretaker manager for the remaining 12 league matches of the 2016–17 season and
Wayne Hatswell returned to the club as assistant manager. A remarkable recovery saw Newport avoid relegation, sealed by a final day of the season 2–1 victory at home against
Notts County
Notts County Football Club is a professional association football club based in Nottingham, England. The team participate in the National League, the fifth tier of the English football league system. Founded on the 25 November 1862, it is the ...
with centre half
Mark O'Brien scoring the 89th minute winner. The season became known as the second "great escape" in the club's history.
On 9 May 2017 Flynn was appointed permanent team manager on a two-year contract. On 7 January 2018 a 2–1 home win over
Championship
In sport, a championship is a competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion.
Championship systems
Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship.
Title match system
In this system ...
club
Leeds United
Leeds United Football Club is a professional football club based in Leeds, West Yorkshire in England. The club competes in the Premier League, the highest level of England's football league system, and plays its home matches at Elland Road ...
in the FA Cup third round meant Newport progressed to the
FA Cup
The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic English football. First played during the 1871–72 season, it is the oldest national football competi ...
fourth round for the first time since the
1978–79 FA Cup
The 1978–79 FA Cup was the 98th staging of the world's oldest football knockout competition, The Football Association Challenge Cup, or FA Cup. The final saw Arsenal beat Manchester United 3–2, three of the five goals being scored in the last ...
. In the following round, the club was drawn at home to
Premier League
The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Fo ...
club
Tottenham Hotspur
Tottenham Hotspur Football Club, commonly referred to as Tottenham () or Spurs, is a professional football club based in Tottenham, London, England. It competes in the Premier League, the top flight of English football. The team has playe ...
. On 27 January 2018 Newport achieved
a creditable 1–1 draw to force a replay at
Wembley Stadium
Wembley Stadium (branded as Wembley Stadium connected by EE for sponsorship reasons) is a football stadium in Wembley, London. It opened in 2007 on the site of the original Wembley Stadium, which was demolished from 2002 to 2003. The stadium ...
. Tottenham won the replay 2–0. County finished the
2017–18 season in 11th place in League Two.
Newport began the
2018–19 creditably, securing 23 points from their first 10 games, losing only twice. On 6 January 2019, County won their home
FA Cup Third Round tie against
Premier League
The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Fo ...
club
Leicester City
Leicester ( ) is a city, unitary authority and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest settlement in the East Midlands.
The city lies on the River Soar and close to the eastern end of the National ...
2–1. The subsequent
Fourth Round
Fourth or the fourth may refer to:
* the ordinal form of the number 4
* ''Fourth'' (album), by Soft Machine, 1971
* Fourth (angle), an ancient astronomical subdivision
* Fourth (music), a musical interval
* ''The Fourth'' (1972 film), a Sovie ...
drew Newport in an away match against Championship club
Middlesbrough
Middlesbrough ( ) is a town on the southern bank of the River Tees in North Yorkshire, England. It is near the North York Moors national park. It is the namesake and main town of its local borough council area.
Until the early 1800s, the a ...
on 26 January 2019, in which they achieved a 1–1 draw, going on to a home replay victory 2–0 on 5 February 2019. County progressed to the most high-profile fixture in their modern history, the FA Cup fifth round which they had not reached since 1949. The Exiles were rewarded for their success with a home fixture against reigning Premier League champions
Manchester City on 16 February 2019. County lost the match 4–1 with striker
Pádraig Amond
Pádraig Amond (born 15 April 1988) is an Irish professional footballer who plays as a striker for National League club Woking.
He began his career in his native Ireland with Shamrock Rovers, progressing through the club's youth academy be ...
scoring a late goal. Amond finished the competition as joint-top scorer with Manchester City striker
Gabriel Jesus. Newport finished the
2018–19 season in 7th place in League Two, thus qualifying for the
League Two play-offs. In the semi-final against
Mansfield Town
Mansfield Town Football Club is a professional football club based in the town of Mansfield, Nottinghamshire, England. The team competes in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. Nicknamed 'The Stags', they play in a blue and ...
, Newport drew the first leg 1–1 at home, drew the second leg 0–0 at Mansfield but then won the subsequent penalty shoot-out. In the
League Two play-off final at
Wembley Stadium
Wembley Stadium (branded as Wembley Stadium connected by EE for sponsorship reasons) is a football stadium in Wembley, London. It opened in 2007 on the site of the original Wembley Stadium, which was demolished from 2002 to 2003. The stadium ...
on 25 May 2019 Newport lost to
Tranmere Rovers
Tranmere Rovers Football Club is a professional association football club based in Birkenhead, Merseyside, England. The team compete in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1884 as Belmont Football Club, they ado ...
1–0, after a goal in the 119th minute.
On 27 August 2019, Newport County faced
West Ham United
West Ham United Football Club is an English professional football club that plays its home matches in Stratford, East London. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. The club plays at the London Stadium, hav ...
of the Premier League in the
EFL Cup, losing the tie 2–0. Newport also reached the semi-final of the
EFL Trophy for the first time on 19 February 2020, losing to
Salford City on penalties. The
2019–20 season was suspended on 13 March 2020 due to the
COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom, with Newport in 15th place in League Two. The club
furloughed the players, management team and most staff to "protect the long-term financial viability" of the club.
The League Two season was formally terminated on 9 June 2020.
Points per game was subsequently adopted to determine the final League Two table with Newport County rising one place to 14th in the league. Club chairman Gavin Foxall stated that they expected to lose 40% of their income as a consequence of continued COVID-19 constraints.
On 22 September 2020 Newport County beat Championship club
Watford
Watford () is a town and borough in Hertfordshire, England, 15 miles northwest of Central London, on the River Colne.
Initially a small market town, the Grand Junction Canal encouraged the construction of paper-making mills, print works, and ...
3–1 at home in the third round of the EFL Cup to reach the fourth round for the first time in the club's history. Newport were drawn at home to Premier League club
Newcastle United in the fourth round and after drawing 1–1 in normal time, Newcastle won the penalty shoot-out. Newport again reached the third round of the 2020–21 FA Cup to face Premier League club
Brighton & Hove Albion
Brighton & Hove Albion Football Club (), commonly referred to simply as Brighton, is an English professional football club based in the city of Brighton and Hove. They compete in the Premier League, the top tier of the English football league ...
at home and lost to Brighton on penalties having drawn 1–1 after extra time. On 19 January 2021, goalkeeper
Tom King scored the first goal of his career with a wind-assisted goal kick in the 12th minute of Newport's 1–1 League Two draw at
Cheltenham Town
Cheltenham Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, England. From the 2021–22 season, the club compete in League One, the third tier of the English football league sy ...
. His goal was confirmed to have broken the
Guinness World Record for longest football goal, with a distance of 96.01 metres (105 yards), a record previously held by
Asmir Begović. In March 2020 Newport were permitted by the EFL to move two home matches to
Cardiff City Stadium
The Cardiff City Stadium ( cy, Stadiwm Dinas Caerdydd) is a stadium in the Leckwith area of Cardiff, Wales. It is the home of Cardiff City Football Club and the Wales national football team.
Following expansion of the Ninian Stand in July 2 ...
due to the poor condition of the Rodney Parade pitch. Newport finished the
2020–21
The dash is a punctuation mark consisting of a long horizontal line. It is similar in appearance to the hyphen but is longer and sometimes higher from the baseline. The most common versions are the endash , generally longer than the hyphen b ...
season in 5th place in League Two and qualified for the play-offs. Newport beat
Forest Green Rovers
Forest Green Rovers Football Club are a professional football club based in Nailsworth, Gloucestershire, England. The team compete in , the third tier of the English football league system, and have played their home games at The New Lawn since ...
5–4 on aggregate to reach the play-off final for the second time in three seasons. On 31 May 2021, Morecambe beat Newport 1–0 in the
final
Final, Finals or The Final may refer to:
* Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which decides a winner for an event
** Another term for playoffs, describing a sequence of con ...
at Wembley Stadium after Carlos Mendes Gomes converted a penalty in the 107th minute, earning the Shrimps promotion to League One, the third tier of English football, for the first time in their history. On 7 June 2021
Darren Kelly
Darren Kelly (born 30 June 1979) is a Northern Irish professional Manager (association football), football manager and former Football player, player who played as a centre-back. He is the sporting director of club Newport County A.F.C., Newpor ...
was appointed as Newport County Sporting Director to work in conjunction with Michael Flynn who retained the team manager role.
On 25 August 2021 Newport County faced Southampton of the Premier League in the second round of the 2021-22 EFL Cup but they lost heavily 8-0. Michael Flynn resigned as Newport County manager on 1 October 2021 after nine league matches of the 2021-22 season with Newport 15th in League Two.
2021 onwards
Following Michael Flynn's departure, Newport County's Assistant Manager
Wayne Hatswell was appointed as caretaker manager for five games. On 19 October 2021 it was confirmed that the club had appointed Cardiff City First Team Coach
James Rowberry
James Rowberry (born 26 April 1985) is a Welsh football manager who was most recently in charge of EFL League Two team Newport County. He began his coaching career at an early age, and at 29 years old became one of the youngest people to ever ...
as permanent manager with Newport 13th in League Two after 13 league games. Hatswell was retained as assistant manager to Rowberry and Hatswell signed a contract extension in November 2021 until the end of the 2023-24 season. In February 2022 Hatswell resigned his position at Newport and on 22 February 2022 Hatswell was appointed assistant head coach to Michael Flynn at
Walsall
Walsall (, or ; locally ) is a market town and administrative centre in the West Midlands County, England. Historically part of Staffordshire, it is located north-west of Birmingham, east of Wolverhampton and from Lichfield.
Walsall is th ...
. On the same day, Cardiff City coach
Carl Serrant was appointed assistant manager to Rowberry at Newport County. Newport finished the 2021-22 League Two season in 11th place. On 10 October 2022 Rowberry and Serrant were sacked with Newport in 18th place in League Two after 13 league matches of the
2022-23 season season. Sporting Director
Darren Kelly
Darren Kelly (born 30 June 1979) is a Northern Irish professional Manager (association football), football manager and former Football player, player who played as a centre-back. He is the sporting director of club Newport County A.F.C., Newpor ...
took the role of caretaker manager. On 20 October 2022,
Graham Coughlan was appointed manager on a two-and-a-half year contract with Newport in 19th place in League Two after 14 league matches of the 2022-23 season.
Joe Dunne was appointed assistant manager to Coughlan
Kit manufacturers and sponsors
Ownership
![Newport_County_directors_2016-2022](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a8/Newport_County_directors_2016-2022.svg)
In 2015 following the sale of the club by majority shareholder
Les Scadding to supporters, Newport County AFC Supporters Society Limited was established with guidance from the UK Government backed charity
Supporters Direct. The Society is established as a trust with an elected board, yearly elections, regular AGMs, and fee-based supporter ownership.
As a Registered Society under the
Co-operative and Community Benefit Societies Act 2014
The Co-operative and Community Benefit Societies Act 2014 (c.14) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that received Royal Assent on 14 May 2014.
Provisions
According to its long title, the Act consolidates certain enactments rela ...
) the group acquired a majority shareholding in the football club's trading body, Newport Association Football Club Limited.
As a result of this model, the supporters trust members elect a board of between 6 and 12 Directors. The board has established that it will aim to operate with 9 directors, with a mixed model of elected and co-opted (unelected) directors. Directors are elected to three-year terms. In 2017 Peter Madigan and Mark Crook were co-opted to serve as unelected directors.
In 2017 a leaked resignation letter by director Charlie Hopkins made allegations against some serving directors which were refuted by the Trust Board.
Supporters
Newport County draws its main support from the city of Newport but also from the wider surrounding historic
Monmouthshire area, as reflected in the original club name of ''Newport & Monmouth County A.F.C''. The club's supporters refer to themselves as the Amber Army, in reference to the traditional club colour, and the sporting colours more widely associated with Newport. The club operates the 'ifollow' match day
voice and video commentary service for supporters.
The supporters' unofficial anthem is ''Come on the County'', written by Ken Buck and Eric Thomas. Originally released in 1973, it was re-recorded in 1999 and 2010. The 1999 release included the song ''Carl Zeiss Jena'' by Newport band Flyscreen, celebrating County's 1981 European campaign. The 2010 release included reworkings of ''Come on the County'' by The Tenants Supermen, who are ardent County fans. For the 2012 FA Trophy final, singer-songwriter Tracey Curtis wrote and released the song ''A Hundred Years of Football (And We're Off To Wembley)''.
In the 1970s and 1980s comedian
Frank Carson
Hugh Francis Carson KSG (6 November 1926 – 22 February 2012) was a Northern Irish comedian and actor from Belfast. He was best known for being a regular face on television for many years from the 1970s onwards, appearing in series su ...
was appointed as a director and vice president in order to raise the profile of the club. Newport-based rappers
Goldie Lookin' Chain
Goldie Lookin Chain are a Welsh comedy hip hop group from Newport, south-east Wales. The group produces humorous, controversial and often explicit songs that satirise hip hop, today's consumer society, the "chav" culture and life in Newpor ...
are supporters of the club and were the team's shirt sponsors for the 2004–05 season
FAW Premier Cup
The FAW Premier Cup (until 1998 the FAW Invitation Cup) was a Welsh football cup competition, organised annually by the Football Association of Wales from 1997 to 2008. Since the FAW excluded clubs playing in English leagues (including six Welsh ...
matches
Rivalries
County fans consider their main rival to be
South Wales rivals
Cardiff City, however, the two sides have rarely met since the 1980s due to the league gap between them. Other rivals, to a lesser extent, include Welsh rivals
Swansea City and
Wrexham
Wrexham ( ; cy, Wrecsam; ) is a city and the administrative centre of Wrexham County Borough in Wales. It is located between the Welsh mountains and the lower Dee Valley, near the border with Cheshire in England. Historically in the count ...
as well as relatively local rivals
Bristol Rovers
Bristol Rovers Football Club are a professional football club in Bristol, England. They compete in League One, the third tier of the English football league system.
They play home matches at the Memorial Stadium in Horfield, they have been ...
,
Cheltenham Town
Cheltenham Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, England. From the 2021–22 season, the club compete in League One, the third tier of the English football league sy ...
and
Forest Green Rovers
Forest Green Rovers Football Club are a professional football club based in Nailsworth, Gloucestershire, England. The team compete in , the third tier of the English football league system, and have played their home games at The New Lawn since ...
. A 2017 match against
Swindon Town
Swindon Town Football Club is a professional football club based in Swindon, Wiltshire, England. The team currently competes in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. The club has played home matches at the County Ground sin ...
saw opposing fans clash before and after the game in
Swindon town centre. Before a match at
Rodney Parade
Rodney Parade is a stadium in the city of Newport, South Wales, owned and operated by the Welsh Rugby Union. It is located on the east bank of the River Usk in Newport city centre. The ground is on Rodney Road, a short walk from the city's c ...
in January 2020, Swindon fans were filmed throwing
toilet paper
Toilet paper (sometimes called toilet tissue or bathroom tissue) is a tissue paper product primarily used to clean the anus and surrounding anal region of feces after defecation, and to clean the perineal area and external genitalia of ur ...
and drinks containers outside a pub in
Newport city centre
Newport city centre is traditionally regarded as the area of Newport, Wales bounded by the west bank of the River Usk, the George Street Bridge, the eastern flank of Stow Hill and the South Wales Main Line. Most of the city centre is containe ...
.
During County's days in the non-league pyramid,
Merthyr Tydfil and
Bath City
Bath City Football Club is a semi-professional football club based in Bath, Somerset, England. The club is affiliated to the Somerset FA and currently competes in the National League South, the sixth tier of English football. The club have ...
were considered rivals. County also used to maintain a rivalry with
Hereford United
Hereford United Football Club was an association football club based in Hereford, England. They played at Edgar Street for their entire history. They were nicknamed 'The Whites' or 'The Lilywhites', after their predominantly white kit, or 'Th ...
. However, the club went out of business in 2014 and a new club,
Hereford FC was formed.
Bar Amber
In August 2018 the club's Supporters Trust took over the nearby Ivy Bush Inn on Clarence Place. In June 2018 the pub had become free and had its licence revoked for an illegal cannabis farm found in the upstairs floors of the building. The venue became a busy spot for club supporters to enjoy match days, as well as hosting other community events. It features memorabilia and decorations related to Newport County, as well as the
Dragons
A dragon is a reptilian legendary creature that appears in the folklore of many cultures worldwide. Beliefs about dragons vary considerably through regions, but dragons in western cultures since the High Middle Ages have often been depicted as ...
and
Newport RFC rugby teams. All profits from the bar went to the Newport County Supporters Trust and the upkeep of the football club.
Players
Current squad
Development squad players named in First Team squads
Out on loan
Youth academy
Glyn Jones was appointed director of the Newport County Youth Academy in 1997. In 1998 Newport County established a partnership with
Newport City Council
Newport City Council () is the governing body for Newport, one of the Principal Areas of Wales. It consists of 51 councillors, who represent the city's 20 wards.
The council is currently, and has historically been, held by the Labour Party. ...
and the club has a youth development programme with around 50 students based at
Llanwern High School
Llanwern High School is a secondary school on the eastern edge of Newport, Wales. The school has a capacity for 1450 pupils.
History
Previously known as Hartridge High School, it changed its name in 2012 to Llanwern High School, recruited a new ...
.
The team competes in the Under-18
Football League Youth Alliance
The Football League Youth Alliance is a youth football competition in England, consisting of four regional divisions. It acts as League 2 of the U18 Professional Development League system.
Current structure
North West Conference
* Accrington ...
. A number of the academy graduates have progressed to the senior squad including
Andrew Hughes,
Lee Evans,
Regan Poole,
Aaron Collins,
Tom Owen-Evans,
Kieran Parselle and
Lewis Collins
Lewis Collins (27 May 1946 – 27 November 2013)"Happy Birthday Richard Hastilow, 65", ''The Times'', 26 May 2010 was an English actor, best known for his career-defining role playing 'Bodie' in the late 1970s – early 1980s British television ...
.
In the 2001–02 season County's youngsters won the
English Schools' Football Association
The English Schools' Football Association was founded in 1904 and is the governing body of schools' football in England. It is responsible for the running and development of schools competitions and festivals at primary and secondary school age ...
under-19 trophy under the banner of Hartridge High School. In the 2004–05 season they won the FAW Youth Cup.
In May 2014 Glyn Jones was succeeded after 17 years as academy director by
Michael Flynn. In 2015 the academy organisation was restructured to comply to FA requirements and in June 2015 Grant Kalahar was appointed to the senior role of academy manager. Kalahar left the academy at the end of the 2015–16 season with
Byron Anthony appointed academy manager.
Newport County were champions of the
Football League Youth Alliance
The Football League Youth Alliance is a youth football competition in England, consisting of four regional divisions. It acts as League 2 of the U18 Professional Development League system.
Current structure
North West Conference
* Accrington ...
in the 2016–17 season.
Byron Anthony resigned in November 2018.
Stevenage coach Jorden Gibson was appointed Newport County Academy Manager in June 2019 but he resigned 11 September 2019 following an internal investigation after an altercation with a youth team player. In December 2019 Damien Broad was promoted internally to academy manager. In November 2022 Luke Hussey was promoted internally to academy manager.
Notable former players
''For all Newport County players with a Wikipedia article see
:Newport County A.F.C. players.''
Coaching staff
{, class="wikitable"
, +.
!Position
!Staff
, -
, Manager
,
Graham Coughlan
, -
, Assistant Manager
,
Joe Dunne
, -
, Sporting Director
,
Darren Kelly
Darren Kelly (born 30 June 1979) is a Northern Irish professional Manager (association football), football manager and former Football player, player who played as a centre-back. He is the sporting director of club Newport County A.F.C., Newpor ...
, -
, Head of Football Operations
, Lucy Kelly
, -
, First-team physio
, Tom Gittoes
, -
, Senior goalkeeping coach
, Jim Hollman
, -
, First-team lead sport scientist
, Kyler Burns
, -
, Fitness coach
, Connor Neeson
, -
, First-team strength and conditioning coach
, David Pipe
, -
, First-team lead performance analyst
, Jason Windsor
, -
, Head of Academy
, Dominic Mahoney
, -
, Head of Academy Recruitment
, Sam Bladen
, -
, Academy Manager
, ''Luke Hussey''
, -
, Academy Head of Coaching
, ''Ben Gast''
, -
, U18's Coach
,
Kayne McLaggon
Kayne Simeon McLaggon (born 21 September 1990) is a Welsh semi-professional footballer who plays as a striker for Barry Town United and the Wales 'C' National Team.
Club career Southampton
McLaggon was born in Barry, Vale of Glamorgan and ...
, -
,
Honours and achievements
*
Football League Third Division South
The Third Division South of The Football League was a tier in the English football league system from 1921 to 1958. It ran in parallel with the Third Division North with clubs elected to the League or relegated from Division Two allocated to ...
(3rd tier)
**Champions:
1938–39
*
Football League Fourth Division (4th tier)
**3rd place promotion:
1979–80
*
Conference National (5th tier)
**Play-off winners:
2013
File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fa ...
*
Conference South (6th tier)
**Champions:
2009–10
*
Southern League Midland Division
**Champions:
1994–95
**2nd place promotion:
1998–99
*
Hellenic League
**Champions: 1989–90
*
FA Trophy
**Runners-up:
2012
File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gat ...
*
Welsh Cup
The FAW Welsh Cup ( cy, Cwpan Cymdeithas Pêl-droed Cymru), currently known as the JD Welsh Cup for sponsorship reasons, is a knock-out football competition contested annually by teams in the Welsh football league system. It is considered the mos ...
**Winners: 1980
**Runners-up: 1963, 1987
*
FAW Premier Cup
The FAW Premier Cup (until 1998 the FAW Invitation Cup) was a Welsh football cup competition, organised annually by the Football Association of Wales from 1997 to 2008. Since the FAW excluded clubs playing in English leagues (including six Welsh ...
**Winners: 2008
**Runners-up: 2003, 2007
See also
*
List of Newport County A.F.C. managers
*
List of Newport County A.F.C. players
*
List of Newport County A.F.C. records and statistics
References
;General
Newport County ArchivesFootball Club History DatabaseFootball Club History Database*
;Specific
External links
Newport County official websiteAmber Army (Supporters' Trust) official websiteNewport County Supporters Club official websiteThe Amber Terrace – photo & archive site*
{{Authority control
1912 establishments in Wales
Association football clubs established in 1912
1989 disestablishments in the United Kingdom
Association football clubs disestablished in 1989
1989 establishments in the United Kingdom
Association football clubs established in 1989
Football clubs in Newport, Wales
Football clubs in Wales
Welsh football clubs in English leagues
Southern Football League clubs
English Football League clubs
National League (English football) clubs
Hellenic Football League
Companies that have entered administration in the United Kingdom
Phoenix clubs (association football)
Fan-owned football clubs in England
Community interest companies in Wales
Organisations based in Newport, Wales