Trust members are to vote on whether or not "prefered bidder is the right fit" for club in historic takeover meeting at Rodney Parade.

 This Thursday is arguably the biggest day in the modern history of the club as valid trust members will decide in a historic meeting at Rodney Parade on whether or not ex Swansea City chairman Huw Jenkins will be successful in his attempted take over at Newport County. 

Both Colin Everett and club director Paul Marks joined Look Back In Amber for a chat in build up to the all important meeting and subsequent vote on whether or not it thinks Huw Jenkins' bid is the correct one for Newport County.

Colin Everett who has acted as a link between potential bidders and the board set out what exactly will the trust members in attendance on Thursday be voting on "They (Trust members) are being specifically asked to vote for or against the prefered bidder, the prefered bidder being Mr Huw Jenkins based on the proposal that we've put out already in the media that all trust members have had." 

"A number of people have asked questions about [the] process and if there's a second bidder could they also be available on the night that isn't the position, that isn't the process. We are not voting for the process on Thursday we are voting simply do people think that the prefered bidder is the right fit and if so then they know how to cast their vote." He continued 

"It's a big meeting, very important, a big meeting in terms of the number of people who will be there. We are expecting around 350 trust members to be present and also over 100 have appointed a proxy voter if they can't come they have appointed someone on their behalf. So logistically it's a big meeting to manage" Colin explained on how the meeting will look.

"The format will be, Paul is chairing and I'm (Colin) facilitating. Once we've done introductions and explained the background of the process, we will then explain why Huw Jenkins is the prefered bidder, what the board of directors saw in him and his experience and his proposal to pick him as the prefered bidder by unanimous voting at board level. Huw Jenkins will then be invited in and we want to give as much of Thursday night as we can to this slot where he'll talk and listen and answer questions and people can get to know him and hear it for real." 

"Mr Jenkins will then be asked to leave and at that point we conduct the ballot and we will be counting the votes on the night and we will be announcing and publicising the result on the night."

In order for the resolution to pass it must reach a 75% vote in favour Colin explains "The decision was made to set it at what you call and extraordinary resolution rather than what you call an ordinary one, the secret is in the title it does require three quarters of valid votes of people who are present or have voted by proxy for the resolution to be passed." 

"If there is a 75% or more vote in favour then Mr Jenkins becomes owner elect if I can use that term, he is the owner in waiting. I mentioned earlier he would have to go through the EFL acquisitions process which is quite a complex piece of work which is how the EFL regulates club's governance and ensures than owners are fit and proper people and we have no doubt that Mr Jenkins would pass that easily but it does take some weeks to get through that, and then he would become the new owner and would then be very visible and start directing the club in making decisions."

"If the vote isn't in favour of Mr Jenkins coming on board then of course we continue as we are. We are a trust owned club and I think Paul would agree at this point we would be in a position of some uncertainty. Some uncertainty in that it's not the direction that people felt we were going, this new hybrid model and some uncertainty because we would be left questioning ourselves how can we raise sufficient funds for this to be a competitive EFL league two club."        

Both Colin and Paul emphasis the importance of arriving early. Doors open from 6pm with the meeting hopefully getting underway from 7pm at Rodney Parade. They made an appeal "Please arrive no later than 6:30pm. We want to kick off by 7 and we have got a lot of people to register in and give information too"

I hope this has cleared some things up for you in the run up to Thursday and the all important meeting. If you want to listen to the full interview with Paul Marks and Colin Everett click here.

Newport's unbeaten home start comes to a crashing end.

Ahead of a monumental week in the history of Newport County it was on the field matters that took the spotlight at Rodney Parade as we took on Bradford City managed by Wales legend Mark Hughes.

It was County who got off to the better start right from the off as Wildig let the ball run through his legs and go to Will Evans who played in Wildig but he can only fire across goal hitting Matty Platt and going for a corner.

Last season's League Two top scorer Andy Cook looked sharp early on heading a pinpoint cross narrowly over the bar. He scored not long after to get his first goal of the season. Tulloch crosses into the box and Cook was there to head home for the bantams. 

Andy Cook again causing the County defence all sorts of problems as he hooked a shot towards goal but it went over the top of the net. 

Bradford scored 2 in as many minutes to take the game away from County just before the half hour mark goals from Rayhaan Tulloch and another from Andy Cook put Bradford 3-0 up. Some really nice passing into Tulloch for his goal. Andy Cook got the better of Declan Drysdale in a one on one race towards the County goal and smashed past Nick Townsend for his second of the game and of the season as well. 

5 mins later we had a lifeline from who else but Omar Bogle! James Waite with some good play to find the no.9 through the Bradford defence, he rounded keeper Harry Lewis and pull one back for the exiles. 

We ended the first half on the front foot with James Waite in some space shooting goalwards but he dragged his shot wide. 

On the hour mark Coughlan switched things up and made a double change looking for pace up top with Matty Bondswell and Olly Thomas on and it had an immediate impact as Bondswell had the ball on the left hand side and won County a corner.

Things went from bad to worse for us as James Clarke went down off the ball holding his groin area and after some dialogue with the physios he was taken if the pitch. We are stretched at the back as it is and this just makes things even worse for Graham Coughlan but we will have Ryan Delaney back from suspension next weekend. Clarke was replaced by Josh Seberry.

Olly Thomas flicked the ball to the back post where he found Matty Bondswell but he couldn't sort his feet out and sliced wide. This was the closest we came in all second half.  

Right at the death Bradford extended their lead as Andy Cook, who already had 2 goals got his hat trick. Another cross lead to him heading home past Townsend. This time it was a ball from Liam Ridehalgh which the no.9 got on the end of. 

And that was full time. We were really poor today and it doesn't help that we are decimated with Injuries, throughout the squad we are missing key players and it is showing. With a busy October ahead you can only feel bad for Graham and the management team. For more analysis join Look Back In Amber tomorrow from 2pm on Newport City Radio with myself, Stephen Howell and Ian Lamsdale.

 Newport County: Nick Townsend, Adam Lewis, James Clarke (Josh Seberry), Declan Drysdale, Will Evans, Bryn Morris, Omar Bogle, James Waite (Olly Thomas), Scot Bennett, Shane McLoughlin, Aaron Wildig (Matty Bondswell). 

Attendance: 4087 (411) 

MOTM: Will Evans

Newport come from behind to take a point against AFC Wimbledon.

 Newport County battled back from 2-0 down to snatch a point against AFC Wimbledon this afternoon at Rodney Parade. 

Both sides returned to league action following disappointing exits from the league cup in midweek with the Exiles losing via the dreaded penalty kicks to Brentford on Tuesday night and Wimbledon heading out to London rivals Chelsea losing 2-1 but taking the lead at Stamford Bridge. 

Newport County started very much on the front foot with Omar Bogle, who made his first league start of the season this afternoon holding the ball up well and playing the ball into Harry Charsley who had a shot blocked. 

AFC Wimbledon took the lead after only 9 minutes of the game through James Tilley keeping up with the early season form with Wimbledon scoring first in 4 out of the last 5 games before today and County conceding the first goal in 8 out of the last 10 games prior to kick off.

What ever the game plan was going into the game it clearly wasn't working. One thing I noticed in the first half at least is the amount of times our center backs were playing the ball long up the field looking for our forward men but just seemed to give possession back to Wimbledon. 

County did come back into the game more as the first half went on as they started reverting back to playing the ball on the ground which is what we have seen Graham Coughlan's men do so well so far this season. Shane McLoughlin had a great chance to level with a header from a wonderful Aaron Wildig cross. 

As County were on the ascendancy Wimbledon doubled their lead through their top scorer James Tilley who pounced on an error from captain Ryan Delaney and slotted past Nick Townsend to score what felt like an undeserved second.  

Newport were awarded a free kick following a foul on Al-Hamadi, who was subject to a deadline day bid by League One Barnsley. The following play from the free kick lead to holding midfielder Scot Bennett having a go on goal and came the closest anyone for anyone in amber all afternoon as he hit the top of the crossbar from 20 yards out.

Our Striker who is in red hot form for the Exiles scored again! Will Evans halved the deficit on the stroke of half time and gave Graham Coughlan's men a lifeline going into the second 45. 

The man with a wand of a left foot Adam Lewis coming of a week with 2 assists nearly had a goal to cap it all off in the opening seconds of the second half. He found space on the left hand side and drilled the ball into the box but keeper' Alex Bass was quick out and got down well. 

Ryan Delaney played a ball into Omar Bogle who controlled it well and drew out Alex Bass far out of his goal and our number 9 had a very simple chip over the top of the keeper to level the game and send Rodney Parade into a frenzy. 

The game lost a little momentum after that second County goal with both teams looking for a goal but created very little in the way of clear cut opportunities. James Tilley was a constant bright spark for the visitors all afternoon with most if not all of their good play coming from the winger who has had a good start to the season with 7 goals including a penalty against Chelsea.

We did see the first glimpse of new forward Olly Thomas who had a 20 minute cameo at the end of the game. He looked good when he came on. I thought he was very good with his running, good turn of pace and good energy. Very similar to what we had with his fellow Bristol City loanee Seb Palmer-Houlden. 

At full time a draw felt like the fair result with both teams having really really good spells of play. Wimbledon just shaded it in terms of shots with 14 but both sides had 4 shots on goal. That point does nothing for both sides as both remain where they were before the start of play. County are in 6th place with Wimbledon a place above on 5. This comes at the end of a busy week for Graham Coughlan and his men with 3 games in 7 days at Rodney Parade. A win and 2 draws albeit one ending in a penalty shootout defeat. I'd say it's been a pretty positive week and something to build upon going into a much more quieter month of September.

For more analysis join myself and Stephen Howell tomorrow at 2pm on Newport City Radio for an all new edition of Look Back In Amber.     

Newport County: Nick Townsend, Adam Lewis, Ryan Delaney, James Clarke, Will Evans, Bryn Morris, Omar Bogle (Olly Thomas), Scot Bennett, Shane McLoughlin, Harry Charsley (Nathan Wood), Aaron Wildig (James Waite) 

Attendance: 4008 (403) 

My man of the match: Will Evans

Matt Baker returns!

One of the key players in the second half of last season returns to the club in the form of Matty Baker, who this time joins on a season long loan! 

He returns to the club on the back of playing 18 times in League Two for the Exiles as they steered clear of relegation to the National League. Matt predominantly featured as a left sided center back in the back 3 which County set up with for so much of last season playing in place of Declan Drysdale who suffered an Injury which kept him out for large parts of the end of the campaign.

Unfortunately he has a knock and is ineligible for tomorrow's game against AFC Wimbledon but will provide cover and depth in a position where we haven't had much luck so far. He joins James Clarke, Ryan Delaney, Declan Drysdale, Josh Seberry and Kyle Jameson (Also currently injured) in competition at the back with a busy schedule on the horizon it was important to get one more defender in before the window closes in half an hour.

Graham Coughlan said on Tuesday night that he was looking to add at least 2 more players before the end of the window which he has managed to achieve with the signings of both Matt and Olly Thomas on loans from Stoke and Bristol City. 

Matt rounds off this summer's business. It's 13 signings in all in Graham Coughlan's side. Jonny Maxted, Kyle Jameson, Ryan Delaney, Matty Bondswell (Loan), Adam Lewis (Loan), Bryn Morris, Josh Seberry, Lewis Payne (Loan), Olly Thomas (Loan), Seb Palmer-Houlden (Loan), Nathan Wood and Shane McLoughlin all joined the club in what was a big window especially with the departures of key players at the end of last season in the likes of  Mickey Demetriou (Crewe), Cameron Norman (MK Dons), Aaron Lewis (Mansfield) and Priestly Farquharson (Walsall). HOwever from early viewings this season we seemed to have recruited very well.

“Matt wanted to come back. In fact, he never wanted to leave,’’ Explained County boss Coughlan. “When you have players like that who are desperate to play for this football club it’s a no-brainer.

 “He gives us good coverage in two or three different positions, and he knows what we are all about. He’s a great addition and the more good men we have in the trenches with us the better chance we have of fighting the war.’’

Welcome back Matt!

Newport County finally add another Striker to squad.

 Graham Coughlan bolsters his Forward line with the addition of Olly Thomas on deadline day, the same day that it was confirmed that Seb Palmer-Houlden will miss the next 3 months of the season due to injury. 

Since last night when it was announced that Olly was recalled from his loan spell at National League South side Yeovil immediately the rumours started that he was going to be the Striker that has eluded Coughlan all summer long. 

As I mentioned Olly started the season at Yeovil. He played for the glovers as they beat us 2-0 in pre season so has experience playing against this Newport side. The 18 year old had featured in all 6 of their games so far this season getting 2 goals in return and will look to add to those numbers 2 divisions higher from where he started the campaign. 

Fellow Bristol City Loanee Seb Palmer-Houlden who has started the season well has picked up a hamstring injury in the penalty shoot out defeat to Brentford on Tuesday night which made the attacking options even more thin than what they already were.

He joins Omar Bogle, Will Evans, Kiban Rai, Offrande Zanzala and Seb Palmer-Houlden a options for Graham up top. I would like to see us get at least one more as 2 of these 5 are out with major injuries.  

Upon signing the Bristol City forward Graham Coughlan said:“We were obviously disappointed to lose Seb,’’ he explained. “We needed to replace him and thankfully we have a great relationship with Bristol City, Seb’s parent club, who were keen to help.

 “Olly brings a lot of the same qualities as Seb – the presence, link-up play and pressing – together with his own individual strengths.

“He’s a great addition to the squad and we are all looking forward to working with him.’’

Welcome Olly!

Newport complete turn around to move into the play off places.

It was quite an even first half as County looked to make it 3 wins from 3 competitive league games at Rodney Parade something not done since April 2021 under Michael Flynn. 

But it was Graham Coughlan's men who started off the better as captain Ryan Delaney had a very early header saved by Jack Rose

It was the aforementioned Sutton keeper who was living very dangerously in his own box as he tried to play out from the back but our forwards pressed him in his own area and lost the ball with Will Evans and SPH on the prowl the ball fortunately for Sutton ended up at the feet of one of their defenders.

This kicked off a few action packed minutes with Will Evans running onto a Ryan Delaney flick but he is deemed offside by the officials. Then only a few seconds later James Clarke headed wide of the Sutton goal. 

Adam Lewis had the best chance of the game so far after he got the ball on the left hand side of the penalty area only for him to fire a few yards over the bar. 

Craig Clay got the ball after nice play from Patrick but blazed very high over the bar. 

County felt like they should've had a penalty towards the end of the first half as the man in form Will Evans goes through on goal but the Sutton keeper ends up coming out quickly and looked to have fouled his but nothing was given by the referee. 

That was the last major chance in what was quite a dull first half. The way Sutton played nullified County's usual high energetic play style by going very direct in into the forward pair of Scott Kashket and Lee Angol and they also utilised play direct into channels with wide men Omari Patrick especially and Josh Coley and drew County into their way of playing.

What ever Sutton's vocal manager Matt Gray said at half time it had it's desired impact almost straight away as they came out with a lot of intent at the start of the second half. Robert Milsom had a shot which deflected behind for a corner. Then the man who impressed me in the first half Omari Patrick put the visitors ahead with a really neat finish. 

County were nearly level immediately. Seb Palmer-Houlden headed into the path of Will Evans who took a shot but found the shot saved on the line by Sutton keeper Jack Rose. 

Bryn Morris came close as he had a floating shot that floated just over the bar. 

It was then time for the introduction of last season's top scorer Omar Bogle who was making his first appearance of the campaign following an injury which has kept him out so far.  

Within 4 minutes of him coming on we were level! Adam Lewis put a great ball into the box which was turned in by Joe Kizzi the Sutton right back in a goal which reminded me of Robin Van Persie's diving header from the 2014 world cup for The Netherlands. 

The next chance of the game lead to the next goal and again it came from a cross this time from the other side of the pitch. Shane McLoughlin crossed into the box and midfielder Harry Charsley converted for his 2nd goal of the season and the turn around which looked all but impossible came true. 

Matt Gray responded to going behind by making a quadruple change and a change in formation which to me had very little impact on the rest of the game. Ex County man Ryan Jackson made a cameo at Rodney Parade and was amongst the quartet coming on and got a great reception from the Amber Army. 

The man in form got yet another! Will Evans got his 6th league goal of the season with a very good finish to secure all three points and the 3rd successive win at Rodney Parade at the start of the campaign. 

Omar nearly capped his return with a goal and he pounced on a mistake from the Sutton backline and sprinted all the way down to the other end of the pitch along side Adam Lewis but decided to shoot on goal rather than pass to Lewis but unfortunately he was denied by Jack Rose.

That was that for an afternoon with another turnaround similar to the one we seen against Charlton in the league cup. We move into the Brentford game on Tuesday in the league cup full of confidence and believe as we are on a run now of 3 home wins in a row which hasn't been seen for over a year.

For a more in depth review tune into Look Back In Amber tomorrow afternoon on Newport City Radio from 2pm with Myself, Ian Lamsdale and Stephen Howell.

 Newport County: Nick Townsend, Adam Lewis, Ryan Delaney, James Clarke, Will Evans, Bryn Morris, Scot Bennett (Omar Bogle), Shane McLoughlin, Harry Charsley, Aaron Wildig ( James Waite), Seb Palmer-Houlden (Josh Seberry)

Attendance: 3740

Newport County put Doncaster to the sword at Rodney Parade.

Newport County started as they mean to go on at Rodney Parade as they emphatically put 4 goals past Doncaster Rovers. 

Graham Coughlin made two changes to the team that beat Charlton on Tuesday night with both changes coming at full back with Adam Lewis and Shane McLoughlin came into the starting 11 in place of James Waite and Josh Seberry.

They carried on from where they left off against Charlton and made a very bright start with an early chance as Aaron Wildig floated a really good ball into the box which Ian Lawlor punched away. 

Within 6 minutes County were ahead as Seb Palmer-Houlden did ever so well to dispossess Joseph Olowu on the bar line and he tucked home to make it 3 goals in consecutive games at Rodney Parade. 

Seb nearly made it 4 in 3 at Rodney Parade as midfielder Scot Bennett dispossessed a Doncaster player and played him through but he fired wide of goal. 

It was 2-0 only a few minutes later however as Shane Mcloughlin has a shot which was saved but into the path of Will Evans who shows great instinct to score his first league goal of the season. 

It was soon 3 after a scramble in the Donny penalty area and veteran defender Richard Wood who Graham Coughlan yesterday said he tried to sign over the summer put the ball in his own net to put us 3-0 up within 25 minutes. 

The poor start for his side prompted Rovers manager Grant McCann into a double change only half an hour into the match which didn't really have that much impact on the game as wave after wave of attack from Newport County followed until half time as County looked the most dangerous that i've seen them in a long time. 6 shots on target in that first half with 3 goals (1 albeit an own goal.) We were very clinical in the first half. It could and almost should've been 5 or 6 at the break we had further chances through SPH, Bryn Morris and Shane McLoughlin. 

It only took Will Evans 5 second half minutes to get his second of the afternoon as he was played in by Shane McLoughlin and the forward slots it in the bottom left corner and matches his goal tally in the league already after just 2 games. 

This prompted Doncaster into 2 more changes and saw new boy Mo Faal who impressed me and Tommy Rowe come on in what looked like another formation change from Grant McCann. 

The game fizzled out in the half an hour of the game with Doncaster having the better of the play but they didn't really test keeper Nick Townsend that much. Most of the Doncaster play came around the center circle as they tried to get back the County defence. 

We seen a couple of debuts towards the end as new summer signings Nathan Wood and Lewis Payne entered the pitch for a small cameo at the end of the game. 

I feel like this was one of the best County performances in a long long while we looked like we would score everytime we went forward especially in the first half. Our pressing and counter pressing forced Donny into a number of errors and one even lead to the opener from SPH. It will be tough to repeat the same performance levels on Tuesday against Crewe after a lot of the players have played 3 games of football in 7 days but what today does is it lays down a marker for Graham Coughlan and his side who have been written of by a number of people before a single ball was kicked.

For further analysis on the game listen to Look Back In Amber tomorrow from 2pm on Newport city radio with myself and Stephen Howell.

Newport County: Nick Townsend, Adam Lewis, Ryan Delaney, Will Evans (Nathan Wood), Bryn Morris, Scot Bennett, Shane McLoughlin (Lewis Payne), Harry Charsley (Matty Bondswell), Kyle Jameson, Aaron Wildig (James Waite), Seb Palmer-Houlden (Kiban Rai)

Attendance: 3989 (358)

Personal MOTM: Seb Palmer-Houlden

Newport County add much needed depth at right back with the addition of Southampton loanee.

Graham Coughlan has finally added another option at right wing back in the form of Lewis Payne on a season long loan from Southampton. 

Lewis has come through the Southampton academy from a very young age and has played predominantly for the u21 side in the Premier League 2 competition. He played against County last season when Southampton visited Rodney Parade in the Papa John's Trophy. He started as captain that night as his side fell to a 2-1 loss thanks to goals from Omar Bogle and James Waite. He made his senior debut for the saints in last season's league cup when he started in their 3-0 win in the second round against Cambridge United. He even got the assist for the opening goal as he set up Che Adams to score. 

He has spent a short period of time at the start of the year at Eastleigh in the National League and helped the side to a 9th place finish 4 points behind Bromley and the playoffs. This will be his first full year in a senior football environment and it will be interesting to see how quickly he can adapt to senior football compared to the u21 system.

Lewis will add much required depth at right wing back and will go up against Shane McLoughlin for the shirt at right back. Shane has started the season in the position and has looked good in my opinion with a great engine to get up and down and has shown a bit of quality in the final third with crosses. This signing might also free up Shane to play in the center of midfield where he can also play and has had success in the past.

Graham Coughlan is delighted to strengthen at right wing back “Lewis is a great utility player, he’s adventurous and will open up that (Right) side of the pitch.” he said. “He’ll give us some great options through his versatility and looking at him, he can play three or four positions. “We of course are still searching and seeking that key striker, but if I can pick up and decorate the rest of the team along the way, that’s what I’ll do. I’m looking forward to working with Lewis in the upcoming campaign.”

Lewis can't wait to play at Newport “I played against Newport last year, playing in front of the fans, on the pitch was a great experience.” Explained Payne. I’m really excited to get going and get amongst the lads.”

Welcome Lewis!

Graham Coughlan reflects on a "difficult" first pre season as County boss

Newport County manager Graham Coughlan has just overseen his first pre season as manager of the club.

Boss Coughlan admits it's not been all plain sailing in the build up to the new campaign "It's been difficult, It's been really difficult if im quite honest and i'm not sure if it will get any easier for me"

"It's been trying its been testing, it's probably the biggest challenge i've ever taken on in my life, It's a mammoth task," he added. 

County have had a mixed bag of results in pre season starting of with wins against Welsh league opposition Undy and Pontypridd. Then followed 4 consecutive defeates to Sheffield fc, Swansea City, Bristol City and Yeovil conseeding 15 goals in those games without reply. We finished off with our first pre season game at our home of Rodney Parade for the first time in just over 5 years with a 1-1 draw against Cheltenham Town.

Graham Coughlan admits the pre season friendlies were planned deliberately "The fixtures we're put together where we had our first 3 games against Pontypridd, Undy and Sheffield were put together so we could get that bulk of work into us the day of the game, the day before the game and we could go into those games fatigued. When you go into those games fatigued you actually have to concentrate more, you have to organise more."

"We then went into the Bristol City's and the Swansea games they we're games where we didn't see much of the ball and they were deliberate. They we're defensive organisation, defensive structure, it was trying to press, it was trying to get after players, top quality players who don't give the ball away with not alot of turn overs we were up against quality," he continued.

"Then we come away from that with the Yeovil which was system for system, man to man and today was the same, so yeah it was structured it was organised." 

"They are at a level now where their fitness is good, the preseason has been really hard for them. If anything we will be one of the more fitter teams in the league and I think we will have to be."

Coughlan and County kick off their 2023/24 campaign this coming saturday away to Accrington Stanley and welcome the lancashire side back to the forth tier for the first time since the 2017/18 season when they won the league.

Newport County end pre season with a draw against League one opposition.

The 2023/24 pre season window finished on a bit of a high as Newport County drew 1-1 with League One Cheltenham Town at Rodney Parade in a first friendly at our home in nearly 5 years. 

Graham Coughlan gave 5 players their Rodney Parade debut from the off in Ryan Delaney, Bryn Morris, Shane McLoughlin, Kyle Jameson and Seb Palmer-Houlden. Nick Townsend was given the number one shirt following Joe Day's departure on loan to Woking.  

Newport started as they meant to go on with Adam Lewis who re-signed with the club yesterday having a header from point blank range saved by Luke Southwood. 

More good play from us as Will Evans got the ball in a good area but didn't manage to get the control on the ball and fired it over. 

Cheltenham then came into the game with a good 5 minute spell that lead to Aidan Keena looking for Rob Street with a through ball which was well dealt with by Townsend and a free kick just outside the County box which ended up in the wall. 

New boy Shane McLoughlin nearly broke the deadlock but his header whistled wide of Luke Southwood's goal. 

Half time then came with the game goalless but we definitely had the better of the play with much of the first half being played in the Cheltenham half and in the final third much of what we seen last season.

County broke the deadlock in the 60th minute through on loan Bristol City forward Seb Palmer-Houlden after a great bit of alertness from Aaron Wildig who had a pounced on a bit of a mistake from Cheltenham keeper Luke Southwood and shot towards goal which took a flick off Palmer-Houlden for him to score his first goal in County colours.

Another great bit of play from Aaron Wildig who flicked the ball around the defender into the path of Seb Palmer-Houlden but Luke Southwood was off his one quick to deny him of his brace. 

Cheltenham found an equalizer with only 5 minutes left to go of the game after a really poor bit of defending from County who had 3 chances to clear their lines before the ball found it's way into the back of our net. Aidan Keena was alert to the situation and pounced upon the opportunity showing great forwards play. 

The game fizzled out as both sides settled for a draw. I feel County should've held on for the win we had the better of the chances in the 90 mins but all in all plenty to be optimistic about heading into the Accrington game which kicks off our League Two campaign next Saturday afternoon.

Newport County: Nick Townsend (GK), Adam Lewis (Sam Bowen 78'), Ryan Delaney (Matty Bondswell 78'), James Clarke, Will Evans (Harry Charsley 72') , Bryn Morris, Scot Bennett (James Waite 72') , Shane McLoughlin (Josh Seberry 78'), Kyle Jameson, Aaron Wildig (Kiban Rai 72'), Seb Palmer-Houlden (Harrison Bright 82')

Attendance: 1163 (76)

Adam Lewis rejoins County on a season long loan

Left wing back Adam Lewis rejoins Newport County on a second consecutive season long loan from Liverpool

Adam is a player that has played internationally for England at various youth levels. He came through at Liverpool playing at u19 level in the Uefa Youth League, this is the Champions league for academy sides. In his age group was players likes Curtis Jones, Ki-Jana Hoever and Jake Cain so he's come through with quality at Liverpool. In the 2019 pre season he made a few appearances in friendly's serving mainly as an understudy to Andy Robertson. He made his official debut for the reds in their FA Cup 4th round replay against Shrewsbury at Anfield. He made the move in that summer to french second division side Amiens. He made 9 appearances for the side in a six month stint as they finished 10th. In the 2nd half of the season he was sent out on loan to South west side Plymouth on loan as he helped them survive in league one. In 20 games he scored 1 goal and set up 2 goals as well with a very brief spell playing in the same side as ex county goal man Dom Telford. In the season just gone he was up in Scotland with Livingston making 13 appearances in all competitions. Last season he made 28 appearances in all competitions with 1 goal and 6 assists in toe for the Exiles as we finished 15th in league two. 

Upon resigning Adam Graham Coughlan said "Adam is great to have at the back and it is fantastic to have him back around the club! Adam gives us a couple of options and qualities that we were lacking previously."

I agree with the Gaffer the addition of Adam will provide a huge boost to the club especially going forward. In his 21 league 2 appearances last season the stats show that he was one of our best players and such a threat down the left hand side. He was top of the County list for Big chances created (7), Second for key passes per game (1.4),  Third for assists (4), Also third for accurate long balls per game (2.7) along with being joint second for tackles per game. This but over a full over a 46 game season will for me change the fortune of County with a few early season predictions tipping us for another season looking over our shoulder at relegation. 

Adam found the back end of last season frustrating as he suffered a season ending injury in a match against Walsall in March. Hopefully he is fit and available to play straight away on the opening day against Accrington Stanley on the 6th August. 

Last season Adam faced tough competition for that left wing back role from Aaron Lewis who left the club over the summer and now will face tough competition again this time in the form of another loanee Matty Bondswell who joined the club earlier this summer from Newcastle. Having this great depth at left wing back will free up Will Evans who has featured at the position. He will add much needed threat up top with Omar Bogle, Offrande Zanzala, Seb Palmer-Houlden and Kiban Rai. 

Adam is thrilled to be back “I love Newport. I’ve loved it ever since I came here, I’m really hoping we have a good season and achieve what we want to achieve.” 

I'm really excited about this signing I think Adam is a game changer for us. Welcome Adam

Graham Coughlan finally lands key target after "long chase".

Graham Coughlan finally has his man as Newport County complete the signing of Ryan Delaney.

Ryan came through at Wexford in his native Ireland before making the switch across the pond to join at the time championship outfit Burton Albion before making a year long loan back to Ireland and joining Cork City, making a 2 appearances in the Europa League qualifying stages and winning the League of Ireland in the process.  

Then he moved to Rochdale and spent a season and a half there before moving to AFC Wimbledon. After playing for the London outfit he went back up north to Bolton Wanderers and was a part of the side in which got promoted from League Two in 2021. He spent the past season and a half at the team who beat us in that season's play off final in the form of Morecambe in League one. He did in January 2022 move on loan to Scunthorpe where he wasn't able to help them out of trouble and seen them get relegated.

Last season he made 32 appearances in League one for Morecambe as they got relegated back to League two. Manager Graham Coughlan admits “It’s been a long chase trying to get Ryan to Newport" and I think it's one that's well worth it. He adds alot of depth and quality to an area where we need at least one more player after the loss of some key Defenders this summer in the form of Priestly Farquharson (Walsall) and Mickey Demetriou (Crewe). Ryan's signing was rumored all day long and im looking forward to seeing what he can do against Bristol City tomorrow. 

He joins Kyle Jameson, Bryn Morris, Shane McLoughlin, Nathan Wood, Matty Bondswell and Seb Palmer-Houlden in joining us so far this summer.

On the signing of Ryan the manager Graham Coughlan says “It’s been a long chase trying to get Ryan to Newport. Although I knew we had to be patient, I didn’t think it was going to happen, so I’m delighted we’ve finally got our man. I’m sure the wait will be worth it because he’s what I call a proper leader who will fit our dressing room. He's a warrior and a winner.’’

Upon signing for us Ryan said “It really felt like the right move for me and I’m keen to add my strengths to the team. I’m excited to get amongst the lads and see how we can complement each other to bring the best out of the team.’’

Welcome Ryan

Newport sign second midfielder of the window from Grimsby

Newport make ex Grimsby midfielder Bryn Morris their 3rd signing in what has been a pretty chaotic week for the club.

The 27 year old follows in the footsteps of Kyle Jameson and Nathan Wood in making the move to County in the past 7 days from Tranmere and Penybont respectively. 

He played 31 times last season on the Mariners return to the EFL with 2 goals, one of which game in the 2-0 win we suffered at the hands of Morris' former side back in Sept 2022. He has made 37 appearances for England at various youth levels. He has also played for a plethora of clubs including Portsmouth, Coventry, Shrewsbury, Burton and Wycombe, York, Walsall, Northampton and Hartlepool. 

Last season for Grimsby Bryn racked up some pretty impressive stats. In the 2022/23 season Bryn was top of the Grimsby town ranks for accurate passes per game (23.4) and also top for long balls per game (3.4). He was second for tackles per game (1.6) and 4th for interceptions per game (1). These types of numbers are what I feel was missing from the team last season a midfielder who could pass the ball around in a more deeper role i.e Josh Sheehan.

Gaffer Graham Coughlan said about Bryn “Bryn is a great addition, He has a lot of experience and will give us additional ball control in the middle of the park. He has a great engine which will fit into how we play. He is also a great character who displays strong leadership qualities, so I’m really looking forward to working with him.”

On joining Bryn said "“The Gaffer made contact quite early and I really liked the way he came across,” said Bryn. On a personal level he seemed a good guy. He spoke highly about the club and everything that it’s about. It just seemed a great fit for me. I’m looking forward to settling in, having a good pre-season, and getting going again with the fixtures.”

Welcome to the club Bryn.

County bolster defence with addition of Ex Chelsea player

Newport County have made their second signing of the summer in the form of 24 year-old defender Kyle Jameson. 

Kyle joins James Clarke, Declan Drysdale and Harrison Bright in the defensive ranks ahead of the 23/24 season.

Kyle has had a number of clubs since coming into pro football. He has turned out for the likes of Barrow, Tranmere, Fylde and Oldham. He made his name it could be argued at Chelsea where he made a number of appearances for the Premier League outfit as they went on to win the U18 Premier League. 

Kyle joins County after recently being released from fellow League two side Tranmere Rovers where he made 10 appearances for the super whites predominantly featuring as a left sided center back and can also play at left back. and is also left footed. Now we have someone already at the club who is a left sided center back that can also play at left back who is out of contract this summer in the form of club captain Mickey Demetriou. Is Kyle a replacement for the County stalwart?  

On the signing of Kyle, gaffer Graham Coughlan said: “Kyle has fantastic size and has a great

presence,” declared the gaffer. One thing we were short of last season was pace and he brings us that in abundance. He’s effective in both boxes with his height and he’s very capable of commanding that back line. Kyle has massive potential and there is no reason he can’t kick on and play higher. I really think with the potential that he has that if he buys into us, he can really push on with his career.” 

Upon signing with the Exiles Kyle said: “I met with the gaffer a few weeks ago and had a good long chat, liked everything he said about Newport, and at that point I knew it was perfect for me.

“I am delighted to be here, I can’t wait to get going, meet all the boys and have a good season going

forward.”

Welcome to Newport Kyle!

Wood becomes first summer signing for Newport County

 Newport County have bolstered the midfield ranks with the signing of one of their former players Nathan Wood from Welsh Cymru Premier side Penybont.

Nathan joins us from Penybont in the JD Cymru Premier and adds to a strong list of players from that league to make the jump to EFL football. The likes of James Waite, Will Evans and Priestly Farquharson have seamlessly made the jump up in divisions to play for County. 

Nathan adds something a bit different to the Newport County midfield, racking up an impressive 15 goals and 8 assists from midfield last season in a Penybont team that qualified for the Europa Conference league for the first time in the clubs history. He adds to the 2023-24 midfield which is currently made up from Scot Bennett, Harry Charsley, Sam Bowen, Aaron Wildig and James Waite. 

Throughout last season I said regularly on Look back in Amber that Newport were in need of a creative minded midfielder, despite Aaron Wildig looking like his influence on this team has increased I feel like we still needed someone else to contribute with goals and assists from Midfield 

On signing Nathan said: added- “I’ve been a fan of Newport for years. I watched the club get promoted from the Conference to the Football League. I was at the first league game of the season, and I know how much it means to the fans and just how passionate they are. For me to be a part of that and have the opportunity to come here is a no brainer.”

Welcome Nathan!

Newport County further add to front line.

 Newport County have made their final addition to their squad for the January window with the addition of Calum Kavanagh who has joined the exiles on loan from Championship side Middlesbrough. 

He joins fellow forward Charlie McNeill who has also joined on deadline day on loan from Manchester United. 

Calum, Born in Cardiff is the son of former Cardiff, Stoke, Middlesbrough (among many other clubs) player Graham Kavanagh. Who himself is a former Republic of Ireland international. 

Like McNeill, Kavanagh has some absolutely incredible numbers at youth level. 15 goals in 17 games in Premier League 2 over the past year and a half. Hopefully he and McNeil can add much needed goals to the team who have only scored 24 goals this season which is the 4th lowest in League two.

He went on loan to fellow League 2 side Harrogate in January 2022. He made 14 appearances there 5 of those were starts. He only managed 1 goal. 

He has also made 4 appearances for the Republic of Ireland U17 side scoring 1 goal in that time.

Calum has been named on the bench for the Boro first team this season in a 0-1 cup upset at home to Barnsley in the EFL cup. 

On signing Calum said “I’m delighted to get the move over the line, I’ve been wanting to get a loan this window and this managed to come around so I’m really happy.”

Welcome to Newport Calum!

Manchester United youngster joins Newport County on loan.

Newport County have made a huge coup and arguably one of the best signings of the January transfer window as Charlie Mcneill joins on loan from Manchester United until the end of the season.

Charlie had a reported over 600 goals for Manchester City throughout their age groups before making the move across this city to bitter rivals Manchester United. He scored on a brace on his debut for the Red Devils youth side against Derby County. He has made many appearances for United across U21 and U23 level. Last season he scored 5 goals as Manchester United ended up winning the competition. 

He made his First team debut for United in this seasons europa league group stage against Real Sociedad of Spain at Old Trafford. He has scored 3 goals in his 5 appearances in the Papa Johns trophy. in his most recent run out he was able to score a brace in a 2-1 win against Feyenoord U21 in the Premier League International trophy.

He has scored alot of goals where ever he has played and looks a real coup for us this window. He adds to our front line currently made up of Omar Bogle, Offrande Zanzala, Lewis Collins and Will Evans.

 On signing Charlie said- "I’m really proud and honoured to be representing this club. I know it’s a big club and a family-based club and I’m just really happy to be here. The gaffer made me feel really comfortable as soon as I spoke to him, he was really nice, he really sold it to me. I can’t wait to meet the lads, get training and hopefully play the game on Saturday!" 

Welcome to Newport Charlie!

Newport County add Cymru U21 international to defensive ranks

Newport County have added a second player to their ranks this month with the signing on loan of Matt Baker from Stoke City until the end of the season. He joins midfielder Harry Charsley in joining the exiles this window.

Matt came through the ranks at Gillingham but didn't make any appearances for them before he earned a move to Championship side Stoke City in the summer of 2021. 

He has made 29 appearances over the past season and a half for the Potters in Premier League 2. He has played predominately om the right of a 3 man defence and has also pushed up into midfield if needed. Also he has featured on the bench twice for Stoke this season in games against Hull City and QPR. This could be a replacement for Matty Dolan who we seen earlier in the month move to his boyhood club Hartlepool United on loan until the end of the season. 

Baker has also made several appearances for Wales throughout the different age groups. 16 in all, 4 for the U15's 5 for the U16's, 6 for the U19's and only the one for the U21 which came in a 2-0 friendly defeat to Austria in September last year.    

On signing Matt said "I'm buzzing, I had a good chat with the manager and I can't wait to get started. He's said to me to come in with a clean sheet mentality and that'll be good enough for him! At heart, I'm a defender - I like to keep the ball out the net, it's my main aim when I step onto the pitch, but on the flipside I'm composed on the ball so I like to do both sides of the game." 

Welcome to Newport Matt!

Newport County make first signing of 2023!

Graham Coughlan has finally got a player over the line and it's someone he knows very well!

26 year old Harry Charley becomes the first exile to sign for Newport County in the Graham Coughlan era. 

The Midfielder came through at Everton. He only made 1 appearance for the toffees which came in a 3-0 win in the group stages of the Uefa Europa league away against Apollon Limassol of Cyprus.

He then went out on loan to Bolton Wanderers in the championship and again only made 1 appearance for the club as Bolton survived relegation by just 2 points.

He then went to Mansfield on a permanent basis in January 2020 where the manager was one Graham Coughlan! He made 68 appearances in a 2 year spell at the stags scoring 6 goals. In January last year he moved to Port Vale permanently. He made 20 appearances in the second half of last season as the Valiants secured promotion to league one. Charlsey came off the bench at Wembley to help them to league one. 

He has also made 17 appearances for the Republic of Ireland at various youth levels. 

On the looks of it Harry is the attacking midfielder we've been calling for on look back in amber for a little while and at the age of 26 he will be coming into the peak of his powers.

On signing Harry said “I’m delighted to get the move done, I’m really happy to be here. I’ve worked with the gaffer before and really enjoyed it, he works you hard, he’s an honest manager and demands a lot from his players but I really enjoyed working with him. I’m really excited and can’t wait to get going!”

Welcome to Newport County Harry!