Is it that time of the year already? It must be my age, but it feels like the new football season has come around very quickly!

When I was younger, it seemed to take almost an eternity for the new season to start. I remember looking forward to seeing whom Arsenal and Cwmbran Town would be playing first - however, since Cwmbran Town have faded away and are now little more than a badly run Gwent County side it is sad to say that my interest in them has sadly been diminished.

Yet, in 1993, I can fondly recall my home town club winning the first ever League of Wales Championship and with it qualification to the preliminary round of the UEFA Champions League. Cwmbran won the league with 87 points and things looked good for them - however, by the mid 2000s they were cash-strapped and had plummeted down the Welsh Leagues. Today, they are a shell of what they used to be, and you'd be laughed at by the youth of the town were you to tell them that a Manchester United side containing Mark Hughes and Ryan Giggs played against Cwmbran Town in 1996 (in the words of Max Boyce 'I was there!')

In the year when Cwmbran Town won the League of Wales, Llanelli AFC finished 14th. Llanelli AFC have also, sadly, suffered from the same negligence as befell Cwmbran. Like Barry Town (also in trouble) they played in European Competitions and pulled off a shock result by beating Motherwell of the Scottish Premier League!

Sadly, it seems that there is no room for history or sentiment with those at the FAW who have seemingly axed Barry Town and Llanelli AFC from any future league involvement. Yesterday, Barry Town played a Cardiff City Development side and narrowly lost 2-3. However, given that Barry Town have no league to play in and had over 400 people in attendance, it really was one in the eye for the FAW who were angry that this game went ahead in the first place.

Going back to 1993, the following teams were members of the League of Wales http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1992%E2%80%9393_League_of_Wales. A number of clubs have fallen by the wayside, or as is the case with Ebbw Vale and Maesteg Park, gone out of business altogether. The FAW shed no tears then, and it sheds no tears now, despite Ebbw Vale playing in Europe and being 'a great representative of Welsh football.' Were Manchester United or Liverpool to go under, I doubt the FA would be so cold-hearted.

I usually talk about UKFF in my blogs, and this one will be no exception. I am glad that clubs like Guildford City, Hayes and Yeading and Leatherhead are coming on board to help the UKFF players develop their full potential and the latest match report from their Greek tour sounds impressive with pro scouts monitoring goalkeeper Jamie Halsall who only just failed to get a place at Cheltenham Town. Bradley Diallo (former Olympique Marseille, Oldham Athletic and UKFF player) is also a player that has been monitored by a number of clubs, and hopefully a Conference (or Skrill - WTH?) side will move for him soon.

Finally, for a laugh, it seems that the Veggie Hippies (Forest Green) are bringing out their own paint! With talk about sustainability and 'green', one can overlook the fact that there is a football team in upper Nailsworth.

Good luck to your team for the season ahead!