|
Port Talbot were included in the prestigious new National Division of the Welsh League in 1984/85, and stayed there until 1990/91 when they were relegated after a lamentable season. The club missed out on a place in the inaugural League of Wales, and worse was to follow when they were relegated to the present Division 2 in 1993/94.
Better times arrived under the leadership of Steve Llewellyn and Alan Meacham, and the club won back their place in the top division with a last day promotion at local rivals Goytre United in 1995/96. After a period of consolidation, they finished 5th in 1997/98 under Dai Rees and Craig Duggan during their first season in the managerial hot seat. Since then, the club has been transformed off the field, with Andrew Edwards taking over as Chairman at the start of the 1998/99 season. At this point a three-year master plan was put into operation, which included taking the club to the League of Wales by its centenary year in 2001/02 and establishing a youth/junior system from under-7s right up through to under-18s.
The success of the 1999/2000 season saw the club promoted to the League of Wales a year ahead of schedule and the introduction of two junior teams and a youth team in the MacWhirter Youth League. Many improvements were carried out to the Victoria Road Ground with refurbished dressing rooms, a new 260-seater stand, floodlights, television camera gantry, turnstiles and a hard standing around the pitch. The club made a satisfactory start in the League of Wales gaining six victories before Christmas 2000. Unfortunately, some of the work was undone by a disappointing end to the campaign. Nevertheless, in Kevin Bartley they had the league’s third top goal-scorer, his tally of 23 including successive hat-tricks at Connah’s Quay and Rhyl. To mark their centenary year, the club’s title was changed from Port Talbot Athletic to Port Talbot Town at the start of the 2001/2002 season.
The club reached the semi-finals of the Welsh Cup in 2003/4 for the first time in their history, but hopes of a foray into Europe were dashed in a 1-0 defeat by TNS at Park Avenue.
Following the departure of manager Mark Jones to Carmarthen, the Steelmen found it difficult to replicate their success in 2004/5 and spent much of the season battling relegation, although they eventually finished a relatively comfortable 13th under manager Wayne Davies. During the season, chairman Edwards proposed a merger with local rivals Afan Lido, who play less than a mile away from Talbot's Victoria Road ground, in the belief that it would produce a stronger and more commercially viable club for the town. But Lido rejected the move, despite some senior officials being in favour.
Off the field the club have continued to progress as much as they have on the field, the Victoria Road ground has been renamed The RE/MAX Stadium following a major sponsorship deal and the seating capacity has been boosted to 1,000 with the construction of the 750 seater Gerald McCreesh Stand. Hospitality facilities have been improved with the building of the Gerald McCreesh Suite overlooking the ground while the heavy investment into the playing surface has made it one of the best grounds in the Welsh Premier League.
On the field manager Wayne Davies stepped down from his position at the end of the 2006-007 season but claimed a memorable scalp in defeating Swansea City in the FAW Premier Cup while also taking the club to another Welsh Cup semi final and also the Challenge Cup Final. Tony Pennock was appointed manager for 2007-2008 as the club look to further build on their continued successes but resigned after a poor start to the season and was replaced by Nicky Tucker in November 2007. Tucker then went onto achieve the club’s highest ever finish in the Welsh Premier League in 2007-2008 when they claimed fourth place.
|
