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We've
made it! It's hard to believe we've been going for a full
year, but what a year we've had! This
site was born on July 21st 2002 and 365 days later we're still
here and going strong. The site has grown beyond anything I
ever imagined it would, and hopefully the next year will be
just as successful. I'd
like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who has helped
made this site what it is - everyone who has posted on the
messageboard, arranged interviews, wrote articles and so on.
Special thanks to 'Livzy', Andrew Edwards, 'Bangors Somaliland
Branch, for all the various articles they've sent in, and
Chris O'Brien (www.bttb.tk webmaster) for all his
technological help over the past year. Indeed if it wasn't for
Chris I doubt I'd have ever learnt how to run this site! Now
with all the thanks out of the way we can reflect on the
numerous highs we've achieved during the past 365 days. This
site was actually born from a far smaller (and shiter) site on
Freeserve which I started in December 2001. However, with
space limited I soon began the search for a bigger and better
web host. I contacted 'Footy Mad' and 'Rivals' about running a
Welsh Premier site on their respective networks but to no
avail. Then one glorious day I found Sport Network and the
rest is history! The
first two months on Sport Network saw us attract more hits
than during our full 6 months on Freeserve! Interest in the
site has continued to grow, and we're now averaging an amazing
1200 hits every day - making us one of the most popular and
busiest sites on Sport Network. Another
source of pride for me is our thriving messageboard. The 'LOW
Down' forum has really taken off over the past few months and
it's great to see a real community of Welsh Premier fans being
established. We're still looking to spread the word though,
and if theres only one real criticism of the site at the
moment it'd be the lack of diversity of fans on the forum.
That doesnt mean I have anything against the number of Bangor,
Barry, Aber fans etc on the messageboard but where are the
Haverfordwest, Connah's Quay, Carmarthen, Newtown etc fans?!
It'd be great if we could welcome fans from every club on the
forum - thats what its been set up for - so if everyone could
spread the word I'm sure we'll attract a number of new
supporters. We
also boast a lively weekly chat, that attracts not only fans
but the people who make the Welsh Premier happen - the
players, managers and even referees! It's always a pleasure to
welcome these special guests, its great to see there are
people working for the league who are prepared to come and
speak with the fans. Our weekly chats take place every Sunday
from 8pm, but be prepared they often go on until the early
hours of the next morning. Get the Oveltine ready! And
so to today, the site has recently embarked upon its largest
project to date with the 'Club Guide'. This really is 'our'
project as we couldn't do it without your help. Hopefully the
Guide will prove a useful source of info for away fans and
will help fill a void in the market at the moment. Finally,
if you're still with us, I'll announce the URL for the site.
The winning suggestion on the poll was 'WelshPremier', but we
had a small problem with that name...It was already taken,
seemingly purchased by the official site - if only they'd
spend their money on the league rather than buying several
Welsh Premier domains that they'll never use! Anyway, we got
the next best thing by adding a hyphen - so ladies and
gentlemen the new URL is.... www.welsh-premier.co.uk Thanks
again for your support over the last year, and please help us
make the forthcoming season even more successful on this site. Diolch
yn fawr Robert
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