Football Season Guide

Newport County are finding life in the Football League increasing challenging following the departure of Michael Flynn. He left in October 2021 and a poor start to last season under James Rowberry saw them in a fight for their Football League status. The appointment of Graham Coughlan proved a shrewd one as his experience saw the Exiles slowly climb away from the bottom of the table and eventually finish in 15th place. Coughlan has said the club needs to ‘circle the wagons’ following a testing summer. The Covid-19 pandemic saw the fan-owned club lose more than £1m and they have suffered further significant losses this summer on the field. Influential defenders Aaron Lewis, Cameron Norman, Mickey Demetriou and Priestley Farquharson all rejected offers of new contracts to move on elsewhere. Farquharson’s decision to join Walsall, who finished below the Exiles last season, illustrates the financial constraints Coughlan is working with. Norman’s departure was expected but Captain Demetriou’s decision to leave is a bit of a shock and a real blow. Coughlan is left to completely rebuild his defence whilst also searching for some firepower to support Omar Bogle in attack. He does at least have two reliable goalkeepers in Joe Day and Nick Townsend, whilst Aaron Wildig finally showed what he is capable of towards the end of the last campaign. You can expect Coughlan to be busy in the transfer window right up until deadline day and will need to make full use of the loan market.