Every Cymru Premier title-winning side ranked by points per game
(Featured Image: Tomos Lewis)
Since the inception of the Cymru Premier in 1992, Wales’ top flight has had seven different winners.
From tense title races going down to the last day to sides cruising to the title, the Cymru Premier has certainly had some impressive and deserving champions.
We take a look at each winner of the Cymru Premier. As the number of games played in a Welsh top flight season has varied over the years, we’ve ranked them based on their points per game.
Barry Town – 1997-1998 – 2.74
The 1997-1998 season was very successful for Barry Town, who recorded 104 points in 38 games on their way to the league title.
Despite falling a point short of their tally of the previous season, the Linnets’ points per game was greater due to the club playing two fewer fixtures.
Barry Town broke their own record for goals scored in a season, finding the net 134 times, an average of 3.5 goals per game.
It comes as no surprise therefore that the league’s Golden Boot winner was a Barry Town player, as Eifion Williams certainly filled the void left by the departure of fellow striker Tony Bird by scoring 40 goals in his first season with the Linnets.
The New Saints – 2016-2017 – 2.66
The New Saints were relentless in the 2016-2017 season, failing to win on just four occasions and picking up 85 points over the 32 game season.
On 30 December 2016, Craig Harrison’s side broke Ajax’s 44-year-old world record for the longest winning streak in top-flight football with their 27th consecutive win in all competitions.
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The Saints finished 27 clear at the top of the table, with Connah’s Quay Nomads and Bala Town finishing third and fourth respectively.
Rhyl – 2008-2009 – 2.65
Rhyl won their second Cymru Premier title by recording 90 points in 34 games during the 2008-2009 season.
The Lilywhites scored 99 goals on their way to the title, with the club’s top scorer, Neil Roberts, netting 20 times.
Roberts was one of four Rhyl players to be named in the 2008-2009 Cymru Premier Team of the Season, including Connah’s Quay Nomads’ title-winning captain, George Horan.
Barry Town – 1996-1997 – 2.63
The record points-tally in a Cymru Premier season is Barry Town’s 105 points accumulated in 40 games during the 1996-1997 season.
The Linnets cruised to the league title, finishing 21 points above second placed Inter Cardiff, scoring 129 goals in the process and earning a place in the Champions League qualifiers.
Barry Town’s striker, Tony Bird, earned the league’s Golden Boot, as he netted 42 times in the Linnets’ title-winning season, before returning to the Football League under Jan Mølby’s Swansea City.
Total Network Solutions – 2005-2006 – 2.53
In their final year as Total Network Solutions, the Oswestry-based side claimed 86 points in 34 games as they won their third Cymru Premier title.
Under the management of Ken McKenna, the club finished 18 points clear of Llanelli in second, and 22 points clear of third placed Rhyl.
McKenna’s side’s title win was the second in a run of three consecutive Cymru Premier titles between 2004 and 2007.
Llanelli – 2007-2008 – 2.5
Llanelli’s 85 points accumulated in 34 Cymru Premier games was enough to claim their first league title.
The Reds finished seven points clear of The New Saints in a season where the club scored a remarkable 99 goals.
Striker Rhys Griffiths, who is now manager of Penybont, netted 40 of those goals, earning the league’s Golden Boot at the end of the season.
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Barry Town – 2002-2003 – 2.44
In the eleventh season of the Cymru Premier since its inception in 1992, Barry Town won the title for a third consecutive year.
The league was hotly contested, as the Linnets finished just three points ahead of Total Network Solutions, recording 83 points over the course of the 34 game season.
TNS won just two of their final five fixtures, while Barry Town won all five to pip their title rivals to the league.
Barry Town – 1995-1996 – 2.43
Barry Town’s title win in the 1995-1996 season was their first of four consecutive league titles between 1995 and 1999.
The Linnets finished 17 points clear at the top of the table with 97 points from 40 games, with Newtown and Conwy Town finishing second and third respectively.
Despite winning the league’s Manager of the Season award, Paul Giles left to manage Ebbw Vale and was replaced by Gary Barnett.
The New Saints – 2009-2010 – 2.41
The New Saints won the title in 2010 with 82 points after 34 games, the same points tally as their 2014-2015 season.
The title race was much closer in the 2009-2010 season however, as the Saints finished just two points above Llanelli in second.
Llanelli had been five points clear of the Saints with just five games to play, but a win for TNS over their title rivals at Park Hall was the crucial turning point.
The New Saints – 2014-2015 – 2.41
In a period of dominance for The New Saints, the club recorded 77 points in 32 games to claim their fourth consecutive Cymru Premier title and the ninth in their history.
The Saints cruised to the title, finishing 18 points clear of Bala Town in second and 17 points clear of Airbus UK Broughton in third.
TNS scored a total of 90 goals in the 2014-2015 season, with strikers Greg Draper and Michael Wilde netting 17 and 16 respectively.
Rhyl – 2003-2004 – 2.41
Finishing with exactly the same record as The New Saints’ 2014-2015 season, Rhyl also claimed 77 points from 32 games to win the title.
The Lilywhites finished just a point clear of Total Network Solutions at the top of the table as they claimed their first league title.
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There was an element of controversy to Rhyl’s title win, as top scorer Andy Moran was stripped of the Golden Boot had been taking the banned stimulant ‘Nandrolone’ throughout the season.
The New Saints – 2012-2013 – 2.38
76 points from 32 games was enough for The New Saints to win their second consecutive league title.
The Saints finished 22 points clear at the top, with Airbus UK Broughton and Bangor City finishing second and third with 54 and 51 points respectively.
Striker Michael Wilde, who now plays for current Cymru Premier champions Connah’s Quay Nomads, netted 25 goals to claim the Golden Boot.
Barry Town – 1998-1999 – 2.38
Barry Town recorded 76 points in 32 games in the 1998-1999 season to win their fourth consecutive Cymru Premier title.
Just 17 clubs competed in the 98/99 league season, as the 18th club Ebbw Vale, who had finished third the previous season, were expelled from the league before the season began due to financial difficulties, and promptly went out of business, hence why only 32 games were played.
The Linnets’ striker, Eifion Williams, won the Golden Boot for the second consecutive year, scoring 28 goals for the title winners.
The New Saints – 2006-2007 – 2.38
Finishing with the same record as their 2013-2013 season and Barry Town’s 1998-1999 title win, The New Saints won their third consecutive title and fourth overall.
The Saints scored 81 goals on their way to the title, averaging 2.53 goals per game.
Seven points behind the champions were Rhyl with 69 points.
Bangor City – 1994-1995 – 2.32
In the Cymru Premier’s third season since its establishment in 1992, Bangor City won their second title, with 88 points from 38 games.
The Citizens finished nine points clear of second placed Afan Lido and eleven points clear of third placed Ton Pentre.
The club ended the season with a remarkable goal difference of +70, having scored 96 goals, 31 of which by top scorer and Golden Boot winner Frank Mottram.
The New Saints – 2018-2019 – 2.31
The New Saints reached 74 points from their 32 games to win their eighth consecutive league title.
The Saints finished twelve points clear of Connah’s Quay Nomads, who pipped them to the title just a year later.
Striker Greg Draper scored 27 of TNS’ 99 goals over the course of the season to win his second Cymru Premier Golden Boot.
The New Saints – 2017-2018 – 2.31
The New Saints’ record in the 2017-2018 season was exactly the same as the season that followed, as the club recorded 74 points from 32 games.
Fourteen points separated first and second, as Bangor City finished runners-up with 60 points but were relegated as the club’s Tier 1 and UEFA license was revoked due to not meeting financial criteria.
The Saints’ title win was the seventh in a run of eight consecutive league titles, a run that was recently brought to an end by Connah’s Quay Nomads’ league win.
The New Saints – 2011-2012 – 2.31
In one of the closer title races in The New Saints’ Cymru Premier wins, the Oswestry-based side reached 74 points from 32 games.
Just five points behind the Saints were Bangor City, who had won the Cymru Premier title a year prior.
The New Saints’ striker, Greg Draper, finished just a goal behind Rhys Griffiths in the Golden Boot race in his first season at the club after joining from Basingstoke Town.
Total Network Solutions – 2004-2005 – 2.29
TNS won their second Cymru Premier title in the 2004-2005 season, with 78 points from 34 games.
Just four points separated first second, as Rhyl finished runners-up with 74 points.
The Cymru Premier’s all-time leading goalscorer, Marc Lloyd-Williams netted 34 goals for the club in their title-winning season, averaging 1.26 goals per game.
Cwmbrân Town – 1992-1993 – 2.29
The winners of the inaugural Cymru Premier season were Cwmbrân Town, who finished the 38 game season with 87 points.
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The Crows lost just three games all season, earning the club a place in the Champions League preliminary round.
Four points behind Cwmbrân Town were Inter Cardiff, now known as Cardiff Metropolitan University.
The New Saints – 2013-2014 – 2.28
73 points from 32 games was enough for The New Saints’ third consecutive league title.
The Saints had little competition in the title race, with Airbus UK Broughton finishing 14 points behind the title winners in second.
TNS went on to add another five titles to their run of eight consecutive Welsh top flight league wins.
Barry Town – 2000-2001 – 2.27
Barry Town recorded 77 points from 34 games in the 2000-2001 season to claim their fifth Cymru Premier title.
Just three points behind the Linnets were Cwmbrân Town, winners of the inaugural Cymru Premier season.
Despite winning the same number of games (24), it was Barry Town’s ability to draw games rather than lose them that gave them the edge over Cwmbrân.
Barry Town – 2001-2002 – 2.27
Barry replicated their record of the previous season to win their sixth Cymru Premier title, claiming 77 points from 34 games.
The title race was not as hotly contested as a year prior, as seven points separated the Linnets and their closest title rivals.
Total Network Solutions finished second with 70 points and Bangor City third with 69 points.
Total Network Solutions – 1999-2000 – 2.24
The first of Total Network Solutions, now known as The New Saints’ record thirteen titles was won with 76 points from 34 games.
In a close title race, Barry Town missed out on Cymru Premier glory by just two points.
The difference between the two sides was minuscule, as Total Network Solutions had won one more game than their title rivals, whose number of draws was one greater.
Bangor City – 2010-2011 – 2.19
In arguably the most exciting finish to a Cymru Premier season, Bangor City won the title in 2011 with 70 points from 32 games.
The title-race between the Citizens and The New Saints came down to the final day of the season, as the two sides faced each other.
A winner from Craig Garside secured a dramatic win over The New Saints, securing the title for Bangor.
Connah’s Quay Nomads – 2019-2020 – 2.15
This season’s Cymru Premier was decided by the points per game method, with Connah’s Quay Nomads pipping The New Saints to the title.
Andy Morrison’s men’s remarkable season saw them record 56 points from 26 games, four more points than their title rivals, TNS.
It is worth noting that as the full season’s fixture list was not completed, the Nomads’ points per game ratio could have seen them higher in the ranking of previous champions if the final six games were played.
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The New Saints – 2015-2016 – 2
Just 64 points was enough for The New Saints to win the 2015-2016 Cymru Premier title, their fifth consecutive league win.
Seven points behind the Saints were Bala Town with 57 points, followed by Llandudno with 52 points.
The Saints went on to add another three Cymru Premier titles to their run of consecutive league wins, before Connah’s Quay Nomads’ title win in 2020.
(Featured Image: Tomos Lewis)
