Barry Town Preview

Swansea are set to follow up Saturday’s 3-1 victory at Worcester City, with a trip to League of Wales outfit Barry Town on Tuesday night. So what should we expect from our Welsh neighbours? Swans MAD finds out…..

Barry Town have been the giants of the League of Wales for the best part of a decade. Since their first title championship in 1996, Barry have claimed the title a further six times, along with numerous successes in the Welsh and Welsh Premier Cups. Following on from their domestic success, Barry have played the likes of Dinamo Kiev, Aberdeen and recent champions FC Porto in European competitions.

However, last season Barry Town finished rock bottom of the division for the first time in their history as financial difficulties almost forced them into extinction. Two years ago, ex-Premiership star John Fashanu took over control of the club in an attempt to make them a “true super-power” and attract some of the best players in Europe. Unfortunately, Fashanu left the club soon after, with stories of financial mismanagement dominating local headlines.

Just weeks later, with their wealthy backers departed, Barry announced that they could no longer afford to pay their players’ wages, nor remain as a professional club. The club drafted in a whole host of new amateur players, many being those discarded by their League of Wales opponents. Such cost-cutting measures managed to keep the club afloat, yet unfortunately lead to a rock-bottom league position. Indeed, after their recent 8-0 defeat by Rhyl, the manager claimed that their players were “no better than those of the Dog & Duck”.

Ex-Swansea manager Colin Addison is now Director of Football at Jenner Park, after a brief spell in the Conference with Forest Green last season. It must be a big culture shock for Addison, as Barry’s total attendance for last season of 4,721 would probably equal a poor turnout for a weeknight Swansea league game. Indeed, Barry’s average attendance of just under 300 is likely to be swelled considerably on Tuesday when the Swans visit the old giants of the League of Wales.

Barry’s squad is something of an unknown quantity. Their league position would suggest that Tuesday’s friendly could be a walk-over, but with the experience of Colin Addison at the helm…anything is possible. The Barry squad contains largely unheard of Welsh amateur footballers and little information is known about any of them. Richard Kennedy is one of the only remaining players from Barry’s former glory days, as the ex-Brentford and Crystal Palace midfielder opted to remain with the club on a part-time basis.

In recent times, a handful of players have made the “jump” from Barry Town to Swansea City. Just last summer, Brian Flynn released full-back Terry Evans from the club, after two years of being contracted to Swansea City. The ex-Cardiff player has played in the Cup Winners Cup, Champions League and UEFA Cup but found himself playing English non-league football last season with Newport County. More recently, goalkeeper Mark Ovendale has been on trial at the Vetch, although Kenny Jackett recently told him that Swansea would not be following up their interest. Ovendale’s place in pre-season training was soon filled by Simon Rayner, who was also once of Barry Town.

On paper, this looks likes an easy outing for the Swans. Kenny Jackett will just be hoping that his side can build on Saturday’s victory with another solid performance in South Wales.

Will we see a repeat of Saturday’s excellent start at Worcester? Is Dennis Oli capable of finding the net from 30 yards again? Will the Swans be able to come through this fixture physically unscathed and keep the injury list to a minimum ahead of the Dutch tour?

Find out here after the final whistle for full match report and Swans MAD opinions.