TNS
Full name	The New Saints Football Club
Nickname(s)	The Saints
Short name	TNS
Founded	1860 (Oswestry United)
Ground	Recreation Ground Llansantffraid-ym-Mechain
Capacity	2,000
Chairman	Edgar Jones
Manager	Ken McKenna
League	League of Wales
2005-06	League of Wales, 1st
Home colours Away colours

The New Saints F.C., often known as TNS, is a Welsh football club representing Llansantffraid-ym-Mechain in Wales and Oswestry in England (the two places are only 8 miles/13 km apart). They play in the League of Wales. From 1997 to 2006, the club was known as Total Network Solutions F.C. Image File history File links Thenewsaints. ... Recreation Ground is a multi-use stadium in Llansantffraid-ym-Mechain, Wales. ... Llansantffraid-ym-Mechain is a village in Powys, Wales about 8 miles to the north of Welshpool. ... This is a list of major football (soccer) stadia, grouped by country and ordered by capacity. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_England_(bordered). ... The Welsh Premiership is the national football league for Wales and is at the top of the Welsh football league system. ... The Welsh Premiership is the national football league for Wales and is at the top of the Welsh football league system. ... Image File history File links Kit_left_arm_green_hoops. ... soccer kit File links The following pages link to this file: Celtic F.C. Queens Park Rangers F.C. Reading F.C. F.C. Dallas Yeovil Town F.C. Greenock Morton F.C. Darlington F.C. Sporting Clube de Portugal Santos Laguna De Graafschap Shamrock Rovers F.C. Donegal Celtic... Image File history File links Kit_right_arm_green_hoops. ... Image File history File links Kit_shorts. ... socks of kit template File links The following pages link to this file: Arsenal F.C. Ajax Amsterdam AZ Alkmaar A.S. Roma Torino Calcio A.C. Milan ACF Fiorentina Bristol City F.C. Charlton Athletic F.C. Chievo Verona Chelsea F.C. England national football team Wikipedia:WikiProject Football... Image File history File links left arm of kit template File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... body of kit template File links The following pages link to this file: Arsenal F.C. Ajax Amsterdam AZ Alkmaar A.S. Roma Torino Calcio A.C. Milan ACF Fiorentina Bristol City F.C. Charlton Athletic F.C. Chievo Verona Chelsea F.C. England national football team Wikipedia:WikiProject Football... rightarm of kit template File links The following pages link to this file: Arsenal F.C. Ajax Amsterdam AZ Alkmaar A.S. Roma Torino Calcio A.C. Milan ACF Fiorentina Bristol City F.C. Charlton Athletic F.C. Chievo Verona Chelsea F.C. England national football team Wikipedia:WikiProject Football... Image File history File links Kit_shorts. ... socks of kit template File links The following pages link to this file: Arsenal F.C. Ajax Amsterdam AZ Alkmaar A.S. Roma Torino Calcio A.C. Milan ACF Fiorentina Bristol City F.C. Charlton Athletic F.C. Chievo Verona Chelsea F.C. England national football team Wikipedia:WikiProject Football... Football (soccer) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia /**/ @import /skins-1. ... Llansantffraid-ym-Mechain is a village in Powys, Wales about 8 miles to the north of Welshpool. ... Motto: (Welsh for Wales forever) Anthem: Hen Wlad Fy Nhadau Capital Cardiff Largest city Cardiff Official language(s) Welsh, English Government Constitutional monarchy  - Queen Queen Elizabeth II  - Prime Minister of the UK Tony Blair MP  - First Minister Rhodri Morgan AM Unification    - by Gruffudd ap Llywelyn 1056  Area    - Total 20,779... Statistics Population: 17,110 Ordnance Survey OS grid reference: SJ292293 Administration District: Oswestry Shire county: Shropshire Region: West Midlands Constituent country: England Sovereign state: United Kingdom Other Ceremonial county: Shropshire Historic county: Shropshire Services Police force: West Mercia Fire and rescue: {{{Fire}}} Ambulance: West Midlands Post office and telephone Post... Motto: (French for God and my right) Anthem: God Save the King/Queen Capital London Largest city London Official language(s) English (de facto) Unification    - by Athelstan AD 927  Area    - Total 130,395 km² (1st in UK)   50,346 sq mi  Population    - 2005 est. ... The Welsh Premiership is the national football league for Wales and is at the top of the Welsh football league system. ...

Overview

TNS currently play at the Recreation Ground (also known as Treflan) in Llansantffraid-ym-Mechain, which accommodates 2,000 spectators (500 seated). There are plans to build a new 3,000 all seater UEFA compliant stadium in Oswestry, though work on this is not estimated to begin before at least summer 2007. Due to the takeover of the club's main sponsor, Total Network Solutions, by British Telecom, the club offered up the chance to buy the name sponsorship on eBay, but the reserve was not met.^[1] Recreation Ground is a multi-use stadium in Llansantffraid-ym-Mechain, Wales. ... BT Group plc (which trades as just BT, and is commonly known by its former name, British Telecom) is the privatised former British state telecommunications operator. ...

The club's first choice strip is green and white hooped shirts, white shorts and socks. The second choice strip is blue shirts, shorts, and socks. The third choice strip is orange shirts, shorts and socks.

History

Llansantffraid F.C.

The club was formed as Llansantffraid F.C. to represent the tiny border village of Llansantffraid-ym-Mechain (population: 1,000) in 1959. 1959 (MCMLIX) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

They first tasted competitive football in the Montgomeryshire Amateur Football League (then the fourth level of the Welsh football league system), winning the championship seven times. At the end of the 1989/90 season they were elected to the Central Wales League (now the Mid-Wales League) but their stay was brief, winning promotion to the Cymru Alliance as runners-up on their first attempt. Llansantffraid’s meteoric rise continued and in 1992/93 they gained promotion to the League of Wales as champions and won the Welsh Intermediate Cup (formerly the Welsh Amateur Cup). The Welsh football league system (or pyramid) is a series of football leagues with regular promotion and relegation between them. ... The Spar Mid Wales League is a football league in Wales, consisting of 15 teams. ... The Cymru Alliance (currently the Huws Gray Fitlock Cymru Alliance, for sponsorship reasons) is a football league and forms the second level of the Welsh football league system in north and central Wales. ... The Welsh Premiership is the national football league for Wales and is at the top of the Welsh football league system. ...

Total Network Solutions

In 1996 Llansantffraid won the Welsh Cup and qualified for the first time for the European Cup Winners' Cup. At this time a local computer company, Total Network Solutions of Oswestry, arranged a £250,000 sponsorship deal which involved incorporating the company name into the club name. As Total Network Solutions Llansantffraid F.C. (no doubt to the consternation of commentators) they met the Polish cup winners Ruch Chorzow and did well to earn a 1-1 draw at home before losing 0-5 in Poland. Since then they have qualified for European competition several times (though they are yet to win a tie). The club's European home games are generally played either at Newtown's or Wrexham's stadia as their own ground is far below UEFA's standards (though for their 2003 meeting with Manchester City, they played their home game at the 72,000-seater Millennium Stadium in Cardiff). The Welsh Cup is a knock-out football competition contested annually by teams from Wales and, in the past, neighbouring parts of England. ... The Cup Winners Cup was a football club competition between the winners of the European domestic cup competitions. ... Ruch Chorzów is a Polish football club based in Chorzów, Poland. ... Newtown F.C. is a football team, playing in the League of Wales. ... Wrexham Association Football Club (nicknamed The Red Dragons, or more traditionally, The Robins) are a football team based in Wrexham in north-east Wales. ... 2003 (MMIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Manchester City Football Club is an English football club based in the city of Manchester. ... The Millennium Stadium (Welsh: Stadiwm y Mileniwm) in Cardiff is the national stadium of Wales, used primarily for rugby union and football home internationals. ... Cardiff (English:  Welsh: ) is the capital of Wales and its largest city. ...

In 1997 the club's name was changed to Total Network Solutions F.C., being the first instance in the United Kingdom of a football club renaming itself after its sponsor's name only. Following the financial meltdown of Barry Town in the summer of 2003, TNS became the only League of Wales club which had a full-time playing staff. In the summer of 2005 however Llanelli AFC also announced plans to go full-time. 1997 (MCMXCVII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Barry Town F.C. is a football team based in Barry. ... 2003 (MMIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Merger with Oswestry Town

In the summer of 2003 a merger with their financially-weak neighbours, Oswestry Town F.C. (who, despite being from England, also played in Wales), was approved by Oswestry's shareholders, the Football Association of Wales and was eventually ratified on 14 August 2003 by UEFA (who initially objected to two clubs from different governing bodies merging). 2003 (MMIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The Football Association of Wales is the governing body of football in Wales, being a member of both FIFA and UEFA. Established in 1876, it is the third-oldest association in the world, and is one of the five associations (with the English Football Association, the Scottish Football Association, the... August 14 is the 226th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (227th in leap years), with 139 days remaining. ... 2003 (MMIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... UEFA logo The Union of European Football Associations, almost always referred to by the acronym UEFA (pronounced (you-AY-fuh) or (oo-Ay-fuh) or ), is the administrative and controlling body for European football. ...

The 2003-2004 season was trophyless for TNS, as they were runners-up in the League of Wales to Rhyl and were losing finalists in the Welsh Cup, also to Rhyl. The next season, 2004-05, proved much more successful, as TNS won a league-cup double. 2003 (MMIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Rhyl F.C. (CPD (Clwb Pêl Droed) Y Rhyl) is a football team, playing in the League of Wales. ... The Welsh Cup is a knock-out football competition contested annually by teams from Wales and, in the past, neighbouring parts of England. ... 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The Double is a term in football, meaning to win a countrys top division and its main cup competition in the same season. ...

During the 2004-05 close season, after newly crowned Champions League winners Liverpool were initially denied a place in the next season's competition, TNS offered to play a two-legged tie against the Reds for TNS' place in the first qualifying round.^[2] After UEFA reached a compromise by which Liverpool were placed in the first qualifying round of the competition, TNS and Liverpool ended up drawn against one another anyway. The first leg was at Anfield, when Liverpool won 3-0 by a Steven Gerrard hat-trick, while in the second leg played at Wrexham, Gerrard scored two more after coming on as a substitute, to add to one by Djibril Cissé for another 3-0 TNS defeat. Although defeated the team drew praise from many quarters most notably the young Northern Irish goalkeeper Gerard Doherty, of whom Rafael Benítez said, "The goalkeeper saved a lot of goals and for me he was the best player in the two games". ^[3] The UEFA Champions League (which used to be named and is often still called the European Cup) is an annual club football competition organized by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for the most successful football clubs in Europe. ... Liverpool Football Club are a football club based in Liverpool, in the north west of England. ... UEFA logo The Union of European Football Associations, almost always referred to by the acronym UEFA (pronounced (you-AY-fuh) or (oo-Ay-fuh) or ), is the administrative and controlling body for European football. ... Anfield (sometimes known as Anfield Road) is a football stadium in the district of Anfield, in Liverpool, England. ... Steven George Gerrard (born 30 May 1980, Whiston, Merseyside) is an English football player with Liverpool F.C. and the England national football team. ... In sports, a hat-trick (more often rendered in North America as hat trick, without the hyphen) is associated with achieving something in a group of three. ... Wrexham (Welsh: Wrecsam) is an industrial town in north-east Wales, close to the English border with Cheshire. ... Djibril Cissé (born 12 August 1981 in Arles, France) is a French international football player of Ivorian descent who plays as a striker for both France and Olympique Marseille (on loan from Liverpool). ... Motto: [citation needed] (French for God and my right)2 Anthem: UK: God Save the Queen Regional: (de facto) Londonderry Air Capital Belfast Largest city Belfast Official language(s) English (de facto), Irish, Ulster Scots 3, NI Sign Language Government Constitutional monarchy  - Queen Queen Elizabeth II  - Prime Minister Tony Blair... Rafael Benítez Maudes (born April 16, 1960, Madrid, Spain) is a Spanish football manager and former player. ...

The New Saints F.C.

In early 2006 the club's sponsor, Total Network Solutions, was taken over by British Telecom, as a result of which the sponsorship arrangement lapsed at the end of the 2005-06 season and it became necessary to find a new name for the club. After a trawl for naming ideas, including an attempt to sell the naming rights on eBay, the name "The New Saints" was agreed upon as appropriate to the clubs' history — Llansantffraid was always known as "The Saints", while Oswestry had strong connections with Saint Oswald, while handily retaining the initials "TNS". A new club badge was also developed at the same time, featuring a dragon to represent Llansantffraid and a lion representing Oswestry. BT Group plc (which trades as just BT, and is commonly known by its former name, British Telecom) is the privatised former British state telecommunications operator. ... eBay headquarters in San Jose eBay North First Street satellite office campus (home to PayPal) eBay Inc. ... Saint Oswald (d. ...

"Dancing in the Streets"

On the Sky Sports football show Soccer Saturday, TNS's name is gently mocked by the programme's main presenter, Jeff Stelling. At the end of the day's classified check (in which the League of Wales is always the last set of results given, and in which TNS are alphabetically last), if TNS have played and won at home, Stelling will invariably use his now famous catchphrase "They'll be dancing on the streets of Total Network Solutions tonight!" To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... Soccer Saturday is a television program on Sky Sports in the United Kingdom. ... Jeff Stelling is a British sport television presenter, currently hosting Soccer Saturday and Monday Night Football on Sky Sports. ...

Honours

• Promoted to League of Wales, 1993
• Champions 1999/2000, 2004/05, 2005/06
  • Runners-up, 2001/02, 2002/03, 2003/04
• Welsh Cup winners, 1995/96, 2004/05
  • Runners-up, 2000/01, 2003/04
• League of Wales Cup Winners 1994/95, 2005/06
• Welsh Intermediate Cup Winners 1992/93
• Cymru Alliance League Winners 1992/93

Biggest victories and losses

• Biggest League of Wales win: 8-1 v. Briton Ferry Athletic in 1997.
• Biggest League of Wales defeat: 0-10 v. Barry Town in 1997.

Barry Town F.C. is a football team based in Barry. ...

References

External link

• Official website