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 Stock

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