We’re on the precipice of a new football season.

Last season, three of the Welsh sides in the English Football League avoided the grips of a relegation battle, finishing in mid-table, while Wrexham enjoyed their second successive promotion.

But what are the expectations for the new season? Sportin Wales speaks to fans of each of the four clubs about their hope for the season ahead:

 

Cardiff – with Ben James host of the View from the Ninian podcast

Expected finish: A plucky 8th in EFL Championship

Let’s start with the manager. We’re all really happy to see Erol Bulut sign a new contract. Last season there were some good moments, whereas others left a lot to be desired.

Bulut did what was asked, stabilising the club while he had one hand tied behind his back because of the transfer embargo.

Now we need someone who’s accountable for football and the boardroom. Chairman Mehmet Dalman is only there for the good times and that needs to be the big improvement off the pitch this season.

The signing of Chris Willock is a very canny bit of business, he comes to us highly rated from QPR after Arsenal’s academy. The hope is he will transform our attack and provide more of the highlight reel goals we’ve seen in previous seasons.

Callum Chambers joining as well is fantastic. A player with nearly 200 Premier League appearances, he’s never dropped down to the Championship so for him to do so suggests we’ve sold him a project he wants to be a part of.

This season, the Championship is the most open it’s been for a long time. My heart says we’ll be knocking on the door of the play-offs, so there’s lots to be excited about.

To get there we need to address the age-old concern of a striker who can consistently score 15 goals a season, something we haven’t had since the days of Jay Bothroyd and Michael Chopra.

We may need to raise funds, and to achieve that defenders Mark McGuinness and Perry Ng are the two obvious candidates to be sold.

Ng has been our best performer in recent years but I’m hoping Aaron Ramsey has the season he’s been promising. When he plays, he makes everyone play better and is the best footballer we’ve ever produced from our academy.

Newport – with Newport County fan Sean Mills

Expected finish: 16th in EFL League Two

This season will either be a huge success or a complete disaster. We’ve ripped up our old identity to make way for a new exciting project full of players aged 24 and under. The big question is whether it will pay off.

We were non-league in a lot of aspects behind the scenes pre-takeover. New chairman Huw Jenkins has started the process of professionalising the club and I hope he continues to make strides in this area.

Our faith in Jenkins is why the majority of fans are backing the team and trust in the decision to replace manager Graham Coughlan with head coach Nelson Jardim.

In the Michael Flynn days, we were always mid table at worst. It’d be nice to have that comfort again and not worry about what’s happening below us. For the time being it’s great to be back, August to October is a brilliant time to be a football fan, before everyone starts to obsess over the table.

In terms of the playing staff, Kiban Rai has huge potential, and another one to look out for is 17-year-old centre back Nelson Sanca who has looked very composed since making his debut towards the end of last season.

The return of Courtney Baker-Richardson is a rare signing that unites the whole fanbase, while Oliver Greaves joins having scored 28 goals from midfield in non-league.

Speaking of goals, here’s hoping last season’s top scorer, Will Evans, wasn’t a one-season-wonder!

Swansea – with Carwyn Bowen, creator of Swansea City supporter’s account Only Swans

Expected finish: 8th in the EFL Championship

The signing of Goncalo Franco is next level. If you look at his stats and highlights, he looks like a ridiculously good signing.

He had the most interceptions and second most tackles in the Portuguese league last season and the last guy to do that was Manuel Ugarte who then went to PSG for €60m.

We’ve been crying out for a replacement for Jay Fulton, someone who can sit in there with Matt Grimes, do the dirty work and break up play.

On Grimes, he’ll be the key player again for us. He always will be whilst he’s here, it hasn’t changed for four years, and it won’t change until he leaves or retires.

I’m also excited to see Josh Ginelly for us this season. He missed the majority of last season after rupturing his Achilles and there’s quite a bit of hype amongst the fanbase to see him back as he’s got pace and knows how to finish, scoring one of the best goals in recent memory with a screamer against Southampton.

In terms of young players, Aimar Govea played a fair few games at the back end of last season. He’s only 17 and has been linked to Juventus. If he’s playing for us at 17 when we don’t tend to give players of that age and opportunity, then he must be good.

At the moment, my heart says that with one or two other signings we could push for that top six or at the very least top eight. It’s good to see Luke Williams being backed in the transfer market especially after what happened with Russell Martin, but we need a goalkeeper and someone who can score goals.

I’m looking forward to some of the away trips, especially Portsmouth who we haven’t played since 2010. Unfortunately, we’ve got them on New Years Day and Plymouth on the 10th of December, while Middlesborough and Sunderland are in August and April, not the way to be chasing the good weather!

Wrexham – with Tomi Caws, Wrexham Fan & Broadcaster with Men in Blazers

Expected finish: 10th in EFL League One

Keeping hold of the vast majority of last year’s squad was good business.

I like the look of George Dobson coming in, it looks like a solid signing and followers of Charlton have been saying some good things about him.

Bringing Arthur Okonkwo back permanently is a massive, massive signing. It sounds mad to say you’re excited to see a goalkeeper, but he is one with huge potential.

You do have to pinch yourself with where we’ve come from, those signings show the direction we’re going.

Max Cleworth, I call him Wrexham’s answer to Paolo Maldini or Franco Baresi, but he’s one who has come into the team and it’s a big season to see how much he can develop.

The big possible signing is Welsh international striker Tom Bradshaw from Millwall. That would be a really good signing if we can pull it off.

Paul Mullin is going to be injured for the start of the season after an operation, so to sign Bradshaw would be great but if the season started tomorrow, I’d be more than happy.

Some fans are getting carried away a bit, saying we’ll have three successive promotions. I’m not one of them, I’d be happy to see a bit of stagnation. The club are more than capable of getting at least a mid-table finish.

I think we’ll flirt with the play-offs, but you look at the clubs involved, your Birmingham’s, Bolton’s, even Charlton and the finances involved there. If we finish top 10, then I’ll be over the moon.

When I first followed the club, this was the level we were competing at, I’ve never been more excited for a season. Bolton is early doors, a ground I’ve never been to before and St Andrews will be a huge away day, it’d be nice to go there and get a win.

Speaking of grounds, it feels like we’ve been waiting a long time for the Racecourse’s Kop stand. The Cae Ras is a sell out every week and we need to keep building towards 20,000 seats.

It’s felt like a really long summer, I like my ritual of having a bite to eat at the Turf butty van before the game and then going to the Maesgwyn or a pint at The Turf.

It sounds a bit cliched but that is supporting Wrexham for me, seeing friends and faces you haven’t seen since April.

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