Sean Jones Steps Down as First Team Manager

Posted by administrator on 12 May 2022

The club is disappointed to announce that Sean Jones has decided to step down as the first team manager following the completion of the 2021/22 Ardal Northern East season. Everyone at the football club has been informed of his difficult decision.

Sean or more commonly known as ‘Micro’ informed the club (in good time) of his intention to step down due to his commitments as a shift worker and his new young family. He felt that he couldn't commit to the levels that he feels are required to do things right. We are a voluntary football club who do not pay anyone who represents us so we fully understand his decision and if anything we support it because we know how difficult it has been for him to stand down. The good news is Micro will remain with the club in a new role that will hopefully relieve some of the responsibilities that are associated with being the first team manager.

Appointed as first-team manager in 2019
Following a successful stint assisting ex Cefn Albion manager Stephen ‘Wacky’ Davies which saw the pair mastermind our 2018/19 Welsh Trophy triumph in Aberystwyth, Micro was officially announced as the Cefn Albion first team manager in August 2019.

Micro celebrating the FAW Trophy final win in April 2019. Photo Credit Will Cheshire

At the time it was made abundantly clear that the decision to appoint Sean was an easy one and as soon as we had definitive confirmation from Wacky, he was unanimously voted in with full confidence! He was a young, keen and exciting coach and we knew that we were installing the right man to take this football club forward. Looking back now, we were right!

Sean has been at the football club since it was formed in 2014 so he fully understands and appreciates the ethos of the club and the high standards that are expected by those who are involved at the Albion. Of course, during his time as first-team manager, he has put his own stamp on things and driven the standard on the field to the next level but everything that the club stands for has been respected by Sean and preserved. Micro has shown real qualities, especially from a tactical perspective and the way things are run and organised, training has improved immensely since his involvement too which is a credit to him and his coaches. We feel that Sean and his management team have moved us to the next level in terms of ‘on the field’.

Sean Jones was appointed as CAFC's first team manager in 2019

Time in Charge
Across the three seasons that Sean took charge of his home village club, his management team consisted of Ian Andrews, Rich Williams Cooke, Stephen Lloyd Jones and Paul Conlan (Roge) and he boasted a good record proving he was the upcoming coach that everyone knew he was going to be. Those who assisted Sean deserve huge credit too.

2019/20


In the 2019/2022 season, which was the penultimate Welsh National League (Wrexham Area) Premier League season Micro’s Cefn Albion finished runners up on points per game after the COVID-19  pandemic wreaked havoc and curtailed the league. In what turned out to be the club's last ever WNL Premier Division fixture Micro watched on as Alex Williams scored the only goal of the game at Halkyn Road as Cefn Albion defeated the league leaders Holywell Town. The win meant the end of Holywell’s unbeaten winning streak and there was real momentum with the Cefners. We will never know what the outcome would have been but confidence in the Cefn camp was high and everyone believed that Sean’s team had enough to win it. In his first season, Sean’s Cefn Albion played 26 times in the league winning 20, drawing 3 and losing just 3. An excellent record and we bowed out of the WNL with our heads held high. Sean's 2019/20 record in numbers was as follows

 

2020/21

Unfortunately, the 2020/2021 season was ravaged by COVID-19 and despite everyone's best efforts and following all the FAW guidelines to keep those involved safe we only managed 5 friendly fixtures which were sporadic, to say the least. Having said that all friendlies that were played were against good opposition and the Albion won them all.

2021/22

After all the COVID-19 restrictions were lifted and grassroots football was finally given the green light to resume, Micro along with his backroom staff led the Albion into uncharted territory as they competed in the inaugural Ardal Northern East league competition. After a long season which has seen the team travel over 500 miles to play football matches, the team eventually finished a respectable 3rd in the league but were fighting for honours throughout, eventually the lads narrowly missed out on a playoff spot to Caersws by just 3 points and were 6 points behind the champions Chirk AAA. From the 30 games that the team played, they won 22, drew 4 and lost 4. They completed the season as the league's highest goalscorers netting a total of 115 goals and conceding 32. The goal difference was +80 which was the second-best in the division, just 2 goals behind the league champions.

In addition to a solid league campaign, Micro and his coaches guided his Cefn side to some memorable cup runs. Most notably was the FAW Trophy where a coach full of Cefners made the long trip down to the City of Swansea to play Rockspur in the quarterfinal stages. The lads were eliminated that day but what a memorable trip for all those involved, plenty of togetherness and a few sore heads the following day. In the Welsh Cup, the lads made it to the second round proper and once again huge support was present to see the team narrowly lose to Cymru North outfit Conwy Borough! Some great experiences in the cup and ones Micro can be proud of!

Pictured: Micro (left back row) took his Cefn side to Swansea in the quarter-final of the FAW Trophy 

As with any person that has managed this football club, Micro has assembled a very competitive squad and achieved success without paying a single penny to anyone who has represented us. When considering some of the huge clubs competing at our level (Tier 3) and the money that is involved he deserves a big pat on the back for what he has built. We are very proud of the job he has done and he should also be proud of what he has achieved since his appointment back in 2019.

We would like to publicly thank Sean for all his hard work and commitment since Cefn Albion was formed in 2014 but an extended thank you for his dedication for the last 3 years whilst he has been first team manager. Having taken charge of a combined 56 league matches across 3 seasons Micro’s Cefn Albion won a total of 42 games (7 lost, 7 drawn) giving him a 72.41% win ratio. Micro took charge of 70 competitive games across all competitions.

Following his decision, we spoke with Sean who told the club that he came to the decision to step down as the first team manager a few months ago and that the current season would be his last in charge. He continued by saying “it was a very hard decision to come to but one I feel is the right one for myself personally and the club moving forward. With working shifts and having a young family, I don’t feel that I can give the team the effort and commitment that is needed and feel we will be better off with someone who can commit to every training session and fixture with minimum fuss. My new role at the club will still keep me massively involved but enable me to have a much better balance. I feel the club is in a much better position to move forward than when I was appointed manager in 2019, even though the problems caused by outside influences in the past couple of years I feel we’ve made massive strides as a club and as a team. This is a credit to all the fantastic hardworking committee, our supporters and of course, the players at the club who have shown nothing but support to me and I will be forever grateful for it. I’m certain that the next few years will be successful on and off the pitch for the Albion and I’m excited to start helping out on the other side of things starting from now.”

We also took the time out to speak with current Chairman Stewart Roberts, former Chairman Haydn Evans and the Albion Secretary Dean Morris who have all worked very closely with Sean since he was appointed manager. They said

Stewart Roberts “I would like to thank Sean for his excellent stint as Manager, Sean has been both an excellent Player and Manager for this Club setting high standards, as he moves into his new role on the Senior Management side of the Club we are grateful of his continued commitment to the Club. In difficult circumstances more recently Sean has led the Football side of things fantastically and his input as we work towards a return to Cefn Mawr and continue to grow the Club will be valuable. Sean can spend more time with his young family too which is great as family and community are at the Heart of what Cefn Albion Football Club is about”

Haydn Evans - “Occupying roles of player, manager and committee member, Sean has been with the Albion since day one and his commitment to the club has been first class. His efforts both on and off the pitch have always been 100% and I strongly believe that he has played a big part in how far the club come in 8 years winning 8 trophies along the way! I would like to thank Sean for his commitment and wish him all the very best. CAFC is in his blood so I'm sure he’ll be back when the time is right for him”

Dean Morris - “It’s been an absolute pleasure working alongside Sean and although I fully understand his reasoning I was sad when I learned he was stepping down as first-team manager. Sean has been instrumental since taking the reigns at the club and in my opinion he has taken the club to another level with his unique style of football. Sean constantly worked hard both on and off the field to get the best out of his players and he also attracted so some very good players to the club who strengthened the squad considerably. I wish him all the very best in the future, Deano”

Not only was he our first-team manager Micro has been a big influence off the pitch and we are pleased to announce that he will remain with the club behind the scenes as we continue to move forward. Very good news despite his decision to stand down as first team manager. With more free time we hope he gets to have an improved work life balance. Thank you, Sean!

Advanced Notice
Due to the advanced notice that Sean kindly gave the club, we were able to act swiftly and start the search for his successor. We are pleased to let the players and all of our followers know that we have appointed a new manager and the announcement will come soon once the new manager has had time to organise a few things.

Cefn Albion is proudly sponsored by J Wilson Contractors Ltd

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