# 2014–15 Newport County A.F.C. season

The 2014–15 season was Newport County's second consecutive season in Football League Two, 62nd season in the Football League and 94th season of league football overall. They finished the season in 9th place, narrowly missing out on the play-offs.

## Season Review
### League

The season started with three straight league defeats, including a 3–2 defeat at Morecambe where County were leading 2–0 at half time. However, with Newport lying just outside the relegation places they entered a run of form that saw them lose just two more games in the first half of the season. Highlights included home wins over Northampton Town, AFC Wimbledon, York City, Southend United, Stevenage and Plymouth Argyle; and away wins at Portsmouth, Dagenham & Redbridge, Bury, Carlisle United and Cheltenham Town. At the halfway point in the season County were in the play-off positions in 5th place, just three points from an automatic promotion spot.
In the new year, the good results kept coming: Home wins over Carlisle and Portsmouth put County in third place. However, there was speculation that County's success had led to interest in manager Justin Edinburgh from other clubs. There had been approaches in the previous season: On 2 December 2013, County rejected an approach from Edinburgh's former club Portsmouth to be interviewed as a successor to Guy Whittingham as Portsmouth manager. In January 2014 Edinburgh stated he had rebuffed an unofficial approach directly to himself to be considered as manager of Northampton Town Following the win over Portsmouth, County had now lost three games in a row, as the speculation about Edinburgh's future grew. On 3 February Gillingham made an official approach, and on 7 February he was announced as the new Gills' boss. His departure was confirmed just two hours before kick-off at AFC Wimbledon and, under caretaker manager Jimmy Dack, County slipped to a fourth successive defeat. County halted a run of four straight defeats with a 1–1 draw against Tranmere Rovers in Dack's first home game in charge. Despite the poor run of form Newport were still within the play-off positions, in 6th place. However, with only five more wins in the remaining 16 games, County slipped out of the play-off places, eventually finishing 9th.

### Results summary

| Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Home | Home | Home | Home | Home | Home | Away | Away | Away | Away | Away | Away |
Last updated: 2 May 2015. Source:

### Results by round

| Round | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 | 32 | 33 | 34 | 35 | 36 | 37 | 38 | 39 | 40 | 41 | 42 | 43 | 44 | 45 | 46 |
| Ground | H | A | A | H | A | H | H | A | A | H | A | H | A | H | H | A | H | A | A | H | A | H | A | H | H | A | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | H | A | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | H |
| Result | L | L | L | D | W | D | W | D | D | W | L | W | W | W | D | D | D | W | W | W | L | W | W | W | W | L | L | L | L | D | W | L | W | L | L | D | W | D | W | D | L | L | L | L | W | L |
| Position | 23 | 21 | 22 | 22 | 19 | 19 | 17 | 17 | 16 | 15 | 18 | 13 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 7 | 7 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 8 | 7 | 7 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 |

## League table

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Promotion, qualification or relegation |
| 1 | Burton Albion (C, P) | 46 | 28 | 10 | 8 | 69 | 39 | +30 | 94 | Promotion to Football League One |
| 2 | Shrewsbury Town (P) | 46 | 27 | 8 | 11 | 67 | 31 | +36 | 89 | Promotion to Football League One |
| 3 | Bury (P) | 46 | 26 | 7 | 13 | 60 | 40 | +20 | 85 | Promotion to Football League One |
| 4 | Wycombe Wanderers | 46 | 23 | 15 | 8 | 67 | 45 | +22 | 84 | Qualification for League Two play-offs |
| 5 | Southend United (O, P) | 46 | 24 | 12 | 10 | 54 | 38 | +16 | 84 | Qualification for League Two play-offs |
| 6 | Stevenage | 46 | 20 | 12 | 14 | 62 | 54 | +8 | 72 | Qualification for League Two play-offs |
| 7 | Plymouth Argyle | 46 | 20 | 11 | 15 | 55 | 37 | +18 | 71 | Qualification for League Two play-offs |
| 8 | Luton Town | 46 | 19 | 11 | 16 | 54 | 44 | +10 | 68 | |
| 9 | Newport County | 46 | 18 | 11 | 17 | 51 | 54 | −3 | 65 | |
| 10 | Exeter City | 46 | 17 | 13 | 16 | 61 | 65 | −4 | 64 | |
| 11 | Morecambe | 46 | 17 | 12 | 17 | 53 | 52 | +1 | 63 | |
| 12 | Northampton Town | 46 | 18 | 7 | 21 | 67 | 62 | +5 | 61 | |
| 13 | Oxford United | 46 | 15 | 16 | 15 | 50 | 49 | +1 | 61 | |
| 14 | Dagenham & Redbridge | 46 | 17 | 8 | 21 | 58 | 59 | −1 | 59 | |
| 15 | AFC Wimbledon | 46 | 14 | 16 | 16 | 54 | 60 | −6 | 58 | |
| 16 | Portsmouth | 46 | 14 | 15 | 17 | 52 | 54 | −2 | 57 | |
| 17 | Accrington Stanley | 46 | 15 | 11 | 20 | 58 | 77 | −19 | 56 | |
| 18 | York City | 46 | 11 | 19 | 16 | 46 | 51 | −5 | 52 | |
| 19 | Cambridge United | 46 | 13 | 12 | 21 | 61 | 66 | −5 | 51 | |
| 20 | Carlisle United | 46 | 14 | 8 | 24 | 56 | 74 | −18 | 50 | |
| 21 | Mansfield Town | 46 | 13 | 9 | 24 | 38 | 62 | −24 | 48 | |
| 22 | Hartlepool United | 46 | 12 | 9 | 25 | 39 | 70 | −31 | 45 | |
| 23 | Cheltenham Town (R) | 46 | 9 | 14 | 23 | 40 | 67 | −27 | 41 | Relegation to the National League |
| 24 | Tranmere Rovers (R) | 46 | 9 | 12 | 25 | 45 | 67 | −22 | 39 | Relegation to the National League |
* ↑ Four teams play for one spot and promotion to Football League One.

## Squad statistics
### Squad information

Caps and goals as at 10 May 2015 as per Soccerbase.
| No. | Name | Position | Place of birth | Date of birth (Age) | Club caps all competitions | Club goals all competitions | Previous club | Date signed | Fee | Contract end |
| Goalkeepers ||||||||||||
| 1 | Lenny Pidgeley | GK | Twickenham | (1984-02-07) 7 February 1984 (age 40) | 74 | 0 | Exeter City | 1 August 2012 | Free | 2015 |
| 22 | Simon Thomas | GK | Victoria, British Columbia | (1990-04-12) 12 April 1990 (age 34) | 0 | 0 | Vancouver Whitecaps | 8 August 2014 | Free | 2014 |
| 25 | Jamie Stephens | GK | Wotton-under-Edge | (1993-08-24) 24 August 1993 (age 31) | 13 | 0 | Liverpool | 10 July 2013 | Free | 2015 |
| 30 | Joe Day | GK | Brighton | (1990-08-13) 13 August 1990 (age 34) | 38 | 0 | Peterborough United | 29 December 2014 | Undisclosed | 2017 |
| Defenders ||||||||||||
| 2 | Ryan Jackson | RB | Streatham | (1990-07-31) 31 July 1990 (age 34) | 73 | 0 | Macclesfield Town | 24 July 2013 | Compensation | 2015 |
| 3 | Kevin Feely | CB | Kildare | (1992-08-30) 30 August 1992 (age 32) | 34 | 1 | Charlton Athletic | 30 May 2014 | Free | 2016 |
| 5 | Darren Jones | CB | Newport | (1983-08-26) 26 August 1983 (age 41) | 45 | 4 | AFC Wimbledon | 20 May 2014 | Free | 2016 |
| 6 | Ismail Yakubu | CB | Kano | (1985-04-08) 8 April 1985 (age 39) | 131 | 16 | AFC Wimbledon | 1 July 2011 | Free | 2015 |
| 13 | Andy Sandell | LB | Calne | (1983-09-08) 8 September 1983 (age 41) | 121 | 14 | Chippenham Town | 1 January 2012 | Free | 2015 |
| 15 | Scott Tancock | CB | Swansea | (1993-12-29) 29 December 1993 (age 30) | 4 | 0 | Swansea City | 26 September 2014 | Loan | 2014 |
| 16 | Andrew Hughes | LB | Cardiff | (1992-06-05) 5 June 1992 (age 32) | 123 | 4 | Youth system | 1 July 2009 | Trainee | 2015 |
| 21 | Curtis Obeng | RB | Stretford | (1989-02-14) 14 February 1989 (age 35) | 6 | 0 | Swansea City | 24 October 2014 | Loan | 2014 |
| 26 | Regan Poole | CB | Cardiff | (1998-06-18) 18 June 1998 (age 26) | 12 | 0 | Youth system | 15 September 2014 | Trainee | 2015 |
| 27 | David Tutonda | CB | | (1995-10-11) 11 October 1995 (age 28) | 12 | 2 | Cardiff City | 13 February 2015 | Loan | 2015 |
| 31 | Kieran Parselle | DF | Portishead | | 0 | 0 | Youth system | 21 March 2015 | Trainee | 2015 |
| | Byron Anthony | CB | Newport | (1984-09-20) 20 September 1984 (age 40) | 32 | 3 | Hereford United | 16 Nov 2012 | Free | 2014 |
| Midfielders ||||||||||||
| 4 | Max Porter | CM | Hornchurch | (1987-06-29) 29 June 1987 (age 37) | 88 | 4 | AFC Wimbledon | 1 July 2012 | Free | 2015 |
| 7 | Adam Chapman | CM | Doncaster | (1989-11-29) 29 November 1989 (age 34) | 89 | 6 | Oxford United | 1 July 2013 | Undisclosed | 2015 |
| 8 | Lee Minshull | CM | Chatham | (1985-11-11) 11 November 1985 (age 38) | 135 | 14 | AFC Wimbledon | 1 July 2012 | Free | 2015 |
| 12 | Robbie Willmott | MF | Harlow | (1990-05-16) 16 May 1990 (age 34) | 92 | 13 | Cambridge United | 10 January 2013 | Free | 2015 |
| 17 | Michael Flynn | CM | Newport | (1980-10-12) 12 October 1980 (age 43) | 94 | 5 | Bradford City | 26 July 2012 | Free | 2015 |
| 18 | Yan Klukowski | CM | Chippenham | (1987-01-01) 1 January 1987 (age 37) | 41 | 6 | Forest Green Rovers | 20 May 2014 | Free | 2016 |
| 19 | Kyle Patten | MF | | (1994-07-21) 21 July 1994 (age 30) | 1 | 0 | Youth system | 23 August 2014 | Trainee | 2015 |
| 22 | Tom Owen-Evans | MF | | (1997-03-18) 18 March 1997 (age 27) | 1 | 0 | Youth system | 15 September 2014 | Trainee | 2015 |
| 33 | Mark Byrne | CM | Dublin | (1988-11-09) 9 November 1988 (age 35) | 44 | 4 | Barnet | 14 July 2014 | Free | 2015 |
| Forwards ||||||||||||
| 9 | Rene Howe | CF | Bedford | (1986-10-22) 22 October 1986 (age 37) | 30 | 3 | Burton Albion | 9 January 2014 | Free | 2015 |
| 10 | Aaron O'Connor | FW | Nottingham | (1983-08-09) 9 August 1983 (age 41) | 87 | 31 | Luton Town | 24 July 2012 | Free | 2015 |
| 11 | Chris Zebroski | FW | Swindon | (1986-10-26) 26 October 1986 (age 37) | 77 | 20 | Eastleigh | 1 July 2013 | Free | 2015 |
| 14 | Shaun Jeffers | FW | Bedford | (1992-04-14) 14 April 1992 (age 32) | 35 | 3 | Peterborough United | 28 January 2014 | Free | 2015 |
| 20 | James Loveridge | FW | Llanelli | (1994-05-16) 16 May 1994 (age 30) | 8 | 0 | Swansea City | 3 October 2014 | Loan | 2014 |
| 20 | Miles Storey | FW | West Bromwich | (1994-01-04) 4 January 1994 (age 30) | 18 | 2 | Swindon Town | 30 January 2015 | Loan | 2015 |
| 23 | Christian Jolley | FW | Fleet | (1988-05-12) 12 May 1988 (age 36) | 72 | 17 | AFC Wimbledon | 11 January 2013 | Undisclosed | 2015 |
| 24 | Joe Parker | FW | | (1995-03-11) 11 March 1995 (age 29) | 4 | 0 | Gloucester City | 19 November 2013 | Free | 2015 |
| 28 | Danny Crow | CF | Great Yarmouth | (1986-01-26) 26 January 1986 (age 38) | 65 | 8 | Luton Town | 1 July 2012 | Free | 2015 |
| 39 | Aaron Collins | FW | Newport | (1997-05-27) 27 May 1997 (age 27) | 3 | 0 | Youth system | 15 September 2014 | Trainee | 2015 |
| 45 | Joe Pigott | FW | Maidstone | (1993-11-24) 24 November 1993 (age 30) | 11 | 3 | Charlton Athletic | 11 September 2014 | Loan | 2014 |

### Transfers
#### In

| Date | Pos. | Name | From | Fee |
| 20 May 2014 | DF | Darren Jones | AFC Wimbledon | Free |
| 20 May 2014 | MF | Yan Klukowski | Forest Green Rovers | Free |
| 30 May 2014 | DF | Kevin Feely | Charlton Athletic | Free |
| 14 July 2014 | MF | Mark Byrne | Barnet | Free |
| 8 August 2014 | GK | Simon Thomas | Vancouver Whitecaps | Free |
| 29 December 2014 | GK | Joe Day | Peterborough United | Undisclosed record |

#### Out

| Date | Pos. | Name | To | Fee |
| 1 September 2014 | GK | Simon Thomas | Released | |
| 15 January 2015 | FW | Danny Crow | Released | |
| 21 January 2015 | FW | Christian Jolley | Released | |
| 25 March 2015 | FW | Rene Howe | Released | |
| 17 April 2015 | FW | Chris Zebroski | Released | |
| 12 May 2015 | MF | Mike Flynn | Released | |
| 12 May 2015 | FW | Shaun Jeffers | Released | |
| 12 May 2015 | FW | Aaron O'Connor | Released | |
| 12 May 2015 | MF | Lee Minshull | Released | |
| 12 May 2015 | MF | Kyle Patten | Released | |
| 12 May 2015 | GK | Lenny Pidgeley | Released | |
| 12 May 2015 | GK | Jamie Stephens | Released | |
| 12 May 2015 | MF | Max Porter | Released | |
| 12 May 2015 | FW | Joe Parker | Released | |
| 12 May 2015 | DF | Andy Sandell | Released | |
| 12 May 2015 | FW | Robbie Willmott | Released | |
| 12 May 2015 | DF | Ismail Yakubu | Released | |
| 15 May 2015 | MF | Adam Chapman | Mansfield Town | free |
| 15 May 2015 | DF | Darren Jones | Forest Green | free |
| 26 May 2015 | DF | Ryan Jackson | Gillingham | free |

#### Loans in

| Date | Pos. | Name | From | Expiry |
| 28 August 2014 | GK | Joe Day | Peterborough United | 28 November 2014 |
| 11 September 2014 | FW | Joe Pigott | Charlton Athletic | 22 November 2014 |
| 26 September 2014 | DF | Scott Tancock | Swansea City | 21 November 2014 |
| 2 October 2014 | FW | James Loveridge | Swansea City | 31 November 2014 |
| 23 October 2014 | DF | Curtis Obeng | Swansea City | 18 December 2014 |
| 30 January 2015 | FW | Miles Storey | Swindon Town | End of season |
| 13 February 2015 | DF | David Tutonda | Cardiff City | End of season |

#### Loans out

| Date | Pos. | Name | To | Expiry |
| 12 September 2014 | MF | Kyle Patten | Bath City | 12 October 2014 |
| 18 September 2014 | FW | Joe Parker | Gloucester City | 18 November 2014 |
| 19 September 2014 | FW | Shaun Jeffers | Brackley Town | 19 November 2014 |
| 25 September 2014 | FW | Christian Jolley | Forest Green Rovers | 25 November 2014 |
| 17 October 2014 | GK | Jamie Stephens | Gloucester City | 17 November 2014 |
| 10 December 2014 | FW | Joe Parker | Gloucester City | 10 January 2015 |
| 8 January 2015 | MF | Kyle Patten | Merthyr Town | 12 April 2015 |
| 8 January 2015 | FW | Aaron Collins | Merthyr Town | 8 March 2015 |
| 2 February 2015 | GK | Lenny Pidgeley | Mansfield Town | End of Season |

## Managerial statistics

    Only competitive games from the 2014–15 season are included.
| Name | Nat. | From | To | Record | Record | Record | Record | Record | Record | Record | Record | Honours |
| Name | Nat. | From | To | PLD | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | W% | Honours |
| Justin Edinburgh | | — | 7 February 2015 | 31 | 13 | 7 | 11 | 40 | 40 | +0 | 041.9 | |
| Jimmy Dack | | 7 February 2015 | — | 18 | 5 | 4 | 9 | 15 | 21 | −6 | 027.8 | |

## Match details
### Pre-season friendlies

| Date | Opponents | Venue | Result | Scorers | Attendance | Reports |
| Tuesday 8 July 2014 | Evesham United | Spiers and Hartwell Jubilee Stadium | 4–2 | Byrne 32', Howe 40', Klukowski 61', Zebroski 81' | | Report |
| Saturday 12 July 2014 | Cirencester Town | Corinium Stadium | 5–0 | O'Connor 37', Howe 50', 58', Parker 69', Flynn 82' | | Report |
| Tuesday 15 July 2014 | Weston-super-Mare | Woodspring Stadium | 2–0 | O'Connor 46', Jolley 81' | | Report |
| Saturday 19 July 2014 | Gloucester City | Causeway Ground | 2–0 | Howe 73', 86' | | Report |
| Tuesday 22 July 2014 | Basingstoke Town | The Camrose | 1–1 | O'Connor 30' | | Report |
| Saturday 26 July 2014 | Carl Zeiss Jena | Newport Stadium | 1–0 | Jones 63' | 2,630 | Report |
| Tuesday 29 July 2014 | Coventry City | Newport Stadium | 1–0 | Yakubu 20' | 828 | Report |
| Saturday 2 August 2014 | West Ham United U-21 | Little Heath Sports Ground | 3–0 | Klukowski 28', Zebroski 64', Howe 67' | | Report |