Liverpool FC Forum

by **anfieldadorer** » Fri Jun 24, 2005 5:35 pm

TNS is an acronym for Total Network Solutions, the club being named after their sponsors, a recent development after being launched in 1959 as FC Llansantfraid.

Their first trophy was the Welsh Village Cup in 1962, since when trophies from competitions as disparate as the Tommy Jarman Cup, Montgomeryshire Cup and Cymru Alliance have been on show at the Recreation Ground, the club's home which also goes by the name Treflan.

It was not until the early 1990s that Llansantfraid became a force in Welsh football, winning three promotions in four years to reach the top-flight.

The big money of TNS poured into the club in 1997, and they are now a fully professional unit, albeit one which draws crowds of 750 on a good day.

Their leading scorer, Marc Lloyd-Williams, fired 42 goals from 35 starts last season, but Liverpool probably need not fret about him.

Lloyd-Williams, 32, had spells in the English Football League with Stockport, Halifax and York, and since leaving Bootham Crescent in 2000 has flitted between the non-league game in England and the Welsh League.

TNS have, of course, been involved in European competition before, having made a habit of it recently.

They held Polish champions Ruch Chorzow to a draw in the first leg of their 1996 Cup-Winners' Cup tie, before being thrashed 5-0 in the return.

Another draw followed four years later, 2-2 against Estonian league champions Levadia Maardu, but that Champions League campaign was ended by a 4-0 defeat on away ground.

The Uefa Cup 12-2 aggregate defeat in 2002 by Polish outfit Amica Wronki was as one-sided as the scoreline suggests, but a year later TNS were drawn to face Manchester City.

A 5-0 defeat at the City of Manchester Stadium was followed by a 2-0 loss in the Millennium Stadium, TNS's home for a night.

Another reason to believe Liverpool will breeze through their first test was provided last year, when Swedish second division side Oster beat TNS 4-1 on aggregate.
teamtalk

by **policy** » Fri Jun 24, 2005 7:48 pm

You get an A for that excellent report.

Seriously tho, thanks a lot.

by **65-1114725958** » Sat Jun 25, 2005 12:38 am

Yeah???

I've got an even more interestng story about TNS, and one of thier players.!
There all time top goal scorer and longest serving player, John Toner, is from Runcorn. and I have actually played against him, years ago in the youths! my mate was his mate!
I remember playing 5 and 11-a side in cheshire against him and his mate, who was on Evertons books as a teen. I remember him being this lanky, skillful kid on the pitch, i remember it well.
I swear to god Im not messing!
im from cheshire and was born in Runcorn, it seemed spooky to me, as I didnt know if he was playing, or if was still playing even!

He was an LFC trainee back then (see the lfc.tv website for more info!) and I;ve seen his pic on TNS's website.

Spooky coincidence that.
Its him ok, thats for sure!

so thats wher he ended up!

by **Garymac** » Sat Jun 25, 2005 12:43 am

A lad i know plays for them and he is quality, He plays left wing and i reckon he could give Finnan a few problems, hes Lawless and he is a quality player and a quality lad he will love every minute of playing the red men!!!! Anyone who knows Lawless will tell u how good he is, he ran the show when Burscough won the FA trophy a couple of years back, setting up both goals

by **Lando_Griffin** » Sat Jun 25, 2005 1:55 am

His luck just ran out!!!!!

by **anfieldadorer** » Sat Jun 25, 2005 4:23 pm

Total Network Solutions want to sign up retired striker Ian Rush for their Champions League match against his former club Liverpool. The former Welsh international is now 43-years-old.

TNS managing director Mike Harris said: "Ian's a big friend of mine. He opened our 500-seater stand four years ago and helped coach our strikers before we played Manchester City in the UEFA Cup two years ago.

"I'm sure we'll be talking soon and when we do I'll ask him to put his boots back on. The sight of Ian Rush on the bench against his former club would give the side a massive lift."

Liverpool legend Ian Rush is considering coming out of retirement to play for Welsh minnows TNS against his former club in the Champions League first qualifying round.

TNS managing director Mike Harris is a close friend of the 43-year-old, and is hopeful the man who scored 346 goals for Liverpool can play a part for the Llansantffraid-based outfit.

Rush has confirmed he is still in excellent physical condition and revealed he will speak to Harris about the TNS chief's proposal.

"For me personally, it would be incredible to play against Liverpool," he told the Press Association.

"You have to be realistic about things and playing against the European champions would be a massive ask. But I certainly wouldn't rule it out and will speak to Mike and see what he says.

"I train every day and keep myself very fit by playing regularly. Playing at Anfield again in such a big game would be unbelievable and it would no doubt raise the profile of the game even more.

"I think I'd rather be sitting in the stand next to Mike watching the game and enjoying myself, but the lure of playing against Liverpool would be something special."

Rush, who will represent Liverpool in the Masters tournament in Sheffield tomorrow, also backed Wrexham's Racecourse Ground to host the second leg on July 19 or 20.

A final decision has yet to be made between Wrexham and Cardiff's Millennium Stadium, which hosted TNS's UEFA Cup qualifier against Manchester City two years ago.

Rush said: "If the first leg had been at TNS, then I think the Millennium Stadium would have been an ideal venue because of the size of the stadium.

"But there's a chance Liverpool will have the tie sewn up after the first leg at Anfield, so the Racecourse Ground would be ideal for the second leg.

"It's less than an hour's drive from Liverpool and rather than have a half-empty stadium, it's better to play at a packed Racecourse."

by **AussieKopite** » Sat Jun 25, 2005 4:28 pm

Problem is that David McKenna is a bleedin Toffee - former Tranmere Rover as well.

At least he's a scouser.

by **anfieldadorer** » Sun Jun 26, 2005 7:42 am

TEN THINGS ABOUT TNS

# Total Network Solutions play at the Recreation Ground, also known as 'Treflan', which they describe as being "bang in the middle of the village". They have plans to move to a new 3,000-capacity stadium in Oswestry.

# They play in the village of Llansantffraid, population 1,000, where the local railway station shut down 50 years ago.

# In their former guise as Llansantffraid FC, they won 10 Welsh Village Cup titles.

# TNS completed their spectacular ascent through the domestic Welsh ranks by winning the Welsh Premier title in the 1999/2000 season. Their second league title arrived this year.

# Striker Marc Lloyd-Williams plundered 34 league goals last season, a new club record, and became the first player to score 200 career goals at the top level of the Welsh league. He had brief and unsuccessful spells in England with Stockport, Halifax and York.

# Midfielder Steven Beck played in the same Everton youth team as Wayne Rooney.

# TNS play in green and white hoops, similar to Celtic's kit.

# Former Liverpool striker Ian Rush is a non-executive director of TNS.

# Centre-back Steve Evens is the current Welsh Premier player of the season.

# Llansantffraid became TNS in 1997 after securing a sponsorship deal with a locally-based communications company. sportinglife

by **65-1114725958** » Sun Jun 26, 2005 6:52 pm

Apparently most of the TNS players come from the sunday leagues around merseyside and they train in Runcorn.

Their manager even joked there would be more scousers in the TNS side than in Liverpools!

by **anfieldadorer** » Mon Jun 27, 2005 10:44 am

Welsh Champions Total Network Solutions look set to switch their Champions League 1st Qualifying Round home tie to Everton’s Goodison Park, making the European tie even more local than first thought.

TNS will be at ‘home’ in the second leg of the round but in order to maximize revenue the club are looking to switch to a bigger ground than their Llansantffraid based stadium.

TNS boss Ken McKenna is a lifelong Everton supporter and says, "It would make sense to play both legs in Liverpool."

by **anfieldadorer** » Mon Jun 27, 2005 10:52 am

Ian Rush is unlikely to face Liverpool in the Champions League 1st round qualifier.
A former Liverpool legend, Ian Rush is now 43 but has been asked to come out of retirement and play for TNS against the Reds by his good friend and managing director of TNS Mike Harris.

Although it was a very tempting offer Rush says it is unlikely he will be playing at Anfield in two weeks' time.

He said: "Mike is a good friend of mine and I will be meeting him next week for a chat.

"But I do not think I will be coming out of retirement."

by **anfieldadorer** » Mon Jun 27, 2005 10:53 am

it is believed that Goodison Park will be unable to host the game, as the new pitch being layed would not be complete in time for the game.

It is a known fact that TNS boss Ken McKenna is a lifelong Evertonian as are several of his players and Harris was hoping that UEFA would agree to the switch.

He said: "It would make sense to play both legs in Liverpool."

Switching the tie to England would mean that the game would be played in a different country, a move UEFA is unlikely to agree to, however, even if they did give permission, work on the stadium and pitch would mean that it would be unlikley to host the game.

TNS' original choice of grounds had been Newtown's and Wrexham's Racecourse Ground, with the latter the only option given the size of the opposition, in Champions League holders Liverpool.

The Millennium Stadium - the scene of TNS' UEFA Cup home tie against Manchester City in 2003 - is believed to be on standby should Harris wish not to go to the Racecourse.

by **AussieKopite** » Mon Jun 27, 2005 12:07 pm

I know that TNS were actually offering Liverpool the chance to play them as a sort of "pre-qualifier" before UEFA had made their decision. They wanted to play at Cardiff.

Maybe Cardiff really could be a option. :blues:

by **anfieldadorer** » Tue Jun 28, 2005 9:26 am

By Mark Currie,

WREXHAM'S Racecourse Ground is almost certain to host next month's European Champions League clash between Welsh Premier side TNS and Liverpool.

Confirmation that the second leg of the first preliminary round tie will be staged in the town is expected today after two other potential alternative venues, Cardiff's Millennium Stadium and Everton's Goodison Park, were ruled out.

Millennium Stadium chief executive Paul Sergeant said a hectic event schedule at Wales' 74,500 capacity national ground has proved too big an obstacle to overcome.

Sergeant added: "We have been known to pull rabbits out of hats in the past but there just isn't the time in the calendar for us to bring this event to the Millennium Stadium."

TNS chairman Mike Harris had also raised the possibility of playing the second leg clash at Goodison Park but Uefa has moved quickly to quash any suggestion the Welsh champions could play the game in England. "The match has to be played in the territory where the club comes from," said a spokesman for European football's governing body.

Yesterday's developments leave the Racecourse as the only practical solution for TNS.

A precise date for the second leg have still to be agreed, with officials from the Welsh club hoping to secure extra funding through live television coverage.

by **AussieKopite** » Tue Jun 28, 2005 10:36 am

What's the capacity of Wrexham's Racecourse ground?

Liverpool FC Forum

About tns

Who is online