Unlike Liverpool or Arsenal after their recent Champions League excursions to Italy, Welsh champions The New Saints will fly home on Ryanair after Thursday night’s historic match against Fiorentina, among the fans who followed them to Tuscany.
Considering the last home crowd against Bala Town in the Cymru Premier was just 179, chairman Mike Harris doesn’t want to get too giddy about their first-ever European group stage match.
“Why waste your money chartering a private plane if you want to invest in the football club,” he explains with candid common sense.
The story of TNS, from the village of Llansantffraid, meeting one of Serie A’s aristocrats in the Conference League, is a sporting tale for the ages.
Fiorentina are six-time European finalists, once graced by Roberto Baggio, Gabriel Batistuta and Mohamed Salah, and who now have David de Gea and former Juventus and Everton striker Moise Kean worth £35 million on their books.
Unlike Liverpool or Arsenal after their recent Champions League excursions to Italy, Welsh champions The New Saints will fly home from Italy on Ryanair
The story of TNS, from the village of Llansantffraid, who meets Fiorentina, one of the aristocrats of Serie A in the Conference League, is a sporting story for all ages
The six-time European finalists now have Manchester United icon David de Gea on their books
On the other hand, the total annual wage bill at TNS is lower than De Gea earned in a month at previous club Manchester United.
After Thursday evening’s meeting, the paths of the two clubs will diverge again. Fiorentina take on AC Milan on Sunday, while TNS will take a three-hour bus to their match at Briton Ferry near Neath.
They have already played eight European matches to reach Florence, starting on July 9, when England were still harboring hopes of winning the European Championship. For their first away match against Decic in Montenegro, TNS only needed 10 fans.
Success in the play-off against Lithuania’s Panevezys marked the fulfillment of a dream for Harris that started in 1997 when he sponsored the team’s shirts.
As owner, he temporarily changed the club’s name to Total Network Solutions after his computer business, converted them full-time and moved their home to Oswestry, five miles across the English border – although the town has always been part of the Welsh pyramid scheme.
‘We had to go full-time. We couldn’t reach the next level if the players were driving vans or working hard shifts on construction sites before games,” says the 61-year-old force of nature. “We have been chasing a dream to play in the later rounds in Europe for 25 years and it feels like a great tribute to ambition.
‘When I started the club was only making £40,000 a year. Now it is £2.4 million, although our wage bill is still less than any bar in San Marino. If one village can evolve and do what we have done, everyone can do the same.
‘Even in England’s lower divisions there is a misconception that their product is superior, but I believe we would finish in the top half of League One.
They have already played eight European matches to reach Florence, including against Ferencvaros
Although the average competition gates of TNS are stubbornly struggling to get above 300, it would be wrong to patronize them
Their artificial LigaTurf pitch and fitness facilities would be the envy of bigger clubs
‘That said, Fiorentina are a major baptism of fire, coming from one of Europe’s top leagues. It’s wonderful to use your mind, but you don’t necessarily have to look forward to the result!’
Although TNS’s average league gates are stubbornly struggling to get above 300, it would be wrong to patronize them.
Their artificial LigaTurf pitch and gym facilities would be the envy of bigger clubs and whatever happens in Florence, they have winnable games to win against the likes of Shamrock Rovers and Astana.
With a capacity of 1,700 at Park Hall Stadium, their three home games will take place at Shrewsbury’s New Meadow, including a match against Panathinaikos.
As the only professional club in the Welsh League, TNS dominates domestically. They invested wisely after the glamorous European qualifiers against Manchester City and Liverpool early this century. They even won a world record 27 top matches in a row in 2016 and have won the title for the past three seasons.
In terms of recruitment, TNS uses the carrot of Europe to attract young people. Last season’s top scorer Brad Young was signed upon his departure from Aston Villa. He won a move to the Saudi Pro League last month, where his team Al Orobah face Cristiano Ronaldo’s Al Nassr this weekend.
Skipper Danny Redmond is the son of Steve Redmond who played more than 200 games for Manchester City, but never in Europe.
“It’s the only thing I have on him,” Danny smiles. ‘We ended our season at the beginning of May and I immediately went away to Greece for two weeks with my partner and son. It was our only chance because we had to start playing at the end of May because European matches were coming up.
‘It’s an eleven-month season, but worth it for moments like these. This is a huge event for us.” Their main goal threat is the record £60,000 signing Declan McManus, who won four Scotland Under 21 caps with John McGinn.
The striker has had an interesting European season after being misdiagnosed with an injury suffered against Ferencvaros.
“I thought I had a dead calf and being from Glasgow I tried to carry on,” he says. ‘I played three more games before I had a scan and it turned out to be a broken leg!’
As the only professional club in the Welsh League, TNS dominates domestically
In terms of recruitment, TNS uses the carrot of Europe to attract young people
There is one certainty. Win, lose or draw, New Saints players will head to Pisa Airport for their budget flight home
Looking ahead to Thursday night, McManus added: “I’ve never swapped a shirt with an opponent, but I could use it if this is a special occasion.
‘It will be the last thing on my mind if we get beaten, but if I score a hat-trick I can ask De Gea!’
There is one certainty. Win, lose or draw, New Saints players will head to Pisa Airport for their budget flight home. And on Saturday it’s all on the bus to Briton Ferry.