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The decline (demise?) of St Blazey FC


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What a shame it is to witness the ongoing decline of a once great giant of Cornish football. As only an occasional watcher now, due to watching (currently) lower league football I feel that it is such a shame that those glory days/years will probably soon be banished to the memory banks, possibly forever. It would appear as an outsider looking in, although with limited knowledge of the club's structure, that continued mis-management both on and off the field, and a lack of ambition and commercial nous off it, has condemned the club to trips to St Dennis, Mousehole etc next season. With the greatest of respect to the aforementioned clubs I am sure that it is something that Trevor Mewton in his day would never have seen coming. Unless The Great Escape Part 2 takes place, which let's face it looks highly unlikely given the current lack of ambition, it is easy to see the club going into freefall, and then what? The club has never before had such a tough job to recruit and keep quality players, as has been proven by the mass exodus of the last 2 seasons. To see your best player transfer across town to your bitter rivals for probably only a little more money, but more importantly to play 'competitive' football must be gutting for the hardcore of fans who continue to follow the club come rain or shine. So, what next for the Blaise? Unless a 'sugar-daddy' appears to offer a bail-out it would appear it will be a re-group in the lower leagues with the hope that the kids will come good eventually. Or are there enough people, fans or otherwise, at the club with a bit of commercial appetite and creativity, who can supply the drive, energy, and of course funding necessary, to give the club a footballing budget that can compete not only with the SWPL, but for starters Div 1 West. 

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Why compete with the big boys or hope for a sugar daddy?? They come and go and so do the managers and players they attract.  Its not easy trying to convince people to take a step back and re-group with local players but if income is not sustainable then all of the hard work is only going to last as long as the interest and the bank balance.

Times have changed, attitudes have changed.... Gone are the days when players would drive 40 miles to play the remaining 30 minutes of a game because they were delayed at work or had to finish a row with the missus or had to pick up mother -in-law and drop her to her tai kwon do class.

Now we are faced with " My mums brothers sister had to  go and help her best friends cat with its new re-homing package in Devon and I had to go with her for support"   etc etc  delete where applicable/add any other excuse you like ...

 

 

Older and more cynical   day by day but still enjoying my Vets football, building a growing club and drinking cider.

 

 

MQx

 

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13 hours ago, Martin McHugh said:

'Why compete with the big boys or hope for a sugar daddy?? They come and go and so do the managers and players they attract.  Its not easy trying to convince people to take a step back and re-group with local players but if income is not sustainable then all of the hard work is only going to last as long as the interest and the bank balance.'

Agreed. However, most clubs have a commercial structure in place that generates funds to allow their teams to be competitive. To not have such a structure to me appears neglectful at the very least, as past glory only gets you so far.

 

 

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5 seasons ago Falmouth recognised they were on a downward spiral trying to  compete financially with the big boys and slashed their budget to virtually expenses..

Just like St.Blazey ,Falmouth have a great history and tradition but that counts for nothing in the new age. Although just avoiding relegation from the Premier Division for three seasons Falmouth have now got their "bounce" back and the rebuild is on. Players now want to play at Bickland and with an enthusiastic management and small committee the ground facilities have been refurbished and tidied up by these players and officials.

If St.Blazey do get relegated it may not be a bad move to reastablish more quickly by playing more local games with local talent as a new enthusiasm will be attracted to the top Blaise Park facilities.

Good luck to all my friends at St.Blazey as a step back will be the start of progress.

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Totally agree with the above comments. Falmouth, St.Blazey and Newquay probably the 3 most successful clubs in Cornish football history all with nice old characteristic grounds. Unfortunately times change and not always for the better but new clubs have come to the fore like your Godolphins and Helstons doing fantastic things on and off the field. Shame to see big clubs struggling but I've watched Blazey and Newquay this season and they're not that bad. Some very talented youngsters as well gaining experience at that level, would you rather keep throwing big money at experienced older players or take some knocks and build a team? Sometimes you've got to regroup and start again, probably hard to take for supporters that have been used to the glory days but maybe what's best for the club long term. Falmouth are proving that this season and I'm sure their time will come again for the other clubs. 

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