who is to blame

[haylemed]

approx 2 yrs ago the whole of the hayle 1st team including the manager and the linesman all moved to penzance.now not one of them are still there.i know loyalty is an overused word but its all about money.the problem is the majority of players and managers in particular,dont know the massive financal burdon they are putting on cash strapped clubs by offering money to induce players to join there clubs.at hayle 3 yrs ago we saw the problem coming and stopped paying players money we could not afford and now penzance have been forced to follow suit.i know many clubs are on the financial edge.to keep local soccer going,all clubs should take a long hard look before they spend money they can,t afford

[hansome dan]

Blame the people who offer the money to the players.It makes the players believe they are worth the money they are being paid and also more important than the people who volunteer and help run the clubs.Nothing wrong with players getting expenses as long as they show commitment to the club. But sadly as hayle and penzance have found out players leave and don,t worry about what they leave behind.

Good news though is that hayle are getting it back together and are looking good for this season and i,m sure penzance with good people like john,peter,david,ctb and co will comeback stronger, and well done to tommy as any young player with an ambition to play at pen premier standard won,t get a better oppourtunity.

[Martin Eddy]

is that why john matthews has gone there just a joke good luck to penzance and any youngster would be silly not to go there.what an opportunity

[hansome dan]

i forgot john played for arsenal and argyle until i read it in the indy today.Such a modest guy who did.nt take a penny from hayle fc

[hoppit]

There is nothing wrong with clubs paying players as long as the club shows ambition to move up the pyramid. This doesn't happen in Cornwall, some clubs are happy to pay lots of money just to stay where they are at level 6, a ridiculous thing to do. On numerous occassions clubs have stretched theirself just to stay still and got into financial turmoil.

[isaac rosenberg]

Why is it ridiculous to stregthen your side to win local matches that local people care about ? Cornwall does not have the population or the football culture to sustain anything above the level of the old South Western League. The Truro City debacle, illustrated by the return to the SWPL that will inevitably happen within the next three years, proves this point. Few supporters seem to have a good word to say about the SWPL, let aone extending the pyramid further.

Players and supporters can't afford the travel time. The top half of the JCCL/ECPL and the bottom half of the SWPL West are pretty indistinguishable. Th main difference is that the latter runs out of games in March.

As usual, it's a situation imposed by the English FA.

If what you want is higher standard football,,be prepared to travel. If you want an enjoyable, competitive , local league system, let the Cornish run Cornwall. :c:

[TheolderIgetthebetterIwas]

Why is it ridiculous to stregthen your side to win local matches that local people care about ? Cornwall does not have the population or the football culture to sustain anything above the level of the old South Western League. The Truro City debacle, illustrated by the return to the SWPL that will inevitably happen within the next three years, proves this point. Few supporters seem to have a good word to say about the SWPL, let aone extending the pyramid further.

Players and supporters can't afford the travel time. The top half of the JCCL/ECPL and the bottom half of the SWPL West are pretty indistinguishable. Th main difference is that the latter runs out of games in March.

As usual, it's a situation imposed by the English FA.

If what you want is higher standard football,,be prepared to travel. If you want an enjoyable, competitive , local league system, let the Cornish run Cornwall.

Well said that man!

[hoppit]

Why is it ridiculous to stregthen your side to win local matches that local people care about ? Cornwall does not have the population or the football culture to sustain anything above the level of the old South Western League. The Truro City debacle, illustrated by the return to the SWPL that will inevitably happen within the next three years, proves this point. Few supporters seem to have a good word to say about the SWPL, let aone extending the pyramid further.

Players and supporters can't afford the travel time. The top half of the JCCL/ECPL and the bottom half of the SWPL West are pretty indistinguishable. Th main difference is that the latter runs out of games in March.

As usual, it's a situation imposed by the English FA.

If what you want is higher standard football,,be prepared to travel. If you want an enjoyable, competitive , local league system, let the Cornish run Cornwall.

My point is that if Cornish teams took promotion you would get good competitive local derbies at a higher level in a few years the travelling would be less and Cornish football would be on the map. Truro are an exception with their sugar daddy so not a good example. I reckon in 5 years or less we will be back to a Cornish senior league and the backwaters of football again. Ok for the unambitious but not for the ambitious.

[isaac rosenberg]

OK, but better to swim happily in he backwaters than to drown out of your depth. Evn if Kevin got Truro into Coca Cola Two he woud struggle to get a crowd of 1500.

The biggest town in Cornwall has a population of about 32,000. Most of the major settlements are no more than 20,000. How many sides at Step 6 and above match these demographics, even without the disadvantage of being beyond the motorway network ?. How many senior clubs attract more than 100 spectators regularly ?

I'd rather see my team win its derbies than take points from strangers in East Devon any day. Sorry, Hoppit, your vision won't come to pass !

[hoppit]

You're right Rodney, sadly. Having to travel long distances would sink clubs working on a slim budget. Wish we could get 100 spectators every week at St Just !

The furtherest you travel at level 5 is Bristol, Wiltshire at the worst 2 to 3 hours at most bit of a pain agreed but it is not that bad , you are not travelling by horse and bleddy cart. The teams that win the leagues at level 6 pay reasonable expenses and should be able to afford a bit of extra travel. If we go back to Cornish leagues there will be no Vase no FA cup where money can be generated. I hope they will give Cornish teams a choice to stay in the SWPL when the time comes then we will see the difference between ambition and local glory hunters.

[TheolderIgetthebetterIwas]

Not forgetting the FA's carrot that they would assist in the expense of travelling if the Cornish league's embraced the pyramid system.

That was forthcoming was it not.

[isaac rosenberg]

Hoppit, you've obviously never been involved with running a working-class Cornish football club, where most of your players and supporters have to wok till lunchtime Saturday for minimum wage and the other rest need till about the same time to get over Friday night. The record crowd in oe of our senior leagues on the firt Saturday of he season was 75. For mny clubhouses, it is only worth opening on matchday.

Having moved to Gloucestershire, where I regularly watch Forest Green, Cirencester or Shortwood, all in the pyramid and the kinds of clubs an ambitious Cornish side woud need to compete with, it is painfully obvious that the turnover of the clubs and the wealth of some supporters and all the sponsors is on an entirely different scale. The greater population and availability of senior players also prevents members of the talent pool from demanding ridiculous wages: in short, thy are all replaceable.

For Cornwall, Kevin's investment was exceptional: you cannot expect that five or six individuals or businesses will be able to match it in Cornwall in future, especially in a recession.

Who cares about the FA Vase or Trophy ? Apart from Truro, name the winners since !

Where I come from, the Combo Cup would raise more interest. Even the Cornwall Senior Cup is regarded as a thundering nuisance that disrupts league fixtures and visits ridiculous self-important linesmen on Combo clubs, leading to unprecedented expense.

When Icome back to Cornwall, I love to find that it's still there and hasn't become England. That goes for its football too.You can keep the wretched pyramid ! :yahoo:

[hoppit]

Hoppit, you've obviously never been involved with running a working-class Cornish football club, where most of your players and supporters have to wok till lunchtime Saturday for minimum wage and the other rest need till about the same time to get over Friday night. The record crowd in oe of our senior leagues on the firt Saturday of he season was 75. For mny clubhouses, it is only worth opening on matchday.

Having moved to Gloucestershire, where I regularly watch Forest Green, Cirencester or Shortwood, all in the pyramid and the kinds of clubs an ambitious Cornish side woud need to compete with, it is painfully obvious that the turnover of the clubs and the wealth of some supporters and all the sponsors is on an entirely different scale. The greater population and availability of senior players also prevents members of the talent pool from demanding ridiculous wages: in short, thy are all replaceable.

For Cornwall, Kevin's investment was exceptional: you cannot expect that five or six individuals or businesses will be able to match it in Cornwall in future, especially in a recession.

Who cares about the FA Vase or Trophy ? Apart from Truro, name the winners since !

Where I come from, the Combo Cup would raise more interest. Even the Cornwall Senior Cup is regarded as a thundering nuisance that disrupts league fixtures and visits ridiculous self-important linesmen on Combo clubs, leading to unprecedented expense.

When Icome back to Cornwall, I love to find that it's still there and hasn't become England. That goes for its football too.You can keep the wretched pyramid !

I was under the impression the old South Western League teams embraced the SWPL because it gave the option of promotion and relegation so not sure everyone shares your view. I have been involved with local working class clubs all my life making money to keep the wheels turning. If clubs budget so they don't get into trouble financially the wheels don't fall off. It really isn't that difficult, hard work? yes but enjoyable. The worst that can happen is you get relegated back to where you came from. Two reasons why clubs fall on hard times are they pay the players more than they can afford, or the outside money source walks away from the club. No club can run on gate receipts alone, so hard work is the answer.

[isaac rosenberg]

As the creator of Truro College's "Rod's Lucky Numbers", which helped to win two Combo Cups,I have been there. Pardon me,but your last message is a bit like revealing that the team that gets the ball in between the white posts mos often generally wins the match. Thank you kindly for that.

[Goldeneye]

Let's face it, the vast majority of football players, managers, supporters are a bunch of whingers and moaners who will come up with loads of reasons why something can't be done! Other sports in Cornwall cope with travelling long distances. Camborne Rugby Club travel to Bath, Thornbury, Chard, Cleve, Clevedon, North Petherton, Bridgwater. Only one of their league fixtures is against another cornish side! Truro Hockey club travel to Bristol, Marlborough, Gloucester, Westbury, Cardiff, Bath. Swansea!

[Goldeneye]

Totally agree Keith B, I just wish that there were a lot more like you. I myself have been a club secretary, marked the pitch, cleaned the changing rooms, washed the kit etc. Haven't done it for years now - got fed up with the players not lifting a finger to help.

I did not go to a match last Saturday, but I did listen to Radio Cornwall. They had a reporter at the Falmouth v Tavistock match and they went to him for regular live updates. He must have been in or close to the main stand. On one update he said he had turned his mike down as he did not want the broadcast to pick up all the foul language coming from the touchline and dugouts. Things like that do not help the image of the game in attracting new sponsors and support! The game really does need to take a long hard look at itself.

[Nemesis]

Rugby for some reason caught on early in Cornish Sporting terms, it quickly established itself above Association Football. Towns such as Redruth & Camborne have no football side above Combo level, therefore the businesses in that town gravitate toward the rugby, or are pulled in by good Commercial offices. The Rugger Buggers are also paying much higher 'expenses' that football to travel to Bristol, it is why Mounts Bay went to the wall. The son of my Barber was a student when Mounts Bay were 'employing' him, he was on £250 a game, half that of the Senior players.

Hockey is a middle class game, played by middle class folk, most of whom have comfy 9-5 jobs and big, but economical cars they can share. Different game in a different social world.

Your average SWPL player is either a student, on Min Wage or low-ish income and runs a clapped out wreck billowing smoke, lucky to reach Plymouth without the aid of a push and or the AA. If they get £10-30 a week to help out with fuel, car tax, Insurance and loss of potential Saturday or evening earnings, then fair enough. A Club might also be able to find another tenner for 'star' player but once you go above that, you had better have a regular, reliable income stream, or go the way of Millbrook etc.

[chairman]

Hi Nemesis, are you trying to convince us that your side answers your description of the average SWPL player. My how your management has changed its requirements!

[Nemesis]

Hi Nemesis, are you trying to convince us that your side answers your description of the average SWPL player. My how your management has changed its requirements!

Or perhaps they saw that a better run, better organised, better supported, ambitious club was preferable to the alternative.

[chairman]

Hi Nemesis, are you trying to convince us that your side answers your description of the average SWPL player. My how your management has changed its requirements!

Or perhaps they saw that a better run, better organised, better supported, ambitious club was preferable to the alternative.

I'm fully supportive of that if it's true.