Outstanding Matches

[Cornish-Ref]

Like many of you there will be concern over the backlog of matches still to be played.

I looked at Ludgvan Home Matches only as this example.....

1st Team - JCCL - 11 Home League Matches remaining

Reserves - TLD5 - 13 Home League Matches remaining

Saturday's remaining from 12/01 to 27/04 - 16 (inclusive)

Therefore 8 HOME midweek games will need to be scheduled - 2 per week in April (not based on scheduling details from the leagues).

This does not remember take into consideration away fixtures.

Questions arising:

1. How will those teams that have backlogs and share with cricket grounds be impacted?

2. What further impact will postponements due to winter weather Jan/Feb bring?

I know one thing, it is going to be interesting........

[cornishteddyboy]

This is what I wrote for the newspapers (Cornishman/West Briton) this week.

I don't know if it was printed as I haven't been out to get the paper yet.

Combo Snippets 5-1-13

Is it time for some new clubs in the Combo?

Since 94-95 when the league expanded to twenty clubs we have seen ten clubs join or leave, a couple re-joining, Holmans and Pendeen, a couple coming and then going, Perranporth and Portreath and the others, Falmouth Athletic, Goonhavern, St Day, Troon, Wendron and Hayle still members either as first or reserve sides.

Of those ten how many joined the league because of clubs moving onto the SWPL. Truro City, Helston, Mousehole and Perranporth have left the league in those last eighteen years so it could be said that only six new clubs have joined the league. A new club every three years!

Thus my comment, it's time for some new blood.

How about inviting twelve new clubs to join and forming a league made from two divisions of sixteen clubs? Each division to have it's own cup and also the league to retain it's League Cup. This would give teams a maximum of thirty-nine possible games (not including Senior Cup) a season, not as now fourty-five, thus helping ease the end of season fixture congestion.

Where would the twelve clubs come from? The Trelawny League Premier. It couldn't happen overnight but would take a couple of seasons to allow the smaller clubs to get at least some of the ground requirements in place. Once these clubs join the league they would then have a year's grace to get the rest of their set-ups in place.

So who could be invited?

Looking at the Trelawny Premier as it stands, Mousehole Reserves, Falmouth Albion, Redruth United, Penzance Reserves, Charharrack, Gulval, Mawnan, Threemilestone, Constantine, St Keverne, St Buryan and Gwinear Churchtown are the twelve clubs that could join. The first five have grounds that need no work done on them as they are combo standard already. The rest need only minor work. Gwinear could possibly ground-share with Holmans bringing the Blaythorne club some extra income.

Two up, two down between the divisions with two down from the bottom of Division 2 to the Trelawny League and promotion to the SWPL for up to two clubs from Division 1.

If you look at the top sixteen in the combo as of this week those clubs in places 12 to 16 are treading water with nothing to play for. Wouldn't it be more attractive if they were fighting a relegation battle? Same with the bottom four clubs. Would they attract larger gates if they were fighting a promotion battle from Division 2?

Comments are always welcome, agreeing, dis-agreeing or other ideas on how to shake up local football.

On the record front Falmouth Town are 4 goals away from scoring 3300 league goals, Perranwell 6 away from scoring 3200, St Ives 1 away from scoring 1500 and Mullion 1 away from conceding 2700. If games are played as fixtured Holmans' match at St Agnes on the 19^th January will be their 500^th league game.

Form Guide

Top

Illogan WWWWWW

Ludgvan WWWDWW

Bottom

Hayle LLLLLL

Holmans DLLDLL

Golden Boot Award

Jowan May (St Ives) – 19

Gavin Perraton (Porthleven) – 17

Wade Brown (Pendeen) – 16

Gerens James (Ludgvan) -16

Dominic Pullen (Illogan) – 16

Jack Valentine (Culdrose) – 16

Match to Catch

(West Briton)

Holmans v Illogan

Bottom v Top

(The Cornishman)

Ludgvan v St Just

An eagerly awaited local derby

[cornishteddyboy]

The previous week I wrote this.

I'm trying to bang on about turning the Combo into 2 divisions

Combo Snippets 29-12-12

Well, almost another complete washout last weekend with only a single game played out of nine fixtures. Well done to Goonhavern for getting their game on, and their reward, a tripling of their normal attendance.

How many people think that some clubs seem to have a gone a bit far towards players safety and call of matches a bit too quickly and easily?

We all remember in times past when, come the new year, pitches used to be a strip of mud 15yds wide down the centre with grass only seen poking through down the wings.

Combination League football is the lowest level of senior football in England, so do players need to play on grass that is exactly three inches long, having perfectly mown stripes and not a drop of dampness anywhere? Some of the pitches you see at Football League grounds are in worse condition than our local pitches but do they cancel games, no? Agreed they have professional groundsmen working on their grounds to get them fit for the following game, whilst local clubs have to rely on volunteers, but do we need pitches in perfect condition?

So now the back-log of fixtures is building up with players already starting to moan that they will have to play twice or three times a week from the start of April onwards. Some clubs have only played thirteen league games so far and there are only twenty Saturdays till the end of May. These clubs have twenty-five league games and perhaps a couple of cup games to fit in!

So what possible solutions are there to this perennial problem? Reduce the number of clubs in the league to say sixteen or perhaps invite the non-reserve clubs from the Trelawny League Premier to join the Combo and form two divisions of maybe sixteen teams in each, thus reducing the number of league games played from thirty-eight to thirty. There could be Divisional Cups and an overall League Cup.

Maybe fixture more evening games for the clubs with lights at the start and end of the season. The clubs with lights to play their home games mid-week, and away games at weekends. No clubs allowed the opportunity to refuse to play evening games. This season, so far, the last mid-week game was played on the 10^th October. Why couldn't these mid-week games be played up till mid-November? They are also not fixtured to start until 2^nd April so why not start them at the beginning of March? Surly grounds won't be frozen to make them unplayable?

A solution needs to be found as the people who are at the sharp end, the players and managers are moaning already!

What do you think? A two division league, more evening fixtures, playing matches on Sundays, or some other solution.

On a much happier note can I congradulate Mandy Kimmins, Chairperson of St Agnes, a well done for being awarded the British Empire Medal in the New Year's Honours List. Everyone who knows Mandy knows how tirelesly she works for her club especially for the ladies and disability sides, but she also raises so much for local and national charities, and helps in many local projects.

On the scoring record front, St Day's second goal scored at Goonhavern was their 500^th league goal.

[Cornish-Ref]

The points raised are vaild and certainly could be an option.....