St Just Withdraw

[Steve Carpenter]

St Just FC have today informed the League that due to the lack of a team manger and players they are withdrawing from the League with immediate effect. Whilst the League is disappointed to receive this news it fully understands the reasons behind the clubs decision and wishes them well with their remaining team in the Trelawny League.  As a result of St Just's withdrawal only one club shall be liable for relegation from the West Division at the conclusion of the season.

[Mike Odgers]

Penryn through to the Kernow Stone Cup 2nd.Round

[We Two]

1 hour ago, Steve Carpenter said:

St Just FC have today informed the League that due to the lack of a team manger and players they are withdrawing from the League with immediate effect. Whilst the League is disappointed to receive this news it fully understands the reasons behind the clubs decision and wishes them well with their remaining team in the Trelawny League.  As a result of St Just's withdrawal only one club shall be liable for relegation from the West Division at the conclusion of the season.

And another one bites the dust before the season even starts.
Very sad times down there, and a sad reflection on the way the game is heading in Cornwall where we are struggling to even get a county team together.

[Martin Eddy]

After all the hard work that has been put in behind the scenes at a good club like St Just gone! just like that.

 

[isaac rosenberg]

I could say plenty. But for once, I won't. I would have taken a different path, but it is now up to those who decided to becomd a junior club to show that their decision was in the longer term interest if football in St Just. I genuinely hope they are right and I am wrong. 

[David187]

13 minutes ago, isaac rosenberg said:

I could say plenty. But for once, I won't. I would have taken a different path, but it is now up to those who decided to becomd a junior club to show that their decision was in the longer term interest if football in St Just. I genuinely hope they are right and I am wrong. 

😂😂😂😂 silence at last

On a serious note I wish all the good folk at St Just AFC all the best and hopefully see you all back in senior football where you belong 

[Mr Justice]

I hope those that moaned and said St Just lacked ambition are now happy!!!!

You don’t know what you have got until you see it taken away. 

 

[St Darren]

Would St Justhave had a side had Steve Curnow remained?

[David187]

As far as I’m aware they had 4 players, this is another example of a local Club bringing money into the changing room for a very limited period of time without a long term sustainable plan thus the inevitable happening, very short term gain has basically resulted in the demise of the Clubs status as a “Senior” Club.

[Gossip man]

10 hours ago, isaac rosenberg said:

I could say plenty. But for once, I won't. I would have taken a different path, but it is now up to those who decided to becomd a junior club to show that their decision was in the longer term interest if football in St Just. I genuinely hope they are right and I am wrong. 

Come on big mouth, you have plenty to say about other clubs,   Lets hear it, 

[Brianmooreshead]

I think he's made his views quite clear on this forum regarding his home team. Big Mouth or not it would appear he was right

[Martin Eddy]

Sorry to say that there has been a pattern set for a few years where, people play for a manager. St. Just were very lucky to have kept Steve for 25 years. The real shame was he was building a new side, and had some really good young players coming through.

[cornishteddyboy]

Are Jack Willis and Ashley Ellis staying with the club? Between then they scored 71 Combo cup and league goals last season.

[Martin Eddy]

Doubt it very much

 

[St Darren]

They won’t be the only club that will suffer this fete over the next few years in my opinion 

[RAPPO]

Very sad to see a club like the Tinners having to pull out of Senior football. Some great characters at Lafrowda Park over the years no more so than Steve and Rod. Always enjoyed going there despite the bruises that you knew you were going to get especially off Randell before sharing a shandy with him after!! Some really talented players as well as physical like Neil Curnow, great player, could name loads just a real shame. Hope the club regroups and comes back stronger in the future. Good luck from me, sad day and as Darren said it won’t be the last unfortunately with today’s attitudes. 

[The Tinner]

Regretfully, we would like to confirm that at our EGM on Monday evening we made the extremely hard decision to remove our side from the St Pirans League. Our first team are founding members of the Combination League, so with such a vast club history understandably it was not an easy decision to make.

The last 3 years have been a big struggle for the club as a whole, and last year a major shortage of players resulted in a handful of games where our 1st team traveled away with 10/11 players - a threadbare side that included 64 year old manager Steve Curnow and 55 year old reserves manager Terry Sturgeon. We also had to cancel a number of reserve team fixtures to help with the depleted numbers in the firsts.

After a tough season on and off the pitch, the club were rocked with the news our manager was stepping down 3 weeks before the season started. With no recruitment being made over the summer, as well as a few players departing, the club unfortunately did not have a good enough squad to compete in the St Pirans League. The decision for the club to step up in to the St Pirans League was not put to the committee, which in hindsight is very frustrating. Had we stayed in the Combination League, we feel we would have survived with the players we have got.

For those that will suggest ‘why didn’t the reserves step up’ - had St Just remained in the combination league, then this may have been more of an option. However to ask players from a side who finished 3rd bottom in Trelawny 2 to step up 4 leagues into a very competitive St Pirans would not be fair. We did approach several reserve players about this idea, however understandably it was turned down.

As a club we must now look to move forward and start rebuilding. We have a fantastic youth set up at the club that will be progressing in to adults football soon, so hopefully together we can push on.

[TheolderIgetthebetterIwas]

Best of luck from me ...terrific place to play football. 

[NTforever]

4 hours ago, The Tinner said:

Regretfully, we would like to confirm that at our EGM on Monday evening we made the extremely hard decision to remove our side from the St Pirans League. Our first team are founding members of the Combination League, so with such a vast club history understandably it was not an easy decision to make.

The last 3 years have been a big struggle for the club as a whole, and last year a major shortage of players resulted in a handful of games where our 1st team traveled away with 10/11 players - a threadbare side that included 64 year old manager Steve Curnow and 55 year old reserves manager Terry Sturgeon. We also had to cancel a number of reserve team fixtures to help with the depleted numbers in the firsts.

After a tough season on and off the pitch, the club were rocked with the news our manager was stepping down 3 weeks before the season started. With no recruitment being made over the summer, as well as a few players departing, the club unfortunately did not have a good enough squad to compete in the St Pirans League. The decision for the club to step up in to the St Pirans League was not put to the committee, which in hindsight is very frustrating. Had we stayed in the Combination League, we feel we would have survived with the players we have got.

For those that will suggest ‘why didn’t the reserves step up’ - had St Just remained in the combination league, then this may have been more of an option. However to ask players from a side who finished 3rd bottom in Trelawny 2 to step up 4 leagues into a very competitive St Pirans would not be fair. We did approach several reserve players about this idea, however understandably it was turned down.

As a club we must now look to move forward and start rebuilding. We have a fantastic youth set up at the club that will be progressing in to adults football soon, so hopefully together we can push on.

Who applied for the St Pirans if not the committee?? Best of luck on the rebuild regardless! 

[Bobjfh]

This is a real shame for St Just and all involved, we can’t afford to lose clubs like them from senior football. 

Just as an aside - is there not a team in the Combo who would want to ‘swap’ and take on each other’s fixtures (where there any teams who missed on applying for promotion to St Piran league?) Things have changed so much this season that I am sure exceptions could be made - although I appreciate it would still be a big ask for St Just - it would just keep their history going?

[kevin richards]

4 hours ago, Bobjfh said:

This is a real shame for St Just and all involved, we can’t afford to lose clubs like them from senior football. 

Just as an aside - is there not a team in the Combo who would want to ‘swap’ and take on each other’s fixtures (where there any teams who missed on applying for promotion to St Piran league?) Things have changed so much this season that I am sure exceptions could be made - although I appreciate it would still be a big ask for St Just - it would just keep their history going?

Porthleven certainly would if that became an option. !

[isaac rosenberg]

Firstly, thanks to Rappoi and others for their kind comments about St Just, past and present. In answer to the question about responsibility for the application to the St Piran's League, I took emergency Life President action to meet the deadline and asked the Club Secretary to ensure that appropriate notification was given. The subsequent AGM and EGM were held without any notice as required by club rules and I did not know about either. However, it is not my intention to raise politica,legal or procedural objections to this. It is in the interests if St Just AFC that those who have striven to take control of the club from previous stalwarts now step up to the positions of responsibility they apparently wanted. I would much prefer a junior club to no club at all. In moving to this new situation, however. I think the new hierarchy should avoid suggesting that the timing of Steve Curnow''s relinquishing the role if manager had anything to do with the current difficulty. Steve has not received good off field support for some time. He would prefer to remain actively involved in the club. After hus quarter- century of recent service, suitable commemoration and thanks should be provided. Looking forward, as a supporter, I am puzzled by the committee's decision to turn down a major team sponsor, but look forward to their creative funding ideas and campaign for the Trelawny League and Junior Cup. Those St Just youngsters who refused to step up to the first team will, I hope, now that the committee has sanctioned their actions and put them at the heart of the club, reward the faith the committee's localism implies with loyalty, conscientious training, club spirit and engagement. From the bottom of my heart, I wish them success. I now plan to step up my involvement with Forest Green Rovers instead. Had the decision been mine, St Just would be embarking on a senior season with an experienced manager and a lucrative sponsor. I understand the counterarguments and I hope Mr Gray, the younger Mr Sturgeon and Mr Stephens prove that their alternative views are better for St Just AFC. Come on you Tinners ! 

[TheolderIgetthebetterIwas]

6 hours ago, isaac rosenberg said:

Firstly, thanks to Rappoi and others for their kind comments about St Just, past and present. In answer to the question about responsibility for the application to the St Piran's League, I took emergency Life President action to meet the deadline and asked the Club Secretary to ensure that appropriate notification was given. The subsequent AGM and EGM were held without any notice as required by club rules and I did not know about either. However, it is not my intention to raise politica,legal or procedural objections to this. It is in the interests if St Just AFC that those who have striven to take control of the club from previous stalwarts now step up to the positions of responsibility they apparently wanted. I would much prefer a junior club to no club at all. In moving to this new situation, however. I think the new hierarchy should avoid suggesting that the timing of Steve Curnow''s relinquishing the role if manager had anything to do with the current difficulty. Steve has not received good off field support for some time. He would prefer to remain actively involved in the club. After hus quarter- century of recent service, suitable commemoration and thanks should be provided. Looking forward, as a supporter, I am puzzled by the committee's decision to turn down a major team sponsor, but look forward to their creative funding ideas and campaign for the Trelawny League and Junior Cup. Those St Just youngsters who refused to step up to the first team will, I hope, now that the committee has sanctioned their actions and put them at the heart of the club, reward the faith the committee's localism implies with loyalty, conscientious training, club spirit and engagement. From the bottom of my heart, I wish them success. I now plan to step up my involvement with Forest Green Rovers instead. Had the decision been mine, St Just would be embarking on a senior season with an experienced manager and a lucrative sponsor. I understand the counterarguments and I hope Mr Gray, the younger Mr Sturgeon and Mr Stephens prove that their alternative views are better for St Just AFC. Come on you Tinners ! 

Probably the most sensible thing you have ever posted isaac!

Good words...well said.

[isaac rosenberg]

I have discovered today that Neil Stephens, who was the most dynamic lobbyist for change at St Just, has decided to step away from the club. He agrees with me : the decision to drop the first team 's status  would not have been his either. I wish him well. Since neither he, I, nor any of the Curnow family were present at the unconventionally called EGM and the one dissenting voice  present, agsinst a majority of five, was putative new manager and vice. Chair Terry Sturgeon, I respectfully suggest that oymight be in the interest the club to revisit this decision. While I aplte iatr that Mr Carpenter and others cannot now allow flip-flopping...and I thank him in particular for his tolerant forbearance... It would be worth revising the decision regarding sponsorship and engsging ore people with proven experience and acuity in club administration

 For information, Keith, I understand that The Tinner newbie is Joe Sturgeon, our new Chair.

 

[David187]

I knew he wouldn’t stay quiet for long ! Back with the accusations and insults and even naming this time, let’s put this to bed:

1. You’re not Life President, you invented the role for yourself and there are no records of the appointment ever taking place.

2. The decision to enter into the St Pirans League was not a rational one and merely a knee jerk reaction to what you thought needed to happen whilst in your arm chair 100’s of miles away where you reside, if they stayed in the Combination League then maybe it would have been sustainable.

3. Again your answer is to throw money at the issue ! The Club is in this mess due to that very problem, how would injecting more money into the team for 1 or 2 seasons help the Club in anyway ? Are you going to keep the payments covered for the foreseeable future ? I thought not.

Get the local lads playing again at the Club and start playing for the badge rather than a token gesture in a brown envelope.

4. You are so quick to jump in and make key decisions in regards to any matter that arises at the Club so why don’t you run the place ? If not just let those in charge get on with it for Christ sake.

[St Darren]

Surely St Just having been handing out envelopes for at least 10 years

[le boss]

5 hours ago, David187 said:

I knew he wouldn’t stay quiet for long ! Back with the accusations and insults and even naming this time, let’s put this to bed:

1. You’re not Life President, you invented the role for yourself and there are no records of the appointment ever taking place.

2. The decision to enter into the St Pirans League was not a rational one and merely a knee jerk reaction to what you thought needed to happen whilst in your arm chair 100’s of miles away where you reside, if they stayed in the Combination League then maybe it would have been sustainable.

3. Again your answer is to throw money at the issue ! The Club is in this mess due to that very problem, how would injecting more money into the team for 1 or 2 seasons help the Club in anyway ? Are you going to keep the payments covered for the foreseeable future ? I thought not.

Get the local lads playing again at the Club and start playing for the badge rather than a token gesture in a brown envelope.

4. You are so quick to jump in and make key decisions in regards to any matter that arises at the Club so why don’t you run the place ? If not just let those in charge get on with it for Christ sake.

I have the feeling you will be getting another verbose diatribe from the omnipresent black cloud from England. Think he may be a large part of the reason why nobody wanted to succeed Steve. Never has anyone been able to cause such disharmony from such a distance!!! No potential manager worth their salt would go near the club because of the charade that has continued for quite a few years. All very sad but please, enough of the playground tantrums. 

[TheManWhoKnows]

Any truth in most of the st just team heading to ludgvan?? Could potentially be a return for Steve curnow over there? There where a few rumours going around at the end of last season that he could of been heading there!?!? 

[isaac rosenberg]

I will not dignify david187 with an answer. He is a sad man, deeply antipathetic to the interests of St Just AFC. St Darren is uncannily accurate....I left Cornwall in 2009. As a point of information, I was not the sponsor under debate in this thread. While I may make occasional donations, they are not in that league. Every little helps: perhaps le boss would like to show the same spirit of generosity to Carharrack. My only future involvement at St Just will be as an occasional supporter: there is no "black cloud" from me. After a very helpful chat to Joe Sturgeon, I wish him and his family well in taking the club forward.

Just one observation about the contrast between Cornwall and elsewhere. Here in Gloucestershire, I have watched an entertaining series of pre-season friendlies between Forest Green Rovers, Cirencester, Brimscombe, Yate Town, Slimbridge, Shortwood United and Chalford. All are within 15 miles of the others. All have proper referees. Most have excellent facilities and are solvent, despite some crowds not being much bigger than we see in Cornwall. There is the same tooth-gnashing angst about the awful, awful imposition of changed league structures from a London-based FA. Cornwall needs somebody to communicate that its geography and demography are not typically English and to articulate this at the upper reaches of the FA.

In Gloucestershire, there is an air of local co-operation and comparative affection between neighbouring clubs. I am not alone in watching all of the above, probably attending 80 matches a year. By contrast, the interplay of Cornish clubs is more like a group of reptiles trapped in a sack biting each other to death for the last gasp of air. The standard of football in Cornwall is comparatively so abysmal that, in all honesty, a club importing the best four players from my entirely amateur local side in Brimscombe every week would have won last year's JCCL by twenty points. I appreciate that things are so tough that for many young men in Cornwall even £20 to play football keeps the wolf from the door, Expense begets expense. I heard of a player yesterday, offered that amount by a local club, who on hearing that the rest of the team were also to receive the same, insisted that, as he thought he was better, he would now demand £40 a game. 

Of course, this is all unsustainable. Ultimately the unbridled development of capitalism permitted by the nonsense neo-liberal economics which gave us austerity and the SKY TV business plan have dominated the policies of the FA at every level of the game. In simple terms, the rich are richer and the majority are scat. Unsurprisingly, the youngsters prefer getting fat playing FIFA and watching the best players in the world from their sofa to going out in the fog down St Just. It's a cheap, isolated activity, if your diet is pickle flavoured crisps. A lot of them are understandably quite depressed...

That's the world you are in, folks ? Gonna keep fighting each other to death, or try to change it by biting your way out of the sack co-operatively ? 

Change the politics.

 

 

 

[Dave Deacon]

1 hour ago, isaac rosenberg said:

the interplay of Cornish clubs is more like a group of reptiles trapped in a sack biting each other to death for the last gasp of air. The standard of football in Cornwall is comparatively so abysmal that, in all honesty, a club importing the best four players from my entirely amateur local side in Brimscombe every week would have won last year's JCCL by twenty points. I appreciate that things are so tough that for many young men in Cornwall even £20 to play football keeps the wolf from the door, Expense begets expense. I heard of a player yesterday, offered that amount by a local club, who on hearing that the rest of the team were also to receive the same, insisted that, as he thought he was better, he would now demand £40 a game. 

Of course, this is all unsustainable. Ultimately the unbridled development of capitalism permitted by the nonsense neo-liberal economics which gave us austerity and the SKY TV business plan have dominated the policies of the FA at every level of the game. In simple terms, the rich are richer and the majority are scat. Unsurprisingly, the youngsters prefer getting fat playing FIFA and watching the best players in the world from their sofa to going out in the fog down St Just. It's a cheap, isolated activity, if your diet is pickle flavoured crisps. A lot of them are understandably quite depressed...

That's the world you are in, folks ? Gonna keep fighting each other to death, or try to change it by biting your way out of the sack co-operatively ? 

So true!

[6times]

Isaac iv read this site for years yet never felt the need to post , but how true this is just a shame the rest of the county haven’t caught on yet , but  unfortunately while there’s some folk/clubs thinking it’s the pro game there will always be this problem and others will try to keep up with the jones. Wish people would travel 100 miles out the county and see Sunday league players with outstanding ability playing for the love . However from where I watch can only see things getting worse and what’s happening at your club happening to many others throughout the county . 

[MattP]

Watching as a fascinated observer from the East of the county, it baffles (and angers/amuses me) that anyone would pay players to play at this level of football. In the St Piran and ECPL up this way , nobody is paying, or has done (to my knowledge) in the last 10 or more years. In fact, the majority of clubs probably rely on players’ subs to pay their way and, in some cases, keep their clubs solvent. 

With many clubs struggling to survive these days, the pressure to bring in players  is becoming ever greater and things become desperate, with players offered money by teams they probably aren’t good enough for. 

Money being paid to very average players is one of the causes of the current demise of clubs. Every year we see a shrinking pool of players and clubs, committee people and volunteers. Imagine working all week and all summer on the upkeep of facilities to see a mercenary rock up to your club, get paid, then move on when a fiver more is offered. Insanity. 

 

[cornishteddyboy]

On 02/08/2019 at 21:43, 6times said:

Isaac iv read this site for years yet never felt the need to post , but how true this is just a shame the rest of the county haven’t caught on yet , but  unfortunately while there’s some folk/clubs thinking it’s the pro game there will always be this problem and others will try to keep up with the jones. Wish people would travel 100 miles out the county and see Sunday league players with outstanding ability playing for the love . However from where I watch can only see things getting worse and what’s happening at your club happening to many others throughout the county . 

A lot of potential players from areas like Cornwall, Lake District, etc, have to move away for work, Uni, etc and don't come home. We lose these players, the ones in their early 20's that are the back bone of sides.

The cost of the game has made it an expensive hobby unless you can find a club (or it's supports) who will pay. A single bloke on minimum wage takes home £240 a week, so an extra £20-30 is a bit of a no brainer.

[TheolderIgetthebetterIwas]

14 minutes ago, David187 said:

Lots of varied opinions on this which is understandable but when people don’t know the full story from within the Club walls then it’s unfair to judge another’s opinion which is based on first hand facts.

St Just AFC have always had a steady stream of talented players coming through until a certain person decided to bring in players on the payroll from all areas of the County, bearing in mind they always had enough local players to sustain a healthy squad plus a reserve team, this money was injected for a small period of time where 1 Combination League Cup win was achieved (costing approx 14,000 pounds) whilst all the locals had been ignored over this period they all fled elsewhere (Pendeen Rovers etc etc) thus when the money was pulled the players resented the Club due to being overlooked for others who were picking up obscene amounts of money per game (amongst other incentives), supporters turned their back on the Club due to not agreeing with the Methods and the change of Club ethos.

Current Club stalwarts and officers who had all been held in high regard in the Club and Community were publicly humiliated and insulted in official meetings which inevitably resulted in their resignations and promises that they would never actively return to the football Club.

Of course everyone is entitled to their opinions but this is the facts as to why St Just AFC have lost their “Senior Status”, now when the dust settles we will see who sticks with the Club after this rocky period in its history as those will be the people who will deserve the credit in the end, with the new additions now at the helm and a total change in direction I believe the Club will now move forward from the mess that was created by money and personal gratification.

 

 

Ouch!

[We Two]

29 minutes ago, cornishteddyboy said:

A lot of potential players from areas like Cornwall, Lake District, etc, have to move away for work, Uni, etc and don't come home. We lose these players, the ones in their early 20's that are the back bone of sides.

The cost of the game has made it an expensive hobby unless you can find a club (or it's supports) who will pay. A single bloke on minimum wage takes home £240 a week, so an extra £20-30 is a bit of a no brainer.

If an extra £20-£30 is the likely salvation of Cornwalls wage structure, why isn't there a queue of players ready to  play the game, and why is there a shortage of players.
Paying players other than their legitimate  expences will always be the bugbear of cornish football, simply because there is a refusal to recognise the damage done to a club when the money dries up and the mercenaries move on to pastures new and the eventual demise of another set up.
Very few clubs earn an income other than from the supporters who come through their gates on match days and much of that income is swallowed up by matchday expences other than paying players.
The list of clubs who have fallen foul of a system where a sponsor has withdrawn their financial backing, is long and known to most of us but still the system prevails.
Much has been made by supporters of clubs outside of Cornwall of the suggestion that money does not change hands at their clubs
We wonder what would happen if all cornish clubs decided to refuse to pay the rediculous amounts bandied around, are players so greedy that they would abandon the game.
Temporary unearned income injected in to a club will bring problems that from the past unfortunate experience of others will invaribly end in major internal problems within that club..
 

[isaac rosenberg]

Many excellent points made in the posts above, as well as some mis- interpretation of motive and fact in relation to St Just. When there is competition for places at a club, the best players step up their game. The likes of Stuart Nicholls. Jon Bird and the Curnow family, none of them paid, did exactly that. Weaker players either train harder to regain their places or go to the pub, moan and leave. Often that weskness is a measure of character rather then football ability. The certain person targeted by david187 is obviously me. Many of his assertions are exaggerated and sone are untrue, but I get whete he is coming from. Okay. Two Combo Cups and league runners-up for slightly more money than quoted. donated by me, but also five to seven thousand a year raised through the organisation of workplace lotteries, supplemented by such activities as my dressing up as my mother on Lafrowda Day in Market Square reciting the poetry of TS Eliot while inviting passers by, for suitable sums, to throw eggs or water at me. Worth £800 to the club at the time. I have never been responsible for taking a single penny of St Just AFC funds to pay any player and I never would. In fact. My earlirst payments to players saved us from relegation, in the days ehen John Roberts was trying to organise it; and a former manager had taken 16 players to Penxance, as CTB knows well. The post, the bar, the late Andy Trathen' and a seventeen year old keepet I drove down from Polgooth saved our Combo status by a hairsbreadth in a 2 1 home evening win against Illogan.What now matters is for the club,at whatever level, to survive and thrive in the grim contemporary environment of Cornish football. To that end, whoever takes it forward with alternative ideas which promote this goal has my absolute support. I will in future occupy no official position, but in case of acute need the club knows where I am. Just one word about localism. Better communications and greater social mobility have rendered the narrower parochial loyalties of the past defunct. The "outsiders" I introduced came in most cases from a 20 mile radius. Yet Penzance, in the days when they could hoover local talent and were a successful club, paid Plymouthians and seated that talent on the bench. Perhaps because I am an exuberant communist gobshite who despises the hierarchical establishments of Cornwall, in football and elsewhere, I, as an insolent St Juster, take more flak than them.

 

 

 

[David187]

8 minutes ago, isaac rosenberg said:

Many excellent points made in the posts above, as well as some mis- interpretation of motive and fact in relation to St Just. When there is competition for places at a club, the best players step up their game. The likes of Stuart Nicholls. Jon Bird and the Curnow family, none of them paid, did exactly that. Weaker players either train harder to regain their places or go to the pub, moan and leave. Often that weskness is a measure of character rather then football ability. The certain person targeted by david187 is obviously me. Many of his assertions are exaggerated and sone are untrue, but I get whete he is coming from. Okay. Two Combo Cups and league runners-up for slightly more money than quoted. donated by me, but also five to seven thousand a year raised through the organisation of workplace lotteries, supplemented by such activities as my dressing up as my mother on Lafrowda Day in Market Square reciting the poetry of TS Eliot while inviting passers by, for suitable sums, to throw eggs or water at me. Worth £800 to the club at the time. I have never been responsible for taking a single penny of St Just AFC funds to pay any player and I never would. In fact. My earlirst payments to players saved us from relegation, in the days ehen John Roberts was trying to organise it; and a former manager had taken 16 players to Penxance, as CTB knows well. The post, the bar, the late Andy Trathen' and a seventeen year old keepet I drove down from Polgooth saved our Combo status by a hairsbreadth in a 2 1 home evening win against Illogan.What now matters is for the club,at whatever level, to survive and thrive in the grim contemporary environment of Cornish football. To that end, whoever takes it forward with alternative ideas which promote this goal has my absolute support. I will in future occupy no official position, but in case of acute need the club knows where I am. Just one word about localism. Better communications and greater social mobility have rendered the narrower parochial loyalties of the past defunct. The "outsiders" I introduced came in most cases from a 20 mile radius. Yet Penzance, in the days when they could hoover local talent and were a successful club, paid Plymouthians and seated that talent on the bench. Perhaps because I am an exuberant communist gobshite who despises the hierarchical establishments of Cornwall, in football and elsewhere, I, as an insolent St Juster, take more flak than them.

 

 

 

For the record Isaac there was no implication or accusations that you ever funded or took money out of the Club, I’m not disputing you raised and paid the money from your own sources however generated.

[We Two]

Perhaps it's time to put St Justs problems to bed and let them sort out any problems they have from within the stucture of their existing administrators, rather than on an open public forum which leaves opinions open to misinterpretation.
Personally we wish St Just well and a speedy return to the senior status that they have previously enjoyed.
 

[David187]

52 minutes ago, David187 said:

For the record Isaac there was no implication or accusations that you ever funded or took money out of the Club, I’m not disputing you raised and paid the money from your own sources however generated.

Also I’m sure some of the older generation of players will stay loyal to their Club Isaac and help them through this difficult period don’t you ?

[St Darren]

12 hours ago, Keith B said:

I don't think so Darren.

Exactly. So why are there comments about the problems with the club stemming from paying players which I doubt has happened for a good number of years!!

[Martin Eddy]

I have a confession to make on behalf of Redruth United. We do give our players free sweets before the game. Is this classed as payment. We went to Morwenstow on Saturday to play two friendlies, and everyone had to pay £10 for the bus. We charge £2.50 for subs. no Brown envelopes at our club

[TheolderIgetthebetterIwas]

1 hour ago, Postman Pat said:

I have a confession to make on behalf of Redruth United. We do give our players free sweets before the game. Is this classed as payment. We went to Morwenstow on Saturday to play two friendlies, and everyone had to pay £10 for the bus. We charge £2.50 for subs. no Brown envelopes at our club

We're playing you Saturday...see if the sweets sweeten you up!

[Martin Eddy]

Looking forward to my chips and fag ash Dave 😎

[TheolderIgetthebetterIwas]

1 hour ago, Postman Pat said:

Looking forward to my chips and fag ash Dave 😎

YO! no problem 👍

[St Darren]

4 hours ago, Keith B said:

Good question. When I was on the Committee, which was about 6 seasons ago now, there was certainly not enough money to pay players. There being no gate kiosk , I carried the hat (actually a beer mug) around at half time. Sometimes we just about covered the referees fee. Yes, the bar taking was always pretty good and some supporters were very generous when paying their gate money. That said, some who turned up to watch wouldn't pay and even tried dodging me when they saw me coming.

All in all, I can not believe we payed players then. Most of the lads as Isaac said above, played purely for love of the game - Jon Bird, Stu Nicholls, Neil and Andrew Curnow, Tim George and Callum, Jack Willis and Ashley Ellis, played for the love of it and were proud to play for their home town team. Until a kind local supporter bought a mini bus to travel to away games, the lads bundled into any vehicle going to the match or drove their own cars. Money was scarce - if players were paid, it would surely have shown up on the accounts sheet at the AGM or Committee meetings. What happened before I was on the Committee I don't know, but I can't believe players were being paid.

“The club” wouldn’t have paid players. It would have been individuals that paid the players (or gave expenses to). It’s happened at probably 75% of combo clubs 

[kevin richards]

I think that anyone who knows anything about local football will appreciate what Rodney has done for St Just Football club over the years. We all know he has put his hand in his pocket on occasions, but only for the sake & never to the detriment of his club. No one can dispute his efforts, commitment & loyalty to 1 club. Rodney will never be everyone’s cup of tea, however, love him or hate him, everyone would love a Rodney Beer at their football club.

[isaac rosenberg]

Thanks, Kevin, that's kind. We all do our best and, like life itself, football introduces us to the full range of human behaviour, ranging from the sublime to the obscene, mostly somewhere between. St Just can be quite an extreme place, not only geographically. As you say, I am somewhat Marmite too. Growing up there as the son of somebody who taught some of my fiercest critics at primary school but sent me off to prep school elsewhere had its influence on how I was perceived from the age of about 5. As  a passionate fan from the age of 7, I only ever wanted St Just to do well. As Darren says, 75%, at least, of the clubs in the Combo before this year's dramatic shake-up have had individuals attached who paid other individuals from time to time. Why this led to my getting more flak than most others doing the same I am not sure. I don't want to be negative about anybody, but back in the seventies and eighties St Just's performance, considering that, before more recent managers, some players seldom trained, was sensational, but it couldn't last. There are two or three "stalwarts" who, to the bottom of their refilling tankards, bitterly resented their replacement by the likes of Andy Trathen, Ben Leonard, John McCallum, Andy Dyer,  Shane Richards, Gary Edmunds, Gary Bell and Jerry Ede, several of whom were based in West Penwith or just beyond. Only in St Just would that be regarded as "foreign". I was once called out for "outsider" abuse because my father had actually been born elsewhere....all the way over in Marazion.

To pay players or not to pay them...the debate goes on. The purist "loyal village players" position would be great if we didn't live in a poor economy where the ambitious still tend to leave the county during prime footballing years. I was away from 18 to 34 too, but not much loss there ! And back then, Dave Wadd's Penzance sought to entice the best of St Just, Marazion and Mousehole to "higher standard" football. And yes, they offered brown envelopes. Even those who epitomised club loyalty, like the sainted Will James, much older than me, were also seduced into a spell as a Magpie. 

That village spirit has gone now, partly because most people buy cars, most jobs require travel, and education, for all the degree courses I used to help to develop at Truro and Cornwall Colleges, is mostly up the line. It has been a long time coming. In 1969, I had to sing the verse underneath as part of the Humphry Davy School Song. Even then, our identity was defined by a melancholic awareness that we were over the hill:

"As mighty waters ebb and flow

Against the granite shore,

So we, an ebbing tide, must go,

This place be ours no more.

For other waves from ocean deep

Are surging in to land,

Another race will take our place

And bear the torch in hand...........

By memory's chain we linked remain

Whatever may befall

Our (club) be still the first and last,

Our motto "One And All."

[David187]

Rodney wether we agree or disagree that is our own entitlement to an opinion, the argument for paying players will continue for evermore with divided opinions I’m sure. I hope now these loyal Clubmen you have referenced to will stick with the Club in these torrid times, personally I actually agree with you that now upon losing Senior status it will never return ? I do hope I’m wrong but the odds are certainly stacked against the future of St Just AFC.

 

[isaac rosenberg]

Yes, Davud187, because, to appropriate a quotation from a different context, "when you place a Cornishmsn on a spit, you can usually find another Cornishman to turn him." In practice, the archaic distinction between senior and junior, a relic of the past like so much in Cornish football administration. Is no longer much of a barrier. My heart will support whoever strives to help St Just come back up through the leagues. The particular players selected are up to that manager to determine. So your question about what existing senior players will do would be better addredsed either to the new management, in the event that they wish to discuss their plans with you, or to the players you have in mind. Since you are clearly a Penzance fan with no benevolence towards St Just in the first place, I would be quite surprised if they chose to hold that discussion. But do feel free to try and stir it as much as you like.