Season predictions

[sportsman10]

4 hours ago, Hetty said:

 

Jeez you’ve just put your current management team under pressure to come higher than 4th! 

You haven’t mentioned the increased money at their disposal either

my understanding is that the last manager was working with £600 a game. Which was highly likely to be one of the lowest budgets in the top 10. Even some SWPL sides had bugger budgets. so it’s like comparing apples and pairs as it’s closer to 1k this season.  
 

I think you’d do well to stay under the radar at this stage to be honest just incase the above predictions of 7th/8th place finish come to fruition  

However good luck for the season ahead 

600 a game ?? So players on about 40 quid in the western league Dane must have  been a miracle worker to keep that squad together on that 

[100%cornish]

 1st Mousehole for me they play lovely football 2nd Torpoint 3 Buckland 

[panda]

On 16/07/2022 at 13:38, silly billy said:

So you've got a professional fencer to fence off the ground that's below standard 👍 

This rule is a western league rule. You can still use the banks for FA cup and Vase matches I was told.

[Hetty]

1 hour ago, sportsman10 said:

600 a game ?? So players on about 40 quid in the western league Dane must have  been a miracle worker to keep that squad together on that 

The budget was 600 a game and that’s a fact! I don’t know what all the players were getting on an individual bases (I know one or two) 

Mr secretary doesn’t mention this when he talks about their shortcomings last season 

4th place finish on a small budget with sections of dressing room acting up

I know he’s one of them marmite characters ( not the first and won’t be the last) but I'm not sure what else he could have done apart from win the senior cup perhaps. 

don’t mean to go over old ground (not posted for a long time), I just don’t think the secretary should be discussing  ‘where they came up short last season’ a week before the new season when they have a new manager and team. 

 

Good Luck Saltash 

 

[sportsman10]

Saltash looked very good tonight against parkway I was very impressed  . Definitely see them challenge for the title this season a very good squad of players coming together and  starting to gel under Shane and Danny. 

 

[Both Sides of the Tamar]

On 24/07/2022 at 17:22, sportsman10 said:

You can’t really say signing the likes of Harrison Davies and jake miller was going to make Saltash worse. It just going to take time for a lot of these players to get use to a new structure 

i do tho think as good as Adam Carter goal scoring record was he not the same player anymore could see at parkway he was coming to the end   , Saltash should have gone for getting Ryan Richards back or even a James Lorenz someone that offers a bit different to what they have will be reliant on Sam huges again  
 

The same with Shane he admitted himself he not the same player now he needs to put the trust in his players with Danny and concentrate on management. 
will be interesting to see them against parkway 

 

Would rate Richards and Lorenz far higher than the once effective but now slow and immobile Carter.

[Ian Pethick]

8 hours ago, sportsman10 said:

Saltash looked very good tonight against parkway I was very impressed  . Definitely see them challenge for the title this season a very good squad of players coming together and  starting to gel under Shane and Danny. 

 

Probably need to put thoughts on Parkway in the Southern League section. Wasn't at the game, and don't know anybody who was, but would be interesting to hear how this compared to last week's Buckland match.

Saltash no doubt enjoyed this win, another ex Parkway man in Mike Smith taking the headlines.

[sportsman10]

31 minutes ago, Way Of The Park said:

Probably need to put thoughts on Parkway in the Southern League section. Wasn't at the game, and don't know anybody who was, but would be interesting to hear how this compared to last week's Buckland match.

Saltash no doubt enjoyed this win, another ex Parkway man in Mike Smith taking the headlines.

I did mention on the southern parkway signings section. 
it’s first pre season game i have managed to get too and see the new parkway  team in action. All very good on the ball but lacking a little up front  ,Ben Seymour was missing . Still say Lee and Karl have bit of work to do with the squad  

I was very impressed with Saltash they have had some hard pre season games and done well in all. Jake Miller in midfield looks a quality addition and smith up front is a right handful. Wouldn’t look out of place up too for parkway 

Saltash will be up there challenging for sure. 

[Ian Pethick]

3 hours ago, sportsman10 said:

I did mention on the southern parkway signings section. 
it’s first pre season game i have managed to get too and see the new parkway  team in action. All very good on the ball but lacking a little up front  ,Ben Seymour was missing . Still say Lee and Karl have bit of work to do with the squad  

I was very impressed with Saltash they have had some hard pre season games and done well in all. Jake Miller in midfield looks a quality addition and smith up front is a right handful. Wouldn’t look out of place up too for parkway 

Saltash will be up there challenging for sure. 

Jake Miller is undoubtedly a very talented player (probably step 3/4 standard), but doesn't stick around anywhere for long. Would have thought that playing under Shane Krac and Danny Lewis, two of the best midfield players on the SW non league over the past ten years, is potentially a career changing moment for him.

Always rated Mike Smith highly. Went under the radar a bit at Parkway as he was overshadowed by Glyn Hobbs in that SWPL winning side of 2017/18, and then had his playing time limited when he was away with the Navy,  but a superb player.

[Dave Deacon]

5 hours ago, Way Of The Park said:

Jake Miller is undoubtedly a very talented player (probably step 3/4 standard), but doesn't stick around anywhere for long. Would have thought that playing under Shane Krac and Danny Lewis, two of the best midfield players on the SW non league over the past ten years, is potentially a career changing moment for him.

Always rated Mike Smith highly. Went under the radar a bit at Parkway as he was overshadowed by Glyn Hobbs in that SWPL winning side of 2017/18, and then had his playing time limited when he was away with the Navy,  but a superb player.

Shane Krac mentions these new signings in this week's forthcoming Friday podcast

[Ian Pethick]

1 hour ago, Dave Deacon said:

Shane Krac mentions these new signings in this week's forthcoming Friday podcast

Looking forward to it. Hope you had the *bleep* button handy for Shane's interview. 😁

[Easterfield]

2 hours ago, RAPPO said:

Who’s your tips from up that way for the season Easterfield? We know all about our Cornish sides but looks like Barnstaple, Buckland, Bridgwater etc have good competitive squads for 22/23. Keep the posts coming, very enjoyable and informative stuff. ⚽️👏🏼👍

Thank you, Rappo. Glad you enjoy the posts. Been quiet recently having fallen into the twitter trap tweeting pictures and the like. 

Switched the reply to this thread and, yes, you’ve most likely hit the nail on the head with Barnstaple, Bridgwater and Buckland. I’ve seen a fair amount of football at both Bridgy and Buckland so would like to see each do well. The Southern League would be a leap in the dark for Buckland but I’ve a “now or pretty soon” feel about them as a club. Interesting to see what Buckland Jim reckons. 

Bridgwater should be set for a return to the Southern League sooner rather than later: relatively well-placed on the map; the right sort and size of town. There’s ambition, and a fairly new owner from out of town, but I've not heard anything about noses being put out of joint too much. Winning the league cup was important. They were a canny, crafty team at their best.

Barnstaple were an unknown quantity until this week’s signings. You tend to be a bit suspicious with some of the characters who put money into football clubs. Nor, in this case, is he new to the area having been in North Devon for twenty years. Crucially Craig Laird has stayed. That would have been key. He has a good track record and you’d think he knows what he’s doing. Barnstaple’s last attempt at the Southern League was chaotic but that’s water under the bridge now.  

You wouldn’t see Ilfracombe as challengers. But they’ve actually got a strong Western League history and last season were capable of giving most teams a decent game. They should be just the sort of club you want in the new league from 2023/24.    

These days the Bristol and North Somerset clubs don’t seem so much of a force. The more ambitious have been promoted already and there were good outfits amongst those transferred across to the Hellenic. Never sure about Clevedon. They’re always likely to be handy enough but perhaps it’s not the same club that once climbed the ladder. Bitton never appear wholly serious about promotion. Looking at what they are, that may be a wise outlook on their behalf.

A “result” for the Cornwall and Devon clubs could be that the relegated Mangotsfield have been placed in the Hellenic. Twenty years in the Southern and many good Western seasons before that. You can overplay history but I suspect they would have got in our way in the Western.  

 

 

[Buckland Jim]

1 hour ago, Easterfield said:

Thank you, Rappo. Glad you enjoy the posts. Been quiet recently having fallen into the twitter trap tweeting pictures and the like. 

Switched the reply to this thread and, yes, you’ve most likely hit the nail on the head with Barnstaple, Bridgwater and Buckland. I’ve seen a fair amount of football at both Bridgy and Buckland so would like to see each do well. The Southern League would be a leap in the dark for Buckland but I’ve a “now or pretty soon” feel about them as a club. Interesting to see what Buckland Jim reckons. 

It's definitely a wish of the club to progress to the Southern League, talking to the people & volunteers involved at the club. As far as I know, the ground is good to go for the next level. 

[Easterfield]

8 minutes ago, Buckland Jim said:

It's definitely a wish of the club to progress to the Southern League, talking to the people & volunteers involved at the club. As far as I know, the ground is good to go for the next level. 

It's difficult to pass judgement on a ground's suitablity as an occasional visitor who never goes behind the scenes. But, having been to a fair number of step 4 grounds over the years, I'd be surprised if Homers Heath doesn't make the grade. Surely it would need to be a glaring shortcomng in something very specific to fail?

Moving from step 5 to step 4 ground grading appears ro be far more difficut than 6 to 5. That's the way it should be really. Always got the impression that Buckland "future proofed" (as they say).     

 

[sportsman10]

Looking like a lot of work to do for helston if today is anything to go on. I did worry looking at the squad Matt has built over the summer 

look at Barnstaple today winning easily with several ex helston players in the team and Matt Andrew ex parkway who I know Matt wanted to try and bring to helston. 
 

Mousehole on the other hand look in superb form.  Looks like it will be a interesting league this season 

[Southwest football fan]

32 minutes ago, sportsman10 said:

Looking like a lot of work to do for helston if today is anything to go on. I did worry looking at the squad Matt has built over the summer 

look at Barnstaple today winning easily with several ex helston players in the team and Matt Andrew ex parkway who I know Matt wanted to try and bring to helston. 
 

Mousehole on the other hand look in superb form.  Looks like it will be a interesting league this season 

Mouse looked good in spells and came out the 2nd half a different team. I'd say torpoint was the better of the 2 first half and should of been 2 - 0 up if it wasn't for missing the 2nd pen, then mousehole grabbed one just before HT probably against run of play. 

 

2nd half however Mousehole was 3-1 up before torpoint even got out the changing room, came out the blocks fast and torpoint couldn't handle that for first 10-15 mins of 2nd half which is where mousehole won the game really. 

 

Good start to the season for mousehole. 

Torpoint can't be too hard on themselves, played the favourites for the league and held a good account of themselves for good periods of the game I felt, it's only game one and it's a long season ahead of them 

 

 

 

[Ian Pethick]

4 hours ago, sportsman10 said:

Looking like a lot of work to do for helston if today is anything to go on. I did worry looking at the squad Matt has built over the summer 

look at Barnstaple today winning easily with several ex helston players in the team and Matt Andrew ex parkway who I know Matt wanted to try and bring to helston. 
 

Mousehole on the other hand look in superb form.  Looks like it will be a interesting league this season 

Barnstaple very much kept their powder dry over the summer, they only announced a retained list on Thursday and had not trumpeted any new signings on social media.  They have a manager who's been around the block many times, proven step 4/5 players in Matt Andrew, Billy Tucker and Stuart Bowker plus a group of exciting local youngsters. Shouldn't be too far away next May.

Heard a the interview with Matt Cusack on the CS Podcast.  Seems like he didn't get his preferred back room staff of Adam Carter and Matt Godfree in place, the marquee signings (Shepherd and Payne from Millbrook) were both lined up by Steve Massey in May and another (Nathaniel West from Bodmin) was a Massey pick.  I know it's opening day, and Bridgwater are among the favourites, but it could be a tough job with a time limit on it for Cusack. Especially with you know who in the background. 

[sportsman10]

Would imagine that was what Matt Cusack signed up for . Massey as director of football was always going to be in charge of signings and Matt to coach.  , let’s be honest matt would have kept stu bowker I’m sure if he was given the choice , and I know he thought highly of Matt Andrew as a player was his main target so I’m not sure what gone on for him to end up at Barnstable 
I like Matt I think he is a fantastic coach works hard  and was harshly treated by parkway  in my opinion at the end. just hope he is given the time and space  to build his own team and brin in his players  at some stage 
 

I noticed arron Bentley missing from helston squad list has he left ? 

[Dane]

Bentley suspended I believe 

[Gary Hocking]

11 hours ago, Southwest football fan said:

Mouse looked good in spells and came out the 2nd half a different team. I'd say torpoint was the better of the 2 first half and should of been 2 - 0 up if it wasn't for missing the 2nd pen, then mousehole grabbed one just before HT probably against run of play. 

 

2nd half however Mousehole was 3-1 up before torpoint even got out the changing room, came out the blocks fast and torpoint couldn't handle that for first 10-15 mins of 2nd half which is where mousehole won the game really. 

 

Good start to the season for mousehole. 

Torpoint can't be too hard on themselves, played the favourites for the league and held a good account of themselves for good periods of the game I felt, it's only game one and it's a long season ahead of them 

 

 

 

Excellent report. The only thing I’d add is that both teams had some key players missing, in Torpoint’s case both of last season’s leading strikers. My MOTM was Ollie Chenoweth who made three excellent saves (including the penalty) before Mousehole scored our first and it might have been a different story if any of those had gone in. 

[Yourhavingalaugh]

8 hours ago, Way Of The Park said:

Barnstaple very much kept their powder dry over the summer, they only announced a retained list on Thursday and had not trumpeted any new signings on social media.  They have a manager who's been around the block many times, proven step 4/5 players in Matt Andrew, Billy Tucker and Stuart Bowker plus a group of exciting local youngsters. Shouldn't be too far away next May.

Heard a the interview with Matt Cusack on the CS Podcast.  Seems like he didn't get his preferred back room staff of Adam Carter and Matt Godfree in place, the marquee signings (Shepherd and Payne from Millbrook) were both lined up by Steve Massey in May and another (Nathaniel West from Bodmin) was a Massey pick.  I know it's opening day, and Bridgwater are among the favourites, but it could be a tough job with a time limit on it for Cusack. Especially with you know who in the background. 

By bringing in so many new players, regardless of the level of football, how good the players and coach are, it’s going be extremely difficult to achieve consistency throughout the season and amount challenge. Bridgewater seem to be of the front runners for the league, so I wouldn’t be too worried about a opening day home loss. Looking through Twitter, I noticed Bowker was a used sub for Barnstaple and they charge an £8 entrance fee, plus Helston’s team sheet showed a R Wilson playing, is that Bodmin’s captain ? 
 

[Dane]

Helston came 9th last season and were sat 11th when covid stopped proceedings the season before.  

They are a very tough team to play against but have lacked consistency. It will take Matt some time to sort out and rebuild. 

spending lots of money doesn’t guarantee you success,( Man Utd is the example of this )  a team is made up of lots of moving parts, personality’s and ability  then you have to be able to put all the pieces of the puzzle together

Then throw into the mix that Matt is asking them to play in a completely different way to what they have done for 4/5 years.  Matt will need time! 

 

[rocky170267]

2 hours ago, Yourhavingalaugh said:

By bringing in so many new players, regardless of the level of football, how good the players and coach are, it’s going be extremely difficult to achieve consistency throughout the season and amount challenge. Bridgewater seem to be of the front runners for the league, so I wouldn’t be too worried about a opening day home loss. Looking through Twitter, I noticed Bowker was a used sub for Barnstaple and they charge an £8 entrance fee, plus Helston’s team sheet showed a R Wilson playing, is that Bodmin’s captain ? 
 

He’s called Reuben Kane

[TheolderIgetthebetterIwas]

3 hours ago, Box 2 Box said:

Cusack stating they were “naive” and not “street wise” there’s a fair bit of experience in that Helston side… naivety shouldn’t be an issue.. what helston don’t have is players who battle for the club.. it’s about the brown envelope not the badge !!!

They all play for the brown envelope at this level! 

[JonColenzo]

4 hours ago, GaryHocking said:

Excellent report. The only thing I’d add is that both teams had some key players missing, in Torpoint’s case both of last season’s leading strikers. My MOTM was Ollie Chenoweth who made three excellent saves (including the penalty) before Mousehole scored our first and it might have been a different story if any of those had gone in. 

Thought Ryan Richards scored and missed a penalty didn’t he? I may be wrong 🤷🏻‍♂️ 

[Easterfield]

12 hours ago, Way Of The Park said:

Barnstaple very much kept their powder dry over the summer, they only announced a retained list on Thursday and had not trumpeted any new signings on social media.  They have a manager who's been around the block many times, proven step 4/5 players in Matt Andrew, Billy Tucker and Stuart Bowker plus a group of exciting local youngsters. Shouldn't be too far away next May.

I sort of want to have a Bristol/North Somerset club to throw in as a "dark horse". Not so much to win the league but as one that will often cause problems. Against whom a win would be a good result.

Don't know anything at all about Shepton Mallet but they finished 6th last season and started with a win yesterday. So why not them? Have taken over the mantle of Street, who briefly flourished with fininacial support, in that part of Somerset. Shepton have the backing of a couple of sizeable sponsors - road haulage and cider - and there may be family associations between people from those businesses and people at the club (a little bit of surmising from Company House records). Could do well in the separate "northern" division the following season?     

[Gary Hocking]

1 hour ago, JonColenzo said:

Thought Ryan Richards scored and missed a penalty didn’t he? I may be wrong 🤷🏻‍♂️ 

I was told by one of the Torpoint supporters before KO that Richards was unavailable and Damerell was suspended but it wouldn’t be the first time I’ve been given duff information by someone with a pint in their hand - shall be happy to be corrected. 

[SomersetObserver]

5 hours ago, Easterfield said:

I sort of want to have a Bristol/North Somerset club to throw in as a "dark horse". Not so much to win the league but as one that will often cause problems. Against whom a win would be a good result.

Don't know anything at all about Shepton Mallet but they finished 6th last season and started with a win yesterday. So why not them? Have taken over the mantle of Street, who briefly flourished with fininacial support, in that part of Somerset. Shepton have the backing of a couple of sizeable sponsors - road haulage and cider - and there may be family associations between people from those businesses and people at the club (a little bit of surmising from Company House records). Could do well in the separate "northern" division the following season?     

As someone based in Mendip area the Somerset clubs are the ones I mainly watch. I watched Shepton against Street yesterday and Shepton have pretty much the same side that they had last season. I'd say they will most likely be somewhere between 4th and 7th they are very a solid, hard-working side with an excellent defence but for me they lack that bit of bit of real quality in attack that some of the other teams in the league have. Yesterday they should really have won much easier and in the end needed a penalty about 10 minutes from time to get ahead before getting a third in the dying seconds after a mass brawl involving all 22 players and both benches.

Another side who won't win the league but will cause teams problems is Clevedon they have a very good young squad up there; they play good football and on their day they can beat anyone. But they will probably lack that bit of consistency of the course of a season to mount a serious challenge. A win against them though will be a good result, which I see Saltash (my preseason tip for the title based of their summer business) got yesterday.

As for up in round the Bristol/Bath area I don't think there is going to be much from there that is going to worry the top half of the table.

[Easterfield]

4 hours ago, SomersetObserver said:

As someone based in Mendip area the Somerset clubs are the ones I mainly watch. I watched Shepton against Street yesterday and Shepton have pretty much the same side that they had last season. I'd say they will most likely be somewhere between 4th and 7th they are very a solid, hard-working side with an excellent defence but for me they lack that bit of bit of real quality in attack that some of the other teams in the league have. Yesterday they should really have won much easier and in the end needed a penalty about 10 minutes from time to get ahead before getting a third in the dying seconds after a mass brawl involving all 22 players and both benches.

Another side who won't win the league but will cause teams problems is Clevedon they have a very good young squad up there; they play good football and on their day they can beat anyone. But they will probably lack that bit of consistency of the course of a season to mount a serious challenge. A win against them though will be a good result, which I see Saltash (my preseason tip for the title based of their summer business) got yesterday.

As for up in round the Bristol/Bath area I don't think there is going to be much from there that is going to worry the top half of the table.

Thank you for that. I suspect you're right about the Bristol and Bath clubs not posing a great threat. Several have gone over to the Hellenic - they could return to the new "northern" section in 2023/24  - and I wonder if some of the others are struggling for players these days. It will be interesting, once the restructure happens, how Brislington and Odd Down do after their voluntary relegations.

Suspicion that the "northern" section could be weaker than the "southern" in 2023/24 unless there's strong teams returning from the Hellenic. Or if the "player market" settles down with less travelling.

We don't yet know the promotion/relegation arrangements with step 4. It's a national system so can't be done in isolation. Those who speculate are coming up with ideas. One is a champions play-off with the winner promoted to step 4. The loser then takes on the mantle of a "normal" step 5 runner-up and plays off against a poorly-placed step 4 side.

[JonColenzo]

7 hours ago, GaryHocking said:

I was told by one of the Torpoint supporters before KO that Richards was unavailable and Damerell was suspended but it wouldn’t be the first time I’ve been given duff information by someone with a pint in their hand - shall be happy to be corrected. 

 

[Gary Hocking]

7 minutes ago, JonColenzo said:

 

Thanks Jon - always happy to be put right when I get something wrong 👍

[Ian Pethick]

For interviews with all the Cornish Western League and Peninsula clubs managers, a preview of the new season and a run down of all the relevant player ins and outs for each team, the excellent Cornwall Sports Media website is worth a look. 

 

 

[Uwdi Krugg]

On 30/07/2022 at 19:10, Southwest football fan said:

I'd say torpoint was the better of the 2 first half 

Torpoint can't be too hard on themselves, played the favourites for the league and held a good account of themselves for good periods of the game I felt

Really? (No disrespect intended)

Feel you are being especially kind about that Torpoint performance. Even the Ultras in the Devonshire Stand had the Titanic vibe 🚢

I don't buy all this talk about Mousehole being title favourites. They were almost as inept as the home side for three quarters of the match. 

Opening games are hit & miss but this one was a shocker 🥴

People talk up The Western Premier Division as if it's the Non League equivalent of The Champions League. I've witnessed better St Pirans games than what went down at 'The Mill' last Saturday 🤪⚽️

21 hours ago, JonColenzo said:

Thought Ryan Richards scored and missed a penalty didn’t he? I may be wrong 🤷🏻‍♂️ 

You are correct Jon, he was isolated up front and hardly got a sniff most of the game.

[Ian Pethick]

21 hours ago, Easterfield said:

I sort of want to have a Bristol/North Somerset club to throw in as a "dark horse". Not so much to win the league but as one that will often cause problems. Against whom a win would be a good result.

Don't know anything at all about Shepton Mallet but they finished 6th last season and started with a win yesterday. So why not them? Have taken over the mantle of Street, who briefly flourished with fininacial support, in that part of Somerset. Shepton have the backing of a couple of sizeable sponsors - road haulage and cider - and there may be family associations between people from those businesses and people at the club (a little bit of surmising from Company House records). Could do well in the separate "northern" division the following season?     

Still not sure about how the Peninsula League/Western League merger will work in practice (I'll leave that to the excel warriors who work in darkened rooms), but would Bridgwater and Shepton Mallet be very keen to get into step 4 (thus avoiding being placed in a very South Westerly focussd division with potentially long trips to West Cornwall being on the agenda)?

[SCFC]

On 31/07/2022 at 09:50, Dane said:

Helston came 9th last season and were sat 11th when covid stopped proceedings the season before.  

They are a very tough team to play against but have lacked consistency. It will take Matt some time to sort out and rebuild. 

spending lots of money doesn’t guarantee you success,( Man Utd is the example of this )  a team is made up of lots of moving parts, personality’s and ability  then you have to be able to put all the pieces of the puzzle together

Then throw into the mix that Matt is asking them to play in a completely different way to what they have done for 4/5 years.  Matt will need time! 

 

Honestly, do you think Matt will be given the time at Helston?

Personally, I cant see Massey giving him long if results arent going the right way. On the flip side, I wouldnt be surprised to see Matt leave if Massey started giving too much of his own input 

[Gary Hocking]

3 hours ago, Way Of The Park said:

Still not sure about how the Peninsula League/Western League merger will work in practice (I'll leave that to the excel warriors who work in darkened rooms), but would Bridgwater and Shepton Mallet be very keen to get into step 4 (thus avoiding being placed in a very South Westerly focussd division with potentially long trips to West Cornwall being on the agenda)?

Received wisdom is that the dividing line between east & west will be Taunton-ish 

[Easterfield]

7 hours ago, Way Of The Park said:

Still not sure about how the Peninsula League/Western League merger will work in practice (I'll leave that to the excel warriors who work in darkened rooms), but would Bridgwater and Shepton Mallet be very keen to get into step 4 (thus avoiding being placed in a very South Westerly focussd division with potentially long trips to West Cornwall being on the agenda)?

Not simple at all. You might be on to something. The dynamics are impossible to foretell. Bridgwater and Shepton can't be certain whether they'll go north or south. Bridgwater especially. In that situation a higher league which, quite probably, doesn't stretch so far looks doubly-enticing. If you're up to it.

Boils down to who will be the thirty-six most south-westerly clubs on the step 5 map of England. They split into two groups: (1) the first eighteen up from Land's End (2) the next eighteen. The luckiest clubs are those from Cornwall. They'll always know which section they'll be in. Likewise for the Bristol/Bath/Wiltshire clubs unless they spill over into the Hellenic or Wessex.

Most Devon clubs look set but, over a prolonged period, the boundary could oscillate from East Devon to the Mendips.

At present we're probably anticipating something like Cornwall + Devon + Wellington. But that's only one eventuality removed from + Bridgwater too. Next you've arrived at Street, Sherborne, Shepton or whoever.

Where you are on the map is only part of the story. Who is on the map with you (or not) also counts more than you may think. Bridgwater getting promoted could send Street or Shepton south-west, etc, etc.

 

[Southwest football fan]

10 hours ago, Uwdi Krugg said:

Really? (No disrespect intended)

Feel you are being especially kind about that Torpoint performance. Even the Ultras in the Devonshire Stand had the Titanic vibe 🚢

I don't buy all this talk about Mousehole being title favourites. They were almost as inept as the home side for three quarters of the match. 

Opening games are hit & miss but this one was a shocker 🥴

People talk up The Western Premier Division as if it's the Non League equivalent of The Champions League. I've witnessed better St Pirans games than what went down at 'The Mill' last Saturday 🤪⚽️

You are correct Jon, he was isolated up front and hardly got a sniff most of the game.

Well in all fairness i didn't say they played well, I just thought they was the better side until the equaliser. 

Agree the game wasn't the best, like you said only first game of the season, let teams settle before making judgements. 

As for the standard, I agree. If you seen a few post from mine last season I said the standard isn't what everyone makes it out to be. Literally a glorified SWPL that's it. 

[Uwdi Krugg]

11 hours ago, Southwest football fan said:

Well in all fairness i didn't say they played well, I just thought they was the better side until the equaliser. 

Agree the game wasn't the best, like you said only first game of the season, let teams settle before making judgements. 

As for the standard, I agree. If you seen a few post from mine last season I said the standard isn't what everyone makes it out to be. Literally a glorified SWPL that's it. 

Fair comment 👍🙂

I was a little surprised how sparse the Torpoint attendance was 🤔 especially as Mousehole were touted as flashy-football title favourites?

Bearing in mind the hoopla the Western League likes to adorn itself in & the fact Torpoint swept pretty much all before them in the East SWPL & WP Cup Comp, the BIG season opener didn't seem to ignite the interest of the local population very much 🥴

[Ian Pethick]

1 hour ago, Uwdi Krugg said:

Fair comment 👍🙂

I was a little surprised how sparse the Torpoint attendance was 🤔 especially as Mousehole were touted as flashy-football title favourites?

Bearing in mind the hoopla the Western League likes to adorn itself in & the fact Torpoint swept pretty much all before them in the East SWPL & WP Cup Comp, the BIG season opener didn't seem to ignite the interest of the local population very much 🥴

It's the last weekend of July, lot of people on holiday or just doing summer stuff. Also, there still seems to be player non availabilities for similar reasons.

Just reinforces my feeling that the season begins too early (the traditional, third week in August start is to my mind the right time).

[Uwdi Krugg]

14 minutes ago, Way Of The Park said:

It's the last weekend of July, lot of people on holiday or just doing summer stuff. Also, there still seems to be player non availabilities for similar reasons.

Just reinforces my feeling that the season begins too early (the traditional, third week in August start is to my mind the right time).

Torpoint are League & Cup double winners, they've achieved promotion to the local non league equivalent of The Champions League. It's a pleasant summer afternoon, the well publicised hyped up opening home game is against the (so called) best team going and.... there's certainly zilch-else to occupy ones leisure time around downtown Torpoint 🤪

No disrespect, most Football fans can't wait to see a genuine League Game again.

If this is all that turned up for the big Western League debut, how many will bother if the club are struggling lower division on a soggy Saturday in January? 🥴

[shots]

On 25/07/2022 at 13:48, sportsman10 said:

600 a game ?? So players on about 40 quid in the western league Dane must have  been a miracle worker to keep that squad together on that 

He was.

[Ian Pethick]

25 minutes ago, Uwdi Krugg said:

 

No disrespect, most Football fans can't wait to see a genuine League Game again.

 

... just not at Torpoint.

Disappointing gate of 121 at Saltash as well ,thought that with them having a new high profile management team and a clutch of big signings, it would have been an attraction for the local punters. Heard that their numbers were swelled by a few Parkway fans looking for some football action after their friendly at Tavi was called off.

Falmouth, while a more than decent gate of 380, was probably down on what they would have hoped for. Heard it said elsewhere on here that this was partly due to a lot of supporters being away.

Just my view regarding the early start. Understand why it's done, but it also means that the pre season games now begin at the end of June (felt like a lot of those were rendered meaningless, or even called off, by players not being available). 

I'm off to Hanwell Town v Truro City on Saturday. Partly to get an early look at the Southern Prem and Paul Wotton's revamped squad, but largely to enjoy one of the best pubs in West London (The Dodo in West Ealing).

[sportsman10]

Saltash , torpoint etc have always struggled for decent attendances. There just isn’t the interest there which is odd in Saltashs case for the size of the town and the amount of junior football around the Area. 
I always feel there more that can be done to increase crowds. Like kids for free etc or more advertising around the town. Free tickets for family’s etc. times are tough for lots people  

 

 

[Mike Odgers]

10 minutes ago, sportsman10 said:

Saltash , torpoint etc have always struggled for decent attendances. There just isn’t the interest there which is odd in Saltashs case for the size of the town and the amount of junior football around the Area. 
I always feel there more that can be done to increase crowds. Like kids for free etc or more advertising around the town. Free tickets for family’s etc. times are tough for lots people  

 

 

Has anyone considered that Argyle kicked off their season on saturday with a 14.624 gate

[Footy Detective]

1 hour ago, Uwdi Krugg said:

No disrespect, most Football fans can't wait to see a genuine League Game again.

🥴

There lies part of the problem, most do this down the pub with their mates watching the big screen. People are just not interested these days , even the crowd at Falmouth was small in reality and will probably drop off substantially if the team aren’t performing that well. 
sorry but couldn’t remove Uwdi’s emoji at the end of his post.

[Ian Pethick]

20 minutes ago, Mike Odgers said:

Has anyone considered that Argyle kicked off their season on saturday with a 14.624 gate

Yes, that would have undoubtedly drawn a few away from Saltash and Torpoint. When Parkway were at home on an "Argyle Saturday" last season, then it would take a couple hundred or so off the gate.

[Tamar.man]

1 hour ago, Mike Odgers said:

Has anyone considered that Argyle kicked off their season on saturday with a 14.624 gate

I decided to go argyle Saturday,my seat £24.75 with booking fee, sat next to some annoying children!..my pasty £4.50. the size of a cocktail pasty gone in 3 bites, 2 pints of lager £5 each , bridge £1.30 so in total  £40.55. And a pain in the ass to park nearby, I will not be rushing back, roll on Saturday afternoons at callington,saltash, liskeard,torpoint, Launceston whatever takes my fancy for anything between £10-£15 quid entry ,beer ,pasty, as for argyle  I do not think people will be able to afford it from October, people with a couple kids in tow must of cost them a fortune!

[Ian Pethick]

On 31/07/2022 at 08:42, Yourhavingalaugh said:

By bringing in so many new players, regardless of the level of football, how good the players and coach are, it’s going be extremely difficult to achieve consistency throughout the season and amount challenge. Bridgewater seem to be of the front runners for the league, so I wouldn’t be too worried about a opening day home loss. Looking through Twitter, I noticed Bowker was a used sub for Barnstaple and they charge an £8 entrance fee, plus Helston’s team sheet showed a R Wilson playing, is that Bodmin’s captain ? 
 

According to the FA Full Time site, it was Rubin Wilson (the Bodmin striker) who played.

[sportsman10]

18 minutes ago, Way Of The Park said:

According to the FA Full Time site, it was Rubin Wilson (the Bodmin striker) who played.

Why do they need a Bodmin player ? I thought they had a link up with Penzance to use players ??