Pitty Posted July 19, 2022 Report Share Posted July 19, 2022 It is with great sadness that Holmans have no option but to withdraw from the Combination League with immediate effect and have informed the League Officials. A combination of lack of players registered and manager taking the decision to depart on Saturday with only two players registered from the previous season has left us with no choice but to reluctantly pull the 1st team. A discussion took place to possibly elevate the current reserve team however with a 3 division gap and fear of losing the one remaining team if it resulted in heavy defeats and to preserve the competitiveness of the league now means the club will only have 1 team competing in Trelawny Division 2 for the 22/23 season. We hope to once again in the future field two sides if the right manager and an influx of players arrive attracted by the decent pitch and new, soon to be upgraded changing rooms however until then we will support the one team remaining. we would like to apologise to the remaining teams in the Combo that this decision was not made earlier however it became apparent quickly during pre-season training that certain promises from players to commit have not seen fruition. on a personal note I am gutted for all the hard work done by previous and current members of the club to get us back into the combo in 2004 and then subsequent re-entry in 2020 & 2015, however without 30 committed players willing to play week in week out it is not viable to continue with 2 sides and therefore to avoid being unable to fulfil fixtures, disappointing other teams who would have prepared for the game and then the significant subsequent financial penalties that would be incurred we have reduced to one side where hopefully the club can build from once again Foul Throw 3, Ian Pethick, Bill Old timer Davies and 1 other 1 1 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kevin richards Posted July 19, 2022 Report Share Posted July 19, 2022 Gutted to hear this Neil. Cornish football from the St Pirans league down, needs a complete revamp, before we lose too many more clubs. Bill Old timer Davies and Pitty 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martin Eddy Posted July 20, 2022 Report Share Posted July 20, 2022 This must be one of the hardest posts you have had to write on the forum Neil. Hopefully the club can return bigger and stronger. Personally my son and I had many happy years at Blaythorne. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pitty Posted July 20, 2022 Author Report Share Posted July 20, 2022 23 minutes ago, Postman Pat said: This must be one of the hardest posts you have had to write on the forum Neil. Hopefully the club can return bigger and stronger. Personally my son and I had many happy years at Blaythorne. Not good Ted unfortunately. The one good thing is the reserves (well the Holmans team as they now are) have a good togetherness about them so we are confident that football will continue at Blaythorne just not initially at a level the club have competed at in the last 25 years Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martin Eddy Posted July 20, 2022 Report Share Posted July 20, 2022 Something is better than nothing mate Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cornish leg end Posted July 20, 2022 Report Share Posted July 20, 2022 This is real sad news a proper combo club. But they will bounce back and hopefully be back in the combo. Wish you luck with the rebuild. Won’t be the last this season to have to make a tough call. Right decision for the boys in the second teams development. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cornishteddyboy Posted July 20, 2022 Report Share Posted July 20, 2022 Sorry to hear this Neil. Why are Holmans a team that seem to take two paces forward, are then tripped up, ending taking one back? Just recently there seen to be several teams, there or there abouts that fold, take a few years to reach Combo/St Piran again only to fold again. Is it the future? Ludgvan are a club that springs to mind. I suppose this time it is a question of timing. Had you known earlier about your manager you could have got someone in who could cobble a team together. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pitty Posted July 20, 2022 Author Report Share Posted July 20, 2022 12 minutes ago, cornishteddyboy said: Sorry to hear this Neil. Why are Holmans a team that seem to take two paces forward, are then tripped up, ending taking one back? Just recently there seen to be several teams, there or there abouts that fold, take a few years to reach Combo/St Piran again only to fold again. Is it the future? Ludgvan and St Just are two clubs that quickly spring to mind. I suppose this time it is a question of timing. Had you know earlier about your manager you could have got someone in who could cobble a team together. Writing was a little bit on the wall end of last season we embarrassingly couldn’t fulfil a fixture and had to scramble around for players for a couple of others. This season early indications were we may have a few incoming but sadly didn’t materialise so took the hard decision to pull it and can only apologise to West Cornwall we didn’t have the info to hand before the AGM. we will build again, only 13 years ago we had 3 successful teams in combo, FHFL1 & Mining 1 but the number of players just are not there anymore hopefully the new changing room upgrade planned in the next 12 months and the decent flat pitch can attract a few Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martin Eddy Posted July 20, 2022 Report Share Posted July 20, 2022 Only a couple of weeks ago I mentioned about the clubs in the Camborne/ Redruth area. Think the time is coming where we have to start looking after established clubs Pitty, glass hips and TheolderIgetthebetterIwas 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
S Abbo Posted July 20, 2022 Report Share Posted July 20, 2022 1 hour ago, Postman Pat said: Only a couple of weeks ago I mentioned about the clubs in the Camborne/ Redruth area. Think the time is coming where we have to start looking after established clubs How many clubs/teams in the Redruth/Camborne area can you name ? Be interesting to see compared to ten years ago. Real shame for Holmans... think sometimes a step back is the first one forward though...sure they will work their way back up the leagues. MattP and RAPPO 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheolderIgetthebetterIwas Posted July 20, 2022 Report Share Posted July 20, 2022 Unlucky Pitty, we've done it 3 times I think now, shortage of players which is only going to get worse I'm afraid! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martin Eddy Posted July 20, 2022 Report Share Posted July 20, 2022 Praze 2, mariners, Holmans Illogan2, titans2, storm, redruth2, mt. Ambrose,St.day 3, troon2, west Cornwall,caharack, Frogpool. Think thats everyone. Devils@Dusk and S Abbo 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Mead Posted July 20, 2022 Report Share Posted July 20, 2022 Sad times, indeed! I feel for the real Club stalwarts who always work their socks off to provide football opportunities for their "parish" and end up being kicked in the teeth. Too many selfish individuals with a complete lack of respect or loyalty; it makes my blood boil. Soldier on Neil, we know who the good guys are! Pitty 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
le boss Posted July 20, 2022 Report Share Posted July 20, 2022 Sad to see another club lose a team. Is it not time that this county- wide issue is discussed at a CCFA level or at least within each league committee. I know league officials will say that it is it’s members who vote on the make up of the leagues but something has to give. These sides that drop in and out of leagues repeatedly must be looked at at the very least and perhaps not allowed back in. Not a nice thought but it cannot be coincidence it’s the same names reappearing. Must be a stronger criteria to gain entry into a league perhaps? glass hips 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Mead Posted July 20, 2022 Report Share Posted July 20, 2022 8 minutes ago, le boss said: Sad to see another club lose a team. Is it not time that this county- wide issue is discussed at a CCFA level or at least within each league committee. I know league officials will say that it is it’s members who vote on the make up of the leagues but something has to give. These sides that drop in and out of leagues repeatedly must be looked at at the very least and perhaps not allowed back in. Not a nice thought but it cannot be coincidence it’s the same names reappearing. Must be a stronger criteria to gain entry into a league perhaps? Current, mandatory FA Rules set out clearly what must happen at all League AGMs regarding the admission of teams. CCFA are obviously aware of the situation in Cornwall; it could be replicated in other areas as well but each Association has a voice on the full FA Council - that's the only forum which can instigate change. Perhaps we should press our representative to broach the subject at the highest level. Bill Old timer Davies 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
le boss Posted July 20, 2022 Report Share Posted July 20, 2022 1 minute ago, John Mead said: Current, mandatory FA Rules set out clearly what must happen at all League AGMs regarding the admission of teams. CCFA are obviously aware of the situation in Cornwall; it could be replicated in other areas as well but each Association has a voice on the full FA Council - that's the only forum which can instigate change. Perhaps we should press our representative to broach the subject at the highest level. I wonder how much the voices are actually saying or are being listened to? Can’t think there are many people involved with local football who would disagree that something has to be done. It’s all very well promoting youth football - quite often where the grant money is earned but what about adult football which is clearly in distress. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevieb Posted July 20, 2022 Report Share Posted July 20, 2022 Very sorry to hear this , Holmans great set up , good battles , good pint after and good banter , good luck to the future, but I dont think this will be the only team to be pulled before a ball is kicked , volunteers are either getting older or are beat down , costs to put a team out before a ball has been kicked , smaller pool of players due to working weekends, college , Uni ect , It will get worse yet before it levels out . Such a shame, perhaps those that play will appreciate what is done so they can kick a ball . Bill Old timer Davies 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yourhavingalaugh Posted July 20, 2022 Report Share Posted July 20, 2022 1 hour ago, le boss said: I wonder how much the voices are actually saying or are being listened to? Can’t think there are many people involved with local football who would disagree that something has to be done. It’s all very well promoting youth football - quite often where the grant money is earned but what about adult football which is clearly in distress. I totally agree with your last sentence, and personally, there are too many youth teams, playing too many games, containing a number of uninterested children which gives a false representation of how many children actually want to play football when they became an adult. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lifeintheolddog Posted July 20, 2022 Report Share Posted July 20, 2022 We played in same league as your reserves last season with Falmouth United and they were a very capable team, certainly hold their own in the combo. Shame but your only side now would be a very competitive one I’d imagine. Good luck for the future, although we’ve stepped away from Falmouth now I’ve played many games at Holmans over the years and decent pitch and nice clubhouse. Glad changing rooms having makeover 😂😂👍 Pitty 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pitty Posted July 20, 2022 Author Report Share Posted July 20, 2022 6 hours ago, TheolderIgetthebetterIwas said: Unlucky Pitty, we've done it 3 times I think now, shortage of players which is only going to get worse I'm afraid! I think it’s not just the shortage of players but the lack of commitment to one club for a prolonged period these days David. Players seem to be a lot more transient which has a knock on effect as players that stick with clubs tend to be the people who eventually go on to help out behind the scenes Bill Old timer Davies and TheolderIgetthebetterIwas 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard Chown Posted July 20, 2022 Report Share Posted July 20, 2022 Sorry to hear this Pitty. Fond memories of the Carharrack, West Cornwall and Holmans battle in Trelawny Premier. Let’s be honest that is what Combo over the last couple of years has become. From personal experience I know what the committee must have gone through before making that very tough decision. You do everything you can to have the club play at the highest level. But all is not lost, Holmans is still alive and hopefully everyone can get behind the team and move forward once again. I would say best of luck, but I think we are playing you this season but look forward to visiting the new changing rooms. 😀 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pitty Posted July 20, 2022 Author Report Share Posted July 20, 2022 38 minutes ago, Richard Chown said: Sorry to hear this Pitty. Fond memories of the Carharrack, West Cornwall and Holmans battle in Trelawny Premier. Let’s be honest that is what Combo over the last couple of years has become. From personal experience I know what the committee must have gone through before making that very tough decision. You do everything you can to have the club play at the highest level. But all is not lost, Holmans is still alive and hopefully everyone can get behind the team and move forward once again. I would say best of luck, but I think we are playing you this season but look forward to visiting the new changing rooms. 😀 Let’s hope they are done before you visit Rich (but don’t hold your breath😂) Agree the important point is we do have a viable team to carry on which is the main thing just not where we wanted to be Bill Old timer Davies and RAPPO 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Marks Posted July 20, 2022 Report Share Posted July 20, 2022 Shame to see this it really is . 2015 Supp Cup Winners last trophy won Hopefully the club won’t forget there is a football team still there . Mike Pascoe 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pitty Posted July 21, 2022 Author Report Share Posted July 21, 2022 8 hours ago, MARKSY said: Shame to see this it really is . 2015 Supp Cup Winners last trophy won Hopefully the club won’t forget there is a football team still there . ………Literally 2 games away from winning the T-Prem in 2020 😩😡🦠🦠🦠🦠 Dave Marks 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Marks Posted July 21, 2022 Report Share Posted July 21, 2022 23 minutes ago, Pitty said: ………Literally 2 games away from winning the T-Prem in 2020 😩😡🦠🦠🦠🦠 Covid bloody covid 🙈 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
supportcornishfootball Posted July 21, 2022 Report Share Posted July 21, 2022 sorry to see this, really hope you can bounce back - it seems to be happening more and more Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fenman Posted July 21, 2022 Report Share Posted July 21, 2022 Unpopular view , your having a laugh and Le boss , but perfectly true . Many , not all , youth teams are run by a parent whose only interest is his or her child . When the child reaches 16 or so the parent folds the club . Often the child has had enough of football so finds other interests . Another problem , and I speak from my own experience and others better qualified in coaching , is that many of the parent cosseted players become prima donnas and refuse to listen to advice and play for themselves rather than the team . Also you end up in a position where you have to dance to their tune as regards when they will play .ie. " I'm off to a stag party tomorrow , What ? a top of the league clash ,( or cup semi final ) and your'e a bit short of players , ah well " . The other one is near seasons end when the team have nothing to play for suddenly the team isn't important and games have to be conceded . One only has to look on the Full Time site almost anywhere in the country to see AW or HW in the results All this is dispiriting and frustrating and tests the patience of managers and committees who wonder what on earth made them volunteers . Scorching hot up here Older , still very few swallows . Dave Deacon, RAPPO and potch 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Deacon Posted July 21, 2022 Report Share Posted July 21, 2022 Just done a very quick comparison between the number of Cornish Saturday league teams in 2009-10 compared to this coming new season of 2022-23 and I reckon we're about 59 less! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RAPPO Posted July 21, 2022 Report Share Posted July 21, 2022 That’s a pretty shocking stat Deacs!! About 5 Cornish clubs a season falling by the wayside!! 😲😤 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
supportcornishfootball Posted July 21, 2022 Report Share Posted July 21, 2022 Really shocking stat! And a shame for Cornish Football - you sign for a season and a drop of in commitment when out of running to win things just isn't on. I feel a lot of youngsters these days are sadly not coachable, or to rephrase are not 'open' to being coached. Is the drive to improve there personally or is it just a paycheck with the knowledge they can continue to do the rounds to a different club each season. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
le boss Posted July 21, 2022 Report Share Posted July 21, 2022 38 minutes ago, Dave Deacon said: Just done a very quick comparison between the number of Cornish Saturday league teams in 2009-10 compared to this coming new season of 2022-23 and I reckon we're about 59 less! Be interesting to know how many new teams have joined the leagues in the same period. 22 minutes ago, supportcornishfootball said: Really shocking stat! And a shame for Cornish Football - you sign for a season and a drop of in commitment when out of running to win things just isn't on. I feel a lot of youngsters these days are sadly not coachable, or to rephrase are not 'open' to being coached. Is the drive to improve there personally or is it just a paycheck with the knowledge they can continue to do the rounds to a different club each season. Too many managers are like pied pipers both in adult and youth football and then you throw “I want to play with my mates” into the mix and great club set ups are left high and dry. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fenman Posted July 21, 2022 Report Share Posted July 21, 2022 Similar depressing story up here Dave , at least 45 less teams on Saturdays . I say at least because at 3 or more leagues have gone in that time so they arn't on Full Time so can't be counted . Remnants of those leagues have been absorbed into other leagues but I would think that we've lost 60 + teams in that time . The Sunday situation is even worse , we now have only one Sunday league in the entire county plus we've also lost the 3 midweek leagues .To be fair , to offset those Saturday team loss's there are a number of teams playing on 3G pitches in the evenings , but nowhere enough to compensate the Saturday losses . It's a bit sad , or even an eye opener , to drive through 6 villages within 3 miles of me and see decaying goalposts and remembering how good the teams that played on those pitches 15 or so years ago were . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheolderIgetthebetterIwas Posted July 21, 2022 Report Share Posted July 21, 2022 They have their footballing career now between 5 and 16 with the youth football setups. Reach 16 and looking too do other things that we never had to choose from, probably more of todays youngsters play their football on a game machine and watch real football on the TV. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ian Pethick Posted July 21, 2022 Report Share Posted July 21, 2022 1 hour ago, Dave Deacon said: Just done a very quick comparison between the number of Cornish Saturday league teams in 2009-10 compared to this coming new season of 2022-23 and I reckon we're about 59 less! Aside from the obvious one (player availability) would be interesting to see how the sheer cost of running even a park, junior or Sunday morning team has contributed to this. There used to be a time when a junior club, playing on a local authority pitch, could exist on subs from players and a bit of local sponsorship (from a pub for example in return for both teams going back there after a game). Now, when you add up the cost of pitch rents, couple of kits, cleaning the kit, equipment, match balls, insurance, affiliation fees etc, etc, then I suspect that it is not possible without money from several sources. Would love to hear from the treasurer of a Trelawney team (for example) about what it costs for a team at that level to start the season and play every week. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martin Eddy Posted July 21, 2022 Report Share Posted July 21, 2022 Also a problem is if as a club you are struggling on the pitch, how do you attract new players. Our club has struggled for a few years and I think I’m right in saying have only not fulfilled 1 maybe 2 games but it has meant a lot of hard work and heartache behind the scenes. One of the biggest problems I feel is the big lack of volunteers coming forward to help out off the pitch. Players today want so much for nothing, as someone mentioned subs covering everything, 2 years ago our rent was £1400 for 2 teams and we try and raise funds so as not to charge subs. Don’t forget because it’s being rented the chance of grants are very rare. These clubs are therefore stuck with a dilemma 1. If they do get promotion from a junior league can they take it because of facilities. 2.would those players stay around if you don’t. We as a club have been very fortunate that we have been able to work with the council and are hopefully able to progress but that has taken a lot of hard work and years of negotiations. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard Chown Posted July 21, 2022 Report Share Posted July 21, 2022 3 hours ago, Dave Deacon said: Just done a very quick comparison between the number of Cornish Saturday league teams in 2009-10 compared to this coming new season of 2022-23 and I reckon we're about 59 less! 59 less, minimum 11 players a side is 649 adult players either gone to other clubs or not playing anymore. Well at least not in Saturday football leagues. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BAGMAN Posted July 21, 2022 Report Share Posted July 21, 2022 As le boss mentioned, be interesting to see how many 'new' teams there are in the League since 09/10 alongside Clubs that are now putting out Third and even Fourth teams? Someone must have the stats? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pitty Posted July 21, 2022 Author Report Share Posted July 21, 2022 11 hours ago, Way Of The Park said: Aside from the obvious one (player availability) would be interesting to see how the sheer cost of running even a park, junior or Sunday morning team has contributed to this. There used to be a time when a junior club, playing on a local authority pitch, could exist on subs from players and a bit of local sponsorship (from a pub for example in return for both teams going back there after a game). Now, when you add up the cost of pitch rents, couple of kits, cleaning the kit, equipment, match balls, insurance, affiliation fees etc, etc, then I suspect that it is not possible without money from several sources. Would love to hear from the treasurer of a Trelawney team (for example) about what it costs for a team at that level to start the season and play every week. This was for two teams but ball park figure just to put a team on the pitch was as follows Pre-Season £150 Insurance (Very Basic Cover) £250 CCFA Affiliation (2x County Cups Entry) £100 Combo League entry £50 Trelawny League entry Additionals £200 Training Balls £70 2x New First Aid Kits £700 New Kit (Sponsored) During Season Ref Fee £25 (Trelawny) Ref Fee £32 (Combo) Player Bookings £12 (Caution) £40+ (Dismissal)…….Then chase player for cash we don’t have to play for the ground at Blaythorne but add a hefty £25 to £70 for hire of a ground for a lot of teams Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard Chown Posted July 22, 2022 Report Share Posted July 22, 2022 Players in Cornwall are very fortunate that many clubs have their own grounds. In inner cities where most teams hire pitches players have to pay £8+ subscriptions a game to break even. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
winston Posted July 22, 2022 Report Share Posted July 22, 2022 Too many new teams and no loyalty ☹️ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ian Pethick Posted July 22, 2022 Report Share Posted July 22, 2022 10 hours ago, Pitty said: This was for two teams but ball park figure just to put a team on the pitch was as follows Pre-Season £150 Insurance (Very Basic Cover) £250 CCFA Affiliation (2x County Cups Entry) £100 Combo League entry £50 Trelawny League entry Additionals £200 Training Balls £70 2x New First Aid Kits £700 New Kit (Sponsored) During Season Ref Fee £25 (Trelawny) Ref Fee £32 (Combo) Player Bookings £12 (Caution) £40+ (Dismissal)…….Then chase player for cash we don’t have to play for the ground at Blaythorne but add a hefty £25 to £70 for hire of a ground for a lot of teams Thanks for that. So it's basically £1500 before you've even played a match. Wow. 1 hour ago, Richard Chown said: Players in Cornwall are very fortunate that many clubs have their own grounds. In inner cities where most teams hire pitches players have to pay £8+ subscriptions a game to break even. Having your own ground brings more expense though. You are then liable for all pitch maintenance and improvements as well as keeping going and maintaining the changing facilities. No idea what the charges are for hiring local authority pitches in Plymouth for example, but the playing surfaces and changing facilities are, for the most part, dreadful. I know that my local authority in London, Hackney Council, currently charges a hefty £112 for three hours on a Saturday/Sunday. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Bartlam Posted July 22, 2022 Report Share Posted July 22, 2022 21 hours ago, BAGMAN said: As le boss mentioned, be interesting to see how many 'new' teams there are in the League since 09/10 alongside Clubs that are now putting out Third and even Fourth teams? Someone must have the stats? I've done this research and posted on here previously. I'll dig it out again when I get time BAGMAN 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Bartlam Posted July 23, 2022 Report Share Posted July 23, 2022 @BAGMANhere are just two of the charts that @Steve Carpentercreated and I've added to. I don't have the data post 18/19 I'm afraid so can't populate to the current day. I also did a big chart showing teams in each division by year. I'll try and find that too BAGMAN 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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