Parkway v Teignmouth. Game Off

[Ian Pethick]

Tonight's St Luke's Cup game v Teignmouth is off for the third time ,not surprisingly given the weather in Plymouth today.

Assuming the game will be rescheduled for next Tuesday evening (22nd November), which would mean the home game v Dorchester will be postponed.

Regardless of people's thoughts on the St Luke's (waste of time and a nuisance competition in my view), it's another league game gone and will leave Parkway 4 or 5 games behind other teams (away to Oxford City in the FA Trophy this Saturday) . Going into the worst weather period of the winter, and with two teams to accommodate on Bolitho, I hope that fixture congestion doesn't start to become a factor again.

[Rob1978]

I’m not against the St Luke’s, but constantly prioritising it over league games seems odd. Parkway should play Dorchester next week, switch the tie, and send the u18 team to Teignmouth. 

[motherwontletmegoargyle]

Do Teignmouth have lights? Perhaps use Coach Road.

[Ian Pethick]

16 hours ago, Rob1978 said:

I’m not against the St Luke’s, but constantly prioritising it over league games seems odd. Parkway should play Dorchester next week, switch the tie, and send the u18 team to Teignmouth. 

The competition and format does need looking at. One thought that I had was to move it to a regionally based, pre season tournament, possibly featuring under 21 players only. Round robins followed by knockout rounds and the final on the ground of the club with the rest record in the group stage. Could replace some of the endless meaningless and forgettable friendlies played in July and early August nowadays.  The League and Southern League clubs do regard it as a nuisance and inconvenience (somebody I have spoken to, and is connected to one of these clubs, called it the "tin pot cup."). It certainly has nothing like the prestige and history of the Cornwall Senior Cup.

As a further clue regarding its status, the Devon FA website (in the St Lukes section) carries no information regarding fixtures and results for the 2022/23 version.

[sportsman10]

The weather will be a real issue now going forward. Heavy rain forcast In and out for rest of the week.  The pitch is actually looking pretty good.
I do think Parkway learnt from last season after  destroying the pitch trying desperately to get games on , but I do believe the grass was cut a little too short for 2 teams somthing that been addressed this season.   .  And with the bumper crowd expected for Boxing Day I don’t think they want be putting the pitch out for months at minute. . 
The saint Luke’s cup is something of an inconvenience now and I’m sure if parkway had a reserve team they be filling the team with them to play in it 

[Home Waters]

Devon FA have the ability to move the game to the 'away' teams ground. This usually occurs after two failed attempts at the home ground. As Teignmouth don't have lights and it is a midweek competition, that choice is out.  I suppose the question is, to Devon FA, how does a team enter a midweek competition in the winter, without floodlights. 

[Ian Pethick]

48 minutes ago, Home Waters said:

Devon FA have the ability to move the game to the 'away' teams ground. This usually occurs after two failed attempts at the home ground. As Teignmouth don't have lights and it is a midweek competition, that choice is out.  I suppose the question is, to Devon FA, how does a team enter a midweek competition in the winter, without floodlights. 

Issue both teams with carrots, and hope their eyes adjust eventually?  Another example of a general lack of interest around the whole competition (including from the Devon FA). Did notice that Mullion were playing in the Cornwall Senior Cup with no lights (switched their recent home tie to Porthleven's ground). Don't know if a similar arrangement could be made for the St Luke's, but switching it to Coach Road (floodlit and 3G pitch) would solve the problem.

[Rob1978]

6 hours ago, Way Of The Park said:

The competition and format does need looking at. One thought that I had was to move it to a regionally based, pre season tournament, possibly featuring under 21 players only. Round robins followed by knockout rounds and the final on the ground of the club with the rest record in the group stage. Could replace some of the endless meaningless and forgettable friendlies played in July and early August nowadays.  The League and Southern League clubs do regard it as a nuisance and inconvenience (somebody I have spoken to, and is connected to one of these clubs, called it the "tin pot cup."). It certainly has nothing like the prestige and history of the Cornwall Senior Cup.

As a further clue regarding its status, the Devon FA website (in the St Lukes section) carries no information regarding fixtures and results for the 2022/23 version.

Your spot on with regards to Devon fa. They do nothing to promote the competition. I’ve looked all over the net to find a list of previous winners and couldn’t find anything. Making the earlier rounds part of preseason would make a lot sense. Can’t Parkway just choose withdraw? Other teams have in the past, or play the u18’s.

 

 

 

 

[Buckland Jim]

7 hours ago, Home Waters said:

Devon FA have the ability to move the game to the 'away' teams ground. This usually occurs after two failed attempts at the home ground. As Teignmouth don't have lights and it is a midweek competition, that choice is out.  I suppose the question is, to Devon FA, how does a team enter a midweek competition in the winter, without floodlights. 

This season it seems  it is switched after one attempt to play. Buckland were supposed to travel to Barnstaple last week but it got pp'd. Tie was then switched to ours for last night, but was off again. Assume the 3rd attempt is back at Mill Road. 

[Toroloco13]

19 hours ago, Rob1978 said:

Your spot on with regards to Devon fa. They do nothing to promote the competition. I’ve looked all over the net to find a list of previous winners and couldn’t find anything. Making the earlier rounds part of preseason would make a lot sense. Can’t Parkway just choose withdraw? Other teams have in the past, or play the u18’s.

 

 

 

 

Link to the page on Devon FA website telling you last year's winners, link to watch the final/read the match report and results/fixtures etc 

https://www.devonfa.com/cups-and-competitions/cups/2022-2023/bayside-graphics-devon-st-lukes-bowl

[Both Sides of the Tamar]

On 16/11/2022 at 08:58, Way Of The Park said:

The competition and format does need looking at. One thought that I had was to move it to a regionally based, pre season tournament, possibly featuring under 21 players only. Round robins followed by knockout rounds and the final on the ground of the club with the rest record in the group stage. Could replace some of the endless meaningless and forgettable friendlies played in July and early August nowadays.  The League and Southern League clubs do regard it as a nuisance and inconvenience (somebody I have spoken to, and is connected to one of these clubs, called it the "tin pot cup."). It certainly has nothing like the prestige and history of the Cornwall Senior Cup.

As a further clue regarding its status, the Devon FA website (in the St Lukes section) carries no information regarding fixtures and results for the 2022/23 version.

Having lived both sides of the Tamar I concur with you WOTP. The Devon Bowl is a nuisance on the fixture list for all clubs. It has nothing like the intensity, prestige or support that the Cornwall Senior Cup has. Time to limit it to Step 6 and 7 clubs, plus perhaps the pro clubs youth / development sides. Only thing more pointless is the Papa Johns nonsense for L1 and L2 clubs.

[Easterfield]

1 hour ago, Both Sides of the Tamar said:

Having lived both sides of the Tamar I concur with you WOTP. The Devon Bowl is a nuisance on the fixture list for all clubs. It has nothing like the intensity, prestige or support that the Cornwall Senior Cup has. Time to limit it to Step 6 and 7 clubs, plus perhaps the pro clubs youth / development sides. Only think more pointless is the Papa Johns nonsense for L1 and L2 clubs.

Up-and-down the country, county cup competitions are a mixed bag. The Cornwall Senior Cup would be near the top end in terms of prestige and meaningfulness. Likewise ‘county football’ in general - representative teams included - is of greater significance in Cornwall than in most other counties. 

The presence of professional clubs often makes a difference. Back in the 1960s I remember Exeter City, Plymouth Argyle and Torquay playing-off for the Devon Professional Bowl. I’d say most teams fielded included five or six regular first teamers plus the rest of the first-team squad. Young fans may have thought the games important - I certainly did - but the ‘old hands’ were less-impressed. Crowds were possibly half of what may have been expected for a league or cup game. Looking back, that was pretty impressive.

But the Bowl slowly died. There were some seasons when it wasn’t contested. Interestingly, given the suggestion above, it was played as a pre-season triangular during the early 1990s.     

The first change was to invite Tiverton Town once they joined the Southern League. Then the decision was made to merge the Bowl with the St Luke’s Cup which was purely for Western League clubs. The name ‘St Luke’s’ needed to be maintained because the trophy had been presented when St Luke’s College was taken over by Exeter University.

Next, given the new Peninsula League had the status of the Western First, the decision was made in 2007 to run the competition for all county clubs at Step 6 and above. That’s probably when it started to become unwieldy, something that was further exacerbated with further league restructuring three years ago. We’re now up to there being five rounds including the final. Torquay United routinely pull out, Argyle sometimes too. It may suit the larger of the rest some years but not each and every. 

Maybe a solution would be to switch Step 6 clubs to the Devon Premier Cup which would cut the number of entries by around a half. That would be contested with the Devon League teams; the clubs from the top section of the district leagues dropping down to the Devon Senior Cup (which, despite its grand name, is the county’s third tier competition).

That’s simple enough for an observer to suggest. People within the game may feel rather differently. It wouldn’t make every team treat every competition as a priority but it might remove some of the debris of uncontested fixtures and last minute withdrawals when arrangemebnts have been made.             

[Ian Pethick]

Teignmouth reporting on their Twitter that Parkway have withdrawn from the St Lukes Bowl, and given them a walk over to the next round. Probably the right thing with the Parkway fixtures starting to pile up, speaking to people in Plymouth, Saturday's game at Bolitho against Met Police must be doubtful.

Hopefully, somebody at Devon FA towers is giving some thought as to how to revise this competition and make it relevant again.

 

[sportsman10]

Sensible decision really. Was talk a few weeks ago if withdrawing from that cup.  The games will start to pile up again at bolitho. 

[Rob1978]

Why couldn’t Parkway have played their u18 team? This what the big 3 professional clubs always do

[Footy follower]

Just now, Rob1978 said:

Why couldn’t Parkway have played their u18 team? This what the big 3 professional clubs always do

Because the problem is the pitch.. Not having a team

[Rob1978]

1 hour ago, Footy follower said:

Because the problem is the pitch.. Not having a team

They could have switched the tie or played on the all weather pitch at Manadon. 

[sportsman10]

3 minutes ago, Rob1978 said:

They could have switched the tie or played on the all weather pitch at Manadon. 

Manadon not set up to host that.  

[Home Waters]

According to Devon FA web site, Parkway have withdrawn from competition now and Teignmouth have walk over.  Couldnt switch pitch anyway as it's an evening competition and Teignmouth don't have lights.

[Ian Pethick]

47 minutes ago, Home Waters said:

According to Devon FA web site, Parkway have withdrawn from competition now and Teignmouth have walk over.  Couldnt switch pitch anyway as it's an evening competition and Teignmouth don't have lights.

Nothing official from Parkway on their various media channels. 

[Buckland Jim]

1 hour ago, Way Of The Park said:

Nothing official from Parkway on their various media channels. 

The only place I saw it was on the SWPL Twitter 

[sportsman10]

5 hours ago, Way Of The Park said:

Nothing official from Parkway on their various media channels. 

Probably an indication of how little of importance it is to club. 

[JonColenzo]

Parkway have made the right decision really. The games will start to pile up again at Bolitho and at the moment the pitch his holding up ok, they won’t want to risk falling behind in the league and neither will Truro.