Success in Cornish football

[Postman Pat]

How do you define success in Cornish football now. This is not a dig at any club being mentioned but times have changed when clubs dominate for years in one league as used to happen. Now right or wrong a side must take promotion.

For me it is great we have 6 teams in the Western League but! are clubs being pushed up the leagues at all cost and will it be sustainable in the future.

[Dave Deacon]

1 hour ago, Postman Pat said:

will it be sustainable in the future

Give it a couple seasons and it could well be that exhausted of clubs that are capable of taking promotion!

[baldy]

Something that rarely seems to be mentioned is that these teams can get relegated after achieving promotion. It’s not a one-way journey.

[Dave Deacon]

54 minutes ago, baldy said:

Something that rarely seems to be mentioned is that these teams can get relegated after achieving promotion. It’s not a one-way journey.

That is so but the question still has to be will clubs be prepared to go up if it involves increased travelling costs and possibly required ground improvements?

[St Darren]

Clubs are more likely to fold then get relegated. Or soon after 

[baldy]

30 minutes ago, Dave Deacon said:

That is so but the question still has to be will clubs be prepared to go up if it involves increased travelling costs and possibly required ground improvements?

Well they haven’t in the past and with the ridiculous ground grading at higher levels I can see a lot of matches “thrown” towards the season’s end. Take promotion or be relegated may need considering in the early months of the year. A little less stupid than the current offside law!

[Dave Deacon]

9 minutes ago, baldy said:

Well they haven’t in the past

But eventually, and probably sooner than we hope, we will run out of those clubs that we've had over the past couple seasons who were keen to at least attempt Step 5 football. Whether all of them are in a position to still go higher maybe another question?

[baldy]

7 minutes ago, Dave Deacon said:

But eventually, and probably sooner than we hope, we will run out of those clubs that we've had over the past couple seasons who were keen to at least attempt Step 5 football. Whether all of them are in a position to still go higher maybe another question?

The SWPL has been going since 2007. What has happened over “the past couple of seasons”? Apart from 2 seasons scrapped due to COVID and an imminent recession (maybe)? I think we all know the money will not be available to clubs in Cornwall to make that progress. 

[Keith B]

Well this has turned out to be a real doom and gloom thread - not sure Postman Pat will be too chuffed with it. As long as young lads (and not so young ☺️) have the desire to play our great game, soccer will continue in some form or other and still be enjoyed by players and spectators alike.

[Postman Pat]

2 hours ago, Keith B said:

Well this has turned out to be a real doom and gloom thread - not sure Postman Pat will be too chuffed with it. As long as young lads (and not so young ☺️) have the desire to play our great game, soccer will continue in some form or other and still be enjoyed by players and spectators alike.

Yes and no Keith I do worry about the future of our game. People in general are not keen to get involved in any organisation without incentives. The ones that do are few and far between and are invariably worked to death.

That said there are exceptions with Wendron being the stand out club. They have built steadily over the years and are now reaping rewards for all their hard work and also being a shining light for local football. I have great hopes for my club Redruth United they are building steadily behind the scenes even though it does not show so much on the pitch. The main thing is there is a young committee who have and are working hard behind the scenes.

End of the day if I had my time again I would not have changed a thing, football has always been in my blood.

 

[Keith B]

7 hours ago, Postman Pat said:

Yes and no Keith I do worry about the future of our game. People in general are not keen to get involved in any organisation without incentives. The ones that do are few and far between and are invariably worked to death.

That said there are exceptions with Wendron being the stand out club. They have built steadily over the years and are now reaping rewards for all their hard work and also being a shining light for local football. I have great hopes for my club Redruth United they are building steadily behind the scenes even though it does not show so much on the pitch. The main thing is there is a young committee who have and are working hard behind the scenes.

End of the day if I had my time again I would not have changed a thing, football has always been in my blood.

 

A good and interesting post Pat. Agree completely regarding Wendron, a great club setting a great example to all others, nice people too. Interesting point you make about people not wanting to get involved in anything without incentives - it worryingly suggests that the desire to play football isn't incentive enough these days. 

 

[St Darren]

2 hours ago, Keith B said:

A good and interesting post Pat. Agree completely regarding Wendron, a great club setting a great example to all others, nice people too. Interesting point you make about people not wanting to get involved in anything without incentives - it worryingly suggests that the desire to play football isn't incentive enough these days. 

 

Wendron are a great example of a well run club from top to bottom.  It also helps that they've got pitches on site so everyone uses the clubhouse and feels part of the club. 

Sustainable at this level, but what happens if they go up and the travel increases, will they need to make payments to players? 

[Box 2 Box]

Do the FA not check to see if a club is financially sustainable before granting promotion? Surely without the necessary stress tests the FA is setting some clubs up to fail!

 

[Dave Deacon]

15 hours ago, baldy said:

The SWPL has been going since 2007. What has happened over “the past couple of seasons”? Apart from 2 seasons scrapped due to COVID and an imminent recession (maybe)? I think we all know the money will not be available to clubs in Cornwall to make that progress. 

The fact that 4 clubs went up all together speeded up the process

[John Mead]

The other question which needs consideration is; Is the player pool in Cornwall large enough to sustain more and more Clubs at Step 5? We're surrounded by water on 3 sides, so have to recruit mostly from within our own borders.

[Keith B]

10 hours ago, St Darren said:

Wendron are a great example of a well run club from top to bottom.  It also helps that they've got pitches on site so everyone uses the clubhouse and feels part of the club. 

Sustainable at this level, but what happens if they go up and the travel increases, will they need to make payments to players? 

If they haven't already got a team bus they could consider one for away games.

[St Darren]

9 minutes ago, Keith B said:

If they haven't already got a team bus they could consider one for away games.

It's time as well though isn't it? If you're self employed you can lose out on nearly £100.  Away to Bristol somewhere is a 10 hour day out 

[The Town Man]

1 hour ago, St Darren said:

It's time as well though isn't it? If you're self employed you can lose out on nearly £100.  Away to Bristol somewhere is a 10 hour day out 

No problem for Wendron next season though as mostly Devon and Cornwall teams at step 5. Just like the old SWPL Prem of a few seasons ago but a step higher. Should be sustainable for the clubs in the frame to be going up.

Win/win for everyone in comparison to SWPL as greater opportunities for Grant aid at the higher level.

[Keith B]

10 hours ago, St Darren said:

It's time as well though isn't it? If you're self employed you can lose out on nearly £100.  Away to Bristol somewhere is a 10 hour day out 

Correct Darren. That's something all teams have to factor in when thinking of joining any league.

[Foul Throw 3]

Some good posts above but there's plenty of other stories in the county below Step 5. They've been getting pelters on here lately but Bude are doing well. One of the incomplete Covid seasons they were flying in the St Piran League and didn't end up getting promoted. Took one step back in the next season or so but then promoted last season finishing 5th which caused a little debate in itself. But now in mid Jan they're high in the SWL and in what looks like a 6 club battle for the top 4 slots to the WL. 

Newquay as well have lost some top players in recent years to Mousehole, Falmouth, etc but yet they find themselves in the promotion race too. 

Dobwalls had their fire drama which would've been a huge blow, yet it seems they've rallied on/off the pitch and probably punching above their weight, currently in 7th and you'd put them as "best of the rest".

Some teams near the bottom are struggling on the pitch, yet some will have been close to folding due to small squads, better players leaving and so on. Surely to some "success" could be seen as purely surviving. All context!

Down another level and look at a very young Truro Res side doing well. Caused debate when they "entered" the league without starting at the bottom but they've more than held their own so far. Same league and Redruth had their break in and club damage, yet as mentioned above are still fighting on. 

In the ECPL you have the phoenix Nanpean who restarted as a club, won the league and Junior Cup and are now in no danger this season. St Stephen were also in danger of folding after not long ago having two teams. In no danger of folding now and results have been improving steadily.

It depends how you define "success." It will differ from club to club. I could add more examples to the above but I have to do some work today! 🤣

[Way Of The Park]

2 hours ago, Foul Throw 3 said:

Some good posts above but there's plenty of other stories in the county below Step 5. They've been getting pelters on here lately but Bude are doing well. One of the incomplete Covid seasons they were flying in the St Piran League and didn't end up getting promoted. Took one step back in the next season or so but then promoted last season finishing 5th which caused a little debate in itself. But now in mid Jan they're high in the SWL and in what looks like a 6 club battle for the top 4 slots to the WL. 

Newquay as well have lost some top players in recent years to Mousehole, Falmouth, etc but yet they find themselves in the promotion race too. 

Dobwalls had their fire drama which would've been a huge blow, yet it seems they've rallied on/off the pitch and probably punching above their weight, currently in 7th and you'd put them as "best of the rest".

Some teams near the bottom are struggling on the pitch, yet some will have been close to folding due to small squads, better players leaving and so on. Surely to some "success" could be seen as purely surviving. All context!

Down another level and look at a very young Truro Res side doing well. Caused debate when they "entered" the league without starting at the bottom but they've more than held their own so far. Same league and Redruth had their break in and club damage, yet as mentioned above are still fighting on. 

In the ECPL you have the phoenix Nanpean who restarted as a club, won the league and Junior Cup and are now in no danger this season. St Stephen were also in danger of folding after not long ago having two teams. In no danger of folding now and results have been improving steadily.

It depends how you define "success." It will differ from club to club. I could add more examples to the above but I have to do some work today! 🤣

Good post. One measure of success is getting multiple sides out on the weekend (both men and women). Wendron is the one that obviously springs to mind, there are others though. 

Also think it can be measured by how many active committee members and volunteers they have. Mousehole look to have an army of well organised and dedicated people behind the scenes.

[TheOpinionoftheReferee]

19 hours ago, John Mead said:

The other question which needs consideration is; Is the player pool in Cornwall large enough to sustain more and more Clubs at Step 5? We're surrounded by water on 3 sides, so have to recruit mostly from within our own borders.

That's a very complex question in itself. 

Its not just about the player pool but the coaching and support available to unlock the players in the pool's potential.