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Will there be promotion this coming season?


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I notice in the Cornishman that St Ives Town have applied for planning permission for new changing rooms at their ground at the Saltings. Good luck to them and I hope it passes.

Here's a thought, who could possibly get promoted at the SWPL at the end of the forthcoming season 08/09.

Think of the teams in the combo that can't be promoted at the end of the season - Newquay, Falmouth, Penzance, Porthleven, Hayle, Wendron and Penryn.

This leaves 13 teams that could possibly be in the top 2 league places and apply for promotion- Holman, St Ives, St Just, Mullion, Ludgvan, Portreath, St Agnes, St Day, Helston, Culdrose, Illogan, Perranporth and Perranwell.

Of these 3 teams used to be in the SWL - Mullion, Illogan and Helston.

I wonder how many of these 13 teams would have the facilities/infrastucture to fil the criteria to gain promotion. Helston were refused last season.

Would Holman get in with their lack of facilities, Perranwell with their slope, St Day with their small ground, etc?

Who do you think is up to scratch?

It limits the choice of the SWPL if you think about it? Could be years before anyone finished top of the combo and could be promoted.

Thoughts anyone.

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It's all a question of whether a club wants to progress or not and planning forward from as early in the current season as possible.

If any club wants to know what they have to do to stand a chance of being accepted (facilities wise), I'm sure the secretary of the SWPL (Phil Hiscox) would be more than happy to give you some advice.

If you take Godolphin as an example, no offence to them, but I'm sure not many would have expected the club to have gained promotion last season. But they found out what was necessary and obviously worked hard to satisfy the league that they can do it.

I guess a lot of it is all about ambition and commitment to compete at as high a level as possible.

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An interesting topic CTB

I agree our facilities at Holmans require some updating mainly in the shower department but not as much work would need to be done as some other clubs in the division.

However I think one thing that has not been mentioned is the extra finance required to be promoted, and i'm not talking the paying of players (which in my personal opinion I think is appearing to be a bit of a disease in the JCCL at the mo) but the extra travelling costs and commitment required from the players as the games are further away.

The big question clubs need to ask themselves is

1. Do we want promotion? (yes! in most cases i'm sure)

2.Is the promotion going to have any detriment to the club if financial resourses are limited?

3. If we take promotion are we going to find ourselves in a boomerang situation the following season facing relegation and unsuccessful sides will find players looking elsewhere?

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Guest Gloworm

I notice in the Cornishman that St Ives Town have applied for planning permission for new changing rooms at their ground at the Saltings. Good luck to them and I hope it passes.

I'll echo that. When I went to St Ives in April, I wasn't fascinated by the quality of their ground, because there was, well, nothing there!

I've always thought that Helston have looked a bit out-of-touch in the Combination league. As a town, it is easy big enough to claim it deserves SWPL football, and their facilities appeared (I didn't check, I just looked from outside) to be up to standard.

However, I know little about the issue and I'm certain there is some massive problem I am unaware of.

P.S, What is the highest level a reserve team can get to? Apparently Truro reserves ran away with the title this year!

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I think [and I am sure I will be corrected if wrong] that the highest Truro Reserves can go is the SWPL Premier - they can't go on to Western league as a decision was made some years ago that No Reserve Teams would be permitted to enter.

My tip [and hope] for promotion in the forthcoming season is Perranporth,

I might even get out there to watch a couple of matches.

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Reserve teams in the National Pyrimid are very few- ie. Histon reserves and Kings Lynn reserves both at level 5 in the Eastern Counties Premier.

Bedford Town reserves in the Spartan South Midlands Div1 -level 6

This season Banbury United reserves and Cheshunt reserves have left the pyrimid (from level 6 Hellenic and South Midlands respectively)

Banbury joining an all reserve team league.

This now leaves only 3 reserve teams at level 5/6 with a sprinkling of teams at the Truro City level 7

Truro City reserves at level 7 in the SWPL(W) could get to the SWPL Premier only if their first team promote to the Southern League Premier but that could be the end as the Western League rules out reserve clubs.

In the Dorset League level 7 -Bridport have a reserve team but their fist team are in the Western League Div.1 which is level 6 -so where does the FA ruling come in to say you must be three leagues apart.

I think in time reserve teams will not be part of the Pyrimid as it does not seem to be encouraged and I was more than surprised to see Truro step into the SWPL.

Perhaps Phil H could give us a F A consensus regarding reserve teams in the Pyrimid!

I would like to see Helston Athletic push for promotion to the SWPL and return to the level of former seasons- A town club, they cannot be too far away from meeting the ground criteria.

Or being selfish, a former SWL side Illogan RBL (a near club to me) making a challenge.

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Guest Phil H

Indeed Reserve teams are not encouraged in the pyramid by the FA, they run with several "exceptions" though and these are generally 1 of 3 :

1) Clubs were already in the system when the issues were discussed and new guidance is not retrospective - eg why there are a couple of clubs at Step 5 in the country.

2) At Step 7 the 2 clear steps gap has been allowed to be ignored particularly where the Step 7 league has struggled to get at least 16 first teams to form a league.

3) Where the senior club can demonstrate that for circumstances beyond its control (eg geographics) that placement of a reserves in the pyramid is necessary. This was the argument used by Plymouth Argyle and accepted by the FA until the Pilgrims had a change of management (whatever happened to that Holloway guy ?)

Interesting that Histon and Kings Lynn are the highest Reserve teams in the pyramid - they fall into both 1 and 3 !

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Is this the case for the female game as well Phil. I take Plymouth Argyle and now Truro Reserves as an example, who are clearly far better than the teams in their league but have to see far inferior clubs and players go up to the next league above.

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