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Gravesend Football League |
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For the love of Football |
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News Letter March 2008 |
NEWSLETTER – MARCH 2008
WELCOME
We are pleased to welcome you to the fifth Newsletter of the 2007/08 season.
For the benefit of new readers, the Newsletter is issued bi-monthly and is intended to complement the League’s Minute Circulars and keep clubs informed of developments that cannot be covered in depth in the Minute Circulars and, hopefully, also be of interest to referees on the League’s List.
INTER-LEAGUE REPRESENTATIVE MATCHES
The first of two Inter-League representative matches against the Sevenoaks & District Football League will be played on Wednesday 26th March 2008 at Sevenoaks Town F.C., Greatness Park, Mill Lane, Sevenoaks, with a 7.30 p.m. kick-off.
The following squad has been selected to represent the League: B. Davis, S. Webster, R. King and R. Orpwood (Lullingstone Castle), T. Swann and R. Clerkson (Craggs Farm), N. Rowley, J. Daly and D. Evans (The Old Prince of Orange), P. Finan, D. Goodwin, D. Hewett, B. Simpson, A. Brown and S. Goodwin (Viewpoint).
A junior game (i.e. excluding players from Premier Division teams) will be played on Wednesday 7th May 2008 at the Corinthian Sports Club, Gay Dawn Farm, Pennis Lane, Fawkham with a 7.30 p.m. kick-off.
The squad for this match has still to be selected and nominations for players to represent the League should be sent to Peter Danzey.
The admission price for both matches will be £2.00 (£1.00 for concessions) and it is hoped that we will have as much support as possible from the League’s clubs.
REFEREE – UPDATE
We are pleased to advise that all matches have been covered by appointed referees since the January Newsletter. The overall coverage rate of matches by appointed referees so far this season is now 99.7% (compared to 98.3% at the same stage last season).
We are also pleased to advise that it has been possible to appoint Assistant Referees to a number of recent cup semi-final ties.
REFEREE PROMOTIONS
The League is pleased to offer their congratulations to the following referees who have been promoted by the Kent County Football Association:
· Class 6 to 5 – Gary Kennard · Class 7 to 6 – Lee Dyson · Class 7 to 6 – Ian Mitchell Class 7 to 6 – Mark Scott
PRESIDENT’S CUP – UPDATE
As reported in the January Newsletter, the President’s Cup was initially played on a League principle in three groups and the final tables were as follows:
[TABLES OMITTED – SEE MITOO WEBSITE]
The three group winners and the best runner-up advanced to the semi-finals and the draw was as follows:
· Guru Nanak Reserves vs. The Rising Eagles Swan Valley vs. Ace of Clubs
KENT JUNIOR CUP – UPDATE
The League’s last two representatives in the Kent Junior Cup were in action in the 6th Round on Saturday 1st March 2008 and met with mixed success:
In Group B, an under-strength Woodlands Athletic went down 8-1 to Blue Eagles of the Maidstone & District League;
Heathview United reached the semi-final of Group C after a narrow 3-2 victory over Woodcoombe Sports & Social of the Rochester & District League.
Heathview United will be away to Riverside of the Rochester & District League in the semi-final on Saturday 29th March 2008 and the League’s best wishes are extended to the club for further progress in the Competition.
DAMPIER PALMER CUP – FINAL TIE
As a result of the success of Heathview United in reaching the semi-final of the Kent Junior Cup on Saturday 29th March 2008, the Final Tie of the Dampier Palmer Cup which had been arranged for the same date has had to be postponed.
The Final Tie has been provisionally rearranged for Saturday 10th May 2008 and further details will be published as soon as they are known.
EVERDEN CUP
The Everden Cup was initially organised on League principle and the position in the three groups (as at Saturday 15th March 2008) was as follows:
[TABLES OMITTED – SEE MITOO WEBSITE]
The draw for the semi-finals will be made shortly.
DEVELOPMENTS ON THE WEBSITE
There have been no significant developments on the website since the last Newsletter but you are reminded to look at the “News Items” and that:
The results for each week are normally entered on the website on Saturday evenings and brief individual match reports (normally input on a Thursday or Friday) can also be accessed via the results.
Up to date League Tables are produced by the input of the results. The position as at Saturday 15th March 2008 is shown in the Appendix [APPENDIX OMITTED].
NEWS FROM THE KENT COUNTY FOOTBALL ASSOCIATION
Following the launch of the Strategy for Kent Football – see the January Newsletter for details – the Kent County Football Association has appointed John Newson as the first ever full-time Kent Referees Development Officer.Kent County Football Association Chairman, Barry Bright, stated ‘This appointment comes at a very important time in support of the Kent County Football Association’s commitment to the ‘Respect in the Game’ initiatives that both The Football Association and ourselves are encouraging.’
He continued to say ‘One aspect of Kent Football that has concerned us for some time is the loss of referees on a regular basis leading to a situation where many games are not covered by a qualified official every week. It is a fact that for every referee trained in this County we lose another and that trend must cease. A substantial part of the reasoning lies with a small minority of participants being players; club officials and spectators and their attitude and general unacceptable behaviour. If we are to succeed in the ‘Respect’ initiative then this minority must begin to understand the consequences of their actions if they wish to remain active within the game. Statistically misconduct allied to the number of games played in the County is not great but we have seen an upturn in serious, sometimes threatening and physical, misconduct towards those who are appointed to uphold the laws and this cannot and will not be tolerated. Likewise while we encouraged The Football Association to bring their Skills coaching programme into Kent we are witnessing a minority of supporters, often parents, at games especially involving youngsters acting in a manner that is totally unacceptable and not setting a good example.
The vast majority participating in football do so within friendships for fun and recreation but it needs to be fully understood that those who transgress will find that strong punitive action will be taken in accordance within The Football Association procedures and guidelines when charges are proven and it follows that offenders found guilty of serious offences should not expect anything but the severest of punishments to be inflicted by the County’s disciplinary commissions.’
The Association is determined to ensure that the vast majority who wish to enjoy their football are allowed to do so and the few who seek to spoil that enjoyment are suitably dealt with as Kent football makes certain that it attracts and retains referees with the ultimate goal of appointing a qualified whistler to every game under its jurisdiction.
John Newson (Referees Development Officer) stated ‘I am really looking forward to the challenge of my new role. One of my first priorities will be the retention of those referees we have and I fully support the Chairman’s comments. Far too many referees are lost to the game because of the abuse they receive from players and spectators.’
Keith Masters, Chief Executive of Kent County Football Association said 'We are committed to ensuring that those who wish to participate in the game for the fun and love of it can do so with enjoyment.' ____________________________
All clubs should draw this message to the attention of their players, officials and supporters.
REMINDER – ELIGIBILITY FOR CUP SEMI-FINAL OR FINAL TIES
Clubs are reminded that in order for their players to be eligible to play in a semi-final or final tie, they must have played in at least four games prior to the playing of the respective semi-final or final tie.
REMINDER – ANNUAL PRESENTATION EVENING & DANCE
The League’s Annual Presentation Evening & Dance has been arranged for Saturday 31st May 2008 at the Fleet Leisure and Sports Club, Nelson Road, Northfleet.
The disco will be provided by Traviss. Application forms for tickets will be available shortly.
Presentations during the evening will include:
The Player of the Year Trophy The Hall of Fame Personality Trophy The Curtis Cup for Sportsmanship The Club Efficiency Award Trophies to the successful clubs Individual mementoes for the winners and runners-up of each Division and Cup Competition Mementoes for the match officials appointed to the cup final ties
CONCLUSION
The season is drawing to a close and we anticipate some exciting clashes as clubs try to head their respective Divisions – or try to avoid the drop!
Our cup final ties look very interesting and there is the possibility of new names making their bid for honours.
Whatever the results, we look forward to sporting and entertaining games played in the true spirit and tradition of the Gravesend Football League. |