This Is Guernsey

By Nick Mollet

Rangers and Bels clash on Sunday at St Andrew’s. (Picture by Daniel Guerin, 0544232)

BELS Youth One coach Ray Queripel is backing moves for a radical shake-up of junior football in Guernsey.

His club have really struggled with the number of players at under-18 level this season and with sometimes having a bare 11 to select from on match days, it is a credit to the coach and players that they are still in the hunt for the league. Queripel, who has also coached the club’s Priaulx side, is backing changes.

‘If nothing is done, football in Guernsey will be going backwards. We have to look at other sports and what they have done and move the sport on,’ he warned.
‘We could lose four good under-18 players to basketball if nothing is done.

‘What are they going to get next season when they come out of the juniors if they can’t get a game? Are they going to be happy playing Jackson? No.

‘They would prefer to play with their own age players and at 17 or 18 they are quite capable of playing against 23-year-olds.’

Queripel would support a 17 to under-23 league.

‘It’s got to be better than the format at the moment. If it does not work, at least we have tried it.

‘You could also have a couple of over-age players coming back from injury who should be allowed to play in an under-23 league,’ he suggested.

‘If you revamp it [the youth structure], you must revamp it all. I’m sure they are clever enough at the top to sort it out.

‘I don’t believe in the Jackson – teams who go out to win the Jackson, I don’t see why, because there is no point,’ he said.

If anything it should be used as a feeder team for the Priaulx and to nurture players for the most important league, Queripel believes.

‘Why win the Jackson with a side that is 30-plus? What benefit do you get for the club? It should be a flexi league if anything,’ he said.

Bels are one of four teams still involved in the most exciting Youth One title chase for decades.

On Sunday they kept their aspirations alive with a convincing 6-0 victory over Rangers to leave them three points behind leaders Sylvans, but having played a game more.

‘We were 5-0 up at half-time and the boys were up for it and played well,’ said Queripel.

Tyler Singer grabbed a hat-trick, Robbie Williams netted twice and Matt Sawbridge scored a rare goal.

‘Our last four games are Saints away [tonight] and then the big three [Sylvans, Vale Rec and North] at home, so we have every chance,’ said Queripel.

‘We just need somebody to do us a favour because we can’t win it on our own. It’s going to be hard but we will just keep going. Sylvans can afford to lose one of their last four but we can’t.

‘We are starting to get some players back and have a squad of 13 now as opposed to 11,’ he said.

‘What will be will be.’

Potential champions-elect Sylvans clash with champions North in a crucial game at Northfield tonight.

‘All the games against the top teams are big games. We know that North will want to win the game and we will prepare ourselves as best we can,’ said the westerners coach, Clive Bateman.

‘Ideally we would like to get three points, but we know North are a good team. We have beaten them twice in the league and once in the cup, but that means nothing.’

Bateman also has his own views on restructuring the local game.

‘I think we might need to lose one of the senior leagues – I don’t think it matters whether it’s Jackson or Railway because you will have only a first and second team,’ he said.

‘We have only one or two players whom you would call a Jackson player – most are youth players.

‘I don’t think any of the senior players signed on for a GFA club should be able to play Business League or Sunday League,’ said Bateman.

He is not sure there will be enough junior players around in every club to make an U-23 league work.

‘I have 17 or 18 juniors signed on and only five go to work – all the rest are at school and are looking to go to university,’ he said.

‘That is the biggest threat – the amount of kids going to university.

‘I have concerns if there would be enough – not many clubs will have enough players and might struggle and it will be interesting to see,’ he suggested.

He did admit, though, that a 17 to 23 league might be better for the development of the younger lads coming through than the present arrangements.

‘I think maybe they could leave the youth set-up as it is and lose one of the senior leagues and go from there. Do that for a year and see if there are enough junior players staying on for a 17 to 23 league,’ said Bateman.