Champion praises his champion side
Monday 15th March 2010, 2:30PM GMT.
Bels captain Sam Cochrane takes a sip of champagne from the Priaulx Cup. (Picture by Peter Frankland, 0932555)
BELS secured their third top-flight league title in five years with a comfortable 5-0 win over Rovers at the Track on Saturday.
‘I’ve never felt like this before,’ said a clearly emotional Bels boss Ian Champion afterwards, who was drenched in champagne.
‘I don’t know what to say. It’s too much for me to take in, to be honest.
‘I’m just so proud of these lads. I thought we played like champions today.
‘Every game is a potential banana skin.’
Champion took over the reins at Bels at the start of the season.
‘I never thought I’d find myself in this position,’ he said.
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Well done Bels
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When is Tony Vance going to see sense and pick Matt Drillot for the Muratti??? Jersey wouldn’t know what hit them…
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As a Vale Rec player I would like to congradulate Bels on winning The Priaulx Cup this season. It has been an exciting season which I have enjoyed very much. I’m sure it has been the same for every other player out there.
With 2nd place all but taken the remaining positions are up for grabs. Up The Rec !!
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Fair play Bels you are the team of the year no one could keep pace with you. I accused you of being a one man team (Rihoy) but I was wrong along with a lot of other people. You have won it this year in a different way to the other two times. You have won it with people liking you where as in the past due to your out of control attitudes and behaviour people have just hated you. This time you are the best and seem to be behaving like the best so I hope you bring the Upton back to Guernsey
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Congrats to Bels, they’ve played attractive football and won it on merit.
The only down side for them now is the gap in between their last game and the Upton.
Bels last ‘Priaulx’ game is March 20th(!!!) and the Upton won’t happen until at least 4-5 weeks after that.
Why the GFA can’t see that they are harming any
local side contesting the Upton and also our own
Murrati side?
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Well done Bels. Should be a cracking season next year when Saints have the likes of Ben Coulter and Glyn Dyer for a whole season!
As for Matt Drillot I’m not sure about him warranting a murratti place but maybe sometimes you have to play someone to put it about in a murratti rather than technically the better player so why not! If you comparing physical prescence in the abscence of coulter he’d be a better option than Isabelle who lacks quality in my humble (and my mates) opinion and he fouls far too often which may be a liability in a Murratti!
Race is hotting up for third….I for one hope Tics get it as everyone is against them and the sooner Rangers realise they are essentially a one man team the better and stop claiming they are a better than they are.
As for North its a real shame what has happened to them but just shows you what happens if your squad is too small. This could be Saints strentgh next year as there second team could finish in the top four in the Priaulx.
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ps totally agree with you blue, why do we cram fixtures in and finish the season so early! There is a second team match between bels and Saints coming up which i suspect will feature the two respective teams first team squad given they both have cup final a piece to go
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Well done Bels you deserve it this year
I agree with Baller that Saints will be difficult to beat next year but I think Bels will now pick up a few surprise signings in the summer. In fact I can see Bels attracting many more players after the way they have won the league this year – even some of the players that they have lost over the past couple of years may return
Why wouldnt they? Bels are the up and coming shining star of Guernsey football at the moment – good luck to you in the Upton and keep up the good work
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I just cant believe how things can have changed so much in such a short time
If it is true I feel so sorry for Mick Le Prevost he has worked so hard at north and he is a good guy
north have completely fallen apart and who would blame his son alex leaving after the way his dad has been treated
now bels are the top team and it seems that everything that north lost bels gained they just seem to have swopped places
saints are to tactically naive and they have lots of players but many of them dont have the club at heart
the bels div 1 team seem to die for the cause and for that i admire them
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Totally agree Saint at present need to sort their tactics! Need to stop playing a formation to fit the players and pick the best formation and put the best players for those positions in. Just because you have an abundance of talented CMs doesn’t mean you have to play 3 CMs. Only then will they challenge Bels.
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I thought Bels have looked a bit shaky this month, yet Champs says he has had a full squad to choose from?
They will need to get back to the type of form they were showing pre-xmas to really challenge for the Upton.
Feel a bit sorry for Rovers with North gifting the game to Sylvans, presumably ’cause their players can’t be bothered to turn out for the coach who has given the club so much over the years, but, that is the same attitude at North that has left them with such a small squad.
Well done Bels.
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Ed,
I dont think it’s fair to presume that the North players ‘couldnt be bothered to turn out’.
Of our squad at the start of the season we had (for the match on saturday against sylvans):
7 players injured, 2 off the island, 2 who had left to join other clubs, and we couldnt start any of our under 21s as it would mean they would have to sit out the next 10-14 days of U21 matches (silly GFA rules).
and of those that did start, at least one was nowhere near match fit and only played because they didn’t want the club to suffer.
So you can’t fault the attitude of those that are still at North.
But sylvans played well and deserved to beat us. besides, they arent a bad team, as shown by the fact that they have beaten Bels this season.
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Ed
You thought Bels looked shaky this month!! Their loss against Tics was their first in 2010 and that was basically because they left out 7 players for the best of the island side and the U21 rule that Paul Page refers to
Surely they are entitled to show a few nerves trying to cross the line at the finish in such a tight competitive season
I hope us at Saints start looking shaky too if that is the case
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