THE curtain comes down on the best Division One football season in a long time today with a humdrum re-arranged game between Sylvans and Athletics at St Peter’s.

There is still a Stranger Cup semi-final and final to follow, not to mention an Upton, but to all intents and purposes the season is done with, certainly for the vast majority of players.

As for the coaches they will already be working out which players they would happily part with for the next campaign, which of them are too important to lose elsewhere and which ones they would happily take on board.

Indeed, the grapevine is already buzzing with potential moves and it indicates that the troubled times at Northfield may be over.

In every group of players there are those who flatter to deceive and, if you are lucky, those who are absolute gems not so much for their ability and influence on results, but for their sheer commitment to the cause and the attitude befitting a professional.

They don’t miss training, they listen and take on board every word the coach says, run their socks off and never let you down.

And it’s those players who deserve a bit of recognition today with a namecheck in an end-of-term ‘Merit XI’.

Every club is represented and, quite deliberately, nobody who is a current island player with the one exception of keeper Richard Davey, who I give one half to, and Sylvans’ Ashley Williams the other.

Ahead of the keepers is a back four of North’s quietly under-rated Paul Page, the anything but quiet Rangers captain Sam Stables, Vale Rec’s tough centre-back Ross Elliott and, on the left, the versatile and wholly committed Paul Ramsden of Tics.

In a middle four I would flank the indomitable advocate from St Martin’s, Simon Geall, and Tics’ non-stop Vijay Wiltshire, with Rovers’ best outfield performer, young Sam Langlois, and Bels’ twinkle-toed, cheeky-grinned wide-man, Simon Marley.

Up front, and playing in the hole, who better than Sylvans’ best player, Matt Le Prevost, behind the find-of-the-season, Tics’ 19-goal striker Danny Marquand.

It’s been a good season to track from the touchline, largely for the unpredictability of it brought about by generally evenly-matched squads, and while one already wonders what joys behold us next season, we cannot forget the ills that still effect the island’s biggest sport.

That has to be the sorry state of our youth football, particularly in the 16 to 19 range.

Last week’s Junior Muratti thumping was not only depressing but, sorry to say, predictable.

We are not blessed with great talent in this range, but not only that, the structure is not getting the best out of the players – certainly not at representative level where Jersey, for some time now, seem more professional in their tactics and awareness of the game, appear better drilled and produce far more good young talent.

This has nothing to do with the merits of an under-18 league as opposed to an under-21 division, nor an individual coach, dare I say it, but more to do with an uncoordinated approach to developing the best talent outside of club football.

Surely it is not beyond the sport to be able to not only identify the best 18 players in each group, but train them as a group throughout the year: not simply leave it to the clubs, some of which will do it right, some bad and others probably adequately but no more. If done properly then there will seldom be many surprises in selection.

The best talent deserves the best preparation and, as we have done it previously under the regime of Phil Corbet, I am sure it can happen again. ‘Surely it is not beyond the sport to be able to not only identify the best 18 players in each group, but train them as a group throughout the year’