GFC’s green light
Tuesday 21st June 2011, 2:30PM BST.
CCL chairman Alan Constable, centre, welcomes Steve Dewsnip, and Mark Le Tissier into the Combined Counties League fold at last night’s annual meeting. (Picture by Chris Conlon, 1149489)
CCL chairman Alan Constable, centre, welcomes Steve Dewsnip, and Mark Le Tissier into the Combined Counties League fold at last night’s annual meeting. (Picture by Chris Conlon, 1149489)
IN SEVEN Saturdays’ time non-league football will be coming to the island on a weekly basis.
It follows the acceptance last night of Guernsey FC into the Combined Counties League Division One. The decision was made at the league’s AGM, the clubs voting 29-7 in GFC’s favour.
And the first league game is just 47 days away.
Alan Constable, the CCL chairman, said the decision was an historic one.
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RIP Guernsey football
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@Gerald Largo ……. RIP ??? This is going to be great to have a side that everyone in Guernsey can support, great competition every week, trips away for supporters, replica kits, great atmospheres (mmm,maybe not at footes lane), at last, the Barmy Army have more then 3 outings a year!! Move with the times Gerald, Guernsey football has been too old for too long.
Bring on the GFC !!!!
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Are you involved with football Gerald??if you are thank god your not in a position of power to make ambitious decisions to feed the apetites of players of all ages wanting to challenge themselves and be the best they can!!young lads will be so excited about the possibility to play for gfc with hard work an commitment to football, with good coaching they can achive this!!!senoir players will stay in the game longer with new challenges. Before you say this will kill gsy football as thats what your stateing, R.I.P!!!,15 players each weekend out of gfa football will never kill the game. Actually it will offer more chances for others to play div one football which gives opportunities to players all through clubs as young players move up and develope faster. Hopefully few game clashes allowing players without familly commitments to still play as many club games as they can commit to will also be of benefit to clubs!!! football would be a boring place with nagative people with no drive to move forward!!i will be watching gfc and doing all to develop our players to play div one football and hopefully be proud to see them in a gfc kit one day as i will of played a small part in their developement!!!bye!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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I’ve been disinterested in Guernsey football for decades. Same old, same old. Same old leagues, same old clubs, same old trophies, same old limited ambitions, but I got quite excited about the Croatia thing last year and this development might just get me interested again. Good luck to Guernsey FC – a team we can all rally around!
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Fantastic news! Well done for working so hard at getting this pushed through. And thank you for opening a door full of opportunities for not only guerney footballers, but for match officials too!
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notsostoopid and club man
You are both living in a dream world. Firstly support, GFC may attract a crowd at the start but once it is every week and everyone sees the standard of football the crowd will become a gathering and eventually disolve into a few. Trips away for supporters!! Again maybe a few at the start but I suggest that as time goes by it will be difficult to get the players to travel let alone supporters. GFC is not the answer to Guernsey footballs problems, in fact until everyone sees that the more successful the project is the less Guernsey will have the standard of player to participate in the team. Although the CCL Division One is dross when you move up to the Premier Division (which GFC should do in the first year) and above players will be on contracts and I suggest only a few Guernsey players, if any, will be good enough at that level. This will take a few seasons to acheive so this will not affect the current Guernsey players as they will be too old by the time GFC reach a good standard.
There could be up to 40 odd games a season so will everyone stop harping on about GFC players playing for their clubs. Forget it, they will not be able to do so, there are not enough hours in the day to train and play for both clubs.
GFC is the worst possible news for Guernsey football. It is not the answer and you will see this as the inter island games happen this year. No longer will Guernsey clubs be able to compete with Jersey clubs, it will be a total waste of money to even travel.
St Martins, last years champions, I gather are trying to get a business league team to cover their Division Two fixtures in 2011/12.
I agree Guernsey football needs help but this is not the answer.
RIP Guernsey Football until GFC becomes to much of a high standard for local players
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Saints have been building up a GFC team all last season.
No real surprise they have the most to loose as bf took all the best players there…
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@Gerald ,Well that is exactly why this Island is how it is, A mess… Move with the times, I take it you wont be in the supporters club, Its people like you in this island that create the negativity this island doesnt need, Get behind a local club that the whole population can have something in common with, be one of those people with us in the Barmy Army that will support our team so that they gather the belief to be better and do our island proud. Dont you think that playing against better opposition will increase the skill leval in the future? You talk about Guernseys Football problems, maybe step back, decide to join the Barmy Army and realise that the attitudes of people like you ARE the problems of Guernsey Football. We aint saying we will win everything, we are just saying at last, something to support as an Island !! Get behind it !! P.s, are you a Liverpool fan ? lol
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We wouldn’t want to hear one of your motivational speeches:
“We are all DOOOOOOMED” “DOOOMed I tell you”
“This is play group sir can you please leave…?”
Sooooooo negative Gerald Largo.
What is the answer then? You appear to be passionate enough to write a
27 line diatribe outlining the problems that you foresee. Why don’t you put that energy and enthusiasm into at least supporting the Guernsey side for a season and see what happens?
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History speaks for itself. Others have tried and failed miserably. I dont pretend to have the answers to Guernsey footballs problems but I know that GFC is not the answer for the local game as a whole. Maybe the funding from Sportingbet could have been better spent on the community clubs rather than having what I believe to be a short term jolly for local footballers. If GFC succeed they will need better players than Guernsey can offer. Barmy army?? I dont give a tosh about who ever the barmy army are, I care about local, played on Guernsey, football. I dont care if you think I am Mr Gloom and Doom because I care about the marathon and not the sprint
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Dont know who the Barmy Army are??? You are obviously not a Guernsey football fan. There are only going to be 16 players or so in the GFC squad, that means if you arnt in the squad and want to be you will have to improve your game, thus making the standard higher. You speak as if the local game is going to crumble, how many people pay to watch a Prilaux match now ? Not many….to be honest mate,you sound like your writing as a very standard player that has no chance of getting in the GFC squad and have got sourgrapes, or your the parent of of one……..Dont know who the Barmy Army are!! lol, I have a job to take you seriously now.
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notsostoopid I do not know or care who the ‘Barmy Army’ are but I do know that you have to be barmy to think that taking the best footballers out of local football will make the standard higher. All it will do is let players with less ability fill the gaps that GFC cause, the standard will drop. Ask how many people watch CCL games? I know that it is an awful lot less than would watch North vs St Martins in the Priaulx. Most of the clubs GFC will be playing against are very poor, football standard wise and financially. There are pitches at this level that are nothing more than sand pits, I know, I have been there.
At the age of 66 I am not expecting a chance of getting in the GFC squad, I live alone and dont have any family who this will effect. I just have seen and heard it all before, its not sour grapes its hard facts.
Guernsey football will not win in the end because even if GFC succeeds we will not be able to provide players of the level required to keep moving up the national pyramid
I am being realistic, you on the other hand are being very short sighted
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notsostoopid, there is only one barmy army and they follow the England cricket team.
I have no interest in the GFC as I prefer to watch the professionals but I think its a good idea for local fans and players as i’m sure it will help raise the standard of local football in the long run. Best of luck to them.
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GFC? What a bloody stupid idea.
Guernsey football is amateur football of the village green type full of wannabe Wayne Roony`s that play like a load of girls. All it is is a slightly higher than school level football.
Once every thirty years or more one player gets a chance with a professional team in England and if he`s lucky he makes a go of it. Are these idiots dreaming of the big time? If they are then remember that dreams get shattered and if there is little talent and big dreams then a lot of people are going to be hit with a big slice of reality?
Here`s a challenge for all you Guernsey football fans. Over the last 100 YEARS name me FIVE, only FIVE, footballers from Guernsey who have made it to the top football teams in the British Leagues. I`LL BET YOU CAN`T GET PAST THREE.
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There is only one barmy army and they follow the England cricket team.
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Don’t all the short sighted locals realise there are loads of Guerns living in the London/Surrey area of London/Surrey where GFC will be playing, who will love to see them play now and again?
Of course there will be problems, but the Frasers from Dad’s Army must see further than the bottom of their boots and without the hard times the good times won’t seem half as good!!
Come on you Green Lions!!
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nocon. bill spurdle, ron farmer, flip le flem,len duquemin, matt le tissier. but i dont think any of present crop are good enough
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Good luck to the chosen few, I personally cannot see this working, not because of the football or anything to do with it, they are going to be playing a very low standard anyway, it will be the WAGS that will put a spanner in the works, mark my words, been there and worn the t shirt as the saying goes.And if the WAGS don’t the employers will.
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These players don’t think they are going to suddenly become premiership players, have you spoken to them? Can you quote someone having said this? I’d be very surprised if you could. Unless I have missed something, the aim of GFC is not to make one of the current island players a premiership star.
Anyone has the right to set up a football club, which is exactly what has happened with GFC. If the football on offer is attractive to players, the why shouldn’t they have a go at something different? It’s surely better than them drifting out of the game and onto other sports or losing interest altogether.
Gerald Largo
| June 22, 2011 at 9:58 pm
History speaks for itself. Others have tried and failed miserably.
Who? I am unaware of who has set up a club like this before in Guernsey?
Saying that this is bad for Guernsey football is not right. We can always go back to the standard Gsy Snr Div 1 IF this does not work out. But to simply say “This is not the way forward, I don’t know what is, but not this!” Is ridiculous.
This opportunity has come about due to many different factors and alot of hard work. If we do not take this opportunity now we will never get the chance again.
It would be a brave person who says “No” to this opportunity and in the case of many people on here, I would say to you, It is easy to be brave from a safe distance.
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Geordie you are not listening. I have had much involvement with football at this level on the mainland, I was not referring to just Guernsey teams. I do not know of one good story to tell about teams doing what GFC are doing and succeeding. It always all starts rosey but ends in failure because, as I have said over and over again, if this does work Guernsey will not be able to provide the standard of player required to climb the FA pyramid. I do have a major problem with what GFC are leaving behind in Guernsey when setting out on this venture. Never before have I seen a team destroy a league by joining another league, I guess this is what would happen if Celtic and Rangers joined the English Premiership. I was honest when I said that I dont have all of the answers and I am fully aware that Guernsey football is in need of surgery but I cannot help but think that the Sportingbet money could have been better used by funding the local clubs to better their facilities and enter youth teams into UK competitions. Valeite is correct this venture is for the chosen few, for the elite players without any thought for the turmoile left at the local clubs. Yes it will mean that some players who never stood a chance of playing division one football now get a chance but please stop telling me that Guernsey football will improve, it will drop like a stone and we will now not be able to compete at club level with Jersey
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gerald largo. couldnt agree more.some people think we are knocking the ambitions of gsy players, we are not, but fear what will be left of local football.
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Laurie thank goodness someone understands. I just wish that people would look at the bigger picture, i am not expecting them to listen to an old goat like me but maybe they will listen to you after all that you have acheived/given local football.
This is so frustrating and I know others agree but are sat on the sidelines saying nothing but just waiting for people to realise that Guernsey just cannot win in this scenario. If GFC do not succeed then all of that sponsorship has been totally wasted. If GFC do succeed then we dont have the correct level of players to take the club forward and GFC will have to find players from the UK and put them under contract.
In both scenarios, either GFC succeed or not, the mess left in Guernsey remains the same and in my opinion devalues all of the great work that people like you Laurie have put into local football
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