Muratti ultimatum to Guernsey FC players
Saturday 22nd October 2011, 2:31PM BST.
Guernsey FC captain Sam Cochrane, right, and star players Dominic Heaume, centre, and Ross Allen have been angered by a new GFA rule which could see them unable to play in the Muratti. (Picture by Steve Sarre, 1190846)
Guernsey FC captain Sam Cochrane, right, and star players Dominic Heaume, centre, and Ross Allen have been angered by a new GFA rule which could see them unable to play in the Muratti. (Picture by Steve Sarre, 1190846)
THE Guernsey Football Association is forcing Guernsey FC players to choose between the community club or the Muratti.
Sam Cochrane, the Guernsey Muratti captain and skipper of the top-of-the-table Green Lions, has reacted furiously to news of the new association rule.
‘It’s an absolutely ludicrous thing to attempt,’ he said yesterday, sentiments shared by star players Ross Allen and Dominic Heaume. ‘There is a clear amount of jealousy.
‘GFC is the future and it is crazy to try and jeopardise it.’
But GFA chairman Chris Schofield, who said there had been failure on all sides ‘to plan how to effectively manage the change, particularly in lines of communication,’ said the rule provided clarity.
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I click “dislike” to that!
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HAVE A COMPREMISE PLAY IT ON A THURSDAY.UNDER LIGHTS
iT WOULD BE LIKE ENGLAND NOT ALLOWING UK PLAYERS REPRESENT THEIR MOTHER COUNTRY
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i see both points of view,but what chance does a player not in the gsy fc squad stand of playing in a muratti after playing week in week out, and playing well, we would all want our best players involved, but we should also show loyallty to to the ones that have to try and keep local football going, the point that gsy fc will raise the standard in gsy football will be really tested, and this will be the first test. players have chosen to play for gsy fc and sometimes tou have to take the concequences. and it is good that the g.f.a has taken a stand
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GFA your pathetic. On one hand you are trying to keep Guernsey football going and in the other hand your trying to throw it away.
I have been to every Muratti for 32 years home and away and im sure I wont travel to Jersey for this seasons game ( along with many others ) if we field a weakened team and go over to our enemy island without our best chance of winning it with us.
Get over your ego’s and jealiousy and grow up.
Pathetic !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
One very angry member of the barmy army !!!!!!!!
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The Muratti has lost all credibility in recent times with non locals playing for both teams, mainly Jersey.
One year it sounded like the Portuguese team had taken over Jersey.
Simple way forward. If you are born in Guernsey or Jersey you can represent your Island.
Outsiders out. No Compromises.
Also lets see Sark compete against Alderney for the right to play either larger channel island each year.
Then you wouldn’t get Alderney being hammered each year or better still, put Alderney and Sark into the draw, then Jersey and Guernsey could meet in the Muratti semis and leave Alderney and Sark to compete for a final place. Now that’s interesting……..
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By accepting GFC as an affiliated GFA club, the GFA has expressly welcomed GFC as part of its organisation. The GFA board now seems to be acting in a manner against one of its member clubs and its players which simply has to be incompatible with its own constitution.
To say that this is being mishandled by the GFA is a massive understatement. What on earth is the GFA’s objective in taking this stance? What do they hope to achieve from it?
Co-existence is the ONLY way forward. If its a battle then there will be no winners and Guernsey football as a whole will be a huge loser.
There are solutions out there. Avoiding date clashes would be a good starting point. Where there’s a will there’s a way. Being childish and throwing toys out of the pram is most certainly not the answer.
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As stated on a previous post, regarding Hillsborough, I am not a footie fan or a follower of any particular team.
I do however feel strongly that this is cras stupity on the part of GFC – surely the ultimate achievement in any sport discipline is to represent your island, country, whatever.
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Bloody great, now the politics start!
Why don’t we just let Jersey keep the ‘Vase’ along with the Upton, Jeremie, Wheway ………
GFA & GFC – Get this sorted and get it sorted quick.
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Life can be so tough sometimes.
I will happily give out free man hugs to all the players if it means I don’t have to read another story about them.
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I must confess I’m not a follower of Guernsey football but (from a distance at least) to all extents and purposes it sounds like Guernsey FC is the unofficial “national” side.
Either way this sounds like sour grapes. Perhaps some of the GFA bureaucrats need a dose of Fergie’s hairdryer?
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Deepthroat Donkey
There is no room for racism. In any event, I think you will find that most of those players of Portuguese descent who have played for Jersey in recent years were actually born in Jersey.
Would you seriously exclude a player who came to Guernsey as a very young child and has lived here ever since?
As for Guernsey and Jersey playing each other in a semi-final and meeting Alderney or Sark in the final, I think you must have been smoking some funny weed when you posted that!
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Do you want me to phone up Alderney and ask if they can play another day?
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GFA – what a useless pompous self important bunch of numpties – grow up or if that is impossible resign and give up
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it is obvious that many of the posters do not understand the
tradition of gsy football, and only see what they read, but it goes deeper than that.gsy football has been ripped apart and it seems that both parties have gone their own way, with out any discussions.it is probably to late, but a lot of the problems football faces could have been avoided with more common sense,players comments that it is all about jealousy is so wrong, it is about the future of football in gsy when they have long stopped playing football, and football stars play in the premiership not div,1 of the ccl
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how sad when a player would rather play for gfc ahead of playing for his island in the muratti cup which has been around for many years…
players use to be proud of pulling on the green and white of the guernsey shirt now they would rather play in some micky mouse league that they should have wrapped up by end of jan 2012.
sort yourself’s out lads for the sake of the island and the history of the muratti cup.
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I think it’s a fair stance by the GFA. If the players make themselves unavailable to play in the semi versus Alderney then why do they think they have the right to play in the final?!
Assuming Guernsey get to the final then surely the guys who played in the semi & won have more right to play in the final? I would be upset to lose my place to someone who had deemed the semi less important than a league fixture.
Unfortunately fixture clashes were always going to be a potential problem & this appears to be the case with the Murratti semi.
The captains comments are laughable. Who does he think he is dictating to the GFA? The GFA clearly wants the best players representing their island in the Muratti, it appears to be the players ruling themselves out by making themseleves unavailable for the semi!
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I’m with the GFA on this one
Sam Cochrane – what makes you think that you can turn down an island side call up to play for your club side and have no sanctions imposed?
You and all the other players affected obviously have the choice of whom you play for, but Guernsey FC is just another club, the same as North or Vale Rec, that happens to play in a different league
If you choose Guernsey FC over the island side, I think you have got your priorities completely wrong
How embarassing did you find it recently when the island side went out in the first round of the Inter-League Cup, because several first choice players refused to play for the island side?
Do you not remember the success in Croatia?
Don’t forget that the tail that tries to wag the dog will lose out!
ps – remember what happened to a former island football captain a few years ago when he chose to play basketball or volleyball rather than attend a training session? He didn’t come out of that too well.
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Let me think…..I could play Jersey…..or actually be in a proper football league….bit of no brainer really! with crowds of 1400+ every week or I could go to and play with a team that isnt really the Guernsey tean against Jersey or Jersey, or Jersey! times have changed (thank goodness), GO LIONS GO!
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The GFA have to make a stand to try and stop the Guernsey football world from crumbling around them. Bels beating Rangers 10-0 in a first team fixture this weekend shows what a mess they are trying to manage. I remember a couple of seasons ago that Bels got into trouble for fielding first team players in their second team and hammering Centrals. Maybe they will get into trouble again for fielding a team that was too strong at first team level! I also gather that Bels had several first team players missing due to a players stag party so god knows what the score would have been if they had been at full strength. On the other hand I hear that Rangers were so desperate to find enough players to play in the fixture that all of their veterans were asked to turn out! Come on everyone wake up and see what is happening to local football right in front of us all
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greenarmy
But just how hard did anybody try to avoid fixture clashes? It doesn’t look like too much effort went in there. That’s why I say that co-existence is vital and confrontation won’t then be the result.
John Le Ber
Your point is lost on me. Rangers struggling to field a side has very little to do with GFC. How many Rangers players were on GFC duty? Ross Allen and how many others?
I find it very depressing that so many so-called football people would criticise talented young players for wanting to test themselves regularly at a higher level. Isn’t that what sport is all about? Have you people got no respect for the development side of the game?
You just cannot or will not see that winning the Priaulx league for the umpteenth time and playing one big game each year (the Muratti) plus a few inter-island club cup games just isn’t enough for the island’s best players to realise their potential. They only get one chance of a career.
Many a great local player of years gone by would have given their right arm to have had the opportunity now presented by GFC. It just wasn’t on offer to them in those days.
If this situation is not handled carefully and diplomatically, then has the ingredients for a stalemate from which there will be no winners.
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The GFC prima donnas should simply decide whether they want to play for their club or their island. This project was always going to rip local football apart, and I am certain that it is doomed to failure. Once they have to start playing against proper teams instead of glorified pub teams, and the 4/5/9 nil victories are a distant memory, and the crowd numbers have dwindled to a few hundred, and the players realise that their not actually that good, the whole project will fail.
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I cannot believe anybody good enough to play for GFC would prefer to play in the Muratti. The GFA are foolish to make players choose between them. Obviously the depleted ‘Guernsey’ team are likely to lose to Jersey every year in future. The GFA might then realise they have scored an own goal, almost literally.
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My philosophy is as Deepthoat Donkey’s. The Murattis should be for locals born and bred. And the same should be applied to the Siam Cup; why do Jersey keep winning at this? Because their South Africans are bigger than ours. This situation could easily be redressed.
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I think the GFA have a fair point. If you can’t be bothered to play in the semi why should you have priority to play in the final? I understand the players’ perspectives as well but this was always going to happen. The clash between local football and playing for Guernsey United was a car accident waiting to happen and now it’s happening. Guernsey United will no doubt form some kind of break away team and deaffiliate from the GFA. Then they’ll set up an academy team and destroy all competitive youth football as well. I don’t blame them, it’s the only conceivable way forward for them but don’t be in any doubt they’re slowly destroying the clubs that feed them. Priaulx football is now the equivalent of the Jackson in terms of quality and levels of interest. It’s obvious that players who were uncertain as to whether to commit to Guernsey United at the start are now queuing up to join as they realise their club football is dying. Luke Winch, Piers Ockleford etc.
As for Bels vs Rangers, from what I’ve heard through the grapevine the senior team at Rangers is very demotivated and wouldn’t be surprised if someone gets removed if results continue like they are. Fair play to Glynn though. Done a fantastic job turning around Bels from a similarly mutinous position a year ago.
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As I’m abroad until May 2012 I cant be as close to all the going ons as I’d like. But from what I can gather on this site, and the reports, the Muratti seems in danger of becoming a secondary competition. As I stated ages ago, for me, the Muratti is the Ultimate in Local Football, nothing will ever take it’s place.
Good luck to Guernsey FC (I hope they win the League)and I admire the set up they have at present, but surely this Muratti Selection process should have all been sorted out before Guernsey FC was all formed, It is an absolute joke to think that Guernsey FC players will not be allowed to Represent Guernsey in the Muratti, surely the Guernsey Football Association are not so blind as to have not foreseen this happening.
The question I want answered did the GFA stipulate that Guernsey FC players would not be eligible for selection for the Guernsey Representative side at the time Guernsey FC was formed.
If they did not state this, then the GFA should get their act together and be sensible,they are making a fool of themselves by moving the goalposts, But if it was stated then the Guernsey FC players have no
case to put forward. I am very sad to see this occurring in our local game. I can think of 3 ex Administrators who would never have let this happen.Can someone please answer my main question, did the GFA stipulate this or not.
Alan Le Prevost
Former Guernsey Manager
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Non kicker
There is one crucial difference from the Siam Cup. Its not an inter-island representative fixture. Its a fixture between two club sides. Club sides select from amongst their members. Representative sides select from all players of all clubs.
The Guernsey Rugby Club and Jersey Rugby Club can therefore select players regardless of whether they were born in Guernsey or even if they live in the UK and have never lived in Guernsey, provided they are club members. Personally, to keep the Siam special, I think they should only from members who were born in the island or who have resided there continuously for the past 3 or 4 years.
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this is all a really big mess. i have no interest in gfc because they are just not playing teams of a decent level so it is just not competitive. i see the crowd fell by around 400 since the last game and i am not surprised as i am not going to watch them again until they have a chance of losing. i find it embarrasing and not entertaining in the slightest. why are we not picking younger players when the opposition is this poor, i thought gfc was about finding the next matt le tissier and therefore we need to see the youngsters getting games in front of the so called stronger players. it would make it a more level game, we would all learn a little more and give some exposure to the people who this venture was meant for, the youngsters.
a ten nil loss at first team level is a disgrace in any circumstances but just shows the coffin lid is almost smashed closed for guernsey football outside of gfc. very sad but true. we just dont seem to be able to find the right balance, please let the youngsters play for gfc in this ccl league we will still win it and put a stop to the farce of ten nil losses at first team level. i have always hated big losses in youth football and have had to understand because the best kids follow the best kids to clubs and these types of scores are inevitable but to see it at first team level is truly awful
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Surely the solution is simple
Guernsey FC have always said they need a squad of 35 players,so put the GFC reserves out for the combined counties game as they will have had promotion sealed well before they play another pub side.
Then the best GFC players can repesent the proper island side.
If i was fortunate to be deemed good enough to play for my Island i would pick that over my club anyday. (Remember GFC is a club not a island side,some seem to forget this)
We are talking about the same group of players who threw away the most one side Muratti in years at the track, surely there must be feeling amoungst them they should play against Aldereny & then go down to Jersey at write the wrongs from last season!
Only at matter of time before the big crowds at Footes lane dwindler come Winter time!
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I’m not exactly sure what the problem is.
Last time I checked there were over 30 players registered for GFC. If, as expected, they have promotion wrapped up by the end of January then the “best” 16 will be available for the semi final and the remaining players can play for GFC the same day.I’m sure that if necessary they can sign a few more on for the day – there are no Priaulx fixtures that day.
@Deepthoat Donkey
Sark will never be involved. They have continually failed to satisfy on the child protection issue, which is why you will find no FA sanctioned side playing them.
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to simon i take it your a player who plays for gfc and would not get in to the island muratti squad sounds sour grapes to me.
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Blue Boy
You can only beat what’s put in front of you and you have to start somewhere. Besides, look at the Premier League. Didn’t Man Utd just lose 6-1 to City – and they won the Premier League last year! Man City are drubbing teams like Spurs who are pretty decent Premier League clubs. Arsenal lost 8-2 to United earlier this season and they’re a Champions League club.
The drubbings dished out by GFC are only a temporary phase until they climb the league ladder and find their level. Then the real fun will start.
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Hi Alan.
When you say three administrators I hope that you included me, if not your number should have been 4.
All the best
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Of course one of them was you Graham, while I didn’t always agree with your approach and outspoken behaviour, no one can dispute your Knowledge and hard work for Guernsey Football.
And no matter how many knocks you took, you kept getting up and fighting on, I think you gave more to Guernsey Football than it ever gave to you.
God Bless
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GFC is a club side. Guernsey is our island’s representative side. All players have the right to represent their island in a muratti but…any player who chooses to play for a club side ahead of the island side in a semi-final should not expect to be able to walk straight in to a final! It’s about time all this was put to bed. GFC is now a club side in its own right, giving the opportunity for top players (the elite I think they have been known as) to play at a higher level and put Guernsey on the map. This said, these players should not be allowed to walk back into their original club at the expense of players not able to break into the GFC side. The domestic clubs now need to focus on developing their ‘own’ players into a team without having GFC registered players on their books. After all, football is for everybody and the more people being given the chance to play whether for GFC or the domestic clubs, the better in my book.
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I’m with the players on this one. Anyone who takes his sport seriously wants to play at the highest level he can. GFC have the opportunity to do this. Yes it may appear ‘easy’ at the moment but as stated in an earlier post as they gain promotion through the leagues things will change and when they do the experience gained by the players at a higher level than local football will be great for them and the Guernsey team. They are flying the Guernsey flag on a national stage and we should be proud of them.
As for the Muratti they should be allowed to play in the Island squad for the GFA. If the GFA want to stop them from doing so THEY are the ones doing the island a dis-service by refusing to field the best team available to win such an historic trophy.
Times change, Guernsey football has changed (for the better in my opinion). The only ones too stubborn to change with it are the GFA. I’m sure fixtures can be arranged for alternative dates. Didn’t the Muratti final used to be played on Liberation Day? It’s now on May Day.
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I agree with Donkey Doo, we want the best players to represent Guernsey to play in what ever match they are playing.
If the problem is that Alderney fixture is on the same day. It could be moved. Blimey Premiership games can be rearranged for different days, surely we can move one game?
You may say ‘oh well GFC is just a club rather than the national side’, but flip me, what do you expect in an Island this size!
To me if the word Guernsey is used then they represent the Island, full stop and so in that regard I think GFC are doing a great job promoting the Island.
Go Lions go!
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I happened to be one of those veterans who played for Rangers at the weekend and got beaten 10-0 and am still recovering my pride…..!!
I can’t believe some of the negativity surrounding the new GFC venture. Sure there will be some problems and difficulties but football should be about the players first. It is clear that the Islands best players want to play in the English League pyramid – I think its great and so do many of the people who turn up to watch them for their home (and away)matches.
The GFA should, in my opinion, be concerned with promoting the game of football at all levels. If the players want this new structure then they should support this. The Muratti is 1/2 games a year, surely it is not beyond the skill level of the GFA to arrange the fixtures so they dont clash with the GFC’s games?
Local football is ultimately about the players, not the GFA. I can’t help but feel that there is a lot of self interest going on here with the GFA. You are supposed to serve and promote the game in the Island – try listening to those people you represent – they are called the PLAYERS.
The local league is poor, but it has been for a number of years, at least there is now a route to bigger and better things – who would want to deny local players both present and future this oppoutunity? (Apart from the GFA)
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How ridiculous!
GFC has brought something great to the community and there are plenty of fans who will be there to watch home games rain or shine all season. I can’t believe the GFA is willing to jeapoardise the Muratti just to make a point. Rearranging fixtures is not such a massive thing, do we want to beat Jersey or don’t we?! Wasn’t the date of the muratti changed last year anyway?
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/8517756.stm
Another gripe with the GFA is that they are letting the womens game rot. Only 4 teams in the league this year, it really seems as if nothing is being done to promote the womens game, from speaking to many players the impression is that the GFA would rather women hang up their boots and get back to the kitchen.
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