Posted by parky
on October 26, 2008, 10:22 am
Sponsor Officer
Dear All,
Several of you will be aware that we had to forfeit the Reserve's league cup game on Saturday 25th October v Newcastle City due to the fact that we couldn't get a team out because of a lack of available, eligible players. This was embarrassing for the club but also me personally as I sit on the Management Committee for the Tyneside Amateur League. This is the first time in the 10 years that I have played in the TAL that I've been part of a team that had to forfeit a game.
In essence we were the victim of circumstances but importantly myself, Merv and Paddy refuse to field any ineligible players as our club is run professionally and with integrity. To ensure transparency I outline below the factors contributing to the forfeited game:
1) Cup rules- as a Cup game players had to be signed 28 days in advance thus teams could not sign players on the day. Consequently we had no scope to bring in any additional players.
2) Player restrictions- whilst the Reserves can field 1st team players this is limited at a maximum of 2 players per game. Whilst 2 1st Team players (Webby and Tulip- thanks lads, much appreciated) had agreed to play for the Reserves having already played in the 1st team game (which had an earlier kick off) we couldn't use any additional players. In addition ALL A-Team players are ineligible given that they are also represented in the Tyneside Amateur League.
3) Injuries- The 1st Team and Reserve team have been particularly badly affected by injuries which has severely limited the pool of players available for both teams. The Reserves have played the last 2 league games with only 11 players, including players signed on the day
4) Derby- A number of Reserve Team players were unavailable due to the Wear-Tyne Derby. Whilst these players had notified the Manager in advance this contributed to the lack of available players
5) Unexpected withdrawal- A couple of players had to withdraw due to legitimate family reasons. This can't be helped.
6) Player committment- There appears to be a significant number of players whose commitment to playing every week is questionable. I would suggest that these players think about their commitment to the club and should they decide that they cannot or don't want to commit, then inform the club so we can work to bring new players into the squads
7) Club integrity- As outlined the club is not prepared to cheat and I personally took advice from the Tyneside Amateur League on Thursday evening to inform them of our difficulty. The club would rather forfeit a game and pay any associated fine rather than cheating and fielding ineligible players (which carries a much stronger penalty). This stance will continue across ALL Garnett Team.
Respective Managers will work hard to avoid any repeat of this situation but this obviously requires player support and input.
To end of a positive note the Reserves have had a great start to the season and have a strong core of dedicated, quality players (you know who you are). Let's take stock, re-group and carry on with the rest of the season.
Any comments welcome
Parky
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