Re: Waffle time - Part 2- Quantity vs Quality

By rwakeley16/1/2021 15:03Sat Jan 16 15:03:52 2021In response to Waffle time - Part 1- Quantity vs Quality

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Following on from the above. I maintain the demise of the game has happened at local, much lower levels. I live in Shropshire. Back in the day, teams only played one or two public pre-season games. One game was always the annual punch-up, Shropshire Senior Cup Final between Telford and Shrewsbury Town. It was the automatic final for decades. Just a one-off. They were colossal games. The Shrews would field a full strength side, at a time when they were on the back of their most successful period. Then the Shrops FA throw in Semis. The likes of Oswestry Town and Bridgnorth Town. Instantaneously, The Shrews started to play the reserves and kids. Killed it! Now its the likes of Market Drayton. I think the current holders are Whitchurch Alport.
I think the prevailing notion is that by including everybody you raise the standards. I think the opposite. I think it waters everything down. The Shrops FA at one point admitted this, in some much as in trying to re-ignite the competition started to invite teams from outside the county. When Total Network Solutions and Hereford United reserves are in the competition you really have wrecked things. It used to a magnificent footballing occassion, now no-one gives a flying fig and is a in-convienience to the point where finals are carried over due to the fact clubs can't agree scheduling dates. I would now play it on lower clubs, neurtral grounds to at least give the lower clubs some decent gate money.

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