'United' done correctly could benefit players

North star Tostevin is the biggest local name never to have played for Guernsey FC and also recently dropped out of Steve Sharman's 'United' project because he 'didn't want to take opportunities away from younger players'.

But, despite not going to be a part of it, he describes the idea of a regular games programme as promising, so long as the right level of competition is found and it does not deplete the Priaulx League.

'As long as the additional programme doesn't impact on the Priaulx then I don't see a problem – that would be my only concern because we have to protect the Priaulx going forward and can't keep making it an afterthought,' he said.

'It's already suffered from GFC in terms of standards and popularity so we can't mess about with it any further, particularly if that means taking away another glut of its best players from the clubs.

'Having said that, from what I've seen of the plans, it seems they're adamant that none of the games will clash with Priaulx matches and that has to be stuck to.

'I wouldn't want to see players denied playing Priaulx matches or pressured into avoiding playing Priaulx because they had a Guernsey United game the day before or afterwards.

'If Guernsey United ended up playing in a competition like the old South West Counties Championship then I think that would be a step in the right direction for a lot of the current Priaulx players as they'd be taken out of their current comfort zones.

'But if it's simply to play in Jersey competitions then I'd have to question the merit of it.'

• More in Thursday’s Guernsey Press.