Vision is needed to take Sarnian football forward

GUERNSEY football needs an overhaul and vision for the future, warns Phil Corbet, the former island manager and the GFA's ex-head of youth football. He is concerned that there does not appear to be a master plan.

'There needs to be a vision for Guernsey football from top to bottom,' he urged.

'We need to support the people at the GFA in its implementation and make every effort to make it work.'

There is more competition for youngsters from other sports and the GFA has to ensure their package is the best and its better players come through the ranks whatever their age, said the current Vale Rec youth coach.

'At youth level in particular and football in general a vision is needed.'

He suggested that was what the likes of former GFA president and secretary Dave Dorey was very good at achieving, conveying his vision to people and how he saw it developing.

'Any club will only be as good as the commitment level, man management and coaching ability of people working within that club and clubs have to have their own vision working alongside that of the GFA,' stressed Corbet.

He suggested the youth and minis structure that former youth coach Tony Clarkson had set up at Vale Rec was excellent and he commended North's structure also.

'It's great to see what is happening at Rovers under 16s downwards and if they can get the right structure above youth football, times are looking good there,' said Corbet.

But he warned there are not enough quality players around to create seven good clubs.

'They need to ensure their youth systems are as good as they possibly can be so as to ensure a constant flow of new talent for their first team.'

For this to be achieved, he believes players' attitudes have to change at both senior and youth level.

'There has been talk for a decade or more about a senior Channel Islands league. With the South and West Counties, Jersey and Guernsey seem to have fallen out of love with it at senior level,' said Corbet.

He would like to see a CI League competition floated at U-14 level, in the shoulder months of September and October and March and April.

'If it's working, you could push it through the youth ranks and finally into senior football.

'I think the CI League is an absolute must at senior level, but when the power base changes in either Guernsey or Jersey the incoming officials seem to want to do something grander than the CI League, whereas in reality that could be the stepping stone to grander and better things,' he said.

'The FA National System League Cup is a fantastic competition, almost fully funded by the FA. But if the representative side is not entering a national competition every season, maybe it's time to give financial support for the top club sides to enter county-level cups.'

He believes the Fletcher Sports FA Cup in its current format is a farce.

'It's a highly sponsored Jeremie Cup without the Jersey sides. Unless the top clubs are seeded to ensure the minnows have manageable and meaningful fixtures and so only the strongest of the minnows progress, I see no constructive future for the competition in its present format.'

Guernsey already have a very large base of about 1,500 football players, excluding minis.

'There is too much focus on participation rather than the development of excellence,' believes Corbet.

'The nucleus of the Junior Island teams in the past five seasons and current senior team have come through the Schools of Soccer.'

He insists it must have been beneficial for them to get coaching and to go off-island out of season.

And he queried why there had been no public announcement about what had happened to the football academy for youngsters.

'It has been a good development tool for Guernsey football in the past and could be again,' said Corbet.

A big issue currently is also the timeframe between some youth games and he insists it is no good for youngsters to play on successive days, as happened recently after some of Guernsey's youth players had to play away for their island on a Saturday and their clubs the next day.

'I don't think it's best practice to do that and we should be working towards avoiding that.'

He has strong views on the future for senior football.

For example, a squad player for a first team might get only about 35 games during a season, but playing Business House, Sunday Soccer and GFA football he could get about 60.

Players are choosing to play quantity rather than quality football and that is a problem to GFA clubs at senior level, he suggested.

The association was looking at the possibility of combining the Sunday, Business and Railway leagues, which may cause some problems, but it is hoped it would have an upward and positive effect on the availability of players, Corbet believed.

He does not believe there is a lot wrong with youth football - apart from perhaps the lack of a football academy.

At minis level there is as a rule one club team per school year up to Year 5 then there is a two-year banding.

They go from Corbet Cup level to Youth Three where they play each other twice and are involved in two cup competitions. This could result in one of the lesser team's youngsters playing a maximum of only 14 games in a season, which will not keep their enthusiasm, he warned.

He fully agrees that the FA are correct to have a cut-off point whereby at 16 years old players can go open age and play senior football.

'The main issue we have is the number of games capped at 40. We are penalising those players who are 16-plus who have left schools with the 40-game rule as they are not getting as many games as those at school or in full-time education,' said Corbet.

'Players at school can play circa 60 games a season but those who have left school and are at a club can only play 40.'

Upping the games limit for youngsters not at school might help, he suggested.

Having a rule that prevents clubs from overusing youngsters is a positive step that maybe the FA itself should look to introduce.

'There is too much emphasis on winning with minis and we need more emphasis on letting the kids enjoy themselves and playing with a smile.

'They need guided learning - by that I mean let them learn and make mistakes and then talk to them after the game to see if they can come up with the right solutions for themselves,' said Corbet.

He would love to see more coaches with fresh ideas coming to Guernsey.

'Nobody is too old to learn,' he said.