Congratulations Saints - now finish in style
THEY have only been Priaulx Cup holders a fortnight and already some are questioning the credentials of St Martin's and, with one eye on next season, there is even a suggestion that the balance of power is slowly swinging towards Northfield.
THEY have only been Priaulx Cup holders a fortnight and already some are questioning the credentials of St Martin's and, with one eye on next season, there is even a suggestion that the balance of power is slowly swinging towards Northfield.
The viewpoint is based entirely on that Saints only have six players in the squad for today's Muratti semi-final in Alderney, just one more than North, who have been the form team of recent weeks.
That the opinion came from an individual whose blood has ever-increasing measures of chocolate and blue running through it, I am not overly-swayed by the argument and, anyway, it would be wholly wrong to write off the champions' hopes for next season before they have even played the Upton.
Saints are not our champions by default.
They have, by and large, made landing the Division One title look ridiculously easy, though, and Colin Fallaize's men deserve much praise for the way they have romped to the club's 13th title.
Fallaize pieced together a squad strong enough to see off an expected strong challenge from what everyone hoped would be as competitive a division as the previous season, only to see the competition dissolve into something unexpectedly unappealing.
Bels lost Dave Rihoy and Scott Bradford early doors, picked up other significant injuries and suffered from uncertainty in their management.
In addition, Athletics disappeared from the scene, Rangers flattered to deceive alarmingly, Vale Rec pretty much stayed as they were the previous season and North took time to really get going under a new coach.
All this was not Saints' fault and playing an attractive blend of attacking soccer that was far more appealing to the eye than that of the club's previous championship-success seven years ago, they swept everyone aside until, basically, they got a touch bored.
Those who no longer pop along to football regularly might want to know just how good a St Martin's side this one is. After all, they have a lot to live up to when you consider the quality of their team that dominated the sixties.
For what it's worth, I strongly suspect that the current side is certainly as good as the 1979 and 1985 teams who beat Oaklands and Wanderers respectively, the latter with a Neil Hunter hat-trick, and a match for some of the early Saints sides of the 1960s.
It is clearly better than the dour and ultra workmanlike team that won the title in 2004.
But on pure skills and ignoring the inevitable difference in fitness levels across the eras, still not as good as the very greatest Saints sides of the late 1960s when there were 'greats' in all departments of the side.
The joy of this year's side has been their ability to score goals from everywhere.
The 79 and 85 teams were heavily reliant on Hunter and Colin Fallaize, although of course Willie Kennedy and Rodney Webb got their fair share too and I would not wish to rubbish that illustrious duo, who worked their socks off.
But you have to admire the manner in which the 2010-11 team have dominated teams and played stylishly at a pace that makes Henry Davey breathless just watching from the sidelines.
At the heart of this high-paced onslaught are Ben Coulter and Dominic Heaume, two players who I imagine would have slotted in nicely to any of the best Saints outfits.
Heaume has developed into a very fine footballer, his selfless style and all-round vision being the key to the attack.
And while the newly-crowned champions may have lost some of their impetus over the past weeks, I strongly suspect that they will relight the attacking touch paper as fitness levels and focus improve in the build-up to the Muratti and with one eye on the Island Games.
After the mid-season lull when everyone knew the inevitable and the championship limped along, the thrill of the closing weeks, with cup finals and Muratti spots up for grabs, will see the top players return to their best.
We must hope that is the case anyway.
As for that North revival?
It is too soon to talk about that and a touch disrespectful to deserved champions of Guernsey.
Well done Saints.
