Guernsey Press

Priaulx’s best sorely lacking club loyalty

I’M DISAPPOINTED with recent developments in the Priaulx League. Here, with the demise of Guernsey FC’s season, was an opportunity to have the island’s best players in the domestic league shared equally amongst about five clubs. At least, that’s how it started out once the pre-season registrations were completed. For once since the creation of Guernsey FC, the league had a degree of integrity about it. But now these elitist individuals are being transferred willy nilly upon request, and frankly, while respecting their ability between the white lines, I don’t think much of their attitude.

Published
Last updated

Numerous players with better ability than theirs have found it within themselves to stick with one club through thick and thin when they could have gone medal hunting. (Matt Le Tissier probably knew he wouldn’t win the league with Southampton, but he continually helped them to acquire more points than they would have got had he gone off medal hunting with some London bunch.)

But I take a dimmer view of the transferrer clubs’ reaction to the transfer requests. Why aren’t they blocking these moves? It’s not as if these mercenary players can go off and play in the social leagues. What sort of signal does the allowance of key players’ (and every team has them) requests send to the remainder of the squad? If you want to demotivate your players, then do precisely what these clubs are doing – let your best ones go. What is the point of sport if its participants have no competitive spirit?

While I have in recent times taken the view that the creation of GFC has harmed the domestic league’s clubs, based on what I am reading in your newspaper, it seems to me that the domestic league clubs are quite happy to harm themselves with or without Guernsey FC.

I certainly won’t be turning up to watch any team which has let one of its best players go this season.

MATT WATERMAN,

Flat 2,

3, Burnt Lane,

St Peter Port,

GY1 1HL.