ESC president stepped in to save blues

GFLM chairman Phil Corbet had been pulling out what remaining hair he had in a very troublesome and worrying bid to save the Ridunians’ spot and at varying stages it seemed quite possible the blues would have to bail out due to unsatisfactory – for them – autumn/winter flight schedules and various conditions on number of passengers and weight of baggage.

Corbet eventually took the case to the Sports Commission’s operations director Graham Chester who, in turn, alerted Deputy Fallaize.

And, it seems, the efforts of the one-time GFA secretary in liaising with the States’ Trading Supervisory Board, as shareholder of Aurigny, to help find solutions has done the trick.

Inside Track understands that changes to the schedule and other arrangements should now allow Alderney to take their place in the league which they have bolstered through their own significant improvements in recent seasons.

. FINANCIALLY it has been a tough few months for all sports clubs, but Belgraves have eased their own cash worries with the staging of a superb Rawlinson Cup watched by hundreds this past fortnight.

Attendances of 250-plus have been the norm and Tuesday’s semi-final between Saints and North attracted upwards of 300, reckoned the host club.

It seems a touch bizarre that the tournament is branded an unofficial set of friendlies when, in truth, the quality of play, commitment of teams and players and – key – interest of the wider public suggests that the Rawlinson is a better tournament than either the Stranger or Guernsey FA Cup.

The Rawlinson has been an increasingly worthy fortnight of pre-season action that highlights how the footballing public are keen to see regular warm summer evening action.

Of course, you can’t build a sporting calendar simply around the preferences of an audience who include a lot of young families, but at the same time it is a nonsense and waste of potential income that the first week of the FNB Priaulx League should have three games all on the same night.