Football row over Shropshire juniors
Saturday 8th October 2011, 11:30AM BST.
A junior football league with thousands of players across Shropshire has stopped publishing match results to avoid embarrassing the children.
The Telford Junior League – made up of 20 divisions ranging from under-10s to under-16s – now records all games as either 1-0 wins or 1-1 draws.
League bosses say the move is in line with Football Association guidelines.
And the league, which was founded in 1984 and has more than 2,000 players from clubs in Telford, north Shropshire and Bridgnorth, will also stop recording results for under-11 teams altogether from next season.
One parent, who did not want to be named, said: “This is because they don’t want kids embarrassed if their team has lost heavily. If that’s the case what’s the point of having a league table up on the website at all?”
Assistant secretary Stephen Groome said the league had introduced the results policy on its official website this year.
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So they don’t want to embarrass the teams that loose heavily, what about the teams that win don’t they want to encourage them?
Why bother playing in a league? just have a load of friendlies with results at 1 – 1 draw.
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Why not just take down the goal posts and let them run pointlessly around a field? Sooner or later these kids will be forced unprepared into the real world where nothing is handed to them on a plate, everything has to be worked for and everyone has to suffer grief and disappointment at some time. Shame on the idiots who deprive them of an educative childhood.
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But for millions of people, football *is* running pointlessly round a field. That’s the *real* world.
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I’m a big football fan, played the game as a kid, including in various leagues in Shropshire, and am against pretty much any move that means kids do less competitive sports. But I agree with this move by the Telford Junior League and with whatever guidelines it’s in accordance with.
When you see in the paper that XXXX Under 10s beat YYYY Under 10s 12-0, you don’t think ‘wow, XXXX must have been good’. On the contrary, you can be fairly sure that they’ll simply have been physically bigger and stronger. Such games – and results – don’t really benefit anyone and certainly don’t help our country as a whole produce better footballers.
I’d be for more small-sided games on smaller pitches, with kids getting more touches of the ball and more of the emphasis being on skill, awareness etc. It’s still important to learn to win, draw or lose, though.
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“I’d be for more small-sided games on smaller pitches, with kids getting more touches of the ball and more of the emphasis being on skill, awareness etc. It’s still important to learn to win, draw or lose, though.”
WELL SAID THAT MAN. Nobody enjoys winning 10, 15, 20-0. Ask the lads that win aswell…!! The sides that win that many are usually the sides that go out and get the best players from other sides in the league and have 1 or 2 decent games a season. What do they get from that in terms of development – nothing
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Well said coach a very sensible approach.
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WHAT A COMPLETE LOAD OF RUBBISH.
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Perhaps we could have the benefit of your unique insights into this matter then, Mr Jones?
Not holding my breath, mind, as I generally find on forums like this that those who have to use capital letters are those with least to say.
Two things I do know from my own football and rugy experiences :
1. Football Coach is dead right with this ‘Nobody enjoys winning 10, 15, 20-0.’ I never played in a junior football team ‘good’ enough (ie big and strong enough) to win by those margins but I played in school rugby teams that regularly doled out 50-point beatings. And do you know what? It was boring, embarrassing and we learned nothing from it.
2. Junior football in Holland is all set up around small-sided games with a lot less emphasis on results and a lot more on developing technique. Spain too apparently. We, on the other hand, have put the emphasis for far too long on results at the youngest ages and that means that physique, strength, and Dads bellowing from the sidelines characterise our junior football. The ultimate consequence of all that is that our national team, when compared with Holland or Spain, is utterly utterly mediocre. There has to be a link.
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Points well made James & I’m very pleased that you’ve decided not to hold your breath until Mr James qualifies such STUPID STATEMENTS!
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James,Experience of a 70 year old who used to play with a real leather football,now that would cause a uproar if the mummies pets had to do the same. Just read the majority of the comments, I rest my case,
PS.Is that why the 15 year old’s in Telford Centre are going around with dummies in their mouths, not being able to join the real world????
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Is this for real? How sad and pathetic that the FA should introduce such guidance, even more regrettable is that those involved in running the sport at County level are so spineless that they feel the need to follow it.
How can you learn how to win if you don’t learn how to lose? This is another victory for political correctness. The local County FA need to man up and show this particular piece of guidance the red card!
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I run a team in the Bilston League and we lost heavily for most of last season – my players were not embarrassed they were a new side playing 11 a side for first time! Only 2 players left and we are full up this season with players beging to join us if we ever lose players. We have won 2 out of 3 league games this season and our lads love the games being reported on in full – win or lose. Its no wonder our young sportsmen and women dont have that competitive streak these days!
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Coach- I think you will find that there is a range of guidance from the FA however this is not one of them the people you have told to “man up” have actually supported the decision.
There is likely to be a ruling to extend no results to Under 10′s in the next few years however there is nothing around 1-1 draws or 1-0 wins at any other age groups.
Understand the information before blaming the National FA all the time.
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To the people of Telford,
You have made the news in Australia and believe me people over here are NOT being complimentary about you! Infact, you lot are being made a laughing stock and “spineless” is a common phrase being thrown about you.
As for me, I’ve always wanted to visit the Shropshire countryside but now I’m not so sure as I don’t like gutless white flag waving “surrender monkeys”.
Steve, Perth, Australia
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jeez, must be a slow news day down-under
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Steve, rest assured most normal people here think it’s risible too. Post a link to the Aussie reports, perhaps the league will be embarrassed into a rethink.
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I’ve always wanted to visit the Australian countryside. That’s because I’m planning on making a post-apocalyptic film and I hear it makes a good back-drop.
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this is like bristol rovers requesting the league 2 results and table not to be published
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Given that Bristol Rovers are full-time pros while the lads in these Junior Leagues are 10-16 year-olds who play, supposedly for fun, in their spare time, your comparison holds about as much water as a colander.
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Maybe they should adopt this approach for publishing Wolves and West Brom’s results as well?
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There seems to be something peculiar in the ?British psyche which makes us prone to putting over zealous interpretations of law, guidelines etc. in place, and this seems to be the latest in a line of these.
Clearly, there is no such rule being applied by the FA, just as there was never a Health and Safety law that prevented people from clearing their drives, there was never an illegal immigrant allowed to stay because of his cat, no law exists to prevent children singing ‘Baa, Baa Black Sheep’ at nursery, and Birmingham never banned Christmas celebrations!
All of these are a combination of over-zealous interpretations by a few idiots, and the power of urban myth. Our European neighbours are often the subject of very similar laws, yet they manage to interpret and apply them in a manner which usually includes common sense. Why on earth can’t we?
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Peter, A perfect reply. thanks,
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