I've been thinking a fair bit over the last few weeks reflecting on this season and have thought about the previous seasons in Sunday Div1 1st team. I have been thinking about the best players who are currently running around on a Sunday afternoon. It came to my attention that all the best players in the league are the "older" (sorry guys, 30+ is old to me) are the stand outs in most teams. You have players like, and i'm sorry if i put anyone in the "old" category that shouldn't be there, Aitken, Locke, Nicholls, Crawford, few other vale lads i cant think of, Reeves, Djoko, Fuda, Eggers?, McCombie, Manca, Lucky, few florina boys, the list can go on. My question is; Is there any young players that are stepping up to this standard? or is the standard of the league going to just fade away into an average grad of football? Are we still seeing the ex-super league players coming and playing in div1 still? or have the got their cash and retired?
Last edited by East Boy on Tue Aug 26, 2008 10:55 am, edited 1 time in total.
Westies are second and full of young guys. We have only 4 guys over 30 in our first team squad. A few good ex Fed players like Agars etc coming through.
we at florina could be in trouble if one decided to retire, as there would be a domino effect.
The likes of Big Trev, McGregor, Lucky, Degioia, Brendy, Franky Marron. Then there would be the younger ones who can still play Feds leave cause the older guys are retiring and think that there is nothing left at the club.
every club would go thru a rebuilding stage. That's why these clubs are still going 30 or 40 years on. But as u say Monkey Boy, no real young talent sticking out. There are a handful from westies and Farmers but that's as much as i would know. You forgot to mention Karapetis from Pontian. Stand out in any man's team and 36 or 37 years old.
But u can all breath easy as i still have a few years left in me or should that be a worry for others
Some of the older players that have been mentioned took 10-20 years to establish their reputations.
Younger players will, and are generating their reputations a week at a time.
I would have thought that if there were any decent young players around, they would at least try a FFSA club first, assuming they wish to pursue a career (or semi-decent) and that they are any good. I dont expect any AU scouts going to a Downs game, for example, with all due respect.
Having said that, for an amateur club to get hold of a good young player would be a major coup, so I cant blame the club.
Some of the beauty of the amateur league is the fact that you have a mix of the "experienced" and the rest who couldnt be bothered with the rigours of FFSA club demands or just couldnt make it in a side.
You dont see AU scount going to many of the fed games either. They been busing from interstate team mostly. But I think the standard for young guys is better int he amature leaugefor young guys coz they will play harder footbal, with blockes whom have been to the top level, so they can learn.
Im my view, the fed Reserves, 19's and even senoir grade football has reduced in standard. You still get the old suys wanting the get paid the $$$, plus when your under 19 team is mainly made up of kids 16 years or younger, and most clubs would be aiming towards that. it mainly turns that leauge into a under 16 league. All the good players play 19, leaveing no good players to play 16's, so the level drops there as well. I left feds before Ihit 19's. Went to the downs, with in 2-3 years was playign regular first team. If I went back to feds, I would have been a better player for it. My younger brother in the same boat.
Dows have a pretty youthful ressies team, and could hold their own in the A grade, specially with more experience.
The likes of Brett hain, Ben Mc, Pugs, Pommy, Kriag Andrews, Red Andrews, Chris Edge, Lee Cockerill, Kev Thompson, Tom Radford, Benny A, Big Azz, Matty Adams, Mba, Trev Lishman, All thouse player are under the age of 25 and able to play.
We will def be alright in the furture.
I think my drinking club has a soccer problem.....
M Andrea wrote:we at florina could be in trouble if one decided to retire, as there would be a domino effect.
The likes of Big Trev, McGregor, Lucky, Degioia, Brendy, Franky Marron. Then there would be the younger ones who can still play Feds leave cause the older guys are retiring and think that there is nothing left at the club.
every club would go thru a rebuilding stage. That's why these clubs are still going 30 or 40 years on. But as u say Monkey Boy, no real young talent sticking out. There are a handful from westies and Farmers but that's as much as i would know. You forgot to mention Karapetis from Pontian. Stand out in any man's team and 36 or 37 years old.
But u can all breath easy as i still have a few years left in me or should that be a worry for others
Thats exactly what i was thinking Andrea. I'm pretty sure Vale are in the same boat, as well as Pontians. You would have to say that Farm have probably 4 or so real quality players that will be ones to stick around in this league. Westies have some great young talent, but will they decide to head back to feds too? Downs are definatley re building and looking in the right direction. We have had some young ones step up from C's, but need a lot more. What about gardens? Few older boys in there, but i wouldn't think that many over 30. Lion i looked a bit of a mix. Depends if the Real One is on the pitch, but they always seem to be ok with a mixture. Beach looked oldish on the weekend too. Will be very interesting to see if a few from around the traps retire......
M Andrea wrote:we at florina could be in trouble if one decided to retire, as there would be a domino effect.
The likes of Big Trev, McGregor, Lucky, Degioia, Brendy, Franky Marron. Then there would be the younger ones who can still play Feds leave cause the older guys are retiring and think that there is nothing left at the club.
every club would go thru a rebuilding stage. That's why these clubs are still going 30 or 40 years on. But as u say Monkey Boy, no real young talent sticking out. There are a handful from westies and Farmers but that's as much as i would know. You forgot to mention Karapetis from Pontian. Stand out in any man's team and 36 or 37 years old.
But u can all breath easy as i still have a few years left in me or should that be a worry for others
There will always be players dropping out from Fed. clubs to play Div.1 Amateurs especially if clubs are waving the $ in front of them...don't think it will be a problem really.
We are Liverpool Football Club and the expectations are so high.
Steven Gerrard
E. Grant & Co wrote:Do Sunday Div 1 players get paid big $? If so why bother with a Fed club, less training and by the sounds of it a better social atmosphere.
I haven't played for a few years, but when I was with Elizabeth Downs in the late 1980's I often rocked up to Federation teams and did pre-season training ie Campbelltown, Polonia and Blackwood.
I never found the training much harder than what I was experiencing at the Downs.
I often travelled a long way 2-3 times a week to play at a club I had played with from the age of 9 through to 35, not for money !
The Downs have struggled financially in the past but now find themselves one of the "healthiest" clubs (FFSA included) in the state. Many of their juniors venture into the FFSA leagues and then return to where they started.
The next big names from the amateur league will come from a mixture of those who return to their roots and those that choose to stay in the amateur competition throughout their playing days.
Crowds at the recent Elizabeth Vale v Elizabeth Downs local derby would be the envy of many FFSA clubs.
Parafield Gardens v Elizabeth Downs at Parafield and Downs v Parafield at the Downs.
I go to a div1 game every week , to what i think is the best game in the northern suburbs
I don't have an allegiance to any club in particular although i follow farm westies vale more than the others because i know people at those clubs
this is not meant to bash anyone, it's just my thoughts..
i think the standard of play in div 1 has dropped markedly this year, the older players are showing their age ( or are too often injured) and the younger players i have seen are lacking something
Not having a go at westies, far from it, good on them for having a great year, they are young and fit and they run and hassle all day. If they win the league they would have thoroughly deserved it but lets be honest, the fact that they could win the league with a team that hardly puts 2 passes together is testament to where the standard of the league is currently at. If the new boys went back to feds they would obviously struggle with what would be left of the traditional "westie boys"
If the Vale win the league would there ever have been a year when the title was won by one player as much as this year?
Take Chris out of the Vale and where would they be? How many times has he pulled the rabbit out of the hat for them late on?
How long can he do it for? Oh and they have a real good keeper too, he (and Chris) won them the game against East a few weeks ago
The standard of the rest of the team, hmmm mid table to be honest
Farm had the team on paper but rarely seemed to have all of it's best players available in the second half of the season
Didn't see Eggars Donovan Rutter Clarke Groom Ennis Dunt in the same team very often, don't know the reasons why, injury,work ?
The theory that they have underperformed with a team full of big names is a misnomer, the players haven't all been there at the same time. Early on, they played the best football I've seen this year but couldn't sustain it
The old Inter were not there , Parafield are rapidly sliding down, Downs have the talent but were asleep for the first half of the year, East were decimated and just trying to survive from day 1, Pontian and Beach feeling there way in new territory, don't really know too much about Florina so i can't comment , Lion seem interested only when playing at home
With the advent of the ffsa comp , it will be interesting to see if the current standard of the Sunday DIV 1 can be maintained over the coming seasons, if this year is any indication, i think it might struggle
or should that be a worry for others 
