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Thread: Sad. sad news!

  1. #1
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    Sad. sad news!

    tinyurl.com/y2ove8rv


    I have so many great memories of playing in the old Wolverhampton Amateur League when I was a kid. Traveled all over Wolverhampton and the black country for games in all kinds of conditions. Used to be eleven divisions of teams. Now folded because only four applied for admission this year. No wonder we don't produce decent players anymore.

  2. #2
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    Woody, the paragraph half way through gives the main reason, costs. If you are looking at a pitch costing £100, you are virtually asking players to pay around £10.00 a match. Very few clubs own their own ground, so the Council owned and "maintained" pitches don't come cheap. It is sad, but Wolverhampton is not the only area that is suffering.

  3. #3
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    Quote Originally Posted by abbobrom View Post
    Woody, the paragraph half way through gives the main reason, costs. If you are looking at a pitch costing £100, you are virtually asking players to pay around £10.00 a match. Very few clubs own their own ground, so the Council owned and "maintained" pitches don't come cheap. It is sad, but Wolverhampton is not the only area that is suffering.
    I think a change of culture has more to do with it. Too much digital crap to play around with, too much fast food consumed, rather watch the game than play it. Ten quid a match, just give up four pints a week and that will cover it!

    I can't remember how much I payed when I was a kid, in fact I can't remember paying anything.

  4. #4
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    Quote Originally Posted by WOODLANDSWOLF View Post
    I think a change of culture has more to do with it. Too much digital crap to play around with, too much fast food consumed, rather watch the game than play it. Ten quid a match, just give up four pints a week and that will cover it!

    I can't remember how much I payed when I was a kid, in fact I can't remember paying anything.
    Just looked at the web page for the league I used to play in in Houston, TX. 14 divisions!

  5. #5
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    It happened not long ago in the Dudley and Cradley League that i used to play in. Rising costs, poorly maintained council pitches. It was always inevitable that the league would eventually fold.

  6. #6
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    Quote Originally Posted by wolves71 View Post
    It happened not long ago in the Dudley and Cradley League that i used to play in. Rising costs, poorly maintained council pitches. It was always inevitable that the league would eventually fold.
    Of course the pubs closing didn't help either did it. I would guess that's where 60% plus of the clubs originated.

  7. #7
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    The leagues were already starting to shrink by the time I stopped playing competitively in the early 2000's, I only stopped playing veterans football a couple of years ago because it was slowly crippling me. The digital age is definitely to blame for the decline, there's hardly ever any jumpers for goalposts going on anymore... it is as you say Woody very sad and will probably lead to a decline in the quality of football at the higher levels in the next decade or so.

  8. #8
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    It was interesting to note that the Amateur league eventually absorbed the Works league. This was inevitable really with all the big industrial employers closing down, but again what a tragedy. So many splendid playing surfaces lost, Stewarts and LLoyd, Chubbs and the best of all G.E.Witton. I played for Goodyear who also had a great pitch, same as the Cricket, two full time groundsmen! I was lucky enough to play cricket for Chubbs Locks on a wicket as good as Edgbaston. All gone now, swept away in the name of progress.

  9. #9
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    I played for Dowty’s in the works league for half a season 79-80? I remember the Goodyear pitch that was a good surface. Went on to play for Claregate in the district prem and Mermaid in the Sunday League before going to Uni.

  10. #10
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    Quote Originally Posted by nortonwolf View Post
    I played for Dowty’s in the works league for half a season 79-80? I remember the Goodyear pitch that was a good surface. Went on to play for Claregate in the district prem and Mermaid in the Sunday League before going to Uni.
    Missed you by about 15 years mate. My first works team was Public Works. I was six**** at the time and had the pleasure of playing in the same team as my Dad for a season. Our home pitch was behind the bus depot on Park Lane, don't know if it's still there though. I played against a Claregate team back in the mists of time, it was on a field opposite the Claregate pub I think.

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