For The Umptieth Time, The Reserve Team

[Springfield Quark]

Now we need Keith Curle to press for the Reserve Team to play in the Lancashire League as it has previously done. The decision has to be reached, with everything in place, by the beginning of March.

Let's get the main expenses sponsored. There would be 9 teams in the league, so that's 8 away trips. There are 5 supporters groups. Each one could sponsor the coach fare for one away match, the bigger groups sponsoring the longer journeys. Surely we could find sponsors for the other 3.

League membership (including match officials' fees) could be another sponsorship. There would then be hardly any other expenses.

We would always have enough players. Typically the full-time squad is 23 players and we also could use the best / eldest youth team players. So we could use the unused first team substitutes, the other 5 full time professionals, some youth team players and trialists.

This situation of the reserve players badly needing to be in a league has been posed numerous times. Until it is

[griff]

I fully agree. What heppened to all the "behind-closed-doors" games with the likes of Rangers that we used to have? Anyone not getting regular pitch-time for the Club isn't going to hang about, or sign for that matter. How do you prove that you'r worth a starting position if you aren't involved in competitive games?

[Springfield Quark]

They were 'more tea vicar' games. We want our pissed off players showing how good they are against the similarly pissed off players of other clubs, our senior youngsters playing against gnarled professionals and showing them no respect.

The club last season played in one of the Lancashire League cup competitions, so I assume that we are members of the Lancashire FA. So, as well as playing in the Lancashire League we could enter the Lancashire Senior Cup, which would be interesting.