No scores in the paper for youth football

There was plenty of publicity given recently to the English FA's decision to make football non-competitive for U9 teams. Part of this development was the order given that results for these age groups should no longer be published in newspapers.

This has been the case in Wales for some time. The English youth policy is famously backward , and Wales' progressive coaching system was rearded years ago with JIRA approval from UEFA.
Football here is non-competitive until the Under 12 age group. And so it should be.

You would think then, that the local FA's and leagues would all be behind this policy. Think again. Our local League in Caernarfon insists that we provide teamsheets and scores for precisely this purpose. And in Thursday's Caernarfon Herald , you could happily read that Felinheli Under 9's lost 7-0.

Sour grapes you might think. Not at all. We win sometimes too, and I would stll object strongly to publication. The point is that we believe in football for all as prescribed by the FAW, (and therefore the NWCFA and its Leagues).

The minute you start attaching any significance to match scores, you pressurise team managers to select teams according to ability. Some teams already do that I know, to the detriment of late developers who are put off football early on.

It isn't a level playing field. There are often large squads of players at these games, and we play a second game for those who didnt play in the first. We treat these games with equal importance.
Every game is a friendly.

But not according to the Gwyrfai Junior League who threaten to fine clubs opposed to this outdated nonsense. If football is officially uncompetitive then scores are irrelevent. To publish them becomes farcical and should be stopped.

Bangor City 1-0 Connahs Quay

I've spent worse afternoons at the football. I was about to say, "but not many", unfortunately that wouldn't be true. My football watching life has been a turgid potpourri of mediocrity and tedium. Yesterday's recipe included lots of cold water.

My early morning had been spent watching Y Felinheli Under 7's play against Penrhosgarnedd at Treborth. That was wet too. My middle son Ifan was playing his second ever game, and he even kicked the ball once. There's progress for you.

I decided to visit Farrar Road in the afternoon, using my newly acquired Welsh Premiership photography accreditation. After my initial forays into photography, I've decided to step things up. I bought a new super duper telephoto from ebay and I'll be taking pics at the Wales internationals, so I used the biggest game of the day in North West Wales to get in some practise.

As the saying goes, "upgrade your ability before you upgrade your gear". Today's images were taking with my cheap old Tamron 70-300mm f/4-5.6 lens while I await delivery of the next step up, a Canon EF 400mm f/5.6 L USM Lens. (The things I write for search engine optimisation). You can see that the Tamron struggled in the low light.

So there I was in my lime green bib ready for some action. I waited....and waited. This really was a dull game, enjoyed only by Bangor's most fervent supporters. The type of people who stand out in the open end, even when there are perfectly good roofs on two of the stands.

I got soaked crouched at the side of the touchline. It was an interesting aspect, even though a cameraman doesn't actually see any of the best bits. As Sion Edwards breaks clear down the left one, you have to make an instant decision. Does my camera follow his tricky feet, or do I focus on Les Davies charging up the middle for my money shot?

I usually try to get the centre forward in the hope that I capture the exact moment when ball meets head, eyes focused and drops of water elegantly showering his forehead. So far, I only know what has happened by the sound of the crowd groaning as the ball has somehow cleared the stand. My camera catches Big Les's disappointment. I have thousands of pictures of Les looking disappointed.

Connah's Quay were organised. No matter how miserable and boring a game is, I always come away with a nugget that keeps me interested enough to go again. This time I was fascinated by the way that the whole defence would shout "don't foul, don't foul" whenever Bangor attacked.

They had obviously identified Bangor's set-piece as a danger and were disciplined enough not to give away many free kicks. It was good to see intelligence rather than machismo in a Welsh premier game.

The Seb Coe Article

Did Seb Coe really say that?

Mystery surrounds an apparent remark made by Olympic Chief Seb Coe yesterday. One eagle-eyed Londoner saw the following report on pahe 5 of thelondonpage.

SEB COE : F*** THE SCOTS AND THE WELSH.

Part of the report about the 2012 olympic team is "When asked last night about the opposition from the Welsh and the Scots , Coe replied bluntly :" F*** them ! "
A few other readers sent me links, but it seems that the Ministry for Truth has been in touch with reporters, and the story is now missing. Is anybody able to find a reference to this on the web and post a link?

Ex-Felin lad moves to Bangor City

Interesting to read that Bangor City signed former Felinheli player Kevin Lloyd from Llangefni Town. I watched Kevin regularly at Felin a few years ago when he played in our first team at Welsh Alliance level when he was just sixteen years old.

Naturally as a youngster his form was patchy at the time, but he had the pace and quality which made him stand out. When Felin were relegated, he went to play at Bontnewydd, and I was surprised to see that he couldn't make the team there.

He's obviously come on a lot since moving to Llangefni, and it's good to see a young lad who is prepared to make the sacrifices that the Welsh Premier demands.

It's good too to see Bangor City giving opportunities to young lads like Kevin Lloyd, Cayo Iwan, and Mel McGuinness. I think the Cofis could take a leaf out of their book. There's plenty of local talent without scouring Merseyside.