We are NOT amused down at the Lane !!!!!!!

[digby]

Taken from Cockfosters website with the permission of Cockfosters FC

 

 

Latest News

Wednesday 17th June 2009

 

A Statement from the chairman

 

Having become totally frustrated by the position we find ourselves in with regard to the proposed League constitution for the coming season, I set out the 'Open Letter' that I have sent to every Club in the League and to all S.S.M.L. committee members.

 

"Having seen the proposed structure for the S.S.M.L. for the coming season, I find it incredible that the League have swallowed the F.A dictat that Kentish Town will be allowed to continue to play at Copthall Stadium, claiming it as their

[lesbos]

certain leagues stand up to the FA more than others, i know one step 5 which has achieved a good result today through the FA by fighting hard for their member clubs.

[britman]

A great post by the Cockfosters Chairman. Again, the heads of the SSML need to be looked at.

[digby]

Thanks britman for your comment, I for one have alot of respect for the Cockfosters Chairman Colin Bell having the balls to stand up and speak out, anyone wishing to email Colin Bell with their comments may do so at thebellfamily24@btinternet.com I am sure he would appreciate the support

[Wader]

The rant above is so misplaced that the door is thus open to frank replies.

 

When Cockfosters were promoted they knew exactly what the grading requirements were and what was expected of them in that department. They accepted the prize of promotion, it came with responsibilites that they knew full well about (and contrary to what is claimed above you don't need covered seating for 200 people at Step 5 but I suppose that fitted the tale).

 

Their local planning department has been unhelpful, but when did they first consult them about their needs? This year, last year, the year they got promoted or the year before that in anticipation that they might one day need to upgrade the facilities?

 

Having an outrageous public rant at Kentish Town and SSML officials to disguise their own shortcomings is an appalling campaign in any event.

[digby]

Originally Posted By: Wader

The rant above is so misplaced that the door is thus open to frank replies.

When Cockfosters were promoted they knew exactly what the grading requirements were and what was expected of them in that department. They accepted the prize of promotion, it came with responsibilites that they knew full well about (and contrary to what is claimed above you don't need covered seating for 200 people at Step 5 but I suppose that fitted the tale).

Their local planning department has been unhelpful, but when did they first consult them about their needs? This year, last year, the year they got promoted or the year before that in anticipation that they might one day need to upgrade the facilities?

Having an outrageous public rant at Kentish Town to disguise their own shortcomings is an appalling campaign in any event.

Cockfosters applied to their local planning department well within time (not long after promotion) to get things passed, and have been fighting for permision for a new stand since, yes they have a couple of mindless neighbours that have appossed the planning (feeling that more parking will be needed with more people turning up to watch rather than the new stand remaining empty for the season/s and it will not bring more people through the gates at the Lane), yes their local authority have badly dragged their feet in one way or another but Cockfosters have done everything possible to get things up to scratch within time, they are still fighting at quite a considerable cost to get the planning, even though they have been relegated.

The size of the stand is irrelevant, Cockfosters at the moment have not got planning permission for even for a five seater stand!!!

As for KT, having a rant and purely stating facts are two different things, Mr Bell is only stating pure facts thats all, and these facts were for alot of teams disruptive and annoying through the season.

Everyone at Cockfosters takes their responibilites very seriously and agree that there has to be standards but if you think that keeping a team like KT in the premier after finishing last in the league and being deducted points for playing a player/players in someone else's name (and not just once but on FIVE different occasions)is acceptable, rather than a team that has not had a stand built yet, then that is your view at the end of the day, we are all entitled to our views and may not always agree.

If you are passing the Lane through the closed season please pop in and see the possie of people that are working up there daily and have been a week after finishing their last game, getting things up to scratch on and off the pitch, taking their responsibilities seriously, unfortunately there are some things that are out of Cockfosters control and they have just got to wait to hear again from their local authority.

The thing that I find funny is that you seem to keep on about the ground grading but there are four teams in the Premier league that didn't get their ground grading in time (Cockfosters and Holmer Green, who have been relegated through ground grading, plus two others who will remain in the Prem)all four of these teams through the season kept to their fixtures list (apart from when the weather stopped play for them and everyone else in the league)but the team who you think is being treated hard dumb by could NOT meet the majority of their fixtures through the season at their own so called ground, which had the grading.

It seems not just to me but to alot of other prople who have in one way or another been involved within the SSML through the season/s that sometimes ground grading should not come into it and yes the officials of the league do need to consider this.

[Rhodes]

Originally Posted By: digby

Originally Posted By: Wader

Having an outrageous public rant at Kentish Town to disguise their own shortcomings is an appalling campaign in any event.

As for KT, having a rant and purely stating facts are two different things, Mr Bell is only stating pure facts thats all, and these facts were for alot of teams disruptive and annoying through the season.

Everyone at Cockfosters takes their responibilites very seriously and agree that there has to be standards but if you think that keeping a team like KT in the premier after finishing last in the league and being deducted points for playing a player/players in someone else's name (and not just once but on FIVE different occasions)is acceptable, rather than a team that has not had a stand built yet, then that is your view at the end of the day, we are all entitled to our views and may not always agree.

Wader - I'm really surprised by your outburst as you appear to be condoning Kentish Town's actions, the Cockfosters Chairman is spot on.

[Horace]

Wader has expressed his strong support for the grading system before and has set out very eloquently his reasons for this. Some agree with him, many don't.

 

Cockfosters knew that they would be up for relegation with their ground as it was. Their argument seems to be twofold. (a) that they don't agree with the grading requirements, and ( they don't like the fact that Kentish Town have been allowed to stay up.

 

As for (a), Cockfosters are members of a league whose rules are almost entirely dictated by the FA. Join the club, accept the rules (and seek to get them changed if you wish). As for (, my only gripe is that playing surfaces don't seem to get much consideration in the grading rules. If Kentish Town were unable to play for the vast majority of weeks because of the pitch, then that should be a problem to the league. Relegating them wouldn't change anything - they still wouldn't be able to play games if they were in Div 1, or even 2! I hope that they have demonstrated to the league that remedial work has been carried out to clear up the problems. If not, a rough ride ahead. There is a case for saying that pitch availability at Copthall is inadequate for the Premier Division anyway.

[Rhodes]

Originally Posted By: digby

"Having seen the proposed structure for the S.S.M.L. for the coming season, I find it incredible that the League have swallowed the F.A dictat that Kentish Town will be allowed to continue to play at Copthall Stadium, claiming it as their

[Horace]

Rhodes. I can only surmise. The SSMFL committee actually have very little room to manouevre over promotion/relegation, and were led by the nose by the FA over this season's promotions/relegations.

 

I believe that you were instrumental in securing Copthall for Kentish Town (at least that's what you led us to believe at the time), when other clubs had rejected it because of the pitch availability and pitch quality issues. Did you make a mistake?

[Rhodes]

Originally Posted By: Horace

Did you make a mistake?

Horace - I was only instructed to secure the stadium so Kentish Town could play there in 2007/2008 and the rest would be taken care of, I didn't take the state of the playing surface into account as it wasn't within my remit although I was aware that Hendon had concerns and had spent 50k on a feasibility study some years earlier in relation to playing there.

[side of the pitch]

I certainly agree with Colin Bell on his statement regarding grass roots football

There seems to be a very blinkered few from the FA regarding ground grading,puting unfair financial pressure on clubs and members who run these clubs. They seem to think that there is a bottomless pit of money that clubs will some how find to upgrade seating that is never used.

It is saddening when you visit grounds that have had to spend thousands on stands

and there are only a few people watching, you chat to the commitee members only to find that the club is struggling to stay afloat because of the FA dictate of

having to spend money that they really have not got.

This is grass roots football not Arsenal and ManUtd

[Zante]

Sounds like a huge miscarriage of justice. The officials of the fa & ssml should have their testicles deep fried & served with houmous !

Rhodes when are you coming to dinner ?

[samos]

So this is were you have been hiding my brother. Have you had any luck yet with finding trials for our boys yet? No, cos you are fannying around with this people.

 

Talking of the fannys how can you serve up the SSML testicles on the houmous when they have none of the testicles? Get back to the restaurant, we have a big party coming in for the lunchtime.

[yam yam]

Originally Posted By: Rhodes

Originally Posted By: Horace

Did you make a mistake?

I didn't take the state of the playing surface into account as it wasn't within my remit although I was aware that Hendon had concerns and had spent 50k on a feasibility study some years earlier in relation to playing there.

Absolute classic!!

[Reds76]

I think the lesson to learn here is don't rely on other people/institutions to save your skin, do something about it yourself - and in good time. Yes, the rules stink, no one is disputing that, but as Wader pointed out, they have existed in the public domain for some time.

 

Cockfosters' anger is understandable, not least because all the hard work David Craig and his players put in finally getting the club promoted after 10 years of stagnation in div 1 has been undone overnight.

 

Colin Bell speaks passionately about Cockfosters' plight but I would question whether everyone at the club shares his level of disappointment at being relegated. And I think therein lies the problem with the club in general. Anyone who knows anything about the place will know what I'm getting at.

 

Bottom line is they're going to find it extremely difficult to get out of that division but, with the best will in the world, with what the club has to offer both in terms of playing/management resources and 'off-field' support it's probably where they belong.

[digby]

Originally Posted By: Reds76

I think the lesson to learn here is don't rely on other people/institutions to save your skin, do something about it yourself - and in good time. Yes, the rules stink, no one is disputing that, but as Wader pointed out, they have existed in the public domain for some time.

Cockfosters' anger is understandable, not least because all the hard work David Craig and his players put in finally getting the club promoted after 10 years of stagnation in div 1 has been undone overnight.

Colin Bell speaks passionately about Cockfosters' plight but I would question whether everyone at the club shares his level of disappointment at being relegated. And I think therein lies the problem with the club in general. Anyone who knows anything about the place will know what I'm getting at.

Bottom line is they're going to find it extremely difficult to get out of that division but, with the best will in the world, with what the club has to offer both in terms of playing/management resources and 'off-field' support it's probably where they belong.

Everyone at the Lane are very passionate about the club, yes David Craig did do well to get the club promoted and was able to fall back on a good Reserve side that helped with the promotion when 1st teamers were not available, but that was it, unfortunately the beginning of the season was a terrible start for Cockfosters and David Craig with players just not good enough for the level of football that was required, David Craig stood down, Neil Ewing took over with a huge task ahead of him and Ron Syrett that not many people would have even thought of taking on, the Manager, his assistant, new players and a few existing players stood up and was counted at every game and fought hard to stay up.

Everyone at the Lane are united, since the new Management took over our gate takings went up, we finished fourth in the league for supporters coming through our gates, the fans were happy seeing some good football being played by at lot of younger and new/existing players, on-field and off-field support was absolutely suberb.

The answer to your stupid comment does everyone at the club share Colin Bells level of disappointment at being relegated is OF COURSE THEY DO!!!!!!!

Cockfosters did well to stay out of the relegation positions after the new Management took over and more or less a whole new team was formed, to be relegated over not getting planning permission over a stand that will be empty through the season absolutely stinks

You seem to have other issues with the club but if you had been to the Lane through the end of season months you would have seen just how united everyone was and still is and everyone is totally happy with what they have at the Lane in respect of playing resourses, especially management resourses and the
off-field support is better than ever.

The only issue that we have at the Lane is the relegation situation !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Krooner]

Interesting as we have teams in our league that go on about the ground grading system being unfair and how much it would cost to get their grounds up to scratch and then they go and spend thousands of pounds on players.

 

Not saying this relates at all to Cockfosters BTW.

[NeutralFan]

To be fair I doubt that relates to Cockfosters!!

[Rhodes]

Originally Posted By: Bemused

Absolute classic!!

Bemused - Why do you say that in a sarcastic way, like I said I was given the remit of securing the Copthall Stadium for the Club to play which I did successfully after ten solid months of painstaking negotiation with various stakeholders, why are fingers suddenly being pointed in my direction.