How would you improve the league?

[Munchkin]

Premier, Division One and Division Two will have their full list of fixtures at the start of the season

 

[Neutral]

I personally think the under garments and sock tape is good- looks professional. It's easy enough to follow too.

No ET in cup games is a good idea- may encourage travelling fans.

I'd put more teams in Division 2 and flesh it out slightly. 

League fines should be appeased somewhat, and I like the idea of digital team sheets sent to the referee 24 hours before the game. 

[Munchkin]

League fines should be appeased somewhat, and I like the idea of digital team sheets sent to the referee 24 hours before the game.

I wish I knew my team 24 hours before let alone the referee!

[petethegreek]

Compulsory fitness tests for Assistant Referees officiating in the Premier Division. 

[SG24]

Don't they do one now?  I'm not surprised though, I have seen some very poor assistants, whose age is clearly overtaking their ability to keep up with the pace of the game.  I saw one last season who gave the defence 5 yards and "guessed" offsides because he knew he couldn't keep up.

[tringarmy]

Premier, Division One and Division Two will have their full list of fixtures at the start of the season

 

It makes sense where possible to load up midweek games for the August to November period. There will inevitably be FA Cup & Vase replays leading to some being cancelled but I think clubs would much prefer this to playing 3/4 games a week in March & April.

 

We all know that pitches at Step 5 & 6 won't stand up to severe weather. The issue this season might have been more problematic as the bad weather was later than usual & we were still getting waterlogged pitches in March & April. To be fair I think the League were quite good this season in that in a lot of cases postponed games were scheduled in again quite quickly after the original date.

 

From a club point of view I'd like to see derby matches played on a Saturday (August to October or March / April) or over the Chrismas period to get as big a crowd as possible & generate more income for clubs. On the flip side this would generally mean travelling further midweek for players.

 

Have to agree scrapping extra time for League & Challenge Trophy games. Is it too late to get a club vote at the AGM or can it be proposed on the day?

[petethegreek]

It makes sense where possible to load up midweek games for the August to November period. There will inevitably be FA Cup & Vase replays leading to some being cancelled but I think clubs would much prefer this to playing 3/4 games a week in March & April.

 

We all know that pitches at Step 5 & 6 won't stand up to severe weather. The issue this season might have been more problematic as the bad weather was later than usual & we were still getting waterlogged pitches in March & April. To be fair I think the League were quite good this season in that in a lot of cases postponed games were scheduled in again quite quickly after the original date.

 

From a club point of view I'd like to see derby matches played on a Saturday (August to October or March / April) or over the Chrismas period to get as big a crowd as possible & generate more income for clubs. On the flip side this would generally mean travelling further midweek for players.

 

Have to agree scrapping extra time for League & Challenge Trophy games. Is it too late to get a club vote at the AGM or can it be proposed on the day?

 

Call a SGM.

[Karen Browne]

From a club point of view I'd like to see derby matches played on a Saturday over the Christmas period to get as big a crowd as possible & generate more income for clubs.

 

This matter is in hand

[No13]

Or maybe some local derby games throughout the season on a Friday night would more than certainly swell some crowds.

[BUFC]

Or maybe some local derby games throughout the season on a Friday night would more than certainly swell some crowds.

not letting teams who share with cricket clubs into the Premier Div

[cufc]

Or maybe some local derby games throughout the season on a Friday night would more than certainly swell some crowds.

 

I have seen instances of this in the UCL and it has worked well.

 

I think that they should try and even out the amount of fixtures each team are away during midweek in the season, then actually how far they are too. They should impose a maximum journey time for midweek fixtures.

[A.nonymous]

I have seen instances of this in the UCL and it has worked well.

 

I think that they should try and even out the amount of fixtures each team are away during midweek in the season, then actually how far they are too. They should impose a maximum journey time for midweek fixtures.

 

Not sure that will work to be honest. If you are committing to playing at this level you should be expected to travel. Re-arranged games for example, how would you fit this in with your proposal? Say for example (as we had), games against Ampthill cancelled and you can only play it on a Thursday, then what would you do? 

[Munchkin]

I think the league are doing the right thing by putting the fixtures up for the whole season. You then know where you stand. It also allows them to have midweek dates in standby if you go on a cup run. You can't doing anything about the weather, but at least you can plan most of your season. The problem this year is the weather was shit later than usual.

[No13]

Reckon this League Fixture Secretary job is a doddle, I mean all you got to do is satisfy every team and individual, cut down teams travelling and give them all home fixtures midweek!!!!

And all for an annual income of.....jack. LOL

[Neutral]

Would like to see a max of 2 teams without floodlights allowed in division 1, I think Kent Athletic and Aston Clinton would make great div 1 sides next season!

[nick.ince]

No shocks coming in this part of the post (being a part of Hoddesdon Town)...

 

 

1. Playoff's would be a great idea! I think it would bring the SSMFL in line with other leagues (including the professional game.) Having attended Enfield Towns playoff games last year, you can see the buzz created and the swelling crowds.

 

2. All for getting rid of extra time in certain midweek comps. Practical and would facilitate a few more upsets.

 

3. I love a programme, but don't think it should HAVE to be provided. leave it up to the clubs to decide if they want to do them.

[smellynuts]

To many games have Assessors present, and the impact that has on officials dishing out far more bookings and red cards.

In our case I believe we had over 75% of games being assessed, and at our level I cannot understand why the pressure or culture of referee's generally is to book players without any warnings for a none serious foul. In other words referee's tend to change the way they officiate when an assessor is present.

When you compare officials in the Football League, they will NEVER give out a booking without a warning first unless it is a serious infringement, so why do assessors not ask officials at our level to do the same - unless it is down to being a good revenue stream?

The minority of referee's at our level do give warnings, they tend to be the best, and everyone from managers to players are appreciative of this behaviour, and have no problem when a second offence leads to a card.

By the way, my team did have too many bookings due to ill discipline and mainly verbal. I am certainly not defending our record, and these comments are in no way related to this.

[cufc]

Not sure that will work to be honest. If you are committing to playing at this level you should be expected to travel. Re-arranged games for example, how would you fit this in with your proposal? Say for example (as we had), games against Ampthill cancelled and you can only play it on a Thursday, then what would you do? 

 

I'm not saying you shouldn't travel. I think there is an inconsistency in the level of travelling undertaken by each team midweek. Over the course of a season I believe it would help every club with player availability. People have to work and I think by putting an extra hurdle of an extortionate journey midweek doesn't help. I think with every proposal there would be a downfall. In the scenario you mention, the clubs would have to understand that whilst every provision is made, there may be circumstances where they cannot be met.

 

You could however offset this in a couple of ways, firstly like others have said, to have a fixture list set in place for the season, where you can plan accordingly. Secondly, we could introduce something around kick off time and flexibility. Say set every game at 7:45, with the latest you can kick off at 8:15, at the refs discretion. At present, this pretty much seems like pot luck depending on the referee. For example, we travelled to Cockfosters one evening, where there was a vast amount of traffic close to the ground. The ref understood the need for players to arrive and warm up properly and therefore allowed a late kick off. We have also experienced quite to opposite this year, and frankly, the attitude of the ref was disgusting. To allow for these idiots the refs should be given the power to delay kick off up until a certain time, at which point the club gets reported, where they will then have to respond to the league.

[Neutral]

The referees I've seen this season seem to have words. Maybe just not public ones. A foul is a foul after all (PTG i'm sure will say different lol)

 

Also, I don't think the league are responsible for the refereeing assessment system. Surely it is good we have so many refs aspiring to get to the next level?

[A.nonymous]

I've got nothing against referees, I have to deal with referees on a day to day basis. It's those officials that as mentioned do not give warnings but caution you to show some kind of authority on the game. When referees we had explained decisions and had a quiet word it works far better than those dishing out cards left right and cent for silly infringements. I know my discipline hasn't been the greatest this season but I still think that some of the officials are the reasons behind some of it