Good to see your post Woad missed your well balanced comments & also Leicester Pilgrim's and others , sadly yes under GD it went OTT on here , a big help your away match reports.
Thanks. Still here - just been a bit too busy to post lately! How about this as a topic of discussion though ... with next week's Lincolnshire Shield Final looming at Gainsborough, what do people on here think about the format of the Lincolnshire County Cup competitions?
Over the past few seasons I've seen a few Leicestershire County Cup matches as well as the Lincolnshire ties involving United. On the evidence of what I've seen, I have to say that the format of the Lincolnshire competition is not as well thought out as that in Leicestershire. Sides have treated the early rounds as pre-season warm-up games and have generally fielded strong teams and tried to win through. But with the final then taking place later in the season it always seems to get in the way of other priorities and is then treated as a reserve team fixture. The competition completely loses its value. I'd like to think that Boston and Gainsborough will take the final more seriously this time around on account of the league programme having ended and it being the last chance of silverware. But my understanding is that some players may have already been released by the time the match comes around, so you have to question whether it will be an anti-climax. Also, why does the final take place on the home ground of one of the teams involved? Wouldn't there be a bigger sense of occasion if it was on a neutral venue? I know I'd prefer a trip to Sincil Bank, Blundell Park or Glanford Park to another trip up to Gainsborough.
Here in Leicestershire the qualifying rounds are spread in midweeks throughout the season, with the final taking place at the King Power Stadium after all of the league matches have ended. Whilst the midweek games arguably do still get in the way of other priorities, the competition is commercially sponsored and the prize money seems to ensure that clubs (arguably Leicester City aside) actually want to progress in it. Additionally, when you get to the final (at least for last year), the Leicestershire FA produced a glossy brochure - it was more than just a programme as there were also articles about the sides that had taken part in the earlier rounds of competition as well as school's football, local womens' teams, etc. It was a souvenir brochure of Leicestershire football and it put most of the programmes of Blue Square North clubs to shame. For next week's Lincolnshire final I'll be surprised if we get much more than a team sheet.
It would be interesting to get a player's perspective on this. Dan Haystead played in last year's final for Hinckley against Loughborough Dynamo. Is the lure and incentive of playing in a 30,000 stadium more attractive than a trip to Gainsborough?
All being well I intend to watch Gainsborough versus Boston next week and Coalville versus Loughborough Dynamo a week later. I'll see if my views of the two competitions are still the same afterwards. Hopefully the side wearing yellow (or amber) will win both matches.
Anyway,I'll let the forum go back to sleep now.
