Close Swanky but not 100%. Spot on it is all about revenue for NNSWF with the Jets Youth leaving Speers Point and First Touch Football supplies on life support thanks to Sports Clique. But a second tier could survive without Cooks Hill or South Cardiff. The real point was could an NPL survive with them???? As I mentioned in this forum weeks ago, this was always going to remain as is or at best one promoted up to make 12 with lipstick applied to the pig. The fact that New Lambton turned its back and decided to wait and see was THE spanner that NNSWF didn't expect. Their board got worried why the biggest club with Men and Women's programs and in the middle of an impressive 5 yr promotion plan stopped dead and said no thanks. Cooks Hill didn't have the ground or complete support of its Junior base and South Cardiff, well let's just say that it didn't excite anyone. If New Lambton had their new digs confirmed you can all but guarantee they were up but they looked at what they were going up to and decided to park it. NNSWF NPL is not ready for drastic overhaul because there is no money in a competitive 12 team comp in a population of 450k. The idiots on this forum who claimed it would be NPL 1 and 2 based on the 17 applicants clearly showed that they have no idea. Over time it will evolve and it will change. I was correct before, I will be again. Newcastle Council will ruffle a few nests come September and grounds will be shared. That will be the first step. Then the WPL will get some much needed focus whether the football dinosaurs locally like it or not and NL1 clubs deluded enough to think that they could go up need to change some structure, mend some reputations and follow some governance procedures. If I was a club looking to take the next step I would watch what New Lambton did and what they are doing now since they said no thanks. They remain a step ahead of NNSWF. Eland knows it.
Ahhhhh a ground is fairly important!!!!!!!
I appreciate the anger but maybe direct it at the clubs who have been around for longer than New Lambton in the second tier who didn't apply or maybe those that did apply from the second tier and NPL but obviously put their submission on toilet paper wiped their arses with it and submitted with fingers crossed. Translate Elands response. The submissions were underwhelming. The well dressed whore (check your spelling Einstein) that you mention might be a little too high class than to work the streets with the crack heads that exist now? Really Forever Red (don't tell me you are scouse red), it is lemons like you that has football in this region in the position that it is in. Limited fact. Low on intellect and really a waste of everyone's time. Wait for the change and embrace it or limp away and follow Hockey or something.
You seriously have no idea, poor thing zero response to zero knowledge,
Agree absoute dribble from someone with no idea. To think that New Lambton pulling out threw a spanner in the works is laughable, I dont think anyone were counting on them be ready to go to NPL. How a club like Valentine can be considered a better option than Cooks Hill (using No.2 as there ground) is beyond me. What more does a club have to do in Cooks Hills case and how far can a club go backwards without getting dropped in Valentines case. These answers we will never find out. It looks like who ever did the creative writing for Valentines application needs to hired by Cooks Hill because it sounds like only the info put in that application counted.
Love this line
"This includes placing promotion and relegation between the NPL NNSW and Northern League One (NL1) on hold until there are enough clubs participating in NL1 that are adjudged to be operating at a level commensurate with the incumbent NPL clubs."
Operating at a level commensurate with incumbent NPL clubs? Really? From what I have seen there are a few NEWFM clubs that are far better run and organised than some of the NPL clubs. I'd love to know how that metric was assessed!
I'd love to know what more Cookers can do (ground aside).
"It is not that I am afraid to die; its just that I don't want to be there when it happens" - Woody Allen
David Eland is an incompetent oaf. Got sacked once for it, and then got reinstated somehow. A faceless character who is never anywhere to be found when disciplinary action is required against ill behaved clubs and officials - and always the first person to poke his head up when there is a photo op in The Herald for the women’s league or some other junket. Why do we have to fork out $150k plus for this ceremonial position? It’s always “the board said” or “the board decided”. Perhaps get rid of the CEO, save the wage and let the board make the decisions.
NNSW have shown again for the umpteeth time they have no idea, if they watched, listened,inspected,undertook due diligence this season and asked key people, they would have dropped two current clubs. They are disrespecting the competition with their decisions and that’s not saying any club is good enough to come up because I don’t think any of them are worthy. An 8 team comp with 3 rounds until NL1 clubs are ready for promotion and before everyone starts, Magic and Olympic built up from the lower divisions!!!
Cooks Hill at No 2? Now that is dribble. I wish it would be the case and agree they deserve to go up at some stage if Valentine get the nod but why would Wanderers Rugby and the NRU as a 40% stakeholder of that facility let a football club gain FT tenancy? Unlike most NPL clubs the leather patch boys paid for the upgrade so they have precedence to use. Don't know much indeed. Jets W League at extravagant fees suits them fine in Summer at No 2...Unfortunately like most things in this forum, just like the myriad of tripe that flowed about NPL 1 and 2 in June, no one really knows aside from David Eland and his board. Consider this though. He announces his all new NNSW NPL in September. Fanfare, promo. Here it is folks...... The best ground is........ Magic Park. I rest my case. We sit somewhere behind Football Tasmania and in front of The Northern Territory based on facilities and probably overall quality (albeit South Australia I am told is not great quality). Yes it is NNSWFs fault, asleep at the wheel under Alan Nisbetts reign for 20 years and as Nisbett saved Elands job, he sat back and watched this transpire. Some work to do to recover. New clubs or old / new with smart operators, co gender across all and hopefully a trek further into somewhere North of Hexham for new teams like Coffs and Port. God forbid....mergers? Kahibah Azzurri? Valentine Lakes? Edgeworth/Westy. Let's see if he is smart enough or ballsy enough to do it.
I don’t really understand.
I hope the feedback they give clubs is more detailed and constructive. As a NL1 team or any club hoping to one day be promoted, the last 10 years would tell you you’re chances are slim.
There has been adequate time for NL1 teams to improve their clubs and meet the criteria they have failed to meet previously. Are the goalposts moving? You can’t tell me clubs that have ambition, that have been knocked back previously like Southy and forum faves cooks hill, haven’t improved and made efforts to meet criteria. There’s probably Other clubs too.
I don’t think there needs to be a NPL2 next season. I can live with that.
I can live with no promotion or relegation this year.
I think they should have granted clubs NPL licenses if they met criteria. They play in NL1 and if they win the competition they get promoted and a team gets relegated. If they don’t, there’s no promotion.
South Cardiff were and NPL club. They were once deemed better equipped that Azzurri and Lakes. Why not now?
I think lack of forward planning in NNSW is the biggest issue. Clubs are told again, we keeping things the same for 12 months.... then what? All clubs apply again in April and we go through this all again?
I hope they are transparent with clubs and say, if you do x,y and z you’ll get a license.
For all the work Valo are doing trying to improve CB complex, they have been sub par for years now. Their on field performances are terrible and they show very little ambition. Lakes and Adamstown aren’t too far behind.
I hope it allows them safety to improve in a sustainable way. But rewarding this mediocrity and settling seems backwards.
Maitland were in 2nd division a few seasons ago and look where they are now? A club showed ambition.
My opinion is that the league needs to move West to survive. Look at where the housing market is expanding. Cameron Park, West Wallsend, Minmi, Cessnock, Maitland. I agree the clubs in those areas aren't there yet but they once were so why wouldn't the Federation provide assistance to harness the growing populations. The Inner city clubs MAY start to struggle with a junior base in years to come because young families wont be able to afford to buy in town. Its an aging age bracket in there. NewLambton and Cookes Hill is right on top of Adamstown, Hamilton, Broadmeadow. So why try to squeeze more out of the sponge which is already dry?
Heres an option. federation provide 1 person which works amongst and interacts with those new communities to learn and ACTUALLY understand what the young familes want. Work with clubs, federation and councils. Including super, insurance I estimate that could be $100K outlay per year.
I see the sentiment, but west Wallsend, Cessnock and Maitland are all represented in the top 2 leagues. Players will always go wherever they want to play at their level. If Adamstown got relegated, their best players would find other NPL clubs. The top 100-150 players will always be In NPL, their shirt just changes. Bar the loyal Azzurri, Lakes and Southy players that stuck around to try and get immediate promotion, the best players always move on regardless of what clubs.
The sooner we get promotion and relegation between tiers, the better.
I’m all for escalating criteria.
Give ambitious clubs opportunity.
If we get to a point where NPL1 and their NL1 2nd division has 4-5 really competitive teams, then change things.
Give licenses as teams meet the criteria. Let NPL licensed clubs play in NL1 until they earn promotion.
The bottom NPL clubs have nothing to worry about and no encouragement or consequences for turning in sub-NPL performances on and off the pitch.
As a whole, people going club v club and getting personal on here is not particularly helpful for anyone.
In terms of frustration from Southy (ie/ FR) I understand it and recognise the passion, but to lay the blame at other clubs isn't particularly fair IMO.
Of course Northern were never going to increase NPL and cut the rest of the NEWFM teams loose, there is too much money in it for them to do that.
In terms of some clubs being 'held back by the rest' I would think that Northern could easily find solution's to the dilemma of only a few applications from NEWFM. Pretty simple really:
#1- make NPL 12 team with best 2 NEWFM applications going up
#2- If they were going to keep as is, offer promotion and relegation, but only to the NEWFM teams that have applied and meet criteria (and then if they earn it by winning the league). That way, if Southy and Cookers et al perform and also meet criteria, they have earnt the spot.
Back to the football.
Predictions for the weekend?
Edgey vs Weston is a huge game both need a result to stay alive.
Azzurri vs Lambton another huge game both sides with plenty of injuries.
Top 4 could be potentially decided this weekend!
Maitland 3 buds 0
Valentine 0 lakes 0
Charlestown 0 Jaffas 0
Makes it a very interesting last round
Going down to the wire for sure.
What teams deserve to finish in the top 4?
With the amount of injuries and suspensions both Jaffas and Azzurri have had this season. I believe they deserve to finish in the top 4.
Cracking games to look forward to this weekend nonetheless.
Adamstown have got through this forum relatively unscathed, thoughts on them and where they are headed? I think it reinforces too many inner city teams too close together.