Cheltenham League Meetings

CHELTENHAM ASSOCIATION FOOTBALL LEAGUE

Minutes of the Management Committee Meeting at the Victory Club Cheltenham on Wednesday 28th September 2005 following the clubs meeting

Attendees: J Crowther, D Barrett , N Oram, L Fisher, A.Stiley, T Onions, J Hunt, B Hill,
P Newcombe, R.Overington,

Apologies: G Cook, R Attwood, G.Morrison, P.Tustain

Minutes of the meeting held on Wednesday 7th September 2005 were read and accepted

Matters Arising from the minutes.

Appeal by Smiths Athletic against the fine imposed upon them at the meeting held on Wednesday, 7th September, for failing to fulfil a fixture. The Division Two match between Smiths Athletic Reserves and Star Reserves, scheduled for Friday, 2nd September, was called off at 4.45 pm. Smiths had been informed by the Referees Secretary that the referee for the fixture would not be able to make it at 4.30 pm. Smiths were fined 3 points and £15 in accordance with rule 10(f).
The meeting considered Smiths submissions and expressed sympathy with the plight that the club's secretary found himself in on the evening in question. However, it was noted that the rules were now very specific about the responsibilities of the home side in this circumstance and felt that there was, therefore, no basis on which the appeal could be upheld. The appeal fee was retained.

Hearing - St Marks

St Marks were asked to attend the meeting following the events of Saturday, 10th September, a day on which their first team failed to fulfil their Division Two fixture away to Moreton Rangers whilst their second team played in Division Three. It was claimed that the reason that the first team could not play was because of injuries, suspensions - 4 players were suspended - and a wedding, which involved two more players. During the course of the deliberations that were conducted by phone on the morning of Saturday 10th, grave misgivings developed over the manner in which St Marks was conducting itself as a club. The Secretary of the club informed the Secretary of the League that the second team had, in effect, refused to play for the first team, thus leaving the club in a position in which it was unable to fulfil both fixtures. The second team manager had also had a telephone conversation with the League Secretary, in which he informed the Secretary that he was in Bristol, would not be back in Cheltenham until 2.00 pm and that he was the only person connected with the club that had the telephone numbers of the second team players. These, he informed the secretary, were in Cheltenham, so he was unable to contact the second team players to try and persuade them to play for the firsts.
Additional conversations were held with Moreton Rangers, St Marks 1st team's prospective Division Two opponents on the day in question. Moreton Rangers reported that they had offered to delay the kick off and even to switch the venue of the game from Moreton to St Marks in order to preserve the Division Two fixture. Neither of these suggestions were accepted. In the end, with the time fast approaching 12.30 pm, the decision was taken to cancel the Division Two fixture and continue with the Division Three game. St Marks won this game against Brockworth Albion III by a score of 2-0. The same situation prevailed the following Saturday. The St Marks 1st team failed to play whilst the second team lost 2-1 to High Tech Rangers. St Marks first team did play on Saturday, 24th September, in a 3-0 County Cup defeat awa y at Soudley.
St Marks were represented by Ms Dianne Johnson, the Club Secretary, Mr Steve Myatt, Club Chairman and acting first team manager, and Mr Tony Smith, 2nd team manager. The Clubs representatives were asked to explain what they thought was going wrong with the club. Mr Smith informed the meeting that they had experienced difficulties with the first team over a period of time and that, now, the second team was refusing to play for this side. He maintained that, given the fact that the prospective opponents on September 10th were Moreton; that he, himself was in Bristol; and no one else had the telephone numbers, there was little else that anyone could have done about the circumstances surrounding this game. The following week, he told the meeting, everyone thought that the first team would be playing and so the second team went to Brockworth to play High-Tech Rangers. By the time it was realised that the first team were struggling - only 5 players turned up - it was too late to do anything about it.
Mr Myatt then informed the meeting that the officers of the club were beginning to turn matters around. He emphasised the fact that the hole in which they had found themselves was not of their making and that it had been a struggle to even get back to square one. He went on to tell the meeting that the substantial fines that had been imposed upon the club by the GFA had been met by personal subscription from the players and that he felt that this demonstrated a positive trend in the level of commitment that was being shown to the club. Other administrative matters had also been sorted out in an effort to get the club back on an even keel and to save money. New players had signed and the old first team manager had resigned, leaving the club looking for a permanent appointee to the position. This, said Mr Myatt, was yet another task that they were confident of achieving as the will was there to build the club up again.
It was emphasised to the Club's representatives that the League perceived that their main problem was one of disunity, of being two distinct factions under the one name. This was accepted and the meeting was assured that this was an issue that was being addressed. In response to a specific question, Mr Myatt confirmed that the club had a treasurer and that the last full committee meeting had been held between 4 and 5 weeks previously. Ms. Johnson informed the meeting that the club had been using the bank account of another club with which she was involved, by the name of RGS, to store its funds whilst it had been sorting itself out.
The Chairman asked that the St Marks delegation retire from the room whilst the Committee considered the matters that had been put before it. Before doing so, it was noted that the time had passed 9.00 pm and standing orders were suspended by unanimous consent.
After deliberation, it was decided that the following measures should be imposed upon St Marks.
· That the club be required to hold regular committee meetings, at least once a month and more frequently should the circumstances make it necessary
· That minutes, stating the attendees at, and the business of, the meeting should be produced and that a copy of these minutes should be sent to the League Secretary without delay. This requirement to be imposed on an indefinite basis
· That a full copy of the club's accounts should be forwarded to the League Secretary within 7 days
· That a financial statement of the club's accounts should accompany the minutes of each committee meeting that are sent to the League Secretary
· That the clubs playing and administrative affairs would be reviewed at the next monthly meeting of the League's Management Committee, on October 26th
· That the club must fulfil all its fixtures for all teams in the League on an ongoing basis.

It was also agreed that any additional measures that might need to be taken against St Marks in the future would be taken against the whole club and that this would be emphasised in the official correspondence following the meeting.
Once the club's delegation was recalled, the measures agreed were explained and accepted. The club was also reminded that the specific clause in rule 10(b) that dealt with fulfilling fixtures in heirarchical order, had been explicitely re-adopted at the EGM earlier that evening and that if their second team was to play again whilst their first team match was called off, they could expect significant penalties. This was acknowledged.

Correspondence:

Email from Cheltenham Civil Service reporting that Bredon had played an ineligible player against Cheltenham Civil Service Reserves in a Division Two fixture on 07/09/05. The game ended as a 1-1 draw. This player was Kevin Hall, who was named as M.Evans on the teamsheet. Kevin Hall is a former Civil Service player.
Confirmation received from Terry Onions that Bredon had not registered a player by the name of Kevin Hall by the date in question. Further confirmation from Terry that Bredon did not name Kevin Hall on their Match Card for this fixture.
Email sent to Bredon asking for their comments on the allegation
Email from Bredon admitting to playing an ineligible player

Email from Referee Will Wain, commenting on the discomfort he has experienced in handing Referee's Cards to a home side manager when he might have given the managers team a low mark and may even have made further comments.
Reply sent advising Will to send a separate report to the League Secretary if he feels uncomfortable with the situation at the time.

Email from Moreton Rangers detailing the sequence of events, on Saturday, 10th September, that lead to the postponement, by St Marks, of the Division Two game on that day even though St Marks played in Division Three

Email from Kings containing a report concerning the postponement of their home Division 4 match with Hatherley Rangers on Saturday, 10th September. In the absence of an officially appointed Referee, Kings had provided a stand in but the game was postponed on the advise of the referee of a Stroud League game, which was also scheduled to be played at Plock Court but which had been cancelled following torrential rain
Email from Hatherley Rangers giving their version of the events of Saturday, 10th September, which concurred with Kings report
It was agreed that the explanation of the two clubs involved should be accepted and that this match should be rearranged to be played in its entirety at a later date

Email from Gala Wilton reporting that the Div 2 game with Rowanfield United at the GALA club on Saturday, 10th September, had been abandoned by Referee Phil Pawsey after 20 minutes because of torrential rain
It was agreed that Gala Wilton's submission should be accepted and that this match should be rearranged to be played in its entirety at a later date

Letter from Prestbury Rovers informing the League that the Division Three fixture with Tewkesbury YMCA was abandoned after 15 minutes by Referee Malcolm Baldwin. Letter also requests that Saturday, April 8th is left free of fixtures for Prestbury Rovers because of a stag weekend
It was agreed that Prestbury Rovers submission with regard to the abandoned game should be accepted and that this match should be rearranged to be played in its entirety at a later date

Letter from Andoversford Nomads giving details of a new shirt sponsor and prospective alteration to club colours

Email from Naunton Park expressing concerns over the new Referees Card rule and pointing out that referees have been refusing to hand them back.
Reply sent back pointing out the reasons behind the change in the rule

Email from Belmore Jags reporting the fact that Tewkesbury YMCA made no attempt to contact them with regard to the postponement of the Division Three fixture between the clubs on Saturday, 17th, September and therefore claiming petrol expenses for 5 cars.
It was agreed that Belmore Jags should be advised that they should make their claim for recompense directly to Tewkesbury YMCA in the first instance and only seek to involve the league should Tewkesbury YMCA fail to pay. It was noted that, in this instance, the League would need to have details of the exact amount that was being claimed by Belmore Jags before it was able to act.

Email sent to Tewkesbury YMCA reminding them of their obligations when cancelling fixtures.

Letter from Tewkesbury YMCA informing the League of their intention to withdraw their second team from all competitions with immediate effect

Email from Smiths Athletic, detailing the fact that they rang in an incorrect score on Saturday, 10th, September but stressing the fact that they corrected this score as soon as they realised the error by leaving details of the correction on the Result Secretary's answer phone at approximately 5.35pm
Having considered this matter, it was agreed that Smiths should be charged under rule 11(b) for reporting an incorrect score.

Correspondence Notified to the Meeting but not discussed

Email from Brockworth Albion informing the League that their Secretary does not have a mobile telephone contact number at present and also pointing out that the League Website shows that Brockworth are based at Mill Lane, whilst their Cheltenham League side actually play at John Daniels Sports Ground in Churchdown
Email from Gaffers asking for a link to be established to their website from the League site
Also informing the League of a new mobile phone number for their secretary. This is 07817741528
Email from AFC Southside requesting tickets for the FA Cup Final
Letter from Moreton Rangers giving details of a new Club Secretary. The new Secretary is Martin Jones, of 35, Fosseway Avenue, Moreton-in-Marsh, Gloucs, GL56 0EB. Martin's home telephone number is 01608 650955 and his mobile number is 07879 015881. His email address is martind.jones @virgin.net
Email from James Fleming, manager of Star FC's 3rd team, informing the League that, although refereed the Northleach Town Reserves v Star FC III match at Northleach on Saturday, September 17th, 2005, he was not offered any payment. The message also reports the fact that Northleach had no match balls
Email from Referee Steve Jacques, informing the League that metal net hooks are still being used at the Dowty Sports Ground as used by Dynamos, Warden Hill United and FC Electrics
Email sent to all three clubs reminding them that these hooks have been outlawed and must be replaced forthwith
Email from Tewkesbury Dynamos informing the League that they are in negotiations with Apperley FC with regard to using Apperley's pitch for their home games
Reply sent confirming that an inspection would have to be carried out on Apperley's facilities before the League could agree to Tewkesbury Dynamos moving to this ground.
Email from Belmore Jags requesting advice on the steps that the club might need to take with regard to playing a player who will not be 15 until November
Reply sent referring Belmore Jags to Nick Baker, the County Development Manager
Email from Cheltenham Saracens, informing the League that their secretary will be away from October 1st to October 9th. Club Business during this time can be dealt with by Chris Hawkins, on 01242 705858 or 07855 641073, or John Hunt on 01242 583856 or 07880693513
Email from Cheltenham Civil Service informing the League that their secretary is away from 25th September to 9th October and from 18th October to 24th October inclusive. During this time, Paul White, the assistant secretary, is the first point of contact

Rule Offences:

The following clubs have been fined in accordance with rule 5h: Failure to satisfactorily deal with the business of the League

i) Late Payment of Invoices: Rowanfield United (invoice44, £143.01, cheque returned from the bank on 17th September, club immediately suspended, further fine of £15)

The following clubs have been fined in accordance with rule 8Q - playing an ineligible player: Fine £20 and 4 points (1 point gained in match and three additional points): 07/09/2005 - Div 2 Bredon

The following clubs have been fined in accordance with rule 10b - Late Kick-offs (away team). 14/09/05 - Div 2 Cheltenham Saracens (15 minutes late - fine £8).

The following clubs have been fined in accordance with rule 10(e) - playing with less than 11 players: 02/09/05 - Div 2 St Marks (played with 10 players - fine £3)

The following clubs have been fined in accordance with rule 10f:

i. For breaking a fixture: Fine £15 and 3 points deducted: 10/09/2005 - Div 2 St Marks, 17/09/2005 - Div 2 Rowanfield United Fine £20 & 4 points deducted 17/09/2005 Div 2 - St Marks, Div 3 Tewkesbury YMCA Fine £25 & 5 points deducted 24/09/2005 - Div 3 Tewkesbury YMCA

ii. For failing to notify the League's Assistant Secretary, in writing, of the reasons for a postponement within 3 days of the fixture: Fine £15: 06/09/2005 - Tewekesbury YMCA. 10/09/2005 - St Marks. 17/09/2005 - St Marks

The following clubs have been fined in accordance with rule 11(a) - failure to complete Result cards correctly. Fine £5 for each offence
Incorrect referees Name: 01/09/2005 - Div 1 Hatherley Rangers (Stated M.Johnson when M.Jeffries). 05/09/2005 - Div 5 Cleevonians (stated D.Walker when D.Watts). 06/09/2005 - Div 2 Finlay Rovers (Stated R.Price when S.Jacques), 07/09/2005 - Div 2 Andoversford Nomads (stated L.Smith when C.Burridge). 14/09/2005 - Div 2 Cheltenham Saracens (Stated W. Taiband when W.Gibbard). 17/09/2005 - Div 1 Belmore Jags (stated D.Watts when P.Barrett)
No teams given: 01/09/2005 - Div 3 St Marks; Div 5 - Cleevonians. 05/09/2005 - Cleevonians
No referee named: 05/09/2005 - Div 1 Belmore Jags. 05/09/2005 - Div 5 Northleach Town. 10/09/2005 - Div 5 Charlton Rovers, 12/09/2005 - Div 5 Charlton Rovers. 14/09/2005 - Div 2 Moreton Rangers. 17/09/2005 - Div 2 Northleach Town
No Referees Marks 05/09/2005 - Div 5 Northleach Town. 07/09/2005 - Div 2 Moreton Rangers. 08/09/2005 - Div 2 Rowanfield United. 14/09/2005 - Div 2 Moreton Rangers. 17/09/2005 - Div 2 Finlay Rovers, Div 4 Gas Green
No Score given: 01/09/2005 - Div 1 Endsleigh. 05/09/2005 - Div 5 Churchdown Panthers. 17/09/2005 - Div 2 Finlay Rovers. 17/09/2005 - Div 3 Brockworth Albion
No Sportsmanship Marks: 05/09/2005 - Div 5 Churchdown Panthers, 10/09/2005 - Div 5 Cleevoninans. 13/09/2005 - Div 4 Gas Green. 17/09/2005 - Div 2 Finlay Rovers, Div 3 Gas Green
No registration Numbers: 17/09/2005 - Div 5 Finlay Rovers

The following clubs have been fined in accordance with rule 11(b) - Notification of results or postponements to the Results Secretary: fine £10. 05/09/05 - Div 5 Cheltenham Saracens - (No result). 06/09/05 - Div 3 Woodmancote, Falcons (no result). 10/09/05 - Div 2 Moreton Rangers (no notification of postponement), Bredon (incorrect score); Div 3 Smiths Athletic (wrong score); Div 4 Charlton Kings, Cheltenham Civil Service (late result); Div 5 Finlay Rovers (late result). 17/09/05 - Div 1 Dynamos (Late result); Div 2 St Marks (no notification of postponement); Div 3 Tewkesbury YMCA ( no notification of postponement), Andoversford Nomads (incorrect score); County Junior Cup 1st round Shipton Oliffe (late result)

The following clubs have been fined in accordance with rule 11c - late result cards. Fine £10: 01/09/2005 - Div 4 Charlton Kings. 06/09/2005 - Div 1 Northway. 10/09/2005 - Div 2 Northleach Town, Div 5 Northleach Town

The following clubs have been fined in accordance with rule 11f - teamsheets. Fine £10. 02/09/05 - Div 4 Charlton Kings; 10/09/05 - Div 1 Star FC

The following clubs have been fined in accordance with rule 13c - no assistant referee. Fine £5: 17/09/05 - Div 1 Bishops Cleeve, Div 4 Bishops Cleeve

The following clubs have been fined in accordance with rule 13e - failure to pay a referee within 15 minutes of the conclusion of a match. Fine £10: 17/09/2005 - Div 5 Northleach Town

The following clubs have been fined in accordance with rule 13J - Failure to submit referees cards or teamsheets. Fine £5: 01/09/05 - Div 1 Bishops Cleeve (no card or teamsheets); 02/05/05 -Div 4 Gaffers FC (No teamsheets), Phoenix United (no card or teamsheets); 05/06/05 - Div 5 Finlay Rovers, Bredon (no teamsheets), Charlton Rovers, Sherborne Harriers (No card or teamsheets); 06/09/05 - Div 1 Belmore Jags (no teamsheets); Div 3 Northway (no teamsheets), Falcons, Woodmancote (no cards or teamsheets). 07/09/05 - Div 2 Bredon, Northleach Town, Finlay Rovers, Smiths Athletic (no teamsheets), St Marks (no card or teamsheets); 10/09/05 - Div 1 Newton Heath, Tewkesbury YMCA, Northway, Hatherley Rangers (no teamsheets); Div 2 Bredon, Finlay Rovers (no teamsheets), Div 3 Belmore Jags (no teamsheets); Div 5 Sherborne Harriers (no card or teamsheets). 12/09/05 - Div 1 Newton Heath (no teamsheets); Div 4 Cheltenham Civil Service (no card or teamsheets). 13/09/05 - Div 3 Tewkesbury YMCA (no teamsheets). 14/09/05 - Div 1 Tewkesbury YMCA (no teamsheets), Div 5 Churchdown Panthers (No card or sheets). 17/09/05 - Div 4 AC Olympia (no teamsheets).

The following clubs have been fined in accordance with rule 14b - withdrawal of a team after the AGM. Fine £50: Tewkesbury YMCA.

Fixtures

The League's Assistant Secretary, Mr John Hunt, confirmed that he had nothing to add to the report that had been presented to the Clubs meeting earlier in the evening.

Honorary Historian

Further to the interview that had been conducted with Mr Steve Myatt at the last Management Committee meeting on September 7th, the meeting was informed that the Sub Committee, appointed by that meeting, had met the second candidate, Miss Linda Wilson, on Monday, September 19th, 2005. This meeting had been held in the board room at the Victory Club and the report of the interview had been circulated to all members of the Management Committee in advance. Following the interview with Miss Wilson, the meeting had formulated a recommendation to be passed to the full Management Committee. This recommendation was that Miss Wilson be offered the position of Honorary Historian with the League. In considering this recommendation, it was noted by the Management Committee that Mr Myatt had attended the meeting as a representative of St Marks and that his undertakings there, as Chairman of a club attempting to return itself to a stable footing, would be onerous and demanding of his time. Therefore, after due deliberation, it was decided to accept the recommendation of the sub committee and offer the position to Miss Linda Wilson.

Any Other Business:

Mr Arthur Stiley, the League's referee's Secretary, presented a letter that he had recently received from Mr Neil Vincent. Neil identified himself as a player with Kings FC who, now in his mid forties, had decided to hang up his boots after 28 years with the same club. In the letter, he recorded his fond memories of playing Cheltenham League football and the characters with whom he had become familiar, particularly those who were referees.

Mr Nick Oram, the General Secretary, reiterated the point that he had made during the club's meeting in relation to swearing by players and spectators during matches and asked Mr Stiley if he could request the league's referees to be vigilant over this matter, particularly during games that were played on pitches that were closely bordered by residential housing.

The Chairman, Mr John Crowther, referred the meeting to the report that had been produced by the Secretary on the facilities provided at Apperley Playing fields. The Secretary had conducted an inspection of this venue on Friday, September 23rd, 2005, after having received an urgent request from Tewkesbury Dynamos to be allowed to play their home fixtures at this facility, starting with their Division Four match with Winchcombe Town the following day. Having been shown the pitch as well as the changing and showering area, the General Secretary had given Tewkesbury Dynamos provisional permission to use the ground, commencing with the game against Winchcombe Town, subject to the ratification of the full Management Committee in due course. The General Secretary concluded his report by recommending the acceptance of the facilities provided at Apperley and it was unanimously agreed to accept this recommendation

The General Secretary presented to the meeting a letter that had been sent to him through Mr John Crowther, the Vice Chairman of the League, from Mr Alan Pearce, the Chairman of the Cheltenham branch of the Referee's Association. In this letter, Mr Pearce drew the League's attention to the concerns that had been expressed by members of his association over the new requirements of League Rule 13(j), which relates to Referee's Cards. Mr Pearce outlined the problems perceived by his members and these centred around their concerns regarding the completion of Sportsmanship marks, for both sides involved in a fixture, on a card that would then be handed back to a representative of the home side. Mr Pearce articulated the opinion held by many of his members that this mark may, if it was low, cause a confrontation and also, possibly, lead to the referee being mark low as a consequence. It was pointed out in the letter that this practice could adversely affect the referees prospects of promotion.
After much discussion, it was agreed that the Referees Secretary would be asked to instruct all referees registered with the Cheltenham League that they should not complete the Sportsmanship marks section of the Referees Cards before handing them back to the home side. In addition, the referees would be asked to complete the marks for club linesmen at their discretion. It was felt that this compromise would leave the referees in a position in which they would feel able to complete the rest of the details on the card before then handing them to the representative of the home side. It was noted that, as far as member clubs were concerned, this meant that the procedure laid out in rule 13(j) would remain in force. It was also noted that, for this season at least, the winner of the Sportsmanship trophy at the end of the season would be decided by using only the Sportsmanship marks that were submitted by the clubs on their match result cards.

There being no further business, the meeting closed at 10.10 pm

NEXT MEETING - WEDNESDAY 26th OCTOBER 2005