Here is the second edition of this season's 'Worcester League News'.

Results & Referee Marks 18th & 19th September:

Results - all results received on time

Referee marks - No marks received from New Inn Sports FC who have now used up their 2 'lives' - failure to submit marks in future will incur a £10 fine.

One other thing on referees marks, please send me your Nursing Cups marks as well, this will make it easier to collate.

Disciplinary sub-committee report: Sadly, despite numerous warnings to you all to make sure you register players correctly, seven cases of clubs fielding ineligible players have occurred and the following action has been ratified by the Management Committee; -

1. Martley Spurs Reserves FC on 5.9.10 - Fielding player Luke Owen whilst under WFA suspension. Case admitted and club deducted 3 points gained in match + 3 additional points as per rule 8 (m) (i) and (ii).

2. Bridge Rangers FC on 12.9.10 - Fielding player Wesley Joyce whilst under Herefordshire FA suspension. Case not proven as club had not been notified of suspension by relevant County FA.

3. Nunnery Wood Colts FC on 12.9.10 - Fielding unregistered player Josh Wheeler. Case admitted and club deducted 3 points gained in match + 3 additional points as per rule 8 (m) (i) and (ii).

4. Berwick FC on 12.9.10 - Fielding player Samuel Lewis who was not registered either 14 days before a Bernard Finnigan cup tie or had not played one match for club in a Worcester League competition. Case admitted - Internal cup rule 4 (a) applied. Fixture was lost - club fined £25.

5. AFC Brewers FC on 12.9.10 - Fielding players Simon Hill and Andy Powell who were not registered either 14 days before a Bernard Finnigan cup-tie or had not played one match for club in a Worcester League competition. Case admitted and club disqualified from Bernard Finnigan Cup as per Internal Cups rule 4 (e). Opponents Malvern Rangers A to be re-instated.

6. St Johns FC on 12.9.10 - Fielding unregistered player Josh Radford. Rule 8 (m) (i) - match lost so no points deducted from match but 3 points deducted as per rule 8 (m) (ii). Also club fined £25 under rule 5 (h) for not answering correspondence.

7. Arrow 2000 Reserves FC on 12.9.10 - Fielding unregistered player Roy Hannay. Case admitted - match lost, so rule 8 (m) (i) - deduction of no points, (ii) deduction of 3 points.

Well, there you are, disappointing but it's happened. Whilst your Management Committee accepts that these are probably all genuine mistakes, we feel that we have to have a zero tolerance policy in these cases so everyone knows where they stand. I can only urge all secretaries to again read the registration rules in the hand book very carefully to avoid any future problems. If you are in any doubt about anything, please contact Ted, the Registration Secretary, who will be only too pleased to help and guide you.

Participation in external cup competitions: If your club has entered any cup competitions outside of the Worcester League (e.g. - County Cup, Nursing Cup, Martley Cup, Pershore Hospital Cup etc.), it is imperative that you inform the Fixture Secretary, Bob Usher, of the following -
a) the conference dates of these cups
b) the result of your matches
Unless Bob has this information, he will be unable to schedule forthcoming fixtures correctly and you are likely to end up with duplicate fixtures and possible ground problems.

WFA Disciplinary Forms: Clubs that have received correspondence from the County re misconduct and cautions for their players will know that there are new forms to fill in when you make your plea. I'm told by the WFA that clubs seem to be coping quite well at the moment but if you are in any doubt as to how to fill in these forms, then don't hesitate to ring John Lovegrove or Chris Dale on 01905.827137 x 207, who will be more than happy to help you.

City Council pitch bookings: One or two clubs have experienced difficulty in booking pitches, especially clubs who only require casual bookings when their own pitch is unavailable. The no. to ring is 01905.752963 - no later than mid-day on the Tuesday prior to the weekend you require a pitch ! You are likely to encounter an answer phone but you must leave the following information to guarantee a pitch:-
a) The full name of your club
b) The date and time you require a pitch
c) Ensure that you say you want a senior pitch
d) Your full contact details - i.e. name, address, phone no. and e-mail address
e) And most importantly, the Council must have your debit/credit card details

Due to staff resources, you are unlikely to speak to anyone in person. I'm told that all the requests for bookings are dealt with on a Tuesday, after the noon deadline. If you experience any problems with bookings, then please let me know.

Website: I trust you are all making regular visits to the website to keep up to date with results, fixtures, round-ups and all the news. We had 4,500 'hits' last weeks, so I suppose somebody is looking at it !The photo album section is expanding slowly with team photos etc and I hope to get round as many clubs as possible this season with my Brownie 127 ! To make it more user friendly, the website will shortly be found by tapping in worcesterleague.com - watch this space !
If you spot any errors in the League tables, fixtures etc, then let me know straight away please.

Respect Campaign: I'm told one or two referees have not instigated the Respect hand shake before matches. As the League has fully signed up to the Respect campaign, this is a mandatory requirement. If the referee omits to ask clubs to do this, the onus is also on the clubs to make sure this procedure takes place - your co-operation is appreciated.

On the subject of respect and general behaviour, we've had a couple of complaints recently. The first concerns bad language on public parks and near houses. Now no one expects a match to take place these days without someone swearing, but please show some responsibility and tone it down !
The second complaint was far more serious and concerns an allegation of racist remarks being made towards one of the League players. Let me make it perfectly clear -the League will not condone any instance of racist behaviour and if anything is proved, offenders can expect heavy punishment.

Regards,

Tim

PS - The next Delegates meeting is on Tuesday 19 October - got your diary noted?

Full downloadable copy of WDFL News - Season 2010/11 No. 2 - Download / Open