In the 2006-7 season, 25 teams competed in 3 divisions; in 2007-8, 28 teams started, but this became 27 after only a few weeks. Our club entered 2 additional teams and both Argyle and Formby Holy Trinity entered one; North Meols dropped a team. The 1st and 2nd divisions now have 9 and 8 teams respectively, while division 3 has 10. An improvement, certainly, but it could be better.
Two of the four new teams consist of juniors, and another (Southport ‘E’) consists of elderly more mature players, mainly new to the competitive game. Their lack of experience hasn’t dimmed their enthusiasm, and both young and old have improved considerably during the first half of the season. Without these extra teams, the league would have faced the possibility of shrinking further, to only 2 divisions of 12 or 13 teams. Many of the top players also compete in Liverpool, and if their season got too crowded the Southport League would be the one to suffer, with some players and teams dropping out altogether.
I believe deliberate expansion is the only way to break out of this spiral. Other clubs need to be bold enough to field additional teams of less experienced players – if enough new teams entered the league in the lowest division, it would have the following benefits:
(a) produce a more evenly balanced and competitive Division 3,
(b) enable more teams to move up into divisions 1 and 2 to give a full fixture programme,
(c) provide a training ground for younger players to get experience without suffering heavy defeats,
(d) provide opportunities for older people to play competitively, again without suffering heavy defeats.
I think some other clubs are currently taking a very short-term view of their situation: their better players are reluctant to play in the lower divisions because they don’t get a decent game; they may even be reluctant to have less able players in their teams. This discourages the younger or less able players and eventually there will be fewer young players coming through to the higher divisions and the game will finally peter out.
10 or 20 years ago, there were around 10 divisions in the Southport League. We may never get back to that scenario, but the future of the game does depend on us all doing our best to promote it and to actively encourage others to join in the fun.
