Sunday league players past and present

Can only echo the above posts. I found lads are different to when I played, I remember playing at Roval Drive with Hydro FC maybe twenty years ago. Ice sheets on the pitch, we all moved the sheets of ice and got on with the game.

I had an incident while managing not so long ago. We turned up, the pitch was admittedly a bit hard in one of two places. The referee was happy to start the game, as was I and the opposing manager. We had beaten this team 7-0 a few weeks earlier at St Christophers. The general consensus of our lads was they wanted to postpone the game but I didn't see the point in every sodomist getting up early on a Sunday to go home again. I didn't consider the conditions to be dangerous, their manager and the referee agreed we should kick off and monitor the situation.

Anyway, we lost that game, 4-0 or maybe 4-2. Our lot hardly put a tackle in all game. I think I got the blame according to the players.

Sums up the mentality of players nowadays, nice haircuts, decent pecs (whatever they are, lol) but  they are made of different stuff.

A bit younger than some talking about the past here, but even when I started playing there were 8 Sunday leagues and 3 on a Saturday.

Have managed and/or been secretary of a team for around 7 of the last 12 years and its tough as people say, but then the league don't help at the same time.

From the players side of things you have to pay out £60 a week minimum just to get a game on, then you have other costs for replacing bottles, shorts, socks or just simply the bag wash every week. This is also compounded by the fact that fewer businesses are in a position to sponsor teams nowadays. Then you've got the people who don't really seem to care about playing - people who get home at 6 in the morning when you are due to kick off in 4 hours.

Last season I had a player sent off for a deliberate handball and fined £30 - never saw him again as he was gone before I got into the changing room. The league chased me for the fees (that I had to pay) rather than him, despite having his full address details.

From the side of the authorities they don't do enough to help teams. The charges for fines should go to the player and not the club, then you have games when you are allocated a referee who doesn't turn up, so you have to referee it yourselves - leading to inevitable arguments about bias.

One of the most frustrating things however was bringing the kick off times forward to a 10am - especially in the winter. 3 times last season we had games called off a 9:50am because the pitch was frozen, but the 10:45 games went ahead no problem. Besides which that extra 45 minutes on a Sunday cuts down on an awful lot of rushing and allows you to prepare for the inevitable drop outs - even more annoying when the referees still charge you!

End of the day though, I stopped playing because there were too many people who took the urine - your own players don't want to play or complain when they aren't in the team, and opposition players who just want to kick lumps out of you or make stupid tackles.

With regards to people complaining about being dropped and then you never hear from them again. I had a player last season who was dreadful but I still played him in matches because I respect people who turn up and put the effort in.

One week he was a no show, after starting in the previous 3, and left us with a bare 11. Was told by his friend that 'he was smashed last night'.

Next week he was back on the bench and due to be brought on at the next break in play at about 70 minutes. Told me to ram it, because he wasn't getting up out of bed to run the line for the full game.

Never saw him come down again.

Quoted from biggles9999

With regards to people complaining about being dropped and then you never hear from them again. I had a player last season who was dreadful but I still played him in matches because I respect people who turn up and put the effort in.

One week he was a no show, after starting in the previous 3, and left us with a bare 11. Was told by his friend that 'he was smashed last night'.

Next week he was back on the bench and due to be brought on at the next break in play at about 70 minutes. Told me to ram it, because he wasn't getting up out of bed to run the line for the full game.

Never saw him come down again.

He'll be missed! See ya! I decided all that crap wasn't worth it, though to be fair that didn't happen too often.

"go to church, eat lunch,  go for a walk, watch songs of praise"

Non-footy but this sentence in the OP just about sums up my Sundays growing up in 1970s!  Reading that brought me out in a cold sweat!

Quoted from LondonMariner43

"go to church, eat lunch,  go for a walk, watch songs of praise"

Non-footy but this sentence in the OP just about sums up my Sundays growing up in 1970s!  Reading that brought me out in a cold sweat!

Sorry  

Quoted from biggles9999

One of the most frustrating things however was bringing the kick off times forward to a 10am - especially in the winter. 3 times last season we had games called off a 9:50am because the pitch was frozen, but the 10:45 games went ahead no problem. Besides which that extra 45 minutes on a Sunday cuts down on an awful lot of rushing and allows you to prepare for the inevitable drop outs - even more annoying when the referees still charge you!

Very good point that, had the same scenario a couple of times but luckily played for a side that had its own pitch arrangements so didnt happen too often....then of course there is the other Thurs evening kick offs early season or late season.....players sign up for Sunday league and most teams i know of always struggle to field a side on a Thursday K.O 6:15PM.

Yes, how times have changed.

I started in the Grimsby League in the mid 1950's. After a couple of seasons I
joined a team who had moved up from the Intermediate League.

Our average age was seventeen and none of us, apart from one lad who owned
a motorbike, had motorised transport. Living at New Waltham meant some long
rides on my old pushbike, and away trips to Immingham, Stallingborough and
the likes of Laportes meant cycling to and across the town to the the end of
Gilbey Road, leaving the bike and getting on the tram.

Can't imagine anyone doing that these days and if they did I'm sure there bike
wouldn't be there when they got back.

It didn't do us any harm as that team romped  through the divisions inside
six seasons to the top of Division One.

Those were the days !

Loved Sunday morning footy - finished about 12.30, headed back to The Plough, Tetney, sarnies & pork pies on the bar and try and get 4/5/6 pints down before it closed at 2.

Me too O.C.

Was it in Tom and  Vera's days ?