Corsham Print
Wiltshire Senior League
Season 2017-18
League Sponsored by Corsham Print

Results - Season 2017 - 18
Premier Division

The Premier Division was again very keenly contested.  Cricklade Town set the early pace with Melksham Town, Shrewton Utd, Kintbury Rangers and Wroughton all in contention.  The eventual winners were Kintbury Rangers, five points clear of Melksham Town Res.  Kintbury did very well considering the number of games they had to play in April and May, and the title was only decided in their final fixture.

The U.18’s Youth Floodlight Division ran very well, with only one fixture outstanding at the end of the season.  In the end, it was Chippenham Town who took the honours with Melksham Town emulating their adult side in Runners-Up position, albeit only on goal difference.

The Fountain Trophies Cup Final was a very good game.  Cricklade took an early lead, but Melksham hit back to lead at half time, thanks to two penalties.  Melksham’s lead was extended to 3-1 early in the second half.  Cricklade pulled one back, but Melksham hit a fourth late on to win the Cup for the fourth time.

For full week-by-week details of all the games played in the Premier Division, U18 Division and Fountain Trophies Cup see link below.
Programme
Purton v Malmesbury Vics Dev
29-08-2017
When Purton dropped down from the Hellenic League secretary Alan Eastwood continued to produce the  club's excellent programme, one of two club's in the Corsham Print Wiltshire Senior League Premier Division to produce a Match Day programme this particular season, the other club being Trowbridge Town. Click on the image of the Programme to bring up a PDF version of the full programme.


Fountain Trophies Senior KO Cup 2017-18

Preliminary Round
Corsham Tn Res 0 Melksham Town Res 2

First Round

Bassett Bulldogs 0 Kintbury Rangers 9
Devizes Town Res 1 Trowbridge Town 0
Marlborough Town 2 Wroughton 5
Melksham Town Res 5 Ludgershall Sports 2
Purton 2 Pewsey Vale Dev 3
Royal W. Bassett Town Dev 2 Bremhill 4
Shrewton United 0 Cricklade Town 1
Westbury Utd Res 2 Malmesbury Vics Dev 1

Quarter Final
Bremhill 5 Devizes Town Res 2
Kintbury Rangers 3 Cricklade Town 5 (aet)
Melksham Town Res 5 Pewsey Vale Dev 2
Westbury United Res 1 Wroughton 1 (Wroughton won on pens)

Semi Final
Melksham Town Res 5 Bremhill 0
Wroughton 2 Cricklade Town 3

Final
Melksham Town Res 4 Cricklade Town 2 (at Corsham Town)

Click on the image of the Fountain Trophies Senior Cup Final Programme to bring up a PDF version of the full programme.
Cup Final Report
After a tough season with the weather it is pleasing to report that the showpiece Fountain Trophies Cup Final was played in glorious sunshine at Corsham Town’s Southbank Ground. The game opened with both sides weighing each other up but it was Cricklade who created the early chances. Tom McCulloch showed great strength to get behind the Melksham defence and his shot was on target but cleared by a combination of Melksham keeper Alex Shaftoe and his defence. The ball was fired back in and there were appeals that it had stuck the arm of a Melksham defender, but nothing was given and it rebounded to Jamie Sheppard who fired his shot wide. Moments later Cricklade’s Reece Gilliver found Oliver Sly on the wing and he got in behind the Melksham defence, but his shot was deflected out for a corner. Jamie Sheppard had another chance for Cricklade after being put in following good work from Tom McCulloch but shot just wide.  It was the influential McCulloch who finally broke the deadlock on 12 minutes when a ball over the top and hesitation by Melksham centre-back Dean Flockton allowed McCulloch to connect with the ball and chip the keeper from just inside the box to make it 1-0 to Cricklade.

Melksham responded well to going behind and the pacy Callum Demkiv started to cause problems for Cricklade at the back by running at the defence. One such run saw him brought down and, despite appeals from the Melksham side that it was inside the box, the referee gave a free-kick just outside. The free kick was fired into the Cricklade wall and deflected for a corner. The resulting corner was fired to the far post and headed back by Ethan Cox with the ball striking the hand of Reece Gilliver and the referee pointed to the spot. Luke Ballinger took the penalty, firing it low into the left-hand corner of the net to make it 1-1 on 20 minutes.

Three minutes later Cricklade had the chance to restore the lead when Reece Gilliver fired in a free kick from the edge of the box, but it was well saved by Melksham keeper Shaftoe. Cricklade continued to press and Sam Ockwell headed just wide from a corner on 27 minutes.

At the other end Melksham were also creating chances and a cross in from the right was met by what appeared to be the head of Lee Fielding and just went wide, However, the referee had spotted that Fielding had actually connected with the ball with his hand and booked him for his action. Moments later Cricklade’s Devan Bryan joined him the book when he was harshly shown the yellow card for not retreating 10 yards for a quickly taken free-kick. It was harsh as he was not even looking at the ball at the time and the Melksham player just fired it at him.

Callum Demkiv’s pace continued to cause the Cricklade defence all kinds of problems and it was following good work by him and a pass into Menghini which saw the Melksham number 11 brought down and the referee point to the spot for the second time in the half. The penalty was hotly disputed by the Cricklade defence and two players found their way into the referee’s notebook for their protests. After a short delay Luke Ballinger stepped up for his second penalty of the afternoon and fired it into the same spot to make it 2-1 to Melksham Town Reserves on the stroke of half-time.

Within a minute of the re-start Melksham Town extended their lead as a ball over the top from Lee Fielding put Demkiv clear of the Cricklade defence and he made no mistake firing past Cricklade keeper Max Scholefield.

Whereas Cricklade had dominated the early exchanges in the first period it was Melksham, buoyed by the third goal, who looked to put the game beyond Cricklade. Two goal Luke Ballinger fired just over after cutting inside on 54 minutes. Two minutes later the influential Demkiv set up Menghini who fired his shot wide without troubling Scholefield in the Cricklade goal. Moments later Demkiv weaved past two Cricklade defenders only for his superb effort to strike the bar and go behind for a goal kick.

Cricklade responded and got themselves back in the game on 59 minutes when Tom McCulloch smashed the ball into the net after good work down the left-hand side. It was end-to-end stuff now and Ballinger thought he had restored the two goal lead moments later when he fired the ball into the net after he had got behind the Cricklade defence only to see the goal ruled out for off-side by the referee’s assistant. Cricklade continued to press for an equaliser and a Sam Ockwell free kick was headed just over by Terry Dearing on 62 minutes and 10 minutes later Oliver Sly also headed wide from a Kyle Moulden free kick. Cricklade continued to throw players forward in search of the equaliser and Sam Ockwell put Reece Gilliver through but unfortunately for Cricklade he shot just wide, Melksham were reduced to 10 men on 80 minutes when Lee Fielding was dismissed for a second yellow card and the dismissal added to the tension in the closing stages.

With the clock running down substitute Matty Bennett created space for a shot but his effort was deflected for a Cricklade corner. Moments later the same player created space for himself on the edge of the box and fired in what looked like an unstoppable shot only to see it bounce back down off the crossbar and cleared by the Melksham defence. It was all hands to the pump in the Melksham defence now and Cricklade substitute Tom Price saw his shot blocked by Zac Hillier who threw his body in the way to prevent Cricklade getting that elusive equaliser.  With Cricklade unable to find a way through and throwing men forward, deep into added time Melksham broke and substitute Tom Jones got behind the Cricklade defence racing clear to fire in the killer blow to make it 4-2 to Melksham Town. There was just about time for Cricklade to kick-off before the final whistle blew and the Fountain Trophies Cup was Melksham Town Reserves for the third time after an entertaining final.


Wiltshire Senior Cup 2017-18
Teams from other leagues shown in italics

First Round

Bassett Bulldogs  0  Salisbury  13
Bemerton Heath Harls 
8  Warminster T  2
Bradford Town
  Bye   
Calne Town
  2  Malmesbury Victoria 0
Devizes Town
  1 Bremhill 3
Downton 
1 Highworth Town 2
Laverstock & Ford 
4  Wroughton 3
Melksham Town
  5  Mere Town  0
New College Sw.
  0 Chippenham Park 5
Pewsey Vale 
Corsham Town 0
Purton 1  Amesbury Town  2
Royal W. Bassett Town
  4  Cricklade Town 1
Shrewton United  0  Chippenham Town  7
Swindon Supermarine 
v Ludgershall Sports, awarded to Supermarine
Trowbridge Town Bye   
Westbury United 
4  Marlborough Town  0

Second Round
Bremhill   2  Amesbury Town 1
Calne Town  
Bemerton Heath Harls  3
Chippenham Park
  4 Pewsey Vale  1
Chippenham Town
  2 Melksham Town 1
Highworth Town 
Laverstock & Ford- awarded to Highworth Town
Royal W. Bassett Town
  4  Trowbridge T  0
Salisbury 
Swindon Supermarine 1
Westbury United
  3  Bradford Town  2

Quarter Final
Bremhill   0  Bemerton Heath Harlequins 3
Chippenham Town
  3  Chippenham Park  1
Royal W. Bassett Town 
2  Highworth T  5
Westbury United
  0  Salisbury 1

Semi Final
Chippenham T  8 Bemerton Heath Harls 0
Salisbury
  1 Highworth Town  2

Final
Chippenham Town 3  Highworth Town  0  (at Swindon Town)


The league’s AGM took place on Wednesday 20th June 2018 at Corsham Town FC and was well attended.

With Warminster Town having been reprieved from relegation from the Western League the constitution for Season 2018-19 for the Premier Division was confirmed at 16 teams.  This is basically the same sides as last season minus Bassett Bulldogs who have returned to the Swindon & District League. In reviewing the league constitution as part of the work on the National League System reorganisation the Football Association have noted that the league needs to reduce the number of 'Reserve' and 'Development' teams to a figure of 25% of the total teams at the end of Season 2018-19. Hopefully next season the Wiltshire Senior League will see new applicants to the league from the feeder District leagues or from sides within our geographic catchment area currently playing in other leagues in order to maintain a full complement of teams.

The position with regards to ongoing competition for Reserve sides, having due regard to facilities and the need to ensure appropriate level of competition for Reserve teams of sides whose First teams playing in the higher levels of the National League System, will continue to be discussed with the County Football Association and the three District Leagues during the coming season.

The full constitution for the Premier Division is listed below:

Premier Division
1.  Corsham Town FC Res
2.  Cricklade Town FC
3.  Devizes Town FC Res
4.  Football ID FC (formerly called Bremhill FC) 
5.  Kintbury Rangers FC
6.  Ludgershall Sports FC
7.  Malmesbury Victoria FC Development
8.  Marlborough Town FC
9.  Melksham Town FC Res
10. Pewsey Vale FC Development
11. Purton FC
12. Royal Wootton Bassett Town FC Development
13. Shrewton United FC
14. Trowbridge Town FC
15. Westbury United FC Res
16. Wroughton FC

The Premier Division is scheduled to commence on 18th August 2018 and complete by Saturday 11th May 2019.

The league will once again be operating the midweek Under 18 Floodlight Division and will have an increase in teams. New teams joining the league for the coming season are Downton, FC Chippenham Youth, Pewsey Vale and the U18 side of FA Vase winners Thatcham Town, all sides from clubs playing at either Step 4 or Step 6 of the pyramid strengthening the quality within the league. Last season’s champions Chippenham Town plus Bradford Town have made the decision to join the Somerset County U18 league.

The full constitution for the Under 18 is listed below:

Under 18 Floodlight Division
1.    Calne Town FC
2.    Downton FC
3.    FC Chippenham Youth FC
4.    Laverstock & Ford FC
5.    Melksham Town FC
6.    Pewsey Vale FC
7.    New College Swindon FC
8.    Thatcham Town FC

The U18 Division is scheduled to commence week commencing 10th September 2018 and complete by week ending 10th May 2019.

The AGM also saw the annual EC Mills Sportsmanship awards being made. As a result of an FA Grant the prize money available was increased allowing an award to be made to the top five sides rather than the top three as in previous years. The awards are based on marks given to the teams by match referees and opponents during the season. The overall winners of the prestigious award were Bremhill, who have changed their name to Football ID for the coming season. They received both the EC Mills Shield and a cheque for £250 at the AGM.

EC Mills Sportsmanship Award 2017-18

Top 5
1. Bremhill 243 pts (awarded £250)
2. Royal WBT Dev 237 pts (awarded £200)
3. Purton  236 points (awarded £150)
4. Ludgershall Sports 235 pts (awarded £100)
5. Marlborough Town 232 pts (awarded £50)

The other two awards made on the night were the Referee's Award and the Club Secretary Award.
The annual Referee's Award went to Patrick Butler (pictured above right with Referee's Secretary Adrian Cripps). Patrick becomes only the second referee in the history of the league to win the award twice, having first won the award back in 2010-11. He now joins William Hawkins as the only other referees to have the honour of winning the award twice. 
There is a new name on the Club Secretary Award with Purton’s Alan Eastwood being honoured in his club’s first season back in the Wiltshire Senior League following their return from the Hellenic League. In a season when Alan has suffered ill health it is testament to his dedication and passion for Purton Football Club that he continues to carry out so many duties for the club. In an era when loyalty to one club is often hard to find, Alan has now completed 45 seasons at Purton having joined as a player back in 1972. He has had just about every role in the club since and has long been the recognised face of Purton Football Club to everyone in Wiltshire and beyond. The Award is based on marks given by key officers within the league who deal with the Club Secretaries on a regular basis and was presented to Alan by League Secretary Jim Thorn (see picture below). The top six positions in the Secretary’s Award were:
Secretary of the Year Award 2017-18 

Top 6
1. Alan Eastwood (Purton)  183 points
2. Mark Jeffery (Melksham T Res)  169 pts
3. Wayne McLaughlin (Calne T U18) 160 pts
4. Kathy Crisp (Trowbridge T)  160 points
5. Derek Waters (Marlborough T)  159 pts
6. Martin Eede (Chippenham T U18) 156 pts


The individual annual reports of the various league officers presented to the AGM are all included below. Click on the arrow to reveal each officer's report.
2017-18 Season AGM Annual Report
  • League Secretary's Report - 2017-18

    This was the 41st season of the League and this is my 15th Annual Report as Hon General Secretary.


    I would firstly like to extend the League’s sincere thanks to our sponsors: Chris Perry and David Kilmurray of Corsham Print who are the main sponsors of the League; Paul and Denise Sebastianelli of Fountain Trophies, who sponsor the Senior KO Cup and Ken Clarke of Westernsport Trophies who sponsors the Referees Appreciation Award.


    As I reported last year, The FA has been carrying out a review of the National League Structure.  New Divisions have been created at Steps 3 and 4, which has meant considerable movement of Clubs at Steps 5 and 6.  Part of this review also included applying restrictions on the numbers of Clubs in Divisions at Steps 5, 6 and 7, which has led to several Wiltshire based Clubs moving to other Step 6 Leagues.  Permissible numbers at our Step 7 level have been restricted to 16.  We had 17 Clubs in our Premier Division last season, which meant we would have to relegate one Club back to a District League ….. or more, if any Clubs were relegated from Step 6.  We also had confirmation from The FA that Development teams would be classified as Reserve teams, which means that such teams would be subject to relegation before any 1st teams.  The restriction on having no more than 25% Reserve teams at Step 7 has been maintained by The FA, despite their liking for “super Clubs”, running football from U.7’s right through to adult.  We did write to The FA about this, as we believe it is not practical to a Club to have their 1st team at Southern League level, but then only being allowed a Reserve team at District League level.   Think we can all see that this is too big a gap, but sadly, The FA have no plans to change it.  Because of the reorganisation of the National League System, I received enquiries from four new Clubs, each of whom were just over the County border, but within our boundary.  The timing of The FA Review didn’t allow these Clubs to follow through with formal applications, but I do expect one or two of them to return next season.


    You will see from the proposed constitution that, despite The FA review, we may be running with 17 teams in the Premier Division next season.  Bassett Bulldogs found the step up from District League football a little too much and requested to be relegated back, which solved one relegation issue.  Warminster Town are included within our proposed constitution, but have appealed the decision for them to be relegated from Step 6.  As their appeal is yet to be heard at the time of writing this report, I’ve had to include them.  I received enquiries from four other new Clubs, each of whom were just over the County border, but within our boundary.  Unfortunately, the timing of The FA Review didn’t allow these Clubs to follow through with formal applications, but I do expect one or two of them to return next season.  I also received enquiries from five new Clubs to join the U.18’s Youth Floodlight Division, but unfortunately, one of these together with two current Clubs have been “poached” by the Somerset Floodlight League.  I have complained to both The FA and the Somerset FA about this and, at the time of writing, am awaiting a response.  However, we should still be able to run with 8 teams, which is an increase of two on last season.


    In last year’s report I advised that we had established a pyramid with the three District Leagues in the county.  This is the second full season of it in operation and meetings with them continue.  The agreement is that the top three Clubs in each of the Salisbury, Swindon and Trowbridge Leagues are eligible to apply for promotion to this League.  At the same time, and providing our constitution is at our capacity, we will relegate up to 3 Clubs from this League.  I did receive enquiries from two District League Clubs, but these weren’t followed through this season, mainly due to ground improvements required.  However, I do expect one or two of them to return next season.


    As most of you are aware, we were awarded Charter Standard League status by The FA back in season 2012/13 and this will be coming up for review very soon.  It’s imperative that at least 60% of our Clubs are Charter Standard Clubs ….. preferably 100%.  In this League, there are currently five Clubs who have yet to submit their applications and I would urge them to do so.  To become a Charter Standard Club really isn’t that time consuming or difficult.  I suspect that many of you are probably there without realising it.  If you have any doubts, please speak with either the Wiltshire FA Football Development Officer, or even one of the Clubs who have been awarded Charter Standard.  Amongst other benefits, being a Charter Standard League gives us access to grants from The FA, which should mean fewer increases in fees for Clubs.


    We’ve continued to operate our Premier Division with Level 5 Referees as The FA withdrew our Supply League status some 6 years ago.  Due to a lack of Match Officials and with Step 5 and 6 Leagues taking priority, this past season has been an exceptionally difficult one for Adie Cripps, trying to ensure that all games were covered.  For the first time in four seasons, we had two fixtures which had to be postponed due to lack of Match Officials.  If it hadn’t been for the wet weather in March and April, there may have been more.  You will see from the proposed Rule Revisions, that we’re proposing an increase in fees for Match Officials.  This increase will bring us in line with both the County FA Senior Cup and other adjoining Step 7 Leagues.  It will hopefully make it more attractive to run a line in this League than to referee in a District League. 


    I mentioned last year that The FA were planning to experiment with the use of “sin bins” (for dissent only) last season.  They did run a pilot scheme with 31 Leagues throughout the country and the result showed a large reduction in cautions for dissent.  We were offered the opportunity to run with it next season, but declined the offer.  However, it’s likely that it will become compulsory in season 2019/20.


    I mentioned earlier the exceptional wet weather in March and April this season.  Many Leagues at our level struggled to complete their fixtures and were either asking The FA for an extension to their season or awarding points for unplayed fixtures in order to complete their tables.  Thanks to the hard work and persistence of the Hon Fixtures Secretary, Phil Cook, this doesn’t happen on this League and we completed by 12th May as instructed by The FA.  Thanks also go to you Clubs for your co-operation with rearranged fixtures.


    Last season, we made use of the Whole Game System (WGS) for players’ registrations and transfers.  Thanks to the hard work of Brian Busson, with assistance from both the Wiltshire FA and Clubs, by and large this change went very well.  Use of The FA Full-Time web site for fixtures, Match Officials’ appointments, results, tables, etc continued last season, though there were a few issues integrating the WGS with Full-Time.  Hopefully, those problems have now been overcome and there will be a little less frustration this season.  Clubs can use Full-Time for player statistics, match reports, etc.  A few Clubs already make use of the facilities available, but many do not.  If anyone requires a username and password to be set up as a Club Administrator to access the site, please contact me.  The FA offer training for anyone who requires it.  Again, please contact me if you require training.


    During the close season we again had to update our League Development Plan for submission to The FA and a further updated Plan and Report has to be submitted this year.  Last season’s Plan was completed, presented to The FA and duly approved.  We subsequently received grants from The FA for various initiatives.  Some of these have already been completed or are underway.  The first initiative was the training course for Team Managers, which was held at Melksham on 15th May.  Although attendance was mandatory, a few Clubs did not attend, but those who did said that it was very worthwhile.  Thanks go to Mark Young and Ashleigh Brennan at the Wiltshire FA for their work in setting this up an also to Mike Byrne, the tutor.


    Following last year’s AGM, Mark Smedley volunteered to join the Management Committee and took on the role of Media Officer.  Mark put in a lot of hard work and soon set up the www.wiltshireseniorleague.co.uk web site.  Mark also set the League up on Facebook and Twitter and I know that his weekly match reports are well received.  Work on the History section of the web site is continuing and, if you have any information, photographs, old programmes, etc I know that Mark would be keen to see them.  You will see from the Election of Officers sheet, we have a couple of vacancies on our Management Committee and also for Club Representatives from each Division.  We will accept nominations at the Annual General Meeting but, if such a post is of interest to you or you have any queries as to what it would entail, please do not hesitate to contact me.


    The largest piece of work that I had to do this season was in relation to League Rules.  The FA has re-written the Standard Code of Rules, with every single Rule being either reworded or renumbered.  Unfortunately, they chose to send these out at the end of March, which meant a considerable number of hours renumbering our Rules, then rewording them to accord with the new Standard Code, the hi-lighting any changes we required and submitting them for approval.  The changes you will notice is that the Rules have been arranged into two sections.  The first section is titled Governance Rules, which basically covers the way in which the League is administered.  The second section is titled Match Related Rules, which covers fixtures, registrations, Referees, etc.  I would mention that, for Clubs, there are no changes to the current rules.  In broad terms, The FA has just made amendments to the wording of League Rules and they now have different numbers.


    Finally, I thank our President, Bill Shail and Chairman, John Gingell both of whom I work with very closely and are always there for help and assistance.  I also extend my thanks to my fellow League Officers and Management Committee for all their help and assistance over the past season.


    Best wishes to all Clubs for a good summer break and a successful season in 2018 - 2019.


    Jim Thorn

    Hon General Secretary


  • Chairman's Report - 2017-18

    I would like to thank Corsham Print for their continued support and sponsorship of the League.  I would also like to thank Fountain Trophies for providing all the trophies for our KO Cup Final, which was between Cricklade Town and Melksham Town Res, who provided a great game and congratulations to Melksham on winning the Cup.  The Final was held at Corsham Town FC on 5th May and we thank them for the use of their excellent facilities.


    Thank you to all the Club Secretaries for all their hard work in fulfilling their fixtures during what was the wettest winter we’ve had for many years.


    Finally, as League Chairman, I would like to thank all the League Officers and Management Committee for all the excellent work they do.


    Thank you for your attendance this evening and have a safe journey home.


    John Gingell

    Chairman

  • Hon. Treasurers Report - 2017-18

    This is my sixth Annual Report.


    For 2017/2018 the League made a loss of £1,857.62 as opposed to a small profit last year of £197.13. 


    The main reason for this, and as you are all probably aware, is that the League was victim of an email fraud which resulted in a payment of £2,250 to All Sport World.  All avenues have been pursued to recover this money but to no avail.  This was a plausible but simple scam perpetrated on the League and as Treasurer I accept full responsibility for this loss.  My offer of resignation was rejected by the Management Committee of the League at the time; however it is my intention over the coming months to recompense the League by denoting my honoraria back to the League.  This is non-negotiable. 


    The account balances remain strong and I am aware that many Leagues similar to ours do not carry such healthy balances.


    As usual the majority of the League’s income is mainly due to FA Grants (£5,800) however subscriptions, registrations and transfer accounted for an additional £3,204.

    Fines accounted for £1,439.81 this year and with the assistance of the Wiltshire FA’s Debt Recovery System, the League has been able to recoup fines from defaulting Clubs and the registered players thereof.  The fines figure is half the 2016/2017 financial year which is pleasing.  Whilst the Management Committee would prefer not to use such systems, it is evidence that the Management Committee will do all it can to protect your interests and pursue those who owe the League money.  On a personal level I would like to see fines reduced. I believe that clubs could assist themselves greatly by simply consulting the handbook!   


    Income has reduced by approximately £166. 


    To assist clubs in the payment of monies owed, the League has adopted the Faster Payment Service and whilst this has been embraced by some Clubs it would be nice to see more clubs utilising this system as it reduces administration for both the League and Clubs. 


    Expenditure increased by approximately £2,221 mainly due to the aforementioned email scam.


    The Management Committee have endeavoured to reduce costs where possible.  Other costs are generally on a par or have risen and fallen as would be expected.  


    The League is in an extremely healthy position with total assets of £40,969.46. 


    On a final point, can I please encourage Clubs to approach the League if they are experiencing financial difficulty? No one wishes to see a Club “fold” due to financial issues, but the first the League normally hears about it as after the event!  It is your League and your money and there may be things he League can do to assist Clubs through difficult times. 


    I would like to thank the Management Committee for their assistance especially the Registration Secretary and Discipline Secretary who assist on the financial side of things and the Sponsors for their continued financial support.

     

    I can confirm that the accounts have been audited by our Auditor, Mr Peter Mundy.


    Robert Cook

    Hon Treasurer

  • Hon Registration Secretary’s Report - 2017-18

    Well, here we are at the end of another season.  Congratulations to Kintbury Rangers on winning the league and Melksham Town Res for winning the Fountain Trophies Senior Cup.  I hope that all teams have enjoyed the season.


    The start of this season was very trying as we started to use the Whole Game System for registrations.  The surprise was how many players had several FAN numbers but, thanks to the team at Wiltshire FA, we have worked through the problems and, by the start of this year, things were working well.


    From the beginning of next season, I would like to just receive registrations through the WGS.  Once the player details are put in and you have gained consent from the player online or via a signed registration form, then just allocate them to a team and submit it to me.  There is no need to send the forms to me via email or post.


    In the case of the U.18’s, either the Team Manager or Club Secretary must check proof of date of birth (driving license or birth certificate or Passport), then check the box that ID has been seen before submitting it to me. 


    We will be continuing the system of sending statements out at the end of September, December and March for Registration and Transfer fees.


    I would like to thank all the Club Secretaries and Team Managers for their help and support this season.  Most teams now submit the Result Sheets and Referee Reports via email as a scanned attachment, which makes it quicker for me to receive the reports and getting the information on to the Full-Time website. Unfortunately, this season has seen an increase in the number of times I have had to chase match paperwork.

     

    Now the season has ended its time to relax and recharge the batteries ready for the start of next season.


    Brian Busson

    Hon Registration Secretary

  • Hon Referees’ Appointments Secretary’s Report - 2017-18

    A competitive season with Kintbury Rangers the eventual winners of the League with Melksham Town Res winning the Fountain Trophies Cup Competition.  Congratulations to both teams.  There are many strong teams in the League this season, with other teams finishing well, so the League competes well with the Leagues who are above us the in the football pyramid. 


    The Leagues Officials have done their best throughout the season, helping me cover games where I was short.  I could not cover all the games with three officials on every game unfortunately but, close working with the District Leagues helped.  The final two months in particular were very challenging; games were getting called off on a Saturday and being rescheduled for the following midweek.  This was very difficult to cover with other games already being played.


    Some of our Level 5-4 promotional candidates were successful in getting promoted and we wish them the all the best as they progress.  Further to that, some other Officials, who used to serve on this League, have been promoted to Level 3 and Level 2B respectively, so we also wish them the very best.


    Enjoy your summer break.


    Adie Cripps

    Hon Referees’ Appointments Secretary

  • Discipline - 2017-18

    The number of cases dealt with by the Discipline Sub-Committee reduced again last season.  The increased use of technology, eg: texting of scores, e-mailing of Result Sheets and Registration Forms, being able to make on-line payments, etc has hopefully reduced the workload for Club Secretaries.  The problem with Result Sheets being submitted too late has reduced again as most Clubs now scan and e-mail theirs.  It does save you the cost of postage!


    Unfortunately, there’s still quite a number of Clubs who regularly fail to notify the League (Fixtures Secretary and Referees’ Appointments Secretary) that a game is postponed.  We’re sure you phone / text your players if a game is off, so please avoid fines by making those two extra calls to the League.  If we get sufficient notice, Phil Cook may be able to rearrange a game for your opponents or Adie Cripps may be able to send the Match Official(s) to a fixture that is short.  Some Clubs also fail to notify Match Officials about postponements, which resulted in them turning up, us having to chase you for payment, then you having to pay them again when the match is rearranged.  When you tell your players and the opposition that a game is off, please remember the third team and save your hard earned money.


    For the second season in succession, the number of offences involving ineligible players was possibly the lowest ever.  It is very easy for Clubs to check a player’s eligibility.  Access to the County FA web site is available to all Clubs whereat you can see lists of players under suspension.  This also applies when you register a new player.  It isn’t the League’s responsibility to inform Clubs if a player is suspended, so please check the County FA web site at least weekly.


    A few Clubs still incur additional charges for late payment of fees / fines.  All fines have been sent out by e-mail, which has reduced League expenditure on postage.  All fees / fines can be paid by Bank Transfer.  Again, some Clubs already use this method and it does save you the cost of postage and the risk of things going astray in the post.

  • Fixtures / Results - 2017-18

    This season saw 121 fixtures postponed for various reasons, an increase of 15 on last season, which is not surprising given the wet weather.  The Premier Division runs with a policy of deducting points from Clubs found guilty of postponing games without a satisfactory explanation and this has continued this past season.


    The Premier Division was again very keenly contested.  Cricklade Town set the early pace with Melksham Town, Shrewton Utd, Kintbury Rangers and Wroughton all in contention.  The eventual winners were Kintbury Rangers, 5 points clear of Melksham Town Res.  Kintbury did very well considering the number of games they had to play in April and May, and the title was only decided in their final fixture.


    The U.18’s Youth Floodlight Division ran very well, with only one fixture outstanding at the end of the season.  In the end, it was Chippenham Town who took the honours with Melksham Town emulating their adult side in Runners-Up position, albeit only on goal difference.


    Melksham Town Res started the cup campaign with a 2-0 win at Corsham Town Res in the only Preliminary Round tie.  The stand-out tie of Round 1 was probably the Shrewton v Cricklade fixture, which resulted in a 1-0 win for the visitors.  Melksham Town Res progressed to the quarter-finals with a 5-2 win over Ludgershall Sports, whilst Cup holders, Wroughton progressed to the quarter-finals by the same score at Marlborough Town.  The quarter-finals saw Cricklade Town given another difficult away tie at Kintbury Rangers, but triumphed with a 5-3 victory after extra time.  Melksham Town Res recorded another 5-2 score in their win over Pewsey Vale Development, whilst Wroughton needed penalties to progress to the semi-final at the expense of Westbury Utd Res.  Cricklade Town continued their run of tough draws in the semi-finals, but came away from Wroughton with a 3-2 victory.  Melksham Town Res progressed to the final by hitting 5 goals again, this time against Bremhill, who failed to reply.  The final was a very good game.  Cricklade took an early lead, but Melksham hit back to lead at half time, thanks to two penalties.  Melksham’s lead was extended to 3-1 early in the second half.  Cricklade pulled one back, but Melksham hit a fourth late on to win the Cup for the fourth time.

  • Hon Welfare Officer’s Report - 2017-18

    No welfare issues in relation to Under 18’s have been reported to the League this year and therefore I have nothing to report.  Long may this continue!


    Robert Cook

    Hon Welfare Officer

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