THE INN ON THE GREEN AND REVISED TABLES

[JT]

Hi Everybody

It is obvious that the Inn on the Green will not complete all of their fixtures this season, for they have played five games less then any other team, and have not taken part in the Team Cup Group stages

Since December the following away league matches have been postponed, Southwater SC, The Railway (Twice) and Roffey SC, they also have home matches that were postponed against the Three Bees and the Lintot

The matches at the Railway and Southwater Sc were postponed at the last moment after food had been prepared, and their only away match that they have played since December was at the White Hart and they only had three players anyway

It is more difficult for new players and teams to establish themselves in any of the Bar Billiard leagues. When the majority of us started playing many years ago the were more than one division and therefore it was easier for

new players to win the odd game, and for a new team to win the odd match. Enough wins to maintain interest anyway

Now new players and teams are thrown into the deep end with the results of the majority of the matches being a thrashing of 4 – 1 and 5 – 0, it is probably difficult for players to keep interested when they are so uncompetitive on a weekly basis

The problem is that there is no solution to this, if anybody has any ideas please let me know because somehow we have to encourage new players and new teams

After discussion with the committee it has been decided to discount the results of the matches played by the Inn on the Green to date, this will mean the following changes to the table, the new table is below

Roffey Club won their match 5 – 0 and so they will loose one win and five points, The Blue Ship have played them twice, winning 4 – 1 both times, and so they will loose two wins and eight points

The White Hart have also played them twice, winning 5 – 0 and 4 - 1, and so they will loose two wins and nine points, The Three Bees won their match 4 – 1 and so they will loose one win and four points

The Railway and Southwater SC have not played them at all and so no change to the table, Alfold SC won their match 3 – 2 and so they will loose one win and three points

The Lintot won their match 4 – 1 and so they will loose one win and four points, and finally the Limeburners won their match 5 – 0 and so they will loose one win and five points

As far as future matches against them, it would be nice if the matches could go ahead as a friendly, but that is the choice of the two teams

Hopefully before next season the Inn on the Green can find the players that ignore being thrashed, have the will to improve their own game, eventually the wins will start to come for them

Best wishes

JT

19TH FEBRUARY 2020 REVISED TABLES

DIVISION 1         Pld     M Won    M Drn   M Lst     Pts 

ROFFEY SSC          12        11        0       1      44 
SOUTHWATER SC       13         7        1       5      39.5  
THE WHITE HART      12         9        0       3      36   
THE BLUE SHIP       12         8        0       4      32   
THE LIMEBURNERS     13         6        1       6      31.5    

DIVISION 2         Pld     M Won    M Drn   M Lst     Pts  

THE THREE BEES      12         7        0       5      33.5 
THE RAILWAY         13         2        0      11      23   

ALFOLD SC           13         2        0      11      20.5
THE LINTOT          12         3        0       9      20
 

Good message, well put from John.

We saw this problem a few years ago with the Springbok Club and more recently with the Three Compasses who struggled on after a barren first year and eventually that first match win came.

Realistically, a new team joining the league requires a couple of seasoned "semi-pros", the Inn On The Green only have one in the Landlord (Lauren).

Springbok when they started did not even have that, but received a lot of encouragement and later managed to nab a couple from Alfold SC. They also benefitted from Vernon Sparkes joining them for a season: Watching someone like that fighting against the tide must have been an inspiration for others, as suddenly a good youngster emerged in the form of Gary Marshall.

Unfortunately it is the case that with the inevitable shrinking of leagues, players close ranks and pool their resources, thus teams that remain take on extra strength, as John says making it more difficult for rookie teams to flourish.

It was so good to witness a fresh venue starting up and a good one at that. We brought a team over from Crawley for a pre-season friendly (to offer some encouragement) and all indications were that it would be ideal for league play: nice table, friendly clientele, plenty of room to spread out, spacious carpark, a potential venue to host competitions. We enjoyed the experience.

In the current instance, is seems obvious that the only cure would be the addition of a couple of experienced players to ensure a regular five - and build on that. 

[iang]

It's a great shame that they couldn't keep going for the rest of the season, I agree it's a problem of how to keep a new side motivated when the always are on the end of a thrashing. Lets hope they can regroup and make a comeback.


Good work on untangling all the match results JT.