Leroi, contempt, factions, gosh.

And so another glorious FA Trophy campaign ends almost as soon as it began.

We played some decent football, although the Thurrock 'keeper was only rarely called on to make a save. Leroi Riley was far the busier in his first competitive game for GFC and he can be justifiably proud of his debut performance. Nothing he could have done with either of the Thurrock goals which were both a case of defensive lapses.

Effective defences work as a unit and, for various reasons, we struggle to put out a stable defensive line from week to week that has a fighting chance of turning into such an effective unit.

On Saturday we started off with not a lot by way pf defensive options. The situation wasn't helped when Jason Winch had to go off in the first half following a knock to the knee (yes that knee). Winchie is one of those players held in high regard by fans for his attitude and approach to games and fingers are crossed that it's 'just' a knock.

In the second half we appeared to witness Matt Loaring drop off to fill in at left back. Not ideal and certainly not playing to his particular strengths.

Who knows, if we'd turned up with a 16 man squad we might have come away with a win from what was, overall, a competitive match. And that's where the focus needs to be, even if it means spending a few quid to make it happen, which would be a few quid better spent than giving season ticket holders a free programme for example. Or giving anyone any freebies for that matter.

More of the fine lines that Tony Vance referred to in his interview with Rob Batiste in the Guernsey Press last week.

As for other fine lines he said 'it might mean us finding another 50 supporters to come along every week...'.

The article went on to say that 'Vance does not try to hide his contempt for those who scoff at the thought of bringing in a Jersey Muratti star, such as Jack Boyle, while at the same time applauding the arrival of Spaniard Guille Fernandez, who did not draw a whisper of complaint'.

That could be because Fernandez had a job and moved to the island first, whereas Boyle (based on not only his own assertions to the Beano) seemed to be set up to meet the rest of the squad at the airport, before the contemptuous types started moaning and the story changed.

Of course the use of the word 'contempt' maybe down to the journalist not Tony Vance and, if that's the case, a brief explanation via the GFC website would be helpful.

Luke Watson is the latest Crapaud to be linked to a possible move to GFC. This is clearly on the basis that he will need to move to Guernsey first and no one (or at least only a few) will have a problem with that.

Tony also spoke of his desire to get all factions of the local game working together. Could be easier said than done but the suggestion of a GFC 2nd XI probably won't go down too well unless there's a radical proposal that maintains/reinstates (depending on your view) an acceptable level of quality in the Priaulx League and ensures competition at a higher level for the island's best players.

There's been much talk about GFC's sustainability, so let's be clear. Without a healthy local football scene it will not be sustainable.

Arguably the win-win situation is for GFC to remain as a step 4 club because players come through and are snapped up by clubs at a higher level. That would seem to be entirely in keeping with the aims of the club when it was launched.

Finally, let's not lose sight of the fact that the club is still in its infancy. Rome wasn't built in a day and it's probably unrealistic to expect Tony, the DC et al to get things right (in our eyes) all of the time. All of us need to temper our enthusiasm for setting deadlines for promotion.

Keep it Green

Allez les Verts!!