Cup Really Kafkaesque!

Here is more of my ongoing investigation into why the Somerset Premier Cup continues to be played even though no one wants to play in it (If you have not you would probably be best off reading my previous posts entitled Cup Kafkaesque and The Blue Blazers Speak first).

After Somerset FA Chief Executive Jonathan Pike's surprising response where he implied that the Somerset FA puts on the Somerset Premier Cup only because they are forced to by the FA, I sent him another email just to definitely make sure this is what he meant. Here was his response:

Nedved

I am sorry if I gave the impression that we only run the competition because we have to. While I would readily admit that some clubs, fans do not particularly like the competition or see its relevance, there are a number of people who do like the competition and look forward to it. Although some attendances can be poor, we also have matches where attendances match or even exceed average home gates, I believe there were a couple of hundred at Bridgwater on Tuesday evening, while in the past we have had large gates, for instance 2 season ago Frome had over 700 for their home tie against Yeovil. We also tend to see larger crowds in the later rounds, the final last season between Paulton and Frome attracted almost 600 people, which was probably one of the larger crowd either side played in front of last season. So I think there is an appetite for the competition, although as mentioned yesterday I certainly don’t think it is universal. I also believe that, certainly in the final, the teams want to win, and the last two beaten finalist have not shown the attitude that it was only another game and seemed genuinely disappointed to have lost, what is after all a final and have runners up instead of winners medals.

While the competition is mandatory for FA Cup/Vase entry, this is not the reason why SFA run it. We do value it as a competition and do not foresee discontinuing the competition in the future.

Regards

Jon Pike

Chief Executive

Okay, so potentially the Somerset Premier Cup has some value to someone, although saying that the teams in the final played to win is hardly strong proof that any clubs value the overall tournament. Give a trophyless club the chance at some silverware at the close of a season and there will be few that don't put in the effort. The inconvenience and bother of the cup is really demonstrated in the earlier rounds when managers treat the games as unwanted friendlies. I cannot fault Mr Pike for his responsiveness, however, so I wrote him back again.

Hi again Mr Pike,

Thanks for replying again. I can see now that I misunderstood your first email, but I still don't understand your position. I suppose it is possible that some clubs do value the Somerset Premier Cup, but as you readily admit many clubs and fans see it as a burden and an inconvenience. For those that do value the Cup it must be really annoying if many of the entrants are participating half-heartedly and against their will. Surely this can't be a situation that you approve of.

Why not make it optional? I know that this is an FA issue and is not within your remit, but would you support a movement to make county cups something clubs could chose to decline without jeopardising their entrance into the national FA competitions? I think this would be the best outcome for everyone involved.

Thanks,

Nedved

A response to this arrived in my inbox yesterday evening (he must be a pretty dutiful chap to be answering emails to the public at 7:20 pm!). Despite his dedication, though, I am now much more confused than when I started out.

As mentioned previously the position of the County FA is to support the premier cup, we value it as one of our competitions. Obviously clubs may propose rule changes, some of which are not supported by the county association, that is their right to do so and ultimately is subject to the will of the majority at the AGM where it would be debated

Jon Pike

Chief Executive

This has turned out to be even more Kafkaesque than I expected. As far as I can tell the Somerset FA's position on the Somerset Premier Cup is thus:

We want to keep it because we (the Somerset FA) value it. We value it even though we know most clubs don't like it because it is possible that some clubs might like it (at least if they are in with a chance to win it). Because some clubs like it, at least some of the time, we are willing to force all clubs in the county to participate even if they don't want to. If anyone tries to stop the competition we will not support them, and they will need to go through some serious bureaucratic hoops to do so.

That's just my synopsis of the three letters, but it is the sort of justification that any Whitehall mandarin would recognise as his own.

He does not say so explicitly, but I get the feeling Mr Pike would prefer me not to write to him a fourth time. He has been very indulgent so far, so I don't think I'll pester him any further. Instead I think I shall try the FA itself, since, according to Mr Pike, they are the ones who really decide whether or not county tournaments are held. Let's hope the folks at Soho Square are equally as forthcoming.

Kafkaesque: \käf-kə-esk\, adjective 1. of, relating to, or suggestive of Franz Kafka or his writings; 2. having a nightmarishly complex, bizarre, or illogical quality