Taken from Gloucestershire Live Website (the website is like The Bristol Post website so nothing but pop ups so pasted and copied it) Young Winchcombe footballers face being turfed off their own pitch by would-be Premier League stars. Winter weather is on its way and members of Winchcombe's youth teams will soon need to play on the town's artificial pitch rather than grass. But the pitch's bosses have prevented that from being possible by allowing West Bromwich Albion's satellite academy to use it instead. The Hawthorns-based Premier League club have paid Winchcombe Sports Hub up front for the whole season to use its pitch between 9am and 1pm every Saturday That has angered Winchcombe Town FC, whose youth teams expected to play on the all-weather surface when wintry conditions made their grass pitches unsuitable. Andrew Steward is unhappy because his sons, 11-year-old Charlie and nine-year-old Tom, are among many from Winchcombe who play for the club's five youth teams. He said he was angry with the sports hub for striking a deal with WBA without consulting Winchcombe Town FC. He said he realised the hub had financial considerations, but had it contacted the local club, it could have set about trying to raise enough money to keep the pitch available for Winchcombe players. "They've gone behind the players and coaches backs and have done the deal without asking for our opinion," he said. One of the most annoying things, he said, was that the five-year-old pitch had been intended as a community facility - so to have a club from the Midlands using it instead of local players seemed wrong Andrew said he did not blame WBA, which he felt was just trying to improve its set-up, but he was not happy with the sports hub. Doug Waller is the facilities' manager at the hub, which is based at Winchcombe School. He said the hub had received a substantial sum from WBA, which would enable more regular maintenance of the pitch. "The sports hub needs to be financially viable," he said. He added that had a locally-based club made such a lucrative long-term booking, it would have been considered in the same way. But he also stressed that at least 10 youth teams from places close to Winchcombe, such as Gotherington, Broadway and Prestbury, were using the pitch. And he said WBA had said it was willing to allow Winchcombe youngsters to use the pitch if its players did not need it on the odd occasion. Gloucestershire Live has asked WBA for a comment but has not had a response.
WBA havent done anything wrong so not sure why the paper have asked for a comment from them. Its the sports hub that the paper need to contact and find out why they are letting local kids down. We all know its the money but where is their morals.
I wouldnt say that. Look down the years and see what talent they have produced. They get them in very early under the age of 10 instead of stealing them from lower league clubs like what happened to us a few times, Macey for example. Good on them for setting up base in our area. Bristol is a big place and we have 2 clubs that havent made the prem. Setting up camp in our area, kids will be more persuaded to join a prem team than either Bristol side. Im just surprised that others clubs havent set up a base in our area as we are the biggest place in the south west.
I am rather hoping that the new owners interest in young players and the new training facilities will help us to persuade youngsters to join Bristol Rovers rather than Southampton or any other premier club, who knows with the positive attitude that we now have we might have kept players like Matt Macey and Scot Sinclair
Scott Sinclair would have had a much better career if he'd stayed in the lower leagues for a couple of years. He's spent too long languishing in the reserves when he should have been getting first team football.
