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According to Willand Rovers Twitter, we lost 2 - 1 tonight. No other details.

It's true but don't worry the chairman will ensure it won't happen again, again.

Lavercombe, Odofin, Fenwick, Prynn and Campion (the trialist) were the only players remotely linked to the first team. The rest seemed to be the local players like Gerring, Finch and Chamberlain plus a few others.

Odofin scored for us, but I think Campion playing is the only important thing about this game. We always play a young team and lose in this tournament, not just this year.

A few South Devon League players turned out for us tonight, not worth getting stressed over this match.

If I was Nicholson and assessing the team I would be interested how Lavercombe played and obviously Campion as this is two areas of the team that need improving.

And Lavercombe won't improve the team. It's unfair to think a lad with his potential and at this stage of his career would improve a team like ours. He will move to a club at a higher level and they will develop him, we don't even have a senior keeper to help him let alone a specialised coach.

The Herald Express said we would be looking at trialists last night. IF we are looking at South Devon League players as possible answers to our problems then this says everything about where we are as a club and where we can expect to finish.
The team we had out (with six senior pro's in it - albeit one contracted to Port Vale) should have easily beaten a team of the quality of Willand Rovers and the fact they didn't shows how little quality we have in reserve for when the starting 11 fail to produce (such as Saturday gone).

Without wishing to sound rude, I can't believe people are getting that worried about the St Lukes Bowl.
We never do well in it, simply because it has zero priority for us as a club (rightly or wrongly) - nobody ever seemed to moan when we were being knocked out by "lesser teams" when we were in League One and Two....or even the last couple of season in the conference.

Does it not add a source of income from winning rounds from Devon FA??

No. The FA Trophy barely generates any real prize money unless you go all the way to the final.

The Devon Bowl is a local tournament. Most counties get it out the way in pre-season. We've used it to give reserve and youth players a run out for the last ten years, as we did this year.

Scott Brehaut wrote:Without wishing to sound rude, I can't believe people are getting that worried about the St Lukes Bowl.
We never do well in it, simply because it has zero priority for us as a club (rightly or wrongly) - nobody ever seemed to moan when we were being knocked out by "lesser teams" when we were in League One and Two....or even the last couple of season in the conference.

As if to highlight the point, we got beaten by Tiverton in the Devon Bowl Final - at Plainmoor! - the year we got promoted under Leroy. And that was with a full strength side out. I certainly don't remember people getting over excited then.

Scott Brehaut wrote:Without wishing to sound rude, I can't believe people are getting that worried about the St Lukes Bowl. We never do well in it ........

The trouble is, Scott - St Luke's Bowl, F.A. Cup, National League ....... at present, we're not doing well in ANYTHING !!!!!!

Southampton Gull wrote:And Lavercombe won't improve the team. It's unfair to think a lad with his potential and at this stage of his career would improve a team like ours. He will move to a club at a higher level and they will develop him, we don't even have a senior keeper to help him let alone a specialised coach.

In all fairness a keeper has to have natural ability. Lavercombe has this in abundance.
Lavercombe needs first team football at this level and would improve the team. I beg to differ.

I don't doubt Lavercombe as a genuine prospect but as was shown against Bromley, if he's thrown into the team we have right now then he is too exposed and you know as well as I do how that can dent the confidence of a young keeper.

I share the view that there's no difference between Lavercombe and Spiess . Lavercombe is in no way a better goalkeeper than Spiess, in my opinion there both not good enough currently, not fault of either of them, they're both very young and inexperienced, the problem is our club currently does not have a proper, clear no 1 keeper, nor can it afford one.

Lavercombe no doubt has huge potential, why risk that by playing him this team, evidence v Bromley, he looked a like scared rabbit in headlights, I also share the view, Lavercombe will be better off signing for a club further up the food chain and playing development football, he'll be exposed some top coaching and get game time at a more relevant level for where he is at this time.