THE SUNDAY LEAGUE PUB TEAM WHO ARE 'FAMOUS'
FOR HAVING ALL THEIR MATCHES CAPTURED ON VIDEO

BASIC INFORMATION

For the past 11 years, we have been entering either one or two teams in the Southgate Hockey Centre’s Summer 7-a-side Football League, which runs between the first week in May and early September and is played on the first generation sand-based Astroturf that we use for our midweek training sessions over there.

This League is ideal for us as we use it to maintain our fitness and also to try out new players with a view to signing them up for our 11-a-side squad (which we have always treated more importantly).  It is also a very good standard of football with a lot of First XI’s from the AFA Leagues on Saturdays entering the League and a number of Semi-Professional players from Ryman League sides also turning out for various teams.
This Summer we have entered a team in both the Monday and Thursday Night Leagues. Although the Southgate Hockey Centre are naming our Thursday Night Team as our ‘A’ Team and our Monday Night Team as our ‘B’ Team, there will not be too much difference in the strength of either side. However, the Thursday Night League is normally stronger than the Monday Night League, so it is probably right that our Thursday Night team are our ‘First Team’ for the Summer in ‘naming rights’ anyway !
There are 12 teams in the Thursday Night League this Summer and 8 teams in the Monday Night League. The Fixtures for both nights can be viewed on the Monday Night or Thursday Night pages of this website by clicking on our name in the embedded League Tables from ‘Fixtures Live’.

For the Thursday Night League, everybody plays each other once in a Qualifying Group stage which ends in mid-July. The top 6 teams then go into a ‘Cup League’ where they play each other once again and the same applies to the bottom 6 teams who go into a ‘Plate League’. The Cup & Plate Leagues should finish on Thursday 1st September and the winners of each League receive trophies.
In the Monday Night League there is no Cup & Plate League. All teams just play each other twice during the course of the Summer just like a normal League.

CLICK HERE for the THURSDAY NIGHT League Tables, Results & Fixtures for all teams. Further details (including Top Goalscorers for the Thursday Night League) can be found here on the Southgate Hockey Centre Website.

CLICK HERE for the MONDAY NIGHT League Tables, Results & Fixtures for all teams. Further details (including Top Goalscorers for the Monday Night League) can be found here on the Southgate Hockey Centre Website.

Fixtures on Thursday nights kick-off at 7.00.p.m., 8.00.p.m. or 9.00.p.m.
Fixtures on Monday nights kick-off at 7.30.p.m. or 8.30.p.m.

IMPORTANT RULES & REGULATIONS

• The League is F.A. Affiliated, although Bookings or Sending Offs are not normally sent in by Referees. However, the League have their own disciplinary code of conduct, while we ourselves will fine and suspend players (if necessary) who get sent off playing for us. There is no ‘Player Registration’ for the League so basically anyone can play.

• All players must bring their own shinpads and proper Astroturf boots or flat-soled trainers (which must be worn due to F.A. regulations). Referees will refuse to let players play who turn up with no shinpads and/or bladed or moulded-stud football boots. Those type of boots can only be used on 3G Astroturfs (e.g. Powerleague).
• There are no offsides, the ball can go over head height and throw-ins & corners are taken as per a normal 11-a-side match.
• Goalkeepers can only throw the ball out instead of taking a goal-kick after the ball goes out of play or after they have picked it up. (They can kick it if it is a back-pass or they make a save and keep the ball in play without picking it up ).
• The duration of matches is 25 minutes each way, with a 5-minute warm-up allowed before each game kicks-off.
• No slide tackles are allowed...even by goalkeepers !
• If teams are not ready to kick-off at the appointed time (something which we are frequently guilty of because of players' work commitments), the League will reduce the amount of time played in the match and award the opposition one goal for every reduction of five minutes playing time.
• CLICK HERE to download a PDF of the full rules & regulations from the Southgate Hockey Centre for the Summer 7-a-side League.

COST OF ENTERING & PLAYING (or dropping out !)

• A £60.00 entry fee per team is paid on applying to join the League, then there is a £36.00 'Match Fee' per game, which has to be paid to the ‘bloke behind the bar' before each match kicks off. Teams are then given a ‘token’ which must be given to the referee before he allows the game to start. Teams are also given a form on which to fill in their goalscorers after the game and return it to the barman...although most don’t bother !

• This Summer, all players will be charged £6.00 per match which MUST be paid on the night wherever possible (to whoever is Manager). This is based on a squad of 8 being named for most of our matches as players complain about there being too many roll-on, roll-off substitutions when we have a squad of 9. This means that if somebody drops out on the day of the match and we are unable to find a replacement in time, then we will make a loss on the game (because of various other costs involved such as washing the kit and maintaining equipment). We are therefore now imposing a new rule this Summer whereby anybody who drops out on the day of the match will have £6.00 added onto his subs owed if we are unable to find a replacement and we end up with less than 7 players. This will hopefully stop players dropping out because they are tired and hungry after ‘working late’ and think it doesn’t matter because ‘nobody else will do that’...only they do, and it is something we have had massive problems with over the years.

• We do not charge players an 'Annual Sub' to play in the 7-a-side League.

SQUADS & PLAYER AVAILABILITY

The Management Committee have decided that the following order of preference will apply to the squads being picked for our 7-a-side League matches this Summer:

1) Regular Rovers 11-a-side players from the season just ended who do not owe over £25.00 in subs and intend to sign up and play regularly next season...with the best players ability-wise picked first, but for only one game per week (either Monday or Thursday depending on their preference).

2) Prospective known good new players who are definitely interested in signing up for us next season. No more than two 'known good' new players will be picked for a squad ahead of regular 11-a-side players from last season of 'lesser ability'.

3) Regular Rovers 11-a-side players from the season just ended who do not owe over £25.00 in subs, intend to sign up and play regularly next season, and were in the squad for the other night's game that particular week but want to play twice that particular week. (There are several !).

4) Prospective known good new players who we hope might be interested in signing up for us next season.

5) Prospective known players who have been attending training and want to play for us but are not good enough to get in our 11-a-side team.

6) Regular Rovers 11-a-side players from the season just ended who do owe over £25.00 in subs, but intend to sign up and play regularly next season.

7) Ex-Rovers or occasional Rovers players who might sign up for 11-a-side but cannot play regularly due to other commitments and just want to play 7-a-side to keep fit and keep in touch.

8) Mates of current players who don't want to play 11-a-side for us and just want to keep fit.

* I will be bringing Waltham Sunday League Registration Forms for the coming season along to 7-a-side matches that I attend. If any prospective new players playing in a 7-a-side match don't want to commit themselves to signing it, then we will be leaving them out of the squad for the next match and giving somebody else a game...unless they are absolute ‘quality’ and we think we might be able to persuade them to sign up after another couple more matches ?!

• Our THURSDAY NIGHT Team Manager will be Trevor Hughes, who will be assisted by myself (Laurence Hughes) and Alan Barnard in picking the squad each week.
  Our THURSDAY NIGHT SQUAD at the moment looks like it will be picked from the following players: Simon Jackson (GK), Alan Barnard, Danny Hagan, Lexton Harrison, Terry Brown, Dean Assiamah, Yianni Kyriacou, Lee King, Danny Smith, John Scouller, Ben Keating (a mate of John’s and an ex-White Hart player), Martin Cruickshank (Lee’s mate from St. Mary’s who trained with us during the Winter) and possibly Daniel Daley (if he is not playing for McKenzie Rangers, who have also entered the Thursday Night League even though they have now folded up as an 11-a-side team). We are also expecting to have other good new (or returning) players making themselves available for Thursday nights. Several of the players named above cannot play 7-a-side for us on Monday nights because they play for a Powerleague Team, but others will be named in the Monday Night squad if they are not selected for Thursdays.
• Our MONDAY NIGHT Team Manager will be Martin Loveday, who will be assisted by Terry Moore and Trevor Hughes in picking the squad each week.
  Our MONDAY NIGHT SQUAD at the moment looks like it will be picked from the following players: Dave Bagnall (GK), Olie Tedder, Terry Moore, Martin Loveday, Steve Cokell, Colin Bester, Vernon ‘Kizza’ Nxumalo, Tem Adil and players from the Thursday Night squad who are available and did not get a game the Thursday before. (There should be several). Again, we are also expecting to have some good new (or returning) players making themselves available as well, while we can also call on Jim Arrowsmith and his AFC Bush Hill Park players if needed, as they are not entering the Monday Night League this year.
• The squad for each match will be named on the Forum, probably on a Tuesday morning before a Thursday match and a Friday morning before a Monday match. This is so that we can check on availability after each match, bearing in mind some players want to play on both nights each week.
  Once a player is named in the squad for a particular match, he MUST confirm his availability by 10.00.p.m. the day before the match, otherwise we will call up somebody else to replace him.

• New players are advised that our Management Committee’s phone numbers can be found here on this website. Please enter them in your mobile phone address books and make sure you contact whoever is Manager for a particular game if you have to drop out or are running late for a match.

EQUIPMENT YOU NEED TO BRING & MEETING ARRANGEMENTS

• For 7-a-side matches, all players must bring their own shorts (preferably black) and socks (doesn't matter what colour). We will only be providing jade shirts (which must be handed in to the Team Manager after the match) and a goalkeepers shirt. Players will also have to bring their own sock tape and drinks in addition to having their own shinpads and proper Astroturf boots (as already mentioned).

• For the benefit of new players and those who have never attended our midweek training sessions during the season, the Southgate Hockey Centre is at the bottom of Snakes Lane on the left-hand side just before you get to Middlesex University. Snakes Lane is more-or-less opposite Oakwood Underground Station on the Piccadilly Line, although the Hockey Centre is a 10-15 minute walk down Snakes Lane from there. Click Here for a map and further directions. The postcode for the Southgate Hockey Centre is EN4 0PS.
  If you are not driving and need a lift from the top of Snakes Lane down to the Southgate Hockey Centre (to save you a 10-15 minute walk !), please phone any club member named in the squad who drives, and hopefully they can pick you up at the bus stop just inside Snakes Lane.
  On Thursday nights the Southgate Hockey Centre car park gets full up very quickly because of the Running Club's activities, especially for the 8.00.p.m. & 9.00.p.m. kick-offs, so players are advised to get there early to get a parking space. We have been told that if the car park is full, we must go through the barrier into the Middlesex University Sports Centre car park and not park in Snakes Lane, as the University buses & coaches cannot get through and cars parked on the road often get damaged. Indeed an £80.00 parking ticket will be slapped on any cars parked in Snakes Lane. Click here to see a PDF map of the Middlesex University car park. Apparently you have to press a buzzer to gain entry to that car park.

• There are changing rooms and showers available for us to use which are situated downstairs in the pavilion, but most of our players normally get changed by the side of the pitch if they have not come straight from an office job in the City ! All players named in the squad MUST be changed and ready by the side of the pitch at least five minutes before the scheduled kick-off time. Unlike our midweek training sessions though (which do not finish until 10.00.p.m.), we normally use the changing rooms and showers afterwards and then have a drink in the bar, especially if our matches are 7.00 or 8.00.p.m. Kick-Offs.
• If you have been picked for the squad but get held up at work or stuck on a train and are likely to arrive late (or not at all), you MUST phone or text the Team Manager on their mobile.