Goodey angry at 'elitest' Cup reforms (From Free Press Series)

Goodey angry at 'elitest' Cup reforms

9:47am Wednesday 18th November 2009

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CHEPSTOW’S head coach Richard Goodey is writing to the Swalec Cup committee in protest over the new ‘elitist’ Welsh Cup format.

From this season, the Welsh Cup is reserved for League One sides with a separate Plate competition for Divisions Two to Three. The likes of Chepstow and Caldicot from Divisions Four and Five have to make do in a Bowl competition holding little prestige and denying them a shot at the Big Boys.

Ever the romantic, Goodey, who recalls several David verses Goliath match-ups from his days at Pontypool and Newport, wants at least a partial return to the old system and is making his case to the officials.

He said: "We’ve been given a good draw in Round Three -- New Tredegar away - and we’ve already beaten them this season. A good run in the Bowl would be great and would really lift our season.

"But I’d rather lose by 30 points to Swansea than go up to New Tredegar and win.

"The new system takes away the chance for the players to play bigger teams. It’s something I’m going to contact the Swalec Cup committee about."

The new format sees all three competition finals take place at the Millennium Stadium on May 8, 2010.

WRU group chief executive Roger Lewis announced: "The competition has been revised to ensure that clubs at every level have an equal chance of reaching a Swalec final."

But Goodey believes: "All they’re interested in is filling the Millennium Stadium and they seem to think they’ve more chance if there’s three games on.

"When I was playing, we used to go all over the place. We’d enter the Welsh Cup in the fourth or fifth round and you’d get some village in North Wales you’d never heard of and it was great fun for us and a big day for them.

"Now its all about boosting the finances."

Goodey added: "One idea I had is to have the runners-up of the Cup play the winners of the Bowl and for the Cup winners to play the Plate winners in pre-season friendlies, a bit like the Community Shield in football.

"The games would be at the smaller teams’ grounds. That way it’s a bit of a payday for the smaller teams and puts some of the romance back into it."

Last weekend, Chepstow, hit by a bout of flu in the week, were entertaining Abertillery Blaenau-Gwent in Division Four East. They lost 17-10, but prior to learning of his side’s sickness crisis, Goodey had earmarked the game as the perfect opportunity to bounce back and gather some momentum.

He said: "We were hoping that after the international break last week, that the players would be suitably rested and raring to go. Instead I had to wait until Thursday just to see who could turn up for training.

"We could have done with getting something on Saturday and pushing up the table. A win, if results went out way could have lifted us three places it’s that tight right now."

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