Junior soccer tour off

Press, 5 August 1977, Page 28

Junior soccer tour off

By

BARNEY ZWARTZ

Rothmans Soccer League clubs have forced the cancellation of September’s domestic under 21 tour by refusing to release players for the team.

Three clubs have definitely ruled out releasing players because of the critical table standings and the fixture backlog, which means the league will conflict with the tour. At least another three clubs would almost certainly do the same.

Announcing the tour’3 abandonment, the chairman of the New Zealand Football Association (Mr Terry Killalea) said that at least six of the short-list squad of 16 for the 10-day tour are involved

in crunch end-of-season games. The matter came to a head on Wednesday, when nominations from other selectors were sent to the southern regional coach (Mr Doug Moore), who was to select and coach the team.

He was told by Mr Terry Conley, manager of Trans Tours United, that T.T.U. would not be able to release Glen Adam, Mark McNaughton or Richard Mulligan if they were selected. “Terry told me he had not thought about it until the week-end, when Don Jones, the North Shore coach, said he was certainly nc; going to release Duncan Cole.” Moore said. Next Moore found that Stop Out would not let Barry Pickering or Gary

McLean play. Although they have said nothing, it is doubtful that i New Brighton could release Richard Wilson or Eastern Suburbs could release Peter Henry, for example, because they have vital games in September. When Mr Moore told Mr Killalea this, Mr Killalea said the tour would have to be cancelled. Moore said he also had serious reservations about the tour arrangements, which were made as cheaply as possible, but he said nothing of these until after the decision was made. “I didn’t want to be responsible for mucking up the tour for the lads, but I detailed these reservations after last year’s tour,” he said.