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With the Manchester Jewish Soccer League down to five teams, Danny Caro asks chairman Paul Rose for his hopes on the season ahead
What would you put the general apathy in terms of the reduced number of teams this season down to?
“Not necessarily apathy but a mixture of reasons, ranging from one team folding on the back of last season, one team requiring a greater challenge having won everything and another being a club decision to move into another league. In addition, we always had a student team presence but we have not seen a new one for the last two seasons.”
How do you feel about the general demise of 11-a-side Jewish football nationwide?
“Very disappointing across the board and there has been a similar trend in the north and south. The MJSL has had around eight or nine teams over the last decade. During the 1970’s and 80’s we were booming with three divisions at our peak and it was probably the main sporting escape for the adult male population in the community. Moving the clock on some 30-40 years, there are many more pursuits that appear to rank higher than kicking a ball around in organised football matches. We definitely also have a lack of organisers - people who are committed to the cause and generally volunteers to manage teams. In London, we have seen the number of teams drop from 65 (10 years ago) to 26.
Is there any way the decline can be halted?
“It’s very difficult - none of us can create players. Our youngsters used to move through the primary and junior ranks but when numbers declined, the chal- lenge reduced and ventures into leagues outside the MJSL meant that the supply chain was broken. We have looked at small-sided football, but even that has been difficult to engage with the football playing population across all age groups. There are many teams of friends that play regular five-a-side for instance but they are happy to play in their routine weekly matches. We also have many more teenagers leaving for university than ever before so again the bridge between youth and adult football is broken. We can offer financial support for kit and pitches, we can be flexible in terms of fixture scheduling but if there are simply not enough teams and commitment to the cause, we can’t produce something out of nothing.”
What, if anything, can the Premier League do to help grass-roots football survive? We sometimes hear about money filtering through to the top game. You have seen any of it? “There is a big financial investment that filters down from the top of the game - the main focus is on 3G pitches and a massive commitment nationwide by the FA. I know there are incentives that regional County FAs provide for league’s team retentions and, in particular, Manchester County FA provide a ‘Fund for Football’ which channels their disciplinary gained finances back into the grass-roots game. Personally, a definitive ‘grassroots tax’ on all transfer fees would go a long way towards supporting a dwindling ‘beautiful game’.”
Hopefully it’s not all doom and gloom. What is your message to the five teams competing in the MJSL this season?
“The message is simple - the teams and committee all sat round a table a fortnight ago effectively deciding the future of the league, an almost unanimous view was that 70 years should not be consigned to the history books. For self-preservation, we have seen our remaining five teams come together. The commitment from our teams is very much appreciated but everyone involved agrees that this will be a testing time - the emphasis will be on flexibility and working together even more so than previous. We will be working with teams regarding scheduling of fixtures and we have entered our Representative Team in the Peter Morrison National Trophy after a successful venture a few seasons ago which saw a quarter-final appearance. We would also like to see a late entry into the MJSL by a student team - in the past this was dominated by London students settling in Manchester. We have the financial support but we cannot create players and organisers. On a final note, the five teams we have are the teams that finished outside the top three last season, so we should see a very competitive evenly balanced league as everyone can beat everyone with no single dominant force.”
After taking over from Brian Myer, what is it like to be chairman of the Manchester League?
“Interesting and challenging to say the least. As secretary for many years, I used to deal with most areas of the league. We then started looking at succession planning and getting the right people into the right roles that were committed and could take ownership of those positions. Without a doubt, after 20 years of being on the committee, this is the strongest we have been, strangely in contrast to the strength of team numbers. Moving to chairman has been an eye-opener, managing your own team, the league teams, the press, delegation of previous tasks to the right people and so on. Last season I was very humbled to be in the chair, so to speak, celebrating our 70th season at our Anniversary Dinner, an immense sense of pride but not my own, more for the many players, referees, managers, families and friends who have been associated with the MJSL since 1948. A big thank you to Brian after shadowing him and working together for the best part of a decade.”