Why is it that state league football clubs cannot get the numbers of their players correct in the match day programs? Today a player who is out with a long term injury was in the program and his shirt was running around on the park, with someone else in it.
Not only are the clubs at fault but also the Football West reporters who list players as per the programme, not checking the team sheet. In fact one game the other week one player who actually played 90 minutes was not even listed on the team at the end of the match report!
If the game is to be professional, clubs need to address this issue as players are the ones who are suffering. How so? I hear you ask. Last season I attended a state league game with an A league coach who was impressed with a certain player. He looked in the programme and made a note to call the club to invite that player over East for a trial. When advised that the player’s name he had written was in fact wearing another number, he tossed his programme to one side and asked why he had bothered coming to the game.
Players with talent can be missed by lazy scouts or scouts who wish to remain anonymous if they do not check the player’s name and number match. Embarrassing for the scout who will not visit that club again and embarrassing when the wrong player is invited for a trial, while the talented player is overlooked.
