Woosnam in Crazy Parting Shot                             SATURDAY 19TH JUNE 2010

  Departing Welsh Premier Chairman Phil Woosnam has called for a switch to summer football.

  At the WP end of season presentation evening retiring chairman Woosnam claimed that the league should switch to a summer fixture schedule.  Before riding off into the Elan Valley sunshine, he stole the moment at Llandudno to say:
   "I’d recommend you now look at the possibility of switching to summer football which I feel would improve the product which is the Welsh Premier League, We can’t compete against the Premiership - we never will - but we need to make our league much more professional and I definitely feel summer football is a way forward."
   Do they have televisions in Rhayader?  At the moment football fans are in the thick of a "three games a day" feast of (free to air) football. Its called the World Cup and they (FIFA) hold one every four years.
   If Mr Woosnam had his way Aberystwyth, Bangor, Carmarthen and co would be trying to work out when to play this weekend.
   Friday night? Well only three lives games on Friday, kicking off 12.30, 3pm and then 7.30pm.  Same again Saturday, and of course Sunday.
   So when would we play?
   Given that Wales aspire to qualify for major tournaments (there is Euro 2012 coming up) would the WP teams play when Wales were in action? Is Woosnam indirectly suggesting he doesnt see Wales ever reaching the final stages?
   Maybe people would shun the pubs and their houses to watch the WP. Confirmed figures for the 2006 World Cup though stated that close to 6,000 million people watched the finals with an average of more than 90 million viewers per game and 280 million watched the Final.
   England's most recent match (June 2010) against Algeria drew British viewing figures of 21 million. Of course those North and West of the English border may be hoping to see them lose - but the figures suggest the football public and many others are glued the tournament.
   Summer football? Port Talbot v Neath or Brazil v Germany? Bangor v Bala or Italy v France? We cant compete with the Premiership (but we can with the World Cup?)

   Perhaps its a good job he is retiring.