For the attention of ALL Sunday Pool League Teams, Players & Members. The following statements are from the Leagues Constitution. In the light of recent events, these rules must be respected and adhered to. In the event that those individuals decide to oppose and break these rules, then relevant action WILL be taken against those who are responsible.

26. All League and Knockout matches are to be played in accordance with the Leagues Constitution.

27. ALL TEAMS NOTE THAT THE SPIRIT OF THE GAME MUST BE MAINTAINED AT ALL TIMES. DISCIPLINE WILL BE TAKEN AGAINST ANY OFFENDING TEAM or PLAYERS WHO BREAKS THIS CODE OF CONDUCT.

28. SOCIAL NETWORKING. Any player found to be using Foul, Abusive and Threatening behaviour against any fellow league member will be dealt with accordingly. The player in question will be suspended from ALL EPA affiliated Pool leagues until a decision has been made on what action will be taken. The player has a right to appeal within 14 days of when the the Final outcome/result has been made.

28a. Players are reminded that a CODE OF PRACTISE OF FAIR PLAY MUST be adhered to at ALL TIMES.

Thank you for reading this article and please take note of these important issues.

League Committee.

2nd ROUND RESULTS & REPORT

26th January 2014

3rd Division leaders Star & Garter A created the biggest shock of the round with a 4-1 win over 1st div GPO Club A. Andy Bent (2), Liam Collins & Tom Gilman all won. Kennys C (3rd Division) also saw off higher league opposition with a 4-2 success over 2nd Div Hop Pole D. Jordan Roberts (2), Callum Challinor & Dave Edwards all won.

Holders St Georges A were knocked out in the 2nd Round of this seasons Stan Bent Team KO. They lost to current 1st Div leaders Hop Pole C (2009 winners) 4-1. Alan Mason, Baz Davies, Mick Addison & Duncan Sunderland all won. Perkins Cue (winners in 2008, 2010, 2011 & 2012) had to come back from 3-1 down against 2nd div side Radford Rejects and win 4-3. Alan Sim (2), Dave Whitfield & Mike Barker all won. St Georges B (2013 runners up) came away with a fine 4-2 win over fellow 1st div side Bear & Pheasant. Jamie Woolley & Paddy Singh (both 2 wins) saw them through. Kennys Whackpack are through to the Quarter Finals with a 4-1 win at the Joiners Rebels. Rob Wharne, Mark Billingsley (2) and Simon W Davies all won. Joiners Arms ran out 4-1 winners at the GPO Club B to book their place. Brendon Ruttledge (2), Bin Singh & Paul Loughead all won. Staffs Bull B claimed a 4-0 success over the Four Crosses.

1st ROUND RESULTS & REPORT

26th January 2014

3rd Division Princess Royal A created the big upset by beating 1st Division Morrisman 4-1. Josh Saunders, John Davies, Chris Steadmen & Jamie Crosby all won. 2nd Division Metro Bar A saw off the challenge of 1st Division Perkins Z, running out 4-2 winners. Andy Palin (2), Alan Farrow & Roy Brown all won. 2nd Div leaders Hop Pole B ran out 4-3 winners at Kennys Potters to book their Quarter Final place. Luckpenny came away with a 4-2 win at Wagon & Horses A to progress. A similar score was matched by Hop Pole E over the Highfields Club to make it into the Quarter Finals. Metro Bar, Kennys WSR & Luckpenny B all claimed 4-0 wins over Bear & Pheasant A, Staffs Bull A & Princess Royal B respectively. 

Sunday 26th October 2013

Played at Kennys Sports Bar, Stafford.

Charlotte Shelley was crowned the 2012-13 Ladies Singles Knockout Champion after a round-robin format was used with the following final positions:

FINAL STANDINGS

Sunday 26th October 2013

Played at the Hop Pole, Stafford

SEMI-FINALS

Metro Bar 1- 4 Kennys Dogs

Hop Pole C 4-3 St. Georges A

Kennys Dogs reached the Final for the 2nd time in 3 years after seeing off the challenge of promoted 3rd div Metro Bar. Gavin Davies (2), Lee Whitehouse & Dave Richardson were the winners with Gaz Nicklin being the sole reply from the Metro Bar.

Hop Pole C reached their 3rd consecuetive Summer Final with a hard fought 4-3 win over Stan Bent Team KO winners St. Georges A. Kev Brown won a deciding frame against Kev Plimmer, earlier wins for the Hop Pole by Alan Mason, Duncan Sunderland and Brown again saw them through. Kev Plimmer, Mick Ferguson and Jason Armishaw replied for the Georges.

SUMMER PLATE FINAL

Hop Pole C 4-1 Kennys Dogs

Hop Pole C are the Summer Plate Champions after overcoming the Kennys Dogs side, winning 4-1. 12 months earlier they had to be content with a runners-up spot, but this time they were determined to put the record straight. Gavin Davies gave the Dogs a good start by winning the first frame but wins for Kev Brown, Alan Mason and 2 fine clearances by Simon Key saw the Hop Pole C win the Final. Duncan Sunderland, Baz Davies and Mick Addison made up the rest of the Hop Pole side. Representing the Kennys Dogs were Davies, Lee Whitehouse, Dave Richardson, Adam Lilburne, Steve Bristow and Ivan Turner.

Sunday 1st December 2013

To be played @Players, Newcastle-u-Lyme

Stafford again have a team representing their local town at the Finals day of the Staffordshire 3's. They are Kennys Cue (Perkins Cue) who have Dave Whitfield (capt), Martin Priestley, Dave & Mike Barker in their side. This is the 6th time in 9 years that this team has progressed this far. They were Semi Finalists in 2005, 2006, 2008 and 2009 and Runners Up in 2011. They have been drawn against the team from Fenton who are Lee Whitfield, Wayne Connor & Gareth Davies. In the other Semi Final sees a team from Prince of Wales (Leek) drawn against Crompos (Burslem).

In the Doubles, Scott Price (Perkins VVV & Kennys Redbull) will be playing alongside Dan Rathbone in their Semi and will face Tony Hazeldine & Paul Ward. Multiple Doubles champions Jimmy Gower & Gareth Davies take on Lee Whitfield & Wayne Connor in the other Semi Final

The Singles sees no Stafford players. Dan Duffield & Tony Shaw (both from Leek), Lee Whitfield & Ryan Cope (Stoke on Trent) make up the Semi Finals.

Sunday 26th October 2013

Played at Kennys Sports Bar, Stafford.

SEMI-FINALS

Bear & Pheasant  3 - 4  Perkins Cue

Metro Bar A  4 - 2  Kennys Redbull

Perkins Cue came through a tough Semi Final match against the Bear & Pheasant to reach their 5th consecutive Summer Final. Mike Barker and Rob Wharne won in the 1st half for the Cuemen, as did Andy Rawlinson and Richard East (with a fine win over Martin Priestley) for the Bear & Pheasant. The start of the 2nd half saw Mike Barker pull off a fine clearance against Rawlinson after the latter went in-off on the break shot, then Jim Simpson claimed a famous scalp over Wharne to level it at 3-3. Dave Barker was drawn against Giles Eastwood in the decider and, after a dry break from the Bear man, Barker pulled off a great 8-ball clearance to win the tie 4-3 for the Cuemen.

Metro Bar A reached the Final for the first time with a hard fought win over Kennys Redbull. Wins for Roy Brown, Paul Shepherd and Andy Palin gave the Metro a 3-1 lead, with Paul Loughead replying for the Redbull. The start of the 2nd half saw Robbie Jenkinson claim a win over Alan Farrow to pull another one back for the Redbull, but the experience of Shepherd saw him overcome the challenge of Al Sim and put the Metro Bar through to the final, winning 4-2.

 SUMMER LEAGUE MAIN KNOCKOUT FINAL

Perkins Cue v Metro Bar A

FRAME ONE - Mike Barker (Cue) was drawn against Paul Shepherd (Metro) and Barker was in great from his Semi Final as was Shepherd. Barker started strongly with some fine potting but a missed chance put Shep back in and after an exchange of tactical snookers, it was Shep who took his chance to put the Metro Bar 1-0 up.

FRAME TWO - England International Rob Wharne (Cue) was drawn against Roy Brown (Metro). This was an important frame as Wharne set his mark with an intention to clear. However he fell short with 2 balls to go and Brown tactically pulled himself back into the frame. Wharne then turned the frame back in his favour with an excellent pot on his last red and then potted the black to level the scores 1-1. 

FRAME THREE - Dave Barker (Cue) was drawn against Andy Palin (Metro). Palin broke and soon got a stranglehold in the frame. Barker had to change his approach and gradually worked himself back into the frame with some astute and tactical shots. A mistake by Palin let Barker in and he then cleared the table to put the Cuemen 2-1 up.

FRAME FOUR - Dave Whitfeld (Cue) was drawn against Dave Ashton (Metro). Whitfield broke and went in off the break. This put Ashton in control and he gradually stopped Whitfield in his tracks. However, a snooker gave the latter an opportunity, but a missed positional shot by Whitfield let Ashton in and he looked as though he was going to level the scores. A fine cut in the middle by Ashton went astray and Whitfield siezed the moment to pot the black and put the Cuemen 3-1 up.

FRAME FIVE - Dave Barker was paired against Paul Shepherd at the start of the 2nd half of the Final and it was a crucial frame for the Metro Bar. Shepherd broke and went for the clearance - and it was looking good until he lost position. Barker was back in but struggled to gain the initiative and, with some good counter attacking pool, Shepherd siezed the opportunity and clinched the frame to pull it back to 3-2 down.

FRAME SIX - Rob Wharne was drawn against Alan Farrow and it was hit or bust for the latter. Wharne broke and put himself in a great position as it looked for certain he was going to secure the Cuemen the title with an 8-ball clearance. However, he uncharacteristically missed his penultimate pot and let Farrow back in. Unfortunately, he didn't manage to tie up the balls and Wharne jumped at the chance to pot his remaining balls and, to the delight of his teammates, secured the 6th Summer League title in 9 years for the Perkins Cue side.

FRAME SEVEN - This frame was to be played between Martin Priestley and Roy Brown but was not required.

Congratulations to Perkins Cue on their triumph as they achieved the 2012/13 Winter & 2013 Summer League Championship double - a fine achievement. Also, well done to the Metro Bar A who also achieved a 2012/13 3rd Division Title with some notable scalps (1st Div sides Kennys Tap & Kennys Redbull) along the way to the Summer League Final.

The dates for the Staffordshire 2014 County Pool Trials are as follows:

• Staffordshire Men, Sunday 12th January, 10am Start at Players Pool Club
• Staffordshire Ladies, Sunday 8th December, 11am Start at Players Pool Club
• Staffordshire Juniors, Sunday 8th December, 11am Start at Players Pool Club

SUNDAY 3rd November 2013

Division ONE - Teams in brackets were original teams from Season 2012/13

KENNYS WHACKPACK (Perkins VVV) v ST GEORGES B (Tap n Spile)

AFFORD v STAFFORD A

Played on Friday 27th September 2013 @Locomotive, Fenton.

Stafford A travelled to Fenton in their latest Interleague match hoping to pick up some points to help their chances of survival in the Elite Division. Skipper Dave Whitfield was missing Martin Priestley, Lee Whitehouse, Jim Simpson & Dave Richardson.

Stafford needed a good start against a strong Afford side filled with experienced county players. Stafford soon found themselves 3-0 down in no time with defeats for Simon W Davies, Alan Sim & Giles Eastwood, but Mark Billingsley came back well in his game to give the visitors their first frame. Mike Barker then clawed another frame back. However missed chances by Gavin Davies, Dave Barker and Mick Addison saw Stafford fall further back at 6-2. Dave Whitfield managed to clear well in his frame to give Stafford hope in to make it 6-3 down at the the halfway point.

The second half saw Stafford start stronger and Billingsley pulled of a great 8 ball clearance to make it 6-4 down. Sim then played well to bring Stafford to within a frame but losses to both Simon Davies and Eastwood put Stafford on the backfoot. An amzing comeback from the skipper Whitfield from certain defeat, finishing off with a fine long black gave Stafford hope once again at 8-6 down. However again rued missed chances from Stafford saw them falter and losing the last four frames (both Barkers, Addison & Gav Davies saw Stafford lose 12-6.

Another disappointing result but missed chances and opportunities at this level are costly and things were made worse after finding out Leek had won and so leave Stafford 4 points from safety. So a must win in BOTH games against Leek (Home - 25th Oct) and Cannock Chase (Away - 15th Nov) will stop Stafford being relegated.

The Pool League Constitution has been revised as of 9th September. This updated version is now available on the website.

Date: SUNDAY 22nd September 2013

AGM to be held @Kennys, Stafford.

Time: Winter League 2013/14 Registration Sign in: 7:00pm - 8:00pm

Fees: £45 PER TEAM payable on the night*

MEETING TO START @7:45pm PROMPT.

AGENDA for the Evening is as follows

1. Chairman to read the 2012/13 AGM minutes

2. Chairman's Report

3. League Secretary's Report

4. League Treasurer's Report

5. Election of Officers and Committee Members**

6. Proposed changes**

7. Constitution Amendments

8. Any Other Business (AOB)

**ALL TEAM CAPTAINS Please note that that Election of Officers and any Proposed Changes MUST be put in writing and sent to the League Secretary by Sunday 8th September 2013.

Changes CANNOT be made on the night of the meeting.

*If any teams are unavailable to attend then please contact any of the league Officers, However this does mean that payment must be made before the Set date.  

STAFFORD A v AFFORD B - ELITE DIVISION

Friday 23rd August 2013 played @Kennys, Stafford.

Team Captain Dave Whitfield returned to the side after missing the previous game in the 11-7 loss to TT Players. Also, Gav Davies returned to the side affter missing the previous game due to becoming a father for the second time. Missing from the side was Jim Simpson, Martin Priestley, Lee Whitehouse & Dave Richardson.

Stafford needed to start well and they did as Simon Davies, Alan Sim, Gavin Davies & Dave Whitfield all won to make the score 4-4. Unfortunately, Mick Addison missed out on the last frame to give Stafford a chance of a lead going into the second half.

The second half started in similar fashion with Mark Billingsley clearing in style to make it 5-5. A missed opportunity by Mike Barker on the black let his opponent in and Giles Eastwood also suffered a similar fate as Stafford were suddenly 7-5 down. Again it was down to both Sim and then Gav Davies to pull the scores level with 2 very good individual performances. However that was it for the night as skipper Whitfield missed a golden chance to make it 8-8 and losses for both Dave Barker & Addison saw the Stafford boys lose 11-7 in a really close match.

So on to the next fixture which is away to Afford on 27th September and Stafford need to start picking up points if they want to stay in the Elite division. Some positives are that if everyone in the team takes their chances then Stafford would have been challenging for a top 4 place. But it is what it is and the team must start being more clinical to get positive results.

MOM on the night goes to both Alan Sim & Gav Davies for their 2 wins. 

It was a case of deja vu all over again at the Singles Knockout Finals Night as Rob Wharne steamrollered his way to the title for a fourth successive year.

Rob breezed past teammate Mike Barker without reply in his quarter-final while Mark Billingsley held off a spirited challenge from Liam Collins. Dave Barker whitewashed Kev Brown 3-0 but the game of the last eight was between Dave Whitfield and Paddy Singh. Paddy went 2-0 ahead and seemed on his way to the last four before Dave found his form and managed to claw his way back into the match, eventually winning 3-2.

The first semi-final was a mouth-watering encounter between two of Stafford's finest potting machines as Rob Wharne and Mark Billingsley went mano a mano for a prized place in the final. It was Rob, coming off his recent successes at the Pool World Championships in Blackpool, who came out on top pulling off some of his trademark finishes from nowhere along the way.

The other semi had more of a pedestrian feel to it as two of the Sunday League's stalwarts came head to head. Dave Barker made an uncharacteristically nervous start against teammate Dave Whitfield as the opening frames were shared. But then, in what may well have been a turning point in the match, the League Secretary missed a straight black in the 3rd frame. Dave Barker went on to clinch that frame and never looked back to win the tie 4-1.

The final saw Perkins Cue teammates Rob Wharne and Dave Barker do battle. It was the third time in 3 years they had met in the final stages of this knockout as Rob had overcome Dave in two previous semi-finals. The pattern of the game seemed to be very much dictated by the break-off shots as neither player could consistently pot balls off the break or indeed leave any sort of finish on.

In the first frame Dave attempted a finish that was never really on and, despite pulling off some tremendous pots, he found his way into the blind alley that was always beckoning him. Rob laid a snooker and with the two visits that followed he duly won the frame. The 2nd frame proved that Dave was not going to be easily shaken off as Rob took out his set of colours before doubling the black-ball into the jaws of a corner pocket. This forced Dave's hand and he managed to develop his two bad balls en route to a good finish under pressure.

The next three frames went Rob's way as he showed what a classy player he is when there is the slightest chance of a finish on. Dave should have claimed the 6th frame with more ease than he eventually did after Rob sent the white off the table during his break-off shot. This left the scoreline as 4-2 to Rob.

Some tactical play in the 7th frame saw both players go for and fail to grasp half-chances that came their way. Decisively, it was Rob who finally set up a double on the black-ball and calmly slotted it home in the opposite corner pocket to win the final 5-2.

So, congratulations once more to Rob Wharne. It was by no means an easy run to the title for Rob who had to see off some of Stafford's finest on his way to the crown. The question now is who can prevent him claiming a fifth consecutive title?