TWO more local personalities speak up this weekend in our series of articles assessing the health of local football.

Pertinent comments yet again. Alan Westhead, chairman of Tempest United, informs us: "I ran a junior side for our club just over 10 years ago.

We took them from the under 11 age group through to 15 and then it all seemed to fall apart.

"Last weekend one or two of the lads were reminiscing about it. We had a squad of about 20 players over those seasons and at this point in time there are only two of them that we know of still playing football.

"I'm sure if any more were still playing round here we would know about it. Worse than that there are four or five of the lads who we suspect went off the beaten track and got involved in drugs. I don't know why it is. It was just that era. I look around now and I don't see many lads at all of the ages 24, 25 or 26 playing football.

"It's incredible and very tragic."

Peter Conroy of Stoneclough endorses those comments. "Alan is quite right," he says. "It is almost as if there is a lost generation. We had a very similar experience. Eight years ago we took on an under 16s side called High Lawn who played in the Bolton Boys Fed and they stayed with us through to Under 18 playing under our name.

"They won the Fed title but five years ago was the crunch as they moved into open age football, playing Saturdays rather than Sundays. Having been driven to games by their parents they now had to make their own arrangements and when they saw the appalling pitches and facilities the difference really hit home.

"Having had a situation where five or six of that squad of 15 lads were picked up by Stockport County and playing regularly in their Reserves, now nearly all of them have drifted away from the game. We hear of one or two of them turning out spasmodically but only one lad who went in the RAF and Mick Langhorn up at Rammie are still playing football."

Interestingly the comment was made after last week's article covering the demise of Old Smithillians that one of the reasons they didn't have enough players was the absence of a youth set-up at the club. Yet here we have the stories of two clubs which did run junior teams and yet it failed to work.

Everyone locally will be delighted to hear that Gary Westhead, Alan's son, is well on the way to recovery after breaking his leg at the start of the season.

I have received the second instalment from Gordon Fielding charting the Rise and Fall of Old Smithillians FC. What a story! It is hilarious. Can someone please take this off me and get it published. It will be a best seller!