MERTON FC TEAM SELECTION POLICY

Southern Amateur League rule 8(I)(i) states that “in all matches in which it competes, each Club shall play its strongest team in its 1st XI, its second strongest team in its 2nd XI and so on” and rule 8(I)(iii) states that “clubs are expected to hold regular selection meetings or a comparable electronic selection programme to select sides of relative sectional strength”.

It is these rules, as well as the aim that teams are selected on merit and that all players are members of Merton Football Club and should be available for selection for any team that informs the selection policy of Merton Football Club.

SELECTION OF SQUADS

Aim – all squads to be selected on the basis of SAL rule 8(I)(i), with availability confirmed and e-mailed to fixtures secretary by 5pm on each Tuesday where matches are due to be played on a proceeding Saturday.

PROCESS

Each Saturday at the game, all managers / captains to check availability of each of the players present for the proceeding weekend’s fixture.
By Sunday evening, 1st XI squad to be selected and sent to fixtures secretary.
By Monday evening, 2nd XI and 3rd XI squads to be selected and sent to fixtures secretary.
By Tuesday 5pm, 4th XI, 5th XI and 6th XI squads to be selected and sent to fixtures secretary.
In co-ordinating the squad selection process, team managers are expected to communicate to the manager of the team beneath them - the players they have selected, those not selected and those unavailable.

MOVEMENT BETWEEN SQUADS

Initial squad selection - If a player was originally named in a squad for a match and is selected in a lower squad for the subsequent weekend, he will be guaranteed to start. In the event of a player being selected in a higher squad than the one he was named in for the previous weekend, there can be no automatic expectation that the player will start.
After initial squad selection – a late call up to a higher team for a player that was due to start for a lower team will guarantee a start for that player in the higher team (unless it is mutually agreed that he will be sub) and where the call up of a sub from a lower team occurs there is no expectation that the player must start for the higher team. After a late call up, the minimum a player can expect for the subsequent weekend is to be retained in the squad he was originally named in (from the weekend before) and will start if the original intention was to start him.

PLAYERS RETURNING FROM UNAVAILABILITY

To promote the aim that players will be selected on merit, any players return from unavailability will not be guaranteed selection in the squad they were last selected for and they will be entered into the pool of players available for selection.