Argyle caused a stir this week, certainly in Cornish football circles, by naming a strong team to face AFC St Austell in the Carlsberg South West Peninsula League.

The Pilgrims’ squad featured eight players with senior experience, including Scottish international striker David Goodwillie, David Ijaha, Jordan Slew, Craig Tanner and Louis Rooney.

And even though St Austell are among the best teams in the Peninsula League, the Lillywhites fell to a 6-0 defeat in the premier division match at the Devon headquarters pitch in Newton Abbot on Tuesday.

Officials and some supporters of the Cornwall club took to social media afterwards to complain about the unfairness of it all, with one team packed with full time footballers and the other made up of people who had worked all day before making the arduous midweek dash to South Devon.

The St Austell contingent on Twitter and Facebook made some fair points – but under the rules, Argyle did nothing wrong and it is hardly a new issue.

I am old enough to remember when the Pilgrims competed in the old South Western League in the late 1980s when they regularly had a very strong reserve team.

But I do recall Cornish clubs looking forward to their visits to Home Park for their afternoon or evening on a big stage, even though they were likely to see their team beaten.

It was also an attractive proposition, in terms of attendances, when Argyle played the return fixtures at grounds around the county. It felt like an honour to welcome the Pilgrims to the grounds.

Times have changed, of course, and sadly money has a big say in the game, even at Peninsula League level.

Some people are surprised when you tell them how much some clubs are said to be paying in ‘expenses’ to put a team out on a Saturday or a Tuesday or Wednesday.

It hardly makes sense when the prize money for winning the league is only around £2,500, and only one club can win it, but some teams are costing £500 per match to put out on the pitch.

Over 38 league games, that’s a lot of money for clubs who attract only between 100 and 200 supporters per game at £5 a head.