"no one can accuse me of being a copyist"
Nobody has, as far as I know, but the thrust of your, and other arguments seems to be that in order for clubs to improve they should rely on professional gusts rather than their own home talent.
If clubs are to have any future, they have to develop a basis of local performers rather than become mini-concerts for superstars.
The best clubs in the past, London, Manchester and Birmingham in my experience, used traditional songs as a foundation and developed from there, extending into songwriting, folk theatre and local research - not in flapping and saying "Ooooh, there weren't enough people here last week, lest book a few 'names' to boost the numbers" - there is no future for that sort of policy.
It should never be about putting bums on seats alone.
Head counting has apparently taken the place of everything, including definition (it can only be a folk song if it's in the top twenty)
Jim Carroll