EdinburghBlue

So presumably both Broxburn and Creetown would be promoted?

If Edinburgh City fail to get their bronze licence (or Airdrie or Kelty for that matter) would this be treated as a relegation to the Lowland League or would they go right to the bottom of the East?

Stranraer getting 150 tickets which, while won't meet demand, is reasonable given the size of the EK ground.

We need somewhere to talk about these playoff games. (As opposed to general dislike of East Kilbride, general dislike of Stranraer, MK, MK at Darvel, EK's gound, EK vs EK Thistle, ongoing repetition of arguments about promotion/relegation/the pyramid, the war in Gaza etc.)

No, it was because a bus company refused to take a booking from the group looking for trouble because of previous incidents.

Unfortunately Police Scotland looking for opportunities to cover budget shortfalls, and when they say policing required the club has no choice. We lost money on our cup game v Airdrie earlier this season because PS insisted on cover which cost more than the extra gate income. (And there was no trouble.) And there are a couple of teams in SPFL2 where less than 50 visiting fans nevertheless are deemed to require policing because of problems at previous games.

Likewise for the Stranraer fans.

Have dates been set yet for the Lowland League promotion playoffs?

You also need to take into account the extra cost of policing these games

Reminded me to ask, what action did Clyde take against the Clyde fan arrested at that game?

Relegation would obviously cause financial difficulties for the Club, and may of necessity provoke some thinking about the Club’s structure. As a member’s club we can’t: · overspend, go bust and leave the creditors in the lurch, and then create a new company to ‘continue’ the club · overspend, go into administration and leave the creditors in the lurch, and then continue with debts wiped out · run up debts with owners then writing these off when ownership transferred to others · burn through shareholders’ investments to cover losses year on year · effectively trade insolvently (in some cases year-on-year) with directors declaring that the club continues to be a going concern because of guarantees from directors to pay bills when they fall due or based on assurances from lenders that loans won’t be called in. (Their heirs may take a different view.) · issuing new shares regularly to bring more money into the club, either to cover debts or to “buy” promotion As a members’ club the members would be potentially liable for debts if it goes bust, whereas shareholders are only liable for the amount of their individual investment. So maybe we should look at a company structure, although attracting funds may be difficult given the lack of wealth in our area. But there’s also a challenge of location post-relegation. Others have commented on the affordability of busing in a team each week for home games. Some argue that this is the wrong model and that we should rely on local talent. Have a look at the end of season South of Scotland League table to see how well that would work. But that may be the future if relegation to the West isn’t available to us. I think there’s a real danger that over the years the SPFL will end up as essentially a lowlands league (with a few clubs in and around the population centres in the North between Inverness and Aberdeen) as running semi-professional teams will be unaffordable in more sparsely populated areas. Of course the authorities could make this easier by more fairly spreading the sponsorship income both within the SPFL, and in the Tier 5 feeder leagues. And also by trying to reduce the costs of running teams (e.g. doctor in attendance at games, unnecessary administrative burdens)

At least we go into the second leg with a very slight advantage, according to FotMob

Sorry, schoolboy error

Not sure it would make much difference. Most locals only interested in Celtic and Rangers*.

Only in ‘exceptional circumstances’. But I’ve said elsewhere that I think it’s bizarre that there needs to be a doctor in attendance at matches in case there’s an injury to players.