stanley

Yes, it would certainly be best to avoid a situation where Lowland League clubs get to decide which league they get relegated into. Opens up lots of potential issues. If there are no borders then how can any clubs be turned down?

"“Up and coming clubs wanting to play at a higher level is understandable and should be encouraged but not if their ambitions are fuelled by nothing other than delusions of grandeur." Sums up the negative attitudes really.

Yes, it was very much tongue in cheek. It's the idea that they think the former East juniors clubs destroyed the grade by leaving for the senior EoS league yet their alternative plan now is to move to the senior WoS league. The West juniors moved to a senior league; the only difference being that they all moved at once (other than Dunipace who moved earlier). Whatever happens, if they move then they will be leaving a junior league for a senior league just like Kelty etc. did. I don't think they need to change the name. Some teams will drop the junior aspect, some will keep it for historical reasons.

Can anyone ask the Whitburn committee member if they'll be changing their name to Whitburn Senior if they join the WoS?

I agree but if Whitburn are going to say that the old East juniors have destroyed non-league football by moving to the EoS then I think it's worthwhile having some balance and showing what the EoS have done positively regarding the pyramid. Personally, I hope Whitburn and all the West Lothian clubs joining the EoS because I think it's the most sensible solution and it would be very unfortunate to see clubs still in separate leagues despite being from the same area (like we had with the senior/junior divide). Regardless of what old committee members are saying, I still think clubs like Whitburn should be encouraged to join the EoS and forget about any negative feelings regarding clubs moving to the EoS. Hopefully this will all be forgotten about in a few years and all clubs will be under the same system.

Good post. Let's not forget the way the EoS brought in the conferences when they could have made the East juniors start at the bottom. The vast majority of their old members ended up lower down the leagues because of that when they could have put the East juniors at the bottom and made them take years to all get promoted. The negative attitudes have come from clubs like Whitburn (at least the decision-makers at the clubs).

Also, if it's about anything other than bitterness about EoS clubs then why didn't the West Lothian juniors clubs move to the West juniors years ago?

What a terrible post to make publicly (the Whitburn committee one). He wants them to move to the west despite their history being in the east leagues purely because he's bitter about east clubs having moved to the EoS? How does he feel about the West Juniors having moved to a senior league?

If they ever get their heads together then it simply must involve the SoS and WoS merging.

Whitburn's pyramid statement: "Update for our supporters. To avoid any rumours, it has been decided by the Committee for us to move into the Pyramid System for next season. At the moment it is undecided whether it will be East or West but will inform you all as soon as possible."

How do the clubs applying to the west feel about the idea of never playing some of their West Lothian rivals in the league again? Genuinely curious. What's the logic in moving west? Travel? Refusal to join the EoS after having held out for so long? Could we see some clubs jumping back and forth between the EoS and WoS now? Pity that things might remain complicated after the West Lothian clubs turn senior.

I don't think that's fair. Any "victory" happened long ago when the West clubs joined the WoS. I think most people want old rivalries back. The senior/junior divide kept local teams apart and splitting West Lothian between the WoS and EoS would continue that. The juniors moving to the senior leagues should remove the divide between the clubs.

Do Kilbride Thistle basically have Meadowbank Thistle's old badge?

The second reply states that no clubs have applied. They aren't saying no club has applied and been denied; they are saying no club has applied at all. It would be very strange for them to explicitly state that if a Dundee team has already applied this season.

Cheers

Wikipedia (I know it isn't a reliable source) lists Albion Rovers 8-2 Vale of Atholl in the first round in 1956-57. John Byrne's Scottish Cup book lists Albion Rovers as having a bye and omits Vale of Atholl. Which one is correct?

Yes, just read the post as meaning it was both suspended and null and void at the same time. Seems like it is currently suspended and will become null and void soon.

Surely it can't be suspended until March and also declared null and void?

I don't think the COVID situation will be significantly better in a month nor do I think lockdown will be lifted in February so I'm not confident that teams/the league will feel comfortable resuming next month. It is possible to finish the season at some point but I can't see it being finished in time for the promotion playoffs should any of the teams get licensed this year. I'm not arguing against pausing the leagues as it seems like the most sensible option. Just think that some people are very optimistic about when things will improve enough to continue playing at this level.

Agreed (was only saying that the idea of stopping now and being able to finish the season later is unrealistic IMO).

No, I mean when the set up moved to four divisions in 1994 (when ICT and Ross County joined) and it became Premier/First/Second/Third. There were two automatic relegation spots from the ten-team first/second divisions until 2007 when they changed it to one automatic relegation spot and second bottom in playoffs with the division below. Obviously it then became Premiership/Championship/League One/League Two later on.

Stop now and I don't think the leagues will ever get finished. I don't think there's any chance of the lockdown ending in February.

Good point. Wouldn't surprise me if eventually they came to a compromise involving increasing League Two to 12 teams and bringing in automatic two-up, two-down.

When I say the old first and second division, I mean the current Championship and League One under their old name (not the original first division when it was the top league). Those were ten-team leagues with two automatic relegation spots until years ago when the playoffs were introduced.

Don't think it being a 10-team division should make any difference. It wasn't too long ago that there were two teams automatically going down from the old first and second divisions.