Jambo'ness

Quite right to wait until it's official but it does appear that the remaining clubs in the East superleague south of Perth are coming to their senses and know they cannot sit on their hands.

Attention all those who trusted in TJ & co. I will not mock you, you believed their lies but now is the time to get the fcuk away from these snakes, or you will be dead within a decade.

Accidentally red-dotted you there but gave you a green to counter. You are spot on about the blazers holding on to power but I think you are wrong regarding an entire integration. TJ & co have missed the boat on East clubs, now too fractured to move together. He and his cronies have always been more concerned with the west anyway, so there he still sees a chance to do some dealing that keeps him in a position of power. All I would ever say to other fans is 'would you buy a used car from him?'

I've been a supporter of the pyramid for a long time now but once my club had let 31/03 pass and made it clear they weren't for moving because TJ would save the day, my heart fell. Now it would appear some sense has prevailed. They may, perhaps, have finally seen through the charlatan's cloak and found nothing there but a desperate, clinging desire for self-preservation. I hope that Bo'ness fans come out and discuss issues, for and against but I, of course, hope they see that change is needed. If we are really lucky, an application would be accepted, although we scarcely deserve to be on an even footing with those who have already committed themselves.

Really? With it being a 'Senior' league, that comes as a surprise.

How many junior clubs will be caught out this year if they sign a player from one of those moving to the EoS?

One of the major failings of the current set-up is it hasn't learned any recent football lessons. Making clubs over-reach themselves is stupid and you must never force them to become less competitive just to avoid a promotion that may financially cripple them.

Not a hope in hell it's Bo'ness. The majority of the committee are not for moving and trust TJ implicitly.

This fact alone should act as a wake-up call to those trusting in TJ & his SJFA. I really cannot see the sense in paying a TV company money to show a game, when it will undoubtedly lead to fewer bodies through the gate. if it was with the intent to attract a sponsor, it may make sense but they've failed miserably on that score. Many die-hard junior fans see the clubs leaving as traitors to the grade or lemmings jumping over the cliff but the alternative for most is to wither and die, gradually, whilst the rest of the non-league scene prospers.

They may not have made an official notification but Camelon seem to be preparing for a different level if their pie hut prices are anything to go by!

The list above is what leaves me shaking my head in bewilderment at my clubs decision to stay put for the over-riding reason of a gate against lithgae. They seem to have forgotten that any money made from that will be eaten up by the trips next year to Broughty, Carnoustie, Lochee, Forfar (who are unlikely to be relegated & Tayport (who will likely go up to make the numbers). That is without cup draws, which are now even more likely to include trips north. We had 3 this season, 2 in Dundee & 1 in Brechin. Maybe we should advocate a Tayside League and join that, as that seems to be the way we are heading.

Am I missing something here? Looks to me you have just defined a 'thinly veiled threat'.

19 days late in catching us with that one.

I keep hearing this type of thing from Junior fans - why should junior clubs who have up til now (and in some cases continue) showed no interest in joining the pyramid be slotted in at a higher level? After Rangers demise, the new club rightly ended up in the bottom tier. Some folk tried to slot them in higher up and it was correctly rejected. When Juventus were relegated during Calciopoli, did they automatically get a European place after winning Serie B because they were a bit club? When Wimbledon became MK Dons and AFC Wimbledon was founded, they started in the lowest level with a space. They were a much bigger club than those in that league and they went on to have many successive promotions. Teams find their natural level by winning leagues or being relegated. To suggest that teams should bypass normal sporting convention because currently they are a big fish in a small pond is arrogance in the extreme IMO. I have to agree with you. My club had a chance which it has now wasted. In any future agreement it would be wrong for us to vault over others who had the balls to make the change when the chance was there.

Unfair to blame whole committee. There are some who wanted to move, not just Derek.

It's actually harder for bigger clubs to reach a decision, as they have EGM's to arrange and will want a high level of support. A smaller club could more easily decide on just half a dozen committee members voting for it. Having said that, certain clubs need to get their skates on!

You go on about this "brand". If I was the marketing director of any company with a "brand", I would have expected to be sacked by now if I acted as the SJFA does with its "brand"

You make it sound like a war. It's all FOOTBALL. History is important but you can't keep living in the past. Maybe if TJ at the top had "cared a jot" about the East region as he does about the West, things may have been different. Now progressive football clubs from all areas are looking to evolve.

"Junior brand"? What brand is that exactly? It certainly isn't a marketed brand. It's an old name, from a bygone age. If the changes that are beginning, continue to sweep through, then the name 'Junior' will be dead in 5 years.

I'm not so sure it can be said he has done his best FOR Junior football. He is in a position where there is no periodic election for his position. Even FIFA ran elections! He is protecting himself, pure and simple and instead of aiding change, he grips firmly on to what semblance of power he thinks he has, even if it is to the detriment of the game.

Know what you mean there. I have missed the last three league games against the wee rose due to being booked for holidays. Before anyone gets smart, we did win two. I wasn't deliberately missing them.

Funny, I read that as 'keep Tom Johnston in a job'.

I kind of guessed it would come to this. At first, a mass shaking of heads and nobody interested. Next, a wee opening is sniffed by some of the more progressive outfits and discussions start. Next, a lot of clubs scrambling over each other to get into a newly formed league. Those that hold back will then be wondering whether it was wise to be cautious, or annoyed at missing the bus.

Care to say who, allegedly? One would expect a Superleague side or is it a surprise package?

Exactly. It's not compulsory in the English pyramid. This whole 'adventure' should be about finding the right fit for all clubs, regardless of size. Forcing clubs to go further than they wish, or can afford, would be counter-productive.