LongTimeLurker

...because the Democratic senator from West Virginia is basically in the Republican camp on any key policy issue that involves anything resembling a progressive agenda so 50-50 + Kamala Harris is probably not going to cut it most of the time.

Vaccinations should barring any unforeseen issues on efficacy start putting a massive dent into hospitalisations and deaths by mid-Feb.

Told to become the 33rd county of the GAA. Do not pass Go. Do not collect £200.

It really isn't inexplicable if you apply logic to this issue. A tiny portion of the population is involved in professional sport and that tiny portion is following rigid protocols in that context and the conclusion has been that this does not create a significant issue on transmission. The argument from the SG would clearly be (not a fan of the Nicola Sturgeon nanny state approach personally) that having the entire population meeting freely outdoors with no rigid protocols being applied could cumulatively add up to something significant, because so many more people would be involved.

The big picture is that Nicola Sturgeon has closed down most access to schools until February to keep the R0 number down until the vaccinations start to have an effect, because that is a genuine high risk source of mass community transmission that could no longer be ignored in the context of the new variant. If 900,000 vaccine doses are available by the end of this month we should (if there are no unexpected issues with vaccine efficacy) be turning the corner in a big way on hospitalisation and mortality numbers in about 6 weeks or so. What happens with professional football is not likely to be in any way significant in big picture terms because it is a very low risk activity when the protocols are followed properly involving a tiny portion of the overall population at this point unlike schools which are much higher risk and involve a very significant portion of the population who can easily go on to spread it to their parents.

One word: vaccines.

This is where you lose contact with rationality and enter the realm of hysteria. It is happening outdoors which makes it lower risk than anything happening indoors and precautions are being rigidly applied to reduce the risk still further.

Good to hear. It's a low risk activity happening outdoors so no obvious reason why they shouldn't continue if track and trace has not been identifying professional football as a significant issue on transmission. Schools were always a large part of what was causing transmission through the community because it happens indoors with prolonged contact in confined spaces between individuals from a large number of different households. Given the higher R0 value with the new variant the fiction that schools were not a factor is no longer sustainable in the weeks between now and the effect of mass vaccination kicking in.

Lights at 200 lux, enclosed ground that people can't easily see into to, cover for 100 spectators, decent sized dressing rooms for home and away teams on site with extra room and showers for officials and dedicated access to the pitch, lots of administrative stuff that you can find on the SFA website.

Three days of Dover being closed and Boris caved on the negotiations over goods to give the EU pretty much everything it wanted. Armageddon was the No Deal scenario that Nigel Farage and co wanted.

So let's get this back on track before the thread gets completely derailed by people who are determined to have time-wasting petty arguments. Known to be applying to EoS: Livingston United , Tayport Rumoured to be applying to EoS: most of the rest of east region south, Cupar Hearts Unclear what's happening but likely to be in the pyramid somehow eventually: rest of east region north Can anyone shed any more light beyond that?

Financial services still need to be sorted out, so this thread is far from over.

Think you have that backwards. According to David Baikie of Tayport in the recent podcast the Highland League don't want them. Nothing was said about it being vice versa and they would only know the HL's posture if the topic had been actively explored at some point. The HL agreed to a Club 42 boundary for SPFL relegation at a point when most people thought the juniors would stay separate and keep chasing TJ's Holy Grail. What was said in the P&J many years ago when it was a hypothetical means diddlysquat if HL clubs have no interest in doing anything in the here and now to facilitate Tayside entry when the tier 6 feeder arrangements are being actively negotiated. Think interested clubs need to test whether Luncarty style EoS entry is doable this season to gain full clarity on that issue. That may be a non-starter if the LL can now be trusted by the EoS clubs not to change the Club 42 rule in exchange for something from the SPFL. The LL appear to have wanted money to sign off on it last season but the SPFL refused. David Baikie definitely seemed to think that the EoS also don't want the north of the Club 42 boundary east region north clubs and the EoS fixture secretary appears to be green dotting posts in support of that posture on here. The east region north will probably soon be all that's left of the east region and if so could soon (as in a few weeks from now once all the east region south applications have gone in) easily ask to be included in the tier 6 negotiations for the HL as the east region on par with the north region. If that's not happening at that point they could justifiably publicly request SFA help on tier 5 entry as a Midlands League to highlight their plight if they can clearly demonstrate that access to both the LL and HL feeder systems is being actively denied to them.

The HL ultimately had to be cajoled by Stewart Regan into joining the pyramid with Alan McRae pulling the strings and insisted on keeping their existing 18 club format as a condition of doing so. Very few people were expecting junior clubs to join the senior grade to the extent that they subsequently have. As things stand the HL is only negotiating with the NCL and north region. They were happy with the idea of Brechin City or Forfar Athletic possibly joining one day as they probably saw that as a net gain but that does not appear to extend to possibility of regularly playing against Lochee United and Broughty Athletic in future. The HL have to sign off on tier 6 feeders as changes to their own league constitution are involved. This isn't something the SFA can dictate any more than they could force the EoS to accept the east region as a fellow tier 6 feeder to the LL when there was a rule change involved that could only be made with EoS approval.

It got them to the second tier in the not so distant past, so that doesn't stand up to close scrutiny. We are where we are because: (i) The HL (Cove Rangers excepted) saw the pyramid concept as a central belt issue that had nothing much to do with them when it was implemented and hence never seriously expected to have to take on Dundee junior clubs. (ii) The Angus SPFL clubs were way too complacent about potentially being relegated in future when the Club 42 rule was being drafted and hence did not object to being in the HL catchment at that point.

Because it's timed to coincide with any disruption on the first normal workday after Brexit kicked in. OxfordAZ was probably held back for three weeks to divert attention from that in news cycle terms.

There's no huge rush on the healthy under 50s, because COVID is nothing like as deadly as the media hype builds it up to be and many of them have already had it. Even going as far as all over-50s by spring is about creating an exit route from all the hysteria as much as anything else. It will probably reach the under-50s more quickly than back of an envelope calculations suggest right now though, because other vaccines that are on order like J&J should be available well before July and a significant portion of over-50s will refuse to participate.

Think ye ken fine weel that no is the answer to that and that SFA officeholders saw no problem with the entirety of the east region winding up as a tier 6 feeder to the LL, so obviously don't see the Tay Bridge boundary as in any way definitive and final. Also interesting to note that sorting out where Brechin go if relegated, wound up boiling down to something as petty as compensation for extra travel: Since it shows that the LL were only looking for some relatively minor concessions before signing off on a Club 42 relegation rule change that would have moved Dundee into their catchment, and that the SPFL weren't exactly backing Brechin to the hilt if unwilling to compromise on that when their bluff was called on the cup competition participation.

Hope Neil Lennon stays and we get to watch an ongoing meltdown unfold over the next few months so embarrassing that he winds up at Lurgan Celtic. Couldn't happen to a nicer guy.

....because you never see SPFL fans behaving like that on here? Everybody just loves the Old Firm and has no problem with them winning most of the silverware decade after decade with not a shoulder chip to be found anywhere.

The pharmaceutical companies want to max the headline efficacy percentage for PR sales related reasons with their second dose, so have deliberately downplayed the idea that it starts working well a few days after a single jag. One of the few things BJ has got right is ignoring them to get as many high risk people vaccinated ASAP.

Looks like Darvel and possibly Clydebank should be ready this year and Auchinleck Talbot almost certainly would have been, so the argument they were waiting for that doesn't necessarily stand up to close scrutiny. It will probably take several more years of promotion by former junior superleague clubs to get to the point that clubs like Spartans become potential relegation candidates that could conceivably quickly bounce back for attitudes to shift. Clubs need to see a future advantage to themselves to vote for opening it up. Right now there's a mentality that this is our league that we founded, so why should we make way for all these Tenents Super swilling junior interlopers amongst lower half LL clubs that know full well that their future natural habitat after relegation from the LL will be tiers 7 & 8 in EoS terms.

Hopefully Tayport's EoS move will prompt other Dundee area clubs to put in applications as well, so there will be clarity on whether there is a viable LL catchment pyramid entry pathway available for clubs that are only a few minutes further than the bridge. Luncarty got in despite having a registered ground north of the line of latitude for Club 42 relegation. Brechin City getting relegated to the HL at the end of this season (if they fail to stagger past the equally woeful Albion Rovers) would probably help resolve matters as well where more distant Angus clubs are concerned that are in Montrose Roselea sort of territory. The current HL tier 6 negotiations do extend into northern Angus. If the HL doesn't want the Dundee area and EoS clubs are willing to take the clubs from there, maybe there won't be a one size fits all solution.

Hopefully there will be effective alternative media sources that get the reality of what's happening through to the plebs in the years ahead rather than the usual tabloid drivel. Too bad this Australian youtube channel doesn't do Scottish/British politics:

...apparently even the alleged 25% is mainly extra herring and mackerel British people don't usually eat with no scope for swapping quotas now for species we do and a suggestion albeit from Fergus Ewing that at least some of what was handed back wasn't even being used.