LongTimeLurker

Kennie Young was the WRSJFA fixture secretary so what does he have to do with WoS at this point? The WoS is a new senior league that will have a new set of officeholders. The LL who are handling the launch of the WoS have already agreed that SJC participation can continue subject to certain conditions. Where does compulsion enter the picture?

What are we supposed to be arguing about? Of course it is up to the SJFA members to decide whether they want to facilitate the conditions or not.

I don't disagree with any of that, so I fail to see what the argument is supposed to be about at this point.

The set of conditions are that senior clubs in the WoS can still retain SJFA membership despite no longer being part of a junior region, that there will be no replays for the SJC in future, and that WoS and SCC fixtures take priority over SJC ones and not vice versa meaning that the WoS/LL/EoS/SoS fixture secretary calls the tune on when SJC games can be scheduled. This has been posted about over and over again on here so it is frankly baffling that you could be oblivious to this.

I have no idea why some people are so determined to have an argument over this. The LL provided a set of conditions required to make the competition compatible with the pyramid that are now being voted on by SJFA members.

SJC participation would not have been agreed to by the LL subject to SJFA rule changes if it wasn't going to be feasible. This notion that Saturday fixture dates are not there to accomodate it is a complete red herring. What people should be pointing out is that the SCC is now a lot stronger than the SJC in competitive terms meaning that the latter is highly likely to wither on the vine in the years ahead if no further changes are made. The SJC will probably soon feel like an unnecessary duplication of the SCC given it involves a supporting cast mainly consisting of very weak clubs from the east and north that are often more like an amateur club in a west context.

It is important to bear in mind that only the SCC and a League Cup have been stated as being all in for the WoS clubs. That gives the WoS clubs three fewer cups to participate in than EoS conference teams. Having fewer cups is what provides space for the SJC (as long as there are no replays) and whatever the alternative for non-SJC participants to that will be. In addition to the Alex Jack, the EoS also dedicates Saturday fixtures to the Football Nation Qualifying Cup in the pre-Christmas portion of the season.

Suspect you are wrong about that. The whole point of the SJFA rule changes that are being voted on is that the SJFA will have to dance to the LL/WoS tune in future if the WoS clubs are going to still be able to participate. That means the fixture scheduler for WoS (probably HibeeJibee) will provide a very limited set of Saturdays that don't conflict with WoS and SCC fixture dates when the SJC ties that are drawn will have to be played to a finish with no replays.

They may just need to wait till there's a gap in the schedule then. If a full WoS league season schedule is going to be provided and the SJC is still going to be accomodated in a national format there will have to be dedicated Saturdays set aside for the early rounds of the SJC. Numbers need to be whittled down to something manageable that can be handled more flexibly after the league season is decided. It will have to be done early enough in the season (yes COVID19 might make this impossible for 2020-21) so that weather related postponements are unlikely. Non-SJC participants in the WoS will need an alternative competition to fill those Saturdays. That's where our friend Alex Jack probably enters the fray because something along those lines in the west leads to a playoff against east and south winners and possible 2021-22 Scottish Cup entry hence providing something that's clearly worth competing for as an alternative to TJ's "holy grail".

...which is why there can't be any replays. The games will still need to be on Saturdays if west to north travel is involved.

Agree with that but if the HL, LL and EoS have no interest in having a national competition then as things stand at the moment the SJC is going to quite quickly lose its lustre as being the "holy grail".

^^^Did this guy even read my post: I was quite clearly pointing out why more WoS clubs are highly likely to decide to steer clear of the SJC at this point.

Because it is blindingly obvious commonsense that SJC fixtures like Auchinleck Talbot vs Buchanhaven Hearts are not going to be played on a weeknight.

The big problem for any ex-junior WoS club comittee thinking of steering clear of the SJC was how to explain to a managerial team and a dressing room full of players that they won't be playing any games on certain Saturdays early in the season because the club didn't enter what until very recently was by far the most prestigious cup in Scottish nonleague circles. Awkward doesn't even begin to describe what that conversation could be like. The Sunday Mail article makes it clear that the numbers should be there now for non-SJC participants to put together a viable alternative cup to fill up those Saturdays, so that should make it a lot easier for more WoS clubs, who understand that the SCC is now going to be much stronger than the SJC in competitive terms, to decide to steer clear and avoid a long trek to somewhere like Forres to play in front of the proverbial two men and a dug.

There are only so many available fixture dates so that seems farfetched to me. We'll see what happens. If clubs are not playing in the SJC there will be a certain number of empty Saturdays if another cup is not arranged. It's common sense that niche will be filled with something.

Don't have time for this constant petty argumentative time-wasting. You are now on ignore.

The only cups that have been mentioned as all in for the WoS are the SCC and a League Cup.

Check out what has been posted by parkcircus and Kilwinning Rangers. They have mentioned an Alex Jack type cup.

I did not. Not for the first time you misread the post. The last paragraph made it clear the choice is SJC vs WoS Alex Jack type cup. Please stop wasting my time like this.

I am perfectly well aware of that. You are being argumentative just for the sake of it.

That's debatable glensmad but it will be interesting to see how many clubs look at who enters the SCC and SJC next season and reach the same conclusion that Darvel and Cambuslang Rangers did. With very few credible possible winners from the east the SJC is not as strong competitively as the SCC, so are away trips to Coupar Angus, Stonehaven or New Elgin still worth the bother? A minimum of four ex-juniors plus Bonnyton, Drumchapel and St Cadoc's is enough to get a WoS Alex Jack type competition going.

They will also have the fear that it could easily be a decade before they are in the same division as the BUs again, if the licence and promotion get ratified OK, gnawing away at them right now. There's no guarantee that the LL are going to open up a second relegation place just because the WoS has emerged and WoS clubs would probably win the promotion playoff more often than not if they don't.

The home defeats to Blackburn and Whitehill Welfare might be an indication that it's actually better to avoid playing when weather conditions are a leveller. Thd PPG outcome being achieved despite those two surprising defeats shows how impressive the string of results before that Blackburn home game was. Think plastic is the way ahead nowadays for clubs below the SPFL level because having community use through the week is a very good thing but the old pitch was always one of the best ones for getting games played. From what I was always told it was because a lot of work was done on its drainage during a miners strike back in the 1920s.

http://www.southofscotlandfootballleague.co.uk/Divisions Threave 53÷20 = 2.65 Stranraer 43÷16 = 2.6875 If the LL wanted 18 then Hill of Beath (or whoever is second in the EoS premier under ppg, can't be bothered double checking) should be taken into consideration. There's a very good chance that Threave wouldn't actually want to be promoted.

A top 7 finish will be needed to stay in tier 7 in 2021-22. That combined with the promotion place for finishing first should give most of the clubs involved plenty to compete for throughout the season.