LongTimeLurker

Who knows what sort of lobbying was going on behind the scenes? Not obvious how that would happen through the rule, because they always have to be accommodated even in seasons when there isn't a vacancy. It's WW that get the vacancy under that scenario but that's basically just pedantry, because the outcome doesn't change. Technically the LL board could accept an EoS application rather than WW, but don't hold your breath, basically.

Think Tynecastle, Newtongrange, Easthouses and Dalkeith should also get in?

Scottish Cup entry comes into it as well, but maybe they get in already through a cup? Have lost track a bit on all the EoS cups this season. Camelon are in that way from what I remember.

Yes on the first part. More than likely on the second and third parts.

There is this season unless Cove mess it up.

Don't think legal action will work because I think they have it in the licensing regulations that the licensing board can add on any extra requirements to any application that they see fit at their discretion. They used to anyway. Been a while since I last checked. Bit of a downer that this happened, but not in any way surprising that this would happen once the floodlights requirement was introduced as that was clearly all about keep a lid on the number of new Scottish Cup entrants.

LF maybe, but Cersei also really isn't that bright as was hinted at recently when the Iron Bank guy was subtly taking the piss out of her about paying off the loan in full and was obvious in earlier seasons when she managed to get herself locked up and paraded around in the scud by the religious lunatics she tried to ally with to dispose of Margery. What marks Sansa out as being a bit on the dim side is the way she openly opposes Danerys in meetings and blurts straight out that she is still adamant about the North's independence. That was not in the LF playbook when dealing with a power crazed psycho that might kill you on a whim at some future point. Think Arya is going to be the Stark kid that learned the hard way how the world works and successfully adapted to it. Suspect it may not be over yet between her and Gendry and that's the axis that unites the south and north.

Think that echoes how naive and foolish Ned Stark was in season one so he is probably doomed, while Sansa is becoming like Catelyn and is unlikely to do well, because like Catelyn she isn't the sharpest tool in the box and is hence likely to lose the game. Neither of them have really learned anything from the mistakes of the generation before them. Danerys is clearly on the verge of going full Mad Queen like Cersei, so maybe Gendry will emerge as the alternative man of the people to prop up a Glorious Revolution sort of scenario that ushers in a more democratic age with Tyrion pulling the strings having offed whoever remains standing of Cersei and Danerys at the end of Episode 5. That kills off a lot of sequel and feature film possibilities, so hopefully they don't do a Sopranos ending on us that implies a probable outcome like that without confirming it and leaves many key plot points open ended and ambiguous to be picked up again later.

...and the army from the north probably swelled a bit in numbers from the Vale and Riverlands as its implied the path to King's Landing could be crossed easily meaning most of the way was held by local forces that are anti-Cersei at this point. Presumably the column from the north had showed up by the time they had the parley at the end of the episode or why would the Golden Company not have made short work of the small force that was on the screen? I guess Dragonstone must also still have been quite heavily garrisoned or the naval engagement with Euron would have been the end for Dany's smaller force given the Ironborn can also raid on land Viking style.

Definitely a lot better than Episode 3 on terms of having some depth to the plot again, even if it is still way too rushed. It's too bad they didn't cast Rose Leslie as Danerys, because the complete lack of chemistry between Kit Harrington and Emelia Clarke is one of the biggest problems of the last two seasons. In a similar way Missandei was clearly cast as eye candy more than anything else. The actress who plays her is just too wooden in her delivery to pull off a scene like the one at the end.

The rule is a mess in terms of its drafting so it is technically possible that Dalbeattie could be relegated if the LL board was comprised of a group of maniacs with an axe to grind where Kirkcudbrightshire clubs are concerned, if they chose to take the posture that the vacancy created by Sekirk's expulsion always has to be filled by application no matter what, and that clubs relegated by the letter of a rule that should have been updated when a 16 club membership was reached but clearly wasn't, then have to use this vacancy to apply to get back in. It is almost inconceivable that the outcome of the 14th placed club being relegated would ever actually happen in practice and I'm sure they will have the rule fixed so that in future it is clear that otherwise relegated existing members being retained is the first consideration in the event of a midseason vacancy created by a resignation or expulsion. I think it will be very surprising if any LL club is relegated this season in any scenario other than the Cove and EoS champion both promoted scenario.

not clear yet, they need to get a license in the next month or so and there is no word on when the SFA is going to get around to doing that

Judging by what wound up in my youtube recommendations today there are some people who are still peddling the first of those as the third major twist. Think the latter one might still happen in the book, because the lamest parts of the scripts of the last couple of seasons have been the parts that rule it out by taking Viserion out of the equation and those are probably the parts of the TV series that don't involve GRRM's intended plot lines.

The interesting part of the letter is the significance of the "JJP " being applied at tier 6 and the angle that only the top 16 club division of any league can be considered to be tier 6. That's obviously aimed in part at the east region split format and creates the need for a division that West Lothian junior clubs like Fauldhouse, Pumpherston and Bathgate appear to want no part of due to all the travel to Tayside and hence is almost certainly a non-starter, but the significance runs deeper. Previously the SJFA were going to do all of their own discipline with the argument being that the SFA could not handle the extra work load of handling discipline for an extra 130 or so clubs. This new posture is a roundabout way of saying that the SJFA would have a lower level of control over the two rather than three superleagues that may or may not ultimately form part of the 64 club tier six that is envisaged by Ian Maxwell than over its other member clubs in lower divisions. That hints strongly at his end game probably being a tier 6 that doesn't involve the SJFA in any way, shape or form., but is integrated fully into the SFA's mainstream structures

...says a poster from Kelty. Hope EK do it and then relegate Berwick, so will echo that sentiment. There should have been an EK team in the SFL 50 years ago if there was any logic in Scottish football and its surprising Clyde never wound up there as they tried to hijack Douglas Park through a merger with Hamilton Accies in 1970 because they knew the writing was on the wall for them at Shawfield.

....EKFC already in the EoSFA etc. The way things move forward could be through entry into the EoS structure followed by the spinning off of a separate WoSFA in 2020-21, but I doubt Clydebank would do that by themselves. It would take a group of west junior clubs to do it over the next month or so.

WRSJFA disaffiliates from the SJFA and affiliates directly to the SFA would be the best case scenario, but probably easier said than done.

It's obvious now that Ian Maxwell didn't understand the issues he was dealing with at the outset and Tom Johnson also being based at Hampden probably didn't help bring him fully up to speed in a balanced way. Unless he is a drooling moron he should now be fully aware of what is going on and the latest letter should be understood in that context. The letter makes it clear that change has to happen by consensus rather than by a "board directive" and anyone with a triple digit IQ should be able to figure out by now that having parallel tier 6 divisions in the EoS catchment isn't going to happen by consensus, any more than the SoS agreeing to relegate itself from tier 6 is likely to.

The silence has been deafening. Think the most damning indictment of the SJFA's leadership was the snippet that they were told in advance that the ERSJFA's restructure into a split format would not be acceptable to the SFA at tier 6 but ploughed straight on with it anyway, while still maintaining the posture that both east and west were already in for 2019-20. That suggests that the misinformation was internal as well as external and that it will be difficult to do anything similar as effectively again now that has been fully exposed.

HL are tier 5, but if it means the north superleague (possibly with some Tayside teams?) there is no room for the ERSJFA.

Looks like an inexperienced SFA CEO didn't understand the limits of his powers and issues like the Highland-Lowland League boundary and was manipulated into pushing one side's agenda in a way that wasn't going to be accepted by the EoS and LL and couldn't be enforced by the SFA. Hard to see how Tom Johnston can still be part of the equation next season where the PWG is concerned, if this is going to lead anywhere.

Another surprising absence who were sometimes rumoured to be doing it last year were Bathgate Thistle (they could probably get licensed very easily even with the floodlight requirement tacked on) and they now have Blackburn playing EoS premier almost on their doorstep next season, who they probably view as a smaller club that should be in their shadow.

That begs the question of whether he mean 16 each from the west and north/tayside juniors or 16 each from east and west juniors as the extra 32? Not counting Stranraer and Annan reserves maybe?

...and I think there has been stuff posted on here about Peebles trying to do work to secure their EoS membership.