LongTimeLurker

It would need to be the member clubs and a bad winter with lots of game postponements leading to a chaotic ending to the season to have a champion in time for the playoffs would be the probable catalyst. With 19 clubs, the bye week issue that can be solved by going to either 18 or 20 and then remaining fixed at that could also come into play.

First part I can believe but doubt the second part is accurate. Ethnic Russians are 80% of the overall population and my understanding is that even going back to Soviet times Muslim conscripts and automatic weapons weren't always viewed as a good combination so they were often kept in support roles. Hasn't there been a lot of talk lately of Chechens being used as blocking troops to shoot ethnic Russian troops that try to flee the frontline?

My understanding is that the HL would run with 19 clubs next season if Elgin are replaced by Spartans rather than relegate Strathspey Thistle to keep numbers at 18 but if true that would probably create pressure for some further reconstruction and/or rule changes.

Spartans can now drop out of the League Cup: They fielded a U-20 team against Dundonald Bluebell for a cup game a few days back.

Complete non-sequitur

The Argentinians probably have a different perspective from you on how good the Paras are at battering people who can hit back. Hence their surrender of Goose Green. I write that as someone who viewed the whole Falklands escapade as a waste of time more about rescuing Maggie T's career than anything else.

If the Ukrainians can secure the Sea of Azov coastline from south of Melitopol over to Berdiansk they will be in range of the Kerch bridge with the 150 km range GLSDB missiles that the US are sending later this year. If they are able to also swing around to take all of the left bank of the Dniepr river at that point, Crimea loses its main water supply. That sets up another Kherson type scenario of having way too many troops and a large civilian population stranded in an area that can't be resupplied properly only on a much larger scale this time. Future negotiations would be taking place against that backdrop.

Time to resurrect an original member of the Scottish League instead? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cowlairs_F.C.

Don't think it's third bottom that would be spared where the third division is concerned but same principle applies obviously.

My aunt was like that as well. Would be doing things like pronouncing mirror as "meer" while receiving a WTF look from me when Canadians were around but after a few minutes would be back to scotto voce when it was only me around and she was telling a story about how she was related to all the other kids in the class when she started the primary school in Bo'ness for what seemed like the umpteenth time. She worked as a telephonist after she emigrated so she had to develop a stereotypical Canadian accent like the guys in the Chewin the Fat skit to make sure she was being understood OK but her natural mode of speech was still pure West Lothian.

Buckie's game against Formartine definitely isn't a gimme so you might still be able to mess up that Fraserburgh game. Having a string of midweek games stacked up against top 5 opponents for the end of the season was a bad break for a club with central belt based players.

Hard to believe whoever posted that clip didn't realise it's supposed to be "we'll aye come back and see ye". A bit exagerated given it's for comedic purposes but not too far off on what happens to some Scottish people's accents in southern Ontario if they are not around other Scottish folk that much. Worth bearing in mind one of the actors involved in that grew up in Montreal. At the end of the day though there's worse things that can happen linguistically in North America than having a Scottish accent:

No idea what the significance of this is but it's no doubt being highlighted for a reason:

How long before Douglas Ross starts exhorting his supporters to chant "lock her up, lock her up..."? Think the real reason for the resignation is now clear.

Eventually though LL clubs that wouldn't be able to hack it in the EoS premier after being relegated will be gone and will have been replaced by clubs that will see the benefit in being able to bounce back again more easily.

...and need to try to get up into the SPFL soon before the WoS big guns arrive if they are going to use that budget sensibly.

Old enough to remember watching Accies play during the 1971-72 season when they wound up dead last in the old Second Division so under no illusions as to whether the LL could happen to a very badly run Accies. Might be a once every 50 year sort of event but it could definitely happen. As things stand at the moment is the Accies home support even as big as Bonnyrigg Rose's? Without the relatively large away supports that show up in the top two divisions there is no way full-time football is going to be sustainable if they get relegated this season and don't get promoted straight away.

This backlog is with midweek games played in July and August so they can't do anything extra that way beyond maybe starting the season earlier?

Not sure if it's what was being referred to (maybe like you say a dig at Rangers over liquidation?) but I'm 99% sure East Stirlingshire were full-time for their season in the old first division in the early 1960s. The fall out from that financially led to the ES Clydebank saga.

Elgin City play Albion Rovers on Saturday. Things could very easily tighten up again in other words. Think 40 points is the minimum needed to be reasonably confident about avoiding relegation at the moment.

Back to horses for logistics:

Given Spartans' main focus is elsewhere that could be horrific in terms of a crowd for the final.

Merging the South Challenge Cup with the Junior Cup is what badly needs to happen. Whether it will or not...

Like trying to shoehorn Brechin City into the LL even after the playoff defeat to Kelty a couple of years back. Some people on here get a bit too hung up about what they think they know for sure about procedures. Would the SFA care enough about helping the WoS champions to be flexible like this though and could Beith get planning permission done and also install in the space of six weeks with a competitive game played under them? Seems a bit farfetched. Edit: I guess we are all assuming it isn't an April Fool's prank because it's after 12 o'clock but maybe not safe to do so these days?

Beith still have Talbot twice and Darvel once to go so that isn't insurmountable.