LongTimeLurker

Given Morton aren't doing that well this season it's a game where an upset isn't completely unthinkable.

Still haven't adjusted your mindset to being in the LL by the looks of things. It's normally £20 to get in at Cappielow. If that applies to this cup game and there are over 1500 people there, the BUs could easily be looking at £15k or so as their share of the gate plus the prize money related to progressing to this particular round. Compare and contrast with what the gate proceeds are likely to be at Newtown Park when a club like Caledonian Braves are the visitors.

Meanwhile away from media speculation that may just be related to some journalist having a deadline to meet: the Ukrainians took out a small Russian naval vessel in a shipyard on the Crimean peninsula on the far side of the Kerch bridge using western missiles. Doubt this was war is ending any time soon.

Gretna beating Broomhill is a bit of an eyeopener elsewhere as is Tranent following up a 7-0 gubbing of EK with a draw away to Berwick: If EK can only beat Caledonian Braves 2-1, it will be interesting to see what happens on Wednesday. Going direct was reported to be what worked for Tranent.

Not only a bumper pay day involved but a chance for a historic upset against a fully professional club with the pressure all on the home team. Looked this up a few days back and this is likely the first trip to Cappielow for a Bo'ness club since the second division season of 1928-29. Still some way to go to match Bo'ness FC's exploits in the Scottish Cup around that time. They reached the quarter finals in 1922-23, 1926-27 and 1930-31.

The problem they have is that a significant portion of their electorate and activist base are genuinely large N nationalist and are no more keen on the EU than Nigel Farage. In the past they used to hear from the SNP's opponents that an independent Scotland would no longer be in the EU and would have no easy way in and were happy about that, while the europhile wing of SNP support were persuaded by the SNP's argument that this was not the case. Now there is no ambiguity that the SNP's goal is EU entry and there are reasons to believe that Brussels would be a lot more amenable now even if it's still no sure thing.

...but it was a lot easier for some to do so when they had no geriatric fanbase to explain it to at club AGMs. None of this should matter now though. The pyramid belongs equally to all clubs who participate in it. Pro/rel between all tiers should be opened up so a minimum of at least three clubs being relegated every season from 16 club divisions is the norm. The LL has way too many meaningless games and that hurts the level of fan interest.

It's not about what the club agrees, it's about what's in the rules for the competition. Hope I am wrong but that's the way the rules still read to me.

It could mean a weekday afternoon game at Luncarty's ground given they don't have lights. This happened with Lochee United vs Ayr United about 15 years ago.

I think I'll fly from Tel Aviv to Dagestan: Must be up there in Darwin Awards terms with I think I'll volunteer for Russian military service so Vlad can send me to Avdiivka right now.

Sam North shows up for Kello's first win after being there for Saltcoats:

Given Queen's Park were the nonleague team in 1896 it might be the worst loss ever to a semi-professional nonleague club? Jeanfield Swifts aren't exactly comparable to the financially doped Cove Rangers team that dismantled Berwick Rangers in the Club 42 playoffs a few seasons back so this wasn't the strongest opposition that tiers 5 and 6 have to offer. Now there's more money being spent at those levels (and even at tier 7 with Johnstone Burgh) maybe Elgin are finding it more difficult to sign central belt players of the quality they need?

Think only Cumnock and Pollok.

Does look increasingly like Kennedy was the main money source and it was him that viewed SPFL entry as the goal more than the pie man. Best you can say is that they don't appear to have left the club taking the hit financially when they lost interest. The facilities that were built will also still be there in the years ahead as well.

Berwick Rangers appear to have as well so that should maybe read no well run club seriously budgets for cup runs.

Pan breid according to twitter today and already an official denial apparently. Difficult to take this stuff seriously any more. On the bright side though the new US House speaker is saying moderately sensible things where funding to Ukraine is concerned:

Given they have no floodlights and this is the second round is there any danger the SFA insists on a midweek afternoon kickoff time for the replay? Edit: found the rules https://www.scottishfa.co.uk/media/10830/2023-24-scottish-gas-scottish-cup-rules.pdf 20. Scheduling of Postponed and Abandoned Matches – excluding the Semi-Final Matches and the Final Match 20.1 Where a Match in the Preliminary Round(s) (if applicable), Round One, Round Two or Round Three is not played on or before the original scheduled date or is abandoned, the unplayed or abandoned Match shall be played or replayed on either the Saturday following the original Match date (or the date fixed therefor), or in the second midweek following the original Match date, unless the two Clubs, the relevant authorities and the Scottish FA are all agreeable that the Match be played on an earlier date. The unplayed or abandoned Match shall take place on a day to be mutually agreed by the two Clubs, other than Thursday or Friday. 20.2 In subsequent Rounds (i.e. for Matches after Round Three, but excluding the Semi- Final Matches and the Final Match), the unplayed or abandoned Match shall be played or replayed in the second midweek following the original Match date (or the date fixed therefor), on a day other than Thursday or Friday, unless the two Clubs, the relevant authorities and the Scottish FA are all agreeable that the Match be played on an earlier date. 20.3 For the purposes of Competition Rules 20.1 and 20.2, if a Match is still undecided Clubs are required to make two attempts to play or to replay the Match in succeeding mid-weeks until the Match is decided and it is known which Club is progressing into the next Round of the Competition. These attempts will be made on Mondays and Wednesdays. Clubs may however elect to play on a Tuesday rather than a Monday, but if doing so, will be required to play or replay on the Wednesday of that midweek in the event of a postponement or an abandonment. Postponed or abandoned matches in the Competition will have priority over league matches in the Scottish Professional Football League or any other relevant league either scheduled or re-scheduled except in exceptional circumstances and by agreement of the Board.

Lowland League twitter is doing its best to sow confusion about Saturday's kickoff time: Think the Beith vs Broomhill game will also be 2pm rather than 3pm.

Moving to join Arbroath's coaching staff.

Think a Dunblane team wound up being Sauchie's short lived reserve team in the juniors or something along those lines. Linlithgow Thistle were the amateur club that duped Bo'ness United's membership into believing they would be part of their development pathway. Syngenta were taken over by a Falkirk amateur club called Pennys after the Grangemouth youth club lost interest and the same people have now done much the same to Camelon.

Been seeing this in a few places: Not sure I believe the Russians are now using lorries from the 1930s.