Kernovian

Because the SPFL won't accept more than two feeder leagues at tier5. However, this decision is predicated upon there previously not being a decent, strong league for SPFL relegatees to drop into, except for the HFL. Once there's full ex-Junior participation and enough time has ensured that the creme-de-la-creme has risen to the top in the LFL, then, and only then, might a petition to increase to three tier5 feeders be (maybe) found alluring to the SPFL.

My top 5 for the Premier Division 2019/20 are: 1. Linlithgow Rose 2. Preston Athletic 3. Camelon Juniors 4. Jeanfield Swifts 5. Broxburn Athletic

The SHFL do have a barely mentioned advisement from the SFA (5 or so years ago) that should they not 'play ball', the SFA would replace them as a tier 5 League with an SFA NoSFL - to which their interested clubs could apply, alongside any other interested and (getting) licenced clubs. I do not know if this was rescinded at all?

I once processed the (102 foot) yacht insurance for a Mr. Cheyenne Brazil.

I'm a sassenach with a vast knowledge of English non-league and a burgeoning interest in Scottish non-league. I feel the need to thank you passionate fans on this thread for the entertaining and often hilarious banter here. As a non-Scots. poster, I'd just like to say that I have no side in this whole Seniors vs. Juniors debate and thus any comments I might make are neutral or possibly are otherwise from a devil's advocacy standpoint. I'd like to share the parable of the Northern League, the English league serving the NE of the country since 1889. The NL was for 90-odd years one of the strongest competitions outwith the Football League itself, remarkable; if for no other reason; due to its adherence to Amateurism. Then, in the early '70s the 'shamateurism' kerfuffle emerged and ushered-in a new era including semi-professionalism. Out went the famous FA Amateur Cup, replaced by the new FA Trophy for the semi-pros., while the rest competed for the novel FA Vase. The Alliance Premier League (now aka National League) was formed to include the very best semi-pro. clubs of the time for the 1979-80 season and these were initially drawn from the Southern League Premier Division and the Northern Premier League. The NL and the Isthmian Premier League had been offered the opportunity to enter teams for APL acceptance, but both had declined and so the first edition of non-league's first national division kicked off with just 20 teams in it. The two 'amateur' leagues; NL & IL; had quibbled letting their members turn semi-pro. in order to ascend to the APL... however, the IL came around within a couple of years and two from its roster joined the APL for the 1981-82 season. The SL, NPL & IL competitions formed the pyramid beneath the APL, nut the NL repeatedly failed to accept their repeated invitations to join the pyramid until 1991 when they were effectively forced to. The decision to remain aloof proved very costly to the NL's status, the opportunity to become a feeder league to the APL had long passed and it was forced to become a feeder league to the lower division of the Northern Premier League, two tiers below the APL! Even since joining the pyramid, the NL hasn't chosen to exactly 'play ball' with very few of its clubs taking promotion into the NPL, since. This will now supposedly change as the FA's Leagues' Committee has decreed promotion to be mandatory for all champions at the NL's level and will, in fact, see two promoted into NPL North Division; due to some restructuring going on; this season. I see echoes of this story North of the Border, now.

Excluding for the moment the Northern Region situation, for which solution ought to be pretty damn obvious... What we have in the Southern Region, going into the 1918-19 season is fait accompli, a much strengthened EoSL & a still strongly regionalised SoSL. Where we wish to be is where the Western Juniors & rump Eastern Juniors are also included, where their topmost teams are at an equivalent level to the topmost teams of the EoSL & SoSL at very least for the 2019-2020 season. I think that that's fair enough, but for 2019-2020, all remaining Juniors must transfer to the Seniors... or drop into amateur leagues. By then, the SoSL will likely be relatively unchanged, but the EoSL will have switched to a Premier + Division1 structure - neither really set-up to then add the huge influx of up to four levels of new clubs suddenly emanating out of the Juniors. My suggested solution is as follows: - The WRJFA forms the mooted WoSL, with two divisions, probably Premier + Division1. Those clubs South of and including Irvine are absorbed into the SoSL, whereupon all those clubs initially compete in two parallel conferences, divided geographically in order to determine the composition of Premier & Secondary divisions in the following season. The 15/16 Eastmost WRJFA clubs will join the 15/16 Westmost ERJFA/EoSL clubs in a new 'Midland FL' of eventually two vertical divisions. Then, in the East, the rump ERJFA/EoSL clubs merge, also into a two-divisional setup. Thus, the Southern Region would operate four parallel Leagues of tier6 &tier7 clubs, each division generally 16-strong. Each section's champions would compete in playoffs for two promotion places to the LL, probably alternating the fixtures between specific sections on a three yearly cycle. Recruitment to the tier7 level would require some major flexibility in respect of fluidity in the sectional boundaries, sometimes requiring the 16-team divisions to split into smaller conferences which may need to 'borrow' geographically close clubs from adjoining sections on a temporary-ish basis. Also, some flexibility in tier6 boundaries will be required if tier6 promotees are not from the same sections as the tier5 relegatees. That's my thoughts. Please feel free to critique &/or shoot down in flames!

My take on the influx is that seasons following 2018-19 ought be taken into consideration here and now. Certainly, 2019-20 will require a WoS division being prepared, so pre-prep for that by initiating EoS(W) & EoS(E) divisions now. Sure, the intermediate EoS(W) division won't at all look like a 'finished' WoS division, but it would exist then to 'gentle in' as it were any SJWFL clubs wishing to enter Step 6; either in 2018-19 or anon. As more SJWFL clubs come over for 2019-20 onwards, then the Eastmost EoS(W) members simply transfer into the EoS(E) division. I think that it's of the utmost importance that all SJWFL & SJEFL clubs are in each seasonal transition given exactly equal opportunity to Step 6 access, although Step access 6 may conceivably change between successive seasons - which is fine, so long as a full year's warning is given prior to such changes taking place. I don't want to see situations arising whereby clubs of equal standing are emplaced in differing Steps only because one wishes to join the WoS division and the other the EoS division ~ that's an absolute no-no!