Brazilianlex
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Posts posted by Brazilianlex
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1 hour ago, realmadrid said:
Fair enough on some of the points but as someone who attends 50 plus neutral games a season, many of which are in Fife i wont give a penny to any of the teams who voted for this charade to continue . Id hope many fellow groundhoppers will do the same.
Fair enough, Cheeribye
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33 minutes ago, Left Back said:
If no-one in HL is licensed as was stated no play-off at all then?
I can't remember the details (and I could be completely wrong) but I'm sure I've read somewhere that the SFA aren't allowing licensing applications currently.
It was reported recently that Clubs who think they may make the play offs have been invited to apply for a bronze licence and will be inspected early next year so they have time to make required changes for start of next season.
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25 minutes ago, Left Back said:
If that statement is correct that means unless East Kilbride get a bronze license between now and the end of the season they aren't getting promoted so it would have to be Cumbernauld Colts into the play off by default?
As funny as it would be to see methadone Mick have a complete heads gone it still doesn't seem right.
No, just means there is no Lowland League team going forward to a play off.
Im sure EK will find the readies from somewhere to get a bronze licence.
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9 hours ago, The Minertaur said:
Fair enough. I've deleted my post. @brazilianlex will need to delete his post as well that quotes mine.
No need to delete, the statement was always going to find its way onto social media. Think the Club did it right as if had gone directly thru social media, the message would have been lost amongst the unhinged comments by the serial Cowden haters.
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20 minutes ago, The Minertaur said:
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Firstly – a Very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you all from the Cowdenbeath FC Board. We are sure you will agree that the team’s performances this season have been vastly improved from those of the last couple of seasons.
We write primarily to give you a Lowland League update – including the vote by member clubs on B Teams which took place on Monday evening (18th Dec). This as ever proved somewhat contentious albeit social media debate on the matter is pretty one-dimensional. Our policy is always to be completely transparent in such matters with our fans. The Lowland League essentially held a vote whether to allow B Teams to continue to participate for another 2 seasons and this was carried by a majority vote by the member clubs. The Cowdenbeath FC Board carefully considered the matter in the round and on this further occasion on balance decided to allow the status quo to persist. It was not an easy decision.
To recap, we have never supported B teams coming into the pyramid. We declined to support their admission to the SPFL on more than one occasion and opposed them continuing in the Lowland League when we first joined its ranks at the start of last season. The majority of clubs though voted for them to continue in membership. Thus, the genie had been well and truly let out the bottle by the original admission to the Lowland League in 2021/22. At the tail end of last season, we firmly opposed the Conference League proposal which CFC believed was a deeply flawed project but elected to agree to let B teams continue in membership for 2023/24 for the reasons we outlined at the time to our supporters.
Following that end of season scenario, CFC were then prominently involved in the Lowland League Board putting forward a proposal to remove the membership cap of 16 clubs that applies to the LL. A league with 18/20 member clubs in CFC’s view would then readily allow for more promotion from the Tier 6 leagues and kick-start ventilation by bringing in some strong clubs straight away. It also would maintain what we believe would constitute a suitable League match programme for a full season. The SFA though advised it was unwilling to allow the Lowland League to have any more than 16 member clubs and the LL’s rule change was vetoed.
From a CFC perspective, without additional teams being promoted into the League to swell its numbers and in the absence of B teams, we would only have a guaranteed 33 competitive matches next season compared to 42 in our SPFL days – that was not an appetising prospect – we played more games than that in the truncated Covid season which ended in early March. More cup competitions cannot suitably fill the void – indeed, this season we have a Lowland League Cup draw which ensures we will receive no gate money at all even if we get through all the rounds and make the final whilst in the South Region Challenge Cup, because we are VAT registered, at our home games the visiting club gets a better share of the gate than we do! A suitable regular league match programme laid out at the start of the season is the bread and butter of professional football. B teams to us are sub-optimal (and no offence to the personnel at the clubs involved who have been a pleasure to deal with) but are not some sort of footballing Armageddon as some seem keen to portray.
Touching on the subject of ventilation, we raised the matter re opening up promotion to the Lowland League when we joined but were advised the member clubs’ overall view was that this was contingent on automatic promotion being granted by the SPFL. We believed this to be flawed reasoning and also knew that the SPFL would not agree to this in any event. There is no constituency among the SPFL members, as far as we are aware, which actively desires to see automatic relegation from SPFL 2 introduced – and we can’t see why that would
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change. We wouldn’t have supported that when we were in the SPFL after already having conceded a play-off route to promotion which did not previously exist. Why would they accept auto-relegation when nothing is offered in return? As regards ventilation from Tier 6, this is a subject we are happy to consider further with our fellow member clubs.
There are though many pressing issues for the Lowland League. The Lowland League is a recent creation, it has not built-up sizeable reserves through a long existence. It meets a number of costs incurred on behalf of its member clubs and provides a range of services to them. It would greatly benefit by building a stronger financial base for the future.
It should also be fully understood that the SPFL recently changed its rules. Any club going into the Pyramid play-off games from the Highland and Lowland Leagues will need to have an SFA bronze license. That applies at the end of this season. The only way a Highland or Lowland League club can compete in the end of season play offs in May 2024 is for it to be Bronze licensed. Just one team out of the 34 clubs in the Lowland and Highland Leagues currently has a Bronze licence (Cumbernauld Colts). The Lowland League board is now looking to see how best it can raise standards in this area over time so that LL clubs can look to meet the higher level of requirements. This will likely include looking for engagement to seek assistance from the SFA for its members – the SFA recently made clear to us that rather than general additional cash distributions at end of year to all its licensed clubs the focus would henceforth be on directing funds to improve infrastructure of clubs in Scottish football.
The SFA is working again on devising a development system for the elite 18 – 21 age group. We believe the ultimate answer to this issue lies outwith the pyramid system but accept that it will take time to come up with a solution. The raison d’etre of B teams is markedly different to that of the other clubs in the pyramid structure. They each have a very separate place in the game. Playing in the Lowland League does aid these young players to develop, the question as to whether it succeeds in producing much increased numbers of regular 1st team and even international quality players for those clubs can only be answered in time – we doubt it but await the evidence in due course having allowed ample time for a proper conclusion to be drawn as the B teams head towards their exit. The Club previously assisted the SFA in participating in Project Brave in terms of youth development which ultimately left the participating Clubs including Cowdenbeath high and dry and abandoned - it is vital that this whole issue is now properly addressed on a robust basis. We believe too that the restriction on the Lowland League member club numbers should also be revisited in the period ahead.
Finally, the Board of the Lowland League has a voting membership of six drawn from its member clubs. There were only two club reps prepared to serve when we joined the LL in 2022. We along with East Kilbride then volunteered to put forward a club rep to be on the Board – a very active role that requires much time, commitment and a great deal of work. In the current season the Board still does not have a full complement. CFC finds this most disappointing.
The LL Board has faced a myriad of challenges whilst operating without a full complement of members – e.g. dealing with major matters involving powerful organisations such as the SPFL and SFA who have large resources at their disposal, tackling the future of the Development League, discussions are now being facilitated with SPFL 2 clubs to seek a better mutual understanding and common ground – building relationships needs constructive dialogue, now introducing Financial Fair Play rules to the League in line with those that
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apply in Tiers 1 to 4 of the Scottish game, and potentially the possible issue re a Regulator for Scottish football as being implemented in England and mooted by the Scottish Parliament, as well as meeting the running costs of the League. B team funding in the absence of any other major income stream in the short term does help bolster the League’s resources to potentially help it evolve and strengthen its standing (e.g. to focus further on areas such as sponsorship, media, strategy, membership standards, prize money, building alliances, etc). Tier 5 is part of the professional side of Scottish football as members of the Professional Game Board, and we believe a progressive upwards focus is needed to further enhance the Lowland League brand and standing. If the LL is to be a vibrant, successful league it needs the full range of its membership to be involved in driving it forward. We note just this week various statements by Clubs on the B Team issue which shows that they have strong views, so it is surely incumbent upon them to play a full part in taking the League forward in a progressive manner and work to improve the pyramid.
Statement above in the spoiler. Very clear to me.
The statement is for Cowden fans only, some will agree, some not and that’s fine.
Others can feck off as comments not valid.
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4 minutes ago, Cowden316 said:
Here's my heart on the sleeve and open transparency it was in my email spam folder
Oops
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36 minutes ago, weanjohnson said:
For all the injuries we've had and all the midweek games I for one missed because public transport is a shambles, a 30 game season is far better than bowing to the ugly sisters for another 2 years. This is ridiculous
I have a different opinion but that’s fine.
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1 minute ago, 1GregStewart said:
What is the reason (s) that the LL is denied expanding to 18 teams?
Needs SFA approval and they didn’t give it. Doesn’t say why
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1 minute ago, Only coo in the village said:
Haven’t seen a statement from Cowdenbeath as yet but I’m assuming they have voted for the B teams inclusion from your post.
It’s a very bad decision in my opinion. It devalues the league and makes it a farce. It’s a piss poor state of affairs.
Basically Cowden don’t want B teams but also don’t want a 30 game league campaign which is only other option as SFA vetoed a LL request to increase to 18 teams which would have allowed increased ventilation from / to Tier 6.
I don’t want B teams or a 30 game league so can sympathise with the shit options presented. The thought of 22 Saturdays without a game or taking part in the Acme Joiners and Plumbers Trophy or similar is not appealing. On balance would I prefer to see us fighting for 3 points against a B Team, Regrettably, Probably !
Mulraney and Maxwell must be laughing their balls off watching Clubs ripping into each other while they stop the pyramid developing.
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1 minute ago, roy of the rovers said:
The Albion Rovers Supporters' Trust are delighted to offer a free selection box to fans (of both clubs) under the age of 14 attending our Lowland League game against Cowdenbeath. The can be collected from the shop before the game on Saturday. Supplies limited. 1 per fan on a 1st come 1st serve basis to any fan U14.
For the parents and any fans over 18 please note there is a pay bar for home and away fans in the lounge at Cliftonhill for this match, open from 12.30pm which is being run in conjunction with the supporters trust and the club.
Selection of canned beers and lagers £2.50
Wines by 125ml glass £2.50
Selection of 25ml spirits £2.50Admission Adults £11, Concessions (OAPs, Students, People not in work, 14-17 year old) £6, Under 14 £3, Carers free
Pay at the gate cash or card
Cowden young fans still chomping thru Fridays free selection boxes and now this.
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1 hour ago, Ginaro said:
That's good to know, at the very least there should be a motion to change the rules so that there is no chance of the bottom team escaping relegation.
8 hours ago, FairWeatherFan said:Are they? Isn't it the exact same behind the scenes people like George Fraser and John Dods?
To be fair, I remember the last Board which got pelters about B Teams had a chair and a secretary and no one else because teams didn’t put anyone up for selection and I don’t think it’s much better after the elections last time.
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1 hour ago, welshbairn said:
They can't have bought themselves another year in the League Cup, surely?
Europa Cup this year
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Just now, Spyro said:
Depends if there's a League Cup place on offer...
Not accepting anything less than a Europa Cup place !
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5 hours ago, johnmc80 said:
Will i get you an wee half season ticket for kpark for your secret santa? You spend more time talking about the mighty ek than you do about your own basket case of a club.
merry christmas ya filthy animal.
Not interested in EK, just don’t think the likes of Kennedy, Ferry, Bryson etc are good for Scottish Football.
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2 hours ago, ekok said:
Often hear phrase "need to be braver" describing a teams performance. Today was the opposite. On the ball we still kept playing from the back, with much better balance with channel balls. Once again big Keir led the line so well , gets us up the park and doesn't give defenders a minutes peace. Worth his weight in gold. A few goals wouldn't go amiss though. Both goals top drawer and in truth should have scored a couple more.
That said , off the ball we were excellent. Man for man, high press for 90 minutes , against a team with the quality and speed of transition they have was as brave as it gets. The tactics worked so we'll at times Celtic really didn't have anything to offer other than the long ball. Yes they did get in behind a few times, but we defended well.
Last word on my Man of the Match, Joao Balde was exceptional, totally bossed the game, scored a great goal, pressed, harried, excellent close control, tackled as if his life depended on it. A privilege to watch.
Sorry but this is getting boring, trying to make a SPFL side in budget, players , wages etc sound interesting in beating a bunch of 20 year olds and other LL teams.
Just shut up, win your games, fill the envelopes and feck off.Merry Xmas !
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6 hours ago, Cowdenleith said:
Presume it can only be ex Edinburgh City player John Robertson who was recently axed by Linfield.
It is !
Cant believe the jealousy on here in thinking there might be a large cash incentive to sign for EK rather than another SPFL team.
Would he not be mad to miss the opportunity to learn under the undoubted coaching brilliance of Kennedy and Ferry.4 -
4 hours ago, Cowdenleith said:
Brechin seems to be the chat on x.
Are East Kilbride asleep at the wheel
Mick Kennedy waiting on administration so he can jump up the pyramid again
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Lowland League Cup draw has apparently been made as some Clubs are advertising fixtures but nothin on LL media.
Anyone got details of the draw ?
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1 minute ago, WC Boggs said:
I don't think the SFA are tougher on it in the SPFL mate. When you have clubs who can barely get a 300 average home gate signing players that clubs with twice and 3 times that support can't afford, scrutiny seems non existent to me.
Yeah your maybe right actually !
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1 minute ago, WC Boggs said:
There are fair play rules supposed to stop clubs spending above their revenue. Sugar daddies and directors can get round it by paying wages directly from their own money or half the money under the table. I feel sorry for the city fans though. It was rumoured for some time that City was only meeting wages by regular begging around Edinburgh for cash. What are fans supposed to do about it, but keep quiet and hope the worst doesn't happen?
The lower level pyramid is full of Clubs who pay a wage but top up with off the books “sponsor” bonuses. It’s illegal but SFA put the practise into the too hard to deal with basket.
SPFL seem to do a bit more scrutiny tho.
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3 hours ago, Todd_is_God said:
Taking @HibeeJibee's post above (and the mechanisms now in place to gain promotion to the SPFL) into consideration I'd like to think the SPFL / its member clubs would veto any attempt by an existing club to effectively buy another club's playing licence in a higher league.
It wouldn’t be East Kilbride tho. Kennedy and Ferry have already moved Clubs before , (Darvel and Broomhill) and taking their investment with them.
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4 hours ago, parsforlife said:
But if your one of the pyramid new clubs who fancy jumping a few leagues and do a livi/airdrie with them it maybe tempting
Mick Kennedy, Si Ferry with their Black Rooster and Open Goal franchise would be my bet. They both have already jumped Clubs takings their investments within them.
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11 minutes ago, Todd_is_God said:
What, put it to a members' vote which club is elected to be club 42?
Unlike in 2012 there is now a mechanism in place to determine that so it would not be the same situation.
More likely to be administration than liquidation so 15 points deduction or whatever it is and someone can buy themselves a SPFL Club for chickenfeed !
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1 hour ago, johnmc80 said:
The pumpings will be too big to fit in the envelopes. They’re dished out on the park.
Ah so you know about the envelopes then ?
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There was a coo
in Lowland League
Posted
I think he was referring to existing SPFL Clubs who are Entry Level licence. New entrants don’t get that.