morley

I don't think there needs to be a formal link to amateur leagues from the bottom of the pyramid. As long as there is an open and achievable process for ambitious non senior clubs to follow to go senior, and indeed for teams to follow if they decide to drop out of the senior game to preserve their clubs heritage by moving to amateur then that is enough.

One of the positives across senior football out of this Covid19 crisis is that those clubs who play on grass will have some cracking healthy pitches once things start up again, presuming they haven't been allowed to turn into hay meadows. The grass could have gone 6 months or more maybe with no one on them even for training by the time things get back to normal.......Maybe someone should start a Beachgrove Garden P&B thread.

No, this has been knocked back so many times by Scottish clubs. If this was ever allowed it would kill off sporting integrity, and money will rule. It will have nothing to do with developing young Scottish talent as likely to be mostly foreign players the big clubs put in these teams. For the first time next year there is going to be a truly national pyramid in Scottish football under the spfl with c200 clubs dreaming of one day going upto the big time. Those clubs deserve their chance to dream and not see places taken above them by big club reserve or colt teams. If this ever happened I would honestly want nothing more to do with Scottish Football and never go to any games again.

It does appear the only possible proposal on the table likely to be past will be expansion of the spfl Premier league by bringing in two extra teams into the spfl2 (Brora who released a statement today saying committed to join the spfl if asked, and Kelty). So everyone shunts up 2 places from the bottom up in order to move the top 2 clubs from the championship into the Premier league meaning Hearts stay put for next season. So all those relegated would be cancelled and would stay in their current leagues for next season and the 2nd place team in each league also goes up with the champion. Sticky point is if the Premier will vote to spread their wealth to 14 from12 teams, and ensuring the old firm still get the same number of games against each other. Plus how those who were in 3rd place in each league feel about the top 2 going up. This idea of it only being a temporary restructure only increases the chances it will be knocked back and this has to be a perm restructure maybe with a clause committing to review it again after 1 season. Plus has to be recognition of the growing number of Licenced clubs, increasing quality, attendances, and depth of clubs sitting below the spfl (many on paper larger than many current spfl lower league clubs) by introducing automatic relegation/promotion into spfl2.

I get the feeling also that this task force is all for show and there has already been something agreed but being kept quiet and will come out to coincide with the final spfl Premier league announcement. As I would have expected the reaction from the clubs to have "lost out" to have made much stronger than we have seen yesterday and today.

I think there are many who like the current structure of 12, 10, 10, 10, and the play off process, but I personally want to open up to more relegation spots in each league so bringing more variety and movement of clubs between the leagues. Extend the relegation spots to bottom 3 in scope not just bottom 2 as now. Plus introduce automatic relegation at the bottom of spfl2. If the leagues are to large you end up with to many boring mid table games.

Totally blue sky but the only suggestion I can see which means no one looses out at all. Let's just do what the EoS and now WoS leagues done in the non leagues. Let's wipe the slate clean and have all spfl teams start afresh together next season by putting everyone into random seeded conferences. So everyone is equal at the same level for 1 season...........i am half joking!

I don't know how this task force is going to quickly come up with a spfl restructure proposal acceptable to all. It's taken the pyramid working group 6 years to try and introduce a nationwide senior pyramid structure under the spfl, and even now the job is only 75% done. It took the pyramid working group to effectively close having come to a stalemate a few months back to get the West juniors to come in and join the new West of Scotland tier 6 league under the LL. As has been learnt from the pyramid working group negotiations, there is just to much self interest, protectionism, and politics in Scottish football for an agreement to be reached by all.

Average crowds for most LL clubs (and for that matter EoS Premier and many HL clubs) are easily on a par or higher with upto most junior west championship clubs and below and compete with many of the average figures for the West premiership clubs.

Thanks I wasn't sure. The power of stats can often be over looked, but @Burnieclub78 should be applauded for doing what must be a fairly time consuming exercise, as I believe it has helped evidence the "growth" of the LL and EoS in recent years, and so played a small part in the momentum to expand the pyramid. We'll done.

Am i right that i seen someone post on here a while back saying the EoS and LL expect their clubs to publish attendance figures? What was the expectation in the West Juniors previously?

The stats don't really show this, its only Caledonia Braves whose average home crowds can struggle to get to 100 but all the clubs including Caledonia Braves are seeing their average crowds growing.

A huge news story for Scottish Football with effectively the launch and announcement of clubs today. Just a shame its happening the same day as everything else going on in the spfl which will take the headlines. Then again maybe helps gives a softer launch.

I am sure Bonnyrigg Rose will happily step in to replace them if Brora don't want to take up the chance. With out opening that argument about Brora again but they should remove their SFA licence if they refuse to take promotion to the spfl if it becomes available to them out of all of this.

Back to my post from yesterday. I think the only probable agreement that will please enough people but not all especially those who were in play off contentions below the second place, will be agreement to expand the spfl to 14 teams, the top 2 from each league is promoted up, with Kelty and Brora added in to spfl2 to allow for this but the other spfl leagues remaining at 10 in each. The same model then also flows down the pyramid into the lower non leagues with promotion but no relegation from all leagues.

Dundee are in 3rd but 4 points off ICT with equal games played. Across all the leagues I think that's probably the closest one between the 3rd and 2nd place. In the others the gap from 3rd to 2nd is much wider so promoting the top 2 works in most leagues although factoring in the playoff positions down to 5th place to please everyone would make any agreement impossible.

I think what may be about to come out of the spfl civil war is that we will see it announced there will be no relegation from every division this year, but promotion only from every division. So Celtic crowned champions in the Premier, but no relegation from the Premier with the championship champion AND Runner UP both promoted so adding 2 teams to the Premier taking it to 14 clubs, and that same model then follows all the way down the spfl in each division. The spfl then accepts both the LL and HL Champs to balance out the numbers across the spfl leagues by adding 2 teams at the bottom of spfl 2. Likewise that model goes into the non league Pyramid, with the LL expanding via promotion into but no relegation from, and same between the EoS Premier/Conferences. So effectively every one shunts up to ensure the extra teams go into the spfl. With the expansion of the spfl would also come automatic promotion/relegation in and out of the spfl2 introduced. Edit; so in the spfl premier hearts aren't relegated, but Dundee United and ict go up from the championship taking it from 12 to 14 teams, Partick thistle aren't relegated but raith and Falkirk go up from spfl1 so keeping the championship at 10 clubs, Stranraer aren't relegated but cove and Edinburgh go up from spfl2 keeping the spfl1 at 10 clubs, and brechin aren't relegated but both Kelty (LL) and Brora (HL) come up keeping spfl2 at 10 teams. Taking the total spfl to 44 clubs. Below that Threave come up from the SOS and Bo'ness from the EOS Premier to the LL, Vale of Leithen are not relegated taking the LL to 18 teams. The highland league just goes back to its desired number of 16 teams

I think what may be about to come out of the spfl civil war is that we will see it announced there will be no relegation from every division this year, but promotion only from every division. So Celtic crowned champions in the Premier, but no relegation from the Premier with the championship champion AND Runner UP both promoted so adding 2 teams to the Premier taking it to 14 clubs, and that same model then follows all the way down the spfl in each division. The spfl then accepts both the LL and HL Champs to balance out the numbers across the spfl leagues by adding 2 teams at the bottom of spfl 2. Likewise that model goes into the non league Pyramid, with the LL expanding via promotion into but no relegation from, and same between the EoS Premier/Conferences. So effectively every one shunts up to ensure the extra teams go into the spfl. With the expansion of the spfl would also come automatic promotion/relegation in and out of the spfl2 introduced. Edit; so in the spfl premier hearts aren't relegated, but Dundee United and ict go up from the championship taking it from 12 to 14 teams, Partick thistle aren't relegated but raith and Falkirk go up from spfl1 so keeping the championship at 10 clubs, Stranraer aren't relegated but cove and Edinburgh go up from spfl2 keeping the spfl1 at 10 clubs, and brechin aren't relegated but Kelty and Brora come up keeping spfl2 at 10 teams. Taking the total spfl to 44 clubs. Below that Threave come up from the SOS and Bo'ness from the EOS Premier to the LL, Vale of Leithen are not relegated taking the LL to 18 teams. The highland league just goes back to its desired number of 16 teams.

Agree I think making the decision now is about saying to the spfl, look we have both a highland and lowland league champion ready to play off and go up to spfl2, especially seeing the spfl seem to be considering possibility of league restructure as their way out of their current civil war. It clearly puts two non league names in the ring for any possible expansion of the spfl.

I don't follow them closely but I believe the amateur teams from Bearsden, and the one from Milngavie, have been fairly successful at that level over the past 20 years or so, although not so much recently but shows potential is there. Could be ones to watch for in the longer term as possible applicants for the senior pyramid as both towns have large populations, not in theory covered currently as you say, on paper atleast scope to support a senior team with locals with money to invest, although not sure if there would be enough local appetite or suitable locations for a ground to be buit suitable for WoS given so much of the land locally has become housing schemes over the past 10 years. Rangers training ground lies between the two towns ofcourse so a possible location a club could use until such time as wanted to own a ground in order to go for a licence.

That's just the platinum clubs, are there not levels under that aswell?

For those who also want to see amateur leagues slotting into the Pyramid, the SFA quality mark scheme is starting to look like a ready made pathway process to bridge the amateur game into the senior game. So a good shout looking there for possible names.

2 teams we know that are looking for a home....... Old firm colts!

Hadn't thought about it in that way but very true especially for Annan.

I think once the couple of current SoS members in the lowland league (Dalbeattie and if Gretna decide if they are an EOS or SoS side), get relegated from the LL, then it will be something that can be looked at. Thats assuming no other SoS side wins a promotion into the LL via the playoff in that time, although unlikely. It would just not be fair to expect a club to drop 2 tiers if relegated from the LL.