cmontheloknow
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Posts posted by cmontheloknow
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St Anthony's are in the West of Scotland League now.
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10 minutes ago, Lobby Dossar said:
Ok I give up I suggest that you should apply for Jason Leitch’s job and then we’ll see how the country gets on
The ignore option filters out crackpots quite nicely
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3 minutes ago, FairWeatherFan said:
Kilbirnie Ladeside are the first WoS Premier teams saying they're taking the year out.
On the money here. Well done KL.
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CLUB STATEMENTIt is with regret that the Committee of Whitletts Victoria FC have decided that the Club should not participate in the inaugural season of the West of Scotland Football League (WoSFL) due to the uncertainty as a result of the Coronavirus pandemic.The WoSFL asked all member clubs whether or not they wished to participate in the league in the season ahead given the uncertainty surrounding supporters, finance, facilities and the pandemic and after giving the matter serious consideration the Club Committee have decided that to participate in the league would severely jeopardise the Club and that it was in the best interests of the Club to withdraw from the league for the 2020/21 season.Club Secretary John Dalton said “Society let alone football has not known circumstances like the present for decades and this has badly affected the game.”“Last season was cut short and the start to this season delayed to 24th October because of the pandemic.”“We have no idea as to how the Coronavirus pandemic is going to interfere with the fixture list. A number of clubs, including Whitletts, have had to postponed pre-season matches and cancel training sessions as a result of Coronavirus and the figures are on the rise again and in the opinion of the Committee, will result in fixtures being postponed throughout the season.”“The outcome of the ballot of member clubs has meant that there will be no promotion this season from the conferences to the WoSFL Premier League. Despite having all the advised procedures in place we’ve already had players who have had to self-isolate through no fault their own. In these circumstances, as a club we can not ask players to play potentially with the possibility of missing out on work and income.”“Players are being asked to travel to matches in their own cars, dressed in their strip and return home after the match wearing a wet, sweaty, dirty strip without having been able to have a shower and with no access to a dressing room. It’s not right and the Club has a duty of care to our players and coaching staff.”“Then there is the key factor that no supporters are allowed into the grounds to watch games. The game without fans is nothing and having no fans in the ground greatly affects the income of the Club in terms of gate receipts, half time draw tickets, café and bar sales and sponsorship but we still have the expenditure necessary to train and play games.”“The income generated from having fans at matches is vital to the Club and whilst there may be discussions between the Scottish Government and the UK Government regarding compensation for Clubs at our level, there doesn’t appear to be any immediate prospect of the offer of a financial package. As a Club we have investigated a variety of ways to access Government grants and loans during this pandemic to no avail and as a result of all these factors, have taken the decision that to compete this season would put the Clubs’ financial future at risk.”“As a result of this decision, we will also be withdrawing our development squad from the Lowland Development League this season.”“I feel for the players and the management and coaching staff who have worked so hard to prepare for the current season and while I know they will be deeply disappointed by this decision, I thank them for their understanding.”“This decision was not taken lightly and it is a deeply disappointing day in the history of Whitletts Victoria FC. However our absence from the game is only temporary and we will return to compete in the WoSFL Conferences in 21/22 season.” [/quote[1
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7 minutes ago, gogsy said:
Has anybody caught coronavirus from playing football?
Whether people catch covid from playing football is immaterial. The amateur game goes on. What is being discussed here is the sense of PAID players playing without any income (and officials need paying too on top of that).
That said, it is a gathering of 50+ workplaces (two squads, two management teams, two sets of committee members, however limited, maybe 3 match officials). It is a chance for the virus to spread (without supervision). People are not following protocols. I saw players last weekend breaking social distancing guidelines. I watched people hanging over the wall during Musselburgh v LTHV last night.
My avatar is John Bishop playing for Southport in 1990. Today's opponents have cancelled because of Covid in the team. It's the latest example of many down there. We have had various matches off up here and that will continue. Disruption, chaos, mayhem, stress - for what?
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2 minutes ago, gogsy said:
Nothing there to suggest cases are currently doubling every day as sweep claims is there'?
if we are playing pick a graph heres one
https://www.travellingtabby.com/scotland-coronavirus-tracker/
Go to daily positive cases by council area.
bookmark my link and keep an eye on it over the next wee while. I will stick to official data when available.
Cases aren't doubling every day, but they are doubling every 7-10 days (J Leitch, yesterday).
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2 minutes ago, gogsy said:
Where are they doubling everyday?
'view cases by neighbourhood'
fill yer boots
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2 minutes ago, Marshmallo said:
Don't do it please x
It will be ignorance to individual circumstances on my part but I don't really get why clubs in the West would differ to those in the East.
We don't know how the clubs were split in East though, all LL have an opt out up til xmas with no penality.
In West, clubs with wage bills don't want to play without a major source of income.
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The LetFansIn movement is crackers. It might have worked in July or August - but now, as we head towards a rise in covid cases - putting increased pressure on hospitals? Yeah right. Before some libertarian #letthemalldie comes on, it's not about deaths, it's about the NHS being able to cope with hospitalisations, not just in terms of bricks and mortar but staffing too.
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9 minutes ago, Marshmallo said:
Every club needs to look after their own interests, but it seems strange to me that every team in the East is good to go while a quarter of the teams in the West are intimating they'll sit it out.
If I jump off a bridge, must you follow?
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1 hour ago, Stag Nation said:
It's when you take off your normal clothing and get into your football kit.
but seriously, Maxwell's message from the high towers of Hampden said that dressing rooms are still shut for teams:
- At this stage dressing rooms CANNOT be used on a rotational basis by the same team – ie 5 players changing, they leave and another 5 enter and change.
- Showers are not permitted under any circumstances
and there's this...
There was reference to special needs etc, swimming but I assume the capacity of any used dressing rooms is 5 (socially distanced) and everyone else must use committee rooms, enclosures etc? Or follow #5 and arrive ready to play?
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5 hours ago, GNU_Linux said:5 hours ago, invergowrie arab said:I go hillwalking every weekend and often end up up to my knees in bogs or on my arse in a peat hag or just otherwise torrentially rained on.
I find a towel and change of clothes is perfectly adequate until I get home for a shower.
There's absolutely no reason for a functioning adult to be driving about wet in their football shorts.The rules re:changing rooms have been updates so it's now possible for players to get changed.
what is the change?
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2 hours ago, jimbaxters said:
Have to say I'm surprised the exemptions reach so far down.
It's a bit of a joke - there's not a single professional player in the North Caledonian League. It's a good outocme for our clubs but a bit laughable.
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14 minutes ago, LongTimeLurker said:
It wasn't on the list of exempted competitions in the announcement by the SFA. It was never given the green light in the first place. If people couldn't get that straight, I'll wait for something official on pro-rel.
"The one major change from before is the Lowland League Board decided to impose the suspension of Development team football from tomorrow to midnight on Sunday 25th October. This was done on the grounds of safety. "
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4 minutes ago, LongTimeLurker said:
If people couldn't read the SFA announcement properly yesterday where the Lowland Development League was concerned, why should we assume they were able to get this straight? My guess is that they heard that there was no relegation to accomodate the possibility of clubs opting out then they added 2 and 2 and got five where there also being no promotion to the LL was concerned. Not as 100% confident on the conferences on that as expanding beyond 20 for the premiership next year could be an issue, but where there's a will there's probably a way.
The LL themselves banned u20 teams, not the SFA.
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From Dave McKenna, Chairperson of the West of Scotland Football League
Following the welcome news yesterday, we now await the result of the vote on the season start date. That will let us know the direction clubs wish the league to take going forward. As we have come to realise, our situation can change almost from day to day!
As of now, we are still required to satisfy the protocols in place before the most recent announcement from the Scottish Government. With that in mind please remember the guidance in the infographic posted below.
We take these health and hygiene guidelines seriously, and they are an absolute must if we are to push for any further easing of restrictions.
The one major change from before is the Lowland League Board decided to impose the suspension of Development team football from tomorrow to midnight on Sunday 25th October. This was done on the grounds of safety. Please note that clubs are not allowed to inflate their normal first team squad as a result, even though all the players are Scottish FA registered.
Another matter still under discussion is the use of dressing rooms. We must produce a robust plan to satisfy the Scottish FA that this can be done safely.
This will entail sight of individual operational plans and perhaps site visits to ensure compliance. The Scottish FA has confirmed dressing rooms will continue to be out of bounds until clubs are given the green light to start using them again. This is a major undertaking given the size of our league and the different type of facilities involved. We’ll have more on this in the next few days.
Lastly, we have been asked to keep any further friendly games as local as possible, even though we are exempt from the travel restrictions just announced. This is simply a matter of risk minimisation where we are in control of giving permission for games. League and Cup fixtures are of course a different matter.
Let’s focus on having a safe day at any games tomorrow, at least the forecast isn’t too bad, unlike last weekend!
Dave McKenna
Chairperson
West of Scotland Football League
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Ian Maxwell speaks:
As competitive matches are set to begin. there have been increased requests around use of changing facilities. I thought it best to confirm the current position with you all.Scottish Government guidance currently states;Changing rooms are an area of increased risk of transmission. It is important that physical distancing is maintained in changing rooms and showers and that they are only used if essential. Use of changing rooms and showering facilities should in general be avoided where possible, although these must be available for participants with disabilities or special needs and are likely to be needed after swimmingOur advice to clubs playing in the Betfred Cup is that in line with the above, changing rooms may be used under the following conditions• Clubs and facility owners have a legal obligation to comply with all sportscotland/SG legislation and ensure guidance is followed at all times. The checklist and relevant information are all available on our Return to Football Hub.• Clubs must submit relevant operational plans and documentation to its League.• The League must satisfy itself that all plans submitted are appropriate and meet the regulations and approve the use of changing facilities. We would recommend that Leagues conduct site visits to ensure procedures are as per the submitted documents.• The Scottish FA can request site of club operational plans other relevant information and perform site visits at any time.• At this stage dressing rooms CANNOT be used on a rotational basis by the same team – ie 5 players changing, they leave and another 5 enter and change.• Showers are not permitted under any circumstancesIf have attached an updated version of the approved numbers document which was circulate last week.The fundamentals are the same, however the zoning colours have been changed to better reflect the Return to Play protocol document and the fact that stadiums have a bigger red zone than just the changing rooms and technical areas, that can and will extend into the stand in most cases.The challenge in tiers 5 and below is that some games are in stadiums and some are not so there is an element of both needed. We are reviewing both to ensure consistency and will advise of any changes asap. These documents should be used in the meantime.We must all be aware that Scottish football will continue to have positive tests. When this happens, Test and Protect will investigate the circumstances and SG will ask the Scottish FA to carry out an examination of processes and facilities. This can affect us all and it is therefore absolutely incumbent of the league body to ensure that the law is being followed at all times. I appreciate the desire to use changing rooms however football is not ‘back’ as it used to be. We cannot be lax with this and not check plans properly, it is not simply a tick box exercise. The reputational damage to the game as a whole is too significant.RegardsIan MaxwellChief Executive1 -
3 minutes ago, Ceejayar said:
Has it been confirmed whether there is promotion/ relegation if the leagues start? If not what’s the point of playing friendlies, I believe this was the main reason that players/coaches wanted the leagues started as they were fed up with friendlies
Clubs have been told there is no promotion / relegation according to this interview.
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17 minutes ago, glensmad said:2 hours ago, cmontheloknow said:Development teams now told to not play, contrary to yesterday's announcement.
There was no announcement yesterday which said the Lowland Development League teams could play.
I don't disagree but I think (as league was postponed anyway and wasn't going to be granted anything) the granting of the clubs to play was an assumption the 20s could play their friendlies. Pollok FC is one club. We have 44 signed players. Whereas Glens 21s is a separate entity in terms of paperwork.
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5 minutes ago, FairWeatherFan said:
The Lowland Development League wasn't covered in the list of exemptions.
True - but various tweets today saying this was unexpected. I guess assumption being that they were and are the same teams. Pollok have 40+ signed players. We don't differentiate between 1st team and 20s on their registratios.
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Development teams now told to not play, contrary to yesterday's announcement.
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Well done to SFA for widening their view on this beyond Professional / Non Professional board. Not sure it's quite in spirit of what NS intended though!
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https://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/sport/local-sport/kilsyth-rangers-take-west-scotland-22812400
Kilsyth Rangers are considering pulling out of the debut West of Scotland League season as fears grow over a further kick-off delay.With pre-season underway and an October 24 start date pencilled in, a Scottish Government announcement yesterday has dealt a major blow to the planned kick-off.
First Minister Nicola Sturgeon unveiled a host of measures to stave off a second wave of Covid-19 cases, including a shutdown of all amateur contact indoor and outdoor sports between October 9 and October 25.
With The Wee Gers set to open their Conference C campaign against Drumchapel, secretary William Dunbar said it's a "non-goer" for the North Lanarkshire outfit.
Dunbar has urged clubs to call-off the debut of the new tier six and seven and prevent a doomsday scenario for clubs ahead of crunch talks between the league and SFA this afternoon.
He admits the Duncansfield Park side may be forced to pull-out if the season does start without fans and claims West of Scotland League chiefs have revealed teams would not be penalised if they make the decision mothball.
The chief also stated clubs were told no relegation or promotion would take place between the conferences and Premier Division this term adding "clubs will be putting themselves through hardship for nothing."
Dunbar told Lanarkshire Live Sport : "We had a meeting on Tuesday [with the West of Scotland League] with various options, and one of those options is already not there any more after the Scottish Governments announcement.
"That was an option to start within current restrictions, to pause and wait for fans to be back and restrictions to ease, or just scrap it and say lets come back next year.
"I think most clubs would love to go, but this just proves again that you make a plan and something else happens with Covid.
"We certainly can't exist without fans and we can hardly ask fans to sponsor us with boards at the grounds when they can't see it.
"With the changing room situation it's been a bit of a fiasco. For me I think it will be scrapped.
"They have said as well that if clubs decide not to go ahead there will be no penalty.
"If one club decides they won't go, we've been told there won't be any promotion or relegation anyway, so you're basically playing for nothing.
"Next year we would just start at the same level. The way it's been put to us is that nobody will be promoted or relegated from the conferences even if you pulled out.
"I think we should just come back next year. This [Covid] isn't going away any time soon.
"If we postpone to January we have to squeeze games in and don't have training facilities; it becomes a farce.
"Even if you pause it you will play friendlies in the hope of playing.
"If we pull out we can say this isn't happening and prepare for next season. It would be a cheaper option for us to mothball and clear ourselves for next season.
"It's tough to get everyone on the same page and call off the season. It's not defeatist but it's the reality.
"Nobody wants to do it but there is no simple answer."
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1 minute ago, Stag Nation said:
What is this other grade of football?
AFAIK the only clubs which will be playing are the SPFL, HL and LL. I can't see there being much demand for an influx of redundant Tier 6 players.
EoS / SoS plan to play too, circuit breaker apart.
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Players out of contract??
in West of Scotland Football League
Posted