Jimmy Shaker

The Highland League has operated with anything from 6 to 18 teams in its history, an odd number again isn't a problem. Given the fact we won't know who'll be taking part til May 18th - usually about a week from the fixtures coming out - means we're probably a bit short on time for getting anyone in. The idea there might be a plan for the league heading into the 2020/21 season is hilarious tho.

Buckie fans acting the goat? Surely not.

The Betamax Video Club and How Did This Get Made. The same post-film discussion kind of thing, only ones hosted by an Englishman and the other by a trio of screeching Americans. Both good fun tho.

If the Highland League wasn’t part of the senior ranks when Elgin were in it, I’m interested to know what it was.

Been a hell of a time since Elgin weren’t in the senior ranks.

Who’s Cove’s sugar daddy?

Almost certainly not. They don’t have a support as small as is made out but they’re not a city-wide team. Banks O’Dee probably get more cut from the rest of the city than this lot for some reason.

Rumour has it they did quite well out of the groundhopping arrangements due to a laxness on the part of certain clubs when it came to collecting/enforcing payments. Hence Formartine dropping them like a bad habit after the middle year of hoboness and Cove bedding in at the surprisingly amenable Locos for the last season on the road. Cove's hospitality sales are through the roof, and have been since they took on a full time commercial manager (IIRC formerly of Aberdeen FC) to run things for them. Gate money for Cove - and for everyone in the league bar maybe Locos, Wick and sometimes Buckie - is an irrelevance these days. Their commercial operation clearly outdoes everyone in the league, with only Locos seemingly able to compete in terms of sponsorship and fundraising. Brora and Formartine have money but it's out of one guys pockets, whereas Cove and Locos do an eternally sound job of filling advertising boards and the like, and from Big Oil and their offshoots, not just local window cleaners or whatever. Cove usually did their social events at some funcy hotel even before their social club closed , and the club had planned to not have a social club at the new ground long before they dug the first hole in the ground and started throwing Meccano about the place, much to the supports annoyance. Locos pitch held up surprisingly well all things considered, though by the very end it was struggling. Locos by then had word they might be moving and perhaps weren't looking after it as well as they should have.

They're derided as being Toonsers and city slickers by the other shire clubs, who by and large have half their teams come out from Aberdeen or the immediate vicinity on any given matchday. Keith need a bus to get all theirs back to Aberdeen after a game. They're smug and full of themselves, although by no means any more so than Elgin were in the late 80's or Huntly were in the FIAR era. They're competent and know what they're doing in an era when we've two teams this season alone who've had points deducted and least one other who would have been thrown out of a regional cup for fielding an ineligible player had they not lost the tie. They're professional and run a slick financial operation when the bulk of the rest of the teams can barely organise a raffle. They did, however, take the absolute piss out of the league with their ground antics for a good six or seven years, which is infinitely more legit a reason than the ones above to think they're an awful shower. Which is unfortunate for their support who took no joy from traipsing out to play homers at Keith and Inverurie for three seasons and who got a terrific level of abuse from everyone for something they were forced to face up to while their suits said nothing - even to their own support - about when they might be going home. The ground scenario will haunt them for a while if they don't go up, as it's believed the reason they didn't press the Buckie ineligible player farce more forcefully is that they were (probably correctly) under the impression if they took it further no club would offer them a ground to play at. The season Buckie went into the playoffs in their place was probably Cove's best opportunity, what with Cowden and East Kilbride being equally new to the playoffs at the time. IMO, they should be long gone already. Sadly they'll probably get another shot it all again if they blow it this year as with them in the league, a few Shire sides seem to be keeping their powder dry, and the North sides offer little opposition. Brora managed to this season, but could still trail in 8 points behind them despite conceding only 12 times all season in the league.

Not that long since Nairn were equally shit, IIRC. Classless.

My cat Suzie went to sleep on the weekend. Hyperthyroidism meant her weight was a nightmare to control, she was developing dementia and joint problems which meant she occasionally couldn't clean herself or would forget to, and was prone to stressing out badly and gnawing her fur out if she couldn't find us which was sad as the wife and I are out all day. At almost 17, she'd had a good shot and was happy to live with us after her previous owner passed away, and we were happy to have her. Well, I was; the wife didn't understand the effort you need to put into a cat to get anything back, and Suzie spent her days sitting by my side or following me into the bathroom, or meowing forlornly at the wife when I wasn't in. Now I've no one to watch Family Guy/repeats of Under Siege late at night with, and am a little lost. Je suis desole.

At the last count - and this is by no way complete as I've still a dozen or more games to add to the database for this season - Fort were well beyond 50 players used this season. I would be surprised if there's more than a few teams in the league even gone through half of that.

One of the Lossie supporters had the 7-0 lucky score ticket bought before the game. Was probably him. Lossie have done 8’s and a 9 at Inverurie in recent years so 7 was a good afternoon. Could have done without giving them the early goal as Locos didn’t like it when they’d to work for their win at The Bernagow earlier this season. Weird sense of entitlement with that lot.

They were never going to get a thing off Lossie today. Started with five at the back, and even when they went behind stuck to it. Lossie wasted half a dozen chances in the second half, hit the post and ran out of legs with five minutes to go. I thought we had problems, but we looked like Barcelona compared to that lot.

It was saved. There’s a full feature in the new FourFourTwo about Fort William. Also features my face and some swearing.

I don't mind the club promoting themselves in such a fashion, or appealing to weirdo groundhopper types. My criticism is of the folk writing identical articles on the situation. Find a new angle on the story. Any angle, even.

Great stuff, fellas. Say, is that every two bit journo wannabe/blogger now written a piece with the theme, 'Hey everyone! Come look at these clowns in Fort William trying to do The Football'? That's another one appeared on The Times website following the same template as the rest - hills, lots of hills! Kids playing shinty! Factual error because it's not been properly checked! SOOOOOOOOOOO remote, like can you even get a pint in that place? Committee members working hard, players playing for the love of the club, etc. Shite, I've just written another one.

I disagree.

They'd be worse off in the North Juniors, IMO. Less folk care about that than do Fort.

Some photos from yesterday... https://www.facebook.com/LossiemouthFC/activity_feed/?type=share&content_id=2055356257874238&ref=notif&target_story=S%3A_I1035174793%3A10214646208842299&notif_id=1538311501121678&notif_t=page_share

Roon ye.

Imagine celebrating a win!

Britains worst team? They're not even the worst team in the SHFL at the moment, admin errors aside.

Brora, Rangers, Buckie Thistle, Clachnacuddin, Cove Rangers, Deveronvale, Formartine United, Forres Mechanics, Fraserburgh, Huntly, Inverurie Loco Works, Keith, Lossiemouth, Nairn County, Rothes, Strathspey Thistle, Turriff United and Wick Academy have all played there.

Is Dunner not still at the club? I think he was a greenkeeper in a former life.