Robert James
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Posts posted by Robert James
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10 hours ago, virginton said:
Chuck this licensing pish in the bin and get all pyramid clubs in the Scottish Cup. Alternatively, chuck everyone outside of the top flight into two regional halves of the Challenge Cup at the first round without seeding and keep firing through the rounds until you get a national last 16.
Won't happen.
However Tier 6 will encourage some of the leading NCL clubs, to consider SFA licensing. Similarly, several clubs in the proposed North/Midland League, will look to follow the same route, when it obtains senior/pyramid status.
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11 hours ago, Cyclizine said:
There's a couple of threads on licencing in the EoSFL and WoSFL fora and the criteria are available here: https://www.scottishfa.co.uk/scottish-fa/football-governance/club-licensing/. Most of the criteria apart from groundworks including floodlights aren't particularly onerous, but clubs' individual circumstances will vary. In terms of the NCL, Golspie are already licenced. The rest would have to do significant work to their grounds.
There has been some serious damage at Bunillidh's Couper Park clubhouse, which may mean that the club will not return to the NCL for 2021/22.
However, subject to pandemic controls being lifted, it is anticipated that one new club will join the NCL for next season.
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17 minutes ago, come on shire said:
Due to the NCL joining the pyramid, will teams be able to take part in qualifying for the Scottish Cup?
Not unless they are licensed.
Golspie Sutherland is the only NCL club which has an SFA licence at present, and they already enter the Scottish Cup each season. Pyramid status in 2021/22, will give encouragement to a couple of current NCL clubs, who are understood to be ambitious.
Similarly there is only one club in the North Juniors, which holds an SFA licence, namely Banks O'Dee, who also enter the big 'Scottish' each season. By comparison, if a "Midland League" (East Juniors north of Tayside) joins the pyramid, none of its clubs are currently licensed.
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11 hours ago, cmontheloknow said:
Pricy covid tests for amateur kickabouts? Really?
Kickabouts probably unlikely..
However, the North Caley League has published its fixtures in order to c0mplete the current season. Matches will start on 29th May, and conclude on 26th June. Good news.
The 2021/22 season is unlikely to start before mid September (yet to be confirmed).. It will be interesting to see if Bunillidh Thistle will rejoin the NCL, after a year out.
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14 hours ago, Bestsinceslicebread said:
Personally if that was going to happen I think that would be a long way off
I don't like it, the reason, means 3 teams would have to playoff against each other to have a crack at the club 42, making it harder for the lower leagues.
I think with all the teams and league, joining/starting just under the Highlands, I get a feeling years to come the Highland league will become even a higher standard than it already is.
So for me a highland/Lowland or North Vs South is straight forward and enticing to make the playoff.But in a few years I'm more hoping for club 42 to be straight relegated from the SPFL2
With Highland V Lowland playoff winners, straight to SPFL2
and the losers to play the Club41 in a playoff to see who gets the second spot.
At this moment that's what I can see. if the Highland and Lowlands get their house in order which they are doing it will put more pressure on the SPFL to get theirs sortedI agree.
But existing part time SPFL clubs, will want some additional protection against relegation to Tier 5, so a restructuring at the lower SPFL divisions will be needed. Perhaps changing both Leagues One & Two into 16 (or 18) club divisions, would be a good incentive for existing league, and top/ambitious non league clubs. Conditional of course, on automatic promotion and relegation between SPFL and the HFL/SLL, being implemented as a 'quid pro quo' ?
And as a bonus....a reduced need for lower clubs to be playing each other 4 times each season. Great news for most fans, like me !.
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20 hours ago, MAC THE KNIFE said:
THE DAUGHTER & GRAND DAUGHTER OF " WANDA " TO DO THE OPENING MATCH " GO GO " DANCE
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If so, will I be given free entry to the ground (again) ?
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On 24/03/2021 at 16:41, Sherrif John Bunnell said:
The UHI is getting a full size artificial pitch. There's no mention in the article if it will include dressing rooms or any other facilities, but at least it could be an option for an NCL team wanting to play in Inverness.
An interesting situation for the H&I University.
Given the appalling lack of facilities in Inverness, I anticipate that there will be interest from several local clubs, about using the facilities (if they are on offer for hiring ?).
However the above QUOTE (if accurate) from the Uni spokesperson, suggests that it will be seeking to advance into the junior or amateur ranks. Perhaps when phase 2 is completed, the NCL could be an appropriate option.
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31 minutes ago, tamthebam said:
Club website says we'll be in for start of next season
I hope you your info is correct. Ground development target dates for opening usually run late, as various 'snags' and ' safety approvals' are often delayed by a few weeks/months.
Timescale-wise, I am keeping an eye on Queens Park at Lesser Hampden. Another very exciting development.
South of the border, completion dates for new football stadia, are frequently (much ?) later than anticipated,. Typical.
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20 minutes ago, DiegoDiego said:
How long did it take you to think up something negative backed by nothing save your imagination? Deary me, try being happy for someone once in a while, it might do you good.
Excellent news for City and for Scottish football fans in general. Hope to see you in the league/cup next season!Yes great news.
The last time I was at the (old) stadium was years ago, to watch Meadowbank Thistle's first Scottish League match under floodlights. Myself and my 2 lads arrived +20 minutes late, and were given free entry, as the turnstile(s) had closed.
I am very pleased that after all the hassle, City will be returning to the new Meadowbank, and will attend a future match when I'm in Edinburgh. Has a date been set for completion of the ground works ?
Perhaps I will be given free entry again !! (just joking).
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7 hours ago, Dev said:
twitter.com/dunbar_united/status/1377247220429418498
The club have received a letter this morning from the SFA and we are delighted to announce that the club has met all criteria for a SFA Licence. Please see the Facebook link below for the full story
https://facebook.com/186915844773328/posts/2192345570897002/?d=n…Congratulations.
I hope you have a good run in the Scottish Cup next season.
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Assuming the post from John Reilly is correct, it is good news that there has been some dialogue between the ERJFA and the HFL which has been "constructive" and "extremely positive"..
This would give the ERJFA the chance to retain and 'manage' an independent "Midland" senior league, which the SFA would find it almost impossible to reject, as it would breach its longer term aim of having an integrated national pyramid.
As I'm sure BM (and possibly the LTL ?) will point out, this cannot be forced against the wishes of the HFL or the LL. However, it doesn't need to be 'forced', now that the West Lothian Juniors problem is about to be resolved, the NCL supporting the pyramid, and the North Juniors rumoured to be seeking to re-evaluate its' position, the pyramid tide is turning.
The death of the SJFA makes this inevitable.
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12 hours ago, latapythelegend said:
Don't really see why Sauchie CFC are applying - really they should settle with amateur. It will surely be another Bo'ness fiasco and Suachie is a lot smaller than Bo'ness. Just diluting the resources for the main team to tap into.
The EoSL management committee, has demonstrated in recent years, that it is prepared to reject applications that don't meet its standards. It is prepared to do so again for 2021/22, where necessary,
If I was a member of Bonus United Community FC, I would drop the title "United" from the club's name, as it may not find favour with the EoSL when they consider an application..
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1 hour ago, Dev said:
Hi. I have done an up-date at the foot of my last post.
Thanks.
Useful. Thanks.
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On 09/03/2021 at 13:24, Pyramidic said:
It is common sense for an Association or League to ensure that their constitution, rules, standing orders etc are watertight and are endorsed by their membership.
Legally sound, except that by moving from the Juniors, to the senior/pyramid, clubs transferring would need to accept the rules/decisions of the new league/association, or not move at all.
Also, how many of these clubs could afford to launch a legal challenge ? I suspect, none.
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12 hours ago, tellyboy said:
In a very interesting move Forfar west end have applied to EOS
Forfar West End
ANNOUNCEMENT:
The club would like to announce that we have officially submitted an application to join the East of Scotland Football League next season.
This is a significant move for the club and a decision that has not been taken lightly however, following weeks of consultation with the committee and management, it has been unanimously decided that this is the best route forward for the club.
Should our application be successful, it will see us move into the SFA tiered system.
Further updates will be provided in due course.
Which junior club will be the next to apply to join the EoSL.
And more significantly, will the existing EoSL clubs vote in favour of West End's election ?
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On 14/02/2021 at 17:22, FairWeatherFan said:
Like you say this is one of the main reasons why the 10 team Regional Division idea never went further than the initial discussions with the leagues. Also why the SFA deserves the lion share of the blame for not trying to create a pyramid beyond Tier 5.
Could the SFA have found 20 clubs to fill those slots absolutely. From a North perspective it would have seen the HL probably lose 10 clubs as they already had more than that licenced, plus they'd all be applying for fear of what would be left behind. With the North Juniors tacked on at Tier 6 there would be no incentive from them to apply to the remnant HL. So the HL might have been drawn into a halfhearted merger with the NCL since they were down to 6 real clubs. Which wouldn't be the most attractive proposition to the HL clubs from the Grampian side of things.
I hope this happens this summer at the very least. Regardless of what happens with Tayside it has the chance to be a positive change. Preferably the HL don't pull something like say capping things at 18 or 20 before relegation kicks in. Simply switching out BoD for Fort William would be a net positive. 35 years in the Highland League and Fort WIlliam have never made it to the Top 10.
Strathspey Thistle never made it into the North Superleague. Suggesting there are some stronger sides to be added from the North Juniors, just a case of pursuing licencing.
Yes reaching a conclusion during this summer, would be beneficial to all clubs, and help to provide an integrated pyramid.
It would not be necessary to relegate Fort, as relegation/promotion, would kick in at the end of the second year for NCL & North Juniors at Tier 6, assuming their champion clubs are licensed by year 2 (or whenever there after). By the way, the HFL clubs wiill NOT kick out Fort William, but over time they would be relegated anyway (based on history). .
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20 hours ago, Burnieman said:
They dont get to decide.
Of course the clubs don't have the power to decide. But if they did vote on their preferred outcome, it may produce an outcome which could be used as a "lobby" fior the future, eg :
* lowland senior (i) EoSL OR (ii) become an additional Tier 6 Midland League
*Highland senior (i) realign with North Juniors OR (ii) become an independent Tier 6 North Midland League
*Stay Junior
*Realign with the amateur leagues .
Even a split outcome would be interesting/important, as it MAY help resolve the 'impasse (?).
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20 hours ago, tamthebam said:
I have no idea. The Board are clammed up tighter than Rod Petrie's wallet on that one.
Shocking and thanks for your info
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On 02/02/2021 at 10:07, Dev said:
This might mean that these clubs are in line for licencing this time around:
Prem: Dunbar United; Musselburgh Athletic; Sauchie Juniors.
Conference "A": St Andrews United.
Conference"B": Oakley United.
Others which I have a note of who have expressed an interest in licencing:
Crossgates Primrose; Dalkeith Thistle: Edinburgh United: Glenrothes Juniors.
With 20 clubs already licenced that's a huge amount of investment and progress in a short time, especially as the likes of Kelty, Bonnyrigg and Bo'ness already having moved up from the EoS.
Similar progress seems very likely in the west soon too.
Has the 2021 Licensing 'Committee' Timetable been announced, for considering current applications, as I haven't seen it .
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On 17/02/2021 at 14:37, scrooge1928 said:On 16/02/2021 at 13:05, tamthebam said:
I saw this on the BBC news website- mini Murrayfield is completed.
It has been mooted as a home for the MIGHTY City. Given the number of pillars in the stands it seems the SRU have gone for the cheap option rather than have cantilevered stands with no pillars. Meadowbank and most modern stands are cantilevered. Indeed when Walsall's Bescot Stadium was opened in the late 1980s looking similar to mini Murrayfield here it was slated by grounds guru Simon Inglis for being the cheap option rather than having 4 cantilevered stands.
Tl:dr : pillars good for hiding egg chasing from view, shite for watching football.The changing rooms are outside the perimeter of the new ground - Edinburgh Rugby will use those in the main stadium, but the SFA wouldn't approve that for a football club.
You are probably right about the SFA, but has there been any dialogue between the Scottish Rugby Union, and City about a shared use ?
Making (further) improvements at Ainsley Park is probably advisable....assuming that there is security with City having a long term lease ?
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On 14/02/2021 at 16:29, Cyclizine said:
I think one thing that has made it difficult is that the Highland League entered the pyramid intact as one of the Tier 5 leagues, unlike having been created via applications like the Lowland League. The original SFA plan was for two new north and south regional leagues, into which the Highland, East of Scotland and South of Scotland Leagues would have initially fed. Since the Highland League lobbied to enter as the north feeder, it meant than unlike in the south, there was no ready-made level below them for new teams to enter.
However, I can see why the Highland League wanted to enter intact as they would have been decimated had this happened. It would have been difficult to see where any other teams in a north division would have come from apart from the Highland League, given the North and Tayside juniors were uninterested from the outset and I couldn't imagine any of the North Caley clubs would have been keen either.
I think the pragmatic approach now is that the North Juniors and North Caledonian League become official pyramid leagues so that teams are able to get licenced and that the bottom of the Highland League becomes a relegation slot if there is a licenced champion below. Realistically, I don't imagine there'll be a whole lot of movement in the short to medium term.
This obviously doesn't answer the question of where Tayside juniorclubs go, but really it's up to them to decide what they do: join NRJFA, apply to EoSFL, apply to HFL, lobby for a new league, stay outwith the pyramid...
The North Caley League clubs voted in favour of joining the pyramid, but the North Juniors were at best ' indifferent'. After the covid lockdown ends, there will be further discussions IMO, especially now that the SJFA is in meltdown..
Does it really matter that the Highland & Lowland Leagues are at the same pyramid tier, as the two champion clubs both participate in the SPFL relegation/promotion playoff ? Only ONE champion club can win and participate in the SPFL playoff final.
Tayside clubs need to decide (vote) as to whether or not they want to be in the Lowland or Highland region., assuming the clubs want to be "'senior". If the decision is split, each group should form separate senior pyramid leagues at Tier 6, either under the umbrella of the SLFL or the HFL.. Thereafter the pyramid will evolve over time, with the clubs making the decision which suits them best.
The other alternative, is that the residual junior clubs in the East/Midland region, join the local amateur leagues.
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On 27/01/2021 at 22:00, Ginaro said:
Perhaps, but unlike the others mentioned I don't think they've publicly announced that they've paid their £2000 to get into the licensing process.See belowCreetown must be going for a licence given they have floodlights and a recent-ish clubhouse, though they are a smaller club so it might take longer to get everything sorted admin wise.
Very interesting information. Thank you.
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On 27/01/2021 at 12:01, FairWeatherFan said:
It's the EoS forum. So only asking about EoS clubs.
West wise Auchinleck Talbot, Cumnock, Petershill, Darvel, Irvine Meadow, and Clydebank are at least trying for this year. With the likes of Kilwnning saying they'd too much work to be done for 2021 but should be sorted for 2022. There's the potential for some surprises there in the same way there were some slightly unexpected clubs in 2019 once things became public.
Well done FWF, for once you have made a helpful contribution by responding, and divulging your views about other clubs who may be looking to get licensed in time for season 2021/22. Yes this is an EoSL forum, and yes the 2 clubs I mentioned are West clubs, but posters on here are seeking/sharing information about clubs who may have submitted licensing applications for consideration within the February 2021 deadline..
You have been on P&B for a long time, so you will surely have noticed by now that between 5%** and 10%** of posts on here (and on other P&B forums) are NOT strictly on the right forum. For example, Dev has posted above, some views about Creetown, who are also NOT an EoSL club, but his input is welcomed as it is relevant to the licensing topic and is a live (and interesting) issue for (senior) non league clubs seeking SFA membership...
(** my rough estimates)
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13 hours ago, Ginaro said:
Dalkeith the only other club known to be in the licensing process but we've not heard from them since they put an update out last season.
Will Talbot and possibly Cumnock, slip in under the P&B (licensing) radar ? Or will they be prevented from licensing consideration this year, as they are not currently active in the WoSL owing to covid19 ?
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New clubs in the East of Scotland
in East of Scotland Football League
Posted
A change in the club's name was a prerequisite, if "Athletic" wanted to be accepted into the EoSL.
Ground sharing will therefore be acceptable, subject to a formal agreement between the clubs concerned..