the rambler

Whats the point of West entry at tier 6 if only one Club, Petershill, has floodlights and the rest have very little chance of having them due to the cost. The only other Club likely to have them any time soon is Talbot and they have stated they dont want to join LL, unless this has changed. Given that floodlights are a requirement for Club Licensing and LL entry it makes more sense to me for the West to enter at Tier 7. Any West Club wanting to progress further can apply to other Regions. The current proposal to shoehorn 14/30 league fixtures in by the end of September to allow the Champion to take part in a play off where they cant go up is the tail wagging the dog and will be financially detrimental to the Clubs. I am not opposed to the Pyramid or progress for those that want to progress but it is at the expense of the majority of Clubs. Nor am I criticising the fixture proposal as a plan had to be made to achieve an April finish. I just think that it's pointless for West Clubs to finish mid April given the lack of Clubs with Licenses.

From what I hear 14 League fixtures scheduled by end of September and 9 in August to finish League by mid April. So that West Premier Champions can take part in LL play offs although no West Premier team has a license and can't be promoted. You couldnt make it up.

What a turn round after a horrendous start. Players and management team deserve huge credit for a fantastic run over last 14 league games, 10 wins and a draw. Top flight surely secured now need to keep it going and finish as high as possible.

Rutherglen and Cumbernauld must be favourites.

Another issue to be settled before Junior Clubs can make an informed decision.

The Scottish Cup certainly isnt a diddy cup. Its the one that 160 teams in the Juniors would love to win. Its pretty obvious that Talbot fans wouldnt want to move from the Juniors having won the Cup a record 11 times as that feat will diminish over time if the Juniors are integrated into the Pyramid and the Cup is replaced by another national cup competition. If it was my team I would feel the same.

As a long time Junior supporter and after reading 350 pages of (debate) if I am asked by my Club to vote on joining the pyramid or remaining Junior what do I need to know to make an informed decision? For me I like that games are... Local and I dont need to travel far to watch my team play away from home. Affordable, for entry and catering. I can watch games from wherever in the ground and have a bit of banter with opposing fans, no segregation or trouble. I can have a pint next to or in the ground. The games are generally competitive. If the season is mid table there is always a run in the Scottish Cup or local Cups to generate some interest. What could be better... Facilities could be better at a lot of grounds but will take a considerable amount of cash to improve them. Cash that isnt readily available. The Scottish Cup takes precedence over everything, the time allowed to play ties is ridiculous and costs Clubs much needed finance through losing weeks of Saturdays and then cramming in midweek games at the end of the season. Not only that can seriously affect chances of promotion through playing catch up. To ask guys with a full time job to play 3 times a week is too much. Fixture scheduling isnt nearly good enough. The fixtures Secretary has a tough job to accomodate fixture backlogs caused by the Scottish Cup and bad weather, exacerbated by Clubs with pitches that dont drain. However, more notice needs to be given to allow Clubs to market fixtures, sell hospitality etc. To be told your next fixture with less than a weeks notice just isnt good enough. Clubs have to apply for bar licenses and need sufficient time. For me the Scottish Cup needs to be addressed. Start earlier, schedule up to first week in November if no result by the following week then reschedule for the first week in March. What are the benefits for me as a supporter for my Club joining the pyramid? For most Clubs nothing much will change only a few will likely progress further than their current region and this will take some time. So for the foreseeable future Clubs will be playing the same teams in their region. Will facilities improve? For some Clubs as they progress and licensing requirements demand better standards they will. For most they wont as there wont be the same onus on them to comply. Will there be a national cup competition? I havent read anywhere on this thread whether there will be or not. I would like to think that there would and if there is it has to be run much more efficiently and for the benefit of member clubs than it is now. Who will administer the pyramid and the regions therein? I havent read how these will be run so cant make an assessment on whether administration will be better or not. Will the pyramid attract more and better sponsorship? I would hope so as current sponsorship of Junior competitions is sparse to say the least. Hiring or making use of advertising and promotional professionals has to be better than we have now. Will fixture scheduling be better? Could it be any worse given the factors that currently affect fixture scheduling. These must be addressed to have any chance of improvement. Will there be more funding available for ground improvements, youth development and coaching from the SFA? Kelty tell us there is but surely this will be severely diluted adding 160 Clubs to the existing framework. On balance, integration of all Junior Clubs is probably the way to go. What I would hate to see is a fractured way forward with some Clubs remaining Junior and others leaving. Surely much better to integrate together? Apologies for the epistle.

I cant see any Junior team from south of and including Irvine being remotely interested in being absorbed into the SOSL. A former colleague played for Girvan in the SOSL and the travel from Girvan was horrendous, not huge distances but poor roads, to add 40 mins each way from Irvine to Girvan to watch a poor standard of football with no local interest just won't appeal and wouldnt pass any vote. Lower league football should be as regional as possible with plenty of local games. For me we should have 2 national leagues and below that, as part of a pyramid, North and South leagues with 16 teams in each and below that regional leagues. Stranraer to Peterhead for the numbers that watch is crazy.

I couldn't find any reference to what would happen to the SJFA's Net Assets in the event of dissolution in the SJFA Constitution.

If cash is to be transferred to Members on dissolution then surely would be spread evenly, roughly £3k per Club.

If the entire Junior grade was to join the pyramid and the SJFA was no more what would happen to the £500k of cash, or whatever the current value is, held in the SJFA bank account? Would it transfer to the SFA or would it be paid to its Member Clubs? Also begs the question why is the balance so high when Member Clubs are struggling to make ends meet?

If 99 teams go the others have to follow. Remaining Junior would be the beginning of the end for those opting to stay. West solution is relatively straightforward and could be achieved by transporting Leagues as they are structured for next season. What a mess in the East though with Junior teams jumping ship and getting a jump on the others. Could have a situation where Linlithgow and Boness are in lower leagues than Dalkeith etc. Goodness knows how all of the East teams could be integrated into a sensible structure combining EOSL and East Juniors and fitting them in at the appropriate level.

Absolutely, but have we made the wrong choice?

Cmonloknow thanks for your response. A fair bit of educated surmising there, and that's my point. There needs to be much more clarity for Clubs to vote on change. A lot of it's the right thing to do from the pro pyramid guys but needs more substance. If the majority decide to go then every Club should go, Whitburn being the obvious example, but decisions should be taken on facts not supposition.

When Clubs were asked to complete a survey, not take part in a vote, how much background information was provided to make an informed response? Was there information on proposed format of Leagues in a pyramid structure, governance, Senior Cup entry qualification, future of Junior Cup, fixture lists, licensing criteria for advancement?