Marten

Many of the clubs moving from area to area in England are actually more or less forced to do so. England doesn't have any fixed boundaries, so if for example 4 northern teams get relegated from the National League (tier 5) to tier 6, that will mean 2 teams will be kicked from the National League North to South to accommodate them. The same happens at lower levels. Only really at a standard of football that's comparable with amateur football north of the border it regularly happens that teams get moved because they requested so.

If the boundary gets changed I don't think having the likes of Lochee in the EOS Premier would be that much of an issue. Jeanfield will almost certainly be in it next season already for example. In such a case I would advocate for further regionalisation on tier 7 though, with Dundee, Perthsire, Angus and possible North Fife in their own feeder league, to prevent travel getting too much for the level of the pyramid. A distance like Brechin to Hawick at tier 7 would not be appropriate imo. Another question though is if there won't be some LL teams objecting against possible trips to Tayside. I can imagine Dalbeattie Star or Gretna having issues with that. That's why I can understand the 3 region system in the juniors, maybe that would be better at tier 5, but as said before that can be tricky to actually achieve.

I do agree with you on that. It's a difficult subject though as I can see the argument for including them in the HL area as well. Due to the way the population is spread across Scotland, Tayside in the LL area would really make the difference between LL and HL in terms of the area they serve too big. I wouldn't be against copying the junior system of 3 regions, which would solve a lot of issues. But will the SPFL agree to that? We won't know what the EOS have done behind the scenes obviously. They have stated that they got at least 1 enquiry from a club north of the Tay who they were unable to accommodate. Nobody other than the EOS and the club involved (and who can that be?) will know if anything has been discussed with any parties afterwards.

That's 1 club, so it's slightly different from a whole league. But ultimately if the West Juniors come in the pyramid, there should be some kind of boundary agreed with the SoS imo. Or the SoS can even be a feeder to a west league (LL West?).

Why do you keep blaming the EOS for not accommodating the Tayside teams? There is literally nothing they can do for them. Changing the boundary is not something the EOS can do or even influence. If the boundary gets changed and the EOS wouldn't accept Tayside teams, it will be a different story (and I wouldn't agree with that), but until anything gets changed, the EOS can't help those clubs.

If they want access to the pyramid it's not unreasonable to ask them to move to the EoSL. It is unreasonable to expect to have 2 leagues in the pyramid covering the same area. If they don't want to move to the EoSL, they shouldn't be forced, but then they will have to stay outside the pyramid and imo also lose the possible Scottish Cup access.

Agreed, but the reason why I say clarity is badly needed is mainly that in my opinion clubs are now being made promises that are very unlikely to materialise. Yes, you can say it's naive for clubs to believe some of the stuff they are being fed, but the sooner there is no doubt about the structure for next season, the better, even for clubs that don't want to move into the pyramid.

Regardless what the outcome is, clarity is needed sooner rather than later. Even if it's a "no deal" scenario, it will at least make it clear to clubs like Fauldhouse that there are only 2 options: move to the EOS or stay in ERJFA and remain in a Tayside dominated league outside the pyramid. Then it's up to them to make the right decision and I can only hope for @jc1 that it's the one that creates a more attractive league for them with more local teams.

The EOS currently accepts every team they can accept. They simply can't accept teams north of the Tay. They are a feeder league into the LL and they can only accept teams that can go into the LL, which are all teams south from the line of latitude from the middle of the Tay road bridge. The Tay boundary can only be changed if the LL, HL and SPFL agree on that. The EOS is no party in those discussions so there is literally nothing they can do for the Tayside teams at the moment.

Partick Thistle 4 Stranraer 1

Agreed, I've got lots of respect for the hard working volunteers who keep "poor" clubs alive despite the challenges they face. That's the case for Fort William, Inverkeithing, Coupar Angus and so on. These people are the unsung heroes of Scottish football AND often their local communities as well. Dismissing any of them as "dross" is disrespectful. They have as much of a place in Scottish football as bigger clubs.

Seeing as I drive through Coupar Angus twice a day on my daily commute, I should pay them a visit in the near future! So far the poorest team I've seen this season was Fort William, I bet that will change.

It's funny how junior fans still mention the "dross" in the EOS like there is no dross in the juniors. Just to remind people, one result in the ERJFA League Cup in the weekend was Broughty Athletic 18-0 Coupar Angus. Just like I won't judge all the juniors based on the poor standard of Coupar Angus, you can't judge the EOS based on Tweedmouth, Inverkeithing etc. If there is a proper pyramid of what's now "junior" and "senior" non-league, these teams will be in the lowest tier. And there is nothing wrong with that. Let them just play football at the level that's right for them, and let the same apply to Blackburn United, Linlithgow Rose, Kelty Hearts, but also the likes of Arbroath, Ayr United and Hearts for example. That's the point of a pyramid.

I agree it's give and take for the SJFA. Give: agree that the EOS is the only route into the LL for clubs in the east, south of the Tay. Remaining ERJFA can join the EOS, or even bolt on below the EOS. Take: juniors everywhere else (including Tayside) get in from tier 6. Simple and reasonable.

In some countries they have the rule that the highest finished eligible team gets promoted / a play-off spot. Usually with the rule that they will have to be amongst the top x in their division. I think that would be fair in Scotland. That way unlicensed teams (or ineligible teams like Stranraer reserves in SOS) can't block ambitious teams.

Queen of the South 4 Ross County 0 Impressive display from the hosts to hammer the league leaders. Palmerston is a brilliant ground, really enjoyed my day.

I support Wimbledon in England (was ST holder when I lived south of the border), but I don't think Wimbledon v West Ham is a stand out tie, BBC also didn't list it in their highlights of the draw. I'd be quite surprised if it's on TV tbh. A bit disappointing draw I think, at this stage I'd either like a winnable tie or a money spinner, this is neither.

And even more special: that defender who saved the penalty was the same guy who scored the equaliser in the 95th minute. Truly the hero of the game for them.

Inverness Caledonian Thistle 1-2 Queen of the South Boring first half, but the second half was much better. ICT took the lead but 2 goals in quick succession secured the points for the guests.

They take in all members they are allowed to take in. The only applications they can't accept are ones from above the Tay boundary. That's not their decision, that's the boundary which has been agreed by multiple parties (including the SPFL) and not up to the EOS to change. As they feed into the LL they can only accept teams that are allowed to go into the LL. It's not exactly rocket science and has already been pointed out a few times so why do you keep blaming the EOS of "not accepting everyone" when they clearly accept everyone they can accept? And I'd class Arbroath as North-East, not East. I agree a proper solution for the Tayside teams north of the boundary is needed. I live just north of the Tay in Dundee myself so the local football teams around where I live are affected by it and clarity is badly needed. But as things stand now there isn't much the EOS can do for the teams over here. If the boundary does get changed (like the SJFA clearly wants to) it would be a different matter, but as said, that depends on various parties, including the SPFL.

The only fixed boundary in the Scottish pyramid is the river Tay (as in the centre of the Tay Bridge and then a straight line on that longtitude), meaning the likes of Broughty are in the HL area and as a result can't play in a LL feeder like EOS, while yourselves and Jeanfield Swifts are (just) south of that and fall in LL territory, meaning the EOS accepted Jeanfield and would accept Tayport if you apply. A boundary change isn't really in the hands of the EOS, it has to be agreed by multiple parties, including HL, LL and SPFL. The latter have a vote as the boundary decides where relegated League Two clubs end up. South of the Tay there isn't really a fixed boundary. Currently there is no west league, so either the SOS or the EOS would be the league for Clydebank. They are outside the area for both, but nothing is stopping either league from accepting them if Clydebank apply and the league wants them.

Part of developing a proper pyramid should be that finally the different structures get united under 1, so 1 league for the East of Scotland. This artificial divide in non-league football should go. There is no difference between junior & senior non-league if all clubs are in the pyramid, so why have different leagues for the same area?

No, I didn't. But it was obviously very busy, so I can easily have missed that. The atmosphere was intimidating, but that's what you expect for a game as big as that.

Schalke '04 1-2 Borussia Dortmund I managed to get tickets for the biggest derby in German football. Amazing atmosphere and experience. The Veltins Arena doesn't look impressive from the outside but inside its a great stadium. BVB showed why they were top of the league. They were the better team and took an early lead. Schalke got a penalty via VAR in the second half which made it exciting, but the winner for BVB was deserved. It was a great trip to Germany and definitely worth the effort.

Werder Bremen 3-1 Fortuna Düsseldorf last night Sell out crowd as usual for Werder. They were the better team by far but poor in finishing. Second half Fortuna equalised from a penalty given after VAR. Werder struggled for a bit but scored another 2 and deserved their win. Great stadium and a great atmosphere.