Marten

I wonder if this tournament can get popular amongst English clubs. It's bound to cause fixture issues, with those teams already having 46 league games and 2 other cups.

How are people at Eyemouth looking at this now? It must be quite overwhelming to see this as a current EOS club?

Surely with the amount of teams moving over that nobody expected even a month ago, you'll have to spend at least a monthly salary on humble pies already anyway?

Next season is going to be very interesting!

Dundonald were never "out" when they made their first decision to move. The question since has always been when they'd move, not if.

If a WoSFL is getting founded and some of the big teams leave, the same would happen as in the East with others following in fear of being left behind and having to join in a lower tier. Dundonald's original decision to defer for a year while doing some work wasn't that strange. Once they saw how many others moved late on, it made sense to join straight away. As said, this "shambles" is caused by the SJFA inaction and refusal to engage with the pyramid, you can't blame the clubs or EoSFL. And talking about piss up and brewery, with how the SJFA organise their leagues, those words are more appropriate for them...

Wouldn't Bonnyton Thistle be interested in this considering they are now pretty much the odd one out geographically in the SoSFL?

Yes, I use the Groundhopper app quite a lot. It's fantastic!

I can see a WoSFL happening, but it will be from 2019, can't see it being any earlier.

If you play for classifications, it's easier to form the premier league. If 1 club gets promoted to the LL, no clubs come down and Clydebank join a WoSFL, the numbers 2-17 can join the EOS Premier. If no club gets promoted to the LL, 2 clubs come down and Clydebank are accepted straight into the EOS Premier, the numbers 1-13 can join the EOS Premier. And so various other scenarios are possible.

That's interesting. I must have imagined having a pee in the toilet beside the pie shop. You were so pissed that you had a piss in the pie shop. I hope you didn't buy a pie afterwards..

As a groundhopper, I usually do some planning when the fixtures come out at the start of the season. I plan in the senior grounds I want to go to, some good derbies etc. I also plan when I go south of the border for some good games there and I usually pre-book train tickets well enough in advance once planning has been done to save on travel costs. Junior games are now just being fit in when I have nothing else planned or at the end of the season when the senior leagues are finished (but then senior play-offs/cup finals are competition for junior games as well). If the juniors had proper fixture lists, I'd undoubtedly have gone to more junior games this season as I'd have planned some of the big games in at the start of the season and reserved those dates in my diary. I might be a bit weird as a groundhopper, but I surely won't be the only one and I can imagine that especially for smaller clubs each sold ticket is welcome.

Thanks for that. Fixtures lists are such a massive advantage for planning ahead and help with creating revenue re. hospitality. Unbelievable that the SJFA have never done anything about it.

Fair enough, but I don't think it would be too hard to plan if you reserve time in the fixture list from the start, especially as clubs have free weekends to plan in at the end in which some cup games can be fitted in.

That looks amazing! Straight on my groundhopping wish-list!

I hope it does get opened up to all non-league seniors. But IMO the SFA should take some initiative if the SJFA doesn't let this happen. They could start a new competition, replacing the south/north region challenge cup (ok, the north one hasn't been played for a while, but still) and invite all junior sides, the North Caledonian League & possible top amateur sides on top of the clubs already eligible to join these cups. Then it's up to the remaining juniors whether or not they want to join. Although the SJFA co-operating & opening up the Junior Cup to senior non-league sides would be much preferable imo.

Sounds decent enough. Although maybe it's better to have a pot of "top seeds" consisting of LTHV, Bonnyrigg & Linlithgow (LTHV instead of Hawick based on last season). Then there are 12 remaining "EOS" teams and 24 newcomers, both numbers can be divided by 3. The play-offs could be carried on across the league, so lower clubs play for classifications & qualification for next season's leagues. In that way each club is guaranteed 15 home games.

How were your attendances like (LTHV game excluded) compared to when you were in the Juniors?

Don't forget gold plated toilets that cost at least £ 150K.

First: some of the "lesser" LL teams will likely drop down sooner or later. Second: for every Edusport/BSC, there is an East Stirlingshire/Kelty/Spartans/EK etc.

That was great to see. I was just behind that goal (just off-camera) and I had a perfect view of it. That's the proper kind of last minute drama I love in football. Especially as a neutral that game was a treat!

I don't see the issue as long as you just play your football at your level, which is exactly what will keep happening. In the juniors you might be only 2 promotions away from the top league, but that's only an artificial "top league", as it's not in any pyramid. You could argue that the top league in non-league is the Lowland League, which is only 1 promotion away from the EOS. I see no reason why fans would drift away.

Lochee United must be the top favourites to win the East Superleague next season I'd say.

Thanks for the correction.

How many times do people need to tell you that it's not just about money? It might not improve that much going to the EOS, but it also won't get worse.