Pyramidic

A nice write up on Glenrothes Juniors: Glenrothes was supposed to be the future. Concieved in the minds of city planners in 1948 as one of the first projects under the New Towns Act; Glenrothes was unique in that, unlike East Kilbride or Cumberland, it wasn’t built to house population overspill from Glasgow. People came to Fife’s new town from diminishing local coal mining communities and found a very different settlement from the ones they had left behind. This brand new town was full of brand new ideas one of which was to become the first community in the United Kingdom to appoint an official Town Artist, resulting in an abundance of public art and sculpture. This has left a lasting legacy of giant daffodils on roundabouts or massive hands reaching out of grass verges and that’s just on the road in. It was also decreed that a third of Glenrothes would be given over to open spaces and as a result residents are spoilt for choice when it comes time for a stroll in a public park. Fife’s new town is certainly a place of contradictions as Glenrothes has a record of winning awards that both praise and lambast the place. On numerous occasions Glenrothes has won Britain in Bloom awards and in 2012 it was named ‘The cleanest and most beautiful town in Scotland’ by the organisation Keep Scotland Beautiful. Conversely in 2009 Glenrothes had The Plook on the Plinth award bestowed upon them along with the title ‘Scotland’s most dismal town’. There was much outrage but some locals agreed with this decision citing a surplus of neds, lack of good pubs or restaurants and its “depressed investment-starved centre” for ‘winning’ this title. Will I see the glory of Glenrothes today or a massive balls up in modern town planning? Given my previous experiences I can guess there will probably be a bit of both to factor in. Glenrothes was just sixteen years old when it was decided the town needed a SJFA team of its own; the awesomely named Brigadier R S Doyle chair of the Glenrothes Development Corporation ordering £250 of the group’s funds handed over to start the club up. Just a few months later in August of 1964 Glenrothes Juniors played the very same side they play today; Thornton Hibs losing 3-2 in a wee bit of a thriller at Dovecot Park. After taking a season to settle in The Glens entered a twenty year period of trophy laden triumph. Between 1965 and 1985 Glenrothes won ten Fife League Championships, eight Fife Cups, seven Cowdenbeath Cups and five Drybrough trophies. It wasn’t just in Fife they were making waves however, nationally they were causing a splash too. The Glens were just shy of their fourth birthday when they reached their first Scottish Junior Cup final. Renfrewshire’s Johnstone Burgh were the opposition and a draw in front of 28,000 at Hampden Park meant it went to a replay many regard as the greatest ever. Glenrothes would end up on the losing side in a 4-3 thriller, at least no one was short changed for goals or action that afternoon. The dream wasn’t over for Glenrothes, rather it came to fruition just a decade later but not before a move away from Dovecot Park and into the massive and purposely built Warout Stadium in 1971. Huge by Junior standards, it saw its record crowd three years later when a capacity busting 5,700 rocked up for a Scottish Cup quarter-final against Cambuslang Rangers. The next season however was the one where real history was made and Scottish Junior Cup glory was finally achieved. I’m not saying that The Glens got an easy run to the 1975 Scottish Cup Final, they drew some pretty tough teams, however in every round they were drawn at home and didn’t play away in the tournament until a quarter final replay against Ballieston. Arbroath Vics, Dunipace, St Rochs and Cumbernauld United were all eliminated from the cup at the Warout Stadium. The final was to become known as “The Battle of the Glens” as Glenrothes faced Rutherglen Glencairn in front of seventeen thousand at the national stadium. In a tight game mustachioed Willie Cunningham scored the only goal meaning the Fife Glens took the old trophy home to the new town. The late eighties saw The Glen’s first barren spell before a number of Fife Cups and Kingdom Keg Cups found their way to the Warout in the two decades after. The last few years haven’t exactly been glorious either and while Glenrothes were promoted to the Superleague this season it wasn’t on merit, rather a result of the mass East Junior exodus to the EoSFL. Rumour has it that The Glens are going senior next season too, meaning today might be one of the last SJFA games played at the Warout. It may also be a final chance for Glenrothes to win Junior silverware; they may be rock bottom of the league but today is the quarter final of the VTech SMT Ltd Fife & Lothians Cup. Victory today would leave them 180 minutes from a glorious exit from the Junior grade. Pre-match Pints Since I announced my intention to visit Glenrothes quite a few folk have warned me that the place “doesn’t really do pubs”. Nonsense I thought Fife’s third biggest settlement and Scotland’s eighteenth must have numerous boozer to sate the thirst of local drinkers, however I was wrong as bars seem pretty thin on the ground. Therefore I start today by doing something rare for me, I’m enter a Wetherspoons. The Golden Acorn, is a typical ‘spoons; mobbed on a Saturday lunchtime with nice families enjoying an affordable meal together in one half and shiftless arseholes skulling cheap pints in the other. The crowds mean it takes a little while to get served, but that’s the price one has to pay for a one ninety nine pint of real ale. The Darling Brew Gipsy Mask was actually pretty good but serving it in an auld fashioned glass tankard seems risky. If a scuffle breaks out these heavy glasses are the ultimate chibbing device. Not lingering long I head to a first for me, a bar located in a shopping centre. The Phoenix doesn’t look very inviting from the exterior, reminding me of Alloa’s long gone and rather infamous Back o’ Dykes, yet inside it is a real wee gem of a boozer. Compact, comfy and absolutely immaculate. The walls are adorned with a signed Scotland shirt and a few other fitba mementos along with framed golden records and scripts from iconic comedy sketches. Beautiful place but premium prices as a Guinness is £3.80 a pint (50p more than my local), yet I don’t care the place is nice enough to warrant it. Behind the bar the woman running the show, who is as immaculate in her attire as the pub around her, tells me something I didn’t know. As conversation came round to tomorrow’s Old Firm game, she asks “Do you know what Ibrox means?” upon responding in the negative she informs me “It means Hill of the Badger”. Every day is a school day I suppose. Leaving reluctantly I exit the town centre and pass through a more ‘rustic’ housing estate to get to my final bar; Pinkerton’s. A large building with an entrance on the side, I enter to find a place more restaurant than bar where folk are enjoying what seems to be lovely pub grub. There is a pool table and some Raith Rovers related stuff on the walls but punters just having a drink at the bar are few and far between. Unperturbed I order a hauf and hauf of Guinness and Maker’s Mark for four quid and take in my surroundings. There is a constant stream of meals exiting the kitchen and empty plates coming back in, golf is on the telly and kids are running around daft. Great for what it is but a pub it ain’t. The Ground It’s a short walk over a massive park to the Warout Stadium who’s greatest feature is a huge concrete stand that’s not unlike Gala Fairydean‘s famous one designed by Peter Womersley at Netherdale. I believe an expert would describe it as a prime example of late sixties, early seventies brutalistic architecture. Inside and upstairs is a massive social club still in the style of the decade it was created in, where even the curtains are a purple version of the Overlook Hotel’s carpets. The windows on one side look out over the park I’ve just crossed while on the other you get a fine look over the Warout Stadium as a whole. The vast grey stand seats seven hundred on benches and is marginally higher than the pitch so an excellent view is guaranteed. A red ash track circumnavigates a pristine and lush pitch with just a simple grass embankment for spectators round the other three sides. Overall it is gorgeous and seems massive compared to other Fife grounds I’ve trekked to, Dundonald’s Moorside Park could fit in here twice. When The Glens were in their heyday this must have seemed like an imposing fortress of a place. A good crowd is in attendance this afternoon, over a hundred at least. There are a lot of attractive young women with their wee kids bounding about; the WAGs of the Warout I presume. Regardless it is good to see the side so well supported. The Match The teams came out for a half two kick-off with Thornton attired in a rather lovely all white Joma shirt. I sat back with a portion of chips and cheese ready for the action which started pretty evenly for the first fifteen minutes at least before Hibs started to show their class. The first goal seemed inevitable and it came on twenty seven minutes when Stuart Drummond nodded in a header from a corner for the visitors. Twelve minutes later, another corner and two nil; this time Andrew Adam’s ball snuck in all the way from the flag without touching another player. The first half showed me that while Thornton were classy Glenrothes were a little clumsy. They worked hard but were guilty of wild shots, headers coming off faces and playing a little too deep. With no lessons learned they came out for a second half that saw Hibs finish the game at the fiftieth minute with a penalty. After that though Glenrothes started to shine a little, perhaps because the pressure was off they relaxed a bit and started to play smoother football. It garnered a result too as Lee Celentano stopped the visitors getting a clean sheet by battering home the rebound from a superb free kick by Lea Schiavone. Three one it finished, a fair result as the best team won on the day. As mentioned Thornton Hibs were The Glens first ever opponents, with them staying in the Juniors this may be the last time the two clubs ever meet in this local derby. The Aftermath Don’t let anyone tell you Glenrothes is a shite hole, it really ain’t. Sixties and seventies concrete buildings might not be to everyone’s taste but they help make the town different and look good surrounded by spring bulbs and various statues. Sure some areas of the town are bowfing but that’s the case for anywhere and everywhere. The town’s problem isn’t what it looks like, rather it is the lack of pubs. I really was only in one proper boozer this afternoon and was very luck that it happened to be an excellent one. There is talk of demolishing the Warout and starting again, according to the local press. In this writer’s opinion that would be a sin; it is beautiful, imposing and easily renovated or even expanded, if the glory days return to Glenrothes then this ground could be bouncing again. Alas on the pitch the team is light years behind the ones that played here during the sixties, seventies and eighties. Having been to places like Crossgates and Oakley this season however I have observed how going senior has breathed new life into teams. A new era is coming for Glenrothes Juniors, I hope it results in a return to glory. Source: https://thefitbanomad.wordpress.com/2019/03/31/walkabout-the-warout/

Disastrous season? League form has been below par yes but disastrous season is a pathetic comment Respect to you as always JC. Just wondering what your vision for the club is in 5 years time?

Just wondering if there is any news on Musselburgh Windsor FC and whether this progressive youth club are going to have another go at entering a team in the EoSL. I was disappointed that Windsor were unable to gain entry for 2018/19 but it was obvious that Pinkies and Whitecraig do not meet EoSL criteria. In my view nothing has changed in this respect. I wonder what the possibility would be for a groundshare with Musselburgh Athletic FC for 2019/20? With Musselburgh Ath U20's (formerly Musselburgh Windsor) doing OK in the Lowland Development U20 League surely the time is right for Windsor to come forward as a loosely-linked "feeder club" with the following caveats: - Windsor to negotiate groundshare with Athletic; - in return Windsor provide players for Musselburgh Ath U20's next season in the Lowland Development U20 League; - Windsor would be playing at lower tier of EoSL than Athletic so not in direct competition; - the two clubs develop a firm understanding that higher level players go to Athletic in Tier 6 with the rest forming the pool for Windsor in EoSL in Tier 7. This sort of arrangement seems to be working quite well in some towns in England: - Coggeshall Town / Coggeshall United - Biggleswade Town / Biggleswade FC - Brackley Town / Brackley Town Saints ETC Times are changing in Scottish Non League Football and at the Senior level new links may be possible where entrenched views may no longer hold sway. The article on the right hand side column may be of interest:

Good advertising for Tuesday's match:

Repeat from the other thread: There has to be some form of negotiation (in other words give and take) and in my view any club in a revamped Eastern Scotland Regional League (or whatever new title is used) should be given the opportunity to be members of the SJFA if they desire which would give them access to the Junior Cup.

There has to be some form of negotiation (in other words give and take) and in my view any club in a revamped Eastern Scotland Regional League (or what ever new title is used) should be given the opportunity to be members of the SJFA if they desire which would give them access to the Junior Cup.

I think Syngenta are more inteterested in the Semis this week! Then there is the adult side: https://www.leaguewebsite.co.uk/sdafa/TeamFixtures?age=22&division=3077&team=149645 https://www.leaguewebsite.co.uk/sdafa/Divisions

From recent posts I am forming the opinion that Syngenta are "not the flavour of the month" in your part of Falkirk! When I used to be involved in youth football some clubs (managers) were a real turn off that we really disliked. Just wondering if there are any similar issues buried beneath your posts. Apologies if I am wrong. From what I have read Syngenta would be a real credit to the EoSL. Personally I think that the EoSL management should be going that extra mile to help "incubate" progressive teams like Syngenta.

Can Bo'ness United Juniors really use the Bo'ness United title? https://twitter.com/LinlithgowThAFC/status/1103728366123921410 Will they be a sort of reserve team?

Clubs with strong youth set-ups - some with SFA Quality Mark status or Legacy level status - will have difficult choices to make: Do they continue as they are and allow EOS Senior clubs to siphon off their best talent for Lowland Development U20 League teams? OR Do they form partnerships as the youth sections of established EOS Senior clubs? OR Do they go the "whole hog" like Glenrothes Strollers and Syngenta Juveniles and seek to form their own Senior teams in the EOSL? Sygenta already appear to be "stealing a march" over their rivals with this form of progressive advertising over the last 6 months: Can Legacy level clubs such as AM Soccer Club afford to be left behind?

Glenrothes Strollers have developed their facility since 2009 when Google Street View visited: https://www.google.com/maps/@56.182609,-3.1745196,3a,75y,172.1h,84.92t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sHsTvH8FDFEdmaPMafurFZg!2e0!7i13312!8i6656 https://www.google.com/maps/@56.1841523,-3.1752463,255a,35y,173.88h,45t/data=!3m1!1e3 Nice aerial view of the Warout Stadium nearby - the home of Glenrothes Juniors: https://www.google.com/maps/@56.1922262,-3.1690451,246a,35y,173.88h,45t/data=!3m1!1e3 Then we have Syngenta Juveniles F.C. at Little Kerse, Polmont: https://www.google.com/maps/place/Galaxy+Sports+Little+Kerse/@55.9988204,-3.7055307,260m/data=!3m1!1e3!4m5!3m4!1s0x0:0xe22a943b0542c00a!8m2!3d55.999344!4d-3.705756

Talbot 1978 how about telling us some real news rather than simply sniping Alan and others It is becoming so very tedious. You feel passionate about the Juniors which we all understand - but do give us some news on what is going on among Junior clubs in the background and make your case coherently. Do give us some news about your club in particular. We then perhaps can better understand your position.

Agreed. But there is a real danger of being left behind.

Given the juxta-position of Kennoway Star Hearts and Glenrothes Juniors and Glenrothes Strollers, I cannot see Kennoway staying in the ERJFA as their best youth players will migrate to the Glenrothes clubs in order to reach the pinnacle of youth development - the Lowlands Development U20 League It is not a very nice feeling to spend a decade developing young players only to see them move as a unit to a neighbouring club once they reach 18/19 years.

I am asking the same question JC. What is the youth academy set up like at the "Hoose" at present? Would a youth team in the Lowlands Development U20 League (as proposed by Glenrothes) bring any major benefits for you and your club in general?

Hoping that there is no truth in the rumours that Leith Athletic and Craigroyston will merge at the end of the season. Would be a great shame to lose an EoS club.

So at the moment this would translate as: Saturday 27 April : Penicuik Athletic v Broxburn Athletic Tuesday 30 April or Wednesday 1 May : Bonnyrigg Rose v Penicuik Athletic Saturday 3 May : Broxburn Athletic v Bonnyrigg Rose But if Linlithgow Rose can overturn Broxburn in Conference C we would have one hell of a match to watch on 3rd May.

I can foresee the Reserve/ Development League for SPFL clubs being given the status of a "Regional League" which would allow for promotion (with not much coming back down the other way). The issue here I suppose is that the league has been de-regulated in the sense that games can be played on training grounds.

If the Juniors get into the Pyramid will clubs like Kennoway be able to field a team in the Lowlands Development U20 League next season?

Quite right. The club was established in 2013 after a merger between Fife amateur sides Star Hearts and Kennoway. Their twitter feed is a breath of fresh air. https://twitter.com/KSHJFC13

And what if the Eastern Region remain outwith the Pyramid for 2019/20 if "teething problems" remain?

If I recall correctly there were some big Committee changes at the end of last season and a "new broom" arrived linking the club with a youngsters's club and much stronger set-up. I do not think they are your typical "dinosaur-friendly" club. Hence my hunch.

Any guesses who will be the first Junior Club to break ranks and agree to move from the ERJFA to the EoFL for 2019/20? My hunch would be Kennoway Star Hearts JFC.

So in reality the Junior Clubs are paying the fines (which cover various SJFA/WRJFA/ERJFA/NRJFA salaries, honorariums and jollies) using money that could be better spent on improving club facilities and meeting licensing requirements. Good value for money or not KB? How much does the average Junior Club at the moment lose a year down this drain?

Thanks again. If there is no Highland Sub Group how can TJ deliver his mandate of getting all of the Junior membership into the SFA Pyramid?