bluearmyfaction

That is insane, it kills the pyramid, and will basically jerk off the clubs that have now joined it and are now looking upwards. Could split the whole thing again.

It sounds like they could get into the middle division. And if they fill the top two spaces in that, would they go down to 3rd and below for promotion and playoff?

Would it be the same if the games were League games with promotion/relegation on the line? One of the things that's not on Wikipedia is when Scotland went Full Reserves with the old third division, circa 1949. Two divisions with teams like Raith B playing half-a-dozen clubs that were seemingly being driven into extinction by the arrangement (Montrose, Brechin &c), and it did for Edinburgh City and Leith Athletic. Promotion was allowed for non-B teams, but only Brechin made it, because the reserve sides were so strong. But eventually it was abandoned and the existing senior teams were re-integrated.

They're not relegated even with the points deduction as it stands. Their PPG is better than Stevenage's. As things stand, it looks like Barrow are going to replace Bury, and A N Other will replace Stevenage. But, if Macclesfield have a further 3 points deduction, which is on the cards, then they WOULD be relegated. Their PPG would be 0.59; Stevenage's would be 0.61. And then the pro-rata thing makes it a problem, because that's the PPG with a full 14 point deduction (taking into account the 11 already deducted). A 14 points deduction over a full season amounts to an 11.4 points deduction over 37 games. That would be a PPG of 0.67 instead. So, that's the one legal challenge, should it happen like that, that I can see having legs. With everyone else, a court would just say that the response is a reasonable one, whether you void the season, do it over PPG, or weighted PPG, is within the realms of what is reasonably possible. But applying a points deduction, that's meant to work over an entire season, and instead putting the whole lot in one fell swoop, may be outside what is possible. The easy way out for the EFL is not to put a points deduction in place, or put in a whopper, like another 10 points. Knowing the EFL they'll eff it up.

Siena was supposedly founded by the son of Remus and nephew of Romulus, so the city used the same symbol as Rome. AS Roma badge has the same thing.

Juventus changed their badge to a stylized J because so many teams were ripping off their old one. And not just tinpot teams as well - AC Siena were in Serie A with this one...

And Cowdenbeath (relegated by Hitler), Gateshead (voted out of the League despite only applying for re-election twice in forty years), Wimbledon/Clydebank (club stolen from them), Belfast Celtic... There are a lot worse sins in the game than a team in the bottom three of a division, where one of the teams below them had a gazillion points deducted, being relegated.

The thing is, it makes a season of fighting for promotion/dodging relegation something serious and exciting, rather than something that happens every season (albeit as a Blues fan a relegation struggle is close to an annual thing). When everything is special, nothing is special.

Maybe Helenslea Park.

They do it in other leagues. Real Madrid reserves reached the Spanish Cup Final in 1980 and got to play in the Cup-winners' Cup the following year. Bayern Munich once played their reserve team in the Cup and Hertha Berlin reserves also reached a Cup final. (Of course their leagues are structured differently and Spanish fan culture is a bit different.) It's not for the benefit of the game or spectators. It's for the benefit of the bigger teams. They basically use them as we use u21 or reserve matches, only given a different status of opposition. The big big difference is that fan culture in the UK is so much more about local clubs. I get the impression that a fan of, say, Lyon, would, given the choice, rather France win the World Cup than Lyon win the French Cup. That's not the case here. To give two clubs, who already have a massive advantage, the further advantage of getting their young players to play in a competitive league, coupled with the carrot they can offer players of guaranteed League matches to prise them away from other Scottish clubs, is abhorrent. I would have thought anyone with aspirations of breaking into the top two would be against it the most - I could see some of the smaller clubs thinking there could be a slight bump in crowds from Old Firm fans wanting a change but surely the price is too high. On top of which, what happens if, say, Celtic Colts are in with a shot of promotion in March? Does the first team loan out a number of fringe players before the window closes to try to guarantee it?

Could be a pincer movement. There are ambitious teams coming up from below, and the next thing will be Aberdeen et al wanting their colt teams in the league as well. Under this proposal, would there still be a Club 46 facing a relegation play-off? And what if it is Celtic/Rangers Colts? I can't see the big boys fancying a Lowland League season. But if it is not Celtic/Rangers Colts, bit by bit, some of the traditional League clubs will be pushed down and out - and if there is a proposal to cut the League back to 42 or 44, you can bet it will not be the colt teams that would face the chop.

Tell them they can come in, but as soon as there's any sectarian chanting, either at their matches or in the Premier League, they're out.

Same as Ullapool was in Cromartyshire. There were lots of mad exclaves in the traditional county boundaries, usually because of clan family landholdings. St Fergus over by Peterhead was a Banffshire exclave.

A 5 year old in 2009, apparently. There's a Rodney Trotter deal going down there.

Great sponsor. "Going down with the Birrell..."

Alan Hansen could have been a pro golfer, handicap of 2 when he was 15 and he gave up football for golf briefly. Fabien Barthez has raced in the Le Mans 24 Hours. The archetype is CB Fry, England international in football and cricket, long-jump world record holder, and played for the Barbarians in peanut-hugging.

I wonder if they got the badge by accident. The first time it appeared on their shirts, the shirts were basically Chelsea shirts, with Chelsea lion badge and CFC in the middle.

Ooh, bitchy.

I'd love a Euroleague. Imagine who would be in it. You could fill it just from England, Germany, France, Spain, and Italy: -Man City, Man U, Arsenal, Chelsea; -Bayern, Borussia Dortmund, RB Leipzig; -PSG, Marseilles, Lyon, Monaco; -Real Madrid, Atletico, Barcelona, Valencia; -Inter, Milan, Roma, Napoli, Juventus. 20 clubs right there, which means no chance of playing in domestic competitions. And they'd cartel it up to protect it from competition. After a decade, how exciting is Monaco v Napoli for 17th place going to be to the telly audience? And where would the Man U gloryhunters go if they went a decade with no trophies because they're mired in Euro-mid-table? Meanwhile, the rest of Europe could enjoy a European Cup which would still have big names like Benfica and Ajax, and would open up competition to well-supported clubs like Newcastle or Union Berlin. That's why I don't think it would ever happen, but UEFA doesn't dare to call the big clubs' bluff.

Morton kit shows what you can do when you let fans embedded in a club's tradition, rather than supplier brand managers, design the kit.

You can tell it's a fan design, it's excellent. Sticking to the basics.

Big advantage for us is that Jude Bellingham will be 17 by the time the season ends - which means he will become a full-time player rather than an Academy one. So that if anyone wants to buy him off us, they don't have to pay the derisory compensation sum the Premier League demanded as a quid pro quo policy for a few scraps of spare telly money. Not that he was planning to leave on a cheap deal anyway, he and his family are Blue through and through, and one reason for staying is to build up match experience, which he wouldn't get at Man U or Dortmund (his main suitors). The kid is a genuine phenomenon. If you saw him, and were told he was 22, you'd say, yeah, bright prospect, needs to fill out a bit more, could be a very good player some day. But he's sixteen. And he's bossing Championship midfields. Half the time this season I've just been watching him on the pitch. At a corner against Cardiff I lost him - and so did the Cardiff defence...

The funny thing is all of this could have been avoided had the SPFL run a vote with a 28 day limit and not tell clubs that there would be no money unless they ended the season there and then. Not sure when the initial deadline ran out, but, given games are now going ahead again in Europe, and will soon be in England, all everyone needed to do was sit tight, use the furlough scheme, and re-start the season when ready - or re-think what to do with more information. Instead there's a rush to terminate, a total bodge of the vote, and at least two attempts to float a reconstruction.

When the voters don't vote for you, change the voters.

It was Bonnyrigg's first season at this level and they pushed Kelty hard. They now have the experience of what it takes and may be able to add that bit extra. And perhaps Bo'ness will storm the division the same way as Bonnyrigg did - or at least be good enough to take points from the top teams. Plus there could always be something like Colne Dynamoes. Get denied promotion and the moneymen give up, or the money runs out on an all-or-nothing gamble (seen enough of that in the EFL Championship).