[Junior football, what is the future?]

4 hours ago, GordonS said:

It's not. If a large number of clubs want to play football outside their organisation, there's nothing they can do about it. The only levers they have over those outside the umbrella are referees and the 5 Scottish Cup spots. 

It's also a members' organisation.

And it's probably not a bad thing that they haven't ruled Scottish football top-to-bottom with an iron rod, because there's little reason to believe they wouldn't have made things worse.

Maybe given their track record your right a light touch sfa is better than a authoritarian one. 

Please forgive my ignorance on the set up, in Scotland, it is even less centralised than I understood. 

All that I would like to see happen is for a national Scottish pyramid structure for those who want it and alternatives for those who want to opt out, without the self interested getting in the way. 

Good luck to all the clubs in setting up both parts of that both in and out of the pyramid and I hope it works out well for them for whichever option they choose.

 

[Junior football, what is the future?]

22 minutes ago, G4Mac said:

You are missing the point though.

Teams who dont want to be part if the pyramid shouldnt be punished for it, they should still have a league to play in. Your suggestions is unwarranted and very cut throat.

The sfa arent weak for allowing associations to run their own leagues within the pyramid, they are brave and future proofing things so the CEO cant just steamroller clubs into whatever system he chooses.

Playing in the pyramid should be a choice, where every club are free to make their own minds up based on the pros and cons.

Punitive measures for non conformity rarely turn out well, in any circumstance.

 

My main critism was that the SFA dropped the ball 20+ years ago. The things I mentioned should really have started gradually back then. Things will get sorted now despite the SFA and those leagues not under the pyramid will weaken in my opinion, from the English experience, and up at the equivalent of tier 9 or 10 in reality and quality.

As I said I expect the clubs to sort it out themsleves now and make a good job of it. This being either the LL WOS solution or something very close to it, and similar in the North. If clubs want to opt out fine but they will become almost amateur over time. This will happen becase this where Scottish football is where it is now, making the best of a mess an ambivalent sfa has created.

 

[Junior football, what is the future?]

2 hours ago, G4Mac said:

The sfa dont control any of the leagues, the spfl run tier 1 to 4. The LL and HL run tier 5 and the LL eos and sos run tier 6 and below, for clubs under the tay boundary line.

The sfa administer discipline and rules. They dont, rightly so, have the capacity to tell a league to do anything or steamroller anything in.

Which was made clear around a year ago with a 'done deal approach'. Scottish football isnt broken, it is very much alive and can have a bright future. But only if the meddling hands if those out to keep their own jobs remain out of the picture.

 

The SFA is in charge of Scottish Football. It could make it impossible finacially etc for leagues and teams to want  to stay outside the pyramid, but as a weak organisation has chosen not to, that is what I from England, I see at least 2 decades of farce north of the border.

The coming together may happen without them, despite them, true, but the Scottish FA have truly been asleep at the wheel for 30 plus years. Unusually we are doing better south of the border, in many other things we do not, because the English FA has over the years made sure it has accrued enough power to get things done with league and club co-operation.

I truely hope that a system that works for all emerges, and it probably will as people on the ground eventually realise what is good for them even if those at the very top are ignorant.

[Junior football, what is the future?]

As someone south of the border, it is amazing to me how much of a mess Scottish Football is, here are my thoughts for what little they are worth. For me it comes down to a weak FA. If the Scottish FA cared it could be sorted out relitively quickly but as they don't you have the current farce.

 

How could the Scottish FA force the issue, for me by a carrot and stick approach.

To me the Scottish FA should simply say state that you these benefits for these ground conditions to be in the pyramind with automatic promotion and relegation which will go from tier 1 to tier 8 (8 is just an example); Being in pyramid means more grants, more big cups etc. Initialy they could give clubs 5 years to comply to staggered ground requirements for each level. Outside the Pyramid = less grants, no big cups, and the top leagues of all organisations outside the pyramid being step 9.  The difference between the two requirements making the choice stark and obvious for clubs who could then choose as per their ability to sustain a level of football and their aspirations. Clubs outside the pyramid would in future have to apply to join Pyramid and if they met criteria could replace bottom of step 8 clubs, opportunity to progress as circumstances change.

 

If the Scottish FA did this then I believe that all the best players would be inside the Pyramid very soon, and level 9 outside the pyramid would be of a poorer quality. All the Scottish FA has to do is to say from the beginning of season 20/21 or 21/22 this is what will happen, with these criteria. If clubs choose not to join Pyramid fine, but they will finacially be more amateur; The Scottish FA should abolish the amateur / professional distinction. If the Scottish FA did this it would to me get over a lot of the petty politics,.

 

Having read this thread I don't expect any of it to happen.