Basile Boli

I would say that judging by the fact that it is Ali Adams that he is far from blameless in this situation. An absolute banger who has been chased from every club he’s been at.

Said it before on this forum but Steins would literally be perfect for the jump to WoS or EoS facilities wise. Better than nearly all of East 3 and West 4 bar a few teams and playing squad wise probably on a par too. Traditionally been an East Region side when entering cups too. If the amateur level declines further I could see them being an early jumper, especially if the SPAFA is as poor as anticipated next season.

Sandys are an absolute fucking gang.

Standard of the top amateur teams like Lesmahagow AFC were are similar to Division 3 and certainly better than Division 4. Whether a full team plus management would move en-masse to a club is a different question.

I get that, but if I asked my mates and footballing acquaintances who are not as clued up on the non-league scene as you or I if they knew of the Junior Cup or the South Challenge Cup I know which way the answer would be heavily skewed towards. I think that is worth something.

Can we not just amalgamate the South Challenge Cup and the Junior Cup and call it the Junior Cup? Name recognition of the Junior Cup twinned with having every club in the south region involved. Sounds a win-win to me.

Good joke.

Selectively using quotes out of context again to suit your argument.

You’re 100% correct there, there’s no benefit and it makes no sense. If I was picking a league to join in that scenario the SDAFA would be close to, if not bottom of the list. I originally replied to a poster wondering if the SDAFA would have teams looking to go EOS. You jumped on my post to bring up a completely different argument.

Right so why would other clubs in a league not having the desire/ability to pursue being a Senior club stop any potential team from joining with that as their end goal?

Would highly doubt that any club currently in the SDAFA would have the facilities, committee or playing squad to join the EOS any time soon.

Nobody can give a decent answer arguing against the SAFA route, it’s “just because”.

And yet we still have posters on here claiming that jumped up boys clubs with no history like St Peters are a worthwhile addition to the league.

Do you want a full pyramid or not?

How many clubs have left the SAFA to go Senior in the last 3 seasons? A handful at most. Off the top of my head, Thorn Athletic, Linlithgow Thistle, Rothie Rovers, West Park United? I’d say the SAFA have more pressing matters to worry about than losing teams to Senior leagues. I think it’s entirely fair for the WOSFL to expect prospective applicant clubs to have at least shown some determination to run an adult mens team instead of just deciding one day to bypass existing amateur leagues because a better option has come up. After all, these boys clubs-turned-senior clubs who’ve joined the pyramid in recent years all preach about a “pathway”. If they’re that serious about having a pathway then already having a functioning mens team should be a non-negotiable.

You haven’t answered my question over 2 threads - surely it is preferable for a team to at least have a mens side playing at amateur level for a given period of time before a WOS space opens up rather than having no mens side at all?

Well it can show the WOS that any prospective team is committed to it. I know they’ve been burned already with Harmony Row jacking it in after 1 season. Who knows how teams like Eglington, Knightswood (to use them As an example) will get on over the next few seasons. They might toil for a few seasons and chuck it - hopefully not but you never know. it could also take years for a spot to open up, and when it does any hypothetical boys club applying will have to compete with hypothetical amateur sides anyway so isn’t it sensible that they’ve been in the amateur leagues during this time? It gives them something to play for every year while they wait for the chance to apply.

A fair amount of the amateur sides across the Caley and Central have better facilities than the majority of Division 4 and a few in Division 3 so would be interesting to see who’ll submit interest.

Why is it madness? If places are at a premium - which they clearly will be - then it makes sense to have a shortlist of clubs who have been committed to running an adult team for a period of time.

Interesting. Hopefully this is the first step in a (long-term) plan to get the amateur leagues to feed into the bottom levels of the non-league pyramid.

Interesting draw for the QF’s and SF’s. Semi Final ties likely to be Shortlees v Sandys and Steins v Cupar in my opinion. Tough to pick a winner from that 4 but going to plump for a Shortlees v Cupar final. Cupar got to be favourites to retain after their dismantling of a very good side in Doune at the weekend.

Wonder if Pather will manage to retain their Sunday squad for Saturdays. I’m sure the £100 a week may sway that decision.

Not the Lurker making an arse of himself as usual!

Out of genuine interest, can you give any examples of this?

Can’t see it. Any half decent team remaining will be quickly left behind competitively. Once St Pats moved my personal feeling was the rest of the decent sides in league wouldn’t be far behind. it’s reminiscent of the exodus from the East Juniors to the EoS a few years back now. Just took a couple teams acting as a catalyst for the rest to follow.