Jacksgranda Posted March 31, 2015 Share Posted March 31, 2015 Teams from wee villages? Shouldn't be a problem, see Forfar, Brechin and Montrose. Two of whom are higher up the divisions than you. I can see why you two wouldn't want any more "village" teams in the SPFL... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hampden Diehard Posted March 31, 2015 Share Posted March 31, 2015 Teams from wee villages? Shouldn't be a problem, see Forfar, Brechin and Montrose. There's wee and there's WEE. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vikingTON Posted March 31, 2015 Share Posted March 31, 2015 I don't think it's remotely bizarre. The HL teams have been railroaded into this and defeats the purpose of why there was a HL set up in the first place. It's a genuine community league representing an area where the clue's in the name that has been running for around 100 years. They've had the experience to cut their cloth, develop their clubs with the limited resources they have that can still produce youth set ups and also provide admission to their fans at what are attractive rates. It's similar to the Juniors and why they didn't want involved. They know their market & quite content with it If they didn't want involved, who forced them to become a part of it? Were Stewart Regan and a squad of hired goons holding guns to their heads when the Highland League sanctioned the changes? That's just part of your laughably rose-tinted view of the issue. Let's not forget that the principle cause of the current wrangling is Brora, a team who have come to attention and league-winning status by, erm, having a local benefactor spunk money on expensive players. Very much the opposite of your Hovis-themed, cloth-cutting description then. Those who do actually cut their cloth would have little to fear, given that the prize money is orders of magnitude higher in the SPFL than the current setup. Just because Brora may have doubts about their Gretna Mk.II setup being appropriate for the national leagues does not give them an automatic veto, by winning the league, over clubs who wish to test their ambition at a national level. The Lowland League is a completely different thing. A group of teams mashed together without very much in common, no particular sense of community or frankly history, but who can't believe their luck that this could be a fast track into the SPFL I seem to recall many of the LL sides having played in a East of Scotland League before the creation of the LL: do they not get to claim the same 'community' and 'history' taglines, just because the league structure has been adjusted? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bankies Alive Posted March 31, 2015 Share Posted March 31, 2015 If they didn't want involved, who forced them to become a part of it? Were Stewart Regan and a squad of hired goons holding guns to their heads when the Highland League sanctioned the changes? From listening to the Brora chairman last night that's exactly what Raygun has done! He spoke of penalties that were going to be imposed if they didn't take part in the play offs! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jacksgranda Posted March 31, 2015 Share Posted March 31, 2015 From listening to the Brora chairman last night that's exactly what Raygun has done! He spoke of penalties that were going to be imposed if they didn't take part in the play offs! That wasn't what vT was driving at. Having agreed to participate in a pyramid, not taking part in the play offs, having qualified for them by winning their league, was bound to incur penalties. Not agreeing to a pyramid would have led to minimal sanctions. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JakeSAFC Posted March 31, 2015 Share Posted March 31, 2015 From listening to the Brora chairman last night that's exactly what Raygun has done! He spoke of penalties that were going to be imposed if they didn't take part in the play offs! If they don't take part in the play offs they should be chucked out the HL. Simple as that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bankies Alive Posted March 31, 2015 Share Posted March 31, 2015 That wasn't what vT was driving at. Having agreed to participate in a pyramid, not taking part in the play offs, having qualified for them by winning their league, was bound to incur penalties. Not agreeing to a pyramid would have led to minimal sanctions.I If they were gong to be minimal then I'm sure that Brora would just have stuck two fingers up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RabidAl Posted March 31, 2015 Share Posted March 31, 2015 Trust me; you won't get many buses from Brora and back for £400. Lob in potential away trips in the three cup competitions as well, and the cost of feeding the players, and you've done in £20k easy. I can't - itemise it for me! Do it. Do it. Do it. If they don't take part in the play offs they should be chucked out the HL. Simple as that. They are going to take part though, so says Mr Young the Chairman. It's more a question of the attitude of the players when the, er, chips are down. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vikingTON Posted March 31, 2015 Share Posted March 31, 2015 From listening to the Brora chairman last night that's exactly what Raygun has done! He spoke of penalties that were going to be imposed if they didn't take part in the play offs! Brora are already in the Highland League, in a pyramid structure within Scottish football: there is no evidence that the Highland League was forced to join the pyramid. That is not the same thing as taking part in the play-offs. And of course on that latter topic, if they didn't take part in play-offs then they should have faced penalties. It's part of the league format and they're members of the league, potentially blocking other clubs from taking part. Which could include an ex-national club as early as next season. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vikingTON Posted March 31, 2015 Share Posted March 31, 2015 If they were gong to be minimal then I'm sure that Brora would just have stuck two fingers up. If Brora didn't want to be part of the new structure, pyramid and all, then they needed to convince other clubs to support their stance when the decision was made, or should have left the league. They evidently failed to convince them and chose not to do the latter. Their time for a corinthian stand on the values of a separate Highland League has passed, and they're now dealing with it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1320Lichtie Posted March 31, 2015 Share Posted March 31, 2015 Two of whom are higher up the divisions than you. I can see why you two wouldn't want any more "village" teams in the SPFL... Aye it's shite times, we need more loaded fermers in and around Arbroath Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RabidAl Posted March 31, 2015 Share Posted March 31, 2015 If Brora didn't want to be part of the new structure, pyramid and all, then they needed to convince other clubs to support their stance when the decision was made, or should have left the league. They evidently failed to convince them and chose not to do the latter. Their time for a corinthian stand on the values of a separate Highland League has passed, and they're now dealing with it. That's true, although you couldn't really blame Brora for not quitting the HL if the pyramid vote went against them - since there wouldn't be any alternative/appetising place for them to play... The SFA and SPFL should have seen this situation coming a mile off and made provision in the rules for the play-off spot to be passed to the next highest-finishing club who were actually interested in being promoted. The SPFL rules allow for a play-off place to be passed down within a division if clubs don't meet licencing criteria for the division above, but there's nothing at all about that in terms of passing down the pyramid play-off place. Funny that, I wonder why? At any rate, they should be looking at sorting it for next season. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BFTD Posted March 31, 2015 Share Posted March 31, 2015 For years down South, they had the same rule for promotion between the Football League and the Conference. The top team has to meet the criteria; if they didn't, there was no relegation, and there was a period in the mid-Nineties when the rule was actually enforced. The Football League changed the rule about ten years ago so that the promotion place is handed to the next-highest club in the league, but these days virtually every team in the Conference is an ex-Football League club anyway, so I presume that would be the main reason the FL were happy to do that. Anyway, I assume the SPFL want to wait until a sizable portion of the Highland and Lowland League clubs meet the entry criteria before they change to a similar set-up. Took a good fifteen years in England, so we'll see. Nobody wants the embarrassment of needing to invite a 5th-placed side to the play-off. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thom & Gerry Posted March 31, 2015 Share Posted March 31, 2015 When pyramid system was muted a fair percentage of HL clubs were not keen on it however after a meeting with Reagan they were told if HL did not want to be part of it they would no longer be in senior set up. The HL chairman Finlay Noble told the P&J at the time the HL had little option but to be part of pyramid system. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
QPSAFalkirkFirm Posted March 31, 2015 Share Posted March 31, 2015 Correct. We could soon have teams from wee villages (Brora's population is about 1200) chuntering up and down the length of Scotland just so that someone can tick a box that a pyramid is in place. Villages like Gretna? Or Shettleston? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clyde01 Posted March 31, 2015 Share Posted March 31, 2015 That's true, although you couldn't really blame Brora for not quitting the HL if the pyramid vote went against them - since there wouldn't be any alternative/appetising place for them to play... The Norwegian league? Probably less travelling for the poor wee souls seeing as they cant afford a bus to Berwick. Doesn't seem to stop them spunking cash on 'marquee' signings from the ict or county retirement home mind you. . . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cyclizine Posted March 31, 2015 Share Posted March 31, 2015 When pyramid system was muted a fair percentage of HL clubs were not keen on it however after a meeting with Reagan they were told if HL did not want to be part of it they would no longer be in senior set up. The HL chairman Finlay Noble told the P&J at the time the HL had little option but to be part of pyramid system. It was more that the SFA would set up new licenced Highland and Lowland Divisions below Division 3 (I think the suggestion was 10 teams each) and the HFL would sit below these, alongside the East and South Leagues. The HFL voted as a majority to become the feeder in its own right (apart from Buckie, who voted against), so since Brora voted yes, they can't really argue... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vinnie-7 Posted April 1, 2015 Share Posted April 1, 2015 Stewart Regan quite rightly telling Brora to shut it and get on with it in the papers today. If it was Nairn County in this position i'd be all for them going all out to try get promotion. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HibeeJibee Posted April 1, 2015 Author Share Posted April 1, 2015 And seemingly Ross Jack (now the Turriff manager) has a column / interview / similar in the Sun where he says they want to go up and criticises Brora for saying they'd have preferred to decline but keep winning HL. Calls it 'immoral' apparently. Certainly the Brora fans are getting hot-n-bothered by it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Poet of the Macabre Posted April 1, 2015 Share Posted April 1, 2015 You tell them Rossco. I remember how Brora almost came in their pants when Sevco came up for a friendly so not surprised they have a village team mentality. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.