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New clubs in the East of Scotland


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Just now, Ginaro said:

No shit, that's why I listed the various assumptions. Though if I had the deciding vote I'd go for Linlithgow instead of Whitehill in the LL.

Well if the clubs decided to go with three tiers instead of two regional divisions then the bottom three or four in each conference would need to drop down to tier 8. They would have a much more competitive season than they are now.

2 or 3 tiers is going to largely depend on the types of clubs that come across, if any from the Juniors.  Right now if all that's being added is Selkirk and Syngenta, I think 3 tiers might be the preferred option for a lot of clubs near the bottom.

 image.png.4122a42d07fe3369018757b93d84871a.png

With that someone gets a Division Championship for their trophy cabinet, and one or two others get the joy of promotion at the end of the season. The regionalised alternative could see a lot of them mid table or battling to avoid bottom in their division.

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More than one West Lothian Junior club has regretted not moving to the EoS this season. Now, whether that means they are still of a mind to move next season who knows given the pish circulating at the moment about ERJFA in tier 6, however the fact remains that Fauldhouse and Whitburn will be faced with the same sort of travel most weeks that they do this season if they remain, and we know that both Pumpherston and Bathgate wanted no part in the Superleague this season.  Pumphy look strong favourites for promotion, will they refuse it?

So if nothing much happens as far as a formal agreement is concerned, we could see more clubs jump, further weakening the ERJFA.

Edited by Burnie_man
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I believe that it is important that clubs should be allowed to play at an appropriate level as soon as practically possible.  The EOS showed a very even hand which allowed in so many former ERSJFA clubs this season. The Conference idea is being used to allow clubs to find their own level as quickly as possible. Surely we don't want to see so many mis-matches again next season!

This season there's 39 EOS, Syngenta and Selkirk waiting in the wings(?) and approximately 18 (?) ERSJFA clubs from south of the Tay Bridge so in the region of 59 clubs, ignoring relegation and promotion for now. This could split into four divisions of 15/14 clubs and could go to 4x 16 clubs max.

Assuming that in 2019/20 there will be a Premier Division then, below that, hold out an olive branch to the remaining (south of Tay Bridge) Juniors by letting them enter  en masse with their own Division One of up to 16 clubs which would sit parallel to an existing Division One for current clubs. There could be a Division Two for existing clubs too which could take in the lowest existing ERSJFA clubs.

In 2020/21 go for a single Division One and a regionalised Division Two.

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6 minutes ago, Dev said:

I believe that it is important that clubs should be allowed to play at an appropriate level as soon as practically possible.  The EOS showed a very even hand which allowed in so many former ERSJFA clubs this season. The Conference idea is being used to allow clubs to find their own level as quickly as possible. Surely we don't want to see so many mis-matches again next season!

This season there's 39 EOS, Syngenta and Selkirk waiting in the wings(?) and approximately 18 (?) ERSJFA clubs from south of the Tay Bridge so in the region of 59 clubs, ignoring relegation and promotion for now. This could split into four divisions of 15/14 clubs and could go to 4x 16 clubs max.

Assuming that in 2019/20 there will be a Premier Division then, below that, hold out an olive branch to the remaining (south of Tay Bridge) Juniors by letting them enter  en masse with their own Division One of up to 16 clubs which would sit parallel to an existing Division One for current clubs. There could be a Division Two for existing clubs too which could take in the lowest existing ERSJFA clubs.

In 2020/21 go for a single Division One and a regionalised Division Two.

Clydebank could be playing in that set up in 9 months

z

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52 minutes ago, Dev said:

I believe that it is important that clubs should be allowed to play at an appropriate level as soon as practically possible.  The EOS showed a very even hand which allowed in so many former ERSJFA clubs this season. The Conference idea is being used to allow clubs to find their own level as quickly as possible. Surely we don't want to see so many mis-matches again next season!

This season there's 39 EOS, Syngenta and Selkirk waiting in the wings(?) and approximately 18 (?) ERSJFA clubs from south of the Tay Bridge so in the region of 59 clubs, ignoring relegation and promotion for now. This could split into four divisions of 15/14 clubs and could go to 4x 16 clubs max.

Assuming that in 2019/20 there will be a Premier Division then, below that, hold out an olive branch to the remaining (south of Tay Bridge) Juniors by letting them enter  en masse with their own Division One of up to 16 clubs which would sit parallel to an existing Division One for current clubs. There could be a Division Two for existing clubs too which could take in the lowest existing ERSJFA clubs.

In 2020/21 go for a single Division One and a regionalised Division Two.

That is a pretty decent idea, an 18 team "Junior" division for next season made up solely of WL and Fife Junior clubs. The top 8 of that, along with the top 8 of an EoS First Division form a "new" integrated EoS First Division for 2020-2021. The winners of both divisions get promoted to the EoS Premier for 2020-2021.

The remaining 10 "Junior Division" clubs then integrate with the remaining EoS clubs into levels below for 2020-2021, perhaps an EoS Second division, or regional divisions.

The fly in the ointment is of course the Tayside clubs, you could I suppose operate an 18 team Tayside League for next season as a temporary measure until the issue of what happens in the North is resolved.

 

Edited by Burnie_man
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2 minutes ago, FairWeatherFan said:

Then it's not a fixed boundary and Dundee clubs should get the option to be under the Lowland league ;)

:lol:  I personally think the boundary line should wiggle a bit to include Perthshire clubs anyway.  There doesn't really need to be a line, Fife = LL, Tayside/Perth = HL.

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Entry criteria for next season has appeared on EOSL website (link is Word doc).

https://www.eosfl.com/downloads/eosfl/EoSFL-Entry-Criteria-2018.docx


No surprises - basically an enclosed ground with railed pitch, and adequate dressing rooms in a pavilion.

Toilets for spectators, signage and basic first aid/medical provision all mandatory.

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50 minutes ago, HibeeJibee said:

Entry criteria for next season has appeared on EOSL website (link is Word doc).

https://www.eosfl.com/downloads/eosfl/EoSFL-Entry-Criteria-2018.docx


No surprises - basically an enclosed ground with railed pitch, and adequate dressing rooms in a pavilion.

Toilets for spectators, signage and basic first aid/medical provision all mandatory.

image.png.432413881502d67017e91998b7ef75db.png

https://www.eosfl.com/

EDIT: Some might look at that list of entry criteria and get scared off applying because they won't have everything in place for 31st March 2019. In which case the EoSFL has thought of that with their last criterion and looks like once again they aren't trying to scare clubs off from applying by offering a possible grace period for getting everything in place.

image.png.cf80a90fb1d8d53435b98bdf6a4c44c0.png

Edited by FairWeatherFan
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3 hours ago, HibeeJibee said:

Entry criteria for next season has appeared on EOSL website (link is Word doc).

https://www.eosfl.com/downloads/eosfl/EoSFL-Entry-Criteria-2018.docx

No surprises - basically an enclosed ground with railed pitch, and adequate dressing rooms in a pavilion.

Toilets for spectators, signage and basic first aid/medical provision all mandatory.

Interesting, good to have the criteria out in the open. Back when they had the "pie price" meeting I'm sure someone said that Thornton's ground wouldn't be accepted by the EoS. Maybe they had read the criteria and decided against joining because they'd need to erect a fence around most of the pitch (which is open in a public park).

I wonder how many Juniors already meet, or can soon meet, the EoS criteria - and whether the EoS would relax the criteria for teams below the 6th tier - especially as it could encourage all of the Juniors to join?

Does anyone know how different the ERSJFA requirements are?

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12 minutes ago, Ginaro said:

Interesting, good to have the criteria out in the open. Back when they had the "pie price" meeting I'm sure someone said that Thornton's ground wouldn't be accepted by the EoS. Maybe they had read the criteria and decided against joining because they'd need to erect a fence around most of the pitch (which is open in a public park).

I wonder how many Juniors already meet, or can soon meet, the EoS criteria - and whether the EoS would relax the criteria for teams below the 6th tier - especially as it could encourage all of the Juniors to join?

Does anyone know how different the ERSJFA requirements are?

I don't believe they've set out the criteria like this in previous years. When they would announce on their website that applications were open it was usually just the application form they would promote. The criteria documents maye being tucked away amongst other documents.

While some might take the criteria as becoming more stringent, I take it as being more helpful. Last year there was the case of the Amatuer team being asked to withdraw an application so that it wouldn't be rejected. Having this guidance more publicly available should avoid things like that going forward.

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Tbh, it looks a fairly well-balanced set of basic criteria, without allowing open parks, shared dressing rooms etc. Some people would call for cover, tannoy, catering too.

Grace period is sensible given a few criteria use minimum specs - bench/dugout sizes, number of seats in dressing rooms, number of showers - but you may get odd variations or clubs with incomplete/pending works.

Essentially you need an enclosed ground; inside it a suitable pitch etc. within a barrier; satisfactory dressing rooms; safe fan area with toilets and signage; basic first aid and ambulance access.

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1 hour ago, Ginaro said:

Interesting, good to have the criteria out in the open. Back when they had the "pie price" meeting I'm sure someone said that Thornton's ground wouldn't be accepted by the EoS. Maybe they had read the criteria and decided against joining because they'd need to erect a fence around most of the pitch (which is open in a public park)...

The Inverkeithing team got in with what's basically an open pitch in a public park. Maybe the issue was more whether they could realistically hope to upgrade it over a grace period after getting in?

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27 minutes ago, LongTimeLurker said:

The Inverkeithing team got in with what's basically an open pitch in a public park. Maybe the issue was more whether they could realistically hope to upgrade it over a grace period after getting in?

Inverkeithing have some basic orange mesh fencing set back from the railings to restrict entry (meeting criteria #1) which Thornton could add to actually be able to collect an entry fee. Both would need to add wooden fencing or something to meet criteria #2, shouldn't be too difficult for Thornton but with highland games I'm thinking Inverkeithing might never actually do it?

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Inverkeithing have some basic orange mesh fencing set back from the railings to restrict entry (meeting criteria #1) which Thornton could add to actually be able to collect an entry fee. Both would need to add wooden fencing or something to meet criteria #2, shouldn't be too difficult for Thornton but with highland games I'm thinking Inverkeithing might never actually do it?
The locals were just stepping over the mesh when we played them.

You also need to exit to go to toilets, changing rooms and pie hut.
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59 minutes ago, Auld Heid said:

The locals were just stepping over the mesh when we played them.

You also need to exit to go to toilets, changing rooms and pie hut.

Got to leave Penicuik to access the toilets.  Decent wee ground in every other way.

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