Dev Posted March 13 Share Posted March 13 2 hours ago, patriot1 said: I think the issue is that in the west any team that wants to enter the pyramid and has a bit of money to invest to create a team that will progress through the ranks now has to become amateur. what happens if they want to pay their playing squad? Why should they be forced to join an organisation they have no interest in? There is a track record of west clubs entering the SoS as a way into the Pyramid, then getting licenced and ending up in the LL. Given the current 80 club limit of the WoS maybe that could happen again? 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stanley Posted March 13 Share Posted March 13 (edited) Things are, at least, pretty straightforward in the east. Plenty of spaces in the league if any club wants to join (unlike the closed shop in the west). A regionalised set of amateur leagues below for clubs to apply from (LEAFA, Kingdom of Fife, Borders, Stirlingshire) unlike the west (three Saturday afternoon leagues, Ayrshire league, Saturday morning leagues etc). The only complicated aspect is the Stirlingshire clubs being in various leagues. I would imagine that, over time, the amateur leagues will continue to shrink. Eventually, perhaps the remaining clubs will join up with the seniors. The LEAFA, in particular, has declined massively in numbers in recent years. The Stirlingshire league is clinging on and unlikely to still be around in a few years as it has lost most of its clubs to the west leagues. Edited March 13 by stanley 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spyro Posted March 13 Share Posted March 13 18 minutes ago, stanley said: .... The Stirlingshire league is clinging on and unlikely to still be around in a few years as it has lost most of its clubs to the west leagues. Kincardine incoming... I wonder if anyone in the Stirling league might see it as a better option to make an attempt at applying for the EoS, rather than joining LEAFA or KoF or whatever other amateur league? The travel might not be much more in EoS Div 3 than joining a west league. Players can still be amateur, just need a ground (easy...!) 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Burnieman Posted March 13 Share Posted March 13 56 minutes ago, stanley said: Things are, at least, pretty straightforward in the east. Plenty of spaces in the league if any club wants to join (unlike the closed shop in the west). A regionalised set of amateur leagues below for clubs to apply from (LEAFA, Kingdom of Fife, Borders, Stirlingshire) unlike the west (three Saturday afternoon leagues, Ayrshire league, Saturday morning leagues etc). The only complicated aspect is the Stirlingshire clubs being in various leagues. I would imagine that, over time, the amateur leagues will continue to shrink. Eventually, perhaps the remaining clubs will join up with the seniors. The LEAFA, in particular, has declined massively in numbers in recent years. The Stirlingshire league is clinging on and unlikely to still be around in a few years as it has lost most of its clubs to the west leagues. Is Amateur football declining simply because there's less players, less people playing "social" football? 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stanley Posted March 13 Share Posted March 13 50 minutes ago, Burnieman said: Is Amateur football declining simply because there's less players, less people playing "social" football? There's a couple of good threads in the amateur football section on here about it. Numbers or teams have gone from 800+ ten years ago to 400+ now. I'm not really best placed to comment on the reasons. Certainly fewer people playing in general but various other factors. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Basile Boli Posted March 13 Share Posted March 13 1 hour ago, Spyro said: Kincardine incoming... I wonder if anyone in the Stirling league might see it as a better option to make an attempt at applying for the EoS, rather than joining LEAFA or KoF or whatever other amateur league? The travel might not be much more in EoS Div 3 than joining a west league. Players can still be amateur, just need a ground (easy...!) 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. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Burnieman Posted March 13 Share Posted March 13 12 minutes ago, Basile Boli said: 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. But your assertion is that clubs wanting to join the Pyramid should join a league like this for an indeterminate period of time before being able to apply to join a senior league. You've just holed your whole argument below the waterline. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spyro Posted March 13 Share Posted March 13 (edited) 17 minutes ago, Basile Boli said: 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. Yeah I think you are right. There are towns there that have previously, and probably could still have a small team, but a decent, functional amateur league will be their main priority. 1 hour ago, Burnieman said: Is Amateur football declining simply because there's less players, less people playing "social" football? Having to work weekend shifts at the time killed it for a lot of people. The costs now, the general hassle (dealing with Edinburgh Leisure therefore not playing for months on end), there are lots of other things to do that are much less hassle. Referees not being looked after, or trained properly by the SFA The SAFA being invisible and not really doing much to improve their 'product'. Players only playing if they get paid in some way That's just what immediately springs to mind Edited March 13 by Spyro 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Basile Boli Posted March 13 Share Posted March 13 1 hour ago, Burnieman said: But your assertion is that clubs wanting to join the Pyramid should join a league like this for an indeterminate period of time before being able to apply to join a senior league. You've just holed your whole argument below the waterline. 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? 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
patriot1 Posted March 13 Share Posted March 13 1 minute ago, Basile Boli said: 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? Why should they be forced to become amateur when they may want to play their players? 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Burnieman Posted March 13 Share Posted March 13 13 minutes ago, Basile Boli said: 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? Take a step back. If the amateur league covering a particular area has no member clubs close to being at a level to move to senior football [your words] or have any ambition to, how can it be an attractive place to play for clubs that are? why should any club waste their time playing in that environment for an indeterminate period of time with no guarantee at the end of it? why do they need to, what is the benefit? none of it makes any sense. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
parsforlife Posted March 13 Share Posted March 13 20 minutes ago, patriot1 said: Why should they be forced to become amateur when they may want to play their players? Agree with that the only time it will be possible to have proper link up between amateur and pro leagues are when we get rid of amateur status. A player is a player, a club is a club and the financial arrangements between the two(within reason) are up to them, shouldn’t matter what league there in. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Basile Boli Posted March 13 Share Posted March 13 16 minutes ago, Burnieman said: Take a step back. If the amateur league covering a particular area has no member clubs close to being at a level to move to senior football [your words] or have any ambition to, how can it be an attractive place to play for clubs that are? why should any club waste their time playing in that environment for an indeterminate period of time with no guarantee at the end of it? why do they need to, what is the benefit? none of it makes any sense. 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. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Burnieman Posted March 13 Share Posted March 13 2 minutes ago, Basile Boli said: You’re 100% correct there, there’s no benefit and it makes no sense. None of it makes any sense, regardless of which amateur league is involved. Your post merely underlined it. Let clubs outside of the Pyramid choose whatever path best suits them/prepares them for any future application to senior football. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Burnieman Posted March 13 Share Posted March 13 19 minutes ago, parsforlife said: Agree with that the only time it will be possible to have proper link up between amateur and pro leagues are when we get rid of amateur status. A player is a player, a club is a club and the financial arrangements between the two(within reason) are up to them, shouldn’t matter what league there in. Agreed, it's a fairly outdated principle and one which England got rid of in 1974. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FairWeatherFan Posted March 13 Share Posted March 13 So Letham would be an EoSFL club these days? 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Basile Boli Posted March 13 Share Posted March 13 3 hours ago, Burnieman said: None of it makes any sense, regardless of which amateur league is involved. Your post merely underlined it. Let clubs outside of the Pyramid choose whatever path best suits them/prepares them for any future application to senior football. Selectively using quotes out of context again to suit your argument. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Burnieman Posted March 13 Share Posted March 13 2 hours ago, Basile Boli said: Selectively using quotes out of context again to suit your argument. Not at all, feel free to counter anything I've said. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FairWeatherFan Posted March 31 Share Posted March 31 Deadline day. Take it there's been no serious interest? 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Burnieman Posted April 4 Share Posted April 4 On 31/03/2024 at 08:06, FairWeatherFan said: Deadline day. Take it there's been no serious interest? Two I believe, both B/Reserve teams. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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