New clubs in the East of Scotland

[quickoverayard]

Don't think he's played much from what I've heard.

Injury?

[Aubrey Maturin]

1 minute ago, quickoverayard said:

 

Injury?

 

I believe he has done his cruciate.

[quickoverayard]

I believe he has done his cruciate.

That's a blow like cracking player

[kefc]

Jordyn will be back in August/September he's not done his cruciate but needs keyhole to fix a small niggling area in his knee unfortunately he is on the waiting list for this which is 8 to 12 weeks, after his keyhole he will be back within 4/6 weeks.

Edited June 4, 2017 by kefc

[Aubrey Maturin]

Just now, kefc said:

Jordyn will be back in August/September he's not done his cruciate but needs keyhole to fix a small niggling area in his knee unfortunately he is on the waiting list for this which is 8 to 12 weeks, after his keyhole he will be back within 4/6 weeks.

That's good news, top player.

[quickoverayard]

Aye that's good news cracking player scores goals for fun and if you do join EOS he will run riot

[calmac25]

Jordyn will be back in August/September he's not done his cruciate but needs keyhole to fix a small niggling area in his knee unfortunately he is on the waiting list for this which is 8 to 12 weeks, after his keyhole he will be back within 4/6 weeks.

Do you know if there are any other applicants for the East of Scotland league?

[LongTimeLurker]

5 hours ago, stanley said:

I'm assuming this is simply a case of the move being approved at the East of Scotland League AGM but I understand if you're not wanting to give too much away.

Looks like it and it would have been a bit off for them to announce they are in before the formal vote is made on that. Will be interesting to see if this will have a domino effect in the years ahead as well as what will happen with the other two alleged applicants.

[HI HAT]

Just a thought that the conspiracy theorists might explore, Kelty this year, another junior per year hoping to skoosh the EOS league and get into the Lowland league, that way they hope to have only one season in the EOS league, thoughts ?

[heedthebaa]

2 hours ago, HI HAT said:

Just a thought that the conspiracy theorists might explore, Kelty this year, another junior per year hoping to skoosh the EOS league and get into the Lowland league, that way they hope to have only one season in the EOS league, thoughts ?

Always thought that tbh and why not, makes sense. The fucking scenes come the end of the season if they're no top will be monumental though  they should win it though 

[FairWeatherFan]

2 hours ago, HI HAT said:

Just a thought that the conspiracy theorists might explore, Kelty this year, another junior per year hoping to skoosh the EOS league and get into the Lowland league, that way they hope to have only one season in the EOS league, thoughts ?

Why not just tack the East Superleague beneath the EoS and this new West Premiership under the SoS

[lionel hutz]

2 hours ago, FairWeatherFan said:

Why not just tack the East Superleague beneath the EoS and this new West Premiership under the SoS

West Teams play mostly in Ayrshire, whilst the SoS are probably poorer and quality and play in Dumfries and Galloway.

Most of the SoS is probably the level of the District Leagues

Edited June 5, 2017 by Marr1

[FairWeatherFan]

2 hours ago, Marr1 said:

West Teams play mostly in Ayrshire, whilst the SoS are probably poorer and quality and play in Dumfries and Galloway.

Most of the SoS is probably the level of the District Leagues

Then the West Premiership champions should be able to skoosh the SoS every year, just like their Eastern counterparts in the EoS

[Salvo Montalbano]

If Kelty do join the East of Scotland League, will they also have to join the Fife FA? Wondering if they'll join the Shipyard in the Fife Cup. 

[LongTimeLurker]

2 hours ago, FairWeatherFan said:

Then the West Premiership champions should be able to skoosh the SoS every year, just like their Eastern counterparts in the EoS

There's only 16 places available in the Lowland League, so there's only so many times the EoS or SoS can be skooshed until there starts to be some stiff competition and if both the east and west teams are skooshing their way through at the same time then there will be a promotion playoff between the EoS and SoS winners at the end of every season with only one of the two being able to progress. The present system isn't really fit for purpose and is designed to scare most junior teams away, but if it works out well for Kelty odds on they won't be the last to make the switch and the SFA will eventually have to address the flaws in the setup they have created.

[Burnie_man]

2 hours ago, LongTimeLurker said:

There's only 16 places available in the Lowland League, so there's only so many times the EoS or SoS can be skooshed until there starts to be some stiff competition and if both the east and west teams are skooshing their way through at the same time then there will be a promotion playoff between the EoS and SoS winners at the end of every season with only one of the two being able to progress. The present system isn't really fit for purpose and is designed to scare most junior teams away, but if it works out well for Kelty odds on they won't be the last to make the switch and the SFA will eventually have to address the flaws in the setup they have created.

It would have been nice for Kelty to have remained in the Juniors and along with other like minded clubs, worked with the SJFA and SFA towards bringing the Juniors into the Pyramid in a structured manner.  Whether other clubs follow remains to be seen but it doesn't change the fact the structure is flawed and the West clubs in reality have nowhere to go if they wanted to follow Kelty (SoS is not a viable option).

[Bundesliga Boy]

6 minutes ago, Burnie_man said:

It would have been nice for Kelty to have remained in the Juniors and along with other like minded clubs, worked with the SJFA and SFA towards bringing the Juniors into the Pyramid in a structured manner.  Whether other clubs follow remains to be seen but it doesn't change the fact the structure is flawed and the West clubs in reality have nowhere to go if they wanted to follow Kelty (SoS is not a viable option).

Million percent spot on re West clubs. Very frustrating but I'm optimistic a solution will be found in due course. 

[Robert James]

2 hours ago, Burnie_man said:

It would have been nice for Kelty to have remained in the Juniors and along with other like minded clubs, worked with the SJFA and SFA towards bringing the Juniors into the Pyramid in a structured manner.  Whether other clubs follow remains to be seen but it doesn't change the fact the structure is flawed and the West clubs in reality have nowhere to go if they wanted to follow Kelty (SoS is not a viable option).

The solution is simple. The ambitious West clubs propose a West of Scotland (Senior) League to the SFA, which feeds direct into the Lowland League, with the champion club being promoted each season. The SoSL clubs who want to progress within the pyramid, would be offered places in the new WoSL, alongside the West Junior sides. Otherwise the SoSL becomes a feeder league to the WSL

A similar set up (champion club promoted to the Lowland) could exist in the East, with the top 4 or 5 ambitious 'seniors' being joined by (say) 10 junior sides initially. The remaining EoSL clubs would become a feeder as above..  

As a carrot, the SFA could grant the junior clubs who join the new WoSL or the integrated EoSL/ER Superleague, immediate entry to the SFA Cup for a maximum period of 2 years to enable them to obtain a licence. The SJFA Cup would be opened up to Lowland and Highland clubs to participate if they wished to do so. . 

Promotion to the WoSL & EoSL would not be compulsory, as these leagues would have some clubs in membership, who don't wish to (or can't) get licensed. 

"Pyramid Integration by Evolution" 

 

[Afrojim]

5 hours ago, Burnie_man said:

It would have been nice for Kelty to have remained in the Juniors and along with other like minded clubs, worked with the SJFA and SFA towards bringing the Juniors into the Pyramid in a structured manner.  Whether other clubs follow remains to be seen but it doesn't change the fact the structure is flawed and the West clubs in reality have nowhere to go if they wanted to follow Kelty (SoS is not a viable option).

 

2 hours ago, Robert James said:

The solution is simple. The ambitious West clubs propose a West of Scotland (Senior) League to the SFA, which feeds direct into the Lowland League, with the champion club being promoted each season. The SoSL clubs who want to progress within the pyramid, would be offered places in the new WoSL, alongside the West Junior sides. Otherwise the SoSL becomes a feeder league to the WSL

A similar set up (champion club promoted to the Lowland) could exist in the East, with the top 4 or 5 ambitious 'seniors' being joined by (say) 10 junior sides initially. The remaining EoSL clubs would become a feeder as above..  

As a carrot, the SFA could grant the junior clubs who join the new WoSL or the integrated EoSL/ER Superleague, immediate entry to the SFA Cup for a maximum period of 2 years to enable them to obtain a licence. The SJFA Cup would be opened up to Lowland and Highland clubs to participate if they wished to do so. . 

Promotion to the WoSL & EoSL would not be compulsory, as these leagues would have some clubs in membership, who don't wish to (or can't) get licensed. 

"Pyramid Integration by Evolution" 

 

The SFA is under no obligation to accommodate clubs based in South-West Scotland. The EoSL is for clubs based south of the Tay and in the East of Scotland. As the SoSL is an equivalent league on the same tier of the structure as the EoSL then logically it is a league for all clubs based south of the Tay and in the West of Scotland. There is no need for mergers between leagues or for the SFA to start sticking various different leagues in at tier 6/tier 7 just to keep some clubs happy. The SFA's only obligations are to set the licensing criteria and make sure that the system is an egalitarian one which is open to all clubs that wish to become licensed and participate. East Kilbride, Cumbernauld Colts, BSC Glasgow, Edusport Academy (who were based in Hamilton at the time of application) and now Bonnyton Thistle have all applied and chosen to participate in the pyramid structure, all of these clubs are/were based in traditional West Region junior territory, none of these clubs seem to regret having joined. Having seen the progress and relative success of these clubs how many other well run community clubs in the region are weighing up the possibility of getting a license and joining the current structure? The reality is that the SFA has to do nothing at all in regards to enticing the junior clubs to join. Nor do they have to do anything to please clubs in the SoSL. Clubs have joined and more clubs will choose to do so in the future.

The main issue is not the current structure and the geographical areas that each league theoretically incorporates but rather the issue is the current geographical imbalances within certain leagues. The SoSL is full of teams from Dumfries & Galloway (except one new club) and the Lowland League is very East-centric. The only way to redress these issues is for clubs to participate fully. If Wigtown, St. Cuthberts, Threave etc. compete for and accept promotion to the Lowland League then the LL becomes a lot less East heavy. If the West Region junior clubs have an issue with the SoSL being dominated by clubs from D&G then the best way to deal with that is for them to get licenses and join the league, by doing so they help the SoSL become a league which covers a far larger geographical area - an area similar to the size covered by the EoSL. If the junior clubs decide against joining then that is their loss, there are other clubs that will choose to join anyway. 

[craigkillie]

The SFA isn't under any obligation to do anything, but this isn't about "obligation".  It's about creating the best structure for non-league football in Scotland, and at the moment we don't have that, even if the current system represents an improvement on what went before (IMO).  While I think Junior clubs should have engaged more in the initial process, that doesn't mean that there can't be renewed efforts to engage them at this stage, and creating a "West of Scotland League" would be one way to do that.

It's very easy to say that Junior clubs should just join the South of Scotland league, but that would represent a huge gamble for any individual club which chose to do so.  Travelling costs would rise, away gates would decrease, and while they would comfortably win the league, promotion would not be guaranteed given that they would still have to play the EoS champions.  At the moment, if, say, Kirkintilloch wanted to join the pyramid, they would be joining a league where their closest match would be 90 mins away (Nithsdale) and most would be over 2 hours.  It's still a gamble for Kelty to move to the EoS, but it's much less of a gamble since they are moving into a stronger league (albeit still one they should win) and won't see much change in travelling costs.

At the moment, we have a fairly "loose" pyramid where the geographical areas covered by each league below Tier 5 haven't really been clearly defined.  That's a fairly natural consequence of the way the leagues were integrated together, since the only existing senior leagues in the south region didn't really cover the biggest population centre in the region.  That poses a problem for the SFA in terms of licensing - it's fine for new clubs along the lines of Edusport, BSC Glasgow and Cumbernauld Colts to join the South of Scotland League, because they don't really have an alternative if they want to get up and running, but it is a big deterrent in terms of getting existing West Juniors sides licensed, since they would have to make the big step outlined above.

The last few years have proved that the pyramid is feasible and has helped improve standards on and off the pitch at non-league senior level (IMO, again), but the next step should be to build bridges with Junior football to integrate them with the senior non-league clubs.  The current Lowland League would be all the better for having the likes of Glenafton, Auchinleck, Bonnyrigg and, of course, Kelty involved, and if it's at all possible to make that happen, then that should be the number 1 priority in the Lowland Region.