Junior football, what is the future?

[Goalie Hamish]

4 minutes ago, Mr Illustrious said:

 

Would you you like to buy a vowel?

Awe FFS yer back take some of yer ain advice ya fucking muppet

[Goalie Hamish]

15 minutes ago, Jason King said:

So you want the entire pyramid to be based around Linlithgow and whats best for you as an individual!

My god, what conceited arrogance around the pyramid and Linlithgows place in it. Bringing a bottle of juice to a ground isn't a silly restriction and its only an oversight in legislation that means you are allowed bottles of ginger in Junior grounds.

A proper LL is in place already with the top placed clubs already in it, hopefully Kelty will be there next season - your clubs  had the opportunity to join but missed the boat that's no ones fault but your club and committee.

Kelty are miles ahead of Lithgae now

[Glenconner]

Minimum pricing will impact on a lot of Junior clubs.

£11.50 for 3 litres of Frosty Jack's.

Sad sad day for the young team.

[Mr Illustrious]

58 minutes ago, Burnie_man said:

Wow I have more influence that I could ever have imagined, when do I get my blazer?

 

[Auld Heid]

36 minutes ago, Jason King said:

So you want the entire pyramid to be based around Linlithgow and whats best for you as an individual!

My god, what conceited arrogance around the pyramid and Linlithgows place in it. Bringing a bottle of juice to a ground isn't a silly restriction and its only an oversight in legislation that means you are allowed bottles of ginger in Junior grounds.

A proper LL is in place already with the top placed clubs already in it, hopefully Kelty will be there next season - your clubs  had the opportunity to join but missed the boat that's no ones fault but your club and committee.

Don't most people view such things through the eyes of their club and personal viewpoints?

Not everyone is well informed on the pyramid and concept - many in Linlithgow have  views based upon Project Fear as proper discussion hasn't happened (not many follow P&B) and coverage in the Times, Guardian and County Life of the Pyramid has been Nil.

A LL is in place - but if it's a proper or not is another debate.  (I think the apathy of the SJFA at the start hindered that)

[Duraglit shareholder]

Surely for the pyramid to be a success,the structure of the present league system must be addressed.There is no way Scotland requires 4 professional divisions,2 leagues playing home and away would negate the repetitive nature of league football in this country and with maybe 3up and 3 down would make the pyramid more open and attractive to non league teams, than the present one place available.It also makes the prospect of playing the big boys not to far away, for teams with ambition, its what a pyramid is intended to achieve.

[Marten]

5 minutes ago, Duraglit shareholder said:

Surely for the pyramid to be a success,the structure of the present league system must be addressed.There is no way Scotland requires 4 professional divisions,2 leagues playing home and away would negate the repetitive nature of league football in this country and with maybe 3up and 3 down would make the pyramid more open and attractive to non league teams, than the present one place available.It also makes the prospect of playing the big boys not to far away, for teams with ambition, its what a pyramid is intended to achieve.

I agree with you. Unfortunately, I think there is no way the SPL will become a larger league with teams playing each other twice. They want 2 certain clubs to play each other 4 times a season for commercial/TV interests. However, there is no reason why the 3 divisions below can't become 2 divisions of 16 with clubs playing each other twice. That surely would be better for the attractiveness of those leagues?  If the loss of fixtures is a problem to those clubs, there are always ways to compensate that through a cup or something.

[Robert James]

22 minutes ago, Duraglit shareholder said:

Surely for the pyramid to be a success,the structure of the present league system must be addressed.There is no way Scotland requires 4 professional divisions,2 leagues playing home and away would negate the repetitive nature of league football in this country and with maybe 3up and 3 down would make the pyramid more open and attractive to non league teams, than the present one place available.It also makes the prospect of playing the big boys not to far away, for teams with ambition, its what a pyramid is intended to achieve.

Whilst this isn't a post about the SPFL, I do agree that the stronger the pyramid gets (let's hope the West gets a senior league), the greater the need for an SPFL re-alignment becomes obvious. So here is my suggestion:

* SPFL Premiership remains at 12 teams. I don't like the 'cut' , but the TV revenue dictates that at least 4 Old Firm derbies are needed each season

* Championship becomes a 16 team division (no more playing each other 4 times a season) as 6 Division 1 clubs are promoted to it

* Division 1 also becomes a 16 team division,  comprised of the remaining 4 Division 1 clubs + 10 Division 2 clubs +  2 promoted clubs, ie the Highland & Lowland champions (with no relegation for one season only)

* Division 2 is scrapped

* Highland & Lowland Leagues also set at 16 clubs (the HFL may need to temporarily retain 17, pending the Fort William outcome

*  the bottom club in the realigned Division One, to be relegated automatically each season (ie without participating in a 'relegation' play-off), replaced by the Lowland/Highland Play-off winners .

If the above is implemented, the HFL and the SLL become Tier 5 (not tier 6) in the pyramid, as there would be one less SPFL tier, and overall a simplified/more competitive pyramid structure.  

 

        

[tombrown]

the pyrimid below spfl needed to be sorted first as a way of putting presure on them to change.its been confirmed the lowland are seeking to agree relegating two teams from next season.again if the eos or sos go to a structure of 32 teams at level 6 dont think there will be another setup allowed to compete at that level would be level 7.but these leagues sit on the pyrimid board along with lowland and highland leagues.think there might be a case of clubs being big fish in a ever smaller bowl.if when the w.o.s league starts.which i think will be sooner rather than later.

[Stag Nation]

4 hours ago, Auld Heid said:

At Linlithgow we have refused to enter into meaningful conversation on what change would mean for our club.   Our crowds are dwindling, in 2013, I ran 2 buses (5 to the final) yet last season couldn't fill a 16 seater to the semi.  Lifelong supporters now regularly go elsewhere (Rangers, Hibs and Hamilton to name but a few)

They've left you to watch Rangers? Things are worse than you think ...

[Truthteller]

It’s all about the money ££££££££££££££££££££££££££££££££

[GordonS]

2 hours ago, Jason King said:

So you want the entire pyramid to be based around Linlithgow and whats best for you as an individual!

Nope. I didn't say anything like that at all. I said what I prefer, I've never said that's what anyone else should want or what should happen. In fact I've said the opposite several times on this thread.

Calm doon.

[GordonS]

 

3 hours ago, Auld Heid said:

I'm largely with you GordonS - It's great you are starting to ask questions...

I'm not "starting to ask questions", I know the pyramid is here and it's just a question of when and how.

The desperate rearguard action to feed the ERSJFA directly into the LL parallel to the EoS and SoS isn't what I'd choose either. I've always thought it nuts than Linlithgow Rose weren't in the same branch of football as Spartans, Tranent as Preston Athletic, Arniston as Whitehill Welfare. I'd love a merger at non-league level and I know it would be for the best for everyone.

With the exodus this year I fear we've missed the boat. Will EoS go to two divisions? When the inevitable happens and we make the jump, will that mean we end up going in at Tier7??? I'd hoped us, Bo'ness, Bonnyrigg and Kelty at least would stick together and move at the same time - now we're split into three.

My only real objection to the pyramid is how deeply unappealing the bottom two divisions of the SPFL are. But that's now a much smaller risk than sticking in the ERSJFA. It's time to go.

Edited May 1, 2018 by GordonS

[peasy23]

As I pointed out when it was discussed at our AGM, if the proposal for the West and East regions to slot in at tier 6 alongside the EOS and SOS leagues comes to fruition, then almost nothing changes for the vast majority of Junior clubs. If your club then doesn't want to get a license then you don't have to worry about going into the Lowland League. It really is that simple.

[bendan]

27 minutes ago, Truthteller said:

It’s all about the money ££££££££££££££££££££££££££££££££

Ironically, this has always been my perception of the juniors over the years. Clubs paying decent money to players, yet no ground improvements, youth or women's programmes. Of course, there have been exceptions.

[kefc]

2 minutes ago, GordonS said:

 

I'm not "starting to ask questions", I know the pyramid is here and it's just a question of when and how.

The desperate rearguard action to feed the ERSJFA directly into the LL parallel to the EoS and SoS isn't what I'd choose either. I've always thought it nuts than Linlithgow Rose weren't in the same branch of football as Spartans, Tranent as Preston Athletic, Arniston as Whitehill Welfare. I'd love a merger at non-league level and I know it would be for the best for everyone.

With the exodus this year I fear we've missed the boat. Will EoS go to two divisions? When the inevitable happens and we make the jump, will that mean we end up going in at Tier7??? I'd hoped us, Bo'ness, Bonnyrigg and Kelty at least would stick together and move at the same time - now we're split into three.

My only real objection to the pyramid is how deeply unappealing the bottom two divisions of the SPFL are. But that's now a much smaller risk than sticking in the ERSJFA. It's time to go.

Your committee point blank turned down the chance to engage in any chat and a meeting with Kelty, Boness and Bonnyrigg. 2 of these clubs have now took their destiny into their own hands.

[GordonS]

3 hours ago, G4Mac said:

That being said, to draw comparisons from cup games, is something I wouldnt agree with. These games are one off games where anything can happen. To say you haven't seen a LL game, then suggest any side would progress quickly through it, can't be prudent surely? You are though entitled to hold that belief, however having seen lots of LL games and league 2 games I don't think the difficulty of progressing through these leagues should be underestimated using one off games. 

Agree with everything else you said, but just to point out, I said I've never seen a LL team beat Linlithgow Rose, not that I'd never seen a LL game. I meant Rose have beaten every LL, EoS and SoS team they've faced in the cup, and all but one HL team, usually with plenty to spare.

I've been to two-thirds of the LL grounds and seen a few games. The standard has shot up in the past few years but if Linlithgow Rose were in it now I'd still expect them to be competitive right away. But that's not going to happen, obviously.

You can't read anything into one cup game, but you can read a lot into 10 years of cup games. 

[GordonS]

4 minutes ago, kefc said:

Your committee point blank turned down the chance to engage in any chat and a meeting with Kelty, Boness and Bonnyrigg. 2 of these clubs have now took their destiny into their own hands.

I think you're looking for an argument where there isn't one.

[GlamourBaws]

not 100% true, but the point you make is correct I believe.

As i understand it (and i may be incorrect), the club were invited to send someone to this meeting, and that invitation was refused. Whether the committee were made aware of it is another question entirely. 

[GordonS]

4 hours ago, Burnie_man said:

You didn't have a point, and you didn't answer my question.

You didn't ask a question, you were trying to make the same point again.