Junior football, what is the future?

[edinabear]

7 minutes ago, kefc said:

I believe a few current Junior clubs in the West supported by the Lowland League, EOS, and SOS are in talks now about a creation of a West Of Scotland division for next year. 

General consensus is Junior Clubs wanting to stay Junior can, those wanting to be Licenced and part of the pyramid have a choice.

I see absolutely no reason why this couldn't be set up for next season. There's a a blank canvas to do whatever you want. 

 

No point in delaying the inevitable.

[bendan]

29 minutes ago, Jason King said:

What is unappealing about them? If you want to play with the big boys then national leagues are the way ahead, unless you have other reasons than distance for finding them unappealing.

Even now its the likes of Peterhead and Elgin who have to do the travelling every other week. Clubs like Linlithgow or Pollok would have it easy compared to them, and anyway its ruddy Scotland. Its not like we are asking clubs to go from New York to Los Angeles every 14 days.

There are some reasons why the Premiership, and arguably the Championship, might be better having a small number of teams, but I can't see any reason why League 1 and League 2 need to have 10 teams playing each other four times a season. I think playing nationally is ok at the third tier, but why not make it 16 or 18 teams, so you don't have unnecessary repetition. There's no huge gap in ability between top of League 1 and bottom of League 2.

I'd also agree with GordonS and The Judge about cost. 12 quid (or more) is quite high to stand and watch part-time football, and a big increase from the level below.

[Mr Illustrious]

1 hour ago, Goalie Hamish said:

Muppet with multiple ids calls someone a keyboard warrior

Yip I’ve had others but I’m not who Girnieman and the village idiot from Kelty think I am. 

[energyzone]

No, think most teams are happy with the approach although if it doesn’t kick on next season and changes made this season to how the league is run then a few teams will be heading on elsewhere 

Are clubs talking to each other about everything that is happening?

[Mr Illustrious]

6 hours ago, heedthebaa said:

I can’t believe how much he’s got you rattled. You do know there’s an ignore function on here ? 

Thanks I wasn’t aware of that. Will be using it on my next id

[Toffee fan]

That imo should be the aim.
Not against the idea of the juniors being part of the pyramid. It’s how it’s been handled I’m against. Change should be happening through the proper channels and the clubs sticking together. All this thread has done has divided opinion. It’s been a one man crusade from the beginning . 

Been looking back but I don't see the answer. Who is the one man?

[Goalie Hamish]

Yip I’ve had others but I’m not who Girnieman and the village idiot from Kelty think I am. 

Give it up min weve been here before what age are you, ffs juvenile pish

[Toffee fan]

Wow I have more influence that I could ever have imagined, when do I get my blazer? [emoji38]

Well I would got that wrong as I thought he was referring to Isabel G! Need to go back to the start of this thread to make sense of it!

[parkcircus]

46 minutes ago, energyzone said:

2 hours ago, parkcircus said:

No, think most teams are happy with the approach although if it doesn’t kick on next season and changes made this season to how the league is run then a few teams will be heading on elsewhere 

Are clubs talking to each other about everything that is happening?

Some are

[Toffee fan]

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. 

You've hardly been competitive in the Super League recently!

[Mr Illustrious]

9 minutes ago, Goalie Hamish said:

Give it up min weve been here before what age are you, ffs juvenile pish

Feeling you’ve heard this crap before?

You must be suffering from Deja Poo 

[Mr Illustrious]

18 minutes ago, Toffee fan said:

Been looking back but I don't see the answer. Who is the one man?

Ok then, one person.

[Auld Heid]

You've hardly been competitive in the Super League recently!

Hardly is still miles than never...!! So toddle on

[lithgierose]

28 minutes ago, Toffee fan said:

You've hardly been competitive in the Super League recently!

Thats what happens when you go for pish managers.

[Burnie_man]

2 hours ago, kefc said:

I believe a few current Junior clubs in the West supported by the Lowland League, EOS, and SOS are in talks now about a creation of a West Of Scotland division for next year. 

General consensus is Junior Clubs wanting to stay Junior can, those wanting to be Licenced and part of the pyramid have a choice.

If that were to happen it pretty much pulls the rug out from under the SJFA, but as you say at least it would allow those not interested to remain as Junior.

[Auld Heid]

Well its one superleague title in last ten.

And don't forget the 1 Scottish Cup win more than you as well in the same last 10.

[Inanimate Carbon Rod]

If that were to happen it pretty much pulls the rug out from under the SJFA, but as you say at least it would allow those not interested to remain as Junior.

Ive not seen anything to confirm this besides chatter on here!

[Robert James]

4 hours ago, superbigal said:

In the possible scenario that east juniors excluding Tayside become tier 8 and west juniors become tier 6.

I wonder how many would apply from current east to join west.

 

 

In 2019/20 there will probably be 4 or 5 EoS 2nd division vacancies at tier 7 . Presumably these vacancies would be advertised and filled by the strongest East juniors who apply to join the EoS next year. If you don't apply, you can't join. 

Two of the Junior Clubs have already stated an intention to join the pyramid in 2019/20, namely Clydebank (EoS unless a WoSL is formed) and Dundonald (after deferring for 1 year regarding preparatory licensing work), which  probably reduces the number of EoS vacancies (at tier 7) to a couple.

[Toffee fan]

56 minutes ago, Auld Heid said:

 

Hardly is still miles than never...!! So toddle on

 

Your pal is talking about Linlithgow being world beaters just about, hence my comment. No one is on about my team, so no need to toddle on!

This will be the 5th year that your team hasn’t won the league, so surely your team’s expectations should be re-assessed to one of the better teams, no longer the best!

The great messiah returned as manager, and since your greatest new rivals, Kelty, left the Juniors, surely the league this year was a Gimme! Nope! The big rose from Midlothian will win the league. Will Bradley be hounded out now?

Now the big Rose are going, 2018-19 will be your year - or will it! Win the league and people will say it has been devalued due to the previous best two best teams leaving! Lose the league next year, and maybe your expectations will be properly realised. Then you will be pleading to join the East of Scotland League!! So toddle on too.

[the rambler]

3 hours ago, Kernovian said:

 

Excluding for the moment the Northern Region situation, for which solution ought to be pretty damn obvious...

What we have in the Southern Region, going into the 1918-19 season is fait accompli, a much strengthened EoSL & a still strongly regionalised SoSL. Where we wish to be is where the Western Juniors & rump Eastern Juniors are also included, where their topmost teams are at an equivalent level to the topmost teams of the EoSL & SoSL at very least for the 2019-2020 season.

I think that that's fair enough, but for 2019-2020, all remaining Juniors must transfer to the Seniors... or drop into amateur leagues. By then, the SoSL will likely be relatively unchanged, but the EoSL will have switched to a Premier + Division1 structure - neither really set-up to then add the huge influx of up to four levels of new clubs suddenly emanating out of the Juniors.

My suggested solution is as follows: -

The WRJFA forms the mooted WoSL, with two divisions, probably Premier + Division1. Those clubs South of and including Irvine are absorbed into the SoSL, whereupon all those clubs initially compete in two parallel conferences, divided geographically in order to determine the composition of Premier  & Secondary divisions in the following season. The 15/16 Eastmost WRJFA clubs will join the 15/16 Westmost ERJFA/EoSL clubs in a new 'Midland FL' of eventually two vertical divisions. Then, in the East, the rump ERJFA/EoSL clubs merge, also into a two-divisional setup.

Thus, the Southern Region would operate four parallel Leagues of tier6 &tier7 clubs, each division generally 16-strong. Each section's champions would compete in playoffs for two promotion places to the LL, probably alternating the fixtures between specific sections on a three yearly cycle.

Recruitment to the tier7 level would require some major flexibility in respect of fluidity in the sectional boundaries, sometimes requiring the 16-team divisions to split into smaller conferences which may need to 'borrow' geographically close clubs from adjoining sections on a temporary-ish basis. Also, some flexibility in tier6 boundaries will be required if tier6 promotees are not from the same sections as the tier5 relegatees.

That's my thoughts. Please feel free to critique &/or shoot down in flames!

 

I cant see any Junior team from south of and including Irvine being remotely interested in being absorbed into the SOSL. A former colleague played for Girvan in the SOSL and the travel from Girvan was horrendous, not huge distances but poor roads, to add 40 mins each way from Irvine to Girvan to watch a poor standard of football with no local interest just won't appeal and wouldnt pass any vote.

Lower league football should be as regional as possible with plenty of local games.

For me we should have 2 national leagues and below that, as part of a pyramid, North and South leagues with 16 teams in each and below that regional leagues. Stranraer to Peterhead for the numbers that watch is crazy.