Jump to content

Lowland League 2020/21 General Chat


FairWeatherFan

Recommended Posts

Is there hope yet of financial help from the UK Government via the SP?

From the BBC web site:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/54998979

Interesting to read that the UK Government has allocated  "a rescue package of £300m of emergency funding for sports impacted by the absence of spectators because of coronavirus."

A breakdown of funding distribution (preliminary figures):

Note: The final amount received by each sport/organisation may differ from the amounts set out when final decisions are made by an independent decision-making board, and supported by Sport England.

Football: £28m - National League (steps 1-2): £11m; National League (steps 3-6): £14m; Women's Football (Women's Super League and FA Women's Championship): £3m

AND:  https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/scotland/55004568

Scottish government seeks clarity on UK emergency sports funding

The Scottish government is seeking "urgent clarification" from its UK counterpart about the amount of funding available for sports.

The UK government is to provide £300m of loans and grants for sports in England impacted by the absence of fans because of Covid-19.

That money will mean an increase in cash for the devolved governments, who decide how to spend it. 

The Scottish government welcomed the announcement, but want more detail.

"This has been an enormously challenging time for the sport sector and we appreciate the sacrifices made by supporters, clubs and authorities over the past months to help us tackle the virus," a spokesperson said.

"We welcome the announcement of a UK government support scheme for sports impacted by the loss of spectators during the pandemic, and will seek urgent clarification on the Barnett consequential funding as a result in order to support the sector in Scotland."

The funding in England extends to rugby union and rugby league, as well as horse racing, women's football, motorsport, tennis, netball, basketball, ice hockey, badminton and greyhound racing.

Men's football above non-league level is not on the list, but it would be for the Scottish government to decide how to allocate the extra cash in Scotland.

The government added it "will continue to work with the [sport] sector to ensure their long-term sustainability".

They said: "Sport brings enjoyment to the many people who watch and play, and we don't want supporters to be delayed in returning to stadiums for any longer than is absolutely necessary."

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Following on from the announcement of funding support for semi-pro clubs in England today it has been announced that £750,000 of National Lottery funds is going to the 44 clubs in the Welsh Cymru League.

“The financial package – established by the FAW and The National Lottery and facilitated by the UK Government – will see clubs in the JD Cymru Premier, JD Cymru North and the JD Cymru South receive funding while matches continue to be played behind closed doors, owing to the current COVID-19 restrictions. “

“Nigel Railton, Chief Executive of National Lottery operator Camelot, said, “The National Lottery and its players have been making a massive difference to communities across the UK for the past 26 years, so we’re thrilled to be able to partner with the Football Association of Wales to provide vital funding for these incredibly important clubs in the Cymru Leagues. As a huge football fan myself, I know what this will mean to fans of these community clubs, and I’m sure they’ll be pleased to hear that their clubs are getting the support they need.” 

The partnership follows a similar National Lottery initiative between the FA and National League in England, which was facilitated by the UK government. Work continues on partnerships with the Scottish and Northern Ireland FAs. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Remarkably after 9 rounds of games the top 7 are now separated by only 3pts:

Image


Something has to start giving soon though as the next 6 weeks see a number of head-to-heads:


Tuesday 24th November
East Kilbride v Caledonian Braves
Wednesday 25th November
BSCG v East Stirlingshire ... Stirling Uni v Bo'ness ... Bonnyrigg v Vale of Leithen ... Cumbernauld v Kelty ... Gretna v Gala

Saturday 28th November
Bonnyrigg v East Kilbride ... Edinburgh Uni v BSCG ... Gala v Kelty ... Stirling Uni v East Stirlingshire


Friday 4th December
East Stirlingshire v Caledonian Braves
Saturday 5th December
Berwick v Kelty ... Dalbeattie v Bonnyrigg ... East Kilbride v Civil Service ... Gretna v Bo'ness ... Stirling Uni v Gala


Saturday 12th December (also SC PR2)
Kelty v Gretna

Tuesday 15th December
Bonnyrigg v Edinburgh Uni ... Spartans v Kelty
Wednesday 16th December
BSCG v Stirling Uni ... Dalbeattie v East Kilbride ... East Stirlingshire v Gala


Saturday 19th December
Bo'ness v Gala ... Bonnyrigg v BSCG ... Edinburgh Uni v East Kilbride ... Gretna v East Stirlingshire ... Kelty v University of Stirling


Saturday 26th December (also SC R1)
Berwick v Gala ... Bo'ness v East Stirlingshire ... Caledonian Braves v BSCG ... East Kilbride v Cumbernauld


Friday 1st January
Bonnyrigg v Kelty ... BSCG v Caledonian Braves ... Cumbernauld v East Kilbride ... East Stirlingshire v Bo'ness ... Gala v Berwick

Monday 4th January
Bo'ness v Bonnyrigg ... East Kilbride v BSCG ... Kelty v East Stirlingshire ... Vale of Leithen v Gala

Edited by HibeeJibee
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...
On 21/11/2020 at 22:48, HibeeJibee said:

Saturday 12th December (also SC PR2)
Kelty v Gretna

Tuesday 15th December
Bonnyrigg v Edinburgh Uni ... Spartans v Kelty
Wednesday 16th December
BSCG v Stirling Uni ... Dalbeattie v East Kilbride ... East Stirlingshire v Gala


Saturday 19th December
Bo'ness v Gala ... Bonnyrigg v BSCG ... Edinburgh Uni v East Kilbride ... Gretna v East Stirlingshire ... Kelty v University of Stirling


Saturday 26th December (also SC R1)
Bo'ness v East Stirlingshire ... Caledonian Braves v BSCG ... East Kilbride v Cumbernauld


Friday 1st January
Bonnyrigg v Kelty ... BSCG v Caledonian Braves ... Cumbernauld v East Kilbride ... East Stirlingshire v Bo'ness

Monday 4th January
Bo'ness v Bonnyrigg ... East Kilbride v BSCG ... Kelty v East Stirlingshire


Still extraordinarily tight atop with 3pts seperating 5 teams.

Allowing for 2 games-in-hand you could also lump Bo'ness in there.

EofY8fDW4AAZt84?format=jpg&name=small

Kelty alone in league action next weekend, though.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

24 minutes ago, Burnieman said:

The three ex-Junior clubs 1st, 2nd and 7th. This seasons EoS Champs will probably be ex-Junior and top half of LL the following season (or licenced WoS Champ) Hopefully 2 auto promotion/relegation spots happen soon.

11/32 games played though. 

Of course turning it round and you also have an argument about the relegated SPFL teams as well. 

Hopefully 2 auto promotion/relegation spots happen soon. :thumsup2

Edited by newcastle broon
Link to comment
Share on other sites

10 hours ago, Burnieman said:

The three ex-Junior clubs 1st, 2nd and 7th. This seasons EoS Champs will probably be ex-Junior and top half of LL the following season (or licenced WoS Champ) Hopefully 2 auto promotion/relegation spots happen soon.

Completely agree with the need for 2 automatic relegation spots. That becomes much more straightforward if they do something about having two feeder leagues at tier 6 covering the same region the West, one of which is a glorified Saturday amateur league.

As it stands you'd have to come up with some sort of convoluted playoff system to accommodate Dumfries YMCA B Vale getting pumped 16-0 on aggregate by eg Clydebank or Tranent.

Edited by Marshmallo
Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 minute ago, Marshmallo said:

Completely agree with the need for 2 automatic relegation spots. That becomes much more straightforward if they do something about having two feeder leagues at tier 6 covering the same region the West, one of which is a glorified Saturday amateur league.

As it stands you'd have to come up with some sort of convoluted playoff system to accommodate Dumfries YMCA B Vale getting pumped 16-0 on aggregate by eg Clydebank or Tranent.

Don't have to come up with one, the existing play-off model works for it. The games would only be played if there are 3 licenced champions and if the West & East Champions can't get the better of the South's, then they don't deserve promotion.

10 hours ago, Burnieman said:

The three ex-Junior clubs 1st, 2nd and 7th. This seasons EoS Champs will probably be ex-Junior and top half of LL the following season (or licenced WoS Champ) Hopefully 2 auto promotion/relegation spots happen soon.

Or to put it another way since being an ex-Junior club doesn't confer any special status. The last 3 EoS Champions are 1st, 2nd and 7th. This season's EoS Champ or licenced WoS Champ will probably be top half of the LL the following season.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

2 minutes ago, FairWeatherFan said:

Don't have to come up with one, the existing play-off model works for it. The games would only be played if there are 3 licenced champions and if the West & East Champions can't get the better of the South's, then they don't deserve promotion.

It means you have less flexibility in terms of scheduling because you have to finish earlier to cram in pointless playoff massacres of one of the West feeders.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Just now, Marshmallo said:

It means you have less flexibility in terms of scheduling because you have to finish earlier to cram in pointless playoff massacres of one of the West feeders.

It's two Saturdays in the middle of May when senior leagues are finished and wrapping up their cup competitions.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 06/12/2020 at 09:46, FairWeatherFan said:

Or to put it another way since being an ex-Junior club doesn't confer any special status. The last 3 EoS Champions are 1st, 2nd and 7th. This season's EoS Champ or licenced WoS Champ will probably be top half of the LL the following season.

It doesn't, but worth pointing out the strength in depth sitting below the LL since the Juniors joined the Pyramid and the need for it to open up and let the best teams play at tier 5. That's what a Pyramid is all about.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

It doesn't, but worth pointing out the strength in depth sitting below the LL since the Juniors joined the Pyramid and the need for it to open up and let the best teams play at tier 5. That's what a Pyramid is all about.
As I was saying. Jeanfield, Haddington and Tranent eliminate LL opposition, Blackburn lose on penalties, and Colts and Berwick with narrow wins.

No disrespect to Civil Service today who are a decent solid side, but we've played several much better teams in the EoS Premier this season.

Let's open up the LL more and get the Pyramid moving.
Link to comment
Share on other sites

It's two Saturdays in the middle of May when senior leagues are finished and wrapping up their cup competitions.

It also means that rather than having a fair two-legged play-off between the teams that are actually capable of winning the thing, we instead have a daft triangular thing which means one of the teams gets home advantage in the crucial game.
Link to comment
Share on other sites

5 minutes ago, craigkillie said:


It also means that rather than having a fair two-legged play-off between the teams that are actually capable of winning the thing, we instead have a daft triangular thing which means one of the teams gets home advantage in the crucial game.

That quote is around having two promotion spots. In which case there would never be a two legged play off and a WoS or EoS Champion should be able to get the better of a SoS side in a round robin.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, FairWeatherFan said:

That quote is around having two promotion spots. In which case there would never be a two legged play off and a WoS or EoS Champion should be able to get the better of a SoS side in a round robin.

Fair enough, but even then in a normal league you might look at three up, or two up with a play-off, in which case you have a similar problem.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

STV report government cash... £20M Premiership loans/£10M lower-league grants... breaks-down:

Premiership      £1.67M loan each
Championship     £500k grant each
SPFL1     £150k grant each
SPFL2     £100k grant each
Lowland     £33k grant each
Highland     £33k grant each
(appears to leave £1.41M grants for others?)

Edited by HibeeJibee
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

Loading...
  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...