Lowland League General Discussion

[energyzone]

Just now, FairWeatherFan said:

The WoS Premier is filling up with Drumchapel Utd, St Cadoc's, Gartcairn. Who knows where a Finnart or Thorn Athletic will find themselves in a few years.

The LL can be emptied of all the usual suspects, but there's going to be disappointment with some of the replacements.

The bubble will burst for some of these teams eventually though.  Owners will get bored or pull funds at some point once the novelty wears off.  We've been through this scenario before with Kilwinning, Irvine Meadow, Hurlford, Darvel etc.  And all of those teams had a fanbase.  It's unsustainable long-term even with money rolling in from turnstiles, cafes and bars.  And these newer teams have far less of that than the traditional clubs.

One of the posters above asked if Clyde had fans before they were formed - clearly there was an appetite for a new club at the time due to the exploding popularity of football.  There's a bit of a difference forming a new club near the centre of Glasgow surrounded by housing schemes compared to basing a new club in the middle of Strathclyde Park.

[Cowdenleith]

26 minutes ago, newcastle broon said:

Me settle doon 

And I only gave you my thoughts on it. Dinny go in the huff because I posted something you disagree with 

Is that not what these discussions are about?

Anyway Weird fish has kinda backed up what I was explaining. 

 

No in the huff, just disagree

It’s blindingly obvious though that a half decent away support is much more appreciated in the LL where the crowds are generally pretty low. 

And that is my point, and why I would be delighted for the Braves to get promoted so they can stink up League 2.

[GordonS]

1 hour ago, An Absolute Imposter said:

Is nobody going to mention the irony of a fan of a club who have been nomadic for about 4 decades coming across all superior with respect to, any other sports club in any sport. 

Or is it just me.

 

[FairWeatherFan]

21 minutes ago, energyzone said:

The bubble will burst for some of these teams eventually though.  Owners will get bored or pull funds at some point once the novelty wears off.  We've been through this scenario before with Kilwinning, Irvine Meadow, Hurlford, Darvel etc.  And all of those teams had a fanbase.  It's unsustainable long-term even with money rolling in from turnstiles, cafes and bars.  And these newer teams have far less of that than the traditional clubs.

Where the bubble really burst was on the grades. What everyone knew for decades is that there was little between the better amateurs/juniors/non-league seniors/lower level SFL when it came to on the field. With the addition of youth clubs everyone's looking to jump on the same lifeboat of the pyramid, licensing, grants. Its not quite the days of one man's ego flashing some cash then disappearing. We're still a long way from the new normal when things shake out.

 

[GordonS]

FWIW few people are complaining about "Broomhill" and Caledonian Braves being new. Cumbernauld Colts are new, so are clubs like Inverkeithing Hillfield Swifts. Nobody here is complaining about them (though I know some do). Neither are we complaining about East Kilbride, who are 14 years old.

Those clubs represent communities. An adult team forming from a youth club is how Rangers began. Cumbernauld Colts and Inverkeithing stand on their own two feet. All of that is fine, and very different from the two clubs we're talking about here.

Anyone trying to compare them to Clyde is just acting up.

[An Absolute Imposter]

2 hours ago, GordonS said:

 

Missed that, point still valid though.

[An Absolute Imposter]

Do you know what we need, a proper dictionary definition of the following;

'proper club'

'joke club'

just so we know where to place every club in the pyramid.

I'm no having a go at Clyde, went to see them quite a bit at Shawfield in the early 80's, but there are some who would question Clyde's right to exist and being labelled a proper club within the pyramid with not having their own ground.

Let any one of you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.”

[An Absolute Imposter]

3 hours ago, Clyde01 said:

It’s been mentioned already and was equally as irrelevant then. The issue isn’t particularly about facilities it’s about joke clubs that only exist at the whim of a couple of individuals and have no place in a proper football pyramid.

There are plenty who would put Clyde in the joke drawer because of the nomadic few decades.

What is a proper football club?

Last season Buckie were denied a play off place because they couldn't fulfill all requirements for a Bronzie. They have their own ground and play in Buckie and other things.

There are clubs who have Bronzies and Entries, who play miles from their home and have no 'community'.

It's too easy to label new clubs as joke and not proper. And it's also too convenient to call clubs proper just because they have been on the go forever.

Football fans need to get off their high horse, what right do any of us have to say that clubs like Broomhill or Braves or UOS or Cumbie Colts or Drum Utd or whomever don't deserve to be in the system. I would say none at all.

And I speak as a constant detractor of Broomhill and their history.

[Chris_the_rover]

9 hours ago, GordonS said:

You can't be comparing Clyde, who lost their ground of 88 years due to financial sh*tf*ckery, tried to make a home in Cumbernauld but got kicked out of there after 24 years due to the unpopular board's relationship with North Lanarkshire Council and are now in Hamilton, with Broomhill Sports Club/ BSC Glasgow/ Open Goal Broomhill/ Broomhill, who have jumped from Maryhill to Alloa to Cumbernauld to Dumbarton in less than 10 years.

As BSC Glasgow they spent some time at Airdrie too,

I know when they first were set up they wanted to use Cliftonhill

[foreverarover]

15 hours ago, Grandmas Enigma said:

What an ignorant snobby post. Wtf are proper clubs?! I get different people might not like the way every team does it's business. But why do you and others care so much about a league that going by your name you're not even in? The lowland league definitely has a weird mixture of clubs with different histories, pitches and teams. Who all contribute to a good product on the field. It certainly has it's failings which we'd mostly all agree but what league doesn't. It's a great league to watch (if you're interested in football) and competitive at both ends of the table. There are a huge amount of volunteers, committee members, coaches and players working hard to improve it.

I just don't get the constant moaning about the league especially when so many people are trying to make it better. Might not be as quick as we would like but it's taken a hundred years to get a pyramid. So it's not going to be perfect in 10 years.

It's certainly not for me a great league to watch. Except for winning the league there is nothing else to play for. You finish In a cup qualifying position and don't qualify. It's a shambles of League. 

[Burnieman]

Caledonian Braves is an elaborate scam to keep one persons lifestyle going.  Paris apartments and French registered Range Rovers don't come cheap.

[cowdenbeath]

10 hours ago, Chris_the_rover said:

As BSC Glasgow they spent some time at Airdrie too,

I know when they first were set up they wanted to use Cliftonhill

Can't recall them at Airdrie?

[ekok]

17 hours ago, FairWeatherFan said:

Where the bubble really burst was on the grades. What everyone knew for decades is that there was little between the better amateurs/juniors/non-league seniors/lower level SFL when it came to on the field.

With the addition of youth clubs everyone's looking to jump on the same lifeboat of the pyramid, licensing, grants. 

 

I agree with first para, but before we got to  where we are now, there was a significant period where the Pyramid was ignored at best , often rubbished roundly, by some who still now show nothing but disdain. Accept it is far from perfect, but as others have explained,  work in progress. 

The bottom line is it  only exists at all because of the Clubs that took the plunge,  so maybe a bit less disrespect and everyone pulling together will help rather than hinder the further changes needed.

[FairWeatherFan]

52 minutes ago, cowdenbeath said:

Can't recall them at Airdrie?

I don't either, not on a permanent basis. Maybe played some games there towards the end of their time at Maryhill when postponements were an issue?

[cowdenbeath]

13 minutes ago, FairWeatherFan said:

I don't either, not on a permanent basis. Maybe played some games there towards the end of their time at Maryhill when postponements were an issue?

Maybe.

[Nicholas Rage]

I've never liked the term joke club.

 

But given the history of BSC/Open Goal/Broomhill, their now complete lack of any fanbase and that they'll never play in Broomhill again, it's fair to hand them the title of the Lowland League joke club.

[FairWeatherFan]

12 minutes ago, To B or not B said:

I’ve done a bit of digging on Google Earth, and from what I can see there is nowhere a ground could go in the Broomhill area? I’m sure somebody with a better knowledge of the area will correct me.

Not really. Closest they got was a proposal for Victoria Park that never went anywhere.

It was a mistake by the club to go with something so specific when BSC Glasgow split. Unless it was Broomhill Wanderers or Nomads They originally understood that by Broomhill Sports Club taking on the BSC Glasgow branding. Knowing they would take whatever they could get in the Glasgow area.

[Marten]

4 hours ago, Nicholas Rage said:

I've never liked the term joke club.

 

But given the history of BSC/Open Goal/Broomhill, their now complete lack of any fanbase and that they'll never play in Broomhill again, it's fair to hand them the title of the Lowland League joke club.

Yep, fully agreed.

I have absolutely nothing against new clubs trying it. Clubs that serve a community and are built on that, fair enough and good luck to them. People can complain about the likes of Cumbernauld Colts, East Kilbride etc., but at least it's clear what community they serve. Few fans isn't the best argument to use for new clubs because obviously they need time to build it up.

Caledonian Braves seem to be the play thing of one man with a funding model that's odd to say the least. I don't have much time for them but at the very least they have got a permanent base and their own ground. There is still the potential they'll properly focus on the area they are based in, here is hoping. Broomfield on the other hand seems to be just an entirely pointless existence.

[energyzone]

2 hours ago, Marten said:

Yep, fully agreed.

I have absolutely nothing against new clubs trying it. Clubs that serve a community and are built on that, fair enough and good luck to them. People can complain about the likes of Cumbernauld Colts, East Kilbride etc., but at least it's clear what community they serve. Few fans isn't the best argument to use for new clubs because obviously they need time to build it up.

Caledonian Braves seem to be the play thing of one man with a funding model that's odd to say the least. I don't have much time for them but at the very least they have got a permanent base and their own ground. There is still the potential they'll properly focus on the area they are based in, here is hoping. Broomfield on the other hand seems to be just an entirely pointless existence.

Caledonian Braves play in the middle of a country park and the nearest towns are well served by existing clubs.  Hamilton Accies, Motherwell, Blantyre Victoria, Bellshill Ath and Thorniewood are all within a couple of miles.  There aren't any fans to attract.