National Conference League

[JuniorRaver]

10 hours ago, rockson said:

Can I just point out that none of this has been voted on at any level - HL or LL or SPFL. 

How you can say this is all about the self preservation of Tier 4 clubs is beyond me.

Any clubs in Tiers 4 or 5 voting for this to happen would be utterly crazy.

None of the fans at Tier 4 want anything to do with B teams or a half-arsed conference with B teams in it.

It’s all self preservation. We seen how difficult they made it for Kelty and Brora to try and get promoted to L2 during covid, keeping them out. Relegation to LL has hit former L2 clubs hard look at East Stirling, Berwick etc.

This new conference seems more like a transition league for new clubs coming up + B teams

[Marten]

7 hours ago, Burnieman said:

You've been in Dundee far too long

Lol, obviously I'm slightly exaggerating here, you know I've always been a supporter of the pyramid and I still am. But loads of B-teams being forced through would utterly ruin the pyramid and I'd rather see us stay where we are if the alternative is playing B-teams. 

[PELE]

1 hour ago, Sergeant Wilson said:

Aye, but it seems odd they'd want to go into a division that is half full of reserve teams, even for the money offered.

For them, it will be seen as a much better option. More money than the current format and less competition to get promoted back up again.

[MrIrvinePollock]

'Two clubs', 'Bigot Brothers', 'Old Firm'....so much hate for Rangers and Celtic.  It's as if Heart aren't in the equation...and the unnamed fourth team doesn't exist.

 

This isn't being done to accommodate what Celtic and Rangers want, this is being done because Maxwell is under pressure to make the pyramid work.  Sadly, the man is so pathetically incompetent and out of touch with the lower echelons of Scottish Football - that he thinks this is an acceptable solution.

 

It's alright a handful of 'fans' kicking off on an online forum, but their voice isn't being heard - nor does it mean anything, to those at the SFA.

 

What is really needed is a joined up protest involving all the clubs in the HL, LL and the various leagues below. 

 

But that won't happen because the teams involved don't have the will, knowledge or even appreciation to what the people want.  Most clubs have an aging committee who doddle along ensuring the club runs.  There's no passion for the future of Scottish football.  Can you imagine asking the folks running your club if they're happy with this option?  And, if they're not, asking that they then present their objection to the SFA?  They wouldn't know where to start.

[Sergeant Wilson]

1 minute ago, PELE said:

For them, it will be seen as a much better option. More money than the current format and less competition to get promoted back up again.

I suppose so and the money will help, but the consequences of not going up first time will be horrendous. Not to mention at least one season in a shite division.

[Inanimate Carbon Rod]

13 hours ago, PossilYM said:

Aberdeen 

Given their first team struggled against a tier 6 team thats a riddy. 

12 hours ago, Jamie92 said:

The only positive I took from that was that 3 champions promoted after next season. However, if the lowland is dropping a tier does that now mean the rules may change for teams like beith to go up instead of having a license. Surely at tier 6 you won’t need a license?

Other than that, postman pat seems pleased with his work to save and preserve his beloved Gala. I just hope it falls through and league 2 clubs are against this as well as other SPFL clubs. 

If it happens for next year then they will have 3/2 LL places to fill, wonder how they’ll do that? 

[Dundee Hibernian]

9 hours ago, Pyramid Watcher said:

L2 clubs are not squeaky clean here, you don’t think they would prefer another buffer between them and the LL?

I've no doubt L2 clubs live in fear of relegation, every side is alarmed by failure. The point I was making is that the SFA and Old Firm's political tactic appears to be prevention of the clubs at lower levels forming a united front.

I've railed against the majority in the Lowland League for facilitating progress of the B side plans but it should really be the football authorities I'm fuming at. That will be the main plank of my emails to clubs, but sporadic communications here and there won't help, many people have to vent their feelings to have any effect. Threaten support and finance removal.

Edited April 26, 2023 by Dundee Hibernian

[RedEd]

2 hours ago, JuniorRaver said:

It’s all self preservation. We seen how difficult they made it for Kelty and Brora to try and get promoted to L2 during covid, keeping them out. 

What are you on about? There were no play-offs at any level at the end of 2019-20. The next season Brora were allowed to take part in the play-off, being declared Highland League champions after playing three games.

[Burnieman]

2 hours ago, Marten said:

Lol, obviously I'm slightly exaggerating here, you know I've always been a supporter of the pyramid and I still am. But loads of B-teams being forced through would utterly ruin the pyramid and I'd rather see us stay where we are if the alternative is playing B-teams. 

The LL let the genie out of the bottle and unfortunately it isn't going back.  The problem for most isn't B teams (The EoS had Hibs B for a season 10 years ago), it's the fact they're being shoehorned in rather than applying like any other club and starting at the bottom.

If the B teams applied individually to WoS and EoS without the wailing and gnashing of teeth from Maxwell & Co, then they would almost certainly have been accepted, but the OF wanted in at a higher level, and the SFA/LL facilitated that. You won't get rid of them now however much we want them to disappear.

I can't see there ever being more than half-a-dozen B teams, the costs associated with running them rules out most clubs who will stick with U18/U20's.  If you had six B teams spread throughout the non-league system west and east then it wouldn't be much of an issue, one team out of 16 doesn't really impact.  It's when you have 3 or 4 or 5 all in the same division who didn't earn the right to be there is where the problems start.

The SFA and LL are the two culpable parties for this utter mess of a Conference, with a healthy dose of pot stirring by some L2 Chairmen.

[FairWeatherFan]

4 minutes ago, RedEd said:

What are you on about? There were no play-offs at any level at the end of 2019-20. The next season Brora were allowed to take part in the play-off, being declared Highland League champions after playing three games.

The likes of the Stenhousemuir chairman was proposing freezing the SPFL2 for a number of years so that SPFL clubs could stabilise after the impact of COVID.

The 2020-21 Playoffs were challenged to try and prevent it from happening.

[PELE]

48 minutes ago, Sergeant Wilson said:

I suppose so and the money will help, but the consequences of not going up first time will be horrendous. Not to mention at least one season in a shite division.

Yeah, but still a much better option than going to the Lowland League for them.

They will get money in the conference (not sure if I am imagining this, but I believe it is £40k each year) and they will potentially only have five teams to beat to get back up to League 2. Whereas, dropping to the Lowland League ( or Highland League) gives the relegated team £40k in year one, £20k in year 2 and nothing after that and there is, unless I am mistaken, no prize money of any sort in the Lowland League. I would guess that a Conference team would also be in the League Cup. Whereas, the relegated team from League 2 only gets in the League Cup for the first season out of League 2. Basically, the sponsor money dries up. This weekend the Lowland League cup kicks off and the away teams get none of the gate money (not that it will be much, but it all helps). An away draw is another financial hit.

[flyingscot]

5 minutes ago, Burnieman said:

The costs associated with running them rules out most clubs who will stick with U18/U20's.  

Were the staffing and costs not really designed to try and limit the Premiership clubs who could afford them and it was surprising Hearts would do it. 

I'm not sure the B teams have ever managed to meet all of the brief that the Lowland League promo document suggested when they were first proposed. 

[LongTimeLurker]

Interesting snippet from the WoS subforum given a WoS officeholder posted it:

2 hours ago, glensmad said:

Nothing has "officially been agreed".

Edited April 26, 2023 by LongTimeLurker

[FairWeatherFan]

15 minutes ago, PELE said:

they will potentially only have five teams to beat to get back up to League 2.

and even worse odds of getting relegated into the financial abyss of the Lowland League. Presumably now with no parachute payments, no League Cup and No Challenge Cup.

[flyingscot]

6 minutes ago, PELE said:

Yeah, but still a much better option than going to the Lowland League for them.

Probably right. But where is that money coming from, is that B-team entry money? Can we be assured all B-teams would be in it for the long term? 

The proposal sounds attractive in a 'we've had a crap season buffer' and we'll be bounce back up, but if not and your club ends up being the worst of the just 5 non-B teams, presumably you could get put into an even less attractive Lowland League than now with no payments, which seems a huge risk.

I'd think L2 clubs best interests would be making the leagues down from them more attractive to play in but... 

[welshbairn]

It wouldn't surprise me if Hearts back out of fielding a B-team, especially in a conference where they play other u20/21's teams along with part timers at a level 4 tiers below their first team, plus all the extra mandatory staffing costs. They'd be better off in a reserve league playing alongside and against full time professionals of all ages, with some dropping in and out of Premiership teams, either that or out on loan.

Edited April 26, 2023 by welshbairn

[FairWeatherFan]

What will the rules be for B team eligibility. We already how they moved from u20-u21s from year one to year two. Now we have a league designed for B teams and financed solely by the parent clubs. Can't really get away with the same handicaps when dependent on them as a cash cow. They're not the "guests" anymore, it's their league.

[welshbairn]

11 hours ago, parsforlife said:

The podcast has only ever been a mouthpiece for the LL board,  they have no interest in critical questions or holding people to account.

 

[Dav nan Gael]

Modern football is all about money and that's what will be driving this "cabal" on.............

The door has been opened and its too late now to reverse what has happened unfortunately  

 

[welshbairn]

4 minutes ago, Dav nan Gael said:

Modern football is all about money and that's what will be driving this "cabal" on.............

The door has been opened and its too late now to reverse what has happened unfortunately  

 

£7,500 plus whatever Parks Motors threw at them, the Lowland League 10 are a cheap date imo.