National Conference League

[CityDave94]

18 hours ago, Sparticus said:

Lowland and Highland clubs have to stick together and refuse to join.

The b teams can all play each other.

This is a ridiculous situation ruining what has been one of the best things to happen to Scottish football in 1 opening the league to the pyramid and 2 Getting all the junior clubs to join.

You couldn't make this up

And imagine forcing through and inserting a league into the pyramid in which most of the teams will be permently weaker than in the leagues the level below. Only in Scotland would the needs of two or three clubs out weigh the needs of two hundred.

[stanley]

1 hour ago, Burnieman said:

https://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/sport/football/hibs-conference-league-snub-example-29859309

To be honest, he's probably only saying that because Hibs are against it. The article would have a lot more power had Hibs been in the Lowland League and he was still speaking out against B teams (I highly doubt he would be saying anything against it in that case). We need more important people than Tam McManus saying something although I suppose every article against it helps.

Edited May 2, 2023 by stanley

[Father Ted]

No to B teams campaign

https://www.facebook.com/groups/nonleague/permalink/2144815472390860/

[Greenmachine]

34 minutes ago, Father Ted said:

No to B teams campaign

https://www.facebook.com/groups/nonleague/permalink/2144815472390860/

It’ll be a short campaign.

This IS a done deal.
They don’t care about non league football,never have and never will.

[welshbairn]

4 minutes ago, Greenmachine said:

It’ll be a short campaign.

This IS a done deal.
They don’t care about non league football,never have and never will.

Who's voted for it?

[Sparticus]

5 minutes ago, Greenmachine said:

It’ll be a short campaign.

This IS a done deal.
They don’t care about non league football,never have and never will.

Doubt it’s any kind of a deal.

[Burnieman]

1 hour ago, ekok said:

Not at all revising , just revisiting and earlier in thread gave due credit for vast majority of West Clubs who supported what was eventually agreed. Not claiming LL created, but played crucial and central role when PWG going round in circles amongst endless whataboutary and recrimination. 

That took compromise and burying of hatchets , suggest we need more of that in current situation. Rightly or wrongly the Conference seems to be the only show in town.  The proposals which I believe the  Leagues outwith the SPFL put forward not accepted, that's the reality. 

The reality was, the LL stepped in to "help" when it became apparent that there was no real objection from EoS/SoS to the WRJFA entering lock stock and barrel. Having the SJFA involved at tier 6 wasn't really on the LL agenda so the wheels were greased for a brand new league, shorn of SJFA influence. From memory a few of the leading pro-Pyramid clubs preferred that as well, and allowing the WRJFA to carry on for those clubs who didn't want to move.   We all know how it turned out in the end.

Anyway, none of that is detracts from the fact that if the LL hadn't admitted B teams in the first place for "one season", then it's very unlikely we'd be talking about a mad 10 team Conference today.

[Burnieman]

1 hour ago, stanley said:

To be honest, he's probably only saying that because Hibs are against it. The article would have a lot more power had Hibs been in the Lowland League and he was still speaking out against B teams (I highly doubt he would be saying anything against it in that case). We need more important people than Tam McManus saying something although I suppose every article against it helps.

100%

[Burnieman]

https://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/sport/local-sport/livingston-boss-warns-elitism-amidst-29871039

[Father Ted]

1 hour ago, Greenmachine said:

It’ll be a short campaign.

This IS a done deal.
They don’t care about non league football,never have and never will.

I think they are trying to propagate this story, that it's a done deal to try dampen resistance.

It's a colossal farce that needs binned. Reserve League for B dross. 

[Greenmachine]

3 minutes ago, Father Ted said:

I think they are trying to propagate this story, that it's a done deal to try dampen resistance.

It's a colossal farce that needs binned. Reserve League for B dross. 

They would never have brought it forward without running it past SPFL clubs first.

[Burnieman]

1 hour ago, Greenmachine said:

It’ll be a short campaign.

This IS a done deal.
They don’t care about non league football,never have and never will.

It's not a done deal until it is voted on at AGM.  There is absolutely no guarantee that all SPFL clubs are behind this, far from it.

[Shannon]

Did the SFA not also say that was a done deal with West Lothian clubs to move to tier 6 and ended up in tier 9/10? I am sure there have been other done deals with pyramid progress that SFA also couldn't force through due to being blocked by voting from the clubs in recent years.

Remember Armadle Thistle being ridiculed on here but a lot of what their secretary says back in 2020 are ringing true now!! 

"The pyramid in Scotland is a bit of a joke in my mind (but then Scottish football as a whole is a bit of a joke at the moment, if the truth be told). I have been at clubs of all levels and understand the protectionism that exists. That’s why I believe the SFA must take ownership of our game and put in place a long term solution from top to the very bottom, this would allow any club to move upwards when ready. The pyramid system needs to include ground criteria per tier and financial checks on clubs depending on the level they are at.

 

My experience of the East Region Junior migration to the East of Scotland Football League was probably the worst experience I have had in football, people I respected in the game lied and deceived other clubs. For me sitting in the same room as these men will be hard, in fact I have asked if somebody else at the club would take over if or when we are forced to move into the EoSFL. I believed Junior football was about the communities and clubs working together for the good of the game, yet all the clubs that left conveniently forgot the Tayside and Angus clubs have nowhere to go in the fantastic ‘Scottish Pyramid System’. The recent expansion of the Lowland League was always on the cards as the quality of the product was nowhere near the standard of the best Juniors and miles behind the Highland League (in my opinion by far the best non-league in Scotland). All clubs must have access to a level that suits their financial situation, the facilities they have and football they play. This isn’t currently the case.

 

I can see a time when the clubs at the bottom of the SPFL will set out to restrict access from below in order to protect their status. With both East Stirlingshire and Berwick Rangers now doomed to a fate of non-league competition for many years to come, those close to the bottom of League Two will inevitably look at stemming the flow. Then Scottish Cup access for non-league clubs will be the next big target, however with too many noses in the trough any financial rewards will be greatly diminished."

 

Taken from the excellent Fitba Nomad website

https://thefitbanomad.wordpress.com/2020/05/02/exclusive-interview-with-armadale-thistle-secretary-scott-watson/

Edited May 2, 2023 by Shannon

[welshbairn]

4 minutes ago, Greenmachine said:

They would never have brought it forward without running it past SPFL clubs first.

Their whole tactic is convincing people that it's inevitable and a done deal, when no club has voted on it. 

[Greenmachine]

1 minute ago, welshbairn said:

Their whole tactic is convincing people that it's inevitable and a done deal, when no club has voted on it. 

I think it’s a pile of

The SPFL,LL and HL have been talking about it for a while and there’s no way they’d have gone this far without getting support for it.

[VodkaTap]

We can moan about the conference league all we want.
We can demand that both the LL & HL have nothing to do with this league.
And if that happened then the conference would be strangled at birth.

The next obvious step would be for the SFA to then invite teams to join the conference.
Would all clubs decline that invitation?? – not a hope in hell!!
I am sure enough of them would jump at the chance.

This is the reality of the situation we are now faced with.

[Burnieman]

4 minutes ago, Shannon said:

Did the SFA not also say that was a done deal with West Lothian clubs to move to tier 6 and ended up in tier 9/10? 

Remember Armadle Thistle being ridiculed on here but a lot of what he says back in 2020 are true now!!

"The pyramid in Scotland is a bit of a joke in my mind (but then Scottish football as a whole is a bit of a joke at the moment, if the truth be told). I have been at clubs of all levels and understand the protectionism that exists. That’s why I believe the SFA must take ownership of our game and put in place a long term solution from top to the very bottom, this would allow any club to move upwards when ready. The pyramid system needs to include ground criteria per tier and financial checks on clubs depending on the level they are at.

 

My experience of the East Region Junior migration to the East of Scotland Football League was probably the worst experience I have had in football, people I respected in the game lied and deceived other clubs. For me sitting in the same room as these men will be hard, in fact I have asked if somebody else at the club would take over if or when we are forced to move into the EoSFL. I believed Junior football was about the communities and clubs working together for the good of the game, yet all the clubs that left conveniently forgot the Tayside and Angus clubs have nowhere to go in the fantastic ‘Scottish Pyramid System’. The recent expansion of the Lowland League was always on the cards as the quality of the product was nowhere near the standard of the best Juniors and miles behind the Highland League (in my opinion by far the best non-league in Scotland). All clubs must have access to a level that suits their financial situation, the facilities they have and football they play. This isn’t currently the case.

 

I can see a time when the clubs at the bottom of the SPFL will set out to restrict access from below in order to protect their status. With both East Stirlingshire and Berwick Rangers now doomed to a fate of non-league competition for many years to come, those close to the bottom of League Two will inevitably look at stemming the flow. Then Scottish Cup access for non-league clubs will be the next big target, however with too many noses in the trough any financial rewards will be greatly diminished."

 

Taken from the excellent Fitba Nomad website

https://thefitbanomad.wordpress.com/2020/05/02/exclusive-interview-with-armadale-thistle-secretary-scott-watson/

 

No point dragging this all up again but that was pretty much nonsense at the time, and reads no better today.

 

[welshbairn]

1 minute ago, Greenmachine said:

I think it’s a pile of

The SPFL,LL and HL have been talking about it for a while and there’s no way they’d have gone this far without getting support for it.

All they've done is canvas leagues on their preference out of 3 options, 2 of which they say are non starters, and leaving out the status quo option which given the farce of the Conference option I expect would win handily. I doubt it will even go to an SFA vote, it will be quietly dropped.

[Greenmachine]

Just now, welshbairn said:

All they've done is canvas leagues on their preference out of 3 options, 2 of which they say are non starters, and leaving out the status quo option which given the farce of the Conference option I expect would win handily. I doubt it will even go to an SFA vote, it will be quietly dropped.

There’s no chance of this being dropped no matter how much most fans want it to be!

[Burnieman]

1 minute ago, VodkaTap said:

We can moan about the conference league all we want.
We can demand that both the LL & HL have nothing to do with this league.
And if that happened then the conference would be strangled at birth.

The next obvious step would be for the SFA to then invite teams to join the conference.
Would all clubs decline that invitation?? – not a hope in hell!!
I am sure enough of them would jump at the chance.

This is the reality of the situation we are now faced with.

I don't think it is.

If this is voted against at AGM, it's dead in the water (they can't invite clubs to a league that has not been approved by members) and the SFA will need to go back to the table and actually start talking to clubs. All clubs. Not the PWG, but get off their arses and actually go and engage and above all, listen.

Any idea which way are Gretna voting?