Dundee Hibernian Posted May 2, 2023 Author Share Posted May 2, 2023 1 hour ago, welshbairn said: The question to be asked about this thing is why there hasn't been a single official public statement from the SFA about this proposal, while at the same time they've been telling every club in Scotland that it's a done deal, without any votes cast? The answer is they are sleekit cunts. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Junior_Arab Posted May 2, 2023 Share Posted May 2, 2023 (edited) 12 hours ago, Insert Amusing Pseudonym said: Bigger teams get to keep their younger players together in the vain hope that one or two of them will magically develop at age 21 by playing against worse players. It isn't compelling I played at the top end of the junior game, so presumably the other teams at this tier would be near enough the standard at which I was playing? At the risk of appearing overly modest if anyone genuinely thinks that a season or two playing against the likes of me is going to magically prepare these kids to play against Man City and Real Madrid they’re going to be fucking sorely disappointed… Edited May 2, 2023 by Junior_Arab 17 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Merkie84 Posted May 2, 2023 Share Posted May 2, 2023 I think this is the worst proposal in all my near 40 years of watching Scottish football. Given the constant incompetence and corruption of those in charge of our game, that is really saying something. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PossilYM Posted May 3, 2023 Share Posted May 3, 2023 Suggest folks watch the "Official Catch Up" podcast on YouTube. The Lowland League chairman (from Gala Fairydean) says this is a done deal with no ifs or buts starting next summer. Btw, he says it all with a poker face. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PossilYM Posted May 3, 2023 Share Posted May 3, 2023 On 01/05/2023 at 16:45, ropy said: It sounds contrived but I haven’t seen the proposals laid out in a simple format. 4 B teams 2 Highland league 4 Lowland league And there's money involved for the clubs. It really is that simple. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lithgierose Posted May 3, 2023 Share Posted May 3, 2023 1 hour ago, PossilYM said: 4 B teams 2 Highland league 4 Lowland league And there's money involved for the clubs. It really is that simple. Who are the hl & LL teams ? He must have named them. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dons_1988 Posted May 3, 2023 Share Posted May 3, 2023 I really don’t know how many times the authorities need to chip away at football before people realise what’s going on. Most on here obviously do but all of these things are designed to strengthen a ‘hierarchy’ within domestic football. The authorities define ‘growing the game’ by how we compete on a global/continental stage and for that they want two clubs consistently taking the premier European spots and then a hope that an Aberdeen/hearts/hibs can supplement the coefficient behind that. B teams are just another string to that bow, a vehicle for ‘big’ clubs to attract and retain young talent who might otherwise stay with their local club and value first team opportunities and ‘proper football’ over academy systems and youth games. It’s depressing but my club and a lot of other premiership clubs are fully signed up to this garbage. The fact it’s now being imposed on lower and non league clubs is fucking rank. Supporters who actively have chosen to distance themselves from the shite of modern professional football forced to see their league used as a vehicle to prop it up. Unmitigated garbage. Do not believe anyone who tells you the primary objective here is a better national team. An absolute fallacy. 13 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heaton Posted May 3, 2023 Share Posted May 3, 2023 (edited) It will only serve to dilute the leagues and quality even further than the top brass and OF already have. Less young players avaliable and loaned out to the Lower leagues and championship clubs possibly unable to recruit semi decent young players as well, as I don't see as many being let go as easily by the top league clubs as they fill their B teams. Bloody suicide for the game here. Edited May 3, 2023 by Heaton 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stu2910 Posted May 3, 2023 Share Posted May 3, 2023 As much as I'm massively against the B teams in general, I don't actually understand what they are even trying to achieve with this move. You are just combining the top teams in the HL and LL plus Hearts B and another B team, to create an extra tier, relegating every other pyramid club in the process. They are not anywhere further up the leagues than they were to start with, with only Hearts/other B getting any advantage at all. It's not of any great benefit to the teams in L2 as they are still dropping to tier 5 with relegation, but instead of dropping into a large league with loads of "nearby" clubs they've maybe never played before, they are playing a few nearby clubs, a few much further away and a few reserves. They are maybe being given a roughly 1 in 6 chance of bouncing back up but also a 1 in 6 chance of dropping to tier 6. Maybe we should create the conference league at tier 5, made up entirely of B teams, with no promotion or relegation, with the teams in tiers 4 and 6 having an annual play-off to decide who plays where. Or perhaps we should encourage the larger clubs to tell their players from 25th-40th in the pecking order that it just isn't going to happen any time soon, but that they will come up with some kind of plan that allows them to join other clubs in the divisions below temporarily where they should get more game time and if they impress or are needed then their club will bring them back and give them a chance. Not sure how that would work though, seems a bit out there. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lithgierose Posted May 3, 2023 Share Posted May 3, 2023 See where hearts finished. Is it if you pay you can play ? 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
morrison Posted May 3, 2023 Share Posted May 3, 2023 45 minutes ago, stu2910 said: As much as I'm massively against the B teams in general, I don't actually understand what they are even trying to achieve with this move. You are just combining the top teams in the HL and LL plus Hearts B and another B team, to create an extra tier, relegating every other pyramid club in the process. They are not anywhere further up the leagues than they were to start with, with only Hearts/other B getting any advantage at all. The only goal here is to establish the B teams permanently at tier 5, without needing their annual bribing of LL clubs. This will give them the platform they want to focus solely on the push for promotion to the SPFL proper. It can't be allowed to happen. 7 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PauloPerth Posted May 3, 2023 Share Posted May 3, 2023 6 minutes ago, morrison said: The only goal here is to establish the B teams permanently at tier 5, without needing their annual bribing of LL clubs. This will give them the platform they want to focus solely on the push for promotion to the SPFL proper. It can't be allowed to happen. Exactly. This league is just a stepping stone to where they want to get to. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Parttimesupporter Posted May 3, 2023 Share Posted May 3, 2023 14 hours ago, welshbairn said: The question to be asked about this thing is why there hasn't been a single official public statement from the SFA about this proposal, while at the same time they've been telling every club in Scotland that it's a done deal, without any votes cast? This is the key point for me. The board of any competent business (I know) would ask their executives to produce a paper which clearly sets out the arguments for the proposal, the evidence used to support these arguments, alternative options considered and the reasons why they were rejected, costings and so on. Once the board approve the paper it is shared with stakeholders who either vote or are at least consulted. * I can't believe that there is no paper. It hasn't been leaked. That suggests that it hasn't been sent to the clubs, as an unhappy club would surely make sure it got into the public domain. If the SFA believe their arguments are compelling then there should be no issue with publicising the paper, with any commercially confidential stuff removed. Instead you wonder if there is subtle use of soft power (eg hints in relation to loans, seats on committees). The Cup Final fiasco is just another example of the ineptitude of those at the top of the SFA, and their contempt for supporters. * What from I've seen the mechanism for ultimately approving the proposal isn't clear, which is another stick to beat the SFA with. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jacksgranda Posted May 3, 2023 Share Posted May 3, 2023 12 hours ago, Junior_Arab said: I played at the top end of the junior game, so presumably the other teams at this tier would be near enough the standard at which I was playing? At the risk of appearing overly modest if anyone genuinely thinks that a season or two playing against the likes of me is going to magically prepare these kids to play against Man City and Real Madrid they’re going to be fucking sorely disappointed… 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PossilYM Posted May 3, 2023 Share Posted May 3, 2023 6 hours ago, lithgierose said: Who are the hl & LL teams ? He must have named them. The top 2 Highland League and 4 top Lowland League teams that full the licensing criteria next summer. If teams don't wish to take part then it will be open to invitation. Couldn't imagine any Lowland League outfit knocking back 40K. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
welshbairn Posted May 3, 2023 Share Posted May 3, 2023 (edited) A view from the North Caley League.. Quote North Caledonian League president says proposed Scottish Conference League threatens to rip out 'heart and soul' of lower divisions THE lower leagues of Scottish football face having their heart and soul being ripped out if the proposed Scottish Conference League involving Premiership colts teams gets the go-ahead. That is the view of North Caledonian Football Association president Iain Whitehead who fears the impact of a new tier five division will have on competitions at levels below. SPFL clubs are set to vote on the proposals at the next SFA AGM, which if approved, would see teams from the Highland League and Lowland League, along with colts teams from Aberdeen, Celtic, Hearts and Rangers, compete in a new 10-team division. The division would sit below League Two and relegate both the Highland League and Lowland League into tier six level and the North Caledonian League into tier seven level. The plans have been created by the Scottish Pyramid Working Group and if successful would be introduced for the 2024/25 season. Giving his own views, Whitehead, who lives in Helmsdale, is against the Scottish Conference being established saying no thought has been given to leagues below League Two. “You look at the way it is being done and there are a lot of things that are not right about this,” said Whitehead. “We didn’t hear about this at all until being asked to go to a pyramid working group meeting last week and that is the first we heard of it. “It appears to me that everything has been discussed and decided upon whether we like it or not, with a total disregard to our level of football. “If they want to go ahead with it, they should at least allow us to give our point of view on it. "I feel that they have disregarded any input from us and we should get that. The majority of football minded people would have the same opinion on the matter.” Whitehead thinks if Premiership clubs want to have colts teams playing at senior level, the SPFL leagues should be reconfigured without impacting the lower divisions in the pyramid system. “It is not just about being in tier five, six or seven, this says more about the top end of the game. "If they are that desperate to have B teams playing, can they not just rejig the SPFL leagues instead of demolishing the divisions below? "I think the Scottish Conference will pull out the heart and soul of the Highland League as they will lose a number of teams just to boost the conference league. “Maybe teams in the Highland League want to go up and that is fair enough. “But it is unfair there is this carrot dangled with Premiership teams involved offering £100,000 each over the course of five seasons to create the Scottish Conference. “It sounds like the European Super League, on a completely different scale, but it is the same idea. “If they saw the bigger picture, two years ago they would have put in Celtic and Rangers into the West of Scotland League rather than Lowland League and work their way up. I don’t think people would have had a problem with that. Whitehead said the North Caledonian Football Association are preparing to put out an official statement on the issue this week. Nairn County have also put out a statement objecting to the plans and Whitehead said more clubs need to let their fans know where they stand. He said: “It would be good to see more teams be like Nairn County and give their opinion on the matter.” https://www.northern-times.co.uk/sport/league-president-says-scottish-conference-threatens-to-rip-o-312452/ And here's a petition.. https://www.change.org/p/vote-against-the-unjust-conference-league-at-the-scottish-football-association-agm Edited May 3, 2023 by welshbairn 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GallowayBlue Posted May 5, 2023 Share Posted May 5, 2023 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Archie McSquackle Posted May 19, 2023 Share Posted May 19, 2023 (edited) On 01/05/2023 at 18:53, CambieBud said: I would like to think that fan owned St Mirren and Motherwell will vote against this abomination. It dilutes the pyramid for the perceived benefit of the bigot twins. There are zero pros to this ridiculous idea Well, we're being given the chance to give our opinion. Email I received today (edited to delete the link): Conference League - your views Good afternoon, As you may be aware, in June all 42 SPFL member clubs will be asked to vote on a proposal put forward by the Pyramid Working Group to create a new Conference League at tier 5 within the Scottish football pyramid. Should this proposal be implemented, tier 5 of the pyramid would see the Highland and Lowland Leagues replaced by the new Conference League, which would be a division of 10 teams. This would include 4 B teams, the top 4 teams from the Lowland League and top 2 from the Highland League from the end of next season. B teams will not be eligible for either promotion or relegation from the new Conference League. Clubs that enter B teams will be required to pay a fee to enter which will, in turn, make up prize money for the new division. The highest non-B team goes into a play-off with the bottom of League 2 and the lowest non-B team will be relegated to Lowland / Highland. B teams must have 11 Scottish players in their matchday squad and 7 Scottish players in their starting 11. Motherwell FC will not be entering a B team. Any Well Society member who wishes to share their views regarding the proposed new Conference League, positive or negative, should give their views by clicking the button below. Please let us know whether you are FOR or AGAINST the proposal, and your reasons behind this stance by noon on Friday 26 May. Your responses will not be published, but they will feed into the discussions which will help inform the Well Society’s position. This will, in turn, be taken into account by the Executive Board along with information from the SPFL. Kind regards, The Well Society Board Edited May 19, 2023 by Archie McSquackle 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ropy Posted May 20, 2023 Share Posted May 20, 2023 12 hours ago, Archie McSquackle said: Well, we're being given the chance to give our opinion. Email I received today (edited to delete the link): Conference League - your views Good afternoon, As you may be aware, in June all 42 SPFL member clubs will be asked to vote on a proposal put forward by the Pyramid Working Group to create a new Conference League at tier 5 within the Scottish football pyramid. Should this proposal be implemented, tier 5 of the pyramid would see the Highland and Lowland Leagues replaced by the new Conference League, which would be a division of 10 teams. This would include 4 B teams, the top 4 teams from the Lowland League and top 2 from the Highland League from the end of next season. B teams will not be eligible for either promotion or relegation from the new Conference League. Clubs that enter B teams will be required to pay a fee to enter which will, in turn, make up prize money for the new division. The highest non-B team goes into a play-off with the bottom of League 2 and the lowest non-B team will be relegated to Lowland / Highland. B teams must have 11 Scottish players in their matchday squad and 7 Scottish players in their starting 11. Motherwell FC will not be entering a B team. Any Well Society member who wishes to share their views regarding the proposed new Conference League, positive or negative, should give their views by clicking the button below. Please let us know whether you are FOR or AGAINST the proposal, and your reasons behind this stance by noon on Friday 26 May. Your responses will not be published, but they will feed into the discussions which will help inform the Well Society’s position. This will, in turn, be taken into account by the Executive Board along with information from the SPFL. Kind regards, The Well Society Board It’s good to get on opportunity to express an opinion, I still feel proud that I was personally able to vote against SevCo entering at the top league. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Archie McSquackle Posted May 20, 2023 Share Posted May 20, 2023 As far as I know, we were the only club to do that but feel as though it passed under the radar in terms of being on the Rangers target list. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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