Brad Bobley Posted February 22 Share Posted February 22 I make that 9 teams, as of today, who have folded from the SMAFA. That equates to almost twelve percent of their overall teams they started with. I thought all was rosey in the morning world? 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gazzah Posted February 25 Share Posted February 25 On 22/02/2024 at 13:01, Brad Bobley said: I make that 9 teams, as of today, who have folded from the SMAFA. That equates to almost twelve percent of their overall teams they started with. I thought all was rosey in the morning world? It’s all over I don’t think it’s just afternoon teams struggling. Over the next 2/3 months will see an acceleration of teams folding imo. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stanley Posted February 25 Share Posted February 25 51 minutes ago, Gazzah said: It’s all over I don’t think it’s just afternoon teams struggling. Over the next 2/3 months will see an acceleration of teams folding imo. Why the next 2/3 months? 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brad Bobley Posted February 26 Share Posted February 26 I can't answer on behalf of Gazza but I know of a good few teams transitioning to 35s next year, some merging with other teams, etc. On the other hand, I've heard a few WoS 20s teams are either going 21s or going Saturday mornings. Naturally will get half a dozen new teams on the Saturday morning circuit as well, starting from scratch. This time of the season is typically when unfulfilled fixtures increase exponentially and already starting to see that. Fixture backlog, injuries, people moving to other teams, among a whole list of other things, don't produce a cohesive environment for a lot of teams to prosper, unfortunately. I'd imagine unfulfilled fixtures spells the beginning of the end for a lot of teams. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iveajimmyboneon Posted March 14 Share Posted March 14 Sad to see UB United are the latest club to call it a day. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brad Bobley Posted March 14 Share Posted March 14 9 hours ago, iveajimmyboneon said: Sad to see UB United are the latest club to call it a day. One of the best Saturday morning teams, both historically and also this season. A shame. But, unfortunately, no team folding is surprising nowadays. Hope all their players manage to find new clubs. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GNU_Linux Posted March 18 Share Posted March 18 Glenrothes AFC gone from the Kingdom of Fife AFA 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spyro Posted March 19 Share Posted March 19 Are the Under 21 and under 19 teams being allowed in the league helping at all? Is it better than the alternative for the youth teams? 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brad Bobley Posted March 19 Share Posted March 19 5 hours ago, Spyro said: Are the Under 21 and under 19 teams being allowed in the league helping at all? Is it better than the alternative for the youth teams? I think it’s probably too early to say. This is the first real season that they’ve been under SAFA jurisdiction. SPAFA seem to be making a lot of progress with the 19s, and have developed a 21s league for next season too. Not sure how the Caley are getting on with theirs, but seems yet another wedge has been driven between the setups. It would make much more sense have 19s and 21s under the same umbrella, but maybe that’s just me. Having 19s and 21s within SAFA is great, but don’t see the benefit of having them under two different sub-associations. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spyro Posted March 19 Share Posted March 19 1 hour ago, Brad Bobley said: I think it’s probably too early to say. This is the first real season that they’ve been under SAFA jurisdiction. SPAFA seem to be making a lot of progress with the 19s, and have developed a 21s league for next season too. Not sure how the Caley are getting on with theirs, but seems yet another wedge has been driven between the setups. It would make much more sense have 19s and 21s under the same umbrella, but maybe that’s just me. Having 19s and 21s within SAFA is great, but don’t see the benefit of having them under two different sub-associations. It seems to be a good idea, but about 3 steps out of sequence. There are a few other things that should've been in place to make it work better. I don't want to discourage the change as I agree having them under the SAFA is a good step, but you are right about it creating another barrier between the leagues. It will be interesting to see how things settle down once the link up with the WoS happens. I still have a lot of questions there 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AMP28 Posted March 21 Share Posted March 21 On 19/03/2024 at 20:58, Brad Bobley said: I think it’s probably too early to say. This is the first real season that they’ve been under SAFA jurisdiction. SPAFA seem to be making a lot of progress with the 19s, and have developed a 21s league for next season too. Not sure how the Caley are getting on with theirs, but seems yet another wedge has been driven between the setups. It would make much more sense have 19s and 21s under the same umbrella, but maybe that’s just me. Having 19s and 21s within SAFA is great, but don’t see the benefit of having them under two different sub-associations. They are saying that the SPAFA has around 30 x U19 teams and 14 x U21 teams. Likely some will fold before start of the season but that seems like decent numbers. The Caley/ West of Scotland U21 league had 13 this season, assuming similar next season overall is looking better than it was. However when I first played WOS U21 leagues around 10 years ago there were 4 divisions, with great teams like Harmony Row and Campsie Black watch, although this was obviously before the U20 set up which killed the numbers. Agree its pointless having two organisations doing the same job in same region as they could come together and create a great setup for U19/U21, however they wont do that unless all teams just pick a league and the other folds. I believe all the Ams league's should merge per region but never going to happen with to many parties sticking for themselves. I know the U19/U21 can join the amateur Scottish cup, but any word if they are going to have their own U19/U21 Scottish? Not that many teams to compete but across Caley and SPAFA might get some great games? 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crazy Feet Posted March 21 Share Posted March 21 It's a shame to see what was the best league in Scotland a couple of years ago now essentially disintegrate into a Youth league. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
auld yin wae knowledge Posted March 23 Share Posted March 23 (edited) On 21/03/2024 at 14:04, Crazy Feet said: It's a shame to see what was the best league in Scotland a couple of years ago now essentially disintegrate into a Youth league. 1 Team in the East Cup Final 1 Team in the West Cup Final with another playing in the Semi Final 2 Teams in the last 8 of the Scottish The League select winning 16 v 0 last weekend so you post is just another negative comment about the SPAFA So let me balance your negativety your beloved Cally have only 1 team left in all the nationals / district Cups which make the decision for those teams to move Leagues even more bewildering considering the reasons given Edited March 23 by auld yin wae knowledge 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crazy Feet Posted March 23 Share Posted March 23 3 hours ago, auld yin wae knowledge said: 1 Team in the East Cup Final 1 Team in the West Cup Final with another playing in the Semi Final 2 Teams in the last 8 of the Scottish The League select winning 16 v 0 last weekend so you post is just another negative comment about the SPAFA So let me balance your negativety your beloved Cally have only 1 team left in all the nationals / district Cups which make the decision for those teams to move Leagues even more bewildering considering the reasons given A couple of good teams doesn't make a great "league". There is also an element of luck in cup runs - there's still a Greater Glasgow Team in the later stages of the nationals. The Titanic is sinking but you're still trying to shuffle the deck chairs mate. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amateur Footie Fan Posted March 24 Share Posted March 24 1 hour ago, Crazy Feet said: A couple of good teams doesn't make a great "league". There is also an element of luck in cup runs - there's still a Greater Glasgow Team in the later stages of the nationals. The Titanic is sinking but you're still trying to shuffle the deck chairs mate. I think thats a fair shout. SPAFA have effectively become the 3rd best league in the West of Scotland and do seem to be doing well with the 19s. Not a bad thing if they can keep it going. Could be a good feeder league to the GGPL. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amateur Footie Fan Posted March 24 Share Posted March 24 4 hours ago, auld yin wae knowledge said: 1 Team in the East Cup Final 1 Team in the West Cup Final with another playing in the Semi Final 2 Teams in the last 8 of the Scottish The League select winning 16 v 0 last weekend so you post is just another negative comment about the SPAFA So let me balance your negativety your beloved Cally have only 1 team left in all the nationals / district Cups which make the decision for those teams to move Leagues even more bewildering considering the reasons given They've moved for a reason and the fact you aren't asking the question why?? Is why youre in the state youre in. Lets see who is in what nationals and districts next season and I think youll have your harsh reality staring you in the face. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stanley Posted April 7 Share Posted April 7 Busby gone from the Scottish Premier. Down to 22 teams (and four of them are confirmed as moving to the Caley in 2024/25). Bo'ness United Community gone from the LEAFA. The LEAFA has lost 10+ clubs since last season. Down to just 33 clubs. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brad Bobley Posted April 8 Share Posted April 8 Sad to see but the gulf in quality from the top two or three to the bottom of SPAFA next year doesn't make for a very productive or meaningful setup, in comparison with the likes of the Caley, where, for example, this season, there's still five teams who can win the league. I'm just glad they'll be able to build for the future with the 19s and 21s teams they've got on board, and hope that this is only a speed bump in a longer road to recovery. 19 confirmed for next season (with the asterisk denoting rumblings of calling it a day, but only rumours): Castlemilk OBC Steins Thistle Greenock HSFP Pather Oban Saints Chryston Arthurlie Harestanes* Port Glasgow Inverclyde Parkhall* Neilston* Baljaffray Kings Park Rangers Glenvale Carlton Eddlewood Cardross Port Glasgow OBU BSC Glasgow* --- Best case scenario is a league of 10 and a league of 9, maybe? Massive risk with such a small league that one or two resigning means you'll end up with an extremely short season. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PB1234 Posted April 10 Share Posted April 10 (edited) Eddlewood haven't confirmed for next season and as far as im aware neither has neilston Edited April 10 by PB1234 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brad Bobley Posted Monday at 09:05 Share Posted Monday at 09:05 Parkhall resigning at the end of the season. Another gone from SPAFA. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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