LongTimeLurker Posted July 8, 2014 Share Posted July 8, 2014 I don't think this would be pushed so relentlessly by Tom Johnston if the top clubs in the east and west are not already on board with the concept and that would pretty much have to include Auchinleck Talbot. My guess at the 12 would be; 1 Auchinleck 2 Cumnock (the derby thing) 3 Irvine Meadow 4 Hurlford (now that they are nouveau riche) 5 Arthurlie 6 Pollok 7 Clydebank 8 Petershill 9 Bo'ness United 10 Linlithgow Rose 11 Bonnyrigg Rose 12 Newtongrange Star Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fan of the juniors Posted July 8, 2014 Share Posted July 8, 2014 I don't think this would be pushed so relentlessly by Tom Johnston if the top clubs in the east and west are not already on board with the concept and that would pretty much have to include Auchinleck Talbot. My guess at the 12 would be; 1 Auchinleck 2 Cumnock (the derby thing) 3 Irvine Meadow 4 Hurlford (now that they are nouveau riche) 5 Arthurlie 6 Pollok 7 Clydebank 8 Petershill 9 Bo'ness United 10 Linlithgow Rose 11 Bonnyrigg Rose 12 Newtongrange Star Ok i will bite Why would a team who have just been relegated be in a top league ? An if ur talkin about derbies the Ladeside Beith derby should be involved also should it not? Think u have just picked some names outta hat & stuck them together Come back when uv thought about this So we will see u in a season or 2 by the looks of it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RobRoyGuy Posted July 8, 2014 Share Posted July 8, 2014 Indeed, needs to be a centralised league that keeps local rivalries so the obvious candidates from both leagues are (and looking at the criteria)- 1. Linlithgow 2. Boness 3. Camelon 4. Falkirk 5. Sauchie 6. Bathgate 7. Dunipace 8. Cumbernauld 9. Kilsyth 10. Petershill 11. Maryhill 12. Ashfield Cant say fairer than that. Ayrshire and East Lothian are too far from the centre to be viable propositions for this league. Oh no Rob Roy ! No fair! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drs Posted July 8, 2014 Share Posted July 8, 2014 Oh no Rob Roy ! No fair! Dont meet the ground criteria (you dont have one ) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimbaxters Posted July 8, 2014 Share Posted July 8, 2014 There's now way a criteria list would work as has been handsomely pointed out here previously. If...and that's a big IF...this were to go ahead there would be only two criteria to be taken into account. 1) Do clubs actually want it, and 2) If they do then it's top 6,7 or 8 from West League in previous season and top 6,7 or 8 from East No? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fan of the juniors Posted July 8, 2014 Share Posted July 8, 2014 Let's face it as I alluded to last night it's a ridiculous, desperate idea, If going by the proposed entry requirements then hypothetically Hurlford wouldn't get in due to lack of fans. Clydebank wouldn't get in due to not having a ground, Newtongrange wouldn't get in due to lack of recent success other than an EOS in 2010. Pollok are now a second division club yet are a massive draw, but under proposed criteria surely they are a no go. Basically it's a clusterfuck of an idea, and the sort of shite that you see a group of kids come up with when trying to form their subbuteo league. I'm embarrassed as a fan of junior football that this idea even saw the light of day, never mind was raised as a serious proposal. The idea is elitist and is completely against the ethos of junior football, and I would suggest that whoever was in the management group that came up with this plan hang their heads in shame. If this was meant to be an alternative to the pyramid then god help us and junior football. All it has done is make the powers that be a laughing stock. All this proposed league would do is isolate and divide the junior game even more, which is the last thing we need. Disappointing to say the least and would suggest that those behind it spend a bit of time on their next plan before issuing it. Well said sir The west league was brought in as the central league was goin tits up Both leagues are doin fine just now so no reason to change Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bankies Alive Posted July 8, 2014 Share Posted July 8, 2014 If your club think that its not a good idea or that the travelling make it a non starter then they just dont apply surely? If nobody is interested then it wont happen,simples! The attraction for me as a fan of a West club is that the League would presumably be run by the SJFA and not the West Region! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drs Posted July 8, 2014 Share Posted July 8, 2014 2) If they do then it's top 6,7 or 8 from West League in previous season and top 6,7 or 8 from East A joint Superleague is probably going to happen at some point in the next 5 years or so and it has to be based on current performance, anything else and you make a mockery of the competition. If your club think that its not a good idea or that the travelling make it a non starter then they just dont apply surely? Which is the big problem, any league that you have to "apply" for a place in isnt a competitive league, its been rigged to ensure that the "big" teams are in it. Pollok may have the support to get them into this league but based on last season they'd be embarrased in the Extra Super League - and what happens then? Is this a league of 12 with no promotion or relegation into it? If there is promotion - who comes up? where do they come from? (east or west) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimbaxters Posted July 8, 2014 Share Posted July 8, 2014 If your club think that its not a good idea or that the travelling make it a non starter then they just dont apply surely? If nobody is interested then it wont happen,simples! The attraction for me as a fan of a West club is that the League would presumably be run by the SJFA and not the West Region! Is that a good thing? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LongTimeLurker Posted July 8, 2014 Share Posted July 8, 2014 Ok i will bite Why would a team who have just been relegated be in a top league ? They are not proposing top 6 in the west and top 6 in the east at the end of 2015/16 get in, which is the approach used with the east and west superleagues, for a reason. I may be adding two and two and getting five but finding a way to get Pollok in using size of support as an excuse seemed like an obvious motivation for that. Beyond that the four Ayshire, Central and East thing was just a guess at how they might address concerns in the west about too many east clubs being involved. Would agree that Beith and Kilbirnie would be hard done by in the scenario I outlined. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RobRoyGuy Posted July 8, 2014 Share Posted July 8, 2014 Dont meet the ground criteria (you dont have one ) Fair enough! Seems like our new ground would be well in place before 2016-17 so hopefully get considered if this idea turns into a reality Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bankies Alive Posted July 8, 2014 Share Posted July 8, 2014 Is that a good thing? Given the amount of posts on here complaining about the way fixtures are dealt with in the West I doubt it could be any worse. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LongTimeLurker Posted July 8, 2014 Share Posted July 8, 2014 Given the amount of posts on here complaining about the way fixtures are dealt with in the West I doubt it could be any worse. The mention of dealing with fixture backlog issues at the end of the season was also noteworthy. Floodlights? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drs Posted July 8, 2014 Share Posted July 8, 2014 The mention of dealing with fixture backlog issues at the end of the season was also noteworthy. Floodlights? There will be no fixture backlog in utopia, With other points of note being : Consideration will be given to reducing / removing midweek fixtures at end of season. With the way of doing that being by playing fewer league games. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LongTimeLurker Posted July 8, 2014 Share Posted July 8, 2014 There will be no fixture backlog in utopia, With other points of note being : Consideration will be given to reducing / removing midweek fixtures at end of season. With the way of doing that being by playing fewer league games. Same number of league games for the west superleague clubs and they would still be in local and inter-regional cups, so something fundamental would have to change. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marconi Posted July 8, 2014 Share Posted July 8, 2014 this aint going to happen, more chance of ayrshire region being brought back Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HibeeJibee Posted July 8, 2014 Share Posted July 8, 2014 If they had said they would form a 16-team East-West Combined Superleague... that it would be founded on a combination of ground criteria and finishing positions, with uninterested clubs able to stand aside... and that it would fall-in below the Lowland League within the Scottish pyramid system... there could be few objections beyond the travel issue. You would have a sort of Lowland League Division 2, without mandatory licensing, with certain Junior traditions. As it is there seem to be a number of flaws? Flaw #1... being done by expression of interest, at very short notice. Flaw #2... only taking 12 clubs, meaning a fall in league games for East clubs, and a more elitist make-up. Flaw #3... judging clubs based on where they're situated, how good / bad people think their pitch is, who their rival is, and what people think of their support. A club with top facilities and performances could lose-out based on location and fanbase. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LongTimeLurker Posted July 8, 2014 Share Posted July 8, 2014 The proposal before this one explicitly mentioned the combined east-west league potentially entering the pyramid on a par with the LL. I doubt that would change from a junior standpoint since then and there has been a mention in earlier SJFA management committee correspondence posted by Old Northerner of discussions being initiated between Tom Johnston and Stewart Regan on the subject of the pyramid. An angle that would be worth examining is whether the SJFA officeholders have the power under the SJFA's constitution to create/admit a new elite league by invitation. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cmontheloknow Posted July 8, 2014 Share Posted July 8, 2014 If this goes ahead and Pollok are interested, no way they won't be in it, regardless of present league status. That's why clubs are being *invited* rather than having to qualify. Like the Lowland League, it will be a cherry-picking. Unlike the Lowland League, the entire concept is ridiculous. If these same teams gave the LL serious thought, you might have a workable structure in Scotland. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LongTimeLurker Posted July 8, 2014 Share Posted July 8, 2014 There is no way that top junior clubs are going to unilaterally jump ship to the LL as it is currently constituted. Regardless of the rights and wrongs associated with it that horse has very much already bolted. In England, the Isthmian league hooked up to the Conference as a feeder after the Southern and Northern Premier leagues did and ran in parallel with the Southern League in geographical terms for many years. Having two south of the Tay feeders at tier five would address an imbalance in population terms in a similar sort of way to that, so even if the LL clubs were less than thrilled overall it might be seen as a positive by the SFA. I seriously doubt that there's any huge desire to actually get into the SPFL on the part of central belt junior clubs, so the issue that would drive all this might be senior Scottish Cup entry and the financial boost it provides, if not what's the motivation for Tom Johnston to push this so relentlessly? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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