Last nights preliminary round finished...

Lossie 3 Brora Rangers 3 AET, Lossie win 4-2 on penalties.

The rest of the draw is as follows...

First Round: 9th August 2008
Nairn County v Cove Rangers
Fort William v Shetland FA
Forres Mechanics v Deveronvale
Huntly v Inverurie Locos
Golspie Sutherland v Clachnacuddin
Fraserburgh v Wick Academy
Lossiemouth v Keith
Buckie Thistle v Rothes

Second Round: 23rd August 2008
Lossie/Keith v Broch/Wick
Forres/Vale v Buckie/Rothes
Huntly/Locos v Golspie/Clach
Nairn/Cove v Fort/Shetland

Semi Final 13th Sept 2008
Lossie/Keith/Broch/Wick v Huntly/Locos/Golspie/Clach
Forres/Vale/Buckie/Rothes v Nairn/Cove/Fort/Shetland

Final 18th October 2008

First Round results...

Nairn County 2-3 Cove Rangers
Fort William 0-5 Shetland FA
Forres Mechanics 1-3 Deveronvale
Huntly 1-4 Inverurie Locos
Golspie Sutherland 2-0 Clachnacuddin
Fraserburgh 2-1 Wick Academy
Lossiemouth 0-4 Keith (click here for match photos)
Buckie Thistle 3-0 Rothes

Second Round fixtures, to be played August 23rd...

Keith v Broch
Vale v Buckie
Locos v Golspie
Cove v Shetland

Todays capers resulted in the following...

Cove Rangers 6-2 Shetland FA
Deveronvale 2-1 Buckie Thiste
Inverurie Loco Works 2-0 Golspie Sutherland
Keith 2-2 (aet 2-3) Fraserburgh

Semi Finals, to be played September 13th

Fraserburgh v Inverurie Locos
Deveronvale v Cove Rangers

Good result really for Golspie today, I wasn't there but heard both goals were very avoidable, though Golspie never really threatened either.

Dave Cormie told them after the game that none of the Highland League sides take Golspie lightly after their results in recent years, which works against them really. He admitted he was very aware of the threat from Shane Sutherland and Aaron Smith from them playing at Brora and ensured they were watched closely and once again it was still a makeshift side for Golspie.

Are Golspie all amateur or are some of their players paid?

Big can of worms to say they are paid!!!!!! They do unofficially however it's not a topic that they like discussing. However they have done to be fair to them really well with a weakened side in there two games so far

Is it?

It is! Connelly doesn't play for free unless he has turned over a new leaf!!

Was Dropsie playing in goal for Golspie?

It's not really, there's no reason why they shouldn't pay players, no different to any other club.

As a rule I don't think they do, players are paid expenses and maybe some get a small match fee. Golspie can't pay their players like Highland League clubs do as they don't hold on to their registrations.

Mark MacRitchie was in goals yesterday.

So is the North Caledonian League more akin to the Scottish Amateur FA (whose players aren't registered) rather than the SFA?

The players are registered within the league, but they don't have contracts as such and can leave at any time and play for senior clubs. For example, Robbie Duncanson was playing for Golspie a couple of years back and left mid-season to join Clach, as he is entitled to do. Golspie don't like to hold their players back and if they have the chance to join a HFL club and are keen to do so then they will have no problems letting them leave.

They register their players with the SFA for the Challenge Cup, North Cup and Scottish Cup and will probably keep them registered just now until they are knocked out of the Cup then they will release them.

Thanks - interesting to know.

Locos were poor, Golspie were boring.

Does your keeper not have his own jersey so has to borrow the oppositions away kit?

He's not the regular keeper, but the top is red and black so I can see why it wasn't used.

What sort of crowds do Golspie get at home games? Do they have a travelling support?

Would Golspie not better off in the Highland League taking there results over the last few years against HFL clubs and Scottish Cup results? Surely the league would love to put the league upto an even numbers and the boys in the team all have higher level experience would that not be the next step for a club the sizes of Golspies

Can they afford the running costs associated with regular trips East? This was the main reason given for them not applying a few years ago. Could they afford to install lights and upgrade the ground?

Golspie might well be better off in the Highland League, but I can't for the life of me see why the NCFL should keep on 'pretending' to be a senior league. Why not just join the Amateur FA set-up?

The answer, as I'm sure you've guessed, is no.

Golspie would almost certainly have been admitted a few years ago had they applied and they seriously considered it. They didn't in the end, because they couldn't afford to run a HFL team. I think at the time Rod Houston was at the club and he also for one mentioned the proximity of Brora as one reason for this, 2 HFL teams within 5 miles was not thought to be viable.

Golspie did consider installing floodlights a few years ago, and at that time they would have secured funding for it. Unfortunately they were denied planning permission. The grant is no longer possible either so there will be no lighting. And in the current climate they couldn't afford to upgrade the ground either.

As for the status of the NCL, obviously they have kept the staus quo since the all bar one of the SFA clubs left, but there is the possibility of a Clach youth team joining the league, and I believe Ross County are considering it also. Plus the SFA continue to handle the disciplinary system for the league.

That would be surprising given Clachs finances at present

IIRC there was also problems with some of the locals objecting to the instilation of the flood lights. And as you correctly say the local communities couldn't sustain two HL clubs.

As far as I understand it they have intimated they would like to and also I have heard their youth team is separately funded? Or at least has some other source of funds?

What would the benefits be for the league and the clubs to be part of the Amateur set up?

Is there any benifits for other clubs bar Golspie to be in the SFA, Dont know how many teams there are in the Caley League but seems crazy to be classed a Senior League if they are not registered as players with the SFA????????? If they do not pay there players surely then this is classed as an Amateur League?

It would only be an amateur league if it chose to join the amateur set up, as it is it is just a league, nothing else. The only real benefit is that the SFA continue to do the disciplinary system.

What benefits would they get from joining the Amateurs?

And it wouldn't affect Golspie anyway, the status of the league doesn't matter, Glasgow University and Burntisland Shipyard are both SFA clubs playing in an amateur league.

Is there a cost involved for SFA affiliation? Surely and this is with respect to all these clubs that the SFA would want the clubs to join a Senior set up as having Amateurs in there ranks is against policy now? Seems draconian why they would let clubs away with it just because of agreements from times gone by? If not then a team from a Sunday League join and play in Senior cup competitions

The league is not affiliated with the SFA though and there are no costs involved. Presumably joining the amateur set up would involve some expense? The SFA approve the constitution, just to ensure it is proper I think, and they process the suspensions etc as they always have done.

However, none of the teams compete in Senior cup competitions, apart from Golspie who have done so for nearly 50 years as SFA members. Golspie play in the Challenge Cup because they are invited to do so by the HFL.

Nope.

Do you not think Golspie would do ok in the Highland League? I am sure with the team they have they could be competitive given that a team like Inverurie only beat them 2 nil, What do you think about extending the league to invite more teams in?

Its one thing to go to Locos and set yourself up not to lose, its another to finish a whole season. The team they have just now might do ok, but would that whole team stick about for a whole years worth of travelling to places between Aberdeen and Fort William? How would they cope with the competition from Brora and the local league for players?

More teams by all means, but let it be someone who'll add something new, we've enough mess clogging up the bottom already.

Agree entirely. Golspie wouldn't add anything to the league in my opinion and they wouldn't delude themselves that they could. Everyone seems desperate to have an even 16 teams, and while Golspie could provide that they wouldn't realistically be able to improve and get any better than the bottom 5.

It is a moot point anyway because they couldn't afford to run a team in the HFL. While I'm sure if they could afford to do so, everyone at the club would be keen to join (why wouldn't they be?), it really isn't a possibility and I don't see why many in the HFL would be keen other than the numbers point.

Who do you think would if anyone add something to the Highland League? Is there anything that can be done to attract clubs to the league? Why do East clubs have such a stranglehold on the league is there not the talent further West and North?

Less talented players, understandable if you think of the numbers.

There are other issues as well beyond talent. Anyone coming in would be from either the Juniors or the North Caledonian League. Virtually every potential candidate would have to install lights and spend an awful lot of money to upgrade facilities. I suppose the most likely candidate is Banks O'Dee. They are in the heart of the talent, are already members of the Aberdeenshire FA and have both lights and a stand, albeit one that is pretty modest. Another ready-made candidate would be Aberdeen University who own Keith Park and like Spain Park has both seats and lights.

So should the Highland league look at there entry criteria ok lights are a neccessity but spending money on big stands etc is this really needed? A covered terracing makes better atmosphere than having seats any day

I don't know if it is needed or not, perhaps expected?

The Highland League have their own standards which have to be met obviously, but perhaps most difficult is that they insist you have to be an SFA member to join. So the only possibilities at the moment from that are Golspie and Girvan. Golspie can't do it and Girvan prefer to play in the juniors which they have done for years and years.The SFA are getting stricter and it would be difficult to join without meeting very high standards. These SFA requirements have meant Brora and Ross County have had to install new floodlights an considerable expense. Oddly enough, the first division side were hardest pushed to do this, they had to have a fundraising campaign to meet the cost.

I'm not certain, but when Locos first thought of joining I'm sure it took them a few years and a massive amount of money to finally do it and I doubt any club from outside could do that any time soon.

SFA membership is as you say strict, however I don't think a South Ayrshire side like Girvan will ever be Highland League contenders!! And they only joined the Juniors 4 seasons ago.

We could always claim Girvan as a wee part of the Highlands in Costa Del AYRSHIRE!

I'm sure Locos joined as associate members for their first few seasons, then became full members.

The ground requirements are pretty strict, more so than you would imagine are necessary. But football in this country now appears to be based on how good your ground is, so this is no surprise.

Gone are the days of good old fashioned basics like tin can shelter panels around the park and a bucket to piss in!!!

Erm. You'd like to think that, wouldn't you.

If you can't find a TARDIS head to the central belt where the good old fashioned grounds still exist...

You got me thinking can't remember if Brora use Oor Wullies bucket as a urinal or not now!
I mind Jags park use to have one over by the shed, Nairn has done a lot of work to there park so maybe they have kicked the bucket into touch too!

I know, I was only thinking of SFA members who there have been talk of stepping up. Girvan claim they aren't interested anyway, and why should they be?

Of course ground requirements are important but for Highland League football all that is required are suitable facilities for the teams, an enclosed ground, floodlights (but not maybe to the SFA's expectations) and maybe a small bit of covered terracing, nothing special.

Bloody Hell some of these would put Helmand province over in Afghanistan to shame

Girvan play near Stranraer - why on earth would they want to play in the Highland League? They left their original Senior league (South of Scotland) a few years back because of all the travelling to the Dumfries area.

I wasn't talking about the Highland League, more senior football in general. They didn't fancy the EoS either then? Seems that's where most of the teams play now even if they originally were in the SoS League?

Some of those grounds are belters. I was at Whitehill's ground last season but I don't remember much about it and I just looked at pictures on their site and they don't seem very familiar. Anyway, they say their ground has a seating capacity of 12.

Here's the nextdoor neighbourhood! All these pics are from Non-League Scotland, some superb pics showing the character of the non-leagues.