Been very quiet on the boards ahead of this, very different from last year, and I wondered how Pollok and other Junior fans see this one?

From our point of view I'll get my tuppence worth in first.

I think we have two key injuries we could do without. One central defender and one striker (that's Keith McLeod who has been out all season). We have lost Jon Seeley, Ross Campbell and Kevin Motion to senior teams but have good new signings and everyone else seems to be fit, everyone did a full pre season, OK we have missed a lot of games through the weather but we can't really have any excuses this year. The team we will put out on Saturday will be as near as good as we can manage this year.

Pollok have started very well so are we in a for a real pumping this year?

YES!!

i know boys from spartans and they say that thy think they will get a humping because they dont trust each other games, they think they will get beat,pollolk are way too strong

I think Pollok will be too strong for Spartans. Spartans did ok last season against the Rose but i saw alot better teams than them in the juniors last season also.

It's no secret that Lok are tight for numbers this weekend, it's a shame neither side will be at full strength.

its funny as last year ahead of the Linlithgow game Spartans had
players away or injured and oh we are struggling to get a team and its not our full team

fast forward a year and heh ho its the same again
you say its not excuses but it reads that way

Spartans sadly did not make any friends in the juniors last year due to the managers blog and comments
about the juniors in the cup prior to teh Linlithgow game so I think you will be ard pushed to find anyone
hoping or wishing for a spartans victory
maybe except of for a few Lie fans that is !!

5-1 Pollok

I don't want to go into last year all over again but I wasn't saying in my post that oh dear we don't have a full team. I was saying quite the opposite. Keith has not played a competitive game this year so we have had to work around that. So we really have only one fresh injury worry (assuming no one gets crocked on Thursday training). With that one exception the team will be the best we can put out. Hope that is a bit clearer this time.

Good luck to Pollok.

Leaving aside the whole Junior/Senior/EoS debate, it's a cracking tie. Probably the hardest tie we could have drawn but one we are really looking forward to. The Scottish Cup should be about big games (but maybe not quite so soon).

No predictions. I would say we are definitely the underdogs in this one but I have seen some brilliant performances already this season from each and every one of the guys who are likely to start - here's hoping Saturday is the day when all the the performances come together.

I have no problem with Spartans. I think Lawson was wrong about the juniors in general but the players, officials and supporters were nothing less than a pleasure to host at Linlithgow. I also think Pollok will win this tie - particularly given that the manager knows broadly what to expect following last year's encounter. However, Pollok will still need to put in a shift - Spartans are nobody's mugs.

Spartans will be decent opposition, but I believe Pollok can still win this one. Hope to make it along myself if I am not too busy.

It's the pick of the ties for me to be honest and I'm going to take a wander down to Newlandsfield on Saturday and see what's going on.

I fancy Pollok to be honest as their early season form, coupled with their experience in this tournament last season, will give them confidence plus the incentive to get themselves up against another league side will be massive carrots to dangle.

I don't know how Spartans have been doing to be fair so I can't comment on how they may shape up, but they have a decent Scottish Cup pedigree and they will still be smarting over losing to Linlithgow Rose last year, so that gives them an edge.

But I can't see past Pollok on their own patch to be honest and that's what's swaying me.

Should be a good 'un

Not true at all.
I hope all the junior teams progress (well at least one will anyway).
I know a lot of Lie fans want Pollok to win, and some will be at the game, seeing as we don't have one this week end.

Would you like to see your team join the Juniors?. This is a serious question with no undertones.

That's a very good question and topical too. Not having won the league for 3 years and having gone out a cup last weekend I have to be a bit careful about making comments like wanting to play against the best opposition you can etc. It's not as if we are dominating our own league exactly.

However, I think most would agree we are a big club in our league all the same. We are going to have fantastic new facilities very soon and I think we can compete at a higher level.

If you had asked me that question last year I would have said no. A year down the line older (but not necessarily any wiser!) I think I would answer yes now.

Certainly a debate the club should be having internally and I would not be surprised if this comes back on to the agenda fairly soon although I'm not a member so wouldn't have any say or input to that discussion.

Having seem Pollok down here at St Mary's last year i think they will win this game easy.

Pollok are a standard way above any EoS team ive seen and i imagine thats how the majority of junior teams are.

One thing to point out though Lok's keeper didnt look too comfy down here last year, looked nervous the whole game.

Well, I'd say you guys could match the likes of Kello or Craigmark so Lok are only a reflection on our position at the top of the tree.

On our day The Lok will give most teams a good game, I am confident we will win this one on Saturday. As for our keeper, yes he has his moments when you wonder what he is doing, but his moments of good for the team do outweigh those that are bad.

Should be a good game and hopefully there will be a good crowd there.

Given our current form and Pollok's standing I think a lot of clubs still to come in will be hoping the EoS minnows punch above their weight (not massive in the case of Alex King) and knock the Junior upstarts out. Everyone that is except Arbroath, Queens Park, Alloa, Berwick and, yes, St. Mirren.

Hoping for a good crowd too and a great day.

Dunno about 'Junior upstarts' in whatever context it may be meant. We're as big a club as any in the non-league scene and on the pitch 16 of our current 20 man squad have been on the books of Scottish League sides as adults. I read earlier on that the Fort William manager suggested that 'even though' Banks O'Dee are *just* a Junior team he expects a hard game. He's fortunate to have at least drawn a side his team might beat as the North Junior sides rarely even make the last 64 or 32 of the Junior Cup. Senior non-league status means bugger all unless we're talking about the top half of the Highland League and the better sides in the EOS and SOS.

Hi Jamie, didn't mean any offence. Some folk think the Juniors shouldn't be in the Scottish. I don't want to re-open that discussion (that's up to Mickey and Des McKeown) but that is all I meant by the "Junior upstarts" comment. A great game in the first round of the Scottish - bring it on.

On more important matters, can we expect a good pie?

Yes

Hibs used to restrict Scott Brown's intake of e-numbers (sweets and juice) to calm him down to a panic so we'll have to do the same with AK47 - similar midfield dynamo.

Hi WJR. Can you tell me who supports Spartans? The supporters I met at the Rose match last year seemed like professional gentlemen and I've since heard that Spartans is a sort of Edinburgh Uni FPs club. Is that right? Also, do you get much support from the local area, whether it's Pilton or Granton on one side or Fettes on the other?

That's more good questions. Historically Spartans are an ex Edin Uni club but in recent years we have had at least as many "jiners" in our ranks and the club is open to all. We are working very hard, through the Development Manager, to develop links in the North Edinburgh area (inc Pilton).

My dream, probably shared but not sure how long it wiil take to realise, is for "wee Jonny" as a 16yr old to be asked who he supports and for him to reply "Spartans - always has been since I was a boy".

But for the moment we rely on families and friends!

The Lok pies seem to divide opinion! I prefer the sausage rolls.

I remember the pies were superb the last time I was there which was a couple of years ago. I'm hopeful the standard won't have dropped any

Just had a quick look at the fixtures tomorrow. I reckon Linlithgow would be odds on favourites (somewhere between 4/5 and 1/50) to beat every team in the first round - home or away - with the exception of Pollok, Bathgate and Lochee Utd.

Strange that guys like Des (the boaby) McKeown are still content to defend the automatic presence of clubs like Brora and Fort William in the competition as it currently stands (no disrespect to Brora or Fort William by the way). Yet they are unhappy that 3 junior teams (all of whom would also probably beat any senior team in this round home or away imo) have qualified to enter.

Is Gordon Smith prepared to evaluate junior participation and make some decisions or should we be content with being thrown the odd scrap off the table through this half-way house approach?

The difference between St Cuthberts being drawn at Wick in this round as opposed to say West Calder being drawn away to Inverness City in the Junior Cup is about £1750 to cover expenses. My understanding is that particpation in round 1 of the big cup earns you £2k whether you win or get humped by 20 goals. Participation in the junior cup attracts £250 to help with costs. My figures might be a bit out but you can see why the "wee" senior teams are content to be in this - even though they have no more intention of playing SFL3 football than Stoneyburn (who are flying at the moment!).

How much is it in tomorrow?

WJR - what is Spartans average gate? Thanks.

I'll add my tuppence ...... Good Luck Spartans !....

There !...

I want the Juniors to do well...
but I don't want Pollok to do better than the Rose did last year (or do I? I'm not sure).
I kinda like Spartans and their record as giant-killers...
but they're from the other side.

OK, put me down for a draw or a tight game won by Pollok.

Let's just hope it's a good game played in a good spirit.

£5/£2.50 according to pre match report in Evening News - although they are are also saying we went out to Linlithgow in the first round last year (we didn't - it was the second round) so that might not be too reliable.

Our gate receipt records are less reliable than St. Mirren's so I am not really sure. In the quaint but charming City Park probably anywhere between 100 - 150. We'll be better placed to keep more accurate track in the new ground.

Admission is a fiver and £2.50

As Des Mckeown Said ''Pollok & other junior teams shouldnt be in the scottish,only interested in the Sponsorship,extra revenue etc etc though when it came to applying to the Scottish league neither them,Rose or any other Junior team were around'

Comon Spartans

No surprises that a Clyde fan is rooting for the Council-built stadium crew

Naw we're also interested in gubbing south and east of scotland teams

The SFA and the Scottish League organisations are quite separate. The Cup belongs to the SFA, not the League, and that's why non-league teams of different persuasions play in it. Des, like tabloid writers, pulls the pin out and throws the grenade to get a reaction. He's just stirring and so are you.

I see nothing wrong with teams like the Rose wanting to play in the Cup each year but remaining in the competitive Junior Superleague. How many of the non-junior teams playing tomorrow applied for the league place? They're in it for the sponsorship money etc. as well and it is attractive to the juniors in that way but there's also the chance of a game against the likes of your own team. I don't think you'd relish a visit to Newlandsfield or Prestonfield.

Good grief.....unbelievable comments.

I think you should donate your brain cell to medical research.

There are 36 non-league sides entering the cup this season. Only 4 applied for the SFL - should the other 32 be turfed out too?

Why not stick to commenting what you actually know about?

Did it occur to you that McKeown might have been conversing out of his brown eye?

The Scottish Cup have ABSOLUTELY NO CONNECTION to the Scottish League.

Is that clear enough for you? No? Ok, here it is again, in big writing and wee words.

THERE IS NO LINK BETWEEN SFL AND SFA

Muppet.

I think we've said the same thing but used different methods of saying it. In short, I agree entirely with you.

It's just staggering how many people view this man McKeown as some kind of guru when it comes to Scottish football. Having had the misfortune to read his column occasionally and having heard his ramblings on the wireless, he clearly knows bugger all outwith his own wee vista.

Having heard Des state on Beyond the SPL that Stranraer were skint cos they charge £15 to get into Stair Park, I can confirm that he is a dipstick who knows nothing about Football. He was only 50% out on the admittance charge.

C'mon the 'Lok.

Got you took one hell of a bite & anymore of those 'muppet' remarks you'll be taking a size 10 next time i pay visit to Newlansfield

I knew what you were at.

Erm... muppet.

Great game today and a good crowd. Many thanks to Pollok, a great club who welcomed us, entertained us and provided an excellent post match buffet.

Much banter was had in the crowd - some pleasant and some not so pleasant. For the record, I am neither a "poof", a "hoor" nor a junkie.

Comedy moment of the day for me had to be being called a "druggie b*****d" by a guy smoking a joint.

Great day out.

You might remember Specky and I warning Pollok not to underestimate Spartans, especially as they would be looking for a bit of revenge against the juniors. How did the game actually go? Was a draw a fair result or was one team a bit lucky to get it?

Comedy moment of the day for me had to be being called a "druggie b*****d" by a guy smoking a joint.


and you would think sinbad would act as a manager should.