theoriginalhedge

My apologies. I never realised it was still in operation. This makes the whole scenario even more ridiculous. It appears then that Hamilton and Motherwell currently have three competitive avenues to develop their youngsters yet they seek another one to further frustrate the large percentage who they intend to bin anyway .

If you are solely looking out for the welfare and benefits of youth players , why was the reserve league scrapped ? And more so why did clubs like Accies and Motherwell not show more resistance at the time ? If the reason for scrapping the reserve league was purely financial , why do you think your clubs can suddenly be able to afford to enter a second team into another competitive league set up ?

Come on min. By last time I meant the armageddon scenario that was dreamed up by the SPFL if we didn't admit the new club in the league at the highest level possible.

They make the decisions but if the last time is anything to go by , it will be the SPFL who set the agenda.

I wonder how they and the SPFL will manage to turn this one into an armageddon situation ?

While the SPFL stand back watching a few of those League 1 and 2 clubs struggle for existence . Scottish football is pathetic sometimes.

That statement was nothing to do with our situation. I was thinking about all the other clubs who are asking players to take pay cuts to survive. Surely the SPFL have an obligation to help them as much as possible ?

Maybe with all this happening , now is the time for the SPFL to have the balls to make a decision for the good of Scottish football and end the season now. That way clubs won't be left in limbo wondering if they need to retain players , extend contracts etc.

The two regional leagues have been suggested to have more local derbies yet Cowden and Kelty are shown in different leagues and Stenny in the north league . I presume they have just said that will do as long as the 2 colt teams get in .

All credit to you but the correct approach would have been to contact the club first . There may be constitutional and copyright issues about the use of the club badge etc for such purposes .

The only relegation issue first time round would be in the bottom league. There has been a suggestion of forming a conference type league below the third league for teams with a realistic ambition to enter the 3 league set up and which would make an automatic relegation from league 3 a possibility. This year though , the one who wins the play off between Highland and Lowland League should replace Brechin by way of a play off as that is the only realistic option. That should still go ahead if at all possible before the players' contracts expire. If not then we are faced with coming up with an alternative. I don't see that as unrealistic. Although it might be the case that given the situation at Hearts there might be an automatic place available anyway.

Strange that you picked one sentence out of my initial post to try and ridicule me . ...............Not for the first time either . You should try and have a sensible conversation instead of trying to score points with your bigotted obsession with Brechin.

I am not thinking about my club , more about Scottish football in general. Maybe time the rest of Scottish football did the same .

On the basis of the facts you have stated alone, could that be construed as self interest ? We are in an extraordinary circumstances just now where a lot of clubs are going to have players out of contract , possibly before a competitive ball is kicked again. This will put these clubs at a major disadvatage to try and complete fixtures with half their existing squad or possibly less . That is where sporting integrity really comes into force and a decision should be taken now to try and safeguard as many clubs as possible for next season. It would also allow clubs to properly prepare for next season. The plan to have 3 leagues of 14 would take care of the relegation issues and give everyone a clear picture of the way forward. As I said these are exceptional times and call for exceptional decisions and leadership . No better time than now to make those decisions for the good of Scottish football and not just the top two.

The changes are seemingly ready to be implemented as is a sensible end to the current playing season . As always though these decisions rest on the OF . ...............Sky wanting 4 OF games and whether or not The Rangers are prepared to accept Celtic being crowned champions........or that is how it appears . The Highland league showed that common sense in these uncertain times can overcome self interest ( cunningly disguised as "sporting integrity ") .