Born To Run

There is a real chance of all cups (bar the Scottish Cup) being cancelled this coming season, especially if we don't have any games until later in the year. Worst case scenario would be to cut the fixture list in half, use it as a "get places set" campaign and hit the ground running in 2021/22. No point worrying about how fixtures will be crammed in until we get certainty from government etc.

Increasingly looking like the 20 team Premier is a go-er. 47 teams left in Tier 7, three conferences of 15/16 teams each.

Lowland League man here coming in peace Thought I’d share the interview I did with Stenny chairman Iain McMenemy yesterday should anyone fancy a listen. He’s got some interesting thoughts on SPFL league reconstruction as well as relegation to our level.

For those that want to listen:

That's fair - didn't think there was much to gain by going full on to be honest, was keen to get some full views on record from Iain regarding relegation at the bottom end of the SPFL as opposed to the top end (given every interview he's had so far has ignored our level). Still hope that it was an interesting listen. He acknowledges a couple of times that there is a degree of hypocrisy there and makes it clear that clubs are absolutely being driven by self-interest. The shock for me was the fact that he sees the playoff remaining even in a 14 team league.

It's a fair question to ask. While I can't answer for George, I do know that he has regular contact with the governing body and must have been made aware of what the SFA wanted. Indeed, the SFA chaired those mini-PWG meetings that saw this WoS agreement come to fruition. He's an extremely professional and prepared individual. It strikes me that this likely isn't something that has bypassed him, rather been thrust upon him.

Totally agree.

We'll see how many clubs join this faction. Will they really remain in the WRSJFA instead of committing to the WoS if, say, 8/10 clubs in total are up for it?

I'm no spin doctor. Pyramid positive? Of course - but (as those who listen to our podcast can attest) I'm quite happy to state my own opinions, pro and con. The whole system isn't collapsing. What has happened is that WoS clubs have been delivered something other than what was outlined at meetings chaired by the SFA involving the LL, EoS, SoS and WRSJFA. Why didn't the SFA call this out at the time? I feel bad for clubs who expected promotion to the Superleague in particular. Still - not much we can do now but press on.

There is a flip-side to this. With the WoS now on board, a united non-league setup will become harder and harder to ignore. The SPFL had to give in to a rump LL and HFL - we will force them to implement automatic relegation eventually if we all speak as one.

Yup. The WoS will now proceed with a 'Premier' of 17 teams (2019/20 Superleague plus Bonnyton), with conferences in the tier below. The rationale being offered by the SFA is that "adding the entire WoSFL to the SFA Judicial Panel Protocol is not feasible due to resource issues". Only the top flight will be added, while the WoS itself will look after Tier 7.

The statement makes it very clear. "One application fell well short of the minimum standards required".

Bingo.

The other applicant was an amateur side who have played friendlies against the likes of Maryhill recently. They took a flier without having the required facilities etc in place.

Clubs were told how this would play out at the information meeting. Now that the application process is finished, once the final list of accepted clubs is agreed they will all approve the conference setup and cups etc from there. I'm not sure what other communications could have been made tbh...

Plenty sides there...

Haha. I can't take any credit for the graphics, they are the creation of Michael Park. He's done a cracking job.

This is very much a side-issue, but thought I'd spread the word. Branding/logos for the new West of Scotland League will go live on the new twitter account (@OfficialWoSFL) at 7:30pm tonight.

Chris Anderson has just confirmed that Vale will have their floodlights installed in time for next season, so their license should be safe. What this announcement gives is certainty. I suspect Bo'ness will come up, but no team from the SoS as Stranraer reserves would win on points per game. We'll either run a 16 team league should Kelty gain promotion, or 17 teams if not.

It could be argued that they are less prepared than those two...

Now that it's out there, can confirm what's been mentioned re St Cadocs. They are the club that I expect to be approved. People who mentioned BSC as a comparison (when we first got the seniors going) are pretty bang on the money. The other club, in my opinion, have very little chance.

Fair points to raise! When I talk about the east, I'm mainly referring to the last minute nature of all the EoS applications and division that was drawn between clubs in the respective systems. Compared to the to & fro, just think it's much easier to have all clubs under one banner and work on necessary changes/improvements from there. I'm not pretending that it's perfect in the West. What we have now is the best situation that could have arisen IMO, with no factions on either side of a junior-senior fence. Clubs that are upset for now will notice very little difference in the grand scheme of things other than having the league run directly by members, which has been tremendously successful in the Lowland, EoS & SoS.

Bottom line amidst the ongoing arguments: - Have we made progress re the pyramid in Scottish Football? Yes - Is it better to have all the WRSJFA clubs together in the pyramid instead of a messy situation like in the east? Yes Time to move forward and look ahead rather than going over old ground IMO.

Correct as things stand - however, only one of them is a full youth setup, and still has a good shot at acceptance IMO.