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We have said the early finish takes away any potential for some teams to have that ‘last weekend of the season’ scenario where you might get to celebrate huge wins and possibly vital league deciding games. Imagine the scenario if others dropped multiple points unexpectedly and the team winning the title has finished 4 or 5 weeks ago , a bit of an anti climax however fantastic it would be for said team although I’m aware this won’t be the case it’s not impossible in the future. I would always prioritise the League games and let common sense prevail in fixture scheduling but clearly I might be in the minority with this train of thought. Somewhere down the road many locals feel that it’s inevitable that the league will end up being incorporated into and expanded West and realistically would that be such a bad thing ? New challenges and opposition with the potential for promotion / relegation etc. With regards to opening / closing weekends I’d totally agree and personally I’d always have Cup Finals on a Saturday afternoons to allow maximum attendance fans wise and the chance for the winners to celebrate with them ! Without the fans the Club will disappear rapidly

We’ve literally only had 2 home League games this year ( and 4 in total ) which is frankly incredible and far from ideal ! Star have I believe ten games left which could rise to SEVENTEEN if they make all the Cup Finals remaining and win the League thus qualifying for the Pyramid play off games so from a fixture point of view you have to ask why ? I have literally for years now tried to get the League to ensure those with grass parks have more home games earlier in the season to avoid scenarios like this but to no avail , it just seems to fall on deaf ears. Financially for us it’s far from ideal but such is life and we’ve a handful of hard working Committee members that ensure the Club stays on an even keel working tremendously hard to bring in invaluable sponsorship opportunities. If Clubs live within their means you can continue to thrive but the financial model has to be sustainable but this is up to individual member clubs to ensure this is possible within their own constraints. We have a fairly young , local team in general and that in itself generates great home crowds but that isn’t necessarily replicated across the South although it’s up to individual teams to factor in success v sustainability ! With Gretna now bottom of the LL their potential return to the League would be a welcome addition in terms of numbers and they’d also boost the overall standard and competitiveness in the South but clearly that will depend on how their season pans out for them. I can’t see any other teams on the horizon so we’ll just have to soldier on until any future change is potentially forced upon us somewhere down the road. To finish the season on top of the table albeit with others hunting us down is fantastic considering only 5 years ago we literally only had 6 players at the Club is testament to the hard work and dedication a few folk and all the players during that time have put in.

Surely it’s Dalbeattie’s to lose now ? They’ve been the best side in fairness to them

Lewis Dunn , a terrific wee player ! They’re still in the hunt but a fixture pile up will be a problem for both if the weather hampers either pitch in the coming weeks. Huge game in April 20th at Castle Cary unless either slip up beforehand

They’re in a strong position but a fixture pile up may well play a part for both themselves and Creetown !

Aren’t the West already at the limit they stated numbers wise ? Theyre hardly pissing the South although they are the best side imo

Dalbeattie’s to lose you assume although Creetown still in the hunt surely !

The weather and the impact it will have on the grass parks could end up very telling in the long run ! I was at Blairmount on Saturday and Dalbeattie started very strongly , have to say defensively they were all very poor goals to lose for NS but that’s taking nothing away from the visitors ! The home side came back into it well and missed several other good chances after the two quick goals and a point blank sitter could’ve took the teams in at 3-4. I was extremely disappointed by the time wasting from Star from fairly early on however I suppose you can’t knock them too much when they were in a strong position. The Ref wasn’t great and one Star defender should’ve seen red for a strong two handed push decked the Newton captain after the official denied what looked like a stonewall penalty for NS and both of those strange decisions could’ve have a big impact on the game imo. Dalbeattie are the best side I’ve seen this season overall and will be favourites for most after taking 6 points of NS and Creetown having 3 draws lately but time will tell !

Are you suggesting the current Top 3 as surely defending champions Abbey Vale are still very much in it and Nithsdale will surely have a say in matters too ?

They wouldn’t have a choice and neither would Dalbeattie or Creetown ! A long way to go but definitely a fair chance this time a licensed club will complete in the playoffs

A fair few games between top 6 teams in October might just shed some light on the title aspirations of the contenders !

What money did we spend if you’d care to elaborate ? You must know something we don’t ?

The obvious difficulty the South has is manly geographical and to a slightly lesser degree population density ! The East were on their knees with 13 members Clubs before the Junior invasion ( we had 16 at that time ) yet we are seen as non progressive because we didn’t have 40 ex junior sides to rejuvenate our League ! It would’ve been wonderful m sire all South Clubs would’ve agree but what can we do when no one bar the likes of Glasgow Wellington apply to join the set up . If two or three of our members Clubs tried the Threave route the South is dead in the water and I for one would hate to see that after 75 years because I’d rather a few more stepped up to reinvigorate the League. Gretna may ultimately fall in to the South which would boost numbers bu5 other than that I can5 see where anyone else is coming from !

It was certainly mentioned when we put in an application to the West during its original set up ( which we ultimately decided against at that time ) and I can assure you that many realise that the possibility of an amalgamation of sorts somewhere down the road is a distinct possibility !

Newton Stewart beat a WOSFL Premier side last season in Cambuslang Rangers away from home and have an opportunity against an EOSFL Premier side next week in the Scottish Cup when we play Luncarty ! Last season we beat former Lowland League side Preston Athletic in the Cup so it shows this apparent gulf can be bridged although possibly not over a season without as you’ve suggested investment.

I often know how you feel HG ! Big games for the Ferry and NS this weekend before the Scottish Cup the following week

NS we’re in Round 4 after beating Cambuslang Rangers in the third round ! Stirling Uni we’re just too strong for us on the day

Be more than happy to see you at Blairmount HG

Not 100% sure where you’re getting this info from but I can assure you there’s not a lot of cash to Spanish in your words !

All 8 of Thistles title winning U17 squad who wouldn’t have been eligible for next season have been promoted into the South's senior ranks ( 3 at Newton and 5 at Wigtown ). It’s fantastic to give these promising lads that opportunity and has been our philosophy at Newton for a number of years now. Living within your means is vital at our level and we firmly believe that as each season passes these youngsters gel together and the Team spirit within the playing squad is evident for all to see . Some have the finances to take different routes but it isn’t always a guarantee of success so we’ll gladly continue as we have done in recent times.

I finally got home on Friday night and whilst I ran out of steam quite easily I’m happy with how things went and will look forward to a slow and steady recovery ,thanks for asking Horsey

Hoping to finally get home the morn after 12 days but thank you for the positivity Horsey and we’ll maybe see you at an NSFC fixture somewhere along the road next season maybe !

Excuse the spelling Horsey , I’m currently in the Golden Jubilee post heart op and I was trying to type that in the dark at stupid o’clock . The East was like ourselves stuck at 13 teams before the Junior expansion and we can all see how well it’s went there as a result however the Girvans , Mayboles , Kello Rovers etc of this World decided against the option of challenging to wn the South and I can completely understand why if I’m being honest ! Attracting new teams is going to be incredibly hard with only potentially Gretna on the horizon if they struggle again next term however on a positive note , if confirmed , the Scottish Cup presence of 6 Clubs from the South will be a huge boost for the Association From the SSFL Page Our League sides who will be in next seasons Scottish Cup ️ Abbey Vale ️ Creetown ️ Dalbeattie Star ️️ Newton Stewart ️ St Cuthbert Wanderers ️ Wigtown & Bladnoch

Not one single midweek date used in August or September and e all know it’s because they waited in Caley Braves and didn’t want them to fall behind yet they ironically enough finished their own campaign FIRST almost a month ago ! Very poor fixture scheduling and it is a point that has been raised for 2023/24 and al ost unbelievably their was a free Saturday in the autumn to allow Scotland to play Rep.of Ireland that had an 8 pm start time too , yet another ludicrous decision ! Most Clubs are in agreement with you in that they should start a couple of the Cup competitions then see if the calendar can support the other two domestic Cups by say February ! we were bizarrely to,d that the South didn’t want to risk teams having virtually any games left by late January / early February if they had poor Cup results so in their wisdom instead they had teams running in almost empty trying to fit in virtually double figures of games and more in some cases in the last month of the Season ! SOSFL Executive take note and look after the member Clubs , some certainly benefitted more than others and it was also highlighted by ourselves that ‘convenient’ cancelling of fixtures has to stop ! Teams wouldn’t ‘bend’ with fixture alteration proposals if they felt they hadn’t their strongest team available when the ‘home’ side offered a new viable venue and we’ve suggested the visitors should realistically have to accept a neutral venue if it in no way really caused any more difficulty in fulfilling for both sides ! That’s an old trick that was used on grass parks from yesteryear but to not take advantage of an available 3G surface is s frankly outwith the spirit of the game ! I understand the revenue aspect etc but if the hime team is prepared to take that gamble then these matches really just stay on

Defo 100% Dev