The Ultimate Solution?

[Free Agent]

So if a Lowland League has been created and we have a Junior level that is separate and believes itself the higher level of non-league football as well as having a EoS and SoS which are very low level but strictly now come above Junior Superleagues, what to do!?

Well what if it all stayed the same (which is going to be crucial to any changes in our game) - the East Superleague champ, West Superleague champ, EoS champ and SoS champ all went into a playoff against one of the others for two promotion places to the LL?

It could be set as EoS vs. East Superleague/SoS vs. West Superleague each year or rotate annually or have a draw. But essentially, two playoff ties for two promotion places.

Any teams relegated from LL or SPFL go to the SoS or EoS depending on their area. Any junior team that was promoted up the pyramid but later fell back down would return to the Superleague (and then the various levels as they are atm if they kept being relegated).

Seems that everyone gets to keep what they want to preserve while also creating a true pyramid if somewhat contrived. But it's going to have to be it seems as everyone has their own agenda.

Incorporating the North Juniors below the HL seems pretty easy so I've made no comment here. If the NCL teams wanted to join they could be brought into the fold fairly easily given there is only 6 o them. The HL-LL-L2 playoff continues as is, though would hopefully expand in years to come.

Thoughts?

[parsforlife]

There is no solution that doesn't involve a genuine merger of the different leagues, keeping juniors sepperate will never work.

[BFTD]

Thought this might involve interring the Juniors in camps. Carry on.

[BallochSonsFan]

Junior football is not subject to the same rules as the senior teams are. Were the junior clubs forced to adhere to the higher standard, it may well be financially ruinous. West of Scotland Junior football is a unique experience and it would be a shame to lose the genuine sense of local rivalry that exists.

 

When you look at the likes of the Northern League in the north east of England, it's tecnically part of the FA so has several distinct differences from junior football despite the apparent similarities in terms of club size and local following. And yet there's a similar problem facing that league as teams are happy to play at that level. Going for progression up the non-league ladder would be ruinous for teams in the north east of England despite the league having dominance over the national cup trophies.

 

It's arguable that the Highland and Lowland leagues being included as a 5th tier of Scottish football has been a busted flush. Could any team below League 2 really afford to step up and lose local rivalries and very controlled admin costs?

 

There may be a stronger argument for having 2 national leagues - tier 1 and tier 2 - and regionalising anything from tier 3 down to provide a reasonable path for progression without losing that sense of localism.