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Junior football, what is the future?


Burnie_man

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1 hour ago, FairWeatherFan said:

I'm pretty sure they do. I gave their fixtures a skin a while back and they were all Airdrie.

Which is one of the reasons I doubt they'd apply. Can their agreement work around the increase of games, set fixture lists and postponements?

 

47 minutes ago, gaz5 said:

I think, technically, you only have to play at a licenced ground for licenced competitions matches.

Stirling Uni, for example, often utilised the Gannochy in years gone by for cup ties, rather than Forthbank or Falkirk.

Perhaps it's not as common these days and it would make sense that all games (or certainly the majority) are played at the licenced ground, regardless of competition.

Agreed as above

However for GUFC 1st XI games in the British Universities Competitions, matches are often played at Garscube.   

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8 hours ago, Sidney Lumet said:

Fantasy quite clearly taking precedence over reality here. Why would you possibly expect over 1000 fans to be at the game? Musselburgh to Blackburn is all but 30 miles while Lockerbie to Blackburn isn't far short of 70 miles. Now, in the whole scheme of things this isn't that far to be asking teams to travel but, for the relative sizes of the clubs and their average supports, to expect over 1000 people to travel those distances really is pie in the sky. I can't remember the venues but the total travelling distances for the Thornton v Livingston final and, in particular, the Fauldhouse v Pumpherston final last season wouldn't have been anywhere near equivalent, hence it's much, much easier to encourage people who normally never go to travel to a one-off game.

I went to the Fauldhouse v Pumpherston game. As you said, short trip for both. Also, it was right at the end of the season, 2 clubs of similar standard, no other games that day (and only a handful that weekend) and no football on the TV. That encouraged a lot of interested neutrals (myself included) to come along. Both clubs still took an excellent following, but these factors helped. A rainy January day with Hearts v Rangers on TV, a longer distance for Musselburgh fans, an opponent with very few fans and a game that most people thought was a foregone conclusion was never going to get anywhere close in attendance to the Fauldhouse v Pumpherston game.

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My worry is that a good chunk of the West will remain junior. The nostalgia of the juniors and probably bringing back the Ayrshire and Central leagues beneath a West Super League being too attractive to them.
I'm pretty sure the LL, eosfl and sosfl are at the point where they say it's now or never. That would be at least 2 occasions the sjfa have had a chance to join the pyramid, this time, others have attempted to do what they can within reason to bring the sjfa in en masse.

If the juniors want to remain juniors so be it but the leagues you mention would remain the same leagues within or out with the Pyramid..... So there would be no change.

Set up a wosfl, ask for applicants, if you get 10 to 12 you are up and running. If you don't, then the message is clear from junior clubs and let the sjfa crack on. This being said, there should then be the removal of privileges like senior Scottish entry and any future entry should be based on what's best for the pyramid, not the sjfa.
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So if as expected option z or whatever fails and the lowland league sets up a wosfl do you think the sjfa will be trying to get in next season as a parallel league just like theve been trying with the east 🤣

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11 minutes ago, Ped said:

So if as expected option z or whatever fails and the lowland league sets up a wosfl do you think the sjfa will be trying to get in next season as a parallel league just like theve been trying with the east 🤣

Not for me. Focus changes to the North to get something in place.

Then tell all clubs to apply to the senior league in their area. SJFA remains outside carrying on until it potentially folds.

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2 hours ago, Ped said:

So if as expected option z or whatever fails and the lowland league sets up a wosfl do you think the sjfa will be trying to get in next season as a parallel league just like theve been trying with the east 🤣

 

1 hour ago, FairWeatherFan said:

Not for me. Focus changes to the North to get something in place.

Then tell all clubs to apply to the senior league in their area. SJFA remains outside carrying on until it potentially folds.

To be honest if the juniors don't go through this time then I'd expect all the senior leagues in the hierarchy to just wash their hands of the junior associations, well the West region anyways and all the seniors hopefully decide to start one WOS division and put people in charge and state they are looking for applications and they only need, I'd say, 10 to start a division..  If more join meanings the WOS ends up two leagues then even better and after that the following season because the junior league would be weaker I'd expect more to follow the following year but be in the bottom division. 

At the end of the day, middle of the day or start of the day we do not have a WOS league so I think the first who gets in with a new WOS league straight away will benefit as more chance of promotion.  There are weak teams, small teams, run by hard working junior committees but some don't have any vision and want to stay where they are. If that's what they and their fans want then for me this is fine I just want to see teams whose vision is progression are then given the chance to do so. 

For any team having the option to stay junior or join the senior/pyramid ranks is such a positive thing, options, deciding what your team/fans want to do and allowing you to do so.
My main vision is that I see it as a progressive thing for Scottish Football and it will also mean there will be the chance of youth development growing with more local junior teams joining the pyramid, thus more kids seeing a better chance of making the grade of sampling the senior grade.

 

 

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4 hours ago, Ped said:

So if as expected option z or whatever fails and the lowland league sets up a wosfl do you think the sjfa will be trying to get in next season as a parallel league just like theve been trying with the east 🤣

Yes, and at that point the WoS AND the EoS will be the Ni...... sorry, I mean, "flys in the ointment"

Edited by Che Dail
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5 hours ago, G4Mac said:

I'm pretty sure the LL, eosfl and sosfl are at the point where they say it's now or never. That would be at least 2 occasions the sjfa have had a chance to join the pyramid, this time, others have attempted to do what they can within reason to bring the sjfa in en masse.

If the juniors want to remain juniors so be it but the leagues you mention would remain the same leagues within or out with the Pyramid..... So there would be no change.

Set up a wosfl, ask for applicants, if you get 10 to 12 you are up and running. If you don't, then the message is clear from junior clubs and let the sjfa crack on. This being said, there should then be the removal of privileges like senior Scottish entry and any future entry should be based on what's best for the pyramid, not the sjfa.

The question is, will the PWG bite the bullet at tomorrow's meeting ?

If  burnie_man's views are correct about the setting up of a WoSL,  how will the SJFA react ? Will TJ & co, urgently change tack, by agreeing/claiming to deliver ALL the West clubs in at the same time, without them being tied to the East clubs getting pyramid parity with the EoSL? Possibly, or is it too late for the SJFA to accept the separation these two Regions  ?

Another unanswered question, is will the remaining East juniors want to return to a hierarchical structure, just one year after splitting to north & south divisions ?  I have no idea how successful, or not, this restructuring has been.  However, rumours (possibly false) suggests that some of its current 'rump' of south of the Tay clubs, are likely to apply to join the EoSL anyway. Perhaps a few West Lothian or Edinburgh juniors ?

The danger for the future of the pyramid, and for the ambitious junior clubs that want to join it, is that there will be another fudge, and/or more procrastination, with nothing happening for another year, or more, which in my opinion, is what the SJFA wants.  

As has been stated in earlier posts, the SFA does not need the SJFA's agreement to set up a West senior league. The worst that can happen is that too few West clubs apply to join it, but at least the SFA will have tried.  If this proves to be the case, a decisive opportunity will have been missed, and the junior clubs will have only themselves to blame in the years ahead.  

 

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Guessing that any west clubs showing interest in joining a new WoS senior league may keep things under wraps, as a precaution, until there is certainty.

However, if there is enough confidence about the new league taking all applicants which meet the criteria then we may see open statements from clubs. In any case, presumably, clubs will be holding meetings of members/supporters to get their views. That should give a few clues.

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Just now, teamfinderscot said:


Who’s that? I spoke to a few but u know they keep there cards close to their chest. Fauldhouse seemed a certainty after fox gate.

It's upto that club to announce it publicly, although it's not Fauldhouse.

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2 hours ago, Robert James said:

The question is, will the PWG bite the bullet at tomorrow's meeting ?

If  burnie_man's views are correct about the setting up of a WoSL,  how will the SJFA react ? Will TJ & co, urgently change tack, by agreeing/claiming to deliver ALL the West clubs in at the same time, without them being tied to the East clubs getting pyramid parity with the EoSL? Possibly, or is it too late for the SJFA to accept the separation these two Regions  ?

Another unanswered question, is will the remaining East juniors want to return to a hierarchical structure, just one year after splitting to north & south divisions ?  I have no idea how successful, or not, this restructuring has been.  However, rumours (possibly false) suggests that some of its current 'rump' of south of the Tay clubs, are likely to apply to join the EoSL anyway. Perhaps a few West Lothian or Edinburgh juniors ?

The danger for the future of the pyramid, and for the ambitious junior clubs that want to join it, is that there will be another fudge, and/or more procrastination, with nothing happening for another year, or more, which in my opinion, is what the SJFA wants.  

As has been stated in earlier posts, the SFA does not need the SJFA's agreement to set up a West senior league. The worst that can happen is that too few West clubs apply to join it, but at least the SFA will have tried.  If this proves to be the case, a decisive opportunity will have been missed, and the junior clubs will have only themselves to blame in the years ahead.  

 

Does anyone know if the ERJFA has met yet, to discuss reversing last year's restructuring  (as above) ?

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30 minutes ago, Ginaro said:

Can you narrow it down to a club from Fife or West Lothian? ;)

 

4 hours ago, Burnie_man said:

It's upto that club to announce it publicly, although it's not Fauldhouse.

 

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