Berwick Rangers 2018/2019 Thread

[Jack Burton]

I understand why you wont want to hear it but the LL is only going to get stronger and will soon be a more enjoyable league than SPFL2. 
16 teams playing each other twice a season at half the current price.  Use your parachute money well and you'll end up in the 'Irn Bru' cup as well as the Scottish where you can enjoy visiting and fucking your old rivals.

Playing two University sides, a French students team and the likes of BSC Glasgow and Cumberland Colts who don't have any fans won't be enjoyable.

You also lose your place in both the league Cup and come in a round or two earlier in the Scottish cup. Plus you lose the prize money from the SPFL. Again none of that is enjoyable.

[BB_Bino]

Playing two University sides, a French students team and the likes of BSC Glasgow and Cumberland Colts who don't have any fans won't be enjoyable.

You also lose your place in both the league Cup and come in a round or two earlier in the Scottish cup. Plus you lose the prize money from the SPFL. Again none of that is enjoyable.

Agree 100% with this [emoji1319]

[Pompey Blue]

3 hours ago, DutchBorderer said:

Ask and ye shall receive;

http://berwickrangers.com/club-statement-3/

Think there were more pressing matters to comment on but I appreciate the board's communication all the same. There simply isn't anything we can do and I hope that will be the end of that. Focus on Saturday now.

Court of arbitration for sport? If the rule clearly stated pre season that clubs would face the sanctions Clyde did and this would include gifting the opposition involved 3-0 wins then fine. But I doubt that’s the case and firmly believe the inconsistency in handing out these punishments needs to be explained fully. Personally I’d not be giving up until I got a detailed and comprehensive explanation of why they awarded what they did. 

[DutchBorderer]

14 minutes ago, Pompey Blue said:

Court of arbitration for sport? If the rule clearly stated pre season that clubs would face the sanctions Clyde did and this would include gifting the opposition involved 3-0 wins then fine. But I doubt that’s the case and firmly believe the inconsistency in handing out these punishments needs to be explained fully. Personally I’d not be giving up until I got a detailed and comprehensive explanation of why they awarded what they did. 

We could take it up with CAS in Switzerland, but I doubt we've the money for that.

[tamthebam]

50 minutes ago, DutchBorderer said:

We could take it up with CAS in Switzerland, but I doubt we've the money for that.

Katarina Cas? Well if you've got her number.... 

[The Crafty Dafty]

Playing two University sides, a French students team and the likes of BSC Glasgow and Cumberland Colts who don't have any fans won't be enjoyable.

You also lose your place in both the league Cup and come in a round or two earlier in the Scottish cup. Plus you lose the prize money from the SPFL. Again none of that is enjoyable.

Quite a few LL league teams would beat the current BR team
East Kilbride
Kelty Hearts
BSC Glasgow
For starters
And in the EOS
Bonnyrigg
Bo’ness
Hill o beath

[DutchBorderer]

23 minutes ago, The Crafty Dafty said:

 

Quite a few LL league teams would beat the current BR team
East Kilbride
Kelty Hearts
BSC Glasgow
For starters
And in the EOS
Bonnyrigg
Bo’ness
Hill o beath

The real question is whether Penicuik could beat us at the moment.

[Jacksgranda]

26 minutes ago, The Crafty Dafty said:

 

Quite a few LL league teams would beat the current BR team
East Kilbride
Kelty Hearts
BSC Glasgow
For starters
And in the EOS
Bonnyrigg
Bo’ness
Hill o beath

 

Is that the French Students team?

[vikingTON]

Playing two University sides, a French students team and the likes of BSC Glasgow and Cumberland Colts who don't have any fans won't be enjoyable.

 

You also lose your place in both the league Cup and come in a round or two earlier in the Scottish cup. Plus you lose the prize money from the SPFL. Again none of that is enjoyable.

 

Relegation has similar costs at every level of the game. If Berwick wanted to ensure that they didn’t experience them then they shouldn’t have sat on their laurels while Albion Rovers were racking up one of the worst first halves of the campaign in modern league history. And they still have their fate in their own hands at every stage in the process from here. If they go down then it’ll have been fully merited and the national league will have a less incompetent replacement. That’s how the system ought to work.

 

 

 

 

[Alpha Gordini]

9 minutes ago, DutchBorderer said:

The real question is whether Penicuik could beat us at the moment.

Given that they've scored in every league game so far, and we haven't scored for 4 games and can't buy a goal at the moment, I wouldn't fancy our chances. Plus it would be a grudge match too after the Penicuik 3 affair.

[haufdaft]

I understand why you wont want to hear it but the LL is only going to get stronger and will soon be a more enjoyable league than SPFL2. 

16 teams playing each other twice a season at half the current price.  Use your parachute money well and you'll end up in the 'Irn Bru' cup as well as the Scottish where you can enjoy visiting and fucking your old rivals.

 

 

Maybe you can explain why East Kilbride want promoted if its so good in the Lowland League.

 

[surely not!]

 
Relegation has similar costs at every level of the game. If Berwick wanted to ensure that they didn’t experience them then they shouldn’t have sat on their laurels while Albion Rovers were racking up one of the worst first halves of the campaign in modern league history. And they still have their fate in their own hands at every stage in the process from here. If they go down then it’ll have been fully merited and the national league will have a less incompetent replacement. That’s how the system ought to work.
 
 
 
 

On reflection, the piss poor start that AR made has, in my opinion, been the main reason for the malaise at Berwick.

Everyone at every internal level of the club has been sleepwalking through the season thinking they didn’t have to do much because someone would be noticeably worse than them.

[PELE]

18 minutes ago, surely not! said:

 

On reflection, the piss poor start that AR made has, in my opinion, been the main reason for the malaise at Berwick.

Everyone at every internal level of the club has been sleepwalking through the season thinking they didn’t have to do much because someone would be noticeably worse than them.

 

Definitely. When Albion Rovers looked like they were coming down, it looked like a sure thing that they would finish bottom and that's how it was panning out. It wouldn't have taken much effort from Berwick to avoid the bottom spot. You normally need points around the mid-thirties mark to avoid the dreaded bottom spot. It is very much like they thought it was a sure thing for AR to finish on a seriously low points total and that they were never in any real danger.

[DutchBorderer]

Although this lethargy might have been enabled by Rovers' woes, it sure as fcuk didn't come undone when our Coatbridge buds pulled themselves up by the bootstraps. Rather, much like with the Clyde admin issue, the blame is on us for letting it get this bad.

[Muzza81]

1 hour ago, haufdaft said:

 

 

Maybe you can explain why East Kilbride want promoted if its so good in the Lowland League.

 

Potentially the worst post of all time? It just makes no sense at all. 

[Muzza81]

2 hours ago, The Crafty Dafty said:

 

Quite a few LL league teams would beat the current BR team
East Kilbride
Kelty Hearts
BSC Glasgow
For starters
And in the EOS
Bonnyrigg
Bo’ness
Hill o beath

 

Hill o Beath? What’s this based on? Absolutely wild.

[berwick-the-unbeatable]

Definitely. When Albion Rovers looked like they were coming down, it looked like a sure thing that they would finish bottom and that's how it was panning out. It wouldn't have taken much effort from Berwick to avoid the bottom spot. You normally need points around the mid-thirties mark to avoid the dreaded bottom spot. It is very much like they thought it was a sure thing for AR to finish on a seriously low points total and that they were never in any real danger.

Harvey has signed about 15 players and released plenty too. It's easy to excuse us based on the above theory but why would we make such drastic changes (which also cost money) if we were so confident Albion were a free pass? There was a realisation we were not good enough and in danger, but it's become clear we've released the wrong people and replaced with no better. That side of things has just been a disaster.

[HibeeJibee]

5 hours ago, Jack Burton said:

Playing two University sides, a French students team and the likes of BSC Glasgow and Cumberland Colts who don't have any fans won't be enjoyable.

You also lose your place in both the league Cup and come in a round or two earlier in the Scottish cup. Plus you lose the prize money from the SPFL. Again none of that is enjoyable.

If ourselves or Albion go down, nothing whatsoever alters regarding the Scottish Cup, Scottish League Cup or Scottish Challenge Cup for next season... If you go down and stay down you stop playing in the League Cup unless you win LL, but you never start more than one round earlier in the Scottish Cup (indeed you continue joining at R2 if you finish top 2), and you keep qualifying for the Challenge Cup if you finish top 4. Obviously there'd be no SPFL prizemoney, but there would be a £40,000 parachute payment for next season - similar to if not slightly better than low finish in SPFL2 - and a further £20,000 the following season if stayed down. Though there are 6 fewer league games there are 3 extra cups - the South Challenge Cup, EOS Qualifying Cup and Lowland League Cup (unless contesting promotion playoff).

To be clear I'm not suggesting it's no difference, but it's a reasonably soft landing in terms of central finance - certainly for the first season and to a lesser extent the second. If fewer fans turn-up or sponsors walk away, that's particular to the club, and a natural consequence of being the worst team in the entire league and getting relegated. In any other level of the leagues finishing bottom would mean automatic relegation, not another chance in a playoff, so we can hardly complain. If either of us go down having won a handful of games all season and lost a playoff it'll be fully deserved.

Some fans might find it 'demeaning' to play university sides or grassroots clubs but that's the reality of relegation. We could hardly be snobbish about it - in the last few years we've lost cup-ties to Deveronale, Hawick and Spartans, drawn with Culter and Spartans, huffed-n-puffed past the likes of Civil Service, Gretna, Formartine and Wick. It's not a question of facilities - of those named only Edinburgh Uni don't use an SPFL ground and Peffermill is well-appointed. Others have similar grounds to Shielfield (better?) and the likes of Kelty, Bonnyrigg and Linlithgow will get similar/larger crowds.

Plus the harsh reality is that - as I understand it - neither club has shown any inclination to support an increase in promotion/relegation. If you endup on the wrong side of a glass trapdoor, it'll be hard to get back, but I won't be expecting much sympathy.

Edited April 16, 2019 by HibeeJibee

[geo87]

If ourselves or Albion go down, nothing whatsoever alters regarding the Scottish Cup, Scottish League Cup or Scottish Challenge Cup for next season... If you go down and stay down you stop playing in the League Cup unless you win LL, but you never start more than one round earlier in the Scottish Cup (indeed you continue joining at R2 if you finish top 2), and you keep qualifying for the Challenge Cup if you finish top 4. Obviously there'd be no SPFL prizemoney, but there would be a £40,000 parachute payment for next season - similar to if not slightly better than low finish in SPFL2 - and a further £20,000 the following season if stayed down. Though there are 6 fewer league games there are 3 extra cups - the South Challenge Cup, EOS Qualifying Cup and Lowland League Cup (unless contesting promotion playoff).

To be clear I'm not suggesting it's no difference, but it's a reasonably soft landing in terms of central finance - certainly for the first season and to a lesser extent the second. If fewer fans turn-up or sponsors walk away, that's particular to the club, and a natural consequence of being the worst team in the entire league and getting relegated. In any other level of the leagues finishing bottom would mean automatic relegation, not another chance in a playoff, so we can hardly complain. If either of us go down having won a handful of games all season and lost a playoff it'll be fully deserved.

Some fans might find it 'demeaning' to play university sides or grassroots clubs but that's the reality of relegation. We could hardly be snobbish about it - in the last few years we've lost cup-ties to Deveronale, Hawick and Spartans, drawn with Culter and Spartans, huffed-n-puffed past the likes of Civil Service, Gretna, Formartine and Wick. It's not a question of facilities - of those named only Edinburgh Uni don't use an SPFL ground and Peffermill is well-appointed. Others have similar grounds to Shielfield (better?) and the likes of Kelty, Bonnyrigg and Linlithgow will get similar/larger crowds.

Plus the harsh reality is that - as I understand it - neither club has shown any inclination to support an increase in promotion/relegation. If you endup on the wrong side of a glass trapdoor, it'll be hard to get back, but I won't be expecting much sympathy.

Fantastic post.

[The REAL Rookie Cookie]

2 hours ago, Alpha Gordini said:

Given that they've scored in every league game so far, and we haven't scored for 4 games and can't buy a goal at the moment, I wouldn't fancy our chances. Plus it would be a grudge match too after the Penicuik 3 affair.

No grudges! JH brought his Berwick team to Penicuik for a friendly already - and guess what the Cuikie strolled to a 4-1 win.