Highland Pyramid

[Robert James]

1 hour ago, Whitburn Vale said:

Not for me RJ,there is already a large imbalance population wise between the LL area and HL area.

Brechin are at it plain and simple,they are in Northern Angus not northern Fife,the road links to the north are fantastic now and only gonna get better.

We shouldn't be co towing to them or anyone  else in Angus or Tayside.

Fair enough with border sides like Luncarty,Scone etc a wee bit of come and go is required but not for a club minutes drive away from the Aberdeenshire border!!!

 

Thanks VW.  I agree with your views.

For the record I am totally opposed to the boundary being shifted !

[Cyclizine]

2 hours ago, Whitburn Vale said:

Not for me RJ,there is already a large imbalance population wise between the LL area and HL area.

Brechin are at it plain and simple,they are in Northern Angus not northern Fife,the road links to the north are fantastic now and only gonna get better.

We shouldn't be co towing to them or anyone  else in Angus or Tayside.

Fair enough with border sides like Luncarty,Scone etc a wee bit of come and go is required but not for a club minutes drive away from the Aberdeenshire border!!!

The Tayside junior clubs already play the North clubs in the Inter-regional Trophy. Brechin can't really complain when a club further south than them play in the North juniors as well. Three feeders to the Highland League would work fine. Sounds like we're likely to get two, at any road next season.

[Robert James]

20 hours ago, Cyclizine said:

The Tayside junior clubs already play the North clubs in the Inter-regional Trophy. Brechin can't really complain when a club further south than them play in the North juniors as well. Three feeders to the Highland League would work fine. Sounds like we're likely to get two, at any road next season.

WW and ourselves agree that the boundary shouldn't be moved. To me, Dundee and Perth were both at the gateway to the Highlands, and not south of it.

As a lad, I remember how intense the rivalry was when Dundee and Aberdeen  were playing each other. In later years Dundee United v Aberdeen became the bigger derby.   I was a Jags (Thistle) supporter, and was always envious of these games. 

[Hampden Diehard]

21 hours ago, Robert James said:

 

Thanks VW.  I agree with your views.

For the record I am totally opposed to the boundary being shifted !

Any further south and BSC will have to move to the HL.

[FairWeatherFan]

Thanks to the mess around the SPFL vote i've seen that the Brechin City chairperson is the SPFL board rep from the lower leagues. Now I understand why the HL/LL boundary has been a topic of discussion once more at that level.

[Ray Patterson]

Montrose is a stone's throw from Brechin. Don't remember the Gable Endies moaning about the boundary when they were in this situation.

[FairWeatherFan]

7 minutes ago, ArabAuslander said:

Montrose is a stone's throw from Brechin. Don't remember the Gable Endies moaning about the boundary when they were in this situation.

Oh they absolutely did. 

[Ray Patterson]

2 minutes ago, FairWeatherFan said:

Oh they absolutely did. 

Ah fair enough, then.

[welshbairn]

Montrose Roselea don't seem to have any complaints since joining the North Region Juniors.

[Hampden Diehard]

17 hours ago, welshbairn said:

Montrose Roselea don't seem to have any complaints since joining the North Region Juniors.

Given that the teams are grouped around a fairly tight geographic area, that's not too surprising. If you added Fort William, Caithness and other points north of Inversneckie, they might well think otherwise.

[FairWeatherFan]

1 minute ago, Hampden Diehard said:

Given that the teams are grouped around a fairly tight geographic area, that's not too surprising. If you added Fort William, Caithness and other points north of Inversneckie, they might well think otherwise.

They've had to go to Nairn and Inverness in the Super League. They were even in the First Division (West) when they first joined the North Region. Brora, Wick and Fort William are the only 3 outliers in the Highland League for them. And if you've got promotion and relegation you won't have to worry about one them for very long.

[AsimButtHitsASix]

17 hours ago, FairWeatherFan said:

Oh they absolutely did. 

I seem to remember them having a moan but not suggesting the rules get changed for them. I could have missed that part tho

[welshbairn]

20 minutes ago, Hampden Diehard said:

Given that the teams are grouped around a fairly tight geographic area, that's not too surprising. If you added Fort William, Caithness and other points north of Inversneckie, they might well think otherwise.

Brechin have Annan and until recently Berwick trips 4 times a season, along with Elgin. One trip to Fort, Brora and Wick wouldn't change things much. I get the uninformed impression that their gripe is more because they recruit players from the South rather than any travel woes.

Edited April 13, 2020 by welshbairn

[FairWeatherFan]

6 minutes ago, AsimButtHitsASix said:

I seem to remember them having a moan but not suggesting the rules get changed for them. I could have missed that part tho

When the line was introduced they tried to get it moved down, as did the other Angus clubs. But were told it was bundled up in all changes around the SPL/SFL merger and couldn't be unpicked. As then it opens everything up to nitpicking.

As for when the time came, I don't think i've seen anything official saying that Brechin are trying to get it changed either. In fact in the interview that the Brechin chairman gave that did the rounds he said the following:

"it is here and we have got to live with it"

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/51066521

 

[Robert James]

HIGHLAND LEAGUE ANNOUNCEMENT  :  SPFL  END OF SEASON PROPOSAL - HIGHLAND LEAGUE RESPONSE

.......Adoption  of the proposals brought forward today (8th April) , is indeed for SPFL member clubs to determine, and the Highland League does not seek to offer a view on how SPFL clubs should vote.

There is however, significant disappointment that the proposals include cancellation of the play-offs, an integral part of the Scottish Football Pyramid. The HFL's continued and acknowledged contribution to the development of the Scottish Pyramid would appear to be set aside, in the search for a solution to the conundrums facing the SPFL. This is disappointing.

When the Highland League unanimously declared Brora Rangers the 2019/20 Champions, it also decided to offer continued support for the champion club to be given the opportunity to progress up the pyramid. The proposal to deny Brora Rangers that opportunity for progress is disappointing and, doubtless there will be similar feelings among members  of the Lowland League.

Notwithstanding the recommended cancellation of play-offs, the HFL does acknowledge that the SPFL proposal carries a reference to some form of restructuring for season 2020/21. This might offer the Champion clubs of both the Highland and Lowland Leagues, some comfort and a route for progression..........

(Extract : 8th April 2020)

[welshbairn]

Or, of course, you can read it entirely unedited here.

http://www.highlandfootballleague.com/News/Item/1977_SPFL_End_of_Season_Proposal_-_Highland_League_Response.aspx

[Samsonite]

Delighted that the HFL is introducing a relegation to the league and it will help to improve the overall standard of the league over the next few years, be it with promoted teams or giving clubs down near the bottom a much needed kick in the a*** my own team included to improve, as we can now no longer rest on our laurels and almost be rewarded for doing so with no threat of relegation.

[jamamafegan]

Delighted that the HFL is introducing a relegation to the league and it will help to improve the overall standard of the league over the next few years, be it with promoted teams or giving clubs down near the bottom a much needed kick in the a*** my own team included to improve, as we can now no longer rest on our laurels and almost be rewarded for doing so with no threat of relegation.

Where are you seeing this news?

[FairWeatherFan]

Going by yesterday's papertalk the North Juniors are still distancing themselves from the pyramid.

https://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/fp/sport/football/2142565/talk-of-north-junior-football-clubs-being-ready-for-highland-league-promotion-plan-premature/?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=facebook

Talk of north junior football clubs being ready for Highland League promotion plan ‘premature’

Any talk of the north juniors being ready to form a “tier six” below the Highland League is premature.

Highland League secretary Rod Houston had said on Thursday that proposals were in place from the start of next season, which would introduce relegation to its league and promotion from the North Caledonian League and North Region Superleague.

However Richard Easton, secretary of the North Region Junior FA, said only informal talks had taken place, before the current lockdown was imposed, and no concrete proposal is in the pipeline.

He said: “We have had very early discussions but there’s nothing in place for us at the moment. We just wanted to see what the plan was if any of our clubs wanted to progress through the pyramid.

“If some time in the future they want to take the step up, improve their facilities or maybe feel they’ve outgrown junior football, it gives them the platform to do so.

“But there’s not too many clubs in that situation just now if an agreement was to be put in place. That is a long way away.”

There may well be an appetite there at some clubs within the north junior structure, longer term, to look at progression up the leagues.

Easton added: “I think for some clubs there is, given the circumstance are right. That would be down to the individual clubs. You’ve got some clubs that are more ambitious and some clubs that are quite happy playing junior football. It’s on a case-by-case basis.

“The criteria is strict and there would be very few clubs that would meet that currently.”

 

[Cyclizine]

I think we're a long way from seeing relegation from the HFL. I can see a formal structure where the NCL, North Juniors and perhaps the Tayside East Juniors have a notional "Tier 6"  slot and a pathway to licencing, but I suspect it'll be a while until anyone comes up and even longer before someone goes down.