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Even the South League has its logistical differences without bringing in West teams. However the South like other regions can cope financially and geographically (just!) with what exists at the moment. Add more on and life will get really difficult for football in this area. It is common knowledge in the game ( as opposed to keyboard warriors) that Dumfries and Galloway can  just support at the moment, and in the foreseeable future, QOS Stranraer Annan and one other lowland + side from  Dalbeattie Threave  Mids or possibly Saints. I am unsure of Gretna. Wigtownshire teams population wise have no way off financially of running a lowland + side and the teams I have already mentioned take up all the slack in the Dumfries area. 

That is not to say Stranraer Res Wigtown N/S and Creetown and the rest of the Dumfries area teams should be cut off from doing what all of their constitutions say ie providing a decent class of football for 16/18 fit young men every Saturday during the season.

Forcing clubs to spend money and time they do not have installing floodlights they will only use for half a game every 2nd Saturday if that just does not advance football. Outstanding players if they want will always be able to progress and players who want to play on a Saturday afternoon to a decent standard will still be able to do and dream of the Scottish Cup!

Progress by all means but not as any cost. 

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10 minutes ago, info said:

Even the South League has its logistical differences without bringing in West teams. However the South like other regions can cope financially and geographically (just!) with what exists at the moment. Add more on and life will get really difficult for football in this area. It is common knowledge in the game ( as opposed to keyboard warriors) that Dumfries and Galloway can  just support at the moment, and in the foreseeable future, QOS Stranraer Annan and one other lowland + side from  Dalbeattie Threave  Mids or possibly Saints. I am unsure of Gretna. Wigtownshire teams population wise have no way off financially of running a lowland + side and the teams I have already mentioned take up all the slack in the Dumfries area. 

That is not to say Stranraer Res Wigtown N/S and Creetown and the rest of the Dumfries area teams should be cut off from doing what all of their constitutions say ie providing a decent class of football for 16/18 fit young men every Saturday during the season.

Forcing clubs to spend money and time they do not have installing floodlights they will only use for half a game every 2nd Saturday if that just does not advance football. Outstanding players if they want will always be able to progress and players who want to play on a Saturday afternoon to a decent standard will still be able to do and dream of the Scottish Cup!

Progress by all means but not as any cost. 

I was thinking of trying to bring in other south west Juniors such as Girvan, Cumnock etc rather than reserves 11s from other clubs.  maybe the SOS is at the wrong level if there is no interest or ambition to develop?

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I was thinking of trying to bring in other south west Juniors such as Girvan, Cumnock etc rather than reserves 11s from other clubs.  maybe the SOS is at the wrong level if there is no interest or ambition to develop?

 

Moot point as those clubs would have a prefered destination & it's not the SOS. Can't exactly take in clubs who would have no interest in joining in the first place.

 

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8 minutes ago, GNU_Linux said:

 

Moot point as those clubs would have a prefered destination & it's not the SOS. Can't exactly take in clubs who would have no interest in joining in the first place.

 

Oh dear.  Maybe they should be at tier 7 then as they will have no chance of winning the play offs for tier 5 as most wont be licensed and so wont be eligible for promotion.  You'll maybe lose the likes of Bonnyton then.

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13 minutes ago, honestman54 said:

Oh dear.  Maybe they should be at tier 7 then as they will have no chance of winning the play offs for tier 5 as most wont be licensed and so wont be eligible for promotion.  You'll maybe lose the likes of Bonnyton then.

Considering Crichton were the only team to have won the  South in almost the last twenty years that weren't licensed  before Stranraer last season you’re argument of eligibility somewhat falls apart ! The winners might well be up against it taking on whoever wins the East for the next few years but for you to suggest that should possibly lover them to Tier 7 is laughable ! Until the Junior influx did you think the East with its 13 Clubs should’ve also have been demoted to Tier 7 ? Oh and by the way Bonnyton don’t have a Licence either 

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4 minutes ago, AML67 said:

Considering Crichton were the only team to have won the  South in almost the last twenty years that weren't licensed  before Stranraer last season you’re argument of eligibility somewhat falls apart ! The winners might well be up against it taking on whoever wins the East for the next few years but for you to suggest that should possibly lover them to Tier 7 is laughable ! Until the Junior influx did you think the East with its 13 Clubs should’ve also have been demoted to Tier 7 ? Oh and by the way Bonnyton don’t have a Licence either 

2015-16 St Cuthbert Wanderers. SFA member but not licenced. 2014-15 Wigtown & Bladnoch were not licenced. Otherwise both would of been eligible for promotion unopposed as there was no licenced EoSFL champion to have a play-off against.

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5 minutes ago, FairWeatherFan said:

2015-16 St Cuthbert Wanderers. SFA member but not licenced. 2014-15 Wigtown & Bladnoch were not licenced. Otherwise both would of been eligible for promotion unopposed as there was no licenced EoSFL champion to have a play-off against.

I think everyone locally knows that Saints could’ve and should’ve been promoted , Wigtown were licensed the year they ‘apparently’ ran out of steam allowing Edu in the back door ! As Info stated earlier the problem lies with the geographical location and the difficulty in getting a team to say Stirling on a Wednesday night , it simply isn’t possible ! If there was a WOSFL in place with potential trips to Ayrshire that would be a completely different proposition 

Edited by AML67
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6 minutes ago, AML67 said:

I think everyone locally knows that Saints could’ve and should’ve been promoted , Wigtown were licensed the year they ‘apparently’ ran out of steam allowing Edu in the back door ! As Info stated earlier the problem lies with the geographical location and the difficulty in getting a team to say Stirling on a Wednesday night , it simply isn’t possible ! If there was a WOSFL in place with potential trips to Ayrshire that would be a completely different proposition 

Do you think there are clubs that might look to apply to the WoSFL thinking it would be a better long term prospect? Threave Rovers having previously gone to the pre-pyramid EOS and then the LL and Bonnyton Thistle come to mind.

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2 minutes ago, FairWeatherFan said:

Do you think there are clubs that might look to apply to the WoSFL thinking it would be a better long term prospect? Threave Rovers having previously gone to the pre-pyramid EOS and then the LL and Bonnyton Thistle come to mind.

It would certainly be a more attractive and realistic possibility ! The logistics are always mentioned in the South as the main reason that promotion to the Lowland isn’t seen as a practical reward for winning the League. Possibly for the Dumfriesshire teams with closer access to the motorway and within an hour or so of both Glasgow and Edinburgh it could work but for most of the rest it’s unrealistic whereas an hours journey would take these Club to say Cumnock , Glenafton etc and for me it’s certainly a far better option 

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On 10/02/2020 at 18:17, AML67 said:

It would certainly be a more attractive and realistic possibility ! The logistics are always mentioned in the South as the main reason that promotion to the Lowland isn’t seen as a practical reward for winning the League. Possibly for the Dumfriesshire teams with closer access to the motorway and within an hour or so of both Glasgow and Edinburgh it could work but for most of the rest it’s unrealistic whereas an hours journey would take these Club to say Cumnock , Glenafton etc and for me it’s certainly a far better option 

Whilst it probably is an attractive possibility surely there's nothing to be gained from moving to the West league when it remains at the same tier as the South league given that, if you are competitive, you will have a better chance of winning trophies, not to mention that  you still have a pathway into the LL if your squad are good enough.

However, in answer to the original question my feeling is, yes, the league should be pro-active in asking teams to join. I have a feeling that Bonnyton may well look at the WoSFL due to logistice so they, and the YM will have to be replaced. Rather than dilute the league it should be looking to expand as change is cominganf the  junior clubs who are looking to join the pyramid are just the tip of the Iceberg. Some other clubs will be looking for an avenue so why not ask Craigmark, Annbank and others if they fancy it?

If the South clubs don't appear to be wanting to embrace change and move with the times the SFA may take a very dim view of that and start to push it down another tier. Be careful what you wish for.

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Intrigued as to why we have had two joint statements from the Lowland/East Leagues in the past week or so. Do they see things differently to the South (who put out their own statement at the weekend)? Or, with my tinfoil hat on, are they working together and leaving the South to fend for itself?

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1 minute ago, Stu said:

Intrigued as to why we have had two joint statements from the Lowland/East Leagues in the past week or so. Do they see things differently to the South (who put out their own statement at the weekend)? Or, with my tinfoil hat on, are they working together and leaving the South to fend for itself?

There is a big discussion on the SOS statement etc in the Junior pages.  The first LL/EOS statement was to make a statement about the PWG failing and they were now taking the development of a new WOS on board.  There other statement last night was to move this one stage further.  It seems that the SOS were not against such a move but not quite on the same page as them and so put out their own statement which didnt seem to be as supportive of the WOS development, maybe because they see their tier 6 placing under threat.  Thats my understanding of it all.

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11 minutes ago, honestman54 said:

There is a big discussion on the SOS statement etc in the Junior pages.  The first LL/EOS statement was to make a statement about the PWG failing and they were now taking the development of a new WOS on board.  There other statement last night was to move this one stage further.  It seems that the SOS were not against such a move but not quite on the same page as them and so put out their own statement which didnt seem to be as supportive of the WOS development, maybe because they see their tier 6 placing under threat.  Thats my understanding of it all.

That thread's massive so I'll shy away from getting involved! Although I thought the SOS idea was to turn the West juniors into the WOS League so they can't be that against idea.

It would make sense to have the East, South and Lowland working together on a solution but the South always seems to be the poor relation, for a variety of reasons.

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1 minute ago, Stu said:

That thread's massive so I'll shy away from getting involved! Although I thought the SOS idea was to turn the West juniors into the WOS League so they can't be that against idea.

It would make sense to have the East, South and Lowland working together on a solution but the South always seems to be the poor relation, for a variety of reasons.

I agree, but there seems to be a little difference which is why the SOS put out there own statement.  I cant be bothered reading over the whole Junior pages again.

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35 minutes ago, Stu said:

Intrigued as to why we have had two joint statements from the Lowland/East Leagues in the past week or so. Do they see things differently to the South (who put out their own statement at the weekend)? Or, with my tinfoil hat on, are they working together and leaving the South to fend for itself?

The LL wants a better west feeder and it's in the EoSFLs best interest to get the west into the pyramid as it undermines the SJFA's all-in approach. Since the PWG discussions broke down they're trying to quickly get something sorted for next season.

Assuming the SJFA continue to go all-in meaning the West Region can't join, then the pyramid options are either create a WoSFL or join the SoSFL. So even if the South might not want to support a new west league, they might need to otherwise there would be an influx of new clubs to the SoSFL.

Edited by Ginaro
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