Restart

[cmontheloknow]

5 minutes ago, FairWeatherFan said:

The Lowland Development League wasn't covered in the list of exemptions.

True - but various tweets today saying this was unexpected. I guess assumption being that they were and are the same teams. Pollok have 40+ signed players. We don't differentiate between 1st team and 20s on their registratios.

[GordonS]

35 minutes ago, LongTimeLurker said:

They actually haven't if you read the SFA press release. U-18 level still likely to be OK for the most part and over 18 still OK outside the central belt.

Not sure you're reading that right, but I should have been clearer that I meant in the Central Belt.

[FairWeatherFan]

33 minutes ago, cmontheloknow said:

True - but various tweets today saying this was unexpected. I guess assumption being that they were and are the same teams. Pollok have 40+ signed players. We don't differentiate between 1st team and 20s on their registratios.

I'm sure those players would be able to play for the first team and there's probably nothing to stop a club applying for additional friendlies under their first team banner to largely play u20s. As long as they flew under the radar. Such as not having two games on the same day.

Earlier this week I saw the first Friday in November was planned to be the beginning of the LDL proper. That'd give another weekend for a last friendly as a tune up before their season begins.

[glensmad]

Development teams now told to not play, contrary to yesterday's announcement.

There was no announcement yesterday which said the Lowland Development League teams could play.

[cmontheloknow]

17 minutes ago, glensmad said:

2 hours ago, cmontheloknow said:

Development teams now told to not play, contrary to yesterday's announcement.

There was no announcement yesterday which said the Lowland Development League teams could play.

I don't disagree but I think (as league was postponed anyway and wasn't going to be granted anything) the granting of the clubs to play was an assumption the 20s could play their friendlies. Pollok FC is one club. We have 44 signed players. Whereas Glens 21s is a separate entity in terms of paperwork.

[Ceejayar]

Has it been confirmed whether there is promotion/ relegation if the leagues start? If not what’s the point of playing friendlies, I believe this was the main reason that players/coaches wanted the leagues started as they were fed up with friendlies

[cmontheloknow]

3 minutes ago, Ceejayar said:

Has it been confirmed whether there is promotion/ relegation if the leagues start? If not what’s the point of playing friendlies, I believe this was the main reason that players/coaches wanted the leagues started as they were fed up with friendlies

Clubs have been told there is no promotion / relegation according to this interview.

Edited October 9, 2020 by cmontheloknow

[FairWeatherFan]

1 minute ago, Ceejayar said:

Has it been confirmed whether there is promotion/ relegation if the leagues start? If not what’s the point of playing friendlies, I believe this was the main reason that players/coaches wanted the leagues started as they were fed up with friendlies

As long as there is a WoS Premier that meets the requirements of the LL Pyramid Playoff and ends up with a champion that will be licenced in 2021, there's a promotion chance available in the WoS Premier.

 

[imcvicar]

I thought no one can be promoted from WSFL as the licences are now awarded once a year after the season ends. 

By default no one can have a licence to take part in the playoffs 

[FairWeatherFan]

2 minutes ago, imcvicar said:

I thought no one can be promoted from WSFL as the licences are now awarded once a year after the season ends. 

By default no one can have a licence to take part in the playoffs 

Clubs have until February 2021 to get a licence. It will be known after that if they will awarded a licence at the 2021 SFA AGM. If their application gets forwarded to the SFA they will be eligible to participate in the Lowland League playoff.

Look at Bo'ness and Bonnyrigg as the most recent examples of clubs that didn't start their season with a SFA licence but got promoted to the Lowland League.

[cmontheloknow]

Ian Maxwell speaks:

As competitive matches are set to begin. there have been increased requests around use of changing facilities. I thought it best to confirm the current position with you all.

Scottish Government guidance currently states;

Changing rooms are an area of increased risk of transmission. It is important that physical distancing is maintained in changing rooms and showers and that they are only used if essential. Use of changing rooms and showering facilities should in general be avoided where possible, although these must be available for participants with disabilities or special needs and are likely to be needed after swimming

Our advice to clubs playing in the Betfred Cup is that in line with the above, changing rooms may be used under the following conditions

• Clubs and facility owners have a legal obligation to comply with all sportscotland/SG legislation and ensure guidance is followed at all times. The checklist and relevant information are all available on our Return to Football Hub.

• Clubs must submit relevant operational plans and documentation to its League.

• The League must satisfy itself that all plans submitted are appropriate and meet the regulations and approve the use of changing facilities. We would recommend that Leagues conduct site visits to ensure procedures are as per the submitted documents.

• The Scottish FA can request site of club operational plans other relevant information and perform site visits at any time.

• At this stage dressing rooms CANNOT be used on a rotational basis by the same team – ie 5 players changing, they leave and another 5 enter and change.

• Showers are not permitted under any circumstances

If have attached an updated version of the approved numbers document which was circulate last week.

The fundamentals are the same, however the zoning colours have been changed to better reflect the Return to Play protocol document and the fact that stadiums have a bigger red zone than just the changing rooms and technical areas, that can and will extend into the stand in most cases.

The challenge in tiers 5 and below is that some games are in stadiums and some are not so there is an element of both needed. We are reviewing both to ensure consistency and will advise of any changes asap. These documents should be used in the meantime.

We must all be aware that Scottish football will continue to have positive tests. When this happens, Test and Protect will investigate the circumstances and SG will ask the Scottish FA to carry out an examination of processes and facilities. This can affect us all and it is therefore absolutely incumbent of the league body to ensure that the law is being followed at all times. I appreciate the desire to use changing rooms however football is not ‘back’ as it used to be. We cannot be lax with this and not check plans properly, it is not simply a tick box exercise. The reputational damage to the game as a whole is too significant.

Regards

Ian Maxwell

Chief Executive

[Arthurlie1981]

Lowland League and East of Scotland League and South of Scotland League all starting tomorrow. Every single team is starting not one single team withdrawing. East of Scotland League managed to negotiate ok to pass teams changing rooms. Will be same for the other leagues and all I think.
West of Scotland League the teams sounds like you are all still arguing about shut down for one year or playing no promotion. Could start 24 October could start January.
Maybe if you spent more time working together less time fighting with each other you would make more head way? In the juniors felt like you spent the last five years or ten years doing that and saying you were special and different. All us teams in the East got fed up and moved best move we all ever made. Now look how far behind the West is. Gotten late to the pyramid. Late to Scottish FA licences. Late to starting.

Well have the East Clubs have worked out the magic formula for paying players without crowds or are they hoping for the best that fans will be back sooner rather than later. If they are they are taking a huge financial gamble that could cost their clubs in the long term.

I hope you are not basing your opinion of what the discussions are in the west based upon discussion on here as that would make no sense.

In terms of your other points/fishing attempt there is no point in going over old ground and this discussion is nothing to do with the juniors it’s about here and now.

[Arthurlie1981]

There was no announcement yesterday which said the Lowland Development League teams could play.

Yes there was but not by the government.

[glensmad]

Yes there was but not by the government.

Who announced it then ?

[LongTimeLurker]

2 hours ago, cmontheloknow said:

Clubs have been told there is no promotion / relegation according to this interview.

If people couldn't read the SFA announcement properly yesterday where the Lowland Development League was concerned, why should we assume they were able to get this straight? My guess is that they heard that there was no relegation to accomodate the possibility of clubs opting out then they added 2 and 2 and got five where there also being no promotion to the LL was concerned. Not as 100% confident on the conferences on that as expanding beyond 20 for the premiership next year could be an issue, but where there's a will there's probably a way.

[cmontheloknow]

https://wosfl.co.uk/update-9th-october-2020/?fbclid=IwAR119sWWiPw5ohBZay4fE-NaTXn2yo-wxbhxX9KOrenC57CzzJY5BtqPGFQ

From Dave McKenna, Chairperson of the West of Scotland Football League

Following the welcome news yesterday, we now await the result of the vote on the season start date. That will let us know the direction clubs wish the league to take going forward. As we have come to realise, our situation can change almost from day to day!

As of now, we are still required to satisfy the protocols in place before the most recent announcement from the Scottish Government. With that in mind please remember the guidance in the infographic posted below.

We take these health and hygiene guidelines seriously, and they are an absolute must if we are to push for any further easing of restrictions.

The one major change from before is the Lowland League Board decided to impose the suspension of Development team football from tomorrow to midnight on Sunday 25th October. This was done on the grounds of safety. Please note that clubs are not allowed to inflate their normal first team squad as a result, even though all the players are Scottish FA registered.

Another matter still under discussion is the use of dressing rooms. We must produce a robust plan to satisfy the Scottish FA that this can be done safely.

This will entail sight of individual operational plans and perhaps site visits to ensure compliance. The Scottish FA has confirmed dressing rooms will continue to be out of bounds until clubs are given the green light to start using them again. This is a major undertaking given the size of our league and the different type of facilities involved. We’ll have more on this in the next few days.

Lastly, we have been asked to keep any further friendly games as local as possible, even though we are exempt from the travel restrictions just announced. This is simply a matter of risk minimisation where we are in control of giving permission for games. League and Cup fixtures are of course a different matter.

Let’s focus on having a safe day at any games tomorrow, at least the forecast isn’t too bad, unlike last weekend!

Dave McKenna
Chairperson
West of Scotland Football League

[cmontheloknow]

4 minutes ago, LongTimeLurker said:

If people couldn't read the SFA announcement properly yesterday where the Lowland Development League was concerned, why should we assume they were able to get this straight? My guess is that they heard that there was no relegation to accomodate the possibility of clubs opting out then they added 2 and 2 and got five where there also being no promotion to the LL was concerned. Not as 100% confident on the conferences on that as expanding beyond 20 for the premiership next year could be an issue, but where there's a will there's probably a way.

The LL themselves banned u20 teams, not the SFA.

[Arthurlie1981]

Who announced it then ?

The organisers did apparently after consultation with the LL board.

[LongTimeLurker]

1 hour ago, cmontheloknow said:

The LL themselves banned u20 teams, not the SFA.

It wasn't on the list of exempted competitions in the announcement by the SFA. It was never given the green light in the first place. If people couldn't get that straight, I'll wait for something official on pro-rel.

https://www.scottishfa.co.uk/news/scottish-fa-statement-on-new-government-guidelines/?rid=13929&fbclid=IwAR1GLW90Jz3u8FN6c9jzU5gFW5D7Pgrry5kZCSDV-iclTVLDFm4tgDicGRA

Please note, Scottish Government have advised of an exemption for professional sport. This covers teams who take part in the following competitions - Scottish Professional Football League, Highland League, Lowland League, SWF PL 1 & 2, West of Scotland Leagues, East of Scotland Leagues, South of Scotland League, North Caledonian League and SJFA Leagues. These competitions can continue in line with relevant guidance and protocols. This exemption also covers Scotland National Team fixtures at Men’s A, SWNT and Under-21 level.

Edited October 9, 2020 by LongTimeLurker

[cmontheloknow]

14 minutes ago, LongTimeLurker said:

It wasn't on the list of exempted competitions in the announcement by the SFA. It was never given the green light in the first place. If people couldn't get that straight, I'll wait for something official on pro-rel.

"The one major change from before is the Lowland League Board decided to impose the suspension of Development team football from tomorrow to midnight on Sunday 25th October. This was done on the grounds of safety. "