Lowland League 2020/21 General Chat

[AlansHotBath]

That's all training for all non-SPFL clubs pushed back to at least 24 August: https://spfl.co.uk/news/joint-response-group-update-130820

Not sure if this upsets any LL club's plans, had any had training planned?

[Deanburn Dave]

The BU's had delayed their return to training until nearer the end of the month anyway. Max the manager didn't want the guys back too far ahead of "contact training".

[Jerry Macguire]

1 hour ago, Deanburn Dave said:

The BU's had delayed their return to training until nearer the end of the month anyway. Max the manager didn't want the guys back too far ahead of "contact training".

Makes sense. I struggle to understand why teams are so keen to start training now when the earliest league start we can expect is early October. End of August seems reasonable to me.

[Dev]

News of some progress from south of the Border:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/53817206

BBC Sport 18^th August, 2020   By Laura Scott

Fans will be allowed to attend football in the seventh tier and below, after the government updated its guidance on recreational team sport events.

Clubs in the leagues below National League North and South will be able to open their gates to spectators for the first time since the coronavirus pandemic began.

The decision means a distinction has been drawn between the return of fans to recreational sport and elite sport, where pilots are required before an intended expansion from 1 October.

It comes after more than 30 MPs wrote to sports minister Nigel Huddleston calling for the "urgent return of fans to non-league clubs".

The letter, which was coordinated by former sports minister Tracey Crouch and Dame Cheryl Gillan, warned that clubs "at the heart of our constituencies" could be "lost forever" if an exemption is not granted.

BBC Sport can reveal that the government's return to recreational team sport framework was updated on Tuesday afternoon to draw up protocols for allowing spectators in.

Fans will need to abide by social distancing rules, and spectator groups must be restricted to "discrete six-person gathering limits".

Meanwhile, organisers of events that are likely to attract a crowd will need to put forward a "named person or persons with responsibility for ensuring adherence with these guidelines and ensuring the facility is Covid-19 secure".

They would also need to publish a risk assessment limiting the number of spectators, and assist with the NHS Test and Trace scheme by collecting information from spectators.

The MPs who signed the letter had said that non-league clubs "tend to be supported by those within the town itself" and that average crowds are "in the hundreds".

BBC Sport understands that the Football Association defines elite football as being everything from the Premier League down to National League North and South, which explains why the new rules apply to step three and below.

A campaign using the slogan "#LetFansIn" has gained significant traction among non-league clubs in recent days, while two petitions supporting the cause have received more than 6,000 signatures.

Crouch posted on Twitter: "Football has many wonderful layers but non-league is often at its heart and soul. With fewer fans it's easier to make clubs Covid secure but without them coming back soon their future is shaky so we've written to Sports Minister calling for non-league clubs to #LetFansIn."

She later told the BBC that not allowing fans to attend non-league football "makes no sense".

An FA spokesperson said: "We continue to follow government advice with regards to the return of spectators and are working continuously with the Sports Ground Safety Authority, DCMS and Leagues to seek approval for a safe return as soon as feasibly possible."

Top of Form

 

 

[Tutankhamen]

Lower non league friendlies starting mid September in Scotland going by the Scottish Government being about two weeks behind England. 

[welshbairn]

If it's anything as like as good as his North of Scotland Football Review this could be of interest.

 

 

 

Edited August 20, 2020 by welshbairn

[Dev]

Good News!

https://twitter.com/BonnyriggRose/status/1296417618925060098

 

[Jerry Macguire]

21 minutes ago, gogsy said:

Could you possibly post the Bonnyrigg tweet that shows that BSC are a bunch of hacking barstewards

It’s a mans game. Stop whining like a little bitch.

[craigiemack]

Broomhill Sports Cloggers

[Jambo'ness]

Football gossip today obviously dominated by talks of Messi to Man City.  That has then sparked rumours of returns to old clubs by Ronaldo, Bale & Hazard.

Well the BU's have already secured a return in the shape of Zander Miller!  

Any other clubs welcoming back old players?

[craigiemack]

HL announced a 16 game league for next season, each team playing each other once with 8 home and 8 away games. I wonder if that will influence the LLs decision?

I wouldn't mind a 16 game league season if it meant all teams got a chance in the Scottish Cup and we could maybe complete the South Challenge Cup.

[Ginaro]

1 hour ago, craigiemack said:

HL announced a 16 game league for next season, each team playing each other once with 8 home and 8 away games. I wonder if that will influence the LLs decision?

I wouldn't mind a 16 game league season if it meant all teams got a chance in the Scottish Cup and we could maybe complete the South Challenge Cup.

Perhaps but with a lot of artificial pitches then there's a better chance of playing more games. But if 32 games isn't possible I'd prefer trying to go for a 8/9 split format, with a fall back option of just 16 games if becomes obvious the league won't be finished in time.

[craigiemack]

22 minutes ago, Ginaro said:

Perhaps but with a lot of artificial pitches then there's a better chance of playing more games. But if 32 games isn't possible I'd prefer trying to go for a 8/9 split format, with a fall back option of just 16 games if becomes obvious the league won't be finished in time.

Yeah the Highland League always has more difficulty finishing their season on time. I think a 32 game season is unachievable, technically there are enough dates if we played midweek but there are so many factors that would easily turn it into a farce. A team getting a Scottish cup run or a 'waterlogged' pitch would put a lot of strain on the fixture list. Then there is the likelihood that a player contracts the virus and a full team needs to isolate for a week.

My preferred option is a split as that would mean that there is some form of integrity to the league due to all the teams chasing the title or trying to avoid relegation playing each other twice. 

A 16 game season isn't the worst, as it could be bulked up by the South Challenge Cup and then maybe a group staged Lowland League Cup at the end of the season.

Who knows, i'm sure the league will announce something soon.

[LongTimeLurker]

1 minute ago, craigiemack said:

... A team getting ... a 'waterlogged' pitch would put a lot of strain on the fixture list....

For the sake of argument let's call them Fort William, who are notorious for that. Midweek games there are not easy for the other clubs. The HL needs to give itself plenty of flexibility if it is losing the good weather part of the season that could normally be used to make sure many of the longest distance fixtures get sorted out before the postponements start. The LL doesn't face anything like the same challenges.

[GNU_Linux]

The HL are also completing last seasons League Cup plus the 20-21 edition is adding a group stage of a tba format.

[FairWeatherFan]

4 minutes ago, GNU_Linux said:

The HL are also completing last seasons League Cup

Luckily that's down to just the semis and final.

[craigiemack]

25 minutes ago, LongTimeLurker said:

For the sake of argument let's call them Fort William, who are notorious for that. Midweek games there are not easy for the other clubs. The HL needs to give itself plenty of flexibility if it is losing the good weather part of the season that could normally be used to make sure many of the longest distance fixtures get sorted out before the postponements start. The LL doesn't face anything like the same challenges.

The LL may not have challenges to the extent of the HL but they still have challenges. There are 28 Saturdays from the provisional start date of 10th October until the dates that the HL/LL playoff would need to take place. So that is already a guaranteed 4 midweek fixtures plus any postponements or cup games. Its obviously doable to have a 32 game season and that seems to be what the LL are going for, I just think that it leaves the league open to a lot of possible problems.

[craigiemack]

28 minutes ago, gogsy said:

Aye but imagine if a club was selling season tickets on the basis that it was a 32 game season, nobody would actually do that would they.

 

 

Oh wait

 

 

The audacity to increase ticket prices aswell 

[FairWeatherFan]

4 minutes ago, craigiemack said:

The LL may not have challenges to the extent of the HL but they still have challenges. There are 28 Saturdays from the provisional start date of 10th October until the dates that the HL/LL playoff would need to take place. So that is already a guaranteed 4 midweek fixtures plus any postponements or cup games. Its obviously doable to have a 32 game season and that seems to be what the LL are going for, I just think that it leaves the league open to a lot of possible problems.

If i'm remembering right with the odd number teams even though its 32 games, its over 34 rounds as only one team is idle at a time. So its already more than 4 midweeks. Then there's the minimum one game from the SCC and whatever happens with the Scottish Cup possibly taking up Saturdays.

[LongTimeLurker]

22 minutes ago, craigiemack said:

The audacity to increase ticket prices aswell 

If Kelty are letting the cat out of the bag on a 32 game league season being the plan, the cup competitions must already be a goner.  No way can a 140+ entrant SCC be played alongside that given many of the participants don't have floodlights.