Scottish lower league football locked down for 3 weeks

[Rob1885]

I don’t agree. All leagues below the Premier have played very little football so I’d expect it would be ‘as you were’ next season. Unlike last season, no club in the lower leagues could reasonably claim that they’d been harshly treated by not being promoted. 
SFA has just asked Championship clubs if they want to continue the season. It’ll take one club to say no and it’ll stop. 

I dont agree that 1 club saying they wont play would result in the entire league being canned. That isnt how democracy works.

[EFFC1938]

Championships clubs are being asked to vote on the suspension of their league and have until close of play Monday to make their minds up! Why league 1 and 2 didn't get a say in the matter is ridiculous! Zero notice given to our clubs, they just couldn't give a f**k about us! Sad but true and nothing will change with these clowns in charge.

[pleslie99]

4 hours ago, EFFC1938 said:

Championships clubs are being asked to vote on the suspension of their league and have until close of play Monday to make their minds up! Why league 1 and 2 didn't get a say in the matter is ridiculous! Zero notice given to our clubs, they just couldn't give a f**k about us! Sad but true and nothing will change with these clowns in charge.

I dont think its as simple as "they don't care about us". Jesus there are a lot of people on this thread as paranoid and full of conspiracies as the OF.

Let's think about this rationally. There is a new strain of the virus causing havoc across the country, spreading quicker than before and more infectious.  Many people didn't think that certain levels should have been playing as there was little to no difference between them and amateur players. Its been stated that many of the players who were playing were unhappy about doing so, some even refused to play! The argument about lower league players not getting it is absolute nonsense, there has been cases, there has been matches off and there has probably been more that had it and havnt been aware, due to lack of testing. The premiership have been doing twice weekly testing since they started back, they are also FT meaning they are in a "bubble". Yes there has been a few instances of rules and bubbles being broken but isn't that the case in everyone's day to day life?

The championship are getting asked their thoughts for 2 reasons. 1. Apprently a team (ICT if rumours are to be true) have said they are unhappy to continue. 2. They now have to fork out for twice weekly testing at a considerable cost (yes they got a grant so it should cover it). The SPFL are asking if they are happy to do this. If they or a majority say no then I'm sure they will stop also. 

If league 1 and 2 had the option to test im sure they would have been asked too, the fact of the matter is its financially not possible for many so would've been canned anyway even if it had gone to a vote. This notion of the SPFL/SFA/JRG or whoever hates us/them is nonsense. There are well documented issues with the running of the game in Scotland however these are unprecedented times and decisions need made. We moan when decisions don't get made, now we're moaning when they have made a decision.

FWIW I think all football shouldve been stopped but can understand why the decision was made to keep the premiership and potentially the championship going. Although if the championship decide to continue, we will see games cancelled all over the shop when the testing starts and positive results are confirmed and small squads are decimated with isolation.

[O'Kelly Isley III]

Championships clubs are being asked to vote on the suspension of their league and have until close of play Monday to make their minds up! Why league 1 and 2 didn't get a say in the matter is ridiculous! Zero notice given to our clubs, they just couldn't give a f**k about us! Sad but true and nothing will change with these clowns in charge.

That's an incredibly bold move by the SFA considering that Dundee can't master sending an Email.

[theoriginalhedge]

22 hours ago, bairn88 said:

Very, very damming update by the Stenhousemuir chairman. 

The “meeting“ on Wednesday where all clubs mics were muted and any request to speak were denied. Clubs informed of shutdown at the same time as fans, with no pathway shown to allowing the game to restart and no additional support. 

Clubs should be banding together to oppose this (well, maybe all apart from Brechin). 

We all saw last year what happened when clubs banded together.  Loyalties only last as long as the last phone call. 

That is one of the reasons why giving clubs the overall say on the outcome of the season half way through that season is a complete shamblolic lottery. 

I take it Brechin are again going to be used as the sacrificial lamb in all negotiations again this season.  Barry the fud has already been primed by the Record in preparation for the onslaught. 

[roman_bairn]

So now it appears that ICT are not calling for a shutdown at all, despite Ian Maxwell initiating discussions across the whole Championship.
Are the people who run the game in Scotland all completely stupid?
This comes on top of the decision to shutdown the lower leagues and refuse to discuss the situation with the affected clubs on a call this week.
How difficult is it to pick up a phone and speak to ICT before initiating another potential catastrophe?
I genuinely despair for the game in this country unless people with the most basic of business acumen start to run our game....

[jagsfan57]

Championships clubs are being asked to vote on the suspension of their league and have until close of play Monday to make their minds up! Why league 1 and 2 didn't get a say in the matter is ridiculous! Zero notice given to our clubs, they just couldn't give a f**k about us! Sad but true and nothing will change with these clowns in charge.

Not expecting that there is any logic in this change of position in 4 days. What’s changed?

[jagsfan57]

I dont think its as simple as "they don't care about us". Jesus there are a lot of people on this thread as paranoid and full of conspiracies as the OF.
Let's think about this rationally. There is a new strain of the virus causing havoc across the country, spreading quicker than before and more infectious.  Many people didn't think that certain levels should have been playing as there was little to no difference between them and amateur players. Its been stated that many of the players who were playing were unhappy about doing so, some even refused to play! The argument about lower league players not getting it is absolute nonsense, there has been cases, there has been matches off and there has probably been more that had it and havnt been aware, due to lack of testing. The premiership have been doing twice weekly testing since they started back, they are also FT meaning they are in a "bubble". Yes there has been a few instances of rules and bubbles being broken but isn't that the case in everyone's day to day life?
The championship are getting asked their thoughts for 2 reasons. 1. Apprently a team (ICT if rumours are to be true) have said they are unhappy to continue. 2. They now have to fork out for twice weekly testing at a considerable cost (yes they got a grant so it should cover it). The SPFL are asking if they are happy to do this. If they or a majority say no then I'm sure they will stop also. 
If league 1 and 2 had the option to test im sure they would have been asked too, the fact of the matter is its financially not possible for many so would've been canned anyway even if it had gone to a vote. This notion of the SPFL/SFA/JRG or whoever hates us/them is nonsense. There are well documented issues with the running of the game in Scotland however these are unprecedented times and decisions need made. We moan when decisions don't get made, now we're moaning when they have made a decision.
FWIW I think all football shouldve been stopped but can understand why the decision was made to keep the premiership and potentially the championship going. Although if the championship decide to continue, we will see games cancelled all over the shop when the testing starts and positive results are confirmed and small squads are decimated with isolation.

Didn’t James Anderson give the SPFL a bunch of money so that lower league teams could test and continue playing ?

The SPFL executive are totally responsible for this issue by not distributing this money solely to lower league clubs.

[Jack Burton]

The championship downward are getting grants from the Scottish government. To be split 500k to Championship, 110k to league 1 and 100k for league 2. If they had split the grants fairer then it could have been affordable for testing in league 1 & 2.

[Dawson Park Boy]

11 minutes ago, Jack Burton said:

The championship downward are getting grants from the Scottish government. To be split 500k to Championship, 110k to league 1 and 100k for league 2. If they had split the grants fairer then it could have been affordable for testing in league 1 & 2.

150k to League 1 but I take your point.

[Passionate]

1 hour ago, jagsfan57 said:

 

Didn’t James Anderson give the SPFL a bunch of money so that lower league teams could test and continue playing ?

The SPFL executive are totally responsible for this issue by not distributing this money solely to lower league clubs.

 

Agree exactly, posted similar this morning , but post seems to have went missing in this thread ?  Why.....

[true fan]

Championship getting 500k and allowed to decide whether they continue? Premier league is rather mediocre and the other 3 leagues are all diddy leagues. Why are we treating Alloa, Arbroath, morton, Dunfermline (did you see that eye bleeding ‘product’ last night?) as if they were juventus or Real Madrid?

close it down, put us all out of our misery

[Thom & Gerry]

4 minutes ago, Passionate said:

Agree exactly, posted similar this morning , but post seems to have went missing in this thread ?  Why.....

Wondering this as well. I thought the 50k Anderson money was for testing. What have the clubs done with this money? Used it to bolster their playing squads?

[ShaggerG]

5 hours ago, pleslie99 said:

I dont think its as simple as "they don't care about us". Jesus there are a lot of people on this thread as paranoid and full of conspiracies as the OF.

Let's think about this rationally. There is a new strain of the virus causing havoc across the country, spreading quicker than before and more infectious.  Many people didn't think that certain levels should have been playing as there was little to no difference between them and amateur players. Its been stated that many of the players who were playing were unhappy about doing so, some even refused to play! The argument about lower league players not getting it is absolute nonsense, there has been cases, there has been matches off and there has probably been more that had it and havnt been aware, due to lack of testing. The premiership have been doing twice weekly testing since they started back, they are also FT meaning they are in a "bubble". Yes there has been a few instances of rules and bubbles being broken but isn't that the case in everyone's day to day life?

The championship are getting asked their thoughts for 2 reasons. 1. Apprently a team (ICT if rumours are to be true) have said they are unhappy to continue. 2. They now have to fork out for twice weekly testing at a considerable cost (yes they got a grant so it should cover it). The SPFL are asking if they are happy to do this. If they or a majority say no then I'm sure they will stop also. 

If league 1 and 2 had the option to test im sure they would have been asked too, the fact of the matter is its financially not possible for many so would've been canned anyway even if it had gone to a vote. This notion of the SPFL/SFA/JRG or whoever hates us/them is nonsense. There are well documented issues with the running of the game in Scotland however these are unprecedented times and decisions need made. We moan when decisions don't get made, now we're moaning when they have made a decision.

FWIW I think all football shouldve been stopped but can understand why the decision was made to keep the premiership and potentially the championship going. Although if the championship decide to continue, we will see games cancelled all over the shop when the testing starts and positive results are confirmed and small squads are decimated with isolation.

Aye, might have been nice if they'd picked up the phone to tell the lower league clubs what they were doing before they read about it on P&B though. Imagine what would have happened if they'd done that to Sevco & Sellic? 'Oh aye, you're not playing for the next three weeks. Sorry, completely forgot to let you know'...

[Guest SJP79]

14 minutes ago, true fan said:

Championship getting 500k and allowed to decide whether they continue? Premier league is rather mediocre and the other 3 leagues are all diddy leagues. Why are we treating Alloa, Arbroath, morton, Dunfermline (did you see that eye bleeding ‘product’ last night?) as if they were juventus or Real Madrid?

close it down, put us all out of our misery

Last night's game was a stinker but you get that in all leagues including the english premier and la liga. 

[David W]

1 hour ago, Jack Burton said:

The championship downward are getting grants from the Scottish government. To be split 500k to Championship, 110k to league 1 and 100k for league 2. If they had split the grants fairer then it could have been affordable for testing in league 1 & 2.

Whilst I agree that the distribution was unfair (Hearts getting the same as Alloa? Falkirk getting the same as Clyde?), the government grant wasn't for testing. Indeed, they absolutely shouldn't be getting used for that.

The government funding testing for footballers would rightly be viewed as a disgrace.

[vikingTON]

1 hour ago, true fan said:

(did you see that eye bleeding ‘product’ last night?) 

The thing about Dunfermline is, they always try to walk the ball into the net.

Edited January 16, 2021 by vikingTON

[Skyline Drifter]

On 16/01/2021 at 09:24, pleslie99 said:

I dont think its as simple as "they don't care about us". Jesus there are a lot of people on this thread as paranoid and full of conspiracies as the OF.

Let's think about this rationally. There is a new strain of the virus causing havoc across the country, spreading quicker than before and more infectious.  Many people didn't think that certain levels should have been playing as there was little to no difference between them and amateur players. Its been stated that many of the players who were playing were unhappy about doing so, some even refused to play! The argument about lower league players not getting it is absolute nonsense, there has been cases, there has been matches off and there has probably been more that had it and havnt been aware, due to lack of testing. The premiership have been doing twice weekly testing since they started back, they are also FT meaning they are in a "bubble". Yes there has been a few instances of rules and bubbles being broken but isn't that the case in everyone's day to day life?

The championship are getting asked their thoughts for 2 reasons. 1. Apprently a team (ICT if rumours are to be true) have said they are unhappy to continue. 2. They now have to fork out for twice weekly testing at a considerable cost (yes they got a grant so it should cover it). The SPFL are asking if they are happy to do this. If they or a majority say no then I'm sure they will stop also. 

If league 1 and 2 had the option to test im sure they would have been asked too, the fact of the matter is its financially not possible for many so would've been canned anyway even if it had gone to a vote. This notion of the SPFL/SFA/JRG or whoever hates us/them is nonsense. There are well documented issues with the running of the game in Scotland however these are unprecedented times and decisions need made. We moan when decisions don't get made, now we're moaning when they have made a decision.

FWIW I think all football shouldve been stopped but can understand why the decision was made to keep the premiership and potentially the championship going. Although if the championship decide to continue, we will see games cancelled all over the shop when the testing starts and positive results are confirmed and small squads are decimated with isolation.

Good post but as a correction, testing is required once a week in the top two leagues, not twice. It was required twice a week very briefly at the start of the return for Premiership clubs but hasn't been twice weekly since about August I think.

On 16/01/2021 at 12:40, jagsfan57 said:

Didn’t James Anderson give the SPFL a bunch of money so that lower league teams could test and continue playing ?

The SPFL executive are totally responsible for this issue by not distributing this money solely to lower league clubs.

 

The SPFL executive weren't responsible for the distribution of the Anderson Grant and even distribution was one of the conditions of the gift. Testing was meant at the time to be the main reason for it though. When testing wasn't required after all, clubs were allowed to use it for other covid compliance costs and other costs of providing closed door football to supporters. I imagine most of it was used to set up the broadcasting platforms most lower league clubs are using.

On 16/01/2021 at 14:52, David W said:

Whilst I agree that the distribution was unfair (Hearts getting the same as Alloa? Falkirk getting the same as Clyde?), the government grant wasn't for testing. Indeed, they absolutely shouldn't be getting used for that.

The government funding testing for footballers would rightly be viewed as a disgrace.

Not sure that's entirely true. It was given to assist businesses to remain in existence amidst the challenges of Covid, particularly with respect to lost income both in gate receipts and off field sources. How the funds are spent having subsidised that lost income is entirely up to the recipient. There is no reason it particularly SHOULDN'T be used for private testing. It's a moot point anyway. It's just shuffling money around. You want to say they shouldn't use the grant? Fine they'll use the streaming income to pay for testing and use the grant to pay for whatever the streaming income now isn't paying for.

I don't think it's a "disgrace" either. Not particularly saying it's right or wrong but it's not difficult to make a case for the continuation of our national sport as being crucial for the mental health and well being of a vast section of the population.

[jagsfan57]

Not sure that's entirely true. It was given to assist businesses to remain in existence amidst the challenges of Covid, particularly with respect to lost income both in gate receipts and off field sources. How the funds are spent having subsidised that lost income is entirely up to the recipient. There is no reason it particularly SHOULDN'T be used for private testing. It's a moot point anyway. It's just shuffling money around. You want to say they shouldn't use the grant? Fine they'll use the streaming income to pay for testing and use the grant to pay for whatever the streaming income now isn't paying for.
I don't think it's a "disgrace" either. Not particularly saying it's right or wrong but it's not difficult to make a case for the continuation of our national sport as being crucial for the mental health and well being of a vast section of the population.

Coming back on the James Anderson money. Originally it was for lower league clubs only. How did it then become for every division?
Secondly, who decided that testing wasn’t needed in the lower leagues? At the time it seemed illogical to me. Now, the fact that testing isn’t taking place in Div 1 & 2 is the reason given for “pausing” the leagues. And now, on the back of a media comment by one manager, the Championship are being asked if they want to “follow” div 1 & 2 and stop playing.

It looks to me that the 3 lower league will be null and void and the premiership will stand as it is(as more than 1/2 of the games have been completed) or continue a bit longer with no relegation.

[DiegoDiego]

It looks to me that the 3 lower league will be null and void and the premiership will stand as it is(as more than 1/2 of the games have been completed) or continue a bit longer with no relegation.

With the daily case rate already back to where it was a month ago and vaccine roll out well under way I see little reason why football shouldn't start up again in February.

Football is an incredibly low risk activity and if it wasn't for Celtic publicly fisting their own arse we'd have had a full card yesterday.

Twenty-seven games a side will be played and Thistle will lose to Alloa in the playoffs. Unfortunately Hearts will be promoted and
Brechin will be away to Wick in 2021/22.