New clubs in the West of Scotland

[Bestsinceslicebread]

10 minutes ago, Bestsinceslicebread said:

Rossvale Academy have nothing to do with Rossvale FC whatsoever, its full on split. Rossvale U20s pulled out of the league, the team were taken over by the academy half way through the season but it all backfired and split just got worse. I cant see Rossvale FC adding a new U20s next season as they wont be dealing with the academy and then again don't think Rossvale Academy will be adding a u20s team either but I'm sure both teams will have chat to see if they want to add U20s or not for next season. 

 Rossvale Academy from what I'm hearing will be based at Huntershill and Rossvale will be based at Petershill Park.  Westpark United and Rossvale go way back and Westpark have had autonomy on the main Huntersghill Astro park but get a feeling both academy and Westpark have arranged to share weekends when match day is on in division 4.  East Dunbartonshire council are the worst council regarding helping out youth groups and i think both academy and Westpark combined will find it hard for Huntersgill to be brought up to scratch within 2 years but I hope I'm wrong on this. I hope the council will change their views.

No matter what, any team dealing with a council owned park is at the whim of the council, Look at Clyde FC, their contract wasn't renewed by the council for Broadwood and now Clyde Fc are out 

 

 

 

[active8]

It's St.Mungo that play across from Low Moss..Glasgow Harp play at Allan Glens Rugby Club 

[Glenconner]

3 hours ago, active8 said:

It's St.Mungo that play across from Low Moss..Glasgow Harp play at Allan Glens Rugby Club 

Tell me there isn't any more teams with a Bishopbriggs connection.

[Arthurlie1981]

This is maybe a question best answered by Glensmad, but do new applicants have to show that they have a realistic plan to have a ground that would meet the standards as set by the WOS Board?

It would be easy enough for a clubs to say we have a plan but most of these will rely upon a Local Authority working with them to meet the ground standards and that is not always easy (the expanse of KRR just now shows this).

One other question, are the current Div 4 clubs working towards get their own grounds or existing grounds up to standard or are some looking to ground share in the longterm? If you admit clubs into the structure (even at Div 4) then it is hard to remove them if they make no progress towards meeting this. I know it is only 1 year in but how long do the clubs have to meet a standard so we don't just have a "development league" at the bottom for clubs who might not be able to ever join the full league?

[Dev]

1 hour ago, Arthurlie1981 said:

This is maybe a question best answered by Glensmad, but do new applicants have to show that they have a realistic plan to have a ground that would meet the standards as set by the WOS Board?

It would be easy enough for a clubs to say we have a plan but most of these will rely upon a Local Authority working with them to meet the ground standards and that is not always easy (the expanse of KRR just now shows this).

One other question, are the current Div 4 clubs working towards get their own grounds or existing grounds up to standard or are some looking to ground share in the longterm? If you admit clubs into the structure (even at Div 4) then it is hard to remove them if they make no progress towards meeting this. I know it is only 1 year in but how long do the clubs have to meet a standard so we don't just have a "development league" at the bottom for clubs who might not be able to ever join the full league?

Good points but would it be a bad thing if there was a "Development Division"? Not necessarily as Division Four or within the 80 club limit for the league. There could be access to the Lowland Under 20's Development League too via this route. It would take clubs away from the Amateurs though.

[Ginaro]

2 hours ago, Arthurlie1981 said:

One other question, are the current Div 4 clubs working towards get their own grounds or existing grounds up to standard or are some looking to ground share in the longterm? If you admit clubs into the structure (even at Div 4) then it is hard to remove them if they make no progress towards meeting this. I know it is only 1 year in but how long do the clubs have to meet a standard so we don't just have a "development league" at the bottom for clubs who might not be able to ever join the full league?

Said it before but there needs to be discussions between the WOS and the amateur leagues about how their bottom division and the fractured west amateur scene can come together. If more clubs join the WOS Division 4 then it effectively becomes a standalone amateur league covering the Greater Glasgow area. 

That might not be such a bad thing though - to bring the best clubs together, and then have clubs applying to go up to the WOS once if they meet the criteria, like step 6 or something in England where the ground grading comes in. But below it there needs to be a connection to the amateurs.

On 04/05/2022 at 10:20, Crazy Feet said:

None of these new clubs applying have their own ground and can't meet the WOSFL requirements. It's insanity.

I'm all for being ambitious but surely you need to know your level? Where is the funding going to come from to build your own stadium to meet the WOSFL requirements?

If you're in the east, let's say somewhere in Fife and you want to start a senior adult team, then you join the third tier in the Kingdom of Fife AFA if your ground isn't up to standard for entering the East of Scotland League. Sensible, and you are playing in your local region.

But if you're in the west - you have four amateur leagues in the Greater Glasgow area to choose from (no idea how you pick one?) or you can skip that step and try to join the regionwide WOS Division 4 while improving your ground. 

[Arthurlie1981]

1 hour ago, Dev said:

Good points but would it be a bad thing if there was a "Development Division"? Not necessarily as Division Four or within the 80 club limit for the league. There could be access to the Lowland Under 20's Development League too via this route. It would take clubs away from the Amateurs though.

But then you are creating an amateur league where  they already exist. The whole point of the WOSFL was to provide a pathway to the pyramid but currently you have one league that goes nowhere. For me clubs entering need to provide a timeline and plans for ground improvements to meet the standards, otherwise they should not be granted access. 

[AsimButtHitsASix]

1 hour ago, Ginaro said:

If you're in the east, let's say somewhere in Fife and you want to start a senior adult team, then you join the third tier in the Kingdom of Fife AFA if your ground isn't up to standard for entering the East of Scotland League. Sensible, and you are playing in your local region.

The East, for the most part, has a good regional amateur set up that could almost be... stuck on the bottom of the pyramid as it stands. Fife, Borders and Lothians are all set aside already. Maybe some crossover with the Midlands in places for Tayside teams?

BTW was in Dunoon at the weekend and their stadium could easily hold WoS football. Wonder if they've any interest

[zenon]

2 hours ago, AsimButtHitsASix said:

The East, for the most part, has a good regional amateur set up that could almost be... stuck on the bottom of the pyramid as it stands. Fife, Borders and Lothians are all set aside already. Maybe some crossover with the Midlands in places for Tayside teams?

BTW was in Dunoon at the weekend and their stadium could easily hold WoS football. Wonder if they've any interest

There used to be Dunoon Athletic in the West Juniors. 

[Ginaro]

1 hour ago, AsimButtHitsASix said:

The East, for the most part, has a good regional amateur set up that could almost be... stuck on the bottom of the pyramid as it stands. Fife, Borders and Lothians are all set aside already. Maybe some crossover with the Midlands in places for Tayside teams?

BTW was in Dunoon at the weekend and their stadium could easily hold WoS football. Wonder if they've any interest

Aye, if you got rid of the "amateur" distinction/naming/forms then the only difference would really be grounds criteria. Which is how it is in England between level 10 and the level 11 regional feeder leagues (the latter don't require an enclosed ground).

Same thing could happen in the WOS but it needs a Glasgow area or other regional leagues below it. 

[AsimButtHitsASix]

4 minutes ago, Ginaro said:

Aye, if you got rid of the "amateur" distinction/naming/forms then the only difference would really be grounds criteria. Which is how it is in England between level 10 and the level 11 regional feeder leagues (the latter don't require an enclosed ground).

Same thing could happen in the WOS but it needs a Glasgow area or other regional leagues below it. 

It isn't beyond the realms of possibility for the various amateur leagues that cover Strathclyde to decide amongst themselves what area they want to cover if they did want an amateur tier below.

 

Baby steps tho. The first full season for WoSFL ain't even finished yet.

[Hillonearth]

5 minutes ago, Ginaro said:

Aye, if you got rid of the "amateur" distinction/naming/forms then the only difference would really be grounds criteria. Which is how it is in England between level 10 and the level 11 regional feeder leagues (the latter don't require an enclosed ground).

Same thing could happen in the WOS but it needs a Glasgow area or other regional leagues below it. 

A lot of the Glasgow-based amateurs can probably be ruled out on account of not having a fixed ground - the Central Scottish is generally reckoned the pick of the amateur leagues in the area, but a quick glance at the sides involved reveal most of their first-choice grounds to be a mixture of public parks, municipal 3G cages and sports centres, very few if any with much scope for development into "proper" football grounds with the facilities and ancillaries that would be deemed necessary if they were to start charging entry. Even then, a lot of the clubs tend to use several "home" grounds over the course of the season depending on what's both playable and available on a given weekend.

There would need to be a fundamental change of focus from amateur clubs considering the move to switch from essentially recreational football to a spectator-facing nonleague model...it's not, and maybe shouldn't, be as easy as securing a block booking on a school 3G and firing in an application.

[Glenconner]

1 hour ago, Hillonearth said:

A lot of the Glasgow-based amateurs can probably be ruled out on account of not having a fixed ground - the Central Scottish is generally reckoned the pick of the amateur leagues in the area, but a quick glance at the sides involved reveal most of their first-choice grounds to be a mixture of public parks, municipal 3G cages and sports centres, very few if any with much scope for development into "proper" football grounds with the facilities and ancillaries that would be deemed necessary if they were to start charging entry. Even then, a lot of the clubs tend to use several "home" grounds over the course of the season depending on what's both playable and available on a given weekend.

There would need to be a fundamental change of focus from amateur clubs considering the move to switch from essentially recreational football to a spectator-facing nonleague model...it's not, and maybe shouldn't, be as easy as securing a block booking on a school 3G and firing in an application.

Welcome back H, thought I  might have seen you at a few midweek games, like Blantyre last night etc.

Good to see you back sharing the wisdom.

[Hillonearth]

46 minutes ago, Glenconner said:

Welcome back H, thought I  might have seen you at a few midweek games, like Blantyre last night etc.

Good to see you back sharing the wisdom.

I was there last week at the Cumnock game so couldny be bothered going there again so soon! A lot of of the midweek games have been treks down to Ayrshire this season, so I've not been at as many.

[Dev]

From   Caledonian AFL All Chat  in the Amateurs Section it looks like Thorns are planning to up-grade their ground this summer.

[Dev]

Uncle Scan on Caledonian AFL All Chat saying about Thorns:

I don't know as the work was meant to get done at the end of March. They now say June we will wait and see. The Thorn now have control over the public park which has another 2 pitches on it.

[paul-r-cfc]

If it's the Thorn facility I've been to then it's a grass field in the middle of a housing estate. Not fenced off at all, cars passing 15 feet behind the goals etc. Million miles away.

[cmontheloknow]

Are they no longer at the McMaster Sports Centre or Johnstone Community SPorts Complex as it is now I thinK?

Edited May 6, 2022 by cmontheloknow

[Dev]

24 minutes ago, cmontheloknow said:

Are they no longer at the McMaster Sports Centre or Johnstone Community SPorts Complex as it is now I thinK?

That's showing as the home ground on the Caledonian Amateur League's web site. Viewing Bing Maps It doesn't look too bad at all. Once enclosed it looks as though it could be good.

[cmontheloknow]

https://www.google.co.uk/maps/@55.8292798,-4.5236873,3a,75y,124.96h,83.2t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sf8eyzDVvol0aNWSwRRGFnQ!2e0!7i13312!8i6656