Celtic and Hearts B Teams in Lowland League?

[Dev]

5 minutes ago, Jack Burton said:

The Berwick Rangers statement suggests that league points will be up for grabs when playing the Colt sides so unlikely the LL clubs will put a weak team.

I also very much doubt the Old Firm would agree to it if it means their Colts will be playing the under 20 teams from the LL clubs.

I don't like the idea of these OF colts being in the official League Table. There's no need. If the OF sides want to have their own version of a table with them in it they can do just that but it would be unofficial.

As long as the players are registered for the LL is there anything they could do about it?

[Marshmallo]

 

The lads

[FairWeatherFan]

18 minutes ago, andrew21 said:

Do the Civil Service Strollers still have a representative on Lowland League board?

I think so. Haven't heard of any changes since 2018. Tom Brown currently sits on the PGB and the statement for the cancellation of the Development league earlier in the year was credited to Thomas Brown

 

[FairWeatherFan]

13 minutes ago, andrew21 said:

https://www.caledonianbraves.com/uploads/tinymce/Lowland League Proposal - May 2021.pdf

Gate income – circa £5000 per lowland League club (based on a conservative 500 supporters x £5 x 2 fixtures)

Have they got a dictionary where conservative means something radically different to the definition any normal person would have?

The Financial & profiles stuff is a real back of a fag packet effort.

SPFL say no and so much for the Colts team record being wiped.

EDIT: Seriously!!!!!!!!!!! People have looked at this and thought "That's legit."

Edited May 6, 2021 by FairWeatherFan

[VillanoXIV]

Surely if you’re going to bend over for the sake of a measly three grand, you could parachute Talbot, Pollok and Clydebank in and rake more than that in gate receipts? 

 

Edited May 6, 2021 by VillanoXIV

[FairWeatherFan]

We now go to the Lowland League boardroom after reading the 'B' team proposal for their live reaction.

 

Edited May 6, 2021 by FairWeatherFan

[Gordon EF]

Jesus fucking Christ...

[Gordon EF]

"It's a one year pilot scheme with no expectation beyond one year"

Are they stupid enough not to know what pilot scheme means or stupid enough not to be able to write something without immediately contradicting it?

[Mexico]

Where is the rush of fans coming from? The colt teams have been in the cup for a while now and nobody turns up.

[EdinburghBlue]

5 hours ago, VillanoXIV said:

I am probably one of the most forgiving about Colts teams in the pyramid. Stranraer and Caley Braves do it in the SOS, as did QoS and Annan. Stirling Uni do the same in the EOS and Hibs and Berwick have done it in the past with little protest, same with the Highland.

Stranraer cannot be promoted to the Lowland League so why should other Colts teams be allowed at that level or above?  But there’s a difference that I suspect few understand. When I started watching Stranraer no one really thought that the SoSL side was a reserve team. It was really a team for local players (usually referred to as the 'wee team'), with very few making it to the 'big team', which was and continues to be filled with central belt players, who train in Glasgow and are bussed in for games. So it’s not really a Colts side.  The description of the wee team as a reserve side only really became common when it was reestablished after a gap of several years.  
I've said often on here that I’m not in favour of second and third teams participating in the pyramid, but if it is to happen it should be done properly as in Spain, with opportunities open to all sides on merit, not out of a sense of entitlement or from bullying by the usual suspects. And these sides should start at the bottom, and not be parachuted in halfway up the pyramid. 

[EdinburghBlue]

7 hours ago, andrew21 said:

Some of the lowland league clubs will have to factor in travel to an extra two away games as well then, that £60 a week for each club from the Colts teams £50k will be eaten up pretty quickly at this rate. 

And the cost of extra policing/stewarding for visiting fans. 

[G51]

 

Very interesting details on this from Stewart Robertson, Ross Wilson and Craig Mulholland at Rangers.

My big takeaway from this is that Rangers and Celtic are very clearly making a deal with the Lowland League - the B teams are in exchange for both clubs backing more promotion and relegation between League 2 and the HL/LL.

Other thoughts:

- The strategic partnerships appears to have been part of the proposal presented to the PGB and the SPFL board. This was approved and then went to the SFA board, where nothing happened and it was never distributed to the clubs. Very interested to see the SFA's response to that. Particularly given that it's an idea that came from Stenny.

- Wilson is clear to say that it's "initially" on a one-season basis.

- Rangers and Celtic are going to end up buying tickets in advance from the clubs.

- Rangers are keeping their U20 games programmes as I suspected.

- Sounds like the lack of an alternative proposal from the SPFL/SFA for developing a player pathway has contributed to this proposal.

[EdinburghBlue]

1 hour ago, andrew21 said:

https://www.caledonianbraves.com/uploads/tinymce/Lowland League Proposal - May 2021.pdf

Gate income – circa £5000 per lowland League club (based on a conservative 500 supporters x £5 x 2 fixtures)

Have they got a dictionary where conservative means something radically different to the definition any normal person would have?

The Financial & profiles stuff is a real back of a fag packet effort.

This is just deluded 

[edinabear]

9 minutes ago, G51 said:

 

Very interesting details on this from Stewart Robertson, Ross Wilson and Craig Mulholland at Rangers.

My big takeaway from this is that Rangers and Celtic are very clearly making a deal with the Lowland League - the B teams are in exchange for both clubs backing more promotion and relegation between League 2 and the HL/LL.

Other thoughts:

- The strategic partnerships appears to have been part of the proposal presented to the PGB and the SPFL board. This was approved and then went to the SFA board, where nothing happened and it was never distributed to the clubs. Very interested to see the SFA's response to that. Particularly given that it's an idea that came from Stenny.

- Wilson is clear to say that it's "initially" on a one-season basis.

- Rangers and Celtic are going to end up buying tickets in advance from the clubs.

- Rangers are keeping their U20 games programmes as I suspected.

- Sounds like the lack of an alternative proposal from the SPFL/SFA for developing a player pathway has contributed to this proposal.

Some very wise words. Always speaks well does Stewart Robertson. Looks like this is happening. 

[FairWeatherFan]

15 minutes ago, G51 said:

 

Very interesting details on this from Stewart Robertson, Ross Wilson and Craig Mulholland at Rangers.

My big takeaway from this is that Rangers and Celtic are very clearly making a deal with the Lowland League - the B teams are in exchange for both clubs backing more promotion and relegation between League 2 and the HL/LL.

Other thoughts:

- The strategic partnerships appears to have been part of the proposal presented to the PGB and the SPFL board. This was approved and then went to the SFA board, where nothing happened and it was never distributed to the clubs. Very interested to see the SFA's response to that. Particularly given that it's an idea that came from Stenny.

- Wilson is clear to say that it's "initially" on a one-season basis.

- Rangers and Celtic are going to end up buying tickets in advance from the clubs.

- Rangers are keeping their U20 games programmes as I suspected.

- Sounds like the lack of an alternative proposal from the SPFL/SFA for developing a player pathway has contributed to this proposal.

Stewart Roberston - Nobody's done anything on the Strategic Partnership front. Haven't Hibs and Stenhousemuir been singing the benefits that they're doing that just now.

Ross Wilson - I hate Guardiola's Barca more and more. As they're basically the inspiration for this B team hype.

Craig Mulholland - No pathway between u18 to 1st team? Maybe don't chuck the Reserve League after one season then.

Also pretty clear who helped put together the LL proposal.

 

Edited May 6, 2021 by FairWeatherFan

[G51]

1 minute ago, edinabear said:

Some very wise words. Always speaks well does Stewart Robertson. Looks like this is happening. 

I don't think there's any guarantee that this happens.

I do think this eventually ends up with strategic partnerships. But it might take years for that to come to fruition.

[Burnieman]

1 hour ago, FairWeatherFan said:

I think so. Haven't heard of any changes since 2018. Tom Brown currently sits on the PGB and the statement for the cancellation of the Development league earlier in the year was credited to Thomas Brown

 

George Fraser is the LL rep on the PGB.

[G51]

1 minute ago, FairWeatherFan said:

Stewart Roberston - Nobody's done anything on the Strategic Partnership front. Haven't Hibs and Stenhousemuir been singing the benefits that they're doing that just now.

Ross Wilson - I hate Guardiola's Barca more and more. As they're basically the inspiration for this B team hype.

Craig Mulholland - No pathway between u18 to 1st team? Maybe don't chuck the Reserve League after one season then.

 

Hibs and Stenny are saying that it's working really well. I think that's the point. It reads to me as if some kind of proposal legislating for this went to the SFA board and then didn't go anywhere - if I'm picking that up wrong then someone can correct me.

I'd be very interested to read the details of the proposal. Could see it being leaked very soon.

[FairWeatherFan]

3 minutes ago, Burnieman said:

George Fraser is the LL rep on the PGB.

I was just going off of this https://www.scottishfa.co.uk/scottish-fa/organisation/strategy-structure/who-we-are/board-committees/

[Jerry Macguire]

3 minutes ago, Burnieman said:

George Fraser is the LL rep on the PGB.

You are correct. Thomas Brown is also a LL board member.