Crazy Feet Posted September 26, 2022 Share Posted September 26, 2022 A lot of rumours doing the rounds regarding leagues amalgamating for next season, apparently The Central, Caley and Greater Glasgow. Anyone heard anything? Top 6 from Caley Prem and Central Prem would form the new Super League (if you like) with divisions underneath with all other teams. Not sure if it could possibly be regionalised as well with the number of teams potentially involved? Some clubs would be happy you would imagine but others not so much. Will be interesting to see how it pans out but I think there needs to be radical change particularly for the afternoon amateur game which has too many leagues for the amount of teams playing in small area. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amateur Fan Posted September 26, 2022 Share Posted September 26, 2022 Your right and wrong crazy feet the amalgamation was discussed with the 3 Leagues you mention and The SAFL and was very positive so a 2nd meeting was arranged which The GGPL never appeared [ so my guess is they were not interested ] again very positive and a excellent proposal was produced by a member of the Cally League. This was based along the lines of Leagues in the Central belt [ Stirling AFL was to be invited ] would form a super league made up of the top 6 from the Cally / Central with a championship below made up of the rest from the Cally / Central top divison and 2 from The SAFL then 3 feeder leagues of the rest of the clubs from all the other divisions. The idea was to try and save Saturday afternoon amateur football and combat the threat from the West Of Scoland League. Alas after all the hard work done by the proposer its been binned due to my opinion self interst and dinosaurs within certain Committees 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crazy Feet Posted September 27, 2022 Author Share Posted September 27, 2022 Sad to hear as the status quo is no longer an option imo. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brad Bobley Posted September 27, 2022 Share Posted September 27, 2022 I think it’s wise to amalgamate all the Saturday morning leagues (SMAFA, Colleges and Churches) and the Saturday afternoon leagues in west central Scotland, inclusive of Stirling teams and Argyll teams (Stirling, Caley, Central, SAFL, GG). A lot of travelling for, say, Doune or Callander, who could end up in Campbeltown, but something that should seriously be considered. Non-‘compliance’ isolates the GGAFL, so I’m not sure how they would fair, and I’m not sure how it would affect Ayrshire as they seem to do their own thing and get on fairly well regardless - but if a ‘super league’ is created, I imagine there will be a degree of interest from some Ayrshire teams.Opens up a big can of worms for the Lothian league, Border league and Fife league as well - I imagine if it’s successful in the west, there might be some appetite in the east, but maybe I’m just spitballing.I think, if done correctly and above board, it’s a very good idea, but I don’t trust it will be executed the way it should be. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stanley Posted September 27, 2022 Share Posted September 27, 2022 Either they amalgamate by choice soon or they'll end up having to amalgamate through lack of numbers years down the line. Scottish AFL down to just 15 teams (had 50+ in 2015) and Stirling down to just 11 (40+ in 2015) look like the next leagues to struggle badly. The two Saturday morning leagues in the west have already merged meaning they've already lost Glasgow & District Saturday Morning, Paisley, Lanarkshire and the West of Scotland League from the west alone in the past five years. Midlands League up north looks to be on its last legs too. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crazy Feet Posted September 28, 2022 Author Share Posted September 28, 2022 10 hours ago, stanley said: Either they amalgamate by choice soon or they'll end up having to amalgamate through lack of numbers years down the line. Scottish AFL down to just 15 teams (had 50+ in 2015) and Stirling down to just 11 (40+ in 2015) look like the next leagues to struggle badly. The two Saturday morning leagues in the west have already merged meaning they've already lost Glasgow & District Saturday Morning, Paisley, Lanarkshire and the West of Scotland League from the west alone in the past five years. Midlands League up north looks to be on its last legs too. Yes the Saturday Afternoon game is dead on it's feet. The biggest issue is societal changes and attitudes, combined with less numbers also playing football these days also. The morning leagues are thriving, the afternoon leagues need to look at that and ask why? Perhaps being a bit more flexible with kick off times / days would help as well. The over 35s and U20s are thriving playing Friday night games. Bottom line is a lot of guys rightly or wrongly don't want to give up their full Saturday afternoon to go and play football nowdays. It's different for guys making a wage out of the game (WOS) and the top amateur teams who are competing for trophies every season. I think amalgamating and regionalising is a great idea - allow teams to play local and against teams at a similar level to them, and I think more flexible kick off times would definitely help also (even allowing a 12pm kick off rather than 2-3pm). 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LoveFitbaw Posted September 28, 2022 Share Posted September 28, 2022 I do like the idea of reconstruction but I think the fairest way would be to have a conference system for a season if possible and then move to a premier, championship, 1st,2nd etc etc. obviously the top 2 or 3 from each conference would be in prem and say 4-6th championship and so on. A lot of teams in the central probably might not be for this though as they have been very dominant in the majors recently and might not fancy missing out on the top league for a few seasons. Teams in other leagues would probably feel the same but I’m using the central as an example as it’s widely regarded as the top amateur league going (although I don’t think they have the depth they had before). I think this will be one of the reasons this sadly will not happen as others have already said there’s too much self interest instead of looking at the bigger picture. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaggyness Posted September 28, 2022 Share Posted September 28, 2022 Long been an advocate of fewer leagues with the best teams all in one place but one interesting point I think that's being missed here is why has the wosfl had apparently such a massive detrimental effect on the game in the west compared to the mass migration in the east that occurred several years prior in comparison to the leagues through in that part of the country? I suspect there will still be too many people who are too concerned with wearing a blazer to Hampden once in a blue moon for meaningful change to occur but we live in hope. Otherwise what will happen, not that it's any concern for the amateur game, is the already largely dreadful standards in West division 4 will drop even further. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GNU_Linux Posted October 2, 2022 Share Posted October 2, 2022 It's a small thing that won't happen because blazers etc but merging the Amateur & Welfare FA's would be a good start. Two organisations doing the same thing*. *-historically there were differences such as iirc the eligibility of ex-senior players 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GNU_Linux Posted October 18, 2022 Share Posted October 18, 2022 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaggyness Posted October 19, 2022 Share Posted October 19, 2022 Far too sensible and progressive. Will never happen [emoji17] 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HibeeJibee Posted October 19, 2022 Share Posted October 19, 2022 (edited) 16 hours ago, GNU_Linux said: 4 hours ago, jaggyness said: Far too sensible and progressive. Will never happen Interesting to note these proposals only envisage 2 of the 4 leagues combining, and takes 3 years - yet plenty chat it may 'fall'. Those leagues currently have 99 clubs (having already lost 6 since season began AFAICS). Go back 4yrs they had 124 clubs (plus 10 folded during season). Go back 8yrs they had 153 clubs (plus 4 folded). Such modest proposals might well prove "fiddling while Rome burns" tbh. EDIT: Afterall if the current attrition rate continues unchecked - and if anything it seems to be accelerating - there may only be 60-odd clubs left come 2026 anyway. Edited October 19, 2022 by HibeeJibee 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LoveFitbaw Posted October 20, 2022 Share Posted October 20, 2022 I see Giffnock North are asking anyone against it to come to a meeting at there club house next week. One club clearly not happy about the proposal. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HEY_SIDNEY Posted October 20, 2022 Share Posted October 20, 2022 4 hours ago, LoveFitbaw said: I see Giffnock North are asking anyone against it to come to a meeting at there club house next week. One club clearly not happy about the proposal. Oh aye there's a meltdown happening over there. Really interested to see if there's a reason other than committee acting proactively. Or is it just being arsey. Or alternatively hats their solution. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaggyness Posted October 20, 2022 Share Posted October 20, 2022 Oh aye there's a meltdown happening over there. Really interested to see if there's a reason other than committee acting proactively. Or is it just being arsey. Or alternatively hats their solution.I partially agree with Giffnock. Concerns were raised at a league meeting by the clubs to investigate merging the 4 leagues. The executive Committee then seemingly independently gave the proverbial two fingers to two of the leagues and decided to go and seek the support of just the central scottish. Trying to stop any merger though is just holding back the ammy game imho. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HEY_SIDNEY Posted October 20, 2022 Share Posted October 20, 2022 If that’s the true story then they have grounds to feel slightly, just slightly, aggrieved. However the bigger picture I agree, something has to change. Even kick off times to 12 rather than 2. The west and Scottish are a nonsense for us from a sat morning 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LoveFitbaw Posted October 21, 2022 Share Posted October 21, 2022 Does anyone know when the vote by clubs will be held to determine if this will go any further? 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kickbaw Posted October 21, 2022 Share Posted October 21, 2022 Personally don't think anything shall save Saturday afternoon football too many lads wanting to go watch the football. After COVID everyone's priorities has changed not enough boys willing to put football before anything else commitment levels are at an all time low with so many clubs folding ..... Friday night football for me is the way forward! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crazy Feet Posted October 24, 2022 Author Share Posted October 24, 2022 On 21/10/2022 at 21:43, Kickbaw said: Personally don't think anything shall save Saturday afternoon football too many lads wanting to go watch the football. After COVID everyone's priorities has changed not enough boys willing to put football before anything else commitment levels are at an all time low with so many clubs folding ..... Friday night football for me is the way forward! Flexibility around kick off times is certainly a massive thing. As you say, if you could play games on a Friday evening then it would be massively popular imo. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spyro Posted October 24, 2022 Share Posted October 24, 2022 (edited) 2 hours ago, Crazy Feet said: Flexibility around kick off times is certainly a massive thing. As you say, if you could play games on a Friday evening then it would be massively popular imo. Only problem with Friday is that you have over 35's, over 40's AND under 20 games all on Friday nights. A lot of teams are really struggling to get pitches with lights booked over the winter months. I know it's been done to death but... Summer football maybe? It was the freezing, shite mornings where you didn't know until an hour before ko that your game was called off (and being a bit pish) that put me off playing Edited October 24, 2022 by Spyro 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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