morrie21

Yes. Conference League proposal withdrawn from tomorrow's AGM agenda. SFA were clearly aware of the growing number of clubs that had seen straight through this, so instead of being mightily embarrassed they will work with their Glasgow based colleagues, ahem, and come up with another proposal to shoehorn B teams into the pyramid in due course. Their statement says they "would like to carry out further consultation in respect of the player pathway to ensure the best development opportunities for players within the football pyramid." Free bit of advice for them - maybe consult with more than three or four clubs. Plenty forward thinking football people working at smaller clubs whose ideas for progressing football in Scotland should be heard.

Stenny will vote NO to the Conference League at the SFA AGM on Tuesday: https://www.stenhousemuirfc.com/2023/06/02/proposed-conference-league/ Also seen statements from Falkirk, Stirling Albion and Dumbarton today saying they will also be voting against it.

I attended the fans consultation on this issue at Stenhousmuir FC last night. The meeting was chaired by club Chairman Iain McMenemy. The document the SFA sent to the clubs was presented, without opinion or comment by the Chairman before the floor was opened up for opinions to be aired by those in attendance. Everyone in the room expressed negative feelings towards the plans laid out and the Chairman said he would take that away to the board and they would provide an update on how they intend to vote in due course. If they align with the fanbase the Stenny vote on June 6 will be NO. The issues with this proposal seems to be how rushed it has been. There are many glaring holes in it such as with the revenue promised to the non-B teams in the conference league, and how it would operate as the fifth tier of the SPFL although it would be run independently of the SPFL, so in effect it could change the rules within its setup after a few years. As it stands it doesn't even have the 4 B teams it proposes as Aberdeen knocked back the invite to join and Queen's Park have done the same. If a 4th club isn't willing to enter a B team - and absorb the costs that it would entail - apparently they want to run with 9 teams in the league. So it seems to be coming apart at the seams already. Hope those of you on here that are interested in this found this helpful.

Definitely will.

Stenny are hosting a fans forum at the ground tomorrow night on this. The board intend to present the full proposals as laid out by the SFA, before listening to the feedback from the fans. I shall go along, I think it will be an interesting evening. Fan feedback will shape how the club casts its vote on June 5/6.

They should, but as far as I know the agreement for that in the Lowland League still has one more year to go. Plenty of Lowland League clubs, including The Spartans, who are now in SPFL League Two, voted for the B teams inclusion. Absolute batshit levels of crazy.

Aye, fingers crossed.

I've seen a few communications from lower league teams over the last few days who have consulted with fans and stated their voting intentions based on those consultations. Bonnyrigg Rose and Albion Rovers intend to vote NO. I'm sure I read another one too, may have been Forfar but I could be wrong as my memory is crap. Anyway the other club also stated they would vote NO. I think the vote is on June 5 or 6. My club Stenhousemuir FC are consulting with supporters this week. Hopefully i'll be able to get along to the session.

Classic banter.

Ooft. Well there are a few vacancies in Scottish fitba if he fancies it.

Thanks for sharing that link - could be something interesting to do with the wee man during the upcoming school holidays.

👍

Cheers Scott

Cheers for sharing this Ramy. I fancy going for a visit. Is the train from Central to Crosshill the best way to get to Cathkin Park? Also what's the nearest train station to the site of the original Hampden Park as referenced above. Please and thank you!

Just over three weeks away from Taylor-Lopez in New York. Bit of coverage on Taylor this week, training camp footage etc. He does look really sharp and ready. Night and day compared to how he looked before the Catterall fight last year. I'm confident Taylor's new team are getting the best out of him, I'm confident he will absolutely batter Teofimo Lopez.

Good statement from Aberdeen FC. Very clear and thoroughly covers all the issues they have carefully considered relating to this invitation.

Well said.

Enjoy Ramy

Quality - I remember reading that Pirlo had moved to coach a club in Turkey, just hadn't remembered which one. Many feel he was harshly treated by Juve when they punted him after only one season. Sounds like you had a decent time at least. Always good to experience a game on foreign shores. Cheers

Quality 😂

Punching well above your weight there Ramy. Well done 👊

Enjoy. Please provide a full report by Monday. 800 words 😁

Hopefully enough L1&L2 clubs along with the LL and HL clubs can figure out that going along with this is bad news. It still needs to be voted in by the member clubs, enough of them will surely see sense. The blazers at the SFA are a disgrace for pressing for this basically at the request of a few Premiership clubs who fancy the B team model. If this goes ahead, they won't stop. A few more years and the next request will be up to be "voted upon." This will see many fans of lower league clubs lost to Scottish fitba if it gets voted in. Dangerous times.

Same here. Haven't watched it in years. It is telling though when in a boozer and a game is on, a huge percentage of folks are glued to it. It's not for me.

Just in case anyone missed it Taylor v Lopez has been confirmed for June 10 in the small room at Madison Square Garden. I'm pretty sure they would have done big room but it is likely that will be in use for either an NHL or NBA playoff game.