Incredibly, this technically starts tomorrow!
We don't enter until the 4th Round (which is now in 'back' in its traditional January slot), but the draw for the opening stages is being held tomorrow at Hampden. Davie Moyes drawing out teams he'll never have heard of!

Interestingly, no 'first time' winner has retained the trophy since the 1870s.

To my knowledge, this seasons competition will have the most ever clubs with 92. And with 2 preliminary rounds scheduled, there are effectively 10 rounds of competition - again a record.
In the old North of Scotland Qualifying Cup, if I remember, the 16 Highland League teams had to win two games to reach the semi-finals, and qualification to the Scottish Cup.
Then (the Scottish Cup) had 4 rounds before the quarter-finals...so a total of 9 matches to win the whole thing! (sometimes even a bye in Round 1 was a possibility).

But this season's marathon means that when we enter, 5 of the 10 rounds will already have been played, and 60 of the 92 clubs will have been eliminated!

The 2 preliminary rounds are drawn tomorrow with the Scottish Amateur Cup winners involved for the first time - apparently a team called Harestanes from Kirkintilloch who play on a public park!

11 minutes ago, Charles Bannerman said:

I'm not so sure that Hibs are not currently in the Premiership because of past financial mismanagement which in their case was about 25 years ago - long before even Caley Thistle's financial near-death experience. I would be more inclined to say that Hibs are not in the Premiership for the altogether more conventional reason of having been downright rank on the park!

They were certainly rank on the pitch but that would have been related to the level of debt they had and the club beginning to take measures to address that.  In 2012/13 they had a debt of around £8m.  Clearly there has been nothing like the scandal at Ibrox but the level of debt they had was a reflection poor financial management in the past.  Nevertheless, last year they reported an operating loss of just under a million but have been able to reduce the level of debt through share issues etc. 

Fair play to both teams, they've earned the right to be in the final. 

Tina Turner v The Proclaimers, tough one to call.

I suppose that at least the honour of winning the trophy continues to be shared around. This season it will either be won by a club who have not held the trophy for 114 years or one who have never won it at all in their short history.

Just a wee word again about Eat Fife.

Not only  were they top of the  Scottish football scene in their heyday but they have now won the Division they are in at this time and so will move upwards again next season. 

Whether Bayview Park will be sufficient to house the hordes of away fans that hopefully will flock to Methil  is a moot point. It's not the most inspiring place on earth I have to admit but, to be quite frank, I enjoyed some of the matches there  in my younger days immensely.  These were the days when they played with five forwards all in a row across the park and watching the play flow  from man to man was both idyllic stuff and reminded me of a top rugby team in full flight.

As I have previously opined,East Fife were once so in demand for  matches, even in England, that they just wore the team out and then the demise and downward momentum started .

C'mon  the Fifers, even if the huge coal pits are a faint memory now.

Did you guys know that Methil was once the premier coal-exporting port in Great Britain. Yep, them were the days.

11 hours ago, Scarlet Pimple said:

Just a wee word again about Eat Fife.

Not only  were they top of the  Scottish football scene in their heyday but they have now won the Division they are in at this time and so will move upwards again next season. 

Whether Bayview Park will be sufficient to house the hordes of away fans that hopefully will flock to Methil  is a moot point. It's not the most inspiring place on earth I have to admit but, to be quite frank, I enjoyed some of the matches there  in my younger days immensely.  These were the days when they played with five forwards all in a row across the park and watching the play flow  from man to man was both idyllic stuff and reminded me of a top rugby team in full flight.

As I have previously opined,East Fife were once so in demand for  matches, even in England, that they just wore the team out and then the demise and downward momentum started .

C'mon  the Fifers, even if the huge coal pits are a faint memory now.

Did you guys know that Methil was once the premier coal-exporting port in Great Britain. Yep, them were the days.

EFFC moved stadium to Methyl docks in 98 Scarlet. They have one all seater stand that holds 1980 bums and they also hire in temporary stands for expected big crowds.

On 18/04/2016 at 9:24 AM, Kingsmills said:

I suppose that at least the honour of winning the trophy continues to be shared around. This season it will either be won by a club who have not held the trophy for 114 years or one who have never won it at all in their short history.

I like it - "a team who have never won it at all......." - 

14 hours ago, Scarlet Pimple said:

Whether Bayview Park will be sufficient to house the hordes of away fans that hopefully will flock to Methil  is a moot point. It's not the most inspiring place on earth

https://www.thecourier.co.uk/news/local/fife/106984/prince-philip-returns-to-support-methil-exhibition/

Once famously referred to as "a dump" by a certain straight talking Hellenic gentleman.

 

8 hours ago, Alex MacLeod said:

EFFC moved stadium to Methyl docks in 98 Scarlet. They have one all seater stand that holds 1980 bums and they also hire in temporary stands for expected big crowds.

Can't beat the old autocorrect eh Alex! 

ICT played there once just before our promotion to the old div 1. We lost 3-2 iirc.

13 minutes ago, TheMantis said:

Can't beat the old autocorrect eh Alex! 

ICT played there once just before our promotion to the old div 1. We lost 3-2 iirc.

Presumably East Fife's local rivals therefore play in Ethyl, Propyl and Butyl?

9 hours ago, Charles Bannerman said:

Presumably East Fife's local rivals therefore play in Ethyl, Propyl and Butyl?

Its thepetrochemical background that does it

OMG .Me sides are splitting. Methinks thon lad was on too much in the way of spirits?Ha!                                                i.e. Methyl-ated Spirits no less.
Youse yins just kill me.

Thank you all for your potent information about he town I once lived in, wee Methil. On Bowling Green Street. Then , as I looked out my kitchen window looking at the old codgers  bowling away, never did I think that one day I would be amongst the old 'uns as well, including  IHE , Bannerman and many others too exciting and numerous to mention.

Mantis--thanks for that info about the Bayview Bachles  move.

No wonder I couldn't recognise the view of the Firth I was seeing on the video of one of East Fife's games which  I watched recently for one of their matches.--they won. Looks like they are on something of a bender again--onwards and upwards, I say. We need more minnows success stories .....

I'm sure Sneckboy will correct me if I am wrong but I believe that if The Rangers win the cup this season it will be only the second time in the long history of the competition that the trophy has been won by first time winners for three consecutive season.

The only other such unbroken sequence was in season 1919-20 (Kilmarnock), 1920-21 (Partick) and 1921-22 (Morton). There were three consecutive first time winners later in the form of East Fife, Clyde and Aberdeen but, due to the non playing of the tournament during war time, not in consecutive seasons.

59 minutes ago, Kingsmills said:

I'm sure Sneckboy will correct me if I am wrong but I believe that if The Rangers win the cup this season it will be only the second time in the long history of the competition that the trophy has been won by first time winners for three consecutive season.

The only other such unbroken sequence was in season 1919-20 (Kilmarnock), 1920-21 (Partick) and 1921-22 (Morton). There were three consecutive first time winners later in the form of East Fife, Clyde and Aberdeen but, due to the non playing of the tournament during war time, not in consecutive seasons.

I'm in concordance with the above observation from Kingsmills. It wasn't a stat I had been aware off - but is correct - assuming that The Rangers are recognised as a new team - which is certainly the case for all objective observers.
What is also certain, is that East Fife will no longer be the only club playing in a recognised (SFL/SPFL) 'tier' outwith the top level to have won the Scottish Cup.