A friend & I were discussin elgin & east stirlings basement battle last night & he claims that if East Stirling finish bottom this yr, that will be the 3rd yr in a row & they will be kicked out of the league setup, to be replaced by a highland league team or such like? I seem to remember this was put forward but Im convinced it was never put into effect! Anyone able to shed any  light?

An Elgin City fan was telling me about this a while ago.

Apparently if they come last again, they have to reapply for SFL status (or something like that). He seemed very certain they'd get it though...

Someone else may have a better knowledge than i on the subject

I thought the rule was 2 years in a row but I see the Shire have already been bottom 4 years running. Definitely some rule passed in the last year or two- maybe at the same time as they decided to have playoffs?

Their best place for them is probably the West Juniors- far more quality and money than the East, and a few decent stadiums. But that would stop them ever getting back in the SFL, so probably East of Scotland League along with Spartans, Edinburgh City, Whitehill etc. The level there is shyte even compared to div 3, Spartans are the only club at the mo with a decent setup.

I would think Spartans would be a good bet to replace the Shire

Or a team from the Borders perhaps for a bit of geographical balance.

Don't think anything has convinced me more of the need for a pyramid system in Scottish football than East Stirlingshire. Thats probably a bit harsh, but there are a few decent sides in the lower leagues who could probably do better.

A play off between the champions of the Highland, East, west Leagues and bottom of the Third Division would be the best idea.

The SFL will have nothing to do at present with the West (Junior) League (not that the Juniors have any intention of giving up their independence either). Unless you mean the South of Scotland League (which is really gash).

That'll be the one, actually. Cheers.

More HL clubs should apply, we've all done really well (apart from Scum City). Probably Cove and Huntly will be the next in line - but even the likes of Nairn County and Forres Mechanics are more worthy than East Stirling and deserve some kind of chance.

Get Clach up there then Inverness would have two league teams. Another claim to fame.

It appears to be true  :010:

LINK

I wonder who would replace them??

My understanding from reading kencar's link is that they wont actually be thrown out. Their full membership would be reduced to associate and they would be given two years to prove themselves or face being voted out of league.

Even then, the other league clubs have the discretion to allow them to retain their full membership at this stage.

Still, at least they serve the useful function of keeping Elgin off the bottom.