snorbens_caleyman

I didn't used to be a supporter of independence. My father, being a old-fashioned Highlander, didn't have much trust in people from the Central Belt, and thought that there wouldn't be much difference in the Highlands being governed from Westminster or from Edinburgh. In fact he reckoned that the huntin' shootin' fishin' brigade from England probably knew more about the Highlands than many folk from the Central belt. He wasn't impressed with the Scottish parliament when it was first set up, reasoning that the if the MSPs had wanted to stand for office, then they had already had three other opportunities - local government, Westminster parliament and European parliament - and so they must have been the scrapings from the bottom of the barrel! I guess that some of this rubbed off on me, but since I had left Scotland in 1978, with no thought of returning, I wasn't much bothered about the whole independence thing. Although my wife and I did notice the big change over the years after devolution, from a nation whose main identifying characteristic was hatred of its nearest neighbour, into a self-confident, forward-looking country. After two or three years of Cameron's first government (the coalition), the word I most often used to describe them was "incompetent". So, as the indyref neared, I found myself thinking what I would do if I had a vote. And, given the shambles that Cameron's government was, and the mess they were making of running the country, I realised that I was thinking "You're better off out of this. Go for it!". And I came to realise that I supported independence. The years since then have revealed new and unimagined depths of incompetence in Westminster. I don't think that a change of government would help. Before the indyref, I saw on TV some economist who had been asked whether the average family in Scotland would be £1.5K better off or £2.5K worse off, or whatever the numbers were. "Look," he said, "no one knows. However, what we do know is that at the end of the day, Scotland would still be a reasonably prosperous country in north-west Europe. Of course there are differences, but on the whole all countries in NW Europe have pretty similar standards of living. There's no reason why Scotland should be any different.". So there you have it. Yes there are serious questions about an independent Scottish economy, which need proper answers - not least about trade with England. And it's easy for me to say "Go for it!", because I don't live in Scotland. But I'd still say it.

I could see a right-wing Brexiteer PM giving Scotland more devolved power, with Westminster having less control over Scotland than it does now. I suspect that none of the usual suspects - Johnson, Raab, etc - cares a jot about Scotland. Since they would draw virtually no support from there, they could be happy to give it more power if that was the price to avoid being remembered as the PM who oversaw the break-up of the Union. You would still lose the benefits of EU membership, of course. But a cunning PM could certainly make independence a very difficult question.

Depends on whether Scotland has been admitted by then

Excellent news. I don't know if there has been a change behind the scenes, but that struck me as a really well-written statement. Covers all the ground, tells everyone what happened, gets properly behind Robbo and his staff, and looks to the future. All in a flowing, eloquent and non-pompous style. A seriously good piece of writing. Whoever wrote that, please take a bow!

Sorry, mate. Next time you go down the road, have a look at some of the work they have to do, and then remember how long it took to do the relatively easy stretch south of Aviemore. "Soon" is not a word that I would use!

Can we have a bollocks emoji, please? First of all, the population of Greater Inverness was estimated in 2016 to be just over 63,000. So have 35,000 people really moved in since then? The fact that Dougal is overlooking is that Inverness and Dingwall are very close. Bing Maps tells me that the grounds are 15.2 miles apart. Brentford and Orient in London are further apart. If you are mobile, then 15 miles is nothing. Perfectly possible to live in or near Sneck and commute to Dingwall. You don't have to choose to live in the "village". If players can move club, earn more, and not have to move house and/or disrupt families, then who can blame them? Maybe at some time the pendulum will swing back, and ICT will be the richer club for a while. But I do frequently think of the point that CB used to often make - can the Highlands really sustain two clubs, so physically close together, at the higher levels of Scottish football? Maybe for a periond, once in a while, when all the stars are aligned for both clubs. But on a permanent or semi-permanent basis? If Dundee and Edinburgh can't do it, then it's even tougher for the Highlands.

"Clarke, given a two-match ban by the Scottish FA on Thursday for criticising referee Steven McLean, starts with a home European qualifier against Cyprus on 8 June, with a visit to Group I leaders Belgium three days later." Does that mean he'll have to sit in the stand? ?

But also, given the last two seasons, knowing that there is a reasonable chance of promotion in a year's time. That has to be the carrot - "Come to us, and help us make it happen!". And if promotion doesn't happen but the club has done well and you have contributed strongly, then you have put yourself in the spotlight and should be well-placed to move on.

Many congratulations to Cove - whom I have never seen, having left Scotland several years before they were admitted into the HL. But, in my view, the more Highland teams in the SPFL, the better. Would be good if Peterhead, Elgin and now Cove could make some more progress upwards. Congratulations to the Blue Toon as well, of course - this time, stay up there! So who are the likely candidates for admission to the HL, apart from the hypothetical ICT colts? What is Golspie Sutherland's situation nowadays?

Understood, but if you are going to play over 50 competitive matches in a season then you certainly need quantity. Especially since the second half of the season can become crowded with re-arranged postponed fixtures and with cup games - and by then you may already have some longer-term injuries.

And next season we just need to repeat what we did this season - finish two places higher!

Sounds like we didn't take our chances when we had them. And now there's a mountain to climb.

Very cheering to see how much confidence and hope there is ahead of Friday. Not so long ago we might have written ourselves off, but this season has shown that the team has gained resilience, and can come back from behind. Not to mention that our away record is better than our home record. Note to Robbo: make sure you practise penalties.

Robbo has just said it's not worth appealing. Radio commentators say they understand why he said that - Polly did raise his boot, etc - but also say that Polly is so important to the team that they must appeal.

I haven't seen it, but that's basically what all the BBC radio commentators are saying. From listening to the match, it sounded to me as though we played pretty well - in the first half, and also for a spell after Polly was sent off. With 11 players on Friday, and our away record being better than our home record, we have every chance of a result.

Same old story. Catastrophe immediately after the break. Polworth red card - so out for Friday as well. Radio commentators say it was no worse than yellow.

There may have been more - I came in to the middle of it.

Nothing you don't already know. Need to engage with the community, including the business community. On his first walk through the town one evening, he didn't see any sign that the club existed. They haven't budgeted for going up this season, so it's not the end of the world if we don't. Thinks that we are not quite ready for it, off the pitch, but it would be a challenge that he would love to take on. Criitical of the play-offs timing and money. 50% of the gate money going to the SPFL means we lost money on Saturday. Where else do you get penalised for doing well? Only two days - Sunday and Monday - to promote and sell this game.

Just had an interesting interview with Scott Gardiner on BBC radio. Making all the right noises.

https://spfl.co.uk/cms-content/images/shares/pdfs/Rules and Regulations SPFL 8_10_2018.pdf C26A Except with the consent of the Board which may, in exceptional circumstances and on cause shown, permit, in the case of an individual Premiership/Championship Play-Off Match or Matches, that alternative minimum price or prices to be charged by the relevant Home Club, the minimum prices for ground admission that must be charged by a Home Club for tickets to and/or admission of spectators to a Premiership/Championship Play-Off Match at its Home Ground shall be: (i) other than for ties in the final round of such Play-Off Matches in any Season -adults: £12.00 per person; (ii) for ties in the final round of such Play-Off Matches in any Season -adults: £18.00 per person; (iii) other than for ties in the final round of such Play-Off Matches in any Season - juveniles, senior citizens and all other concessionary ticket admissions: £6.00 per person; and (iv) for ties in the final round of such Play-Off Matches in any Season - juveniles, senior citizens and all other concessionary ticket admissions: £12.00 per person. C26B Clubs shall not include or provide for admission to a Premiership/Championship Play-Off Match within any ‘season ticket’, ‘season book’ or like or equivalent arrangement sold or otherwise issued by any Club in relation to any Season, part of any Season or other series of matches. All spectator admissions to a Premiership/Championship Play-Off Match, whether ticketed or not, must be individually charged for at least at the minimum prices specified above or, as the case may be, alternative minimum permitted price or prices consented to by the Board

Not required by SPFL rules. But if we make it to the final, the rules say the minimum prices are £18 adults and £12 concessions.

It's just occurred to me that this surely rules out a Highland League team having Caledonian Stadium as their Registered Ground, since it certainly won't be available to them on every Saturday. There is another rule which says that Saturday games must start at 3pm, unless the two sides agree otherwise and it is approved by the HL secretary. Nairn, for example, traditionally have a late kick-off on the day of the Nairn Games. But I am sure that no team would be allowed to do that regularly. I guess it also implicitly requires the ground to have floodlights. Similarly, there is another rule which says that a club can play home games at another ground if they are "temporarily dispossessed". But again I can't see a club being allowed to do that regularly. However, rules are made to be broken - or at least to be the starting point for discussions.

I had a look at the rules yesterday. http://www.highlandfootballleague.com/History/Item/SHFLConstitutionRules2018-19.pdf The ones concerning the ground are: 2.3.1 All clubs must confirm in writing that their ground is available to them on every Saturday of the season and also that the ground is available for midweek fixtures throughout the season. 7.1.2 All matches must be played on a ground where a gate can be taken. ... 7.6.1 Each Club shall ensure that the field of play at its Registered Ground and at any other ground at which it is the Home Club for a League Match or Play-Off Match is: smooth and in good condition and repair; and equipped with an efficient and effective drainage system so as to minimize the chance of the pitch becoming unplayable due to flooding. There are also rules about when pitch inspections must take place, and on protecting the pitch before and after a game and at half-time, when it may be used for warm-ups, warm-downs, etc. But nothing about facilities, either for spectators or for players. I am surprised that there is no mention of health and safety requirements, or of licensing of the ground. Edit: club licensing, including H&S and ground facilities, is the responsibility of the SFA. https://www.scottishfa.co.uk/scottish-fa/football-governance/club-licensing/ And I had missed the floodlight requirement in rule 2.1: All Clubs must be full members of the Scottish F A with floodlights to a lux level determined by the League Management Committee of the [Highland] League.

Thank you very much for an excellent commentary, and many thanks also to everyone involved in setting it up and getting it working. One happy listener here!

Nearly blew my speakers!!