ICTPaisley

I sometimes go along to watch the braehead clan in the elite ice hockey league. I'm not a great fan of ice hockey and wouldn't watch it on the tv but being there is enjoyable. Beer before face off and a couple during the breaks makes it worth it. It's entertaining with a fair few goals normally scored and being in an arena it's not got the chill of a football match. I do agree though that these sports have manufactured supports and it feels a little cringy at times.

Or her!! Lorraine Clark is an up and coming referee who ran the line at recent Rangers v Berwick game. I recently went to a Junior cup match between Arthurlie and Steelend Vics and it was female ref!

Nothing to worry about i don't think, This happens at every football ground and is all down to a few fans wanting to beat the rush.

Why?

Make that 9 I think ..... Russell Duncan, Dale Gillespie, Stuart Golabek, Andrew Greig, Richie Hart, Richard Hastings, David Hind, Ally Ridgers, Zander Sutherland They need a striker in there... Dennis Wyness anyone? Paul Ritchie is currently manager of Lochee Utd too and not doing that badly, get him in as manager!

To be fair to Barton, who is a cretin, I don't see how you can admire a drunk driver who had a gambling problem. I think the operative word here is "had." Didi was a fantastic professional who had some problems once his playing career was coming to an end, problems which he has now overcome. We all make mistakes - like ajs i have a massive amount of respect for Hamann. Yeah we all make mistakes like pissing away £200,000 in a day or getting smashed before trying to drive home. That's fair enough if you can look past things like that that's your prerogative. I can't admire people like that. drink driving has got to be one of the stupidest things to do. Attacking someone is bad but you should be getting a sentence for something like that, these crimes don't get enough punishment IMO. Innocent people can die because of these morons.

Starting next season wouldn't be a problem. The problem lies with the non league sides that need to restructure their leagues to suit the new set up. Promotion and relegation from the 18 team league could commence the following season giving the lower sides another year to organise themselves properly.

Move teams in closer proximity between leagues? Yes. They've been doing it for years in England at levels 2,3 and 4 of the pyramid system and without any particular problems. And please don't use the argument that distances are not as great as they are in Scotland because for some they are greater and with poorer transport links. Some teams in the English Midlands could find themselves in a league which takes them to East Anglia one year and Cornwall the next. There can be considerable change in a regional division from one year to the next but it is accepted because of the overall advantages of the pyramid system. Would it not be the same team that is always flipping from one league to another though?

Move teams in closer proximity between leagues? At that level though it's not fair to just move a side out of a league to fit another one in. A fair bit of extra travelling would need to be done. Moving a lower league side into the highland league or the other way around just wouldn't work. The West and Ayrshire leagues are combined right down until the last two leagues which are regionalised for Glasgow and Ayrshire based teams. The Central first division has 4 teams relegated every year from a league of 14. Two teams from the Glasgow based league below (Central District) and two from the Ayrshire District leagues are promoted. Now if 4 teams from Ayr are relegated then they just accommodate them into the league by expanding it, Where as glasgow would be a short two teams. At the moment the Ayrshire league has 12 teams and the Glasgow district only has 11 due to this. The odds and even numbers of these leagues change every year. There has to be a better option than this though.

This is how the league in Belguim is run. The Belgian Pro League is the top league competition for association football clubs in Belgium. Contested by 16 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the Belgian Second Division. Seasons run from late July to early May, with teams playing 30 matches each in the regular season, and then entering play-offs 1, play-offs 2 or the relegation play-off according to their position in the regular season. Play-offs 1 are contested by the top 6 clubs in the regular season, with each club playing each other twice. Play-offs 2 are contested by teams ranked 7 to 14 in the regular season, divided in two groups of 4 teams playing each other twice. The relegation play-off consists of 5 matches between the 15th and the 16th-placed team in the regular season. Now my opinion is that our idea of a setup is much better than this. 1 team promoted from a league of 16. They play each other twice and then the two bottoms teams then play each other again FIVE times to decide who is relegated.

Am i right in saying the pyramid structure would allow one team to be promoted? I heard they are maybe going to combine the East and South leagues with a couple teams added from the west to make an entire Southern League so the winner of that would then play the Highland league winner in a playoff to decide who wins promotion. Now if this is the case and say the highland league team wins the promotion and a southern team is relegated from the 3rd division what happens then? Does the Highland league play with one less team and the Southern League accommodates another space from say 10 to 11 or 20 to 21?

I agree with this. I know a few Junior sides that feel making the step up will ruin them. The best junior side from the West is Auchinleck Talbot, could you imagine them having to travel to Elgin and Peterhead every other saturday. A lot of the fans from the Juniors and EOS,SOS leagues would like the option to deny promotion, I'm not sure how the highland league are taking this but they do not feel making the step up is worth it at this moment. This could be a problem and would make a mockery of the set up in suggestion. The lower 18 should be regionalised into two leagues of 10, automatically promoting two non league sides to make up the difference geographically. But its ok for Berwick to travel to Peterhead just now. They wouldn't be travelling those distances every week anyway. The junior teams should have the option to opt out. It's ok for Berwick as thats what they want. The junior sides want to either stay where they are or be able to win promotion to another regional league. I can see teams like East Stirling being saved from being relegated most seasons as its not financially viable for a team to replace them.

To be up to standard with current division 3 standards there is a lot of work to be done in most grounds. Money which these clubs just don't have. The fans enjoy being able to watch their club for £5/£6 on a saturday and instead of travelling the entire country only have to drive around 20 miles. They are also worried that if they are brought into the new pyramid system their attendances will not only drop because of the price increase it will also decrease due to no longer being a big fish in a small pond. Typically numbers will drop when a team isn't winning most weeks like they have been used to for a number of years. I know a few clubs in the west juniors that can average higher crowds than some division 3 clubs at the moment and its all due to the cheap day out and the reasonable chances of being successful. Not all players who play for these clubs are that willing either i've heard. They like being able to train on Monday and Wednesdays and playing on the Saturday at a relatively close away ground. They aren't so keen on taking the step up as they have their real jobs to think about and that's sometimes why a few players for the SFL eventually take the step down to the lower non league setup. Regional's above their level is the only sensible option or you will have the problem of teams rejecting promotion. I think i'm right in saying Holland has brought in a pyramid system and teams have already rejected promotion for various reasons.

The only real option they had though wasn't it? They could hardly try and bring in a 3rd choice manager. Unless Flitcroft keeps them up he'll be sacked in the summer and they'll again try to get someone in who they actually want.

I agree with this. I know a few Junior sides that feel making the step up will ruin them. The best junior side from the West is Auchinleck Talbot, could you imagine them having to travel to Elgin and Peterhead every other saturday. A lot of the fans from the Juniors and EOS,SOS leagues would like the option to deny promotion, I'm not sure how the highland league are taking this but they do not feel making the step up is worth it at this moment. This could be a problem and would make a mockery of the set up in suggestion. The lower 18 should be regionalised into two leagues of 10, automatically promoting two non league sides to make up the difference geographically.

Rory mcallister

Noticed it hasn't worked on two mobile phones i've used to make sure your using a PC or laptop when trying. Other than that i haven't a clue why it isn't working.

That's the funniest thing I've ever seen that's football related, absolutely brilliant!

They sell on ebay every now and again, roughly £2.00. i often look for programmes from our first 10 years as i am a collector however i was at this game and got my programme then.

I read P&B a fair bit for info on the Juniors, not so keen on reading up on the SPL side of it though.

Think we'll finish above hibs but below Dundee utd and Motherwell.

Excellent to hear we're moving fast to get new deals struck up.

I liked the champions league of old where it was 1 team from each country, a cup winners cup and the Uefa with far stronger teams. Not going to happen these days though with football ruled by tv.

People (like me) said the result and performance was rubbish. It was. Last week the players were booed off and deserved it. This week the players were accoladed for their great result and performance. They deserve it. Simple. Seems even after great victories the uber-fans are still more interested to attack their fellow fans, even when they are praising the team, than doing likewise themselves! Very strange. Booing the team after they went on a 10 game unbeaten run? Yeah they totally deserved it!! A good result and you just jump on that band wagon though. Get a grip To be fair any team deserves being booed if you lose 5-1 at home, especially as thats now our biggest ever home defeat in the SPL. Excellent win today, didn't expect anything from today so thats a bonus. Roll on County next saturday! Hoping for a 2nd great cup run.

Jim Calder, Russell Duncan, Grant Munro, Barry Wilson, Charlie Christie, Iain Stewart, Dennis Wyness, Ross Tokely, Richie Foran, Stuart Golabek, Adam Rooney, Ian Black, Bobby Mann, Barry Robson, Richard Hastings, Paul Sheerin, Mark Brown, Paul Ritchie, Johnny Hayes, Roy McBain are all ICT Legends IMO. Theres no doubt a few out there i've missed though. Keep em coming.