Highland League New Clubs

please read article on news section

Good to see another club having a go,after the shambles that the free week is but...if 2 clubs get the go-ahead its the status quo. We must have a league with an equal amount of clubs.

The more teams the merrier.

Hopefully this will give Banks O' Dee a push giving the magic even number.

Would like to see both in with another club assuming they meet the criteria (which surely shouldn't be that hard given the state of some shfl grounds) and get the no's back upto 18.

Wouldn't want both in if it meant we still had an odd number of teams.

I have a hunch that the league will want to only admit one . . . for now.

and my vote would still go to formartine.

My reading of it is that sandy Stables was just sitting on the fence and not want to favour one team or the other I think they will be wanting a third team to come fwd and apply

if not

one will get in to get even numbers


I would think Turriff would have the better facilities and the better possibility of a crowd ....

With the closing date now passed 4 clubs have applied. Turriff,formartine,banks o dee and strathspey. I think the league will take in 3 out of the 4 with formartine missing out. What does everybody else think?

3 of the 4 with strathspey missing out.

it would be a pity if formartine miss out as they kicked this scramble off !!

If the three Aberdeen/shire clubs get in I can see other AFA clubs having to really 'sell themselves' to get players to sign for them in the coming seasons, I am sure there will be at least one new potential member who will have quite a lot of financial backing behind

Strathspey coming in makes it very interesting as they are the only north based team.
However Its difficult to see how the quality of the league would be improved by their presence.
However if they present well, Grantown may be seen as strengthening the geographical spread of the league versus 3 Aberdeenshire teams diluting the spread.
You would think that 18 would be the magic number given the league worked off that number in the days of Ross County and Peterhead.
If this happens there would have to be a geater emphasis on midweek league fixtures in August to October with at least 1 cup competition being shelved.
Otherwise the end of season fixture pile up will become a farce.Just look at Locos situation aleady this season in a 15 team league.
I think serious consideration should also be given to Fort Willie to playing more home games in the Autumn period.
Whichever way you look at it extra teams in the league has got to be positive and it will freshen things up.

Are Strathspey any worse than Fort William? Probably better, so the league winna really be ony worse off. Strath could also attract more players in Highland & Moray cos a few years ago in the Juniors they werna feart tae splash the cash to win the league. I think the league needs mare teams that side aswell cos when you look at the strength of the Aberdeenshire teams another Highland/Moray team might dae the league some good come time?

Think we need Strathspey as it says its a Highland League nae an Aberdeenshire one and too many teams from A/Shire means that the player base would also be diluted YES there is lots of players in Aberdeen but I do feel the quality is nae what it was as lots of them can still play Junior and nae have the same trav


Strathspey could attract diff players OR could they be a replacement if FORT were to pull out !!

3 out of 4. 18 team league would be better than 16. Strathspey, Banks O'Dee and Turriff for me.

Banks O'Dee already playing in HFL competitions. A most. Although am sure us and Buckie won't be giving their votes that way!

Starthspey cause I think 3 Aberdeenshire teams too much.

Turriff nice litttle ground and a fan base.

Formartine missing out due to the fact that there ground is in the middle of know where.

aye

and as Bovril says mare games at start of season when weather better & pitches are playable

get some decent crowds back again too !!

huntlyfc wrote:

please read article on news section

Turriff United would be the best choice, good fan base. lovely pubs, and a great wee pitch,

Billy Blanchard from MacDuff.
What are you doing in pubs at the age of 13
Or did you get in with Davie Seagul
If you are not Gavin Sutherland please ignore all of the above

hes not, he plays for the 14s !

interesting quote from Cove Rangers Manager John Sheran about potential candidates

Quote :

He said: “It is a great Highland League but, with the addition of three new teams, we could run the risk of ending up like a junior league ourselves.

“I am a little concerned with all the speculation about these junior clubs lining up to join the Highland League as it will only serve to dilute the quality of the Highland League.

“There are a limited number of players available in and around Aberdeen and we could see the likes of two or three players leaving Deveronvale and possibly going to Turriff United, while we might see a few leave us and move to Banks o’ Dee. For me, we run the risk of diluting the quality of the league.”

We've seen this already with teams losing sponsorship and players to Locos and it could become harder for teams likes of ourselves and Cove to compete for signings with three more Aberdeenshire sides. A current look at the league table sees top 7 Aberdeenshire and the rest the North of Scotland FA sides and there could be an arguement that those 8 may not want to see 10 Aberdeenshire in an 18 team league

davie seagul hahahahaha

"we run the risk of diluting the quality of the league.”

Banks O'Dee have already shown they are a quality side, and already signing players from the highland league.

I can see a couple of downsides with banks. Ther ground is ok better than some in the league but can you get right round the ground? I think only standside and behind one of the goals can be used at the moment? Is aberdeen ready for another club? Cove have awful attendances and where will the support come from for a club 2 miles down the road?. You cant even get pittodrie full for a visit of the old firm. Sheran knows he will face more competition to sign new faces and his comments smack of soor plooms.

bankie jimbo wrote:

I can see a couple of downsides with banks. Sheran knows he will face more competition to sign new faces and his comments smack of soor plooms.

I think Keith may be in the same boat too - they've basically got a team full of toonsers also!

aye thats the prob Fraser players spread across too many teams in A/Shire

Strathspey would have access to diff players possibly

The major concern I have with admitting three teams is that we already have difficulty completing a fixture list with 15 teams.
And before anyone come on and says we have had 18 teams before please take note that this was before Fort William and Wick were taking part which I am afraid now has to have a huge bearing on the final decision.

If it goes to 18 change some of the Cups and play more league games midweek during early part of season when weather and pitches better

rather than trying to pack them in at the end when weather seems to fget worse