Largs Thistle legend George Wall gives his view on the new Pyramid proposals...
I attended a Kilbirnie Ladeside meeting on Saturday followed by a meeting on Monday held at JG Sharps by Largs Thistle where both clubs advised their fans on the status of the proposed pyramid structure for junior clubs.
There are two proposals on the table, one from the Lowland League which would take junior clubs and others that may apply into their structure and to date 48 clubs (not only junior clubs) have expressed interest one of which is Largs and the second proposal is from the West Junior FA which proposes the West clubs move to the pyramid system progressing to the Lowland League from there and onto the SPFL League 2 if successful.
This debate about juniors moving to the pyramid structure has been going on for some years with a very large majority of junior clubs previously voting for that in a poll.
To that end the SFA set up a working group to gain consensus on the finer details of implementation.
Agreement could not be reached between the Lowland League and the Juniors and the working group was disbanded.
A few weeks ago the Lowland League proposed a new West Region league under their structure inviting all clubs to indicate interest.
Some junior clubs publicly expressed interest and if taken to the extreme would mean the end of the West Junior FA set up as we know it. Last weekend the West Junior FA released a statement saying they were proposing a league within the pyramid, so two proposals now for clubs to consider.
At the Largs meeting Gordon Ronney, the Kilbirnie Ladeside secretary, who is also on the board of the West Junior FA attended to give information on how we got to this position.
While I agree clubs should have the opportunity to progress as far as they can being realistic not many will have the funds to do so as in order to gain access to Tier 5, which in where the Lowland League sits you need to be a SFA licensed club. At the moment Largs are nowhere near meeting the license requirements, flood lights, new dressing rooms, disabled facilities etc would need to be put in place.
One other premiership junior club have been quoted £75,000 for floodlights. I do see though the pyramid system attracting players , would Mark Millar have left Largs for East Stirlingshire if we were competing against them ?
My own feelings are that each club needs to review in detail both proposals and decide what is best for them. The devil is in the detail as they say.
I believe the best way forward is to support the West Junior FA proposal.
Continue as in within the West Junior FA set-up allowing us to play our local rivals in Ayrshire within the Pyramid structure.
If enough juniors club feel that way then potentially the Lowland League proposal will not fly and the West Juniors will remain as is.
The Junior FA has been around for 134 years, and it would be a shame for that to go however this is a opportunity for them to modernise their rules and regulations something I feel needs done.
As one well known Largs supporter said at the meeting “stick together”.
Further meetings will be held in the coming weeks and Largs will keep their supporters informed of progress however the final decision will be made at the SFA AGM scheduled for 7 June .
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article