By Gordon Thomson
June 20 2002

I received an anonymous email detailing some Junior league options which Airdrie may wish to consider before calling it quits. I have published the email unedited and stress the views are not my own. East of Scotland League

Two divisions, Premier and First. Clubs are geographically spread
throughout Lothian and the Borders, and as far as Castle Douglas in the
South.

Requirements - unknown

Pros

* Senior status
* Possibility of competing in Scottish Cup
* League members likely to be in favour of Pyramid

Cons

* Tranport links to Borders clubs are very poor
* Large amount of travelling involved

Why They Might Want "Airdrie United"

* Clubs would welcome the travelling support
* Prestige for League
* Want to be seen as part of a Pyramid

Why They Might Not

* Not an East of Scotland club - although Annan etc. were allowed in

Summary

This is the route which will retain Senior football in Airdrie.
Attendances in the league are unknown but likely to be low - Gala's
average gate reported to be as low as 20. Facilities - also unknown.

Any Pyramid system within Scottish football is certain to include
the East of Scotland League as a feeder.


West Superleague / Central League

Four divisions - two Central/Ayrshire superleague, two Central League.
Clubs in Central are based around Glasgow and spread throughout
Lanarkshire, Renfrewshire and Dunbartonshire - extremes are Dunipace,
Forth, Lesmahagow, Greenock and Vale of Leven (Alexandria).
Superleague incorporates the bigger Junior clubs from Ayrshire.

Requirements

* Ten-year lease on a ground
* Ground-sharing permitted
* Charge œ3 for admission

Pros

* Convenient geographical spread including a few local derbies
* Possibility of doing well in Junior Cup
* Central League has lost 3 clubs since 1968, so there are vacancies
* Reasonable attendances (up to a few hundred) at top level

Cons

* Junior status
* Four divisions
* League members suspected not to be in favour of Pyramid
* Success of Superleague concept yet to be proven

Why They Might Want "Airdrie United"

* Clubs would welcome the travelling support
* Prestige for League

Why They Might Not

* Suspicion that the club would jump ship to the Seniors at the first
opportunity

Summary

This is the route which makes most sense geographically. Attendances
are poor at the bottom levels. Facilities vary from the extremely poor
to the fairly impressive although the majority of grounds are best
described as "crumbling".

If the SFA wants a West of Scotland feeder to a Pyramid system, the
West Superleague is the only choice, but Junior clubs appear quite
happy to retain their Junior status. Nonetheless, being a Junior club
would not be an obstacle to applying to fill a vacancy. The reason no
Junior club ever applies is that none of them wants to.


Conclusion

If you think a proper Pyramid system is going to come about in the next
couple of years, it would probably make sense to join the East of
Scotland League. If you think a vacancy is more likely to arise in the
SFL, the Central League would probably be the better choice for the
purpose of retaining a fan base of some sort. If neither happens, a
successful Airdrie United is more likely to generate local interest in
the Central League than the East of Scotland League.

All things being equal, joining the East of Scotland League is more
likely to mean a slow, lingering death. The prospect of games against
Pollok and Kilwinning Rangers is surely more appealing than games
against Whitehill Welfare or Spartans.

There is also no reason why the club couldn't change status and move
from one league to the other if things weren't working out.