Scottish Football History in The Making

[kompressaur]

Just reading about Girvan who turned junior status from the southern league 2 years ago are in the second round of the scottish ciup qualifiers. If they win against someone on the 15th october they will be the first Junior side to have played in the scottish cup in about 100 years or something. They could even get a bye 1st round and get a game v Celtic or Rangers

Just thought i'd mention it. Seems there is a club from the shetland isles tryig to join the league. That couldnt happen as its too pricy trying to get there.

[slick]

well i'm saying nothing but things must be bad if Junior teams are qualifying for the Scottish cup.

Saying that didnt Leicester or somebody play a 15 yr old the other night?

[kompressaur]

wasnt that Matt from PL Slick ?

[crowie]

Slick, Juniors is a different thing up here. There is an entire football set up, Scottish Junior FA, which is usually independent of the SFA. They have their own leagues, cups etc. Its not kids, it is normal aged teams. Its sort of the equivilant of non league footy.

You used to get the big teams fielding their kids out to Junior sides to give them a bit of experience. Kenny Dalglish was sent to somewhere like Cumbernauld before he made it into the Celtic team. It always used to be young kids and old mental loonies who played.

Has a great reputation for violence, never a week goes by without someone getting headbutted or kicked in the stones, and that could be player, ref or supporter. Always remember one Junior Cup game where the police helicopter had to be diverted away from Celtics ground to some place like Armadale as there was a 100 a side battle with fans on the pitch and the police were struggling to keep control.

Some of the bigger clubs are quite well off. You often find ex SFL players who rather than dropping to say Div 2 or 3 will go to play for the Juniors as they get better money there. Some of the bigger clubs can attract four figure crowds for big games and its widely known that the likes of your Pollok or Tayport or whoever would walk it in games against the likes of East Stirling.

[slick]

Cheers for clearing that up Crowie, i must admit to grinning at the thought of a load of kids running out to play the likes of Celtic and beating em

I really thought they were juniors which looking @ the size of em nowadays wouldent surprise me.

[GaNgStA kEeKs]

Slick you daft bugger

I think its more down Glasgow/Dundee that the football is quite violent at this level.

I played junior football 2 years ago and there wasn't anything violence wise happening except the odd bad challenge here and there.

I packed it in though as training 2 times a week wasn't for me. I like to play for a team where i just show up on the Saturday for my team and play. I have never done training - maybe a tone of arrogance in that possibly, but i do very well when i play so the managers can't really moan.

I think they are linked with the actually Scottish football association though as i remember when i signed the forms i got a letter through the post from the SFA confirming i was a semi pro.

Very good standard - especially the superleague.

[kompressaur]

Excellent read that Crowie thanks. I got to admit i reckon the Ayrshire Junior sides ahave to be mentioned as their pretty notorious. Cumnock v Auchinlech especially are especially troublesome. Its just wee towns that havent got the mines anymore and all they wanna do is fight their neighbours in games like these.

[crowie]

Aye. Cumnock v Auchinleck is up there with Celtic v Rangers in the bother stakes! Its due to them being close together and as you say Komp, the mines are all closed and they have nowt to do but fight, players and fans.

I remember Dunbar made a real go of it in the Junior Cup about 1990 and we played Cumnock in about the last 16. They must have brough about 800 fans and there was bother all day.

Also remember going through to Kilwinning about a couple of years later. There was about 50 folk on the bus and only about 4 of us were under 30! Had about 50 Kilwinning loons threatening to give us a kicking just because we had came to watch the game. We (me and 3 mates) left at HT and went and got pished. The thinking being if we were going to get a kicking if we were pished we wouldn't feel it!! The 50 loons ended up battling with some of the older blokes of the bus, old ex-fishermen types with hands like big shovels and in their 50's!

Juniors was great to watch. We had a local derby, Dunbar v Tranent and one of the Dunbar players was ex Tranent. Was getting dogs abuse from the Tranent fans and he ends up running down the wing, next to where they stood, giving them all the wanker sign. Think he ran from about half way line to by line doing this, superb!!

I have seen refs punched and linesmen laid out with stones at games with no more than 100 fans at them.

Always remember the showcase game, the Junior Cup final, being shown on STV every year and one particular game having 4 sendings off and one excellently placed head butt amongst the sendings off. A "stramash" as Montford used to say!!

[kompressaur]

aye its mental stuff. You'd have loved Kilwinning Crowie with it being a Rangers town i believe. A pal of mine was playing for Camelon for a while before he died drinving home one night. Alan Stark (Starkie) gret player he was when we were young. Brother of Derek Stark the Scottish Rugby player.

Soz i was just wittering.

[crowie]

Aye, Kilwinning was "lovely" Komp.

Funnily enough, Kilwinning Rangers was the team. Great fun, 50 arseholes with a Union Jack singing Hello Hello and trying to gob on you when you went for a pish in the ground. Aye, really brave considering there was 4 of us.

We went to a pub in the High St. The barmaid goes "All the young lads drink in xxx pub up the road a bit, you should go up there". Nah we thought, this will do us just fine

Thing is the Ayrshire lads all take it so seriously. I've seen Cumnock, Glenafton, Kilbirnie, Kilwinning and Dalry over the years and all of them had a high proportion of arseholes who followed them. Think Kilwinning must have been about 97% though!

[zonker84]

Originally Posted by crowie

I have seen refs punched and linesmen laid out with stones at games with no more than 100 fans at them.

People throw rocks at the linesman?

Originally Posted by kompressaur

A pal of mine was playing for Camelon for a while before he died drinving home one night.

Not caused by any of the psychos at the games I hope?

[crowie]

Originally Posted by zonker84

People throw rocks at the linesman?

Aye and the worst thing is Zonker is that the linesmen are just volunteers from either club, only the ref is "official". This obviously means you get some very dubious decisions, especially in favour which ever club the linesmans from, when you have some fat bloke who is normally on the turnstile or the pie stall have to "run" the line and give decisions on ball being in or out and offside. Course this is why it raises the heckles even more as the away linesman is obviously biased and then obviously a target for stone (not rock!) throwing individuals from the home support.

The one I do remember getting hit lay on the pitch holding his head and crying for ages. The big puff!!!

[zonker84]

You've got me persuaded now Crowie, I'm going to have to attend some of these games at some point in the near future

[Beanie]

Yeah...it seems the lower you go the worse the violence.

I was playing for an U19 team a few years back, and was warming up with a few of the others before the game. A young lad about town approached me and asked where a certain chap was, so being the helpful soul that I am I kindly pointed out the lad he was looking for(the opposing teams striker.)

The guy(who was with a couple of friends) then proceeded to walk over to the player he was looking for, produce a studded belt from his trousers, and smack the buckle right off the guys face, causing what turned out later to be 4 broken teeth and a 3 inch gash in his cheek.

Then the whole team legged it after the boys who did it, catching the slowest one after about a 100yard chase.

Cue some fairly nasty retribution...

[zonker84]

Originally Posted by Beanie

Cue some fairly nasty retribution...

That's no good Beanie, we need details