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Highland League expansion: Crisis? What crisis?
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<div class="entry"> <p>There’s been much talk of crisis’ in Scottish football of late.</p> <p><strong>Clyde</strong>, relegated from the First Division last season, have been forced to release pretty much their entire squad as a cost cutting measure. Today they’ll begin to build a new squad for next season as John Brown and Dougie Bell invite over 60 players to the Broadwood for a series of <a href="http://www.clydefc.co.uk/news/2009/06/22/3197/">open trials</a>. <strong>Stranraer</strong>, also relegated last season are in desperate need of funds to secure their survival while <strong>Stirling Albion</strong> are raising money and awareness to purchase the club and run it as Scotland’s first truly <a href="http://www.buystirlingalbion.org.uk/">supporter-owned club</a>.</p> <p>In the First division, Livingston are facing a day-to-day survival challenge as chairman Angelo Massone continues to play a <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/l/livingston/8109765.stm">cat-and-mouse game</a> with the clubs creditors. And with the rights to show the SPL games also being up for tender following Setanta’s failure to meet its latest payment, there’s a fair few clubs and supporters anxiously watching the news and hope their club is not one of those affected by the drop in revenue the loss of the Setanta deal would mean.</p> <p>And some clubs appear to be in hotter water than others. According to <a href="http://www.dofonline.co.uk/governance/scottish-league-3-clubs-insolvent-060922.html">Equifax</a>, a financial information supplier, <strong>Hearts</strong>, <strong>Hamilton</strong> and <strong>Motherwell</strong> are “technically insolvent and would struggle if all creditors came at once to demand the money owed”.</p> <p>But it’s not all bad news. Far, far away from all this gloom and despair, the crisis has not been felt in the <strong>Highland League</strong> as the new season is going to start with three new teams joining up.</p> <p>There had been talk for some time of expanding the Highland League partly to protect the league from shrinking as teams consider leaving to join the Scottish Football League (Cove Rangers missed out last year in favour of Annan Athletic), and partly to give the more successful junior sides a chance to break through to the senior ranks.</p> <p>On the 25th February this year, following a long selection process, Formartine United, Turriff United and Strathspey Thistle where accepted into the league (an application from a fourth team, Banks O’ Dee, was unsuccessful).</p> <p>Founded in 1947 in Udny, a town about 12 miles to the north of Aberdeen, <strong>Formartine United</strong>, play their home games at North Lodge Park in nearby Pitmedden. The club have been busy getting ready for the step up to the highland League with the addition of floodlights and a new stand, not to mention a raft of new signings. Joining the club to add considerable experience to the side are Stuart Mackay from Scottish second division side Peterhead, Stuart Cumming, who has played in the Scottish league with Montrose and Elgin City and Patrick Vigurs, brother of Ross County’s Ian Vigurs. Patrick joins from Elgin City. Formartine United open their season with an away day at <strong>Rothes</strong>, before playing their first home game against Cove Rangers the following week. Formartine’s season will be overshadowed however by the tragic death of Tom Goodwin, a product of the club’s U19’s who died in a road accident earlier this month.</p> <p>Of the three new teams, <strong>Turriff United</strong> are the only one to begin life in the new league with a home fixture. They welcome <strong>Brora Rangers</strong> to The Haughs. For new manager Kris Hunt, who takes over from Jim Wills, it’ll be back to familiar grounds – before playing for his previous club Maud, Hunt was a noted striker with another Highland League side, <strong>Fraserburgh</strong>. The management team has also been strengthened with the addition of former Rothes manager Graham McBeath as Hunt’s assistant.</p> <p>Granton on Spey lies approximately 40 miles south of Inverness with a population of just over 2,000. Its local football team, and the second team accepted into the all-new 18 team setup setup, <strong>Strathspey Thistle</strong>, where founded in 1993, yet very nearly lost their place in the League before a ball had even been kicked in earnest: facing eviction from their Seafield Park ground in Grantown after local planners recommended that redevelopment of their ground be turned down, Highland councellors stepped in to approve the plans that included a permanent hospitality suite, additional lights and two new 150-seater stands. Commonsense has been brought to bear – had the recommendation been followed, the future of the club would have been put in serious jeopardy. The club, known as the Jags, will make a very long trip north to <strong>Wick Academy</strong>, the UK’s most northerly football team.</p> <p>Elsewhere, two-in-a-row champions <strong>Cove Rangers</strong> welcome <strong>Forres Mechanics</strong> to the exotically named Rainbow Taxis Park. Forres are the only club to have taken a point from the Aberdeen side last season in an exciting 3-3 game. In a league where most games a local derbies, the fixture between <strong>Buckie Thistle</strong> and <strong>Deveronvale</strong> is probably the match of the day. <strong>Fort William</strong>, last years bottom side open their campaign at home against <strong>Lossiemouth</strong>, no doubt hoping to get at least one win on the board this season.</p> <p>The full opening day fixture list reads as follows</p> <pre>Buckie Thistle v Deveronvale Clachnacuddin v Keith Cove Rangers v Forres Mechanics Fort William v Lossiemouth Huntly v Fraserburgh Inverurie Loco Works v Nairn County Rothes v Formartine United Turriff United v Brora Rangers Wick Academy v Strathspey Thistle</pre> <p>We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again: the Highland League is one of the most exciting leagues in senior football in the UK. Nowhere else can you enjoy splendid scenery, small teams with huge local following playing in a league that scored 789 goals last season!</p> <h3>Read the <a target="_blank" href="http://www.insideleft.net/archives/2210">original post</a> on <a target="_blank" href="http://www.insideleft.net">Inside Left</a></h3> </div>
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