Lowland Football League

So anybody could play in it, but they couldn't make a cent.

basically the criteria was there was no limit to the B team that played in the London League but they could only play so many first team games and they'd be eligible until the next transfer window but what Hearts done is Hearts were using it like basically 19-20 at a push was when they were playing them on playing them to and then they were getting sent out to other places that's now folded so what we're doing instead is we're sending these players that would maybe be B team would go out on the development loans and we've got developments to Edinburgh City Bonnery Groves Stenhouse Muir and there's another one that I can't remember off the top of my head so it's basically one through the divisions and then basically

so the only am I right in saying then mate the only players then that could even potentially potentially be considered right to even fill in a slot on the bench are guys that are on these development loans and then obviously Hart said need to go to the club they're with and then go through the kind of the paperwork and everything right just to bring them back so so so so so Hearts as a team these days and as a club, right, you literally can't kind of just dip into like a reserve pool of players, right, that are at the Aureum and maybe say, listen, lads, we might need you.

I find that incredible.

because the B teams maybe know it's kind of that there was so much talk about it for so many years and then it arrives and you think this is probably the last season Celtic will have a B team you know we keep hearing the rumours so what happened after we said I know what happened Celtic will say what happened is they should have a B team that was allowed to go up into the second tier because if you look at the Dutch experience you look at the Portuguese experience they've all got they've all got their B teams in their second tiers but there's a lot of resistance to that I can see both sides on that one to be honest with you I can see both sides on that one it's like because

yeah no sorry to cut you off Andrew I think that yeah the B team has has evolved probably to where it needs to be now and what I mean by that is that if you look at the age the average age of the players that are playing B team football now it's probably about two years younger than what it was when I was first there so when I was there probably the average age is about 18, 19 maybe for these players who are playing B team or playing Lowland League for the first couple of years I think we finished third a couple of times alongside Rangers who also played pretty strong or pretty experienced players for that level if you like I think now it's younger just from the I'm just going on the team sheets that I look at I'm seeing a lot of boys that just come into full time football last year there's also boys that have just come into full time football this year and they're playing B team so I actually think in terms of that exposure for those players, it's actually not the worst.

But I do understand, again, I get the fans' perspective that they maybe look at it and they'll see Celtic against whoever at that level and it's maybe a two-each draw or they're maybe getting beat 3-2 and you're kind of raising eyebrows and going, because it's Celtic, we should be beating these teams.

Now, if that's first team against first team, yeah, I get it.

Yeah, well, I, I can only s- I can only really speak for myself and our team on that in terms of the experience.

And, you know, obviously we, last year in the, in the Lowland League, we're used to playing the B teams.

Um, Celtic, as you touched on, have got, have one of the, got, got one of the best young groups in the country.

Um, another one I think there was St Mirren.

This isn't like 20 years ago when you could be bottom of the table, East Kilbride, year after year after year, and there'd be no consequences for you.

Like, if you get sucked down, we have seen now if a Clydebank or a, a, a Brora Rangers who are going great guns in the Highland League or a Tranent in the Lowland League East, they're gunning for a, an SPFL spot at the expense of you.

And we've seen with Queen's, we've seen with Berwick Rangers, we've seen with East Kilbride, we've seen with Brechin City.

It is very, very hard to escape once you get relegated.

So they really have to think about their next steps moving forward now because finishing 10th could be not a death sentence.

We're not seeing any clubs go to the wall, but, like, there's not much money in League Two football.

Tell you what, there's bugger all money in the Lowland League.

So, like, you've got to be very, very careful.

And the prize money in the KDM, uh, Evolution Trophy has gone up 65% this year with all prize money going to non Uh, Premiership teams.

So that, that benefits exclusively, uh, the, uh, William Hill Championship, League One and League Two, and the guest teams that we invite from the Highland League and the Lowland League.

Now, obviously, I get a bit antsy, Neil, if I have to talk about Tony Bloom, but I, I'm a professional.

I have to do it.

But David Wardrop says, "In future, how do we avoid a situation like that in 2025 where Linlithgow Rose won the league but were unable to take part in the playoff?"

So, um, the...

Uh, by way of background, when we created the SPFL in 2013, uh, we created the Pyramid Playoffs, which allowed, uh, the winning club of the Highland League and the Lowland League, which sit below the SPFL, uh, they have a playoff, and the winner of that playoff then plays Club 42, the bottom club in the SPFL, for a place in the, in the William Hill League Two in the following season.

And last season, uh, Linlithgow, uh, pipped, uh, Clydebank to the Lowland League title o- on the final day.

You're the first guest of the season, so you have the privilege of being the person that I ask what your thoughts are of the, the overall kind of season.

It's different this year, and obviously we've got the, the kind of the Lowland League East come in, so a couple of teams have left.

There's been a kind of change in the whole kind of setup.

But just in terms of your kind of start, three years at Burntisland now, how different is the club from when you come in to where it is now?

Albion Rovers, you know.

They, they, they're not doing so great because me personally, I think they still think that they're in the higher divisions, so they're always looking up.

They're getting managers from they divisions first and second, whereas they should be looking at managers from the Lowland League, from the Premier division that know these divisions, that know all these players, eh.

You know?

And Fraser that we had on a couple of weeks ago from the 30, he, he's a Clachnacuddin fan.

They ran out 2-0 winners against Bonnyrigg Rose as well, which is a good result for them against decent Lowland League opposition.

Um, but Dylan, any ties for you in the second round that, that stand out? Always a good one for the old coupons, the second round, or certainly used to be before the bookies got a bit wiser.

Plydebank against Tranent might be quite a good game.

Right.

120 matches, uh, from Scottish Lowland League and, and below right through to the Maracanã and, uh, uh, and Buenos Aires and so on.

And was, was there a plan? Was there an A to Z, or was it random?

It was pretty random.