Dispatch of the Day #6

START

Every week I think they’ll be nothing to write about in girls’ and women’s football. I’m always wrong.

THAT’S ENTERTAINMENT

Which game(s) did I watch this week? On Saturday, I took in the 14s East League Cup semi-final between East Fife and Arbroath Youth Yellows in Leven. Games between these two teams have always been entertaining affairs and this one was no different. A clinical Arbroath led 2-0 at half-time. East Fife’s second half comeback, with an early goal, was short lived as the Yellows ran out 4-1 winners. It would’ve been easy for me to stay at home, save some petrol and follow the game on the respective clubs’ Usqor but the weather was good, the football was great (both teams trying to play football the right way) and the coaches and supporters representing both teams are decent people. The referee had a good game too. What more can you ask for? A perfect way to spend a Saturday morning. A three-year old’s birthday party on Sunday meant no football viewing but I got some cake so win-win!

WELCOME TO MY WORLD

Always good to hear of new teams joining the women’s game, so it’s welcome to Benburb WFC and Carron Huskies who are joining the SWFL leagues next season. Good luck to both!

QUIT PLAYING GAMES WITH MY HEART

One of the main talking points in the 18s Cross Region Emma Mukandi league has been the decision by some teams to actively forfeit games against Glasgow Girls rather than play them.

With the collapse of the Youth Performance League at 18s, Glasgow Girls started the season as one of the favourites to win the regional cross region league. However, two very big wins in their first two games (over 40 goals scored with none conceded) gave cause for concern for some teams in the league and I’m told that there was a movement to encourage teams not to play them. In the league, four of their games, for whatever reason, have been forfeited, with another one in the Challenge Cup going the same way. While some of those teams may have had legitimate reasons to forfeit, others were forfeiting games with Glasgow Girls while also looking (very publicly) for friendlies on the same day as the scheduled league match.

Whatever the rights and wrongs surrounding the circumstances* that found Glasgow Girls in that league, teams should be making every attempt to play their fixtures, whoever the opposition is. Saying you don’t want to play a team because you think they’re too strong is a somewhat defeatist attitude, as is actively encouraging other teams to forfeit too. I also get that a heavy defeat can have a demoralising effect on some girls but there’s more benefit from the steep learning curve of a game like that than sitting at home doing nothing. Since those first two heavy victories, Glasgow Girls’ winning scores have been reasonably ‘normal’ (for want of a better word). While they’re still unbeaten, they are by no means runaway leaders in their league. Going into the summer break, they hold a 3-point lead over Giffnock, with last year’s league winners Rossvale, a further three points back.

Before anyone accuses me of being an apologist for Glasgow Girls and taking their side, I should point out that they’re one of the few teams to block my account on Twitter. I tried to find out why last year, hoping to get unblocked but I got nowhere.

(*I’m told that one of the reasons the 18s YPL didn’t go ahead was because some teams from the central belt didn’t want to travel north, in what was supposed to be a national league. I believe there were two, maybe three teams, from North region interested. Teams in the central belt don’t know how lucky they are because the distances covered by teams in the North are horrendous. Would it really have been such a hardship to travel north two or three times in one season?)

RULE THE WORLD #4

From section 12(c) of the Youth Regional League and League Cup Rules 2024:

“Postponement of a cup/plate game shall only occur with mutual agreement between both the opposing teams and the League Administrator. In the absence of unanimous agreement regarding postponement, the original fixture date must be adhered to.”

I’ve chosen this rule for a reason, which I’ll discuss in the next section…

I CAN’T GO FOR THAT (NO CAN DO)

There was a situation recently when both semi-finals of a regional League Cup couldn’t be played on the scheduled date. In each semi-final, one team was unable to field a team (for whatever reason) and requested a postponement. While in one semi-final the teams were in agreement and a postponement was granted, in the other semi-final the host team refused the request of their visitors to play at a later date.

This situation also occurred recently in a 14s League Cup quarter-final when the visitors refused the home team’s request for a postponement and were awarded the tie. The hosts, who only had 10 players and a coach at the Euros, offered a number of alternatives dates and even offered to reverse the tie. I’m told the away team said they couldn’t get a pitch, only for the home team to not only find a pitch but provisionally book it. Despite the home team bending over backwards to get the tie played – even giving up home advantage – the away team refused and were awarded the tie.

Several other ties were also postponed this weekend when both teams agreed to it. It’s credit to them when teams could’ve easily taken advantage of that rule.

The rule mentioned above seems to be weighted heavily in favour of any team who makes a conscious decision (for whatever reason) to refuse to agree to a postponement. It seems crazy to award a game based on a negative decision. Is that really how you really want to “win” a cup tie? Don’t you want to go through on merit by beating the opposition on the field of play? Rules are important but so is common sense. Karma dictates that you might be happy to use that rule in your favour today but somewhere down the road, the tables will be turned, and that rule will be used against you and you won’t be happy about it. What’s sauce for the goose is sauce for the gander.

I did ask one of the clubs why they refused to grant their opponents a postponement, but they didn’t respond.

GAMES TWO CAN PLAY

This weekend just past, there were approximately 42 Cup and Plate quarter-finals and semi-finals scheduled to be played. Only 32/33 went ahead. In previous seasons, the League Cups and Plates were done and dusted before the summer break. However, the introduction of the grading friendlies in many leagues has pushed that back. Teams are now pushing back fixtures until August but with the Challenge Cups still ongoing and a lot of league fixtures to be played, there could be some big fixture issues ahead.

While it isn’t always possible, for any number of reasons, I’m a great believer in getting fixtures played when they’re supposed to be played. Experience has shown me that come November teams are scrambling around trying to get fixtures played, sometimes playing three games in a week, and every season there are leagues which are left unfinished.

SATELLITE OF LOVE

So, the new COMET IT system is live. Except it isn’t. Well, it is. Sort of. Clubs were told last Tuesday that “while live it is not currently operational from an SWF perspective”.

The message went on to explain, “That means, that while SWF staff are being trained to navigate the new system, we will not be in a position to advise on COMET’s use or initial challenges clubs may face”.

They said, “It also means SWF will need time to transition to the new system”. I thought that’s what they were already doing or was that just the SFA?

The message continued, “although the system is live it will not yet reflect fixtures and scores accurately…” So, no change from the old system then?! I’m joking, of course. Well, sort of.

SLIGHT RETURN

Last Wednesday I sent to an email to the SFA asking for information about how their NextGen Performance Leagues are decided (points? goal difference? rock, paper, scissors?) and when and where the NextGen Category 2 Cups and Plate finals are being played.

I received an automatic reply, which was split into a few parts. The first three sentences related to the new COMET system, which doesn’t auger well. The fourth sentence said, “we will endeavour to respond within 3 working days”. Not “we WILL respond” but “we’ll ENDEAVOUR to respond”.

[Update: I found out, quite by accident, that all six NextGen Category 2 Cup/Plate finals were being played this weekend just past (22/23 June). Not one piece of information on the SFA website about them (especially if you wanted to watch any of them) and still no reply from the SFA]

SHAME, SHAME, SHAME

While not wishing to sound like a broken record, I have to report of more issues around player, coach and crowd conduct at more than one girls’ game this weekend. It’s always disappointing to hear more stories of coaches being red carded, fighting between players, and opposition parents offering to fight coaches. I also heard of an adult threatening a 12-year-old player.

In what society is that acceptable behaviour? Will it take a very serious injury (or, heaven forbid, something worse) before something gets done about it? Are we going to have a situation where girls’ games get played ‘behind closed doors’, without supporters because parents can’t control their emotions? When are these macho idiots going to take a long hard look at themselves and realise they’re achieving nothing from their actions except making a complete tit of themselves and ruining the sport for their child and everyone else? If the red mist descends on you during a girls football match then maybe you should question if this is the pastime for you. Perhaps tiddlywinks or draughts or maybe knitting might be more your thing.

Football is supposed to be a vehicle for development; socially, physically and mentally. It teaches teamwork, discipline and hard work. However, it seems that a very small minority of coaches and parents seem hell bent on channelling aggression in the wrong way and teaching players the ‘dark arts’ instead of helping them to learn the basics of the game they claim to love.

THAT JOKE ISN’T FUNNY ANYMORE

I usually try and end on a light-hearted note but Scotland’s performance at the Euros was no laughing matter. Thankfully, we have the Tartan Army who continue to support the national team through thick and thin. Some of the pictures and videos on social media from Germany have been hilarious.

On that note, I shall wish you all a good footballing week.

Paul
#GirlsResults

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Dispatch of the Day #5

ENTER SANDMAN

Just when you think there’s a quiet week in girls’ and women’s football…

THAT’S ENTERTAINMENT

Which games did I watch this week? Due to some untimely (and ultimately very expensive) car issues, I only caught one game in the past seven days and that was Saturday’s 14s East Lana Clelland league derby encounter between Dunfermline Athletic Reds and Bayside at Queen Anne High School. With several match options available to me, I plumped for this game simply because neither team is on Usqor and the quickest way to get the score would be to turn up and watch it. The Reds dominated and won 5-0 although the visitors suffered for not having a proper goalkeeper.

The dogs may be set upon me for what I’m about to say but it’s an issue close to my heart. I’m not sure what was more disappointing; hearing a home coach tell his girls to target the non-keeper with shots or the apparent lack of encouragement from the visiting coaches towards the volunteer between the sticks, beyond the odd shout of “Pick it up!” As a father to a goalkeeper, it pained me to see her struggle with some aspects of the position, although she gets major plus points for taking one for the team and she certainly showed good hands on any shots hit at her.

Outfield players don’t appreciate how difficult it is to be a goalkeeper until they have to play in that position themselves. This is why you should never criticise a goalkeeper, especially a temporary one. You don’t need to tell them they’ve made a mistake; they know! They’re often an afterthought and teams don’t seem to miss them until they’re gone. Give your goalkeeper(s) the technical and mental support they need, and they’ll stick around. If not, there are plenty of other teams looking for a keeper.

SOMETHING’S GONE WRONG AGAIN

The German language has some great words when it comes to expressing an emotion or a situation. Two of my favourites are the well-known schadenfreude (pleasure derived from someone else’s failure) and the less well-known backpfeifengesicht (a face in need of a slap). Reading Revolutionary Spirit, the autobiography of Paul Simpson, frontman and songwriter of 80s bands The Wild Swans and Care, I came across a third great German word, namely Götterdämmerung. It might be a slight exaggeration to use this word in relation to the latest cup draw shambles emanating from the SWF, but the chaos element of the expression seems pretty spot on.

I’m beginning to lose count of how many times I’ve blogged or posted about the League Cup and Plate draws performed (and I use that very loosely) by the SWF this season. The latest “draws” for the 14s Central League Cup and League Plate, published last Tuesday (11 Jun) for games to be played just four days later on Saturday (15 Jun), eventually turned up. (Tuesday is also the day on which teams are expected to have informed their next opponents of the venue, kick-off time etc.) It took me approximately two nanoseconds to spot the latest problem.

To describe these draws as lazy doesn’t really do it justice. The quick turnaround for games is no excuse for the latest dog’s dinner of a draw. Maybe dog’s dinner is the wrong phrase because the draws aren’t a mess, in fact they’re neat. Too neat. There’s absolutely no pretence that any kind of random (and fair) draw has taken place. For those who still haven’t spotted the issue, I ask you to look at the draws pictured above and, starting with the first home tie, run your eyes down the list of home teams then, when you get to tie 8, look across to the away team and work your way up. Yes, that’s right. It’s just an alphabetical list of the teams who qualified in each competition. So if you’re lucky to have a team (or teams) whose name begins in the first part of the alphabet (Gartcairn, Holytown Colts and Milton Girls) you’ll be granted a home tie and if your team’s name starts later in the alphabet you get an away tie e.g. Stirling Albion, Rossvale, West Park and, the worst affected club, Phoenix, who had three teams in the Plate. They did the same type of draw with the 14s East League Cup and 14s West League Cup draw back in April.

In the Youth Regional League and League Cup rules posted on SWF’s own website, it states that, “The League Plate will be an all-in draw between teams eliminated in the League Cup from a
round(s) determined by the Regional Management Committee, or such other format [my emphasis] as directed by the Regional Management Committee in consultation with the Strong Quality Growth
Committee and Girls’/Women’s Policy Working Group, and ties shall be arranged in the manner
approved by the Regional Management Committee and shall be played on the dates arranged.” I can’t believe that this draw format would be given the go ahead by the RMC and/or String Quality Growth Committee.

As previously documented, this competition (and others) has been littered with issues and has been, quite frankly, to quote The Thick of It, an omnishambles. 68 planned group games (of which only 59 were played) took us from 37 teams to 32, split across two competitions. All these games to knock out just five teams! (Two of those teams to not even make the Plate were Tier 1 sides). I have no doubt the SWF will offer the excuse that the draw was done like this because a quick turnaround was required but it was an issue or their own making. Would it really have taken that much longer to draw two sets of eight ties in the traditional balls-from-a-receptacle fashion? I wonder if these draws are actually checked and deemed acceptable by fresh eyes before they leave Hampden.

One of the original groups (which I numbered as Group 4 because the SWF didn’t think to number them at all) had three unplayed fixtures (out of ten). I don’t know if teams were told when the original groups were drawn back in April that all fixtures had to be played by Sunday 9 June, or if this guidance was a last-minute, panic-driven, move-the-goalposts decision. Teams now had very little time to book pitches and prepare for the last 16 ties. One learned friend commented, “It’s actually quite insulting that they think that little of the girls’ game that this is how they decide a draw.” Can you imagine if they did this for the men’s Scottish Cup? Aberdeen forever at home, with St Mirren always on their travels!

Another issue with these draws is that there appears to have been no incentive for teams to win their respective groups. A reward might’ve been to avoid other group winners in the last 16. However, the Calderbraes v Stirling Albion Whites and Dunblane SC v Stirling Albion Reds ties put that notion to bed with four group winners in opposition. Solution: Put the balls denoting the group winners in one bowl, the group runners up in another. Pull one from each bowl into a third bowl, mix them and then pick one out. They’ll be the home team, the other will be away. That would’ve taken five to ten minutes to do.

Postscript: Following the weekend’s ties in the 14s Central League Cup and Plate competitions, I was asked by one club for a list of which teams had got through. Why? So they could put them into an alphabetical list and work out who they’d get in the quarter-finals! I kid you not. A club secretary from another region also asked me about the likelihood of this happening in their region. I suggested that if it does, they should ask for a re-draw.

Further Postscript: No sooner had I published this blog than the 14s Central League Cup and Plate QF draws were sent to me. Yet again, there were errors and those errors involve putting the wrong Gartcairn and the wrong Rossvale through to the quarter finals! On Saturday, Gartcairn (tier 1) defeated Rossvale Thistle (tier 3) 9-0 , while Gartcairn Whites (tier 3) lost 1-10 to Rossvale Reds (tier 1). However, the SWF has put through both losing teams. The error has been pointed out to them but they have exacerbated it by changing it to having both Gartcairn teams through! Wrong again! Somehow, the SWF has the result of the Gartcairn Whites v Rossvale Reds as a 3-1 win for Gartcairn, instead of 10-1 to Rossvale Reds! Eventually, the results were corrected and the right draw was posted but only after some frantic emails!

IT’S NEVER TOO LATE

It only took the SWF until the middle of June to realise that every region had a 14s Plate except South West. Better late than never.

YOUNGER GENERATION BLUES

The imminent moving of the age groups in the NextGen Performance League continues to cause ructions amongst players, parents and coaches. My DMs are full of disgruntled parents of unhappy players. I’m hearing tales of teams not fulfilling fixtures, coaches leaving, and many, many players looking for clubs.

Still, there is no public information available on the new setup. Mind you, they seem to have enough problems posting the kick-off times on the SFA website.

CONDITION RED

I saw a recruitment advert for coaches and players for a new Aberdeen Ladies team. I was confused. Isn’t there already an Aberdeen Ladies? “No, that’s Aberdeen Women, this is Aberdeen Ladies!” Huh?!

I did some research to find the answer. Aberdeen Ladies (aka Aberdeen FCL), were founded in 2011 following a merger between Aberdeen City, Aberdeen Ladies & Girls, Aberdeen University and East End Girls FC. In 2018, Aberdeen FC started the Aberdeen Women’s team (the SWPL1 team), with Aberdeen FCL taking over the running of the regional and NPL/NAP/NextGen (delete as applicable) girls’ teams. With Aberdeen FCL looking to join the SWF pyramid there might be some confusion, especially with the names being so similar. It reminds me of this section of Monty Python’s Life of Brian.

CRY ME A RIVER

Saturday morning’s scheduled 16s East Caroline Weir league clash between Jeanfield Swifts Jags and Panmure fell foul of a waterlogged pitch at Riverside. Rumours that the cause of the flood was not rain but the tears from local Scotland fans following the national team’s capitulation to Euros hosts Germany on Friday night are, as yet, unconfirmed. Although the possibility of similar downpours on Wednesday and Sunday evening have been forecast. [Photo used with kind permission of Jeanfield Swifts]

On that note, I shall wish you all a good footballing week.

Paul
#GirlsResults

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Dispatch of the Day #4

COME ON IN

Another week of footballing endeavour has been and gone. Let’s dip in to some of the talking points…

THAT’S ENTERTAINMENT

Which games did I watch this week? Last Wednesday I spent the evening at a blustery Ballast Bank, taking in the 14s East Caroline Weir league clash between The Swifts Blues and Glenrothes Strollers. An excellent first half free kick from Alexis saw the home side lead at the break. The teams shared the next four goals before Olivia scored her second in the last minute to wrap up the three points.

My intended viewing on Saturday was postponed so I opted instead to watch East Fife versus Dundee United in the 14s East League Cup quarter-finals. Maybe it was fate, but this one turned out to be an end-to-end cracker. The home team took the lead on a pitch that looked like the grass hadn’t been cut since Monty Don was a lad. The visitors hit back to lead 2-1 at the break. East Fife equalised before United struck back to lead again. However, the home team were undaunted and equalised with 20 minutes to go. With no extra time in the League Cup until the semi-final stage, it was straight to penalty kicks. United’s first kick was saved, while East Fife missed their fourth. After the regulation five penalty kicks, it was 4-4 and it was down to sudden death. Both teams scored before United missed and East Fife scored to claim the victory. As if the shoot-out wasn’t traumatic enough, there was one extra moment of drama during the shoot out when an East Fife coach noticed that the player stepping up to take one wasn’t on the field of the play when the game ended, therefore wasn’t eligible to take one. The mistake was caught in time and she was replaced. Well done to the eagle-eyed coach.

SO CENTRAL RAIN (I’M SORRY)

In a long-running saga of Mahabharata proportions, the drama of the 14s Central League Cup continues. As previously mentioned in blogs HERE and HERE, the chaos of this competition shows no sign of abating. While most 14s regions are awaiting the semi-final draws for their League Cup and Plate competition, Central region’s protracted League Cup group stage limped to a conclusion this weekend (8/9 Jun).

Clubs were emailed midweek (last week) by the SWF asking that all games be “tied up asap” because they wanted to do the last 16 draws for the Cup and Plate today (Mon 10 Jun) with ties being played on Sat/Sun 15/16 Jun. A very quick turnaround indeed. While the last group fixtures were scheduled for this weekend, there were still four outstanding ties, with three of them being in the same group! The other tie was an abandoned game, which still doesn’t seem to have a resolution. Someone else said that their club was told that no games played after Sunday would count towards the group tables. I also heard there was a tie scheduled for two days after the draw. It’s a bit late in the day to be ‘moving the goalposts’.

Clubs were also sent a copy of the group tables. These tables are not on the SWF website. They’re also not numbered, defying every known convention of group football. How can you identify a group easily if you don’t number it? I digress. I had a look at these tables and compared them to mine. Of the eight groups, only three were 100% correct. These were the errors in the groups they sent (as at last week and BEFORE the weekend’s matches). Note that the group numbers are mine:

• Group 1: Rossvale Reds should be 2nd, not 3rd
• Group 2: Correct
• Group 3: Isla Thistle Whites were missing a bonus point (for winning a penalty shoot out after a draw) and Easterhouse should have been on -10 goal difference, not -6
• Group 4: Correct
• Group 5: The Rossvale Thistle 5-2 Kirkfield United result from 25 May was missing. Milton Rovers were missing a bonus point
• Group 6: Dunipace missing a bonus point and Falkirk’s goal difference should’ve been +6, not +5.
• Group 7: Holytown Colts Reds’ goal difference should be +3 not -1
• Group 8: Correct

I’ll be interested to see what today’s 14s Central League Cup and Plate draws bring up, assuming they go ahead. If they do happen, I may add an update to this section. This competition couldn’t be any more farcical if it had Brian Rix pulling out the draw balls, with his trousers at his ankles, while being chased by a vicar. (Note to self: You really must use more topical cultural references!)

RULE THE WORLD #3

This week’s rules reminder is a rule regarding the number of postponements a team can be granted,

From section 10 (b) of the Youth Regional League and League Cup/Plate Rules 2024, relating specifically to league matches:

“Teams may only be granted a maximum of 3 postponements in any one season with the exception
of postponements granted due to players on International Duty or a Scottish Cup/Challenge Cup
or League Cup/Plate fixture taking precedence and may not apply for any postponements after
the 1st of October in any season. Teams may apply for additional postponement applications in
extenuating circumstances to the Regional Management Committee”

I HEARD IT THROUGH THE GRAPEVINE #2

It seems the rumours about three clubs being automatically relegated from SWPL1 at the end of next season (mentioned in Dispatch of the Day #3) are true, with the SWPL making a statement about it last Thursday (6 June 2024). The mooted two leagues of 10 will begin in the 2025/2026 season. The split within SWPL1 will then see a top 6 and a bottom 4.

One thing in the SWPL’s statement intrigued me. Under the list of key objectives, there was the following phrase, “Data illustrated that pre-split the SWPL was below the UEFA average for competitiveness”. I’d love to know what that data was and how ‘competitiveness’ is measured. Does anyone know? Answers on a postcard to @GirlsResults!

I WANT THE ONE I CAN’T HAVE

Word reached my DMs that a club had been fined for making illegal approaches (aka ‘tapping up’) for players. I’m told this offence was committed by someone representing a NextGen team. Whether true or not, the SWF’s Player Approach Policy 2024 makes it very clear what is and isn’t acceptable. Clubs, scouts, parents and players would do well to remind themselves of these rules. Ignorance is no excuse.

YOU’RE FORGETTING

It never ceases to amaze me the short memories that some teams have. If you’ve been mucked about by a team previously in relation to the playing of a match, then learn from that and promise yourself you won’t treat another team in a similar fashion. Do everything possible to get a game played and be as flexible as possible, especially if there’s a short timescale involved. It benefits everybody, especially the players. Don’t be one of those win-at-all-costs teams who don’t care how they get through as long they’re in the hat for the next round. Remember, what goes around, comes around because some teams’ memories aren’t that short and you will, at some point, need a favour returned.

TELL ME WHEN THE WHISTLE BLOWS

I was forwarded an interesting post from a boys’ Fixture Finder page on Facebook. While it concerns boys’ fixtures, we mustn’t be so complacent as to think it wouldn’t happen in girls’ and women’s football. Here is the full post:

“Sadly, due to a number of incidents at recent ESSDA 9v9 and 11v11 matches, Edinburgh Referees have taken the decision not to support our matches for the rest of the season.

We will be holding disciplinary investigations into all the alleged incidents, and players, officials, and teams can expect to receive sanctions if found guilty.

Over the summer, ESSDA will hold dialogue with Edinburgh Referees, and hopefully, we can resolve the reporting issues before the start of the next season when 2013s move to play 9v9. In the meantime, any 9v9 fixture or 11v11 friendly will not be refereed by an Edinburgh based SFA Referee.

Please note – until further notice, Edinburgh Referees will not officiate at any ESSDA scheduled or friendly fixture.”

As I’ve reported on several occasions this season, this kind of behaviour is not unique to the boys’ game. Don’t be so naive to think that it couldn’t happen in girls’ and women’s football.

WE ARE EACH OTHER

One of the main policies I have on my social media pages is, if you scratch my back, I’ll scratch yours. (Not literally, of course. That costs extra!) You help me when I’m looking for scores (or other information) and I’ll help when you need recruitment or fixture requests shared. I don’t think that’s unreasonable. However, there does seem to be some teams/clubs/people who are happy to lurk on my pages and reap the benefits of the free service I provide (results, tables, information etc) but aren’t so keen when it comes to reciprocating by answering requests for scores or other information.

One of my other rules is that I ask teams to use the @GirlsResults tag in their recruitment or fixture requests. That way I instantly get notified and I can retweet your request timeously from wherever I am. I ask to be tagged because if you think about my site enough to tag me, I’ll think about your team and share the request. Again, another quid pro quo arrangement in which everybody wins.

There are, however, exceptions. Even if you tag me, I may not retweet your request. If I’ve sent countless DMs to your page, over a long period of time, and they’ve all gone unanswered then why should I help you? This has been an issue with clubs of all sizes, not just the smaller, newer clubs. Occasionally, I’ll retweet requests that don’t tag me and I have no hard and fast rules on why I might make those exceptions. Perhaps it’s from a close friend or maybe a brand-new team who needs a little help.

PLAYING WITH NUMBERS

Last week I privately messaged two clubs to inform them that they needed to change their social media posts. One showed a scoreline which was more than a 9-goal winning margin. While they removed the scoreline, they chose to leave the names of the scorers and the numbers of goals each scored. This defeated the purpose of removing the original big score in the first place.

The other team posted a score for an under 12s game. I reminded them that scores for 12s, 10s, 8s etc shouldn’t been shown on social media as these games are classed as ‘non-competitive’.

While I can understand the latter team not knowing the rules as they’re a relatively new team, the ‘big score’ team have been around long enough to know better.

A CENTURY OF FAKERS

There is an individual within the girls’ game who hides behind a number of anonymised Twitter accounts. He uses these accounts to have a go at other teams or point out their indiscretions, while painting himself as some kind of do-gooder protecting the holy sanctity of the girls’ game. On regular occasions this individual tries to infiltrate my site. He is banned/blocked from my page for numerous issues around his behaviour towards both me, my daughter and teams she played for. His latest attempt to access my page didn’t get very far and, after being blocked, the account vanished, which confirmed my initial suspicions. Everything he does I have taken screenshots of. Perhaps, when I finally give up my site, I’ll share these screenshots with you and tell you some stories about him.

FALLING AND LAUGHING

For all the negativity that emanates from social media, there are still people worth following. People who produce wonderfully original content that guarantees a belly laugh. Many football clubs have also upped their game when it comes to making announcement videos e.g. for player signings. Two such sites combined recently to make a wonderful player-signing video.

I must thank Mark Grant (East Fife) for pointing me in the direction of the fabulous funny @bryansgunn on Twitter/X, which produces some of the most consistently funny football content around. Check out the recent “Who’s on the plane?” video from 7 Jun 2024. One of the best clubs when it comes to social media content has been Raith Rovers. Recently, Bryan’s Gunn and Raith Rovers joined forces to produce a great signing reveal for Lewis Stevenson’s move from Hibs.

On that note, I shall wish you all a good footballing week.

Paul
#GirlsResults

Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/GirlsResults
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/girlsresultsscotland/
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Email: talesfromthe3g@gmail.com

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Dispatch of the Day #3

COME BACK TO WHAT YOU KNOW

Once more unto the breach, dear friends, once more…

THAT’S ENTERTAINMENT

Which games did I watch this week? Well, on Saturday I did one of my Challenge Cup road trips, where I watched Winchburgh Albion v Milton Girls and Bonnyrigg Rose Reds v Glasgow City, both in the 14s Scottish Challenge Cup and both bathed in glorious sunshine. I blogged about it HERE. There’s a fairly busy programme of games this midweek so I’ll probably take in one of those too.

NOWHERE TO RUN

Last week I posed the following on Twitter/X, “It’ll be interesting to know how many girls will be released by NextGen teams as a result of the age change from 18s to 17s. Anyone from these clubs willing to tell me, even privately?” My DMs lit up like the Blackpool Illuminations.

A conservative estimate has been made at around 280 to 300, which, if even close to those figures, is a hell of a lot. Where will these girls go? Will they try to get into other clubs? Will they go to ladies football? Will they leave the game, possibly never to return? It would be interesting to know the exact number, assuming the powers-that-be are taking a note of such figures, because I think they should. However, I don’t imagine this is a figure that the clubs nor the people running the NextGen Performance League would be happy to share. I emailed Michael McArdle, the SFA’s Girls’ and Women’s Performance Manager to ask but he suggested I “speak with each club” as they have “varying pathways and talent management”. He went on to say, “To provide some insight, some will and may have squads between youth and senior, transition to senior teams as well as various loan options. We also have club led rulings in place for over-age players within NextGen.” He asked that any further enquiries go through their communication team.

The responses I received both privately and publicly, mostly from parents, confirmed that no-one is really 100% sure what is going on. Plenty of conjecture, a lot of conflicting information, and loads of opinions, which were all valid in their own way. With NextGen only having been brought in in February this year, this new version seems somewhat rushed. There doesn’t appear to be any consistency between the clubs as to what information is being issued to parents and players, many of whom are in the dark and justifiably unhappy. There’s certainly no public information for the benefit of those in the NextGen system or the wider footballing community.

RULE THE WORLD #2

This week’s rules reminder is a long-standing rule that still, unfortunately, seems to catch out some new coaches.

From section 21 (g) of the Youth Regional League and League Cup/Plate Rules 2024, relating specifically to Trialists:

“g. A player shall not be eligible to play for a club in a League Cup/Plate tie unless registered for the club.”

I HEARD IT THROUGH THE GRAPEVINE

Rumours abound that SWPL1 will see three clubs relegated at the end of next season, with one being promoted from SWPL2. Should it be true, this would bring two leagues of 10 teams for the 2025-2026 season. While I’m normally in favour of bigger leagues, I would suggest there are already big gaps between sections of teams within SWPL1 without widening them even further. Alternatively, bigger leagues might give teams more breathing space and feel more willing to blood some younger players. If it does happen, I imagine that SWPL2 will continue to be very competitive. Of all the bottom clubs in the nine women’s leagues, Stirling University were the highest points scorer with a respectable tally of 19.

I’LL TRY SOMETHING NEW

On Tuesday afternoon (28th May), all the results and fixtures disappeared from the SWF website. I suspect this is as a result of the transition from SFA Live and the new Comet system, although there was no warning or statement on the SWF’s own website that this might happen. While coaches and administrators will be able to access a temporary read-only SFA Live, I’ll have to make do with the fixtures and results I already have on my own system. This month-long hiatus might cause me some issues in terms of posting fixtures and scores, but I’ll try to find a way round it. All I ask is some patience. Feel free to update me on any changes affecting your team. [Update: the results and fixtures returned but there are issues on a lot of pages, again probably because of the transition]

THE COMETS ARE COMING

Along with many others, I’m intrigued to see how the new Comet system works. Will it improve the administration of the game? We all hope so. I’m told that Comet is a much fancier version of Usqor, which a number of clubs and individuals already utilise to provide followers with match information, especially goals. At the moment, I follow 146 teams on Usqor, although not all accounts are active. It’s a great asset in helping to access scores, although some teams use it in very different ways. I’ll be interested to see if every team is able to provide a reliable individual to update each match, live, as it happens, on Comet. Will the SWF require the inputting of substitutions, yellow and red cards, as well as goals? Will there be a way to correct in-game errors? There are some Usqor users who still make mistakes, even though you have to confirm a lot of what you input, which is designed to prevent errors. I recall an SWFL match last season where I was following two teams who were playing each other. Somehow, they came up with a different final score! Verification of results with referees, which I believe is part of the process, should prevent a repeat of this on the new system.

SOMETHING MISSING

Bishopton 14s performed a minor miracle last Saturday (25 May) when, having surrendered a 2-0 lead in their West League Plate first round tie against Hampden Girls, they won 3-2 with the last kick of the game. What was more remarkable was that they did it with just 9 players. Their coach said, “it’s the proudest moment I’ve had as a coach” when the girls said they wanted to give a go.

It’s not the first time this season that a team has turned up with less than a full complement of players just to ensure a fixture is fulfilled. Back in April, Buchan 16s made do with just ten players for their opening league fixture against Aberdeen Blacks. They lost heavily but fair play to them for making sure the fixture went ahead. A similar fate (and scoreline) befell Lauderdale 14s in their away league match to Murieston United Reds, but their performance was all the more miraculous as they only had eight players at their disposal.

These teams put to shame those win-at-all-cost teams who’ll postpone games at the drop of a hat, not because they haven’t got enough players but because they haven’t got enough of their ‘best’ players. How will the other players, who are not considered the ‘best’, ever improve if they aren’t given valuable game time?

ANYONE CAN MAKE A MISTAKE

As I mentioned in last week’s Dispatch of the Day #2, I had hoped to post a list of the outstanding issues on the SWF’s Fixtures & Results page. However, as mentioned above, I couldn’t access them due to the transition to Comet, although that has now been restored.

Instead, I’ll give you a list of the regular issues I encountered, which will, hopefully, be eradicated by Comet:
– Some 14s Central teams play on Saturday and some on Sunday. The SWF would regularly post these league fixtures on the wrong date
– Challenge Cup ties shown for the wrong date
– Fixtures shown with the wrong venue
– Getting cup rounds wrong. When I looked on Monday, I saw a set of Semi-Final fixtures listed as “Quarter-Final” and a “3rd Round” listed as a “Quarter Final”
– Tables not reflecting the results listed
– Incorrect results (still some outstanding, including two from March)
– Missing results (still some outstanding)
– Games marked as Postponed when they were played
– Games marked as Awarded when they were played
– Groups in League Cup competitions not having Group numbers
– Manipulated cup draws (previously blogged about HERE and HERE)

These types of errors were one of the reasons I started my GirlsResults page back in January 2020. Followers of the game, whether players, coaches or parents, deserved better. I can honestly say, hand on heart, that the administration has got worse, not better. I had hoped that there would be such an improvement over the past five years, with lessons learned, that I could stop doing my site and get my life back, especially weekends. I really hope that Comet works and is a success so that I won’t be needed anymore. That is my hope. I need to get my life back so I can get a paid job and go and do other things, including other projects. Not only is what I do time-consuming, it’s also unpaid, bar the generosity of donations. There were a couple of occasions when I wanted to give up, but the faith and support of followers helped me through, for which I thank them all dearly.

SONG FOR A FUTURE (NEXT) GENERATION #2

In the last Dispatch of the Day, I mentioned a club who are emailing every other club in their region to get them to send their best few players to them for a “Detection Day”. I won’t go over that again, but one thing has intrigued me. With three 14s club from that region through to the last eight of the Scottish Challenge Cup and the quarter finals taking place in August, around the time the new NextGen leagues are mooted to start, will players be willing to give up a shot at winning a national cup competition to join the NextGen team? There are some very good teams left in the competition and any team losing their best players before the quarter finals are almost certainly surrendering any hope of winning the trophy. Sure, trophies aren’t everything but it’s nice to have something to show for your efforts in a competition where you only get one, maybe two chances of winning.

I CAN’T CONTROL MYSELF #2

Following on my recent blog (Red Blight Spells Danger), we had another 16s game abandoned on the weekend of 25/26 May and a further midweek 16s game saw one team reduced to 9 players after just 20 minutes following the dismissal of not one, but two players for foul and abusive language towards the referee. I ask again, what steps have the governing body taken to address these continuing problems?

I CAN SEE FOR MILES

On a lighter note, I was at a game recently when the away team, who were chasing the game, had a corner. A parent of the away team, on seeing a player, possibly her own daughter, being grabbed or manhandled in some way in the penalty area by a player who was wearing glasses, shouted something like, “Get your hands off her Stevie Wonder!” Now the home parents were, quite rightly, unhappy about it and made their feelings known. An apology was soon issued by the away contingent. However, it got me to thinking, is Stevie Wonder really the most famous spectacle-wearer in the world? If you’re slagging someone off because they’re wearing glasses, is he really the first person who comes to mind? When I was at school (and that wasn’t yesterday), beloved Gerry Anderson character Joe 90 (Google him, kids!) was the insult of choice towards people who wore glasses.

The corner was scored, straight in as I recall. The opposition kicked off and quickly gained a free kick 25 yards out. It was brilliantly put away by, who else, the spectacle-wearing forward and the victory was sealed. After the game, on the home team’s social media they posted footage of the free kick. What song did they choose to soundtrack it? Stevie Wonder’s “Signed, Sealed, Delivered I’m Yours”. Touché.

On that note, I shall wish you all a good footballing week.

Paul
#GirlsResults

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Dispatch of the Day #2

HELLO AGAIN

As I always say, like some hackneyed old catchphrase, there’s never a dull moment in girls and women’s football, especially in Scotland. Here are some of the talkin’ points from the past week or so…

THAT’S ENTERTAINMENT

Which games did I watch this week? An early start on Saturday for the 16s Youth Performance League clash between Dunfermline Athletic and Musselburgh Windsor at Pitreavie. Musselburgh’s better passing in midfield was no match for the home team’s dogged defence. Two quick breakaway goals in the second half saw Dunfermline win 3-1. This was followed by a quick trip up the A92 in time to catch Dunfermline Athletic Reds play Blairgowrie in a 14s East Lana Clelland (Tier 2) league encounter at Lumphinnans. An early lead (about 25 seconds in!) saw the Reds take charge and, while Blairgowrie had chances, Dunfermline dominated to run out 4-1 winners. The cows watching in an adjacent field had seen enough in the second half and wandererd off, probably to Cow-denbeath!

Sunday morning’s drizzly and persistent rain caused me to make an early call not to go to Kirkcaldy to watch the SWFL East league match between McDermid Ladies and Dunfermline Athletic. The weather improved about an hour before kick-off but I’d already made my mind up. Next weekend is the last 16 of both the 16s and 14s Scottish Challenge Cups, which usually means a road trip of sorts. The last one (blogged about HERE) was great but I think this round I’ll check out a different region, subject to kick-off times and games moving dates.

BALL OF CONFUSION

The latest rumours* in regards to the new NextGen leagues are that while the SFA are moving to new age groups of 13s, 15s and 17s, the SWF has decided to stay with 14s, 16s and 18s. I wonder if we’ll get to a stage in the next few years where the two-year cycle, especially at regional level, is reduced to a one-year cycle with teams at 13s, 14s, 15s, 16s etc.

(* I say “rumours” because, while clubs might have received some information about it, the SFA hasn’t posted anything up on their website for the benefit of the wider footballer community who may be interested in what’s going on)

RULE THE WORLD #1

Each week I’m going to highlight one of the SWF competition rules, just as a wee reminder. It could be relevant to something that has happened recently, a forthcoming competition or it might just be an interesting rule I came across while looking for something else. This is one I hadn’t noticed before. I recall back in January 2018 when the East coast of Scotland was covered with snow and my daughter’s coach, desperate for a pre-season friendly, booked the Oriam to play Hutchison Vale 15s Dev at the ungodly hour of 8.30 am. The most memorable thing, apart from the 5-2 victory, was that, while the Oriam was blanketed in snow outside, it’s was so much colder inside!

From section 10 of the Youth Regional League and League Cup/Plate Rules 2024:

“Kick-off times for a Saturday or Sunday match shall be between 9am and 5pm unless mutually agreed otherwise. If the distance travelled one way exceeds 100 miles, the kick-off times shall be between 12pm and 4pm unless mutually agreed otherwise. Kick-off times for a Monday-Friday match shall be no later than 8pm unless mutually agreed otherwise.”

NEW KID IN TOWN

The women’s season began in August 2023 with 92 teams and finished this month with 87 teams. 2024/2025 promises to be even busier with a plethora of new women’s teams taking steps to possible inclusion in the SWFL. Some names mentioned so far have been Aberdeen, Arniston, Bayside, Cumbernauld United, Danderhall Miners, Penicuik, Raith Rovers and St Anthony’s.

SONG FOR A FUTURE (NEXT) GENERATION

As I mentioned last week, some clubs have already taken to advertising publicly for players for the new NextGen leagues, which we hear will start in August, although nothing official has come out yet. One club has taken a somewhat different approach in their attempt to gain Category 1 status. They’ve emailed all the other clubs in their region and asked them to nominate between 3 and 5 of their best players to attend a “Detection Day” for their new 15s team. They held a similar event for 13s earlier in early May.

“By nominating players, Clubs are committing to the potential of their player leaving to join [name of club] as of late July / early August 2024 and as such, commit to voluntarily cancelling their respective player(s) registration to allow them to join [name of club] for Season 2024/25.”

I’m not sure how I feel about this approach because I don’t see what the benefit is to the clubs who are, effectively, handing over their best players to a team who, at some levels, are a rival. Having taken the time, effort and expense to develop these players, what do they get out of it, apart from a weakened team? As far as I can see, only one club benefits out of that.

I CAN’T CONTROL MYSELF

Following on my recent blog (Red Blight Spells Danger), two more games had issues with player/coach/parental behaviour on the weekend of 18/19 May; one of which was abandoned. Another game was abandoned this weekend too. What steps have the governing body taken to address this continuing problem?

BLOC PARTY

Last week there was a match, which I dubbed “The Blocked Derby”. Both teams had blocked me on Twitter/X this season. Had I fallen out with them on social media? No. Had I even spoken to them on social media? No. Had I had a face-to-face conversation/disagreement with someone from either club? No. The person/people behind both accounts just blocked me. I don’t know what (or who) is behind it but I have my suspicions. It strikes me as a somewhat childish, petty and unprofessional move but one I’ll not lose any sleep over. (There’s at least one other team (that I know of) who has blocked GirlsResults but I have given up trying to find out why they blocked me and if they’ll unblock me. Life’s too short.)

The post-match account of the match by the away team (on another social media page) had a sly dig at the home side for dropping down “3 or 4 Championship*” players. The home team didn’t have to justify why these players were used, especially as they hadn’t broken any rules, but they were right to point out the factual inaccuracy of the away team’s claim as only two such players were fielded. (*Note: the initial claim has now been edited). One player was a goalkeeper returning from injury and the other a player who had already spent half the season with the development team. I found the away’s team claim that there was “no negativity” in the original post to be somewhat disingenous.

A DIFFERENT KIND OF TRUTH

Recently I asked a team’s social media page for a score. They said, “6-1”. It turns out it was actually 7-0. When I pointed out the correct score, they said, “doesn’t really matter”. Au contraire, I think it does matter. I pride myself on my attention to detail in everything I do. I make mistakes – don’t we all? – but I try to correct them as soon as humanly possible. You might have one team to deal with, I have 383 in 41 leagues (and that’s not including the ladies’ leagues). For a one-man operation, that’s a hell of a workload so forgive me the odd faux pas.

It reminds me of the story of Van Halen’s backstage requests at gigs. Hidden in the contract, amongst the specific technical details of the band’s stage set up, was a request that there were to be no brown M&Ms amongst the rider backstage. The inclusion of this clause (and where it was placed within the contract) was a quite deliberate means by which the band and their management knew if the contract had been read properly and fully adhered to. It was all about attention to detail. If they didn’t get that right, what else might they have got wrong?

Every week or two I’ll be sent a score for a game from two different sources, usually associated with each club, and they can’t agree on the score. This past weekend there were four games where people couldn’t agree. We’re not talking big numbers. We’re not talking about taking your shoes and socks off to use extra digits to count. Unfortunately, this usually means I can’t publish these scores, which, in turn, means I can’t publish the updated league table(s) (where applicable) and, therefore, I can’t complete all the scores. As you can appreciate, that’s extremely frustrating. While you’re all doing the Slosh down the miner’s club or staying in to melt your brain watching The 1% Club, I’m still trying to track down the Leith Athletic v Currie FC 14s score. This forces me to wait two or three days to get the results, which defeats the purpose of my page, which is to get the correct information out as soon as possible, preferably on the day, for the benefit of everyone.

When I pointed out an incorrect score to another team, they said, “If goal difference doesn’t count would it change anything? At least the points are right!” It does matter because if the SWF can’t get things like scores right on their official website, what else might they be not giving proper attention to? Talking of which…

‘TIL THE RIGHT ONE COMES ALONG

Every week I do one, sometimes two, audits between what I have on my spreadsheets (in terms of fixtures, results and tables) and what the governing body has. Usually, the main issues are missing results, wrong scores and tables where the results posted have not been reflected. Once my list of issues was finalised, I would do one last check that there hadn’t been any corrections made in the meantime, then I would email the list off to the SWF. I figured that it was better for them to receive one email pointing out 20 problems than have to deal with 20 or more phone calls or emails from clubs pointing out each of these errors. Unfortunately, with the SWF no longer engaging with me, I may have to resort to publishing those issues here.

This week’s Dispatch of the Day is already quite big so I might save the current list of issues for next week, assuming they haven’t been addressed by then. I’ll keep you posted.

RE-SIGN OF THE TIMES

One club learned recently why grammar and punctuation are still important. Their pride and excitement at announcing that their coaching staff had all resigned was met with bemusement from some. What they meant to say was that they had all ‘re-signed’! Never has a hyphen been so important. It reminded me of the subtle, but important, difference between “helping your Uncle Jack off a horse” and “helping your Uncle jack off a horse”!

On that note, I shall wish you all a good footballing week.

Paul
#GirlsResults

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Dispatch of the Day #1

I thought I’d start a weekly* column on the main talking points of the weekend, plus detail of games I watched during the last week or so. They won’t be full blogs as such, just a few vignettes, maybe funny incidents and other stuff. Give me a shout if there’s anything you think needs talking about, whether serious or less so.

(*maybe more or less often depending on how busy I am)

THAT’S ENTERTAINMENT

On Saturday I took in the 14s East League Cup 2nd Round tie between Bayside and East Fife at Aberdour. The early morning fog was burned off by the sun and a beautiful morning ensued. Some of the Bayside girls had helped to prepare the pitch the day before, including painting the lines, and it looked great. There have been occasions, during previous visits to this venue, that the touchline on the supporters side has been invisible. No such issues today. Their previous encounter here was a grading friendly back in February, which had ended 2-2. Bayside took the lead in that game, as they did in this game. East Fife soon equalised and while it wasn’t exactly one-way traffic, East Fife did start to dominate, particularly in midfield. East Fife led 5-1 at Bayside, including a hat-trick for Megan. Another Bayside goal in the second half was sandwiched between two more goals from Megan and the match ended 7-2 to the visitors.

I took a day off on Sunday due to some issues with my knees. Old age doesn’t come itself and I’m not as match-fit as I should be.

THE AGE OF REVOLUTION

So far I’ve seen adverts from three clubs – all from the South East – recruiting for the new NextGen Performance Leagues, beginning in August. Hibernian, Spartans and Boroughmuir Thistle have all put out adverts on social media looking for players born in 2012, 2013 and/or 2014. There hasn’t been any official announcement from the SFA about the set-up for the new season, but I’m told there are new age groups, consisting of 13s, 15s and 17s. As an aside, two of those clubs tagged me, so I retweeted their adverts. One didn’t tag me, so I didn’t retweet it. You scratch my back, I’ll scratch yours.

BEG, STEAL OR BORROW

I have no objection to teams utilising the tables I produce for GirlsResults on their team’s social media pages. Infact, I encourage it. You don’t have to ask (or pay, unless you really want to!). But I would ask that you keep the @GirlsResults branding that normally sits under the table and, maybe, if you remember, a credit like “Table courtesy of @GirlsResults” would also be welcome.

If, however, you wish to use content from this blog, you MUST ask my permission first (check the Ask Me, Ask Me, Ask Me section to the right). One team, who shall remain nameless, helped themselves to the cup draw information featuring one of their teams. Not only did they not ask permission, they didn’t even credit where they got it from. I told them, “If you’re going to use content from my site, I’d appreciate it if you give a credit to where it came from.” I don’t think that is unreasonable. Their response, instead, was to take it down the original and re-do it in a different (and less accessible) font. It would’ve taken 30 seconds to just edit their original social media post and add a credit.

MY CAMERA NEVER LIES

Having seen myself on a club’s VEO last week I can confirm that, yes, cameras really do add on ten pounds…at least!

HAPPINESS IS JUST AROUND THE CORNER

I was honoured to be asked by The Swifts Blues 14s to pick what I thought was the pick of their five goals against East Fife last Wednesday. While there were some great team goals, with wonderful passing and movement, I went with the final goal, which sealed the win just before the final whistle. A corner was played in from the keeper’s left and, somehow, as if by magic, it went straight in. Most of the people present, and maybe some of the players too, are still wondering how it happened. I’ve watched it many times on VEO and I’m still not sure. On that basis, I chose that one. Congratulations Erin!

WORDS DON’T COME EASY

In the course of the last four and a half years running the site, I’ve come to learn there are certain words I always seem to type wrong. For some reason, “Glasgow”, “Thistle” and “United” become “Glagsow”, “Thitsle” and “Untied”. It’s a good job I haven’t posted “Ross Ocunty” yet!

SEE YOU SOON

There has been a spate of teams withdrawing from leagues this season, for a variety of reasons. Best wishes to these teams as they regroup and attempt to go again at a different level, later in the year or maybe next season.

CARELESS HANDS

I felt sorry for the team, this weekend, who gave away not one, not two but FOUR penalties, all down to handball offences. All four penalty kicks were converted. Rumours that the team will quit football and turn to volleyball next season are, as yet, unconfirmed.

On that lighter note, I hope you enjoyed this little jaunt through my week and I’ll do it again soon.

Paul
#GirlsResults

Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/GirlsResults
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/girlsresultsscotland/
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Email: talesfromthe3g@gmail.com

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