Lol, I support Wick, only because I worked up there for a month in 2001 doing some security work, a beautiful place to be, and since then I have always kept track of how they are doing in the Highland League. See this photo... These are pieces of shale from the 12th century Wick Castle which stands right on the edge of a cliff in Wick, I walked to it from the town of Wick which was a good mile, and found the shale lying on the ground, I bought them home and the wife has them sitting on our fire hearth since 2001. Castle of Old Wick: The tale of a tower, a timber and time – Castle Studies Trust Blog
My wife turned 30 in 2021 (almost typed 2001 then, I'd be dead if I'd done that ) and with it being the tail end of covid we hadn't been able to do the holiday abroad that we'd wanted so we went up to northern Scotland instead near to where she'd holidayed as a child. We visited John O'Groats, where she'd been as a child and I'd never been to, and on the way we popped into Wick. Beautiful place. Went past Wick Academy's ground too so that's officially the northernmost ground I've ever visited. And randomly bought some butane gas canisters for my camping stove from the local Argos Kept an eye out for them since. They always seem to be towards the bottom of the league though it seems.
Am I right in thinking that the team who finishes top plays a promotion / relegation play-off vs the team who finished last in Division 3?
Imagine if Wick got into the 3rd division, that'd be an interesting drive from Berwick in February just to be told the game's off..
I think the winner of the Highland League plays the winner of the Lowland League. With the winner of that tie facing the bottom place team in Scottish League Two. In recent years the bottom placed League Two team has gone down every time, with the Lowland League teams dominating. The Lowland League is becoming a bit of a graveyard for former League clubs with teams like Berwick Rangers, Cowdenbeath, Albion Rovers and East Sterling down there. I think it's been a good thing overall. The bottom of Scottish league football was full of poorly supported, stale clubs who were treading water every year with no prospect of relegation out of the league. Since the trapdoor has been opened quite a few turds have been flushed with better supported, better resourced clubs coming up mainly from the Lowland League and generally doing quite well. Cove Rangers went all the way up to the Scottish Championship recently only a couple of years after joining the league. While the relegated clubs generally haven't got close to coming back with the exception of Brechin City in the Highland League.
Buckie Thistle win the title on goal difference from Brechin and go into a play off against Lowland League champions East Kilbride for the right to face Club 42. Strathspey Thistle finish bottom with just 8 points having conceded 151 goals, but won't be relegated because none of the winners of the feeder leagues are eligible for promotion. Edit: apologies to Strathspey, they reached double figures in the league and got 10 points.
The race to win the title and (most likely) face East Kilbride in the HL/LL playoff is tighter than a nun's chuff this season. Both Brora and Brechin are on 70 points with only four games left to play; Brora are currently in 1st place thanks to their goal difference of +72 vs. Brechin's +43. Banks O' Dee are waiting in the wings on 65 hoping for a slip up by both sides. Brechin were running away with it at one point, only for their form to 'collapse' with a series of draws that allowed Brora back into it. At the bottom, perennial strugglers Strathspey sit 17th with Rothes occupying last place and the sole relegation slot. However, as with last season, whoever finishes bottom should be spared as none of the sides at the top of the feeder leagues are eligible for promotion.
Clubs need to hold at minimum an entry level licence to play in the Highland League. I'm not sure what the full criteria required to achieve this are, but I would assume a lot of teams below HL level don't have grounds up to the required standard.
EXCLUSIVE: SPFL slammed over quiet rule change creating ‘another barrier’ to Highland League clubs chasing promotion An under-the-radar rule change means fifth-tier sides may need to spend more than £20,000 to land the licence to make them eligible for the SPFL. The SPFL have been accused of trying to close the door on Breedon Highland League clubs who wish to achieve promotion after an under-the-radar rule change. Last summer Scottish League clubs voted through a recommendation all teams competing in the country’s top four divisions must hold a Scottish FA bronze club licence from season 2024-25. All Highland League clubs currently hold entry-level club licenses, with only one Lowland League outfit – Cumbernauld Colts – having attained bronze. With numerous changes required to gain the bronze licence, sides who wish to try to get promoted to the SPFL are facing the prospect of potentially having to spend tens of thousands of pounds to achieve it. A Highland League source, who wished to remain anonymous, spoke exclusively to The Press and Journal and expressed the view that it appears SPFL clubs are trying to protect themselves by placing another hurdle in front of ambitious sides from tier five. The source said: “It was brought in this season, but publicly very little has been said about it. “It appears it’s been brought in to make it that bit more difficult for teams to get up. “They (SPFL clubs) have seen how hard it is for teams that drop out of the SPFL. “It feels like it’s been set up to stop the drain of SPFL teams into leagues that they struggle to come back from.
