logo
Who's going to step up and replace Scotland's golden generation?

Who's going to step up and replace Scotland's golden generation?

The National07-06-2025
The youthfulness of Steve Clarke's squad for the friendly internationals against Iceland and Liechtenstein this month has, what with Connor Barron, Kieron Bowie, Tommy Conway, Josh Doig, Billy Gilmour, Max Johnston, Lennon Miller, Nathan Patterson and James Wilson all receiving call ups, certainly been heartening.
The members of that nonet have an average age of just 21. Every one of them has a huge amount to offer their country at international level for many seasons to come. They have numerous qualifying campaigns left in them and hopefully a few finals too. The same is true of the injured duo Ben Doak, the Liverpool winger, and Aaron Hickey, the Brentford full-back.
It was also encouraging to see the SFA roll out their Cooperation System – which will see up to three Scotland-qualified prospects under the age of 21 move freely between Premiership and Championship parent clubs and lower league outfits on loan from the 2025/26 season onwards – this week.
Read more:
Similar agreements already exist in Austria, Belgium, Croatia, Hungary and Serbia. Hopefully the long overdue scheme will enable our best prospects, who have often been prevented from gaining much-needed competitive game time in the senior ranks simply because their presence is needed to satisfy homegrown player quotas in European competition, to make the difficult transition from the age-group ranks.
That initiative was one of the main recommendations contained within the Transition Phase paper which was co-authored by Andy Gould, the SFA's chief football officer, and Chris Docherty, the governing body's head of men's elite strategy and was published last year.
That report contained many worrying revelations, damning findings and stark conclusions about how poorly Scotland is doing in comparison with other countries of a similar size across Europe when it comes to producing talented young footballers who are capable of flourishing in the paid ranks.
But if anybody needed reminding just how few professionals are emerging, Brown Ferguson, the former Alloa, Hamilton and Partick Thistle midfielder and the current Stenhousemuir assistant manager who is also the assistant regional performance manager at sportscotland and the high performance manager to Scottish Golf, took to X (formerly Twitter) to tell us.
He posted a series of alarming statistics about the Premiership last season. Here are a few of the most startling. Just 31.46 per cent of players to start games in the top flight were Scottish. That is down from 45 per cent three years ago. On average, just 3.23 per cent of players kicking off on a Saturday are under 21, just four out of 132. No fewer than 20 team selections failed to contain a single Scot. Aberdeen and Celtic didn't start an under-21 player in the 2024/25 campaign.
The SFA have identified these major problems and are endeavouring to address them. The SPFL clubs, who in the past have shown they are more concerned with self-interest than the greater good, have endorsed and embraced their plans. But is it too little too late?
Our leading clubs face a raft of challenges running academies and bringing through youngsters who are capable of representing their first teams every year. The issues which Brexit and raids on their age-group squads by their wealthier English rivals have presented in recent years have been well documented in these pages. Far fewer footballers who are good enough are emerging.
These are pretty exciting times in Scottish football with Brighton owner Tony Bloom buying a major stake in Hearts and a consortium comprising American billionaire Andrew Cavenagh and the San Francisco 49ers taking over Rangers. With Hibernian a far more formidable force than they were and Aberdeen lifted by their epic Scottish Cup triumph, next season promises to be a belter.
Read more:
But the focus in recent weeks has very much been on how much money every club will spend and who will be brought in this summer. The new powerbrokers seem unconcerned about doing their bit to help our national game by rearing homegrown heroes. Sure, wanting to promote youth has been mentioned in passing. It appears, though, fairly far down their list of priorities. Such is the money mad modern game.
There is, with Barron, Bowie, Conway, Doig, Gilmour, Johnston, Miller, Patterson and Wilson as well as Lewis Ferguson, Jack Hendry, George Hirst, Andy Irving, Scott McKenna, Scott McTominay and John Souttar all in the current Scotland squad, no reason for Tartan Army footsoldiers to panic.
(Image: Craig Williamson - SNS Group) Yet, the World Cup qualifying campaign which will get underway with away games against Denmark and Belarus in September may well prove to be the last that Che Adams, Stuart Armstrong, Ryan Christie, Lyndon Dykes, Craig Gordon, Grant Hanley, John McGinn, Kenny McLean, Andy Robertson, Lawrence Shankland and Kieran Tierney are involved in. Some will retire after it, others will stay on. But we are witnessing the last hurrah of a golden generation.
Will those who come after that aforementioned group grace, as many of their predecessors did, the Premier League and the Champions League? The majority of them still have some way to go to scale the same heights as their compatriots. A few will manage it, but many won't.
Clarke lamented how few goalkeepers he had to choose from when he announced his squad last month. He, or his successor, may be left bemoaning the lack of centre-backs, full-backs, holding midfielders, playmakers, wingers and strikers going forward. There must be a concerted collective effort from club owners and managers or qualification for the finals of major tournaments will be a thing of the past.
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Lochaber beat Inveraray to lift Ferguson Balliemore Cup
Lochaber beat Inveraray to lift Ferguson Balliemore Cup

BBC News

time10 minutes ago

  • BBC News

Lochaber beat Inveraray to lift Ferguson Balliemore Cup

Lochaber won the Ferguson Balliemore Cup for shinty's intermediate championship thanks to a 2-0 triumph over Inveraray in the final at Spean Artemis Macaulay Cup final in Oban on 23 August will match holders Kingussie, 3-0 winners over local rivals Newtonmore in the north semi-final at Beauly, and Oban Camanachd who eliminated Glasgow Mid Argyll 3-1 in the south tie in Premiership relegation concerns increased for Lovat, who lost 2-0 to Kinlochshiel at Rearaig, and Kyles who went down 4-2 to visitors also unbeaten in the National Division and favourites for a Premiership return, went ahead through Martin Johnstone early in the first half. However, the destiny of this trophy, where top tier clubs are excluded, wasn't settled until late on when Ben MacDonald and man of the match Max Campbell secured a repeat of Lochaber's 2023 success.A week on from their 52-game unbeaten run ending, Kingussie wrapped up their Macaulay final place in the first half with a Savio Genini double which bookended a single from Dylan Borthwick. Daniel MacVicar scored for Oban either side of half-time, and Daniel MacCuish made it 3-0 before Scott Craig pulled one back for Mid MacRae and John MacRae grabbed both points for Kinlochshiel in the second Tighnabruich, Ethan Kerr drew first blood for Kyles, but Cabers went 3-1 up by half-time with two from Kevin Bartlett and one from Cameron Grant. Kerr pulled a goal back, before Bartlett completed his hat Beauly already relegated Kyles, who have a game in hand, just avoid the second relegation place on goal difference from Lovat, with the rest now three points clear of danger.

Newcastle United plot move for £50m Chelsea striker to replace Alexander Isak
Newcastle United plot move for £50m Chelsea striker to replace Alexander Isak

Metro

time11 minutes ago

  • Metro

Newcastle United plot move for £50m Chelsea striker to replace Alexander Isak

Newcastle United are interested in a deal to sign Chelsea striker Nicolas Jackson as a replacement for Alexander Isak, according to reports. Eddie Howe's side have ramped up plans to sign a new forward after Isak told the club he wanted to leave St James' Park in the summer window. Isak has been strongly linked with a move to Premier League champions Liverpool, who are believed to be plotting a massive offer for the Swede. Newcastle are considering a number of players to replace Isak and have now added Jackson to their list of potential options, the Daily Mail report. Jackson, who scored 10 Premier League goals in 30 games last term, has also attracted interest from Manchester United ahead of the new season. Wake up to find news on your club in your inbox every morning with Metro's Football Newsletter. Sign up to our newsletter and then select your team in the link we'll send you so we can get football news tailored to you. The 24-year-old Senegal international has been at Stamford Bridge since June 2023, with the Blues paying a £32m fee to sign him from Villarreal. It's believed that Chelsea want around £50m in order to let Jackson leave the west London club, with the player under contract until 2033. Jackson has played a total of 81 games for Chelsea to date across all competitions, producing 30 goals and 12 assists. It was reported in June that Italian side Juventus had made contact with Jackson's representatives and were considering a bid for the player. Arsenal have also been linked to Chelsea striker Jackson this summer – and the same is true for AC Milan – as well as Aston Villa. Chelsea have brought in two new strikers this summer with Liam Delap arriving from Ipswich and Joao Pedro coming in from Brighton. That has called into question their plans for Jackson, who now faces a lot of competition up front and may well have fallen down the pecking order. It should be noted, though, that Jackson is not the only striker Newcastle are looking at as a potential replacement for wantaway star Isak. More Trending Ollie Watkins is thought to be a possible option for Newcastle, although it remains to be seen if Aston Villa would allow him to join a top-flight rival. Newcastle are also weighing up a move for Brentford forward Yoane Wissa, who scored 19 Premier League goals in 35 games last season. The Magpies have made an enquiry for RB Leipzig striker Benjamin Sesko too. MORE: Everton make surprise £31m offer for Chelsea and Liverpool transfer target MORE: Arsenal star agrees shock exit ahead of Viktor Gyokeres' £63m arrival MORE: Ruben Amorim drops biggest hint yet that Man Utd aren't signing a striker

Sunderland fall to heavy 3-0 defeat against Hearts
Sunderland fall to heavy 3-0 defeat against Hearts

BBC News

time12 minutes ago

  • BBC News

Sunderland fall to heavy 3-0 defeat against Hearts

Sunderland fell to a disappointing 3-0 defeat against Scottish Premiership side Hearts at Tynecastle on Saturday coach Regis Le Bris did name a strong side for the Craig Gordon testimonial match - as the Black Cats continue to prepare for life in the Premier League - but key figures Anthony Patterson, Chris Rigg and Wilson Isidor were still absent through Bris made eight changes at 70 minutes, fielding a much younger side with a number of players playing out of position, but it still wasn't enough to find the back of the attention will now turn to their next pre-season friendly against Championship side Hull City on Tuesday, 29 July (19:45 BST).

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store