Erin Cuthbert teams up with Specsavers to launch Best Worst Pitch campaign to help grassroots clubs
The Scotland star is bidding to help with the new campaign.
Irvine footballer Erin Cuthbert has teamed up with Scotland team-mate Kirsty Smith in a new partnership with Specsavers.
The initiative, called Best Worst Pitch, aims to provide 50 teams who are most in need of a helping hand with things like professional line painting equipment and GPS pitch mapping, pitch maintenance equipment, as well as maintenance training to help them maintain their pitches through the next season and beyond.
The announcement comes as UK football governing bodies have recently highlighted that maintaining grassroots pitches across the UK is one of the main issues facing the sport.
With councils stretched for funding, the responsibility for maintaining club pitches, often falls on dedicated members of the grassroots football community.
It's a challenge Specsavers has seen up close, having renewed its sponsorship deal with the Scottish FA, to become the Official Eye and Ear Care Partner.
The deal will see the 24-year partnership continue for the rest of the season as Specsavers strives to support the growth of Scottish football in both the men's and women's game.
Erin, who is coming off a sixth successive Women's Super League title with Chelsea, said: 'I called my papa 'Net Man'. He's no longer with us but he was always there, two hours early putting the nets up and sorting the pitch out.
'It's little efforts like that that keep grassroots football alive. It's absolutely vital that we get it right at this level so that young players can improve and have a better chance of succeeding in the sport.'
Scotland team-mate Kirsty, who plays club football for West Ham United, added: 'Grassroots football is the heart and soul of the game. It's important that we back the communities and dedicated volunteers who keep it running.
'I remember how tough it was playing on a rough pitch, but it didn't hold me back, it just made me realise how important these pitches are.
'This is a campaign I'm really proud of – The Best Worst Pitch initiative will ensure that pitches are in the best condition possible so that everyone can enjoy using them.'
In addition to providing equipment, Specsavers is also offering training and education to the selected clubs, aiming to tackle some of the long-term challenges faced by grassroots teams and the volunteers who maintain their pitches.
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Daily Mail
6 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
The VERY varied fortunes of F1's most glam WAGs ever: As Silverstone's British Grand Prix turns 75, how one wife 'died of heartbreak' and another went on to steal Elizabeth Taylor's man
From Lewis Hamilton to Max Verstappen and Charles Leclerc, handsome F1 drivers have long impressed fans with not only their speed on the racetrack but also their dashing good looks. But it's not only the heartthrob sportsmen who have often left audiences hot under the collar - their equally stunning girlfriends and wives regularly turn heads as they cheer their men on from the sidelines. The glossy pitlane posse of WAGs who are championing their partners this year includes Kelly Piquet, a 35-year-old model from Brazil who's dated Max since January 2021. Elsewhere, Scottish model Rebecca Donaldson and fashionista Alexandra Saint Mleux are proving to be staunch supporters for their drivers Carlos Sainz and Charles, respectively. But today's social media sensations follow on from the glamorous figures of the 1950s, '60s and '70s, with F1's appeal having always extended beyond racing. For instance, Lady Helen Stewart was one half of a glamorous 1960s F1 couple with the British racing driver Sir Jackie Stewart, while Suzy Hunt's marriage to James Hunt in the '70s was the society wedding of the year. This year, Silverstone, the home of the British Grand Prix, celebrates 75 years of the F1 championship - and the upcoming milestone weekend of racing will no doubt see an array of radiant WAGs once again put on a spectacular display. So, ahead of the three-day event, starting on July 5 with the practise round and finishing with the thrilling head-to-head race on July 7, FEMAIL takes a look at some of the most glamorous wives and girlfriends to ever grace the circuit - and their varied fortunes. 1950s Louise King Married to Peter Collins American actress Louise King and her British driver husband Peter Collins made up a glamorous 1950s racing couple. They met in a Miami bar in 1957 and just two days later, the racer proposed. A week after first meeting they were married, reported The Guardian. Aged 24, Louise was on tour with the Broadway production of The Seven Year Itch, while Peter, then 25, from Kidderminster, was beginning his second season as a member of Ferrari's grand prix team. A year later, the impressive driver won the British Grand Prix at Silverstone, after finishing third in the Monaco Grand Prix and fifth in France. But in Germany just weeks later, as his supportive wife sat in the Ferrari pit with a stopwatch and a lap chart, Peter suffered a fatal crash. He had reportedly been set to retire at the end of that season ahead of starting a family. 'I had only a year and a half with Peter, but it was the most joyous time,' Louise later said in the 2017 documentary Ferrari: the Race to Immortality, according to the publication. She continued: 'He was a great driver: when he won the British Grand Prix in July 1958, they even said he might become the best. He was 26. He died three weeks later. 'We'd just bought our first house, near his parents in Kidderminster. We were just starting our life together, and there it was: over.' Louise, who died 18 August 2021 at the age of 88, would later marry Canadian film producer and screenwriter Gordon Burwash. He passed away in 1980. Meanwhile, Louise went on to act again before spending her final years in Florida, volunteering at a local history museum. She would always describe Peter as the love of her life. 1960s Helen Stewart Married to Sir Jackie Stewart Back in the early days, Sir Jackie Stewart, now 85, and his wife Lady Helen, born on 21 January 1941 in Helensburgh, Scotland, were the poster boy and girl of Formula 1 racing. He won 27 races out of 99 starts and was world champion three times before being knighted in 2001, while his glamorous and stylish counterpart was the 'original pit lane girl', attending 'every race'. Lady Helen - who wed her childhood sweetheart in August 1962 - was also an actress, known for Seven Days Too Long (1968), The Wicked Die Slow (1968) and Weekend of a Champion (1972). 'My wife was the original pit lane girl, my professional stopwatch - timing my laps to the millisecond,' Sir Jackie said to the Daily Mail previously. Lady Helen – the love of his life – was around before he made the big time; they fell in love when he was 18 and she 16. Speaking to the publication in 2014, the retired driver - who shares two grown-up children, Mark and Paul, with his beloved wife, added: 'We've had a fantastic relationship. 'It was a glamorous life, there were lots of girls around, but by the time I got into Formula 1 Helen was pregnant with Paul. 'My first victory was just before he was born, so the two are intertwined. We've been married 52 years and we still look after each other very well.' The couple were known to divide their time between their estate in Buckinghamshire, close to Chequers, the Prime Minister's country residence, and a house in Switzerland. For most of the marriage, theirs has been a gilded lifestyle with lots of travel, luxury and hobnobbing with celebrities and royals - Princess Anne has been a close friend for 40 years and Lady Helen is Zara Tindall's godmother. After retiring in 1973, Sir Jackie cut a series of commercial deals (being the first driver to spray a bottle of champagne on the podium brought him a contract with Moet Hennessy) and today he has an estimated fortune of $50million. But life irreversibly changed for the former Formula One golden couple after Lady Helen was diagnosed with frontotemporal dementia - a less common form of the illness that can develop at a younger age - more than a decade ago. Lady Helen can no longer walk and suffers from significant memory loss - a common feature in sufferers of the condition. Sir Jackie launched the Race Against Dementia charity with filmmaker son Mark following her diagnosis. 1970s Suzy Hunt Married James Hunt James Hunt, who competed in Formula One from 1973 to 1979, and was played by A-lister Chris Hemsworth in the 2013 film Rush, which explored the British racing driver's intense rivalry with racer Niki Lauda, was married to supermodel Suzy Miller. Together, they were one of the decade's It couples, with their nuptials in October 1974 in London, undoubtedly the society wedding of the year. Suzy was a striking woman, who, while described as 'not classically beautiful', captivated everyone she met with her willowy figure and charming presence. She met her future husband in Spain in 1974, aged 24, a year younger than Hunt. The pair fell into easy conversation, and after a whirlwind romance lasting only a few weeks, Hunt proposed. Immediately after the proposal, he reportedly expressed regret to his friends, saying he was not sure what he was doing - and was said to have spent the run up to their wedding drunk. However, the driver was aware of the great deal of value she added to him so resolved to try to make the relationship work, according to Shunt: The Story of James Hunt author Tom Rubython. But fed up of her husband's antics, Suzy later ran off with Richard Burton in 1976, after the Welsh actor split from Elizabeth Taylor. Burton reportedly paid Hunt $1m during the couple's divorce settlement, with the driver assuring the actor: 'You've done me a wonderful turn by taking on the most alarming expense account in the country.' Hunt died of a heart attack in 1993 at his home in Wimbledon. He was 45. He reportedly left a large sum of money for his friends to get drunk at his wake. Barbro Peterson Married to Ronnie Peterson Barbro met Lotus Formula driver Ronnie Peterson in true swinging 60s style while dancing in a club in Örebro, Sweden, around the spring of 1968. She worked as a secretary before moving to New York City in 1969 to become an au pair, however, she returned for the 1970 racing season. Barbro was more of a hands-on WAG and took up the role of Ronnie's timekeeper and was often found perching on the pit counter, watching her husband's performance. The couple married in 1975 and decided to make England their home, although they had a flat in Monaco and a holiday home in their homeland, Sweden. Barbro gave first to their daughter Nina in the November of that year and the pair lived together as a happy family for a couple of years. However, only three years after they tied the knot, Ronnie tragically died aged 34 on 11 September 1978 after his Lotus crashed during the Italian Grand Prix. Riccardo Patrese had collided with James Hunt and this caused a chain-reaction which launched Ronnie's Lotus into the barriers at 100mph. The impact of the smash tore off the front end of the vehicle and he sustained severe leg injuries so much so that amputation was considered. He was rushed to Niguarda hospital in Milan, but his condition worsened through the night, causing him to pass away from a bone marrow embolism that entered his bloodstream. Barbaro found it hard to cope after the love of her life was taken away from her prematurely and died of suicide less than a week before Christmas Day in 1987 aged 40. As Barbro was so involved in her late husband's racing life, she was thought to be terribly lonely after his passing. She dated British racing driver John Watson for around five years but Lotus team manager Peter Warr believed that deep down she knew her soulmate was Ronnie. Warr told Motorsport Magazine: 'The lifestyle she led and the happiness she found with Ronnie was totally irreplaceable. She wouldn't have found it with anyone else. 'They were made for each other, and they were just delirious that things worked out so well. They loved life and they loved each other.' Their deaths left 12-year-old Nina an orphan and she was raised by her grandparents. 1980s Susie Moss Married to Sir Stirling Moss Lady Susie Moss first met British F1 legend Sir Stirling Moss when she was five years old and he was 28 in Hong Kong, as the pair's families were close. The pair met again years later when Susie moved to London aged 17. The pair struck up a friendship that slowly blossomed into a romance, despite Stirling briefly going out with Susie's older sister, Tina. Susie previously told the Mail: 'The age gap didn't matter. I never thought about it because, to me, he was never old. He was always such fun.' Susie was four months pregnant with their son Elliot when they married in 1980 at Hammersmith & Fulham Register Office. Susie was never worried that her husband might stray and said: 'Once we'd got married, he wasn't a player. He believed very strongly that one belongs to one.' The pair spent 40 years travelling the world together, going to iconic festivals such as the Goodwood Festival of Speed and luxurious socialite events with brands such as Louis Vuitton and Chopard. Despite the many near-misses of his racing career, Stirling always seemed indestructible. In 2010, aged 80, he even survived a fall down the lift shaft at his home. He had summoned it and stepped into a void, realising too late that the door had opened onto emptiness. He broke both ankles, four bones in his foot and chipped four vertebrae in the plunge. 'I thought I'd lost him,' says Susie. 'But he came bouncing back. He made no fuss at all.' Stirling - who was previously married to Elaine Barberino - then passed away aged 90 from a chest infection in 2020 at their Mayfair home. He had retired from public life in January 2018 after undergoing lengthy rehabilitation for a serious chest infection he contracted in Singapore in 2016. Susie was at his bedside as he died, having nursed him through a long illness, at their central London house. She told the Daily Mail: 'He died as he lived, looking wonderful. He simply tired in the end and he just closed his beautiful eyes and that was that.' Three years after becoming a widow, Susie died aged 69 following a protracted period of ill health, however, her sister Tina believes she passed away from 'a broken heart'. 'My beloved sister died of a broken heart,' Tina, wife of ebullient retail tycoon Sir Philip Green, said amid floods of tears to the Daily Mail. 'She never recovered after Stirling left us. Their marriage was the greatest love story I have ever known.' Their union lasted for nearly four decades, in vivid contrast to his first two marital excursions. The first, to Canadian brewing heiress Kate Molson, ended after three years, while the second, to American Elaine Barbarino, with whom he had a daughter, Allison, endured just a year longer. Susie previously told the Mail: 'He had so many beautiful girlfriends. Oh, they were gorgeous!' 'I think there might be a photo of me among them in the book somewhere. We both kept in touch with a lot of them. I didn't have a problem with that. And the first Mrs Moss (Katie, nee Molson, heir to the Canadian brewing dynasty) used to come and stay with us in London and at our house in Florida.' Susie was never worried that her husband might stray: 'Once we'd got married, he wasn't a player. He believed very strongly that one belongs to one.' The couple lived in Mayfair, just a stone's throw from swanky private members' club 5 Hertford Street, at the house which Sir Stirling designed and equipped with a treasury of gadgets. Susie remained there after his death - sleeping close to the urn containing his ashes. 'She has gone far too soon,' her sister Lady Green said in 2023. 'We will miss her terribly.' 1990s Adriane Galisteu Partner of Ayrton Senna Adriane first met legendary Brazilian F1 driver Ayrton Senna when she worked as a hospitality hostess for the oil company Shell at the 1993 Brazilian Grand Prix. Despite the pair seeing each other several times during that race weekend in the hospitality suite, they didn't interact until Ayrton celebrated after the Brazilian Grand Prix at Limelight Club. During their relationship, Adriane lived a glitzy lifestyle and would often jet off to destinations such as Monaco and Hungary to cheer on her boyfriend. According to Tom Rubython's 2004 biography, The Life of Senna, Ayrton planned to stay in Portugal with Adriane for five months during the European race season in 1994 and not return to Brazil during that time, as reported by Business Insider. This caused a rift between the pair and Ayrton's family, who allegedly felt as though the glamorous blonde model was not good enough for their son. Galisteu saw Senna for the last time on April 3, 1994, weeks before his death. She was taking an English language course in Brazil in preparation for spending time in Europe and living with Senna. But their love story was cut short after Ayrton died during the 1994 San Marino Grand Prix in Italy while racing for Williams aged just 34. He crashed into a concrete wall at 190mph and died almost instantly from the impact. Heartbroken Adriane - who saw Ayrton for the last time on April 3, 1994, weeks before his death - witnessed the crash as she was watching the race live on television from his apartment in Portugal. She told the Mail: 'I saw the accident and thought nothing of it,' she said. 'In fact, I thought, 'Good, he'll be back early, thank goodness'.' 'But then I saw it was more serious than I first imagined. I stood in front of the TV and watched the replay over and over again. I could see the car was damaged but I never thought he had died.' Adriane was told to get on a plane to Italy immediately but when it was about to take off, the pilot got a call from the tower. She said: 'I imagined it was Ayrton saying 'You don't need to come, everything is OK'. 'It was a friend [who said] ''Adriane, you don't need to come'. 'Wow, that's good', I said, thinking he must be improving. 'No, he's dead'. My world stopped at that moment. 'In my head it was impossible: he could only die of old age. It was incredible that he died doing what he knew best in life. 'It was very difficult for Brazil, for the whole world, but even more for me. It took me many years to recover my life, especially amorously.' Images show emotional Adriane joining mourners at his funeral in May 1994 as she appears to break down in tears over his coffin. Per Rubython's biography, Aridane said that Ayrton told her that he wanted to marry her someday, switch from Williams to Ferrari and had dreamed of becoming a father one day. After his untimely death, she ended up marrying Brazilian businessman Roberto Justus in 1998, but the pair divorced a year later in 1999. She then tied the knot with her current husband Alexandre Iódice in 2010 and the pair share one son together named Vittorio. The former model now works as an actress and TV host, boasting more than six million followers on Instagram, where she regularly shares an insight into her glamorous life. Modern day Alexandra Saint Mleux Dating Charles Leclerc Alexandra Saint Mleux is a TikTok influencer who stole the heart of her beau, Charles Leclerc over two years ago, with the two having made their first public appearance in March 2023. In May of the same year, her racing driver love finally confirmed the budding romance. When she's not cheering her super speedy boyfriend on, she's filming lifestyle and home videos for her TikTok followers. Her glamorous videos are the hallmark of an F1 WAG with her feed full of luxury travel locations, designer outfit fit checks and the odd few on glamorous yachts. Alex isn't just beautiful in herself, but is a fan of all things beautiful, being a passionate art historian. Carmen Montero Mundt Dating George Russell Carmen Montero Mundt has been in a relationship with George Russell since 2020 - and as reported by GP Blog, the couple happily live in Monaco together. According to the outlet, Carmen has previously worked in finance - as an investor relations associate at Ruffer LLP in London - but previously announced that she is going back to studying. The driver's very glamorous girlfriend - who is originally from Spain and moved to the UK aged 18 - has a business degree from the University of Westminster. Carmen has hundreds of thousands of followers on Instagram, and often shares snaps of her luxury travels and enviable style online. The couple are understood to have met through friends in London, and have made a number of public appearances since first getting together. Kelly Piquet Dating Max Verstappen Kelly is a 36-year-old model from Brazil and hasn't just bagged herself a boyfriend who is a three-time world champion, but also happens to be the daughter of one too - with her father, Nelson Piquet, having the same badge of honour himself. Kelly and Max have been dating since January 2021 and are often spotted with Kelly's daughter, Penelope. The model previously pleaded with social media fans to stop spreading rumours about her after facing 'a strange and upsetting wave of accusations' in the last three years, some of which relate to her previous relationships, with the 36-year-old having dated Russian Formula One driver Daniil Kvyat. In May, Max announced he had welcomed his first child with girlfriend Kelly, taking to Instagram to share the news with a slew of black and white snaps of their baby girl. Max called his daughter the 'greatest gift' and revealed they had named her Lily. Alongside the adorable pictures, he wrote: 'Welcome to the world, sweet Lily. Our hearts are fuller than ever - you are our greatest gift. We love you so much.' While Lily is Max's first child, model Kelly, 36, already has a daughter, Penelope, born in 2019, from her previous relationship with Formula One driver Daniil Kvyat, 30. When talking about having his first child, Max previously explained he is already somewhat prepared thanks to Penelope. The Dutchman said in the Talking Bull podcast: 'Luckily I did get a little bit of training with Penelope, seeing her grow up already for like four years. Which has been also really, really nice. 'But yes, for sure, when it's like, also going be fully your own [kid]... Yes, it's going to be a different challenge. But I'm looking forward to it'. The couple began dating in October 2020, and announced that they were expecting their first child together last December. Despite having a nine-year age gap, Kelly previously said that her relationship with Max is thriving because of the mutual understanding they have for each other. Kelly, said: 'I think we have a very healthy relationship, easygoing, we have a lot of understanding and support for each other. 'You would think the age difference could be a challenge, but so far things are going really well. I also really appreciate how he treats Penelope. It's so sweet to see.' The subject of marriage has been publicly addressed by Max, who said that only 'time will tell' if he and Kelly decide to tie the knot. Rebecca Donaldson Carlos Sainz started his relationship with Rebecca Donaldson in 2023 Donaldson has appeared on the covers of high-end fashion magazines like Vogue and Marie Claire. Pictured with Carlos in June 2024 The Scottish model (pictured) has been sighted at races with her beau Dating Carlos Sainz Carlos Sainz started his relationship with Rebecca Donaldson in 2023 - and now, the Scottish model has been sighted at races with her beau. Donaldson has appeared on the covers of high-end fashion magazines like Vogue and Marie Claire since winning a beauty pageant aged 17, when she was a student at the prestigious Perth Academy, dreaming of breaking into the fashion industry. 'My mum entered me and I was really surprised when I found out,' she said at the time. 'I am really excited to have won and am really looking forward to entering the Top Model UK competition.' Rebecca was first linked to Keeping Up With The Kardashians star and Kourtney Kardashian's ex Scott Disick when the pair attended the premiere of a new series of the show in 2022. They dated for two months before splitting up in June of that year. She founded the activewear fashion label Muse in 2020 during the pandemic, explaining: 'I knew I wanted to create something that not only I would wear and be proud of putting my name against, but also something that was missing from the market.' The couple were first seen out together in Milan in June 2023, then fans started to think they were an item when they appeared at a golf course in Amsterdam in late August. One of Sainz's sisters began following her on Instagram, adding fuel to speculation about a romance, before Donaldson took to the catwalk at Madrid Fashion Week in front of members of the driver's family. Tickets for F1's British Grand Prix at Silverstone can be purchased at ahead of the three-day event on July 5 to July 7.
The National
43 minutes ago
- The National
Who's going to step up and replace Scotland's golden generation?
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.
The Herald Scotland
an hour ago
- The Herald Scotland
Who's going to step up and replace Scotland's golden generation?
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.
