City's Yeboah joins Dunfermline on loan
Bristol City forward Ephraim Yeboah has joined Scottish Championship club Dunfermline on loan until the end of the season.The 18-year-old spent the first half of the 2024-25 campaign on loan at League Two side Doncaster Rovers, making 15 appearances in all competitions and scoring two goals - both in the EFL Trophy.Yeboah broke into the Robins first team last season and made 12 appearances before going on loan to National League South outfit Bath City in February 2024."Ephraim is an exciting young player and this spell in the Scottish Championship is a good way for him to experience a first team environment at a good level," Bristol City academy director Brian Tinnion told the club website, external.
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Daily Mail
2 hours ago
- Daily Mail
How the shadow of the mines helped thrust some of football's most iconic names towards the coalface of the beautiful game
There was once the strongly held belief that all the Welsh rugby selectors had to do to recruit a world-class fly half was to whistle down a pit and a fully-formed No 10 would emerge. The mining industry in Scotland unearthed, in contrast, footballing gems. Their lustre has never dimmed. The triumvirate of great managers — Jock Stein, Bill Shankly and Matt Busby — all had mining backgrounds. An army of players, too, emerged from the mines to find freedom on the pitch. Paddy Wilson was one of them. His life was changed by Stein. 'He was the greatest man manager,' he says of the former miner who found immortality in a stadium in Lisbon. 'He was always helping you. As a young player he would get me tickets for the Beatles and the Rolling Stones. I saw both in the ABC on Lothian Road in Edinburgh.' The story of how Paddy met Jock — and indeed Fergie — has many such unlikely interludes. But it also articulates one of the once-great seams of Scottish football. 'The boys would come up from the day shift on a Saturday and go to play juvenile, junior and senior football,' says Wilson, 79, now sitting comfortably in his home in Dunfermline. 'There were clans of footballers in Fife: the Connellys, the Patons, the Martins, the Potters.' He adds: 'There was a centre-half called Elkie Buchanan when I was at Raith Rovers. He came straight up the pit on Wednesday and played against Colin Stein of Rangers. He had a great game, too.' There are thousands of such stories. More than 150,000 people were employed in the Scottish coal industry at its peak in the 20th century. Football was a respite from the mines for many and an escape for some. The story of this bond is told in From Pit to Pitch, an exhibition running at the Scottish Football Museum at Hampden until at least Christmas. It has been organised in conjunction with the National Mining Museum Scotland with the help of a grant from Museum Galleries Scotland. Demi Boyd, exhibition and collections keeper at the football museum, speaks of how the mines moulded ideal candidates for the pitch. 'They were all working together in a vital form of team work. They worked hard, too, and would look out for each other.' The exhibition contains working artefacts and is sprinkled with cups, programmes and sporting memorabilia. But the story still lives. Paddy Wilson tells it. 'I was born in Valleyfield but my dad went to work in Blairhall Colliery and we moved to Oakley. My dad was a face worker. He would tell me about crawling about in a space measuring 18 inches high.' Life was easier for the son. 'I went to the pit at 15. I was a surface worker. I was on the tables. That's where the coal dropped before being put on the conveyor belts. I later moved into the offices, collar and tie. I managed to stay on the surface. 'I would go to the pithead and look down as the cage with men was coming up. But I never went down there. You were aware of what they went through. I thought: 'Thank goodness, I don't have to go down'. I didn't last long at the pit before Mr Stein came along.' His first meeting with the great man occurred at the Scottish Cup final of 1961 when Dunfermline played Celtic. As a promising player, Wilson was invited to the game. He was introduced to Stein, then the Dunfermline manager, who spotted that Wilson was wearing a Celtic tie. 'He just said to me: 'Well done, son, on supporting your team'.' Stein's Dunfermline won after a replay. The two were to meet shortly afterwards. Wilson's father was a football man, running the Blairhall Colliery team, and his uncle, John, had played for Celtic. Wilson, at 5ft 5ins, was the epitome of the pacy, tricky winger. He was summoned to Stein's office and signed for Dunfermline. 'I had to see the manager at the colliery to put my notice in. It was the best day of my life and I was only 16,' he says. Wilson played for Dunfermline, Aberdeen, Raith Rovers and Berwick Rangers in a career that spanned almost 20 years. He then managed Cowdenbeath before leaving football to work in the licensed trade industry. Stein remains a vivid presence. 'He was unbelievable,' says Wilson. 'I was playing as a kid in a game at St Andrews and got a bad injury. Big Jock came to Oakley to see how I was. His man management was out of this world. He knew what shift my dad and my brothers were on and what they did in the pit. He would always say: 'Look after your mum'.' Stein would also look after his players, sourcing tickets for concerts. 'That's how I got to see the Beatles and the Rolling Stones,' says Wilson. But Stein could also be a forbidding presence. Wilson continues: 'When I was playing at Aberdeen we travelled down to Celtic for a game. We walked into the reception area and there was Big Jock, then the Celtic manager, of course, looking down, surveying everything. 'I had a wee moustache as was the style then. He just said to me: 'Even if you cannot play like a footballer, then at least look like one'. 'I went home that night and shaved it off.' He adds of Stein: 'He knew what you were able to do. If you were under-performing he would tell you. He could stand on top of you. But he could build you up. He was a father figure. He was above them all.' Wilson also encountered a future great manager at Dunfermline. 'Fergie is my pal,' he says of Sir Alex, who went on to greatness at Aberdeen and Manchester United. 'He was great to play with and be with. He would cause a row in an empty room. We used to play two-a-side in training and he could cause mayhem. He was always a winner.' Wilson was also managed by Eddie Turnbull, a member of Hibs' Famous Five, who took him to Aberdeen. 'Turnbull was excellent on tactics but his man management was shocking, He couldn't communicate. I was getting married in the June but at the end of the season the list went up for a trip to America. My name was on it. I went to his office and told him: 'Boss, I am getting married'. He said: 'Tough'. 'I had to rearrange the wedding. That's just the way things were back then.' He and his wife, Erine, returned to Fife when he signed for Raith Rovers. A subsequent coaching career was abandoned. 'I loved the football but couldn't take the politics,' he says succinctly. He smiles at this, eager to emphasise his gratitude to football. 'One of the best days in my life was when I walked away from the pit. I was well away from that,' he says. 'That trip to America postponed our wedding and caused chaos for Erine but you look back and think: 'I was nine weeks in the USA, coast to coast, and getting paid for it'.' He adds: 'I had a brilliant life. There were those who went down that shaft and didn't come back. There were those who went on to lose their jobs as all the pits closed. There are those who suffered illnesses from the coal dust. I was fortunate I didn't go down that hole.'
Scottish Sun
3 hours ago
- Scottish Sun
Neil Lennon reveals Jeremie Frimpong and current Celtic star used to inspire Dunfermline youngsters
Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) NEIL LENNON'S footballing philosophy has always been if a kid's good enough he's not going to be ignored. It's a principle the Northern Irishman will adhere to in his new job as Dunfermline manager. Sign up for the Celtic newsletter Sign up 5 Dunfermline manager Neil Lennon is using his old Celtic stars as inspiration for youngsters Credit: Michael Schofield, News Group Newspapers Ltd 5 Jeremie Frimpong has secured a Liverpool move after a successful spell in Germany Credit: Getty 5 The right-back was a teenager when he kicked off his senior career with the Hoops Credit: Kenny Ramsay - The Sun Glasgow And the former Celtic boss reckons he can use Hoops stars James Forrest and Jeremie Frimpong as inspirational figures for the Pars' brightest prospects. Both were blooded at first-team level by Lennon and have gone on to enjoy stellar careers. Homegrown winger Forrest scored on his Celtic debut as a sub against Motherwell in 2010 and has since, become the club's most decorated player, edging ahead of Bobby Lennox this season with 26 trophies. Dutch full-back Frimpong arrived from Manchester City for just £350,000 in September 2019 and was quickly thrown in against Falkirk in a League Cup tie. Within just 16 months he was on the move to German side Bayer Leverkusen for £11.5million plus a major sell-on percentage that has recently earned Celts a further £5m following his £30m switch to English champions Liverpool. Lennon said: 'You can say to the young players, 'this is what you can achieve if you really put your mind to it and look after yourself and protect your talent'. 'Young players here, if they're good enough they're in and I've already been impressed with a few of them.' Lennon reckons his young Pars can have no better role model than Forrest, who has scored in each of his 16 seasons as a Celt. He said: 'I'm so proud of Jamesy. Wonderful, you couldn't write a better story than when he got the last-minute goal against St Mirren in the final league game. 'What a player. He was like that when he was 18. He's so humble. He's never changed. Unseen moment Celtic icons congratulate current stars on way up to collect the Scottish Cup after big win over Rangers 'He shies away from all the spotlight and he just gets on with his football. 'He's one of the most exciting players Celtic have ever had, really. 'Jamesy would drive at you from the left, he'd drive at you from the right. He's a great finisher. 'He had his ups and downs with injuries, but if you talk to every player or every manager who's worked with him, he's just been a joy to work with. 'I managed him twice and he always delivered. 'I loved him. I loved watching him play because he was different. 'He wanted to take people on. That was his remit when he was younger. I said, 'I want you to run at people'. He was brilliant at it. He was a really good finisher as well. 'I'm delighted for him, he's had a mega career. 'It's incredible what he has achieved and you wouldn't know it because he just shrugs his shoulders and wants to get the next one! 'But the consistency he had and the talent and he's not lost that change of pace, either. He can do you from a standing position. 'His finishing has always been top class with both feet. 'I'll try and get him here. I'll have a chat! 5 Lennon also talked up Celtic's most decorated player James Forrest Credit: SNS 'You get a huge amount of satisfaction from seeing players come through like that. 'Jeremie's another one. He's just gone to Liverpool. I get a lot of satisfaction from that as well, having worked with him for a couple of seasons. 'And what an impact he had for us at Celtic. 'Then he's gone on to do amazing things in Germany to the point where he's now signing for the Premier League champions. You get a buzz out of that. 'I couldn't keep Jeremie out, he was that good. 'We had good players at the club at the time, but once we saw him training, he was just taking our breath away.' Lennon is thrilled to be back in pressure-cooker management with the Pars, no matter the pleasure of being paid handsomely to talk about elite football. At one point during last season's Champions League coverage, he revelled in a TV analyst stint alongside legend Clarence Seedorf and mentor Martin O'Neill. The trio made for brilliant, entertaining punditry and the no-nonsense Lennon is perfectly at home in that company. However, he feels he's at his best in the heat of a touchline gig. He said: 'I like the stimulation. Don't get me wrong, I loved the punditry work, the European stuff, the Scottish stuff and all the work I did in Ireland as well. 5 Frimpong and Forrest celebrate a goal against Ross County in 2019 Credit: Kenny Ramsay - The Sun Glasgow 'But my reason to be is coaching and I like winning things. 'That is what I want to bring to Dunfermline. It's a big club, it's a privilege to be the manager. 'I think the Championship is the most competitive league. 'If you look at the other divisions, they had runaway winners. 'But there wasn't that much between a lot of the teams in the Championship, just that little bit of extra quality at times. 'There was no real consistency in results. Teams would win 3-0 and it just shows you the level of competition in the league. 'What you want to find is a level of consistency, I think that is the key in this league. 'The two teams who went up, Falkirk and Livingston, had that in the end. 'We are building something here and it will take a bit of time to find the key components we want from the team. 'It's not set in stone that we have to get promotion next season, but we want to be up and around it for the foreseeable future.' Keep up to date with ALL the latest news and transfers at the Scottish Sun football page
The Courier
7 hours ago
- The Courier
Neil Lennon opens up on James Bord's data drive at Dunfermline Athletic and recruitment priorities
Neil Lennon is convinced data analytics can help him bring success to Dunfermline – but insists he will still have the casting vote on recruitment. Co-owners James Bord and Evan Sofer are determined to bring their background knowledge in data and artificial intelligence to their work with the Pars. Bord is the founder of California-based Short Circuit Science, which claims to 'gain deep insights with AI and computer vision'. He has also worked in the past with Brighton owner Tony Bloom and Brentford majority shareholder Matthew Benham, both of whom have a background in data and statistics. Lennon is relishing to working with Bord and his team in that field and believes the recruitment of the likes of Jeremiah Chilokoa-Mullen, Connor Young and Tashan Oakley-Boothe in January is evidence that it works. However, with over a decade in the dugout as manager at the likes of Celtic, Hibernian and Bolton Wanderers, Lennon is also adamant that it will not be the be-all and end-all when it comes to bringing the right players to East End Park. 'Brighton are the classic example,' he said of clubs' increasing dependency on number-crunching. 'Brentford as well. Their recruitment's fantastic. 'And it's all about recruitment. It's 80 per cent of my job. That'll help me bring success to the football club. 'But it's not set in stone, James' philosophy on data analytics either. 'If I like a player or if I said, 'I don't think we should go for this player', he would have no qualms about doing that. 'But he does bring a different variation on how you recruit a player and what to look at. So, that's really interesting and it makes you understand better. 'You need the evidence, you need the results of that. 'And already with [Chilokoa-]Mullen, already with Young, already with Oakley-Boothe, I think there's evidence that it can be successful.' He went on: 'We talk about it and I talk to some of the people that work under him as well. 'So, for example, last season, 'can you send me clips of variations on set-plays, corners, free-kicks?'. That type of thing. 'The next thing you get video clips and ideas on different variations on your set-plays. Again, it's a real help.' And Lennon knows exactly the areas of the Dunfermline team he needs to strengthen as a priority. With Deniz Mehmet the only goalkeeper at the club, after a season playing back-up to on-loan Celtic youngster Tobi Oluwayemi, and with the Pars having scored only 28 times in 36 league games, they need additions in attack and defence. 'Certainly in terms of recruitment, there are certain types that I think are needed in this division. At both ends of the pitch,' he added. 'Obviously, we need to look at the goalkeeping situation as well, and a centre-forward. 'Those are the two positions where we want to have big improvements on.'
