Thompson on 'embarrassing' Rangers
Ex-Celtic midfielder Alan Thompson says Rangers' celebrations after the Old Firm game were "slightly embarrassing" considering they are 13 points behind in the Premiership. (Scottish Sun)Read the rest of Monday's gossip.
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Glasgow Times
20 minutes ago
- Glasgow Times
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.
BBC News
36 minutes ago
- BBC News
Scottish gossip: Kygo, Maeda, Coady, Diomande, Turgeman, Johnston, lovu, Robertson
Kyogo Furuhashi could return to Celtic six months after a £10m transfer to Rennes that has turned sour, with the Scottish champions and the Japan forward both keen on the move, but Bournemouth could make an offer for the 30-year-old in the coming weeks. (Transferfeed via Foot 7), external Celtic have told Fenerbahce they want £21m for Daizen Maeda as negotiations begin over the Japan forward, while Tottenham Hotspur are also interested in the 27-year-old. (Sozcu), external Rangers have opened talks with Maccabi Tel Aviv over the signing of 21-year-old Israel forward Dor Turgeman, who also has Italian and Spanish interest and could cost around £4m. (Daily Record), external Rangers were one of several clubs who approached Maccabi Tel Aviv about a mid-season transfer for striker Dor Turgeman. (Sport 5 via Scottish Sun), external New Rangers head coach Russell Martin is weighing up a move for defender Conor Coady, with the 32-year-old's future with Leicester City uncertain after relegation from the Premier League and despite having a year left of his contract. (Daily Record), external Head coach Russell Martin wants to build his new-look Rangers team around Mohamed Diomande and will reject any approach from Everton for the 23-year-old midfielder. (Football Insider), external Sunderland have their eyes on Sturm Graz right-back Max Johnston, but only if Trai Hume seals a transfer to Wolverhampton Wanderers, while Lens and Nice are also closely watching the 21-year-old Scotland defender. (Ekrem Konur on X), external
Scottish Sun
38 minutes ago
- Scottish Sun
Wolves release TEN players including Wrexham-linked former European champion and Champions League runner-up
The club's top scorer has already departed this summer WOLVES have announced TEN players will leave the club this summer. Skipper Nelson Semedo is among those to be offered a new deal at Molineux. Advertisement 2 Pablo Sarabia is among ten players leaving Wolves this summer Credit: Getty 2 Defender Craig Dawson is also on the lookout for a new club Credit: Getty But Pablo Sarabia and Craig Dawson are heading out of the exit door. Sarabia, 33, joined the club from Paris Saint-Germain in January 2023. The Spaniard was a Champions League runner-up with PSG in 2020 and brought flair to Wolves on the flanks. He scored eight goals in 77 games, twice winning the club's Goal of the Season award. Advertisement READ MORE ON FOOTBALL 'STARSTRUCK' Grealish poses with unrecognisable Prem icon and calls him his 'boyhood hero' Sarabia confirmed last week he was to leave the Midlands after just over two years. He wrote on Instagram: "Two and a half seasons ago, I had the chance to become part of the Wolves family and experience a league as competitive as the @premierleague. "It's been an exciting challenge, and even though we went through tough moments, we reached our goals — thanks to the unity between the club and the fans. "Now it's time to start a new chapter, taking with me some amazing memories from a club that my family and I will never forget. " Advertisement "Wishing you all the best for the future. Once a Wolf, always a Wolf. Thank you @wolves." BEST ONLINE CASINOS - TOP SITES IN THE UK Dawson has been linked with a move to ambitious Championship side Wrexham following their consecutive promotions. The ex-West Ham defender played 61 times in the gold of Wolves. Advertisement Matheus Cunha gifts Wolves team-mates Joao Gomes and Andre a Rolex ahead of Man Utd transfer And reports suggest Wrexham have tabled a contract offer to the former Conference League champion. Wolves also announced eight players from their youth setup will be released. Stan Amos, Justin Hubner, Testimony Igbinoghene, Aaron Keto Diyawa, Lucas Kibrya, Filozofe Mabete, Josh Nyakudya and Matty Whittingham are all free to find new clubs. The club have also chosen not to take up the option in Carlos Forbs' loan deal, with the forward returning to Ajax. Advertisement It comes after last season's top scorer Matheus Cunha moved to Manchester United for £62.5million. The Brazilian looks set to be joined in leaving by Rayan Ait-Nouri, who is a target for Manchester City.
