Latest news with #ConnorBarron
Glasgow Times
a day ago
- Sport
- 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.
The National
a day ago
- Sport
- 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.
Scotsman
01-06-2025
- Sport
- Scotsman
When does the transfer window open? When can Celtic, Rangers and rivals begin to make 25/26 transfers
Here's when Scottish Premiership clubs can start to make transfers, and when the summer transfer window closes. Sign up to our Football newsletter Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to The Scotsman, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... With the Scottish Premiership season now over, fans across the country are firmly focussed on the upcoming transfer window as they ponder how their starting XI's may look come the beginning of the 2025/25 season. Rangers takeover from the Andrew Cavanagh-led consortium already has Ibrox regulars dizzy with anticipation as they await news of incoming transfers, while Celtic fans are hopeful of some big name additions as they look to continue their domination of the Scottish Premiership. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Hibs, Dundee United and Aberdeen supporters will also be keen to see who their clubs target after qualifying for Europe, while newly promoted sides Falkirk and Livingston will hoping they do enough in the transfer market as they look to establish themselves back in the top flight. But when does the transfer window officially open in the Scottish Premiership - and how long do clubs have to sign players before the transfer deadline arrives? Here is everything you need to know about the 2025/26 Scottish Premiership summer transfer window: Connor Barron is unveiled as a Rangers player last summer. | SNS Group When does the Scottish Premiership transfer window open 2025/26? In a rather unusual fashion, the transfer window is will be split into two separate parts due to the FIFA World Club Cup. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Alongside the English Premier League and several others major league, the Scottish Premiership transfer window opens early this year. It officially opened today (June 1) due to an 'exceptional registration period', this is done to allow participating clubs to sign players to take part in the FIFA Club World Cup. This window closes on Tuesday 10 June. The Scottish Premiership transfer window will then reopen on Monday 16 June. When does the transfer window close UK, when is transfer deadline day The transfer window is scheduled to close on on Monday, 1 September at 7pm BST for Scottish Premiership, England Premier League, and EFL clubs. The phrase 'deal sheet' is being used more frequently on deadline day due to the number of last minute deals often made in the run up to the window closing. A deal sheet effectively means if a deal is agreed between two clubs late in the day, additional time may be given by the Scottish FA to complete and submit relevant documentation and paperwork. This can be sent to authorities to indicate the transfer agreement has been reached. This gives clubs an additional two hours to complete all remaining paperwork that would conclude the deal. Other examples include: Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad League agreements: Clubs are able to agree transfer with teams from other leagues that have closed transfer windows, and then complete the deals once their own window opens Free agents: The most obvious exception is that of free agents. If a player is without a club and available as a free agent, clubs in Scotland are able to sign and register the player without an exception.
Daily Record
17-05-2025
- Sport
- Daily Record
Hibs vs Rangers LIVE score and goal updates from the Scottish Premiership clash at Easter Road
Raising the Bar When Connor Barron leaves Easter Road and goes on holiday he'll have plenty to reflect on. In his first season as a Rangers player, he'll have made 46 appearances for his new club. At 22, he'll have featured in all three domestic competitions, the Champions League, the Europa League group phase - and earned himself a Scotland call-up. Not bad for your maiden campaign at Ibrox eh? But the truth is, there's a massive caveat to all of that. And that is that Barron has no silverware to show for it. In fact, given the turmoil at Rangers this term and failure to seriously challenge Celtic, it's been a horrible year for the club. The manager who signed Barron, Philippe Clement, is now gone. He's learned a lot from interim boss Barry Ferguson. But the likelihood is, the midfielder will have a new gaffer to impress come the start of pre-season. Off the pitch, Barron believes he's coped well with the pressures of being a Rangers player. But on it - just like everyone else in the Ibrox dressing-room - he knows it's not been good enough. The squad has massively under-performed which has left them without a trophy - and their city rivals on the cusp of a Treble. Barron hasn't managed a single goal from the middle of the park, which is something he'll have to improve on. He's managed two assists - one in Europe and the other in a League Cup semi-final - but none in the Premiership. So he knows there's work to be done over the summer. And the good news for Rangers fans is that the former Aberdeen youngster is determined to get better. Ahead of today's final game against Hibs in Edinburgh, Barron was asked how he'll look back on his start to life at Ibrox. Obviously, from a personal point of view, I've been really excited with my first season here. To play as many games as I have and to do what I've done - I've been quite happy with it. But looking forward, I want to go and do better next season. That's just how I am. I'm hungry for more now so I'll go away after the game against Hibs and work on my game to be even better again next year. You've got to stay on your toes here but that should be a given as a footballer. That's what you've got to do, that's your job. Has this experience been more intense than I thought it would be? I'm not sure. I just get myself in there and do what I need to do every day to help my team. That's the way I am as a person and I've just tried to improve as much as I can. What has been the biggest learning point from this season? A lot, to be honest. It's probably hard for me to go through them all. I've picked up a lot as a player every day in training. The standards here are a lot higher than they were at my previous club, so that's one example. But there have been so many. It's good to have that so you can learn and get better.
BBC News
16-05-2025
- Sport
- BBC News
'Standards a lot higher' at Rangers than Aberdeen, says Barron
Connor Barron says "standards are a lot higher" at Rangers compared to Aberdeen as he looks to kick on after a turbulent first season at 22-year-old midfielder has made 33 starts in 45 appearances since his summer switch from Rangers have endured a trophyless campaign and sacked Philippe Clement as manager, Barron is "really excited with my first season".Speaking before Rangers' final game of the season away to Hibs on Saturday, he added: "To play as many games as I have and to do what I have done, I've been quite happy with it."But I want to go and do better next season. That's just how I am. I'm hungry for more and we'll go away after the game against Hibs and work on my game to get better again."Obviously it's disappointing to not be as successful as I would have liked to have been in my first season and have a few trophies."But you learn a lot and you carry that with you and that's what I've done. I pick up a lot as a player every day in training and the standards are a lot higher than what they were in the previous club."So that's one just for example, but there's so many things and it's good as well to have that and to learn."Barron is relaxed about the prospect of having to impress another new manager next season, with interim boss Barry Ferguson expected to be overlooked as an American consortium of Andrew Cavenagh and the 49ers Enterprises edges closer to completing its takeover of the club."No, that's football. That's what happens. I've been in the game a while and I went through lots of managers at Aberdeen in my time," added Barron."You've just got to do what you can as a player and be the best every day and what will happen will happen."Barron has learned a lot from former Scotland midfielder Ferguson plus other ex-Rangers and Scotland players on his staff, Neil McCann and Billy Dodds."All three of them have been great. Individual sessions after training, little bits after games here and there," he said."I've just been a sponge taking it all in and it's been great working with them so far."
