Latest news with #SFWA
Times
17-05-2025
- Sport
- Times
Celtic's Daizen Maeda wins SFWA award but in no rush for new deal
Daizen Maeda has been named the Scottish Football Writers' Association Player of the Year and then revealed he will take his time to weigh up whether to sign a contract extension at Celtic. Maeda scooped the SFWA honour after an outstanding campaign in which he has already scored 33 goals including four in the Champions League and three in Old Firm games. He is top of the Premiership list for assists, too, with ten for the season. Maeda has stepped up in terms of goalscoring since his fellow Japanese international, Kyogo Furuhashi, left for Rennes in February. Although he still has two years left on his existing deal, Celtic are eager to extend the 27-year-old's contract. Maeda sounded in no rush to do that, though,
Daily Record
16-05-2025
- Sport
- Daily Record
Daizen Maeda scoops another Celtic award as he drops future hint with trophy cabinet running out of space
Maeda has been named the Scottish Football Writers' Association Player of the Year in the latest addition to his collection Daizen Maeda says he's putting contract talks on the back burner to concentrate on winning another Treble with Celtic, after being named the SFWA Player of the Year. The Japanese sensation has been in explosive form this term, scoring 33 goals and hoovering up every top individual award including the SFWA gong which he was unsurprisingly handed tonight. Boss Brendan Rodgers has made it clear he wants to extend the fans' favourite's current deal beyond 2027. But with the Hoops also braced for big-money offers, Maeda hinted that he'll wait and see what the summer brings before committing to a new contract. Maeda said: "This is a world where you never know what's going to happen next. "This a good team but I need to think about what comes next with my family and everything. Now my focus is on this team. "I'm not thinking a lot right now because there's still a game to play. I'm thinking about how I spend my day off, so we'll just get the games done, then let's see what happens." Maeda has lifted an astonishing eight trophies in just three-and-a-half seasons since his bargain £1.7million move from Yokohama F. Marinos. He also wrote his name in the club's history books by bagging four Champions League goals this campaign—the most since Joe Craig in 1977/78. Maeda had Bayern Munich's superstars raving about him after terrorising the Bundesliga giants' defence in February's agonising playoff defeat. And if the 27-year-old decides to stay in Glasgow, Maeda believes the Parkhead side can progress even further in Europe next term. He said: "Everyone said we did a great performance in the Champions League but we didn't go through to the next stage. I think there's something missing in our team. So for the next seasons, I think we should try to go to the next stage." Privately, Maeda well have ambitions to play in one of Europe's top five leagues. He's already had a taste of Portuguese football after a season-long stint at Marítimo in 2019-20. Maeda scored four in 24 appearances and believes he wouldn't have returned to his homeland had the Covid pandemic not brought the world to a halt. He said: "I don't think it didn't work well because I was playing for the club. It's just the timing of that club was before and during covid and I had to make a decision for the family. "It all came to an end, there was a decision to go back. If there hadn't been covid I would have stayed in Europe. It is what it is." Maeda must be running out of space on his mantlepiece after adding the Scottish Football Writers' Player of the Year prize to his ever-growing collection. He added: "I'm very happy to receive the award. I think teammates come first and it's because of them I have received this award. "After that it's managers, coaches, staff, and also of course my parents. I'm really pleased to receive this award for them."
Daily Mail
16-05-2025
- Sport
- Daily Mail
THE DIGEST: Kilmarnock fans showed they have short memories by booing McInnes during last match in charge
It was disappointing but not entirely surprising to hear Kilmarnock fans turn on Derek McInnes during what proved to be his final match in charge on Wednesday night. A section of the Killie faithful made their feelings clear over his impending move to Hearts, with chants and boos aimed in his direction during the 3-0 defeat to Motherwell. It's since been confirmed that McInnes will not be in the dugout for Killie's final game of the season against the Tynecastle club on Sunday. While the negative reaction didn't quite match the collective loss of perspective of those Liverpool fans who jeered Real Madrid-bound Trent Alexander-Arnold, it was still disheartening for McInnes to leave on such a sour note after three-and-a-half years in charge. After all, he lifted the club from their lowest ebb to the Championship title just a few months after taking over in January 2022. Following a tricky first campaign back in the top flight, he led them to a fourth-place finish in 2023-24, winning SFWA Manager of the Year in the process. He has also successfully turned academy players like David Watson and Bobby Wales into first-team regulars. The club narrowly missed out on a place in the Europa Conference League this season after a spirited effort at the start of what has been a difficult campaign. Killie have been missing captain Kyle Vassell for the majority of the year and indiscipline has cost them dearly. Robbie Deas' red card on Wednesday night was their ninth in all competitions this term. Killie only secured survival last weekend and it had certainly begun to feel as if McInnes had taken them as far as he could. Some fans may have felt disrespected, but the 53-year-old has been refreshingly honest amid an awkwardly-timed approach from Hearts. No-one can blame him for jumping at the opportunity, given the forthcoming cash injection at Tynecastle courtesy of Tony Bloom. Bloom has spoken of wanting the Gorgie side to 'disrupt' the status quo at the top end of the table. McInnes - across his time at Aberdeen and Killie - has shown he can certainly do so, having masterminded some great results over the Old Firm in the past. His work at Rugby Park has earned him another opportunity at one of Scotland's biggest clubs, and they now have the resources and budget to match. It's a move that makes sense for all parties. Hearts get a manager with experience and ambition, while Killie will get some fresh ideas at a time when it seems they badly need them. McInnes' assistant Paul Sheeran said on Wednesday night that the manager deserved better than the reaction he got from fans. Perhaps time will prove him right. Raducanu-Murray dream team would make sense ... but has Emma already burnt her bridges? This week's announcement that the Novak Djokovic-Andy Murray partnership is over was sad news. Especially for those of us who took a keen interest in how the player-coach relationship between two superstars was going to develop. Murray can now return to a well-deserved retirement while his former Serbian rival will soldier on in search of Grand Slam No25. Now that the Scot has dipped his toe in the coaching waters, however, it would be a surprise if he wasn't tempted back in some capacity. He won't be short of offers, and he's already been quoted in the past as saying that Emma Raducanu is one player he would consider taking under his wing. Despite an improvement in her form of late, she still seems incapable of laying a glove on the top players, and her US Open triumph is now perceived by many as one of sport's glorious flukes. If anyone knows the pressure that Raducanu is under to perform, it's Murray. He carried the weight of a nation on his shoulders before sweeping to his first Wimbledon title and, as a coach, he could surely do for Raducanu what the great Ivan Lendl once did for him. So, it's a dream team that makes sense in so many ways. There's just one snag. If he was to be offered the job, would he now take it? It's only last year that Raducanu delivered her infamous snub to the former world No1 when she pulled out of his final outing at Wimbledon - in the mixed doubles - because of 'some stiffness' in her right wrist. Murray was said to be 'disappointed' by what was a clear misstep by Raducanu. His mother Judy went further, responding to a post on X from TV presenter Marcus Buckland describing Raducanu's decision as 'astonishing' by writing: 'Yes, astonishing.' Raducanu said earlier this year that she has since apologised to Murray, as she didn't want any 'bad blood' between the pair. Murray is above all this kind of nonsense, of course. If Raducanu felt that he was the ideal person to coach her, he would weigh it up for all the right reasons and decide whether or not he could improve her game. He wouldn't be human, however, if the following thought hadn't momentarily crossed his mind: 'Help you? No chance.' Sir Chris Hoy's positive message was a delight to hear It was pleasing to see the inspirational Sir Chris Hoy in upbeat mood earlier this week as he spoke about his cancer treatment and revealed he is appreciating life 'more than ever'. The six-time Olympic cycling champion revealed in February 2024 he was undergoing treatment, including chemotherapy, and said in October that his diagnosis was terminal and he had been told by doctors that he had two to four years to live. 'I'm doing well,' the 49-year-old Scot told Sky Sports News. 'It feels like I've entered a bit of a stability stage at the moment and I'm feeling good, exercising, riding a bike, busy. 'Most importantly cancer's not the first thing I think about in the morning when I wake up and it's not the last thing I think about when I go to bed at night. I think we've got into a rhythm now where it's part of our lives and we manage that and crack on. 'It feels like it's been one of the busiest periods of my life, the last few months, just doing everything: fun stuff, family stuff, work, travel. 'I feel good. I'm on constant medications, constant treatment, but it's not interfering too much with my life and the most important thing is it's working, so I'm stable at the moment, everything's good. Making hay while the sun shines.' As well as six Olympic golds, the Edinburgh-born athlete won 11 world championships and 34 World Cup titles by the time he retired from competitive racing in 2013. He added: 'I can't believe the position I'm in now compared to 18 months ago, I never imagined I'd be able to get to this point where I'm actually living life. 'And not just living life, but actually appreciating it more than ever and able to enjoy the little things. It's not just about doing bucket-list stuff and doing massive things, it's about appreciating the daily, mundane fun of life.' Franco needs to keep proving he's the right man to replace Townsend It's fair to say that Scottish rugby is about to go through a significant period of change. Edinburgh announced this week that 12 players will depart at the end of the season. Up until recent results, it had been thought that it would be head coach Sean Everitt heading for the exit. It will be interesting to see if that has now changed. New signings have also been announced and it will be a similar story along the M8 at Glasgow Warriors as they look to balance the books. The Warriors have gone off the boil at the worst possible time this season and you would no longer back them to defend their URC title. Why that has happened is open to debate, but it's strange that so many of their performers have gone AWOL of late. Speculation over the future of head coach Franco Smith won't have helped, even if it has quietened down over the past few weeks. The general consensus appears to be that Smith will step up to replace Gregor Townsend as Scotland head coach next year. It seems a sensible move at the moment but if Smith can't get Glasgow back on track, it allows for doubts to creep in. Scottish rugby needs stability if it is to go in the right direction. Let's hope any major decisions are taken quickly and decisively. Super Scot Hollie Davidson keeps blazing the trail for female referees Hollie Davidson continues to be a trailblazer for female officials in rugby, with the Scot now set for another first after being confirmed as referee for the Challenge Cup final between Bath and Lyon later this month. The 32-year-old has been part of several high-profile ties in recent years, including taking charge of an 1872 Cup match and becoming the first female to be a part of an on-field officiating team in the men's Six Nations. Davidson will become the first Scot to referee a European Professional Club Rugby final since Jim Fleming in 1998 when she takes the whistle for the match on May 23 in Cardiff - in which another well-known Scot, Finn Russell, will be hoping to star. Davidson's appointment is another huge step on her rise through the ranks, not to mention a massive positive for female officials involved in the sport.
BBC News
14-05-2025
- Sport
- BBC News
Miller makes it a double with SFWA young player prize
Lennon Miller has completed a young player of the year double by adding the Scottish Football Writers' Association (SFWA) award to his PFA Scotland 18-year-old Motherwell midfielder fended off competition from Hearts striker James Wilson and Kilmarnock pair Bobby Wales and David became Motherwell's youngest-ever captain and has made 37 club appearances this season, scoring four goals, as well as earning a first senior Scotland praised his "outstanding" fellow nominees and added: "To win out of all these players is a really proud moment and one I don't take for granted."
Glasgow Times
13-05-2025
- Sport
- Glasgow Times
Motherwell's Lennon Miller named SFWA Young Player of the Year
The midfielder has been a standout during a season in which he became Motherwell's youngest ever skipper. The 18-year-old also earned his first call-up to Steve Clarke's senior Scotland squad in March. Miller will be formally presented with the award at Sunday's annual SFWA awards dinner in Glasgow. The teenager beat off competition from Hearts' James Wilson and the Kilmarnock pair of Bobby Wales and last year's winner David Watson. And, having been shortlisted for last year's SFWA award, he paid tribute to his fellow nominees. He said: 'These players have all had outstanding seasons and careers so far. 'Look at David last year, winning all the awards. I'm close with David and speak to him quite a lot. Read more: 'James has had an incredible season getting his Scotland caps. 'And Bobby has got his move to Swansea and done really well. 'There are people outside the shortlist who have also had good years. 'You want to have young Scottish players coming through.'To win out of all these players is a really proud moment and one I don't take for granted.'
