Dundee United Look For New ‘Goodie’ As Goodwillie Departs

David Goodwillie finally left Scottish Football yesterday as he completed his prolonged transfer to Blackburn Rovers from Dundee United in a bid said to be worth 2.8 million. The transfer was delayed due to some problems in completing a medical at the Lancashire side, and also for the seven bids that Rangers made for the striker. All seven bids by Rangers were deemed to be lower than what Dundee United chairman Steven Thompson valued Goodwillie, and eventually the young Scotsman completed his move to the English Premiership. While Dundee United have picked up a very handsome amount for a home grown player, they have been left with the tricky situation of finding a replacement for a player who scored 17 goals in the Scottish Premier League last season. With this dilemma on the hands of United manager, Peter Houston, The Full Ten Yards looks at the options that he has.



Johnny Russell: The most likely choice to replace Goodwillie as Jon Daly’s strike partner at United, the 21 year old has experience playing in the SPL having made 29 appearances in the league last season. These appearances mainly came in the form of substitute appearances or replacing Jon Daly in his absence or positional switch, with Daly sometimes deployed as a makeshift centre back. The young striker managed a very healthy return of nine goals for the campaign last season, and looks sure to add to that tally this season with a first team position now in his hands. The striker will be hoping that he can use his experience from loan spells at Forfar and Raith Rovers (where Goodwillie also spent a season on loan), and his games last season, to further his game and make the United fans forget all about Goodwillie.

Ryan Dow: A diehard Dundee United fan, Dow has scored goals at nearly every he has played at. Whether it be at Dundee United’s youth side, their reserve side and their under 19 side or with Forfar during a loan spell in 2011, where his record of 3 goals in 8 games helped Forfar to third placed finish in the second division. Dow was used as a winger on his only first team appearance for the Arabs, assisting their only goal in a 2-1 loss to Rangers. His performance in that game also netted him the man of the match award, and he has shown that he has the ability to perform at the top level. With Johnny Russell likely to get the first team position, Dow may have to settle for a place on the bench, however, he is sure to get more chances to shine this season.

Dale Hilson: Another who can play down either wing or as an out and out striker, 18 year old Hilson has a big future in the game. Having came from the same boys club as both Goodwillie and United legend, Duncan Ferguson, Hilson has the ability to go far. He showed this ability in the 2009-2010 season where he ended up as top goalscorer for United at under 19 level. His performances didn’t go unnoticed and Hilson received the award for Scottish Youth Player of the Year and also Scottish Rising Star in 2010. Moreover, he has also made two full team appearances for United, and featured in over half of Forfar’s games last season while he was on loan with them. Hilson may not be the immediate choice to replace Goodwillie, however, give him a season or two, and Hilson could be the next big money player that United have on their books.

Playing A Lone Striker: While United may not have a wide range of experienced strikers to call upon after the departure of Goodwillie, they do have a plethora of talented midfielders. This may make Peter Houston think about going for a five man midfield, a tactic that has worked well for many Scottish teams over the past years. A midfield of Willo Flood, Scott Robertson, Danny Swanson and John Rankin with Scott Severin as a sitting midfielder would be able to match the talent of any club outside the Old Firm in the SPL.

The main option though is continuing with the 4-4-2 formation that has suited Peter Houston and his team over the past few years. Johnny Russell is very likely to be the replacement for Goodwillie, but can him and Jon Daly score the goals now missing from the United side?

Read More

The Next Generation Of Young SPL Stars

With David Goodwillie looking like he may be on the move from Dundee United, with a 2million pound price being talked about, another top talent looks set to leave the SPL, or at the very least join one of the Old Firm.  This is an all too common scenario with the ten SPL clubs outside of the SPL, and this is how business works in the Scottish game.  Youngsters are brought through the ranks to be sold at a later date.  So, in this editorial, TheFullTenYards will look at 5 other youngsters that are coming through at clubs throughout Scotland, that are likely to join Goodwillie in making a big money move very soon.

1:  Jamie Murphy (Striker) - Motherwell - 21 Years Old - 147 Games (27 Goals)

A product of the fabled Motherwell youth system, famous for bringing through players such as James McFadden and Mark Reynolds, the next star to come through is Jamie Murphy.  The young Scotsman made his debut in 2007 as a substitute against Celtic.  This was to be his only appearance of that season, however, the following season he made 17 appearances, albeit with all of them coming from the bench, scoring his first goal for the club against Hibs.  From that, Murphy has developed into a better player every season, making more appearances and scoring more goals each season.  Moreover, from what was seen of him at the weekend against Inverness, that trend is not likely to stop.

A striker who is also able to play on the wings, Murphy is a star that is currently being watched by many clubs throughout England.  Motherwell fans though are hopeful that Murphy decides to continue to develop at the Steelmen for one more season, before making his big money move.

2: David Templeton (Winger) - Hearts - 22 Years Old - 54 Games (9 Goals)

The young Hearts winger lit up the SPL in the final few months of the previous season, having been described by Hearts manager as being 15 million pounds worth of talent.  Having been nabbed at a young age while playing Third Division football at Stenhousemuir for £20,000, this shows how much the youngster has came on under the guide of Csaba Laszlo and Jim Jefferies.  He continued to dazzle at a loan spell with Raith Rovers in 2008, and was eventually brought into the Hearts first team in 2009 making 17 first team appearances.

His stock continued to rise throughout last season , with two young player of the month awards for his performances in November and December.  He also started to add goals to his game, culminating in a cracking solo effort in the first Edinburgh derby last season.  Templeton was also recognised by both fans and players as he was nominated for both the PFA Young Player of the Year and the Hearts Fans Young Player Of The Year, the latter of which he won.

If Templeton does continue to play the way he is, then a big money move is surely inevitable.

3: Paul Hanlon (Centre Back) - Hibs - 21 Years Old - 65 Games (3 Goals)

Hanlon used to be an attacking midfielder while playing for youth sides in Edinburgh, however, having been converted to a centre back when joining Hibs, he has became a solid defensive minded player, excelling at both left back and centre back.  Having came up through the youth side, Hanlon has used the previous two seasons to really assert himself as a fixture in the first team, either at left back or centre half.  Hibs have been his only team throughout the last four years, apart from a short loan spell at St. Johnstone.

Having captained Scotland’s Under 19 and Under 21 sides, Hanlon finally became club captain of Hibs in the second half of last season, and enjoyed his most fruitful season, making a total of 33 games and scoring 2 goals.  Furtermore he also won Hibs Player Of The Year last season and his future looks bright in the game, and I wouldn’t be surprised to see him playing in the Premiership in the next few seasons. 


4: Liam Kelly (Central Midfielder) - Kilmarnock - 21 Years Old - 47 Games (8 Goals)

Kelly was a number of youngsters who were released by MK Dons in 2008 as the club could no longer afford to keep him on.  The young Englishman found himself out of the game for a few months before he eventually joined Kilmarnock in 2009.  The youngster had to wait until the second half of the 2010/11 season before being given a start by Jimmy Calderwood and Jimmy Nicholl, after the sacking of Jim Jefferies.  Grabbing this chance he took full advantage and ended up being a regular under the two Jimmy’s, scoring his first goal for the club in a Scottish cup tie against Inverness.

After Mixu Paatelainen took the reigns at Killie, Kelly continued to hold down a first team position, playing alongside Alexei Eremenko and Craig Bryson in a strong Killie midfield.  He also made his first Scotland Under 21 appearance (being eligible through both his parents being Scottish) in a match against Belgium last season.  The midfielder continued to prove himself and has the talent and tenacity to go far in the game, and follow both Bryson and Eremenko to better things in the future.

5: Fraser Fyvie (Attacking Midfielder) - Aberdeen - 18 Years Old - 32 Games (1 Goal)

One of the most highly rated youngsters in Scotland at this point, Fyvie looks to make this season his breakthrough season at Aberdeen, having had last season be a write off after suffering a cruciate ligament injury in the early part of last season.  However, Fyvie has had a promising start to his career before the injury, having made his debut at the tender age of 16, where he was also awarded the man of the match for his performance.  He also scored his first goal for the Dons in January 2010, the goal seeing him become the youngest ever player to score in the SPL, beating the record set by David Goodwillie.

At 18, and having missed most of last season with injury, Fyvie has already made an astonishing 32 appearances for the club, which shows the faith they have in the youngster, and I will be very surprised if he is not plying his trade at a higher level within the next five years.

Read More