SPL Weekend Preview

The second set of fixtures in the SPL season are set to be played, however, with Celtic on friendly duty their match against Dunfermline has been postponed, while Hearts’ fixture against Dundee United is being played on the Sunday due to the Jambos European exploits in midweek.

Saturday Fixtures:

St. Johnstone vs. Rangers - 12:00

Stupid time for a kick-off, with even the half twelve kick off being at a better time than this. Both teams will be looking for wins to really get them started in the league, after both could only gain a point in their first fixtures. Gers boss Ally McCoist will be looking to ease the tension within the Ibrox support with a comfortable win in his first away fixture, while Derek McInnes will be hoping his Saints side can pile more pressure on the rookie manager. Rangers should get the points, however I did say the same last week.

St. Johnstone 0 - 2 Rangers

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Inverness vs. Hibs - 15:00

Caley looked very toothless against Motherwell in their opening fixture, going down 3-0 at Fir Park, while Hibs were beaten by a very good side in Celtic. With these two teams being the only sides without a point already, they will both be looking for that victory to get them off the mark. I firmly believe that this will be a battle, and while Hibs may look the better prospect on paper, their record at Caley is horrendous and I can see a scoring draw being the most likely of results.

Inverness 1 - 1 Hibs

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Kilmarnock vs. Motherwell - 15:00

Complete opposite to the previous fixture as both these teams got very decent starts to their campaign, Motherwell defeating Inverness convincingly and Killie gaining a point in a very entertaining match against Dundee United. Kenny Shiels will be looking to get his first win as Killie manager and get the monkey off his back of not having won, while Motherwell look to continue their 100% start to the season. Both teams are likely to be disappointed as again a draw looks like the best option.

Kilmarnock 2 - 2 Motherwell

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St. Mirren vs. Aberdeen - 15:00

Both of these teams will probably have felt they could have done better in their first fixture, St. Mirren controlling their game against Dunfermline, missing a penalty as well, while Aberdeen did everything but score against St. Johnstone. Aberdeen with Craig Brown in charge should be able to keep a solid back line against keep Steven Thompson at bay, while their decent attacking options should give them their first win of the season.

St. Mirren 1 - 2 Aberdeen

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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.

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SFA's New Cash For Kids Incentive Hits A Dull Note

David Goodwillie of Dundee United a young Scottish player brought up through the ranks at United

The governing body of Scottish football recently announced a new cash incentive for Premier League clubs to play Scottish players who are under the age of 21, offering a cash sum of £750 a game for any team featuring two Scottish player who meet the required age limit in their first eleven, while offering a maximum £1000 if a team featured three or more players who meet the criteria. Sounds a simple plan to help aid the development of young talent in Scotland, offer the cash strapped teams money to play Scottish youngsters in their first team. But is it the right thing to do, or is this just another nonsensical idea that the SFA have thought up just to look as if they are doing something?

Firstly I have to state that I firmly agree with the SFA in their bid to improve the level of youngster being brought through in the country, and I’m sure fellow Scottish football fans would say the same. We all want to see the next generation being nurtured and brought into the first teams of teams throughout the country, it is the only way that we can move forward.

However, the first problem with the idea is the ridiculous pay structure which separates the SPL and the SFL. SPL teams will be due £750-£1000 if they can meet the standards set by the SFA, however, SFL will only receive 10% of this, meaning they will only get £100 a game for playing three Scottish youngsters in their first eleven. This means that if a club in the SFL plays three Scottish youngsters for the full season in every game, they will receive a total of £3600 from the SFA, while SPL clubs doing the same will get £38000! I would rather see the funding more evenly split between all forty two teams, even going as far as offering the lower leagues more money than their SPL counterparts, in a bid to have them focus on youth development, bring through kids into their teams, let them develop their game at a lower level and then be purchased by a top level club when they are at a suitable level to go on and progress more. This would mean the lower league clubs would bring through the players, have them for a few years, give them first team football, have an SPL club buy them if they are good enough, and then put the money they receive into bringing through more youth players. It’s a perfect circle of continuous development throughout the four Scottish leagues.

With this strategy though, we are going to throw the youngsters in at the deep end, give them first team football at a level they may not be good enough for, and then probably replace them after a year or two finally throwing them on the scrapheap.

Secondly, I do not think such an amount of money is going to change the way clubs bring through their youth players. It should be a case of, if they are good enough then give them a chance. Don’t just throw them in at the first chance because you want a cash bonus for your team. It may also cause trouble between chairmen and managers, with tension occurring if the chairmen want to see the money, while managers believe that the players aren’t good enough. Chairmen should not meddle in first team affairs, as it only leads to confrontation between managers and those in charge, as fans of Hearts and Kilmarnock could attest to.

I also think that the rule should not only be set for Scottish youngsters, and believe that we should be handing benefits out for teams that play Under 21’s of all nationalities. It is not fair on youngsters that may not be from Scotland who see their careers being hampered because they are not from a certain country. Furthermore, it is also not fair to the fans, who may not be able to see the best youngsters that their team is developing because they are not of a Scottish descent. From a better quality of player in the league, comes a higher standard of football, which brings players up to that level and it would bring better Scottish players through as well. As the saying goes, quality before quantity.

Finally I believe that we need to develop a way for these young players to take the step in between Under19’s and the first team. Whether this be creating a new reserve league in the SPL, which would allow the youngsters to develop competitively without being under the pressures of first team football. Or if we were to go the Spanish way and allow a B team to play in the lower divisions. Either way, a continuing development of players is needed up until they are good enough for first team football.

Scotland does need to nurture its young players, and bring them through with the technique that their European counterparts have, however, this should not be in sacrifice of the quality of game being played.

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Dull Affair As Pars Return To Top Flight

Dunfermline 0 - 0 St. Mirren

Dunfermline unfurled the first division champions flag in front of just over five thousand fans in a lacklustre game against a St. Mirren side looking to put their newly signed players to use. Nigel Hasselbaink and Gary Teale provided the early opportunities for an opener, with the former going close after being put through by Jerome Tesselaar. St. Mirren continued to have most of the game and the Pars looked very overwhelmed by the occasion. A curling Martin Hardie free kick being the closest the Pars fans got to seeing a home goal on the night. Things began to heat up near the end of the first half, when ex Buddies captain John Potter was penalised for what looked like a soft push on new signing Steven Thompson, but the new recruit from Burnley could only watch as his penalty was saved by another ex Buddie in Paul Gallacher in the Pars goal. The second half continued to produce not a lot, with Teale and Thompson both going close for St. Mirren while Hardie had another free kick that went close.

Not the fairytale return to the SPL that Pars fans may have wanted, however, a draw against a strong looking St. Mirren side is not as bad as it could have been.

Man of the Match - Jim Goodwin (St. Mirren): The new St. Mirren captain looked very assured in the middle of the park, his strength and passing set him a class apart from the rest of the players on show. St. Mirren fans will be hoping that his standards don’t fall throughout the season.

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