ALL WINGERS
which were quite abusive but I didn’t really react to it. I just do my talking on the pitch.
“If some people still think I’ve made the wrong decision, fair enough. Everyone’s got their opinion and they’re entitled to it.
“But, yeah, people were saying, ‘Why has he done that? He shouldn’t have done it. It’s a stupid decision.’ It’s nothing to do with my mum and dad but they would be affected by it.
“I was quite young and hadn’t really played much, only a season and a bit for Aberdeen.
“I had played a lot of youth games with them but I didn’t expect to get abused like I did. That’s football isn’t it?
“It was hard to deal with and it made it worse when I went down south and got injured straight away. It’s a long way from home, my mum and dad only get down once a year and I couldn’t get back up.
“It was difficult but you make so many sacrifices for football – it was just another one to be made.”
There were others. Fraser was put through a boot camp by Bournemouth boss Eddie Howe who reckoned his taste for pizza and ice cream was weighing him down.
There were spells in the youth team and reserves, a loan stint at Ipswich Town and a time when the kid who lit up the SPL as a teenager seemed to have fallen completely off the map. But Fraser played the long game. He bust a gut and then exploded on to the scene in the Premier League earlier this season. Strachan nearly fell off his seat when he saw this little Scot scorching past Liverpool and Arsenal defenders for fun. Fraser is rapid but he also has an end product and thanks to a spell on the shrink’s couch he has absolutely no fear, regardless of who he is playing against.
He said: “I didn’t play much in my first season at Bournemouth but I felt within myself like I was growing as a player.
“Some things in my game I hadn’t really understood.
“It was more just about getting the ball, taking somebody on and crossing it simply for the sake of crossing it.
“Now, I know the game inside out. I know when to do stuff, when to cross the ball, when to come inside, when to stay wide.
“I know not to be on the same line as other players, just different stuff that Eddie Howe has taught me at Bournemouth.”
And now that Fraser has the know-Howe he’s ready for the home run.