Pay to play at Queen’s would be eye-opener

TO be honest, I never thought I’d see the day it would happen.

It might not seem such a major event in the wider scheme of things but for anyone who has studied the progression of Scottish football though the years, the possibility of Queen’s Park introducing professional players into their ranks is not only thoughtprovoking but almost unbelievable.

When the team from the south side of Glasgow was founded in 1867 every player in the country was an amateur and Queen’s quickly made their mark, winning the inaugural Scottish Cup in 1874 and going on to win another nine.

They also provided all the players for the very first international between Scotland and England in 1872 and reached the FA Cup Final twice.

But when the Scottish League was formed in 1890, Queen’s declined to join, stressing their amateur principles.

And when professionalism was introduced in Scotland in 1893, they reacted similarly.

But the benefits of playing against the best teams caused a change of attitude and Queen’s Park were elected to the Scottish League in 1901.

Since then they have had some memorable moments like the 1923 Division Two title win and beating Aberdeen in the 2006 League Cup.

But it would be fair to say that Queen’s have spent most seasons since the Second World War in the lower ranks, with success hard to find.

The club have always had strong youth set-ups and I played for one of these, the under-18 side called the Victoria Eleven, from 1959 to 1961. It was a great learning experience.

In two years or so, Queen’s will move from the National Stadium to Lesser Hampden and they seem worried that the move will affect their ability to attract players.

Many members seem reluctant to change from the amateur system to a paid one but they are in a difficult situation.

They need new players every year but is a young starlet going to join them and play for nought if he knows that he can pick up some decent money with another club?

Philanthropists are thin on the ground everywhere, especially in football.