Goodie: We can’t forget about kids in this crisis
BY GORDON PARKS
JIM GOODWIN insists Scottish football mustn’t forget about the kids thrown on to the scrapheap.
The St Mirren boss, 38, has made his end-of-season cull list with six academy players to be released after the completion of furlough.
But seeing dreams shattered as a teenager at Celtic didn’t make breaking the news any easier.
Goodwin came over from Ireland at 15 and said: “It’s moved on a huge deal in terms of education and preparing kids for potentially not making it in the game.
“People now within the academies have those frank discussions with the kids to make sure they’re still trying to educate themselves outside of football.
“The reality is every 10 or 12 kids we sign with a view to going pro, only one of those might be fortunate enough to make it. I remember those difficult times when I was a kid at Celtic. Every single year there, there’s 15-20 young lads having their dreams shattered.
“I remember guys leaving the club in tears with their boots in a bag and that was it – it was all over.
“Sometimes we overlook that part of the game and focus on the senior game. It’s important to remember there are academy guys out there too – even more so now when there is that level of uncertainty.
“Is there going to be funding for academies in the future? Hopefully it is and we can come up with a plan.”
Goodwin believes PFA Scotland “are getting better every year” amid fewer resources than in England, while Saints and Kibble have launched a partnership that offers players access to mental health support.
He added: “The service Kibble are providing will also be there for those young kids.”
SCOTTISH football will get back to something close to normality one day. If there ever has been such a thing.
But, as the battle against Covid-19 continues, the game in this country must now attempt to get its head around what virtual reality looks like.
A new and revolutionary broadcast deal has been negotiated between SPFL chief executive Neil Doncaster and the bosses of Sky.
Record Sport revealed yesterday morning that one allowing our clubs to stream matches into the living rooms of their own supporters was imminent.
By lunchtime the groundbreaking agreement to sanction the sale of virtual season tickets had been officially announced in a joint statement released by Doncaster and the broadcast giant.
It’s been widely hailed already as an innovative piece of thinking that could provide Scotland’s cash-strapped clubs with a lifeline to haul them through the other side of this global pandemic.
Here Record Sport attempts to explain to fans all over the country how this futuristic emergency plan will enable them to keep on supporting their team even when they are locked out of their favourite ground.
Aberdeen chairman Dave Cormack revealed yesterday he envisages his own stadium might not be fully opened to fans until early next year.
It’s little wonder then that he spoke with such enthusiasm about the deal, which will unlock access to crucial matchday income even while his own turnstiles at Pittodrie remain closed.
“AFC welcomes the Sky deal brokered by the SPFL,” he said.
“Given the current circumstances we find ourselves in, it is an excellent deal and we really appreciate Sky’s constructive, partnership approach.
“From the outset our commitment to supporters has been to deliver full value for our season-ticket holders.
“Under this deal AFC will be able to offer virtual access to season-ticket holders for all closed-door home games and will continue to work with our colleagues at fellow Premiership clubs to explore potential arrangements to show away games.”
That is where some heads are going to have to be knocked together over the coming days to work out how to take full advantage of Sky’s generosity.
And make no mistake, this is a deal that has seen them give away much more than they had to.
Fans will not have to pay Sky for virtual season tickets – the cash will go straight to their own club. Having splashed out somewhere in the region of £150million for exclusive rights to the Premiership over the next five years, the broadcaster would have been legally entitled to reject this scheme and leave our clubs to their own devices.
Instead, they agreed with Doncaster to reduce a clawback claim for last season’s missing matches from £5.5m to £1.5m. And that cash will be paid up over the length of the new TV deal at a cost of £300,000 a year.
That was a game changer for Scotland’s clubs. But the agreement to allow them to stream their own games on Saturday at 3pm is a potential lifesaver.
The deal will stay in place for all clubs even after the Scottish Government have lifted restrictions on allowing supporters to return to the stands. It will only end when all fans have safely returned to all top-flight grounds.
But it remains to be seen exactly what agreements are put in place for fans of away teams to watch live streaming from other clubs.
Record Sport understands talks are continuing about the potential for away fans to buy individual matches on a pay-per-view basis so long as those games are not being shown live by Sky.
A source said: “There are difficulties involved in this because season-ticket holders must be given priority.
“But there are talks ongoing about