Footballing talent needs room to develop

Rutherglen and Cambuslang have both produced some fine footballers over the years.

Bobby Murdoch and Davy Wilson both strutted their stuff with either side of the Old Firm while Stevie Archibald even went on to play for Barcelona.

But parents in the town are worried the days of producing world-class talent could be in the past due to a lack of 11-a-side parks.

There can be no reasonable argument that teams still have access to the same number of football parks they did 20 years ago.

House builders have snapped up many former facilities as a move away from traditional grass has gained traction.

The council has attempted to mitigate this with the creation of all-weather parks at schools and other facilities.

The latest is a fine 11-a-side surface at the new Newton Primary.

And yet, these are not like-for-like replacements.

Many are five or seven-a-side facilities, which have their place, but leave local 11-a-side teams struggling for lets in the area.

Often they need to look elsewhere, something that costs time and money, making it harder for teams to continue.

On pages six and seven we have a special feature on the issue facing teams in Rutherglen and Cambuslang.

There was much better news relating to kids football this week.

Fernhill Soccer School has secured funding that should see its work continue in the area well into next year.

The school has been a real boost to the area and the volunteers who work so hard to make it a success deserve enormous credit.

You can read more on page five.