Improving Scottish Football

Podcast about the TV deal, league reconstruction, fan experience, playing style, youth development, etc. Scottish football has the potential to be so much more.

[Improving Scottish Football @Improving_Scot]

New Pod Alert 🚨

THE DEFINITIVE WORLD CUP PREVIEW 🔥with @johnwalker_1986 and former Scotland international Mikey Devlin

Available on all podcast platforms and YouTube (links below) 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

[Improving Scottish Football @Improving_Scot]

@johnwalker_1986 full episode out now on all platforms: https://t.co/Gb6DDVhXUO

[Improving Scottish Football @Improving_Scot]

"The Haiti game is the worst one to start with." 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

So many fans are expecting a win. But the gap between those expectations and the reality of what Haiti are actually like is huge. 😬 @johnwalker_1986

[John Walker @johnwalker_1986]

Scotlands World Cup Preview

Delighted to join Kieran on @Improving_Scot alongside former Scotland International Mikey Devlin.

Listen, Enjoy & Follow @Improving_Scot for fantastic podcasts questioning the status quo of our League and National Side 💙

[Improving Scottish Football @Improving_Scot]

@johnwalker_1986 https://t.co/Gb6DDVhXUO

https://t.co/P97iXAzpQg

[Improving Scottish Football @Improving_Scot]

New Pod Alert 🚨

THE DEFINITIVE WORLD CUP PREVIEW 🔥with @johnwalker_1986 and former Scotland international Mikey Devlin

Available on all podcast platforms and YouTube (links below) 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

[John Walker @johnwalker_1986]

8 Days until the World Cup

A look into yesterdays friendlies:
> Haiti 4-0 New Zealand
> Croatia 0-2 Belgium

7 Podcasts lined up which will be exclusively on the Patreon to begin with:
https://t.co/tEBawGJjTD

On this, there will be exclusive content throughout:
> Daily Betting Article
> Post-Match Immediate Reaction Pods
> Daily Briefings

Let's Go

[John Walker @johnwalker_1986]

Group C - Analysis 🧵

The Largest Analysis Project for the @FIFAWorldCup & your support is extremely welcome:
> RTs and QTs Hugely Appreciated
> Follow the Account
> Look Out & Share Future Groups

Every Group, Every Team & Every Game throught

Let's Check Out Group C 👇

[Improving Scottish Football @Improving_Scot]

This episode was recorded before ticketing decisions / comms by the club.

https://t.co/Gb6DDVhXUO
https://t.co/UQQgIGjkj8

[Improving Scottish Football @Improving_Scot]

New episode out now with the CEO of St Johnstone 🚨

- The fundamentals to winning the Championship
- £25 Away Ticket Cap proposal is 'dangerous'
- 3PM Blackout needs revisited

Available on podcast platforms. Links below.

[Laurie Finlayson @LaurieFinlayson]

This is one of the biggest matches of the Scottish Premiership season, something of an unofficial play-off decider; however, due to archaic broadcasting rules, Saints and Killie supporters, and neutrals alike, can’t see the match unless they’re in the stadium. Not good enough.

[John Walker @johnwalker_1986]

Scottish Football: Teenage Minutes

The importance in Debuts/Minutes for players aged between 16-19 has been proven across Europe & I decided to have a look at Scotland in the League Only.

Clubs Minutes to Teenagers:
----------------------------------------------
1st: Alloa 8,319
2nd: Inverness 7,623
3rd: Hamilton 6,382

The Co-Op Agreement playing a huge part in this with those 3 clubs featuring mainly loan players from the Scottish Premier League

Similar issue across the Scottish Premier League with Rangers being the stand out but most minutes being made up by Mikey Moore (Spurs) and Jayden Meghoma (Bournemouth)

Dundee are the lowest in the country with featuring Teenagers for only 4minutes this season.

Minute Developing Your Own
----------------------------------------------
1st: Calum McLeod 2,728 (ICT)
2nd: John Tod 1,424 (Dunfermline)

Special mention to Calum McLoed, a local lad, Inverness fan and being part of a title winning side at 19.

Ben Brannan at Kilmarnock has the most minutes of any player at their own club.

Most Players Featured
-----------------------------------------------
Edinburgh City are the absolute stands outs featuring teenagers over 5,000 minutes in League Two and that being made up of 13 from within their own Academy.

This data obviously only includes Teenagers and other clubs have huge U21.

[John Walker @johnwalker_1986]

Scottish Football in a Nutshell

Technical Footballers coming out of our ears, in droves, in "Elite" Academies that are over-saturated with no real chance of "Making It"...

Nobody wants to take the real time, real effort & real risk it takes to "Develop" players and accept that it'll be 2 steps forward & 1 step back for a while.

Ross County are geographically unfortunate, lesser talent pool to pull from than the West/East, but that doesn't mean you ignore the money spent on keeping/recruiting "experienced" pro's on bigger budget than intended.

Clubs on their budgets & situations should be scowering:
1. Celtic/Rangers released Academy Players
2. Scottish Junior Leagues (Luke McBeth, Josh Fowler) & a Wednesday in the BUCS wouldn't hurt (Keelan Adams, Barney Stewart)

It's why I honestly feel like a "Style of Play" is so important throughout a clubs culture to allow you to actually recruit for what you require e.g. @Mickkennedy1904 & @siferry8 at @officialEKFC can go identify Youth Players and decide almost instantly if they can "Use" them because they know what they actually require and don't get bogged down with the "experience" or "played in the league" pish that everyone is so bothered with.

Hard to be sympathetic for those clubs and I include Rangers approach to Division 3 in 2012 in that

[Improving Scottish Football @Improving_Scot]

Talent gets noticed. Character gets remembered.

What stood out about Lennon Miller wasn’t just what he did on the ball - but everything around it. Picking up cones. Helping others. Doing the small things right. 💪

[Improving Scottish Football @Improving_Scot]

All I want is for Scottish clubs to be regulars at this stage of European tournaments. We should be seeing Celtic and / or Rangers in these graphics every year. And even Aberdeen / Hearts / Hibs should be aspire to the level of AZ and AEK.

[Improving Scottish Football @Improving_Scot]

@ScotlandNT @adidasfootball @adidasUK TAKE MY MONEY

[Improving Scottish Football @Improving_Scot]

This is fucking horrid. Should be a minimum 6 month ban for gauging eyes.

[The County Corner @thecountycorner]

Turns out it’s not even just a punch…

An absolutely disgraceful decision from the referee!

[Improving Scottish Football @Improving_Scot]

It feels like the ball stays on the ground more in Scotland these days

But there's still a big difference compared to how the top leagues play.

[Improving Scottish Football @Improving_Scot]

"It's like a noose round our own neck...
Scottish football needs to be better than that!" 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿⚽️

Straight talking from @JamieSwinney86 in our latest episode. Available everywhere you get your pods, inc YouTube 🔥

[Jamie Swinney🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 @JamieSwinney86]

It was great to discuss all things 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿⚽️

💷Distribution model
🎫Ticket prices
🏟️Pitches
💎Youth development
📊Voting structure

Kieran has done a great job with the pod.

Our game could be so much better.

Watch here👇🏻
https://t.co/Ba8P0TRRwS

[Improving Scottish Football @Improving_Scot]

@FalkirkFC @JamieSwinney86 https://t.co/Gb6DDVhXUO

[Improving Scottish Football @Improving_Scot]

🚨🚨🚨 New episode out now!
@FalkirkFC CEO @JamieSwinney86 with some superb takes on the state of our game.

Give it a listen and please share 🙏 links below.