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STEVen THOMPSONThe Cup final hero on football, legend status and psychology

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Issue 1 May 2013

Steven Thompson heads in his goal in the League Cup Final.

MODERN day footballers throw up cer-

tain images.

The first thing would be ridiculous

amounts of money. Where does this

money go? Well, it’s spent on a WAG,

fast car, or an over priced house . In

most cases, footballers are paid for

mediocrity. making them millionaires on

an annual basis by bloated contracts.

When this is the perception, Steven

Thomspon is a rare breed of footballer.

The Scottish striker has demonstrated

a rare passion that is not normally seen

in modern footballers. He premiers the

boyhood desires normally seen by chil-

dren kicking a ball around in a park. This

is the lust to emulate their boyhood he-

roes by lifting silverware for their

favourite team. This idealistic view is

often lost in the modern game in a time

where cheque books dictate a players

loyalty.

Thomspon has now lived his dream.

The 34-year old striker led his side to a

3-2 victory over Hearts, claiming the sec-

ond goal in the game. The emotion

was clear as the striker crumpled to

the hallowed Hampden turf,, on the

point of tears, as time seemed to

stand still at a euphoric national sta-

dium.

The striker has travelled around

Britain, playing in the very top divi-

sions and European competitions

with teams like Rangers and Burnley.

However, Thompson is a lifelong

supporter of the Buddies, and in

2011 returned to his hometown of

Paisley. He has now joined a selective

group of legends that have claimed sil-

verware for the club.

Thompson beams with pride as he

talks about the game, and the victory:

“From a personal position, I still find it

difficult to put into words, it means

everything for me to take silverware

back to these supporters for the first

time in 26 years”

The simple mention of the fan shows

the kind of man, and player ‘Thommo’

is. The fans sing his name, and he gives

them the respect he felt as he sat in the

stands at the Buddies former home Love

Street. He knew what it would like to be-

come part of the tapestry that makes up

the clubs history:

“I said before kick off to the boys in

the dressing room ‘You have a chance to

put your name in the bricks’. I knew

what it felt like to sit there in the crowd

as a kid and see the people I held is leg-

ends. I knew we had a chance to emu-

late that.”

Thompson carries himself as footballer

of years gone by, acting as a throwback

to a simpler time in the game. However,

with that he still takes heart from mod-

ern values in the game. After lifting the

League Cup Thompson claimed “I had vi-

sualised the goal, I had it in my mind

100%. I’m big on visualisation, I find it a

strong key in sporting performance.”

The use of psychology and visualisa-

tion is becoming the new trend. West

Bromwich Albion striker Peter

Odemwingie required the help of a psy-

chologist to “free his mind” after a goal

drought at the start of the season.

This also works with regard to man-

agement of the team, as Real Madrid

coach Jose Mourinhio felt his team had

psychological weaknesses, after losing to

their biggest rivals Barcelona consis-

tently. The psychologists stepped in, and

the team won the Spanish 2012 league

title ahead of the Catalan rivals.

The trend has now come to Scottish

football, with the Buddies player having

the final planned out in his head, “The

goal and the final have been playing over

in my mind for about 3 or 4 weeks. I

woke up in a positive mood, I had the

goal in my mind and it played out exactly

how I’d like it to go”

Could the strikers mind frame be down

to his boss? Saints manager Danny

Lennon claimed“ I said to Steven, it’s

written for you. There was definitely a

goal there for him”. The simple few

words from the manager could have

given the striker the feeling his fate was

destined, another psychological factor.

Jim McKechnie, lecturer of Psychology

at University Of The West Of Scotland,

feels there is some merit of visualising

your target as a sportsman. “Visualisa-

tion in sport often makes people feel like

they can and should be able to do cer-

tain things. For example, if someone

dreams something, this strong visualisa-

tion can make you feel like you have the

power to make a dream become reality.”

In football, the difference between vic-

tory and failure can be a matter of

inches, and the introduction of psychol-

ogy as a viable technique could be bene-

ficial. The League Cup final offers a

clear example of this as Hearts hit

the post on several chances, however

it was Saints who took their chances

and came out victorious.

McKechine feels the use of positive

mental techniques could help the

modern day sportsman “With re-

gards to sport, an area that so often

bases around luck and making you go

the extra few yards, this can be a

powerful technique when used prop-

erly.”

With strong links to building to the de-

velopment of psychology in Scottish

football, we will now await to see if

more teams undertake the mind over

matter techniques that proved so benefi-

cial for the League Cup winners.

Steven Thompson is a perfect example

of what modern football should be.

When this is put to him as a slight infla-

tion of ego, he is quick to remind every-

one:

“It’s never been about me, just the

team and the club.”

THE NEW SAINTMEET PAISLEY’S NEW HOMETOWN HERO, ST. MIRREN’S STEVEN THOMPSON

‘Thommo’ lifts the cup.

PRIDE OF T

WITH SCOTTISH FOOTBALL ON IT’S KNEES, THERE IS A NEED FOR

WELCOM

THE CLYDE

R DRASTIC MEASURES...

E TO EAST KILBRIDE, THE NEW HOME OF THE BEAUTIFUL GAME

SCOTTISH football is going through dark days.

Sent into turmoil after the demise of Rangers football club, money has

become sparse in the Scottish game. Television deals failing, sponsor-

ship deals lacking, and league reconstruction’s many flaws have all led

to an embarrassing cloud hanging over the countries national game for

the past 12 months. Even the Scottish national side seems starved of

any kind of optimism, finding themselves bottom of their World Cup

qualifying group.

However, there is a silver lining for many Scots, the emergence of East

Kilbride as a new football town.

The South Lanarkshire town is not one commonly associated with foot-

ball, based just outside Glasgow, with a fan base mainly consisting of

Old Firm supporters and amateur football teams

Now EK is set for a dramatic overhaul, welcoming a first professional

football team to the town.

Third Division side Clyde FC confirmed their plans to move into a

10,000 -seater stadium in the area, at an open EGM for supporters.

With the side set to leave their current home Broadwood Stadium in

Cumbernauld after an almost 20 year stay.

Clyde come with a long and illustrious history. The team are part of an

institution of Scottish football, from being in the original top flight of

Scottish football. As part of the old division one, Clyde won three Scot-

tish cups and were a household name, even competing on a European

stage.

However, times have drastically changed for the team and after facing

financial ruin, have been forced to move out of their current home,

after the council consistently raised tax on the clubs 100 year lease of

the Cumbernauld stadium.

Former columnist at the Clyde View, the clubs matchday programme,

Davie Donnely has seen several big changes for the side. After watching

the team play as the home side in several different areas, such as Hamil-

ton, Maryhill and Shawfield, He thinks this will be the biggest move of

all: “For both the town of East Kilbride and Clyde it’s a big deal, with

the financial situation of Clyde, and it’s a big risk for East Kilbride as a

town to bring in a football team.”

Clyde are known as a wee team- the Bully Wee as their nickname

claims- but are set to make some big changes to ingratiate themselves

to their new home. They team are set to rename themselves ‘East Kil-

bride Clyde’. Due to the rhyming name, some fans have sniggered and

been open with their disappointment at the name change.

The issue has been the biggest compromise for the supporters, but

Member of the Clyde board George Walsh thinks this will benefit the

team in long run. He stated: “If you want to become part of a commu-

nity, it seems like a simple way to do it. It’s a big move, with big changes

set to happen for everyone.”

East Kilbride is a town home to 75,000 people are desperate to get a

slice of the fan base. There may be a battle on the hands for a fan base

in the area, with strong links to amateur football in the area. East Kil-

bride Thistle has been a successful institution, with local teams such as

East Kilbride Youth and Mens Club looking to secure future links in the

area.

EKYMC is made up of two of East Kilbride’s most established amateur

football teams, after a mens team and youth team recently created a

partnership. The main principle behind the emergence of this club has

been to create a football pathway for youngster in the area right

through to their 30’s., but will this be affected by the emergence of EK

Clyde?

Originally the scheme was put in place to breed their own talent, but

EKYMFC chairman Gordon McCulloch has accepted the changes and

hope is that it will benefit the football rather than hinder it. He said:

“We’ve not heard too much about it, but I think it will peak the interest

in local football teams.”

He continued: “We’re developing youth football objectives, and I hope

one day they’ll link to the professional club, and it’d be great if it was

local”.

This sets up an interesting few years ahead for both Clyde, or EK Clyde,

but East Kilbride’s football future is bright. This offers a ray of optimism

to Scottish supporters, that if a team like Clyde, or EK Clyde, can be re-

born, maybe the perception of the game can to.

“It’s a big move, with

big changes set to

happen for everyone”

Clyde take on Rangers FC at their

current home Broadwood Stadium.

EVERTON have

sparked up an un-

likely rivalry – against

the WWE superstar

Fandango.

Fandango, a rela-

tively new wrestler

with a ballroom

dancer gimmick, has

exploded onto the

entertainment scene.

His fans had even

been attempting to

get his theme music

into the UK Chart,

and managed to

reach number 44.

As the phenome-

non grew, fans of the

English Premier

League side made it

known they wanted

to hear the Fandango

theme song before

the side’s game

against QPR, to in-

spire them to victory.

However, Everton

have put their foot

down. The club put

out a tweet on their

official Twitter stating

“To those WWE fans

who’ve requested

Fandango’s theme for

tomorrow (against

QPR) we won’t be

playing it at Goodi-

son”.

This sparked an un-

likely spat on the so-

cial media platform,

as Fandango began

bizarre Twitter tirade

in order to try and get

his track played by

the Evertonions.

Alongside a handful

of jibes, including

tweeting “Who’s

Everton ever beat?

Never even heard of

em? A hockey

team?”, the American

sportsman photh-

soped pictires of him-

self with the Everton

manager David

Moyes. He titled this

picture “Horrible”. He

even cheekily asked if

the side could play

his music through

their entire 90 minute

match.

After a few back

and forths, Everton

eventually backed

down and agreed to a

compromise, playing

the song at their fan

zone before the

match.

A spokesman for

Everton played down

the Twitter battle

stating: “We are giv-

ing fans an opurtunity

to request the music

we play before

games, it’s just some-

times we don’t agree

with their choices.”

To the relief of

Fnadango, he did get

played at one British

football stadium.

Rangers Football Club

allowd the song to

flud Ibrox stadium be-

fore their Scottish

Third Division game

against side Clyde.

Fandango immedi-

ately took to twitter

to show his apprecia-

tion, stating his pride

over being played

ahead of British WWE

stars Drew McIntyre

and Wade Barrett.

NOEverton say:

Fandan-Everton find themselves in bizarre Twitter feud with WWE star

Where the song

was not heard,

Goodsion

Park(back-

ground) Fan-

dango pokes fun

at Everton and

David Moyes

(avove) and in

action on WWE

Raw (right)

new. original. different.

BILLY Brown has declared

he is happy the Scottish

League did not undergo

reconstruction.

The East Fife manager

feels the current play-off

system should not be im-

mediately changed with-

out a well thought out

structure to replace it.

He is entering the de-

bate after several weeks

of indecision from clubs

have led to teams still

not knowing what

leagues they will be play-

ing in next year.

He stated before his

side’s second division clash with Queen of the South: “If we

aren’t totally ready for a change then we shouldn’t just jump

into it.”

“Scottish football is on the edge of financial ruin at all levels,

so if we are going to change it everyone needs to be 100 per

cent behind it.”

The League reconstruction discussion has dragged on for

months within the Scottish game, but was recently halted in a

vote by the SPL sides.

Two sides from the top division- Ross County and St Mirren-

voted against the plans for divisions to be broke down into a

12-12-18 division structure. Therefore, the opportunity for

change was quickly derailed.

However, Brown feels the lower leagues in the Scottish Foot-

ball should get more of a

say, and will do well to stick

with the current league for-

mat.

He stated: “For a small

club like East Fife, the cur-

rent system works and we

put a lot of time and effort

into make ourselves a viable

financial business in the cur-

rent system. If that was to

change now, with such a

sudden decision, I’m not

sure if we’d be able to han-

dle it the same way.”

East Fife currently sit sec-

ond bottom of the second

division, a position that

would see the club enter a play offs with the second placed

third division side to keep their place in their current league.

The East Fife boss feels even though this offers a second

chance to his underperforming side, it doesn’t affect his views

on plans for new leagues.

Brown states: “Listen, as much as it could see the current

structure getting us out of trouble, for what has been a pretty

poor season, it’s not why I like it.”

“I just don’t see why we have to be bullied into change.”

The debate is still continuing throughout the Scottish game,

with sponsors of Scottish football and Scottish Football Associ-

ation members desperate to find an alternative to the current

league structure.

East Fife manager declares he is happy with the current look of football in Scotland

Mr Brown s Boys say No to League Changes

Billy Brown (above) has strong feelings on reconstruction

,

“MANY thanks for your interest, but

we do not currently have a vacancy”.

This was the heartbreaking re-

sponse to my application for the Scot-

tish First Division side Hamilton

Academical’s managerial position.

When you look at the name at-

tached to this article you may not rec-

ognize it, and to you I may not have

managed a football team to any merit.

But you probably have not seen any of

my Football Manager 2013 statistics.

Football Manager is a football game

that is changing the public’s attitude

to management of top teams. The vir-

tual reality game allows you to control

the running of a football team of your

choice, taking charge of everything

from player transfers at the club, to

dealing with press, to the way your

team plays. The game then generates

results and you watch your team blos-

som, or fail, all from the comfort of

your computer chair.

Now hardened players of the game

are taking their chances to make

moves to become the next big

thing into real-life football man-

agement.

The blueprint for this has been

John Boleau’s application to

manage Middleborough FC,

which saw chuckles at the sheer

audacity of the 10-year veteran

of football manager.

This started a trend and FC

Baku, the former Azerbaijan

champions, were the first to take

on a manager for their prowess

in the gaming platform. 21-year-

old student Vugar Huseynzade was

given the chance to prove himself as

manager of the club, beating an array

of high profile candidates including

French world cup winner Jean Pierre-

Papin.

In Scotland, gamers are also hoping

to be given the control pad to manage

teams. Dumbarton chairman Gilbert

Lawrie conceded that, as his side sat

bottom of the first division, 75% of ap-

plications for their vacant managers

job were people without “genuine ex-

perience”.

You can understand my inspiration

for thinking I was ready to transfer my

skills to Hamilton Accies football club.

Not a massive club, but a club of the

right size to help a young, aspiring

manger get a foothold in the game.

With my only real football experi-

ence being when I was sixteen playing

at the heart of the Sunday league side

Strathaven Dynamo’s midfield, I was

leaning on my success in Football

Manager 2013 to hand me the Accies

managerial reigns.

My work with Clyde FC was second

to none. My time there clearly shows

(...the headlines made national news,

in Football Manager 2013) I have

taken a group of free agents and part-

time players to the SPL, as well as tak-

ing European football to the

Cumbernauld side for the first time.

With all this success I have made by

merely using my fingertips, the suc-

cess I could bring to Accies could have

been limitless. With the long rivalry

between the clubs I admitted in my

covering letter, there may be some

frictions between our fans. But it

would all be worth it for the long term

good of the two teams.

Everyone needs a starting point, and

I would not be getting into football

management for the greed. I only

wanted enough to quit my part-time

job, a mere £8 per hour (£12 per

game) for my top class (virtual) cre-

dentials.

However, in the end Alex Neil piped

me to the post and is the new

manager of the Scottish football

League side. The current club cap-

tain at Hamilton Accies was

viewed to have more credentials

than myself, and to his credit has

successfully steered his side clear

of the Scottish First Divison relega-

tion zone.

Hamilton Accies may not want

me, but my portfolio continues to

build in Football Manager. There’s

always next time.

THE NEXT

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