Neil Simpson interview
Scotland U16s made history recently when they recorded a famous victory over the Auld Enemy to win the Sky Sports Victory Shield for the first time since 1998. The game at Starks Park finished 1-0 to the young Scots and the match finished with three Aberdeen players on the field in Daniel Harvie, Frank Ross and Aaron Norris, the most the club have ever had in a Victory Shield match.
Neil Simpson believes this could be more than just a flash in the pan and adds it is also an encouraging sign for the AFC Youth Academy.
“I watched the game and it was a superb performance from the boys to beat England. It was no mean achievement. At this age group, England could probably select at least eight teams given the amount of players they have to choose from.
“What I have seen from the Victory Shield games so far is there is a lot of talent within the whole Scotland schoolboy squad and from our perspective, to have three players in that group, a very talented group, is very good for our Youth Academy. It shows Aberdeen are on the right track as well.
“Added to this, at the last Scotland gathering at U17 level we had four more players involved as well as Daniel, Aaron and Frank, in Scott Wright, Michael Jones, Richie Petrie and Michel Kelly which is very encouraging.
“For the coaches, Colin Walker and Scott Anderson, it is great recognition for all the hard work they are doing and it is great for all the coaches within the Academy because most of them will have worked with Daniel, Frank or Arron at some point and had an input into their development”.
Neil gave us the lowdown on the three young Dons:
Daniel Harvie: He has been involved with Aberdeen since he was ten. He is a product of Peter Weir’s Glasgow Centre. In the early days he was a left winger but in the last season and a half he has been playing more at left-back. He is a player who likes to get forward and is a good header of the ball. He also uses the ball well. I thought he did particularly well in the second game against Wales. He made a couple of really good forward runs.
Frank Ross: Frank has been with us since nine years of age. He is a midfielder with good vision and has great technique. Frank is two footed. On Sunday he scored from a corner with his right foot and hit the bar with his left foot from another corner from the other side. Frank is from the Ellon area.
Aaron Norris: Arron is a winger with great pace and ability. He is right footed but equally comfortable wide on the right, the left or through the middle. Technically he is very good on the ball. Aaron is from Peterhead.
“We have high hopes for all three players. The Victory Shield is a good platform for them. It has been a good platform in recent years with Ryan Jack, Jack Grimmer and Fraser Fyvie all being involved and last season Richie Petrie and Michael Kelly played. It gives them a bit of grounding in what they can expect if they come in here and get early promotion to the first team but as we say to all the boys, all the hard work starts here. It is an achievement for them to have been involved at this stage of their careers and something that is nice to have on the CV but there is no guarantee that if you play in the Victory Shield that in two years time you will still be involved at a high level in football. It is continual hard work and dedication that is needed seven days a week, 24 hours a day.
“The SFA and Mark Wotte have put in place a development programme for kids from Primary 7 who are going into the development schools all the way through to the international teams from U16 up to U21 level. It is still early days but it is encouraging they have managed to get such a good group of players together.
“I think our system in the past has been ok but if we want to compete at the highest level, maybe it needs some different direction. Time will tell. With the performance schools, we are not going to know for the next six or seven years whether it has been a programme that has revitalised Scottish football. If you are doubling the amount of coaching hours though, I can only see a positive in that.
“Every year is a different group of players and it is unlikely we are going to be successful at this level year after year but I just want to see the game improve at all levels in this county. If this is the way that has been selected then everyone should support it”.
JOHN DELDAY OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT AWARDS
A Youth Academy presentation will take place during the half-time at the St Mirren game on the 14th December. The John Delday Outstanding Achievement awards are to be presented to the individual player in each of our youth Academy teams who has proven to be the best at “creativity”, “touch” and “technique”.
John Delday was a great supporter of Aberdeen FC, especially youth development at the club and provided regular sponsorship to enhance the programme. Sadly John passed away a few years ago, but his son John Delday Jr wanted to continue to honour his name and help the club he loved. His sponsorship is now helping to develop the next generation of creative and skilful young players.
The following have been awarded the John Delday award for 2012/13 for their particular age group:
10s: Calvin Ramsay
11s: Max Barry
12s: Connor Barron
13s: Andrew Watt
14s: Darren Hynes
15s: Frank Ross
17s: Scott McKenna
