Hamilton Accies won the 1st division title and promotion to the SPL on Saturday with a 2-0 victory over Clyde. The victory was just the climax of a fantastic season for the club, who were in the 3rd Division as recently as the 2000-2001 season. The club have spent just four seasons in the 1st Division, as the Accies established themselves as a 1st Division club with 7th, 3rd and 4th placed finishes in the first three seasons.
This season, manager Billy Reid has put a squad together which has been full of mainly youth players and only a few old heads to guide the youngsters to the title. Richard Offiong has been in inspired form this season for the Accies contributing 19 league goals along with two young midfielders James McCarthy and James McArthur, who have each scored 6 and 5 league goals respectively.
Building on their youth development reputation, Hamilton Accies has had the lowest age squad in the division, helped especially by regular starters: 17-year-old James McCarthy, 19-year-old Tony Stevenson, 20-year-old James McArthur and 20-year-old Brian Easton. McCarthy caused controversy when he decided to play for the Republic of Ireland instead of Scotland. The midfielder has recently attracted interest from Chelsea and was subject to a £1m bid from Liverpool in the summer of 2007.
Chairman Ronnie McDonald has vowed to carry on their youth development programme in the SPL, and replace outgoing stars (potentially McCarthy and McArthur) with players from the Under-17 squad. He has also declared to the fans that he will not follow some SPL club’s methods in signing old pros who are looking for their final career pay-packet and instead concentrate on bringing through their own young players.
Accies will however, be counting the cost of being promoted to the SPL. A new stand will need to be in place by the start of the season to comply with the SPL’s minimum requirement of a 6,000 seater stadium. The Lanarkshire club will also need to replace their current AstroTurf pitch with grass and an undersoil heating system, again to comply SPL rules. The chairman and the board will be hoping however that TV revenue, increased attendances at games and increased sales in merchandise will balance out the expenditure for next season.
It has been Hamilton Acidemicals’ first 1st division title in 20 years and their first ever season in the newly formed SPL and they will be looking to make the most of it, following clubs such as St. Mirren, Inverness CT and Falkirk in establishing themselves as an SPL side. They will also be trying to avoid the situation which Gretna got themselves into, by getting their stadium ready on time and not lavishly spending out on contracts for ‘old-pros’. With Hamilton’s stadium, New Douglas Park, accomodating office space for local businesses, there is already an income flowing in even when there is no football on.
Accies will be confident of emulating the success of smaller SPL clubs, especially if they are able to keep a hold of their young stars. Most SPL clubs will welcome the freshness they will bring to the league and will also be happy with the current financial situation which Hamilton are in.
Lion Rampant Sports 