Wee County - "Just out of interest, how many of the current squad were 'born and bred in the town'? "

On the Gurn recently one of the readers had used the search facility and looked for references to the phrase “born and bred” in relation to its use in the current dynamics that make up town politics and daily life in the Nairn of the second decade of the new millennium. Perhaps we'll analyse that analysis sometime but, more immediately, this phrase also turned up in a response to our article “The Wisdom of Iain Bain on Highland football". Anonymous said (quoting again some of Iain’s editorial this week in the Nairnshire Telegraph:

“"[...]Well it is all good fun and maybe we can forgive southern metropolitans their glib and predictable humour. It goes with their territory.

But what is harder to take is when we get the same sort of stuff from fellow Scots in the Central Belt. Sometimes it is difficult to believe we are in the same country when we confront the patronising ignorance of people south of the Highland Line."

It's exactly this attitude that invites the "patronising ignorance". Tut Tut!!

Mon the Forfar!

Just out of interest, how many of the current squad were 'born and bred in the town'?

Donald Wilson has responded to the question anonymously posed:

“There’s that old chestnut again – how many are born and bred in the town?  In truth footie fans can be a bit mercenary like the top players and don’t give a damn as long as their team is winning. But to answer the question there is a very good sprinkling of local talent who have established themselves as regular first team members – Glen and Greg Main, Wayne Mackintosh, Paul Macleod and Robbie Duncanson (Ardersier). Goalkeeper Calum Donaldson although not a Nairn lad has come through the ranks of the County youth team and the very fact they have a good youth policy provides a platform for local talent to come through the ranks. I understand some Nairn youngsters have recently been signed up for the future. And there are those who never quite made it into the first team but are still performing elsewhere in the Highland League and junior football. The reality is if you were to field an ‘all local’ side just for the sake of it you would not be able to compete with the top tier of the Highland League. And looking back in history I am sure many fans of my vintage can remember the great Nairn teams of the sixties having a fair sprinkling of players from as far afield as Aberdeen and closer to home, Inverness.

The championship team of ‘76 included locals Ritchie Konczak, Davy Johnston, Sammy Forsyth, Stan Brown,  and Harry McFadden (oops he may have been a Forres loon - but he married a local lass so he had a Nairn passport! )

The rest of the team were recruits from Moray brought in by manager Innes Macdonald and we had the likes of big Robin Mitchell from Inverness. There were also players from the Central belt who were lured to the north by the oil fabrication yard at Ardersier including of course, captain courageous of the League winning side, Dave Cochrane who had played for St Johnstone. Centre forwards were feart to come near him. It’s not so long ago we were asking ourselves if Nairn County would survive the financial pressures they were under. Now I and many other fans are enjoying the moment and hope as the club moves towards its centenary in 2014 it continues to enjoy the success it is currently experiencing."

Thanks for that Donald, only two more sleeps until the big game, que sera, sera...