He’s had a connection to the club since birth and, as they prepare to take on Rangers, Paul Young remains grateful he gets to pull on a Fraserburgh shirt.
The midfielder grew up watching the Broch, where his father Jimmy spent his whole playing career, and followed in his footsteps when signing for the club in 2017.
Between them father and son have racked up 961 appearances, of which Paul has accumulated 281.
The 32-year-old started out with Peterhead and also turned out for Huntly and Turriff United, but always thought he may end up at Fraserburgh.
Facing the Gers at Ibrox tomorrow (2.15pm kick-off) in the fourth round of the Scottish Cup will be another treasured memory for Young, who was also in the Broch side who faced the Govan club at Bellslea seven years ago in this competition.
Young made right decision
Young, who has helped Fraserburgh win the Breedon Highland League, three Evening Express Aberdeenshire Cups and two Morrison Motors (Turriff) Aberdeenshire Shields, said: “I was a Broch fan when I was growing up.
“But my dad always told me to try to play at as high a level as I could.
“I signed for Peterhead when I was leaving school, but I didn’t really do anything there.
“The next step for me was to try to establish myself with a team in the Highland League (which he did at Turriff after signing in 2012).
“At the time I did think I’d probably come and play for Fraserburgh at some point, but I didn’t know when it might happen – or if it would ever happen.
“When Mark Cowie and James Duthie spoke to me, it was always something I wanted to do, and I’m glad I made the decision to join because we’ve had a lot of success.
“You’re glad to be at the club when you’ve got a game like this, but you could never expect to get it. There’s a bit of a luck required in the draw.
“In my time at Fraserburgh, we’ve only reached the fourth round twice and we’ve drawn Rangers on both occasions – you need some luck for that to happen.
“We’ve been fortunate with other games we had as well and we’ve had a lot of experiences over the years at Fraserburgh that not many people get.
“It’s been good to follow my dad and play for the club.
“Reaching that milestone of 1,000 games between us would be a nice thing – although I don’t think I’ll ever catch his number of appearances (680).”
Gers clash could be Young’s last glamour tie before he’s too old
Ahead of facing Rangers, Young appreciates he may never get the chance to be involved in a fixture like this again.
He added: “The last time we got to the fourth round was in 2018, and if we’ve got to wait another seven years I’ll be nudging 40, so I won’t be playing by then.
“For myself and quite a few of the boys, we know it could potentially be the last time we get to play a Premiership team.
“We don’t want it to be the last time, but we know it could be so we want to enjoy the occasion.”
Big ask to spring a surprise
Young is well aware of how difficult it will be for Fraserburgh to upset a Rangers side who have yet to lose a home domestic fixture this season.
But he wants the Broch to do themselves, and their 1,800 travelling fans, proud.
“It’s a great occasion for the players, but it’s the same for the fans – it’s something for them to enjoy,” Young said
“Hopefully we can do ourselves proud, do the fans proud, let them enjoy the day and give them some good memories of going to Ibrox.
“We know how difficult it’s going to be, but this is what you play football for.
“We don’t want to be passive in the game and we want to try to be a threat.
“But that’s going to be very difficult.
“We’ll try to play the game in little periods and try to get through each period and see where we are.
“Technically and athletically, they should be superior to us, but if we show that desire to keep them out and ride our luck, then you never know what could happen.
“We’ll need to a lot of luck to get a result, but I suppose it’s sums up the magic of the Scottish Cup that we’re even able to talk about it.
“Ultimately it’s 11 v 11 and anything can happen, but we know how difficult it will be.”
Strachan aims to heap misery on the team he supports
For fan Liam Strachan, watching Rangers in recent times has been disappointing and the Fraserburgh winger is aiming to inflict more pain on the Gers.
The Broch face the Govan side at Ibrox tomorrow (2.15pm kick-off) in the fourth round of the Scottish Cup.
In recent years, Rangers have largely been playing second fiddle to Celtic – with their Premiership title triumph in 2021 their only top-flight success since 2011.
Strachan has been frustrated as a supporter, but hopes to cause problems playing against the Gers.
He said: “I’ve been down a few times this season. It’s been disappointing watching them – I’m hoping on Sunday it’s disappointing on their part as well.
“I wasn’t there, but probably the 55th title (would be his highlight as a Rangers fan). That was a really good one to watch.
“Apart from that, I’ve had pain watching them really. We’ve been second best.
“My brother (Ryan) is a die-hard fan. I think he’s supporting me if I get a chance, but he’s in the Rangers end – he’s got a season ticket.”
When the draw for the fourth round of the Scottish Cup was made on December 2, Strachan was unable to watch it live, but was almost shedding tears of joy after learning about the outcome.
He added: “It’s funny, I actually spoke to my brother, and I said: ‘Watch, we’ll get Rangers’.
“I wasn’t even watching the draw, I was actually busy at the time, and then I saw the group chat with all my team-mates and I almost started crying.
“I was actually with my girlfriend at the time. We were out for a meal – it was one of her family members’ birthday – so I couldn’t actually watch it.”
Reunion with a familiar face
Growing up Strachan played with one of the Rangers players he could face this weekend.
He attended Hazlehead Academy, the Scottish FA’s football performance school in the north-east, and was also in Aberdeen’s youth academy alongside Connor Barron, who joined Rangers last summer.
After leaving the Dons, Strachan joined Fraserburgh’s youth set-up before moving on to Fraserburgh United, with impressive displays in the Juniors earning him a move back to Bellslea.
Regardless of the outcome of the tie, Strachan will be trying to come away from Ibrox with a shirt as a souvenir.
He said: “I know Connor Barron. I think it’ll probably be his or James Tavernier’s (that he tries to get), because I think my brother really wants Tavernier’s.
“I came to Fraserburgh first after I left Aberdeen, and then it didn’t quite work out the first time. I went down a level to Juniors and I think that helped me a lot playing men’s football all the time. I think particularly last season I caught the eye of the Broch again.”
Boss Cowie calls for belief as Broch try to upset the odds
Manager Mark Cowie has urged Fraserburgh to believe anything is possible as they try to create what he thinks would be “the biggest upset in world football”.
The Broch visit Ibrox on Sunday looking to shock Rangers in round four of the Scottish Cup.
Although the Breedon Highland League outfit are huge underdogs against Premiership opposition, Cowie believes they could earn an exceptional result.
He said: “If we manage to get a result against Rangers at Ibrox, it will be the biggest upset in world football.
“The odds are stacked against us – but I’m a believer and we’ll give it a go.
“I think in any sport you have to go into anything believing you can win.
“There are different ways to win games – you don’t have to have 40 passes before you score a goal, and you don’t have to have 90% of possession to win a game.
“There’s lot of ways to win a game. The players need to trust and implement the gameplan. We’ll also need luck to be on our side and 10 out of 10 performances from the 16 players that feature.
“A lot of things need to happen in order for us to get anything from the game, but anything is possible.
“If the guys can put in a performance to make the club proud, then I’ll be happy.”
‘Football is a strange game’
Cowie also thinks Fraserburgh can take inspiration from recent Scottish Cup shocks.
In 2021, fellow Highland League side Brora Rangers took the scalp of Hearts at Dudgeon Park, and two years ago, West of Scotland League Premier Division side Darvel ousted Aberdeen in Ayrshire.
He added: “I think we have to take inspiration from Brora’s result and Darvel’s result – however, the difference is their ties weren’t at Ibrox.
“However, you have to believe you have a chance and we do believe that.
“I know the odds are against us, but football is a strange game and the underdog can be successful, so we’ll give it a go.”
Chairman Murray on the security provided by Scottish Cup cash
Fraserburgh chairman Michael Murray believes the windfall from facing Rangers in the Scottish Cup will safeguard the club’s future.
The Broch visit Ibrox tomorrow with their share of the gate receipts, a payment for the match being shown on BBC One and tournament prize money making it a lucrative tie for the Breedon Highland League side.
Although Murray won’t be drawn on how much Fraserburgh may earn, he said: “Hopefully we can make sure the club is secure for the future.
“It’s not going to be a case of ‘here’s a windfall and it’s going to disappear as quick as we receive it.’
“For myself and the board, it’s crucial we look at protecting the future of the club. This will give us a bit of security going forward.
“Fraserburgh as a club has got phenomenal foundations, but we want to build on them – and this will allow us to do that and to upgrade and improve things.
“We won’t be wasting a single penny of what we get, that’s for sure.
“This will allow myself, the board and the management team to drive the club forward, and it’s important we get it right.
“It’s testament to everyone past and present at the club that we’re in this position.”
Club can push ahead
Murray revealed Fraserburgh already have a number of things on their agenda they hope to tackle.
He added: “This will allow us to push ahead with some ongoing issues.
“The far side of the pitch from the stand at Bellslea is known for being a bit boggy, so we’re going to be able to bring someone in to investigate that, which will be good.
“We’ve got fencing that we need to get fixed, and our hospitality lounge needs a bit of work as well.
“Those are all things that we can look at tackling – and I’m sure there may be some things the management team will request as well and we’ll discuss that.”
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