WHAT’S IT ALL ABOUT, ALFIE?

(interview from Red Matchday Magazine by Mal Panton)

The test for any talented young footballer – and their football club – is to plot a successful path that takes them from academy football and into the first team on a regular basis. The higher up the pyramid you go, the harder that is. When you are at the sharp end of the game like Aberdeen, the pressure is there to win every week. Getting in the team as a youngster is hard, more so than ever, and staying there is harder still, for the first team can’t carry passengers – you have that shirt on merit alone.

This season in particular, the Dons have looked to send much of their most promising young talent out on loan, including some of the club’s best U18 players, including Alfie Bavidge who is currently at League One’s Kelty Hearts. It’s an opportunity he has relished.

“It’s been brilliant. They’re a great group of lads and the manager, Michael Tidser, has been very good with me since I joined. I’ve been fortunate enough to have played every game. He has that belief and trust in me to go and play every week. I keep trying to repay him by playing well, and by trying my hardest, which should be a given anyway.

“I’m loving how it’s working out. I’ll be at Cormack Park on Monday and Tuesday. On a Wednesday, we’ll come in and do the gym work. Then on Thursday, I’ll travel to train with Kelty at night, so I wouldn’t come in Thursday morning. On a Friday, I come in and do a matchday minus one session with Neil Simpson and the other loan players. And then obviously on a Saturday, I will travel down for the game. Sunday is a day off and a chance to rest.

“It can be a lot of travelling, but my dad told me that’s what you have got to do if you want to be a footballer. Those are the sacrifices I’ve got to make if I want to make myself a better player, so it’s worth it. My dad has been really helpful. He has played at this level for a lot of years, he knows what is needed and also how tough it is!

“Being in a men’s changing room as opposed to the U18 one is a big difference off the pitch. On the pitch, the physical side of things and tactical side of things is a lot different too. No disrespect to youth football but there’s a lot more at stake. We’re talking about people’s livelihoods. No one has said anything. They don’t need to. You just know how important each game is.

“The manager has the trust in me to go out and do what I do on the pitch. I will never chuck it in during a game, I will keep going to the end of the game, keep fighting, no matter the scoreline. I have really enjoyed playing in the league and playing for points. It is great after a game when you win to look at the table to see where you are. It’s a really tight table as well. When you win a game, you can jump up three places. It’s really exciting and every game gives you something to look forward to.

“It’s a really good level. As much as I think I’ve done alright, I wasn’t sure at the start if I could cope. I have the manager to thank for giving me that confidence so that I can play every week. I’ve grown into it and I’m scoring a few goals now. I hope I can continue that.

“When it was decided that I was heading out on loan, naturally I wanted to go to the highest level possible. That was always going to be the most beneficial for me. There was no point in going to a lower level, even if I maybe scored a heap of goals. It would almost have been a wasted year. I had to try and get the most out of the loan to help prepare me for what lies ahead with the first team.

“I have had some difficult games, some difficult afternoons, but they’re the ones you learn from most. We’ve had a few indifferent spells but again it has been an important learning curve. I feel Kelty are a good side and one good win could help kick us on for the remainder of the season, as the league is so tight.

“Part of my job is coming to the ball and holding it up. When I first went there, it was not a shock to me, but it was proper football! It was physical. It was difficult and it was quick, really fast. I’ve got used to that now and I think my hold-up play has come on leaps and bounds since I’ve been there. I just want to keep working at it and keep going. You can always get better. I’m not saying it’s perfect – it’s definitely not! But I can see the improvement.

“That’s why I would say if boys are ready, then they should go out on loan. Talking from the experience I have had, it has been nothing but good for me. Apart from the travelling, there have been no negatives! It has been great playing week in, week out at a good level, with a good group of lads and a good manager who likes to play football.

“In these games, you do not get as many chances as you would with the 18s. The youth games are much more open than League One. It’s about taking chances, even half chances, that come your way. Goals change games. It can be a 0-0 bore, but if there’s a half chance for me and if I score, everything looks completely different. As I am learning it’s very fine margins that decide games.”

Alfie has come through the ranks at Aberdeen and spent plenty of his early years working with Barry Robson.

“Barry had a massive influence on my career. He took me out from the U16s earlier than maybe others would have done and got me into the U18s. I didn’t know if I was ready for the step up but he gave me the belief that I was. After a lot of training sessions and team meetings, I grew into it and really enjoyed playing for him and in that team. Making that step up earlier than normal was a big thing. It made a huge difference to me because when I did come in as a full-time professional, I was a lot more prepared for what I was about to face.

“I think he will go on and do well as a manager in the future. He has been there and done it and I came on so much as a player working for him. He knew exactly what I needed to work on and the training and advice he gave me was great.”

Although Alfie has played much of his football for Kelty Hearts this season, he is still available to play for the Development Team in the cup competitions, something he has really enjoyed.

“It’s good to be back playing with my mates who I was playing with over many years in some cases. We’re not quite ready to split up and go our separate ways because we’re all really close and we love playing together. So these games are really enjoyable, it’s like playing with the 18s last year.

“You can see there’s a lot of improvement in the team from when we first played Brora Rangers in pre-season in the SPFL Trust Trophy, then we beat Fraserburgh, Turriff United and then Buckie in the Aberdeenshire Shield, which was a really big result for us. Sadly we lost in the final to Banks o’Dee, but I think as young players, we can all learn a lot from that. Now we’ve got the Aberdeenshire Shield semi-final to look forward to after beating Keith. We have a shot at winning a trophy to show for the hard work we have put in.”

Aberdeen still have an interest in the Youth Cup too, a competition where many feel the club has unfinished business. They’ve come close to winning it in recent years, and were particularly hard done by when the final was cancelled during the COVID season, a game they would have been strong favourites to win. This season, they’re into the semi-finals again, but not without incident after two incredible games at home to Kilmarnock and St Johnstone, where on both occasions, Aberdeen had a man sent off in the opening minutes.

“I was just standing up the other end watching and getting a feeling of deja-vu! I was standing in the exact same spot watching the exact same foul in the two games. I think we showed a great togetherness to get through both ties.

“It is almost like a different team that play in the Youth Cup from the Club Academy Scotland league because we have got Alfie Stewart, Findlay Marshall, Brendan Hamilton and myself all coming back from loan. Hopefully the experience we are all getting on loan will make the team stronger.

“We play Ayr United in the semi-final at home and I just hope we can push on because it’s a really prestigious cup. It’s drummed into all the players how important this competition is. With the game at home, we have a good shot of getting to Hampden for the final, but Ayr have done very well to get this far and we know it will be another very tough game.

“It’s a massive incentive for all the boys. I’ve never played at Hampden so it would be very good to be involved in a game like that, playing at the national stadium in front of a big crowd. Let’s hope we can get there.”

There has been international recognition for Alfie with five caps and two goals for Scotland’s U17s and fours goal from nine games with the U19s. Alfie was away last week in Croatia with Billy Stark’s side for friendlies against Turkey and Latvia. Alfie netted a first half hat-trick against Latvia.

Again, these are invaluable experiences.

“It’s a really talented group, we’ve got a really good team, it’s just a case now of seeing where we can go. We have done well in the previous UEFA qualifiers, but it’s a lot harder to qualify at U19 level than it was with the U17s. I think I’m right in saying you can go through if you are top of your group, and we have managed to draw Italy. It will be a bit of a task, but I think we’ve got the ability in the team to go and do it.”

Whisper it, but pre-season training starts again in four months and when he comes back in, Alfie has plenty to prove.

“The aim is to come back for pre-season and push for a place in the first team squad. It might be ambitious, but that is the goal. All the young guys at Cormack Park, we all want to play for the first team. You don’t know when it will happen, but I just hope I can take my chance when it comes. You never know what can happen in football, so you just need to keep your head down and keep working really hard. The fact I’ve had a taste of playing for the first team means you are desperate to get back there, but I also know I am still young and have a lot to learn.

“I might have to consider another loan move. At the end of the day the club will do whatever is best for me and best for my development. This loan has been excellent for my development and hopefully when I get back, I will be ready and be in good shape to go have a real crack at it.”