Celtic Academy - Part 3
Part 3 - The staff
This is part 3 of our pieces on the Celtic Academy, if you’ve not read parts 1 & 2 published in the past 2 days, we would suggest you quickly read over before today’s article on The Academy Staff
The first thing an old boss of mine who respect told me is…
“Good people make big differences. If you don’t have good people then you’ll spend forever and a day fighting against them and the odds to achieve anything good”
Main Men
Michael O’Halloran: Heads up the Intermediate Academy (St. Ninians link) up to and including u16s
Adam Ashgar – Under 18s Manager
Stephen McManus – B Team Manager
Willie McStay – Head of Academy Scouting
Darren O’Dea – Player Pathway Manager
Chris McCart – Head of Academy
*We also have notable names like Mio Krivokapic (ex-Motherwell player), John McStay, Steven Hammell (ex-Motherwell player and manager) Colin Meldrum (ex-Killie goalie and Motherwell coach) and Mark McNally (ex-Celtic player) all in various roles within the academy.
UNDER 18s
I’ve watched the U18s a good few times live this season and if you look at the recent performances, it’s chaotic at best in terms of results and performances. I’ve seen the last 30mins of the 6-2 win vs Hearts at Riccarton and our losses to Hamilton, Rangers and Morton along with the highlights of St.Mirrens goals courtesy of their socials and thanks to the twitter account I mentioned above I know the scores up until now have been:
U18s Currently: 7th (11 teams) in the Elite Academy League (7 points)
Results:
Celtic 1-1 Kilmarnock
Motherwell 1-4 Celtic
Celtic 1-3 Rangers
Hearts 2-6 Celtic
Celtic 1-4 Dundee Utd
Celtic 0-1 Hamilton
St.Mirren 4-1 Celtic
Youth Cup:
Celtic 0-2 Morton
First I have to state some caveats on our current crop of U18s - we have a lot of players between B team and u18s and a few players who are still eligible for u16s who play in the u18s. Managing that cannot be easy, especially when (based on team) we appear to be getting those U18s who are up in the B team occassionally coming down for game time. No doubt he is given instruction to take players out of U18s to field these B-Players. Coaching, therefore, won’t be easy. I would suspect that it also won’t be easy for the players who will be training with one team and playing for another come gameday. This is certainly what I see in the results and is shown in the performances.
In one of the previous artciles I mentioned the game vs Hamilton u18s. They (managed by Charlie Mulgrw) have been struggling in the league and had at least 3 or 4 under 16s in the lineup. We had a few players who had been up with the B Team come back down. Unfortunately none of them stood out for me on the night or in the other games I’ve seen. I wonder why that is and there could be many reasons:
· They may view it as a punishment playing down, instead of getting a clear message that it’s vital for them to show leadership and set the standard for the guys who are younger. This is a platform to show who you are and what you’ve got that takes you back up to B Team or First Team. Not a place to turn up and go through the motions because you think you are better than this level, results and evidence are actually showing that is not true
· Maybe they are viewed as a squad / sub for the B Team as it stands and the club wants to get them minutes, but is doing that at the expense of benching someone who has been playing well in the 18s worth it
· I also wonder about the integration and relationship management of the players who are in the St. Ninians program and those who aren’t, along with how the players interact through the differing age groups as some are part of the 07 (17 year olds) intake, some 08 (16 year olds) and a few 09s (15 year olds)… I’m still getting use to that whole these players are 07 chat that folk use but having seen players before and after games and listening to how they communicate or at times don’t communicate on the pitch it looks like they aren’t a team, more like groups of players made up to be a team which again could be down to numerous factors like them training in different teams up until game day.
We lost that game 1-0 and I came away from it having chatted to guys who know far more than me about coaching and they all said the same thing - Hamilton wanted it more and were more organised from beginning to end.
My feeling that I mentioned above is the Celtic lads were trying, but were really quiet when compared to the Hamilton side who were vocal and quite aggressive with it at times which is a good thing. The first notable free kick of the game set the tone a little with the Hamilton player planting one of the young Celts on his bum and then pointing at him and telling him in a charming manner that he’d got him. I think the exact words were “F*ck%ng Nailed You” along with a wink and a smile. No reaction at all from the young Hoops. I’m not saying get up and nail him back but just a bit of reaction, go pick your team mate up and stick up for one another.
I had been told it was a bit of shock having heard about a good performance in a friendly against Dunfermline the week before where we won 5-2, it seems the team in friendlies is doing alright but come league games the performances are not transferring over.
The same could be said of defeat we suffered vs Rangers at Lennoxtown in August. I found myself watching a 3-1 defeat and being thankful that Rangers had been at times wasteful. The boys were clearly trying to play through a press from our own box and that’s great, but it needs a lot of good communication and a level of confidence that I didn’t see. It’s hard to sometimes see from the sideline if we are fully set when we were moving the ball into open play, but what was clear was Rangers were ready and punished mistakes. The lads took a while to sort themselves out, regularly falling into the same traps and making quite basic errors. Quite frankly Rangers on the day were the best team by a fair bit.
I can say I really did enjoy the goal we scored vs Rangers as it’s a move we see often in the first team with the ball wide, a nice pass in behind the defence and the player making an AJ style run, cut back and finish but sadly it was a little green sparkle in what felt like a tidal wave of blue on the day.
Overall, in performances that I’ve seen I’d rate them poorly. Some talented lads, a few who I’d seen who were excellent in the u16s last season that now look lacking in any self-confidence. The team structure in games often looks disjointed and tactically we’ve been below the levels of the opponents I’ve seen us up against.
That then takes me to what that looks like and feels like for the lads playing up and those who have moved up to u18s from the u16s last season. If I’m that lad being benched or dropped for a player who is “playing down”, a player who thinks or has been told he is a B Team player and then they come down and don’t perform then I’m frustrated and concerned, because they are told when they sign that first pro contract and that from here on in it’s all on merit.
It was explained to me that the moment you hit pro contracts it’s meant to be about merit first and foremost. Whilst they do look to manage game time for all players, the key thing is having a merit-based selection because this is meant to be your route to the first team (*Produce Champions League Level Players), to the point where when they sign pro contracts they even have elements that cover what happens if they make it to the first team. So, if you are developing, training well and playing well, that shirt is yours as long as you are on it. My concern, as an outsider looking in, is that this merit based system isn’t always merit based. It all seems abit wooly, a bit blurry. Why???
Something an agent and a scout mentioned in passing earlier in the season only served to make me all the more convinced that the question needs to be asked about the management structure and level of authority for coaches within our Academy structure. They explained that the U18 coach doesn’t pick the team. I was told the U18 coach does everything from plan daily training sessions, take the sessions, lead the team out and is the man on the touchline…. But he doesn’t select the matchday team. I was told that he no doubt has an input, but often players are presented to him with clear instruction that they need to play. If that is true, the obvious question is who is pushing that and why? The logical answer would take me to one of 2 people Chris McCart or Darren O’Dea. There may well be a structure and desired outcome to this type of decision making but from the people I have spoken with, outwith our coaches, no-one knows why, or at least, it hasn’t been explained in a way people affected understand.
When writing about the coaches, I am speaking as an outsider (albeit an informed one) and I don’t want the reader to think these articles are anything but a report based upon my experiences and discussions with others who know this level of the Scottish game. I am sure the club will have a stringent interview and selection process for all key positions and they will have undertaken a high level of due diligence on Ashgar, Hayes and everyone and anyone who sets foot into the Academy as the players all still fall under the safe guarding policies that the club have in place. The Academy after all is an educational environment where setup should be about development, encouragement and analysis to ensure we are progressing as individuals and as a team and to go back to the philosophy to develop the player and the person.
I have only heard good things about Ashgar. From what I have read he should be a great addition to our Academy. By most accounts he impressed Brendan during his test session as part of the interview process. Also he seemed to be really eager to promote the successes of his players at Southampton. Appointing him to improve the setup and lead our u18s, then asking him to pull a functioning team together that will allow each player to perform to their best under his guidance when he might not know what his first 11 is until told by someone else who he has doesn’t seem to make sense.
Surely that is a huge blocker for a young aspiring manager, and a massive blocker to each players development because it’s then not a merit-based selection?
Nosey parker that I am, I had a look at Ashgars Twitter feed.
Before Celtic it is full of celebration of players being called up to national teams, video of clips of good wins vs teams and really showing he was proud of the work he and his players were producing at Southampton. At Celtic, nothing….
Maybe it’s a club policy, but that would be odd because every club knows how social media works and it’s a great boost for the players and the guys he works with if he’s showing he’s proud of the work they all do in the public domain. I’ve even seen some nice clips of interviews he done at Dundee Utd where he would talk about how his u18 team had played win or lose in a manner that would expect from any manager.
Going back to the arrival of Ashgar and Hayes. I’m not aware of any media featuring either since they arrived. I might have missed something so feel free to correct me, but if I have it’s not been a regular thing and I wonder why…. I just go back to this constant feeling that our academy is kind of forgotten about (maybe the club doesn’t think the support are that bothered).
I might be wrong with the above but everything I’ve learned and seen is telling me that something there isn’t quite right. If Ashgar isn’t picking the team then for me (in a merit based system) the club are putting him under the bus and that is not fair on him, the coaches he works with, the players or the families supporting them and I’ve no idea how you judge what he’s doing IF he’s not got full control. It’s like judging my TV viewing when my wife has the remote.
B Team
Then we move on to the B Team that is now being managed by Stephen McManus with his new partner in crime Johnny Hayes. I’ve had the pleasure of speaking to Johnny Hayes a few times in the last year or so while he was at Aberdeen having been at a few games where they were playing. He comes across as down to earth, engaging, respectful and very honest bloke. As a parent I’d want my lad playing for him because I think he’d be upfront with you from day 1 and as long as you are putting in the graft then he’ll be willing to help. Having spoken to a few people who worked with him and a few who had lads who played for him they seem to share that opinion which is good to hear and I personally think, like above, it would be good for the support to hear from him about the B team and his aspirations and coaching style because of who he is and where he’s been in the game. His story wasn’t just 1 big straight line to the top and from the outside he’s gone from player to coach in a way I think many people have had some sight of via media and I think it helps. It’s such a huge part of the game now, some people might complain about it but it was players and clubs who often promote this stuff and want you to look at these things, so they can’t then moan when people actually care to look.
It’s obviously early but a B Team that I had seen 4 or 5 times at the end of last season were bland and boring to watch (almost like a team being coached by 2 central defenders if we were to stereotype), being matched by part time players who train 2 nights a week after stints at work or uni. Thankfully it has looked much better this season. Scoring goals, playing some really nice stuff and generally looking a bit calmer and more confident in what they are doing. Young Daniel Cummings is flying in the striker role and I would hope that’s grabbing the attention of Brendan and his staff. I’m also a big fan of Donovan who stepped up to the first team in pre-season and like the looks of guys like Dede and Hatton to name a few. The performance in the Youth Champions League vs Slovan Bratislava was really bright and I look forward to seeing how we gate on against the better teams like Dortmund, Brugge and Aston Villa at that level.
B Team Currently: 2nd (18 teams) in Lowland League (21 points)
Results:
Celtic B 1-0 Cumbernauld Colts
Broomhill 0-5 Celtic
Celtic 2-2 Gala Fairydean
Celtic 5-1East Stirlingshire
Gretna 0-1 Celtic
Celtic 3-0 Linlithgow Rose
Civil Service Strollers 0-0 Celtic
Celtic 6-0 Tranent Juniors
Celtic 0-0 Berwick
Challenge Cup:
East Kilbride 3-0 Celtic
The one major concern I have with the B Team stems from last season and various stories about strained relationships with McManus on O’Dea (above). It may well be that the separation and fresh start was needed for both but if true, the club letting it carry on for as long as was rumoured is poor.
Two coaches butting heads or not speaking only serves to hinder development so I hope that it was merely a rumour but having seen them interact, or more to the point not interact during some of the last few games of the season my money would have been on it being true. If it was true and it had been going on for months then hopefully lessons have been learned and it never gets that far down the line again because I don’t see how turning a blind eye to it all and waiting for the season to end helped anyone, especially not the players. Having 2 senior figures who don’t talk would leave them in a situation where subconsciously they end up feeling like they have to be Team McManus or Team O’Dea. Not a great environment or position to be in for any young player.
While I don’t think the lowland league is the best place for our players who have progressed past u18s we have to make the best of it until someone actually grows a spine under their SFA blazer and revamps the system to get a proper reserve league back or push hard to allow B Teams to move up levels. If not, then maybe we need to do more with the Admira link up, or find a few more clubs at a better level to partner with.
Personally, I would like to us get more players out to the Scandic leagues or decent sides in the 2nd tiers over in France, Netherlands or Spain if possible as the standards are miles above lowland league football and there are lots of teams who have a good developmental history. Even looking at what Conor Hazard got from his loan over in Finland at HJK Helsinki where he was outstanding then he returned and left us for Plymouth. He has subsequently gone on to make himself the number 1 and appears to be doing quite well, to the point where I’ve heard rumours some teams higher up have already started keeping tabs on his performances.
The role of Darren O’Dea (i understand) is to act as pathway manager. I like the idea of what I think the role should be, but the feedback from participants is mixed. No-one seems clear what the role entails our how it delivers. I’ve never had the pleasure of meeting Darren in person but having listened to him via our club media and caught bits and pieces of his interactions with others at B team games he comes across well and I think, if he gets a proper chance, he will bring positive things to the club when it comes to helping ensure the development of players is on point and that Rodgers has a clear insight on players who could make the step up.
Last but not least Chris McCart (above). The man who is Head of Academy. I believe he has been at the club since around 2008 - 16 years at the helm. You always have to be careful when making judgements on the work of someone you don’t know or you are not angageing with on a professional level. In the gossipy world of Scottish football It’s hard to know what is true or false when you hear the stories surrounding the ex-Motherwell player. The thing that would bother me as a supporter is I’ve rarely heard a positive one in recent years, maybe it’s that age old thing about time can turn you into the villain of the story, and 16 years is a long time for that to happen, alternatively you can join the club and have the surname Lawwell and really bam up some supporters from day one.
My biggest criticism of McCart would be that, from my position, he appears to be heading a setup that seems to have people all working from very different hymn sheets. It doesn’t feel or look like there is any harmony.
Whether that be the O’Dea / McManus fiasco, Ashgar not having the ability to pick his own team or the ideas on how to develop players being different depending on who you ask. As a club, we should have a clearly defined plan that is ingrained in everything we do in the academy. Staff should have clearly defined roles and allowed to do them and he should be the validation check over it all. Instead, it sounds like there is a lot of interference and just looks and sounds messy.
If we have a group of senior figures all wanting to develop players in totally different way then we have a load of young players who are going to receive mixed messages as they move through the stages and that’s not best practice. You go to any top academy in the world and every coach and player will tell you what the key principles are and each step should have the same core elements at the heart of what they’re doing.
Fans suggestions over the years via blogs and fan forums of the academy being a jobs for pals of senior figures never seems to go away either, albeit it’s a regular theme throughout the club including in the boardroom. So, it wouldn’t come as a shock if that runs through areas like the Academy. If we were playing Guess Who for folk who work at the club the questions NOT to ask are:
· Were you a friend of a senior figure at Celtic before being appointed?
· Have you ever worked for Motherwell FC?
· Are you an ex-player who works in the academy?
· Did you attend St Aloysius private school?
That aside if we looked at McCarts tenure and it was a judgement on results then personally I’d look at the players that have all been mentioned above and ask why haven’t we seen a single player come through and be a standout in the Celtic first 11 since KT. And even the tales of KT getting into the first team seem to be more luck than judgement.
Thankfully a stroke of luck took him from academy to first team just by being in the right place, apparently on an exercise bike in the gym listening to Whitney Houston and pondering whether he would pinch his Mums Tesco or Asda bag for life to put his training gear in. Ronnie D rocks munching his breakfast, a cooked rare T-bone steak whilst looking for players and all of a sudden finds himself singing “And I eeeeeeeeeeee I will always Love Yooooooooouuuuuuu” with KT, almost breaking Mariah Careys record for highest vocal chord. That moment of harmony results in an invite to grab his Boots bag with his boots in and get on the pitch (BBC verify are still to confirm the Whitney story for me). Tierney steps onto the pitch and shows the player and person he is to a manager who was willing to give young guys a chance even when others didn’t think they were good enough and goes on to cement himself as one of the best left backs in the UK and leads to record breaking move to Arsenal.
Now I know that the club and our Head of Academy will point to the financial success the Academy has helped bring to the club and bravo they are good. Tierney £25mil up until O’Riley was our biggest sale and on the books pure profit, fantastic but personally I look at Tierney and remember his performances, the trophies he won and the joy on his face when he walked on and off that pitch as a winner, not the cash we sold him for.
At the same time, we all know the club needs to have a player trading model and so selling some of our best players needs to happen from time to time. We also need quality and continuity in the team, and we stand a better chance of keeping a better player if he has come through the academy, as we have with Callum and James. They could have easily left us man times over the years but they’ve stayed and been leaders, captains and winners. Chances of us signing and keeping a guy we’ve bought in like Engels for 6 or 7 years+ if he is successful are tiny and isn’t even a plan as we all know the plan is 2, maybe 3 years and then sell. Last but not least I go back to the clubs own words… the purpose of the academy is to develop Champions League level players. It’s been a long time since we’ve done that and again it sounds like criticism but since KT we’ve not had one Academy player that has broke through and you’d look at and be delighted to see in our starting line-up vs a Dortmund or Real Madrid, I’m not sure we have any since KT that folk would have been all that chuffed to see in vs Slovan Bratislava.
I also know that those in our Academy need a manager who is willing to give players a shot in situ to help them achieve the goal of having Academy players become Champions League players, and in fairness we’ve rarely had that since Ronnie Deila. He had a bit of a luxury of knowing an 80 point season would likely win the title so putting in Callum, KT or Forrest in to the team on a regular basis was a bit easier than it is now and we benefitted massively from that spell. He even gave a young Rogic (not academy) his first 30 game league season that he had with us (2 in total) so that is an indicator of where things were in 2014/2015…. But that was 10 years ago.
It’s obviously tough to know what the views of the various managers have been on our young players in the last 10 years, they all talk about it like they want them coming through, but behind the scenes who knows. At the very least I would hope the managers are making it clear what they are looking for so that picture is clear to the staff and players working in the academy.
We also have to wonder why many of our so-called best prospects who have left in recent years haven’t been particularly successful (and don’t say Andy Roberston, Queens Park deserve the credit for his story) because we have to own a little part of these things. If the club wants to talk about how many academy players have become pros then it needs to own its part in the positives and the negatives and use them as lessons to help improve moving forward.
So, again my question here would be what does success look like to the club when we talk about Academy. Is it the numbers at the very start, is it……
· Players who become pros at an elite level (Champions League)
· Players who become pros at any level
· Players who stay in the game at any level or in any role
· Or is it how much cash we make?
I put the last bit in bold having heard the spiel about how much money the Academy has made Celtic, and it’s said with great pride, more so than any other number I heard given which I found quite annoying. The club is a business, we all get that now, but The Academy should always be about people first and foremost and the key principles. It should be about young people trying to make their way in the game we all love. It should be about young coaches cutting their teeth and going on to become top coaches and managers, or experienced coaches really helping young players by passing on their experience and support and as long as it isn’t going to bankrupt us the money should be a bit further down the line of priorities for me.
Our history is something as a club take great pride on one of the greatest football stories in the history of the game, our very own Lisbon Lions….
Now I’m not saying that can be replicated again, but that story will always feel brilliant because it’s a story full of characters that loved the club as much as you and I…. and that’s what the academy gives us the chance to have as fans. It’s a chance for young players who have come through, loving the club and living out the dreams we all have in front of our eyes at 3pm on a Saturday afternoon or 8pm just after hearing the Champions League music on a Wednesday night. I loved Henrik, Kyogo and so many others but watching one of our own rattles one past a Goram, Klos or Butland just has something extra on it for me, and a team without our own academy players trained just doesn’t sit right with me. I want a Callum in the team every week, I want to see our own players come through and make a positive mark, they might leave… that’s just how it goes, but then I’d hope that much like you see at the best clubs in The Netherlands or in Portugal they get to an age where they want to come home and we can welcome them back and use the experiences they’ve had to help us develop the next group who are coming through….
A little example is if our team was this next weekend:
Schmeichel
AJ CCV Trusty Valle
Engels Bernardo Hatate
Kuhn Kyogo Maeda
That’s a decent team but as daft as it sounds to me it would be missing something, that something would be a Cal, Forrest or even Ralston. In my mind the team feels like it carries something more with a homegrown player in it. It might be daft to some but that’s just how I feel and why I really want to see our academy get the right investment and have the right people driving it forward.
If you have ever done any coaching courses (SFA/FA) then you will know one of the key things that is suggested is that you reflect back and analyse yourself and the work you are doing with the team and I hope that our Academy coaches reflect back often enough on who they are and what they do using many of the same tools used to analyse players along with open and honest conversations with those they work with including players. It’s really important for their own development that they take on board what they get back from their coaching colleagues and players because anyone who has coached in anything knows your best source of feedback and best representation of who you are as a coach is your players and those who work for you.
It is absolutely vital that the heads of function, managers, coaches and club acknowledge and evaluate themselves on a regular basis to keep standards high, to keep the messages fresh and to keep true to type of coach, teacher and person you want to be in that role. It’s something I actually really credit Rodgers with since he’s returned, he seems like a coach/manager who has hit that sweet spot of knowing who he is in that role and is constantly evaluating and making lots of little improvements to keep himself and his team fresh even bringing in guys who have come from outside of the game into key roles because he recognises that not everyone needs to have been part of the football village to be able to make a positive impact. Hopefully his example rubs off on everyone else over time.
I said this above but for me the measurement of success for every member of staff in the academy is held in every player who sets foot in and out of the system. If I asked every player to look back on their time at the club would they reflect on it as a positive time in life?
While it’s incredibly difficult to get it 100% right all of the time I’d want that percentage of positives responses to be extremely high from the players and their families.
I took a little time to read Celtics own academy documents and it talks about a duty of care to all children up to the age of 18 and what they promise to do, might be worth a refresher for some on what the club have written down as policy, especially those who are in a position to make vital decisions. Having worked in many roles that require you to know what the company policies are I’m familiar with how many people read these things once and never read them again, but it’s actually really valuable to keep refreshing that knowledge.
The Academy for me should be an education in football, an education in professionalism and hopefully an education in life that is supported by all the staff in the club along with the second most important people in all of this in my opinion….. Family.
Next time we will have Part IV - Family
If you are a paid subscriber it’ll be in your inbox tomorrow. Non subscribers will need to wait to next week