Celtic Academy - Part 4

Part 4 - Family

This is the final part of our 4 part series on the Celtic Academy. If you’ve not read the earlier pieces, please go back before reading our final piece - Family

Clubs talk about being a family and having that welcoming family environment and at Academy age that should be true 100% of the time. Even the lads at 17 who are young men, professionals, and playing in an elite setup still need a support network and that’s often Mum, Dad, Aunties, Uncles, Grandparents, the other players Mum or Dad who drives you to and from training or games.

These people deserve absolute respect from clubs whether the kid is 5 or 18 because it’s rare to find a player who doesn’t have someone outside doing car runs, kick abouts in parks, paying for 1 on 1 training and the 101 other things that support these guys when they are either studying and then straight to training, a game or needing to go get medical tests at Hampden or Ross Hall hospital and the many other things that are needed.

I personally believe some clubs and coaches have this mad fear of people outside the game especially Dads, Mums etc…. because they know that the chances are that one day they have to sit down and say your child hasn’t made it with us. That moment for a young player and their family must hurt like hell, and I bet for a lot of coaches it hurts like hell, or at least I’d hope it does because it shows they care about their players. That being said it should not mean that professionalism, respect and just good old common decency should be ignored and replaced with silence for the years the players are here. On the flip the joy of signing a contract must be some buzz and so it’s often a lot of rough moments and a few great ones when it comes to decision time but that is what everyone gets into when they enter that arena.

I think all of the parents I know in that position hope for the best but have it in mind to prepare for the worst because they know it’s tough, so when that coach or manager says your time here is up, they do so with a mutual respect built over time. The player and parents will be hurting, angry and so many other things but the player, mum, dad or whoever will shake hands and know that the club will help them moving forward if they need it. Maybe there will come a day where that player finds his way back into the club via the players of interest list having done well elsewhere, and because it’s been done the right way there will be a conversation that is easy to have. A bit like Charlie Mulgrew who was in the academy with McGeady, but he had to leave and played for a few teams but was delighted to come back. Hopefully part of that was because on leaving he didn’t feel like he or his family had been treated poorly by the club in the years he’d been in the youth setup.

And if there is one single thing I would change at Celtic it is this, and it’s linked to the above. I’ve spoken to a lot of scouts and coaches about the club, along with parents who have or had players at the club asking what I believe are simple questions that should have straight forward positive answers. I was genuinely sad to find they don’t. This article would have been written regardless of these answers, but for me this bit is the part I would hope anyone at the club who may read this would pay particular attention to.

The feedback I have received and been told by parents of young players about the lack of communication, courtesy and professionalism astounds me. Especially when I watch as parents are taking days off or half days from work to drive lads to games, or they are stood outside / sitting in the car trying to get warm when it’s freezing cold in mid Dec. Waiting for their lad at 10pm at night up at Lennoxtown which isn’t sat in central Glasgow next to a retail park or Starbucks. Often waiting 45 minutes to an hour+ after a game and having to be the clubs biggest cheer leaders or the shoulder to lean on after a game.

These are some questions that I asked scouts and parents some who are at the club and parents who have had players up there in the last 2 to 3 years:

Scout and Coach:

Are Celtic easy to deal with when you are looking to trial or sign a young player?

The feedback received was that Celtic and Rangers are 2 of the worst clubs to deal with full stop. Most other Scottish teams will at the very least let a player go out on trial, especially to the biggest teams like Man City, Liverpool etc. It’s a fight to get a player on trial, even ones who are totally out of the picture or on expenses deals and desperate to find a team where they will get more game time. Even when players and agents approach to discuss things it’s like it’s a huge inconvenience.

Do you think we have a good academy setup when compared to clubs Celtic would benchmark against?

On this the feedback was a bit more mixed -decent facilities and some good players but not enough who are getting to the levels that any club would publicly say they want. As football is a village and people learn which clubs develop players best you are seeing more and more youngsters who are more than good enough for Celtic join smaller teams like Hibs, Kilmarnock and St.Mirren because of the pathways they offer.

As can be seen many of the better ones who have been here recently have left feeling it’s best to go higher and take a chance while it’s available, or they have joined other clubs who have offered better facilities or more first team opportunities that they aren’t seeing available to them here.

Parents:

Do you feel the coaches are approachable and do they speak with parents on regular or semi basis just to see how things are going, discuss the players life and where things are with their development at the club?

The disappointing feedback was ‘Not really’. Occasional conversation in passing but depends on who it is approaching them. They have WhatsApp groups to give pickup times, fixture changed etc but nothing significant. We just rely on what we are told by the boys.

Do the coaches put an update in that WhatsApp group chat saying they are holding a meeting that is longer than expected especially when it’s an evening KO and the lads often have school the next day….

The issue here was a clear lack of communication. “Nope, just sit and wait and hope it’s not too long”.

Have the club every considered having an area where parents can go to stay warm and wait for their child up at Lennoxtown?

You would have thought this would be a basic - “No, just access to a toilet in the reception area. It’s never been mentioned but it would be nice to have a warm area or even a sheltered area for watching games.”

If the parents raise any concerns via the liaison officers or agents do the managers, coaches or Head of Academy respond in person?

“No responses from coaches or Head of Academy unless it’s extremely serious. Generally, any response is an email from a player liaison.”

Do the club take an interest in your lads schooling, exam results and what they do outside of the club?

“Some coaches do take an interest, but most don’t.” The players at St. Ninians results are automatically given to the club but it’s rarely mentioned. Only things that do get brought to parents quickly are if the player(s) were in bother for something serious. Some people at the club seem unhappy if the lads get 1 to 1 coaching outside of the club but many players and parents feel it's vital.

Do the club follow up on players who have left to help them find new clubs or to help get them into other areas like coaching, analysis or any other SFA pathway?

“Not that we have had or heard of.” “Some coaches will put in a word with other coaches they know elsewhere but there doesn’t appear to be a formal process that is actively used.”

Are or were you proud that your lad plays/played for Celtic?

“Absolutely this is our club that we love and have supported since childhood as you see the volume of parents at every game is high and there is plenty of support amongst the parents for getting the lads to training or games. I just wish the club would show a bit more commitment to the pathway and interest in the person, and to show a bit more pride in how they present the team.”

Now I am aware this isn’t a representation of every player, parent, coach, scout who sets foot in Lennoxtown, but having spoken to a variety of people who all responded in a similar fashion it is something I wanted to address.

The sad fact is many parents, players and even some agents fear addressing these things because they fear harming a kids future, and that’s how ludicrous this all is.

Many things I’ve been critical of happen at all the clubs, but it doesn’t make it acceptable or right and it goes against many things clubs outline in their own policies, or things they tell parents when they are trying to get them to join the Academy and sign contracts.

Suggestions / Solutions

In my opinion we need to improve the following:

·       Communication with the support via the official website and via staff socials like I saw on Adam Ashgars and Johnny Hayes when they were at their previous clubs. So, we as a support can engage and see how our teams are doing. Again, a shout out to Josh who runs Celtic Youth and Loan Updates on Twitter that is followed by a lot of players, Mums, Dads and relatives of the players in the Academy (many of those relatives are from all over the world) because they want to engage.

Celtic Youth & Loan Updates (@CelticYLUpdates) / X

·       Facilities need upgraded and it looks like that’s happening with Barrowfield but we will see what the finished article looks like (Don’t need another full-size pitch that would struggle to hold a game of 5s). We also need improvements at Lennoxtown as well (New floodlights on the pitch at the front of the building would be a good start)

·       Innovation with technology to push up to the levels where we can be described as a benchmark club. 1 fairly poor-quality camera for analysis of academy games is not enough for a world class level of analytics to take place. Players and coaches are missing out on valuable information in every session and every game. Most EPL clubs have multiple high quality 4k or HD cameras around every pitch on their training grounds, we should have the same

·       Get players on the SFA pathways even if it’s just the introduction levels of things like analytics and coaching so they learn what best practice is meant to look like and it might be something they take further in the future (develop the player and person for today and the future)

·       Get players tagging their own games on HUDL. The studies done by Loughburgh University show it can really help development and understanding of tactical elements of the game (develop the player and person)

·       Don’t act like children when a player is doing a 1 to 1 session. Development is key so unless there is a key concern around injuries then leave them to it (develop the player)

·       Please do away with expenses contracts. It’s ridiculous that players aren’t being valued when they are putting in the same work as others who are being paid, and if it’s an issue with how players are registered then find a better solution and push the SFA, UEFA or FIFA to implement it

·       A review of the structure and those working within it to ensure they are the best people doing their best by our youngsters and introduce some blind application processes to ensure its best person for the job, not just a process that has a pre-determined outcome based upon who someone knows

·       Allow the various team managers to control and pick their teams without interference when it comes to player selection, which first and foremost should be merit based, especially once the players are on pro contracts

·       Most importantly push with everything available to us to improve the dynamics and understanding of job roles and relationships required to be a success. Heads of function, managers, coaches, players, parents and those who are meant to be leaders embracing the parts they play and wanting to be in it together as one entity. Doing it costs nothing, being a good person, putting egos aside and taking pride in what we do costs nothing…..

And if it isn’t too much to ask then a space for parents / guests wouldn’t go a miss. Somewhere warm with a tea / coffee machine at Lennoxtown and Barrowfield, because little things matter, treating people who are your biggest supporters and who are doing the miles come rain or shine to get these kids to games and training at that level matters.

Conclusion

The Celtic setup is decent but could be so much better. Lennoxtown is a lovely setting and Barrowfield could and should be good, but pound for pound I don’t think it’s the best setup, and for the clubs size and stature it should be the best by a huge distance in Scotland and one of the best in the UK and Europe…. Dare I say it, it should be World Class.

The players I’ve met love it, but they know it could and should be better and I believe they all strive to be better players within what we have but we can do more to support that.

The parents I’ve met love the club but know it could and should be better and should not be treated like they are mere spectators/taxi drivers just because someone thinks that it’s enough that they have a kid at Celtic…. The players and the club are lucky to have so many caring and committed people trying to help them and the club be successful in pursuit of our goals so treat them with absolute respect at all times.

The supporters I know love seeing homegrown talent and I think most know the club should be doing better on that front. I would bet if you asked all Celtic fans right now which players are the figureheads of our club that the homegrown guys like McGregor and Forrest would be top of the pile by a distance.

Now I know some will read this and think of it as a hack job on the club and that I’m gunning for someone or something, but that couldn’t be further from the truth. I have no skin in the game at all bar being a supporter who has the time to be able to take an interest in the setup and I know everyone who has spoken to me knows who I am, what my values are and that my intentions are exactly what I say they are.

I want to see us devise a proper strategy and have a setup full of people who want to be part of it, enhance it and be proud of being at Celtic. We say we want a world class setup, well it’s time to agree what that is and put it into action and that goes for all areas of the club.

The last point I would make is if you feel strongly that anything written is wrong then please feel free to comment or private message the site and I’ll happily discuss it with you.

Thanks for reading