Daniel Cummings…. Another One???

Ross Hall reviews whether we let Daniel go or let Daniel slip

Another one???

With reports of where Daniel Cummings will play his football next season appearing to suggest that it’s all but confirmed he will follow players like Ben Doak, Rocco Vata, Daniel Kelly, Aidan Borland and Josh Dede to England. The question has to be asked as to why has the situation played out the way it has?

I think I have to be clear from the off that I consider myself to be one of the biggest critics of Celtics management or mis-management of the pro-level Academy setup from under 16s to B team. Everything from facilities to coaching standards, education and especially to the treatment of players and families who are the most vital part of the setup. So, with that in mind you may find yourself thinking that I am going to hammer Celtic for the situation that so many are talking about with Daniel Cummings. You might get a surprise, and I might even surprise myself as I try to look at it from multiple angles before I come to my own conclusion…

Who is this lad with a goal a game name on the scoresheet

Daniel Cummings the 18-year-old hot shot striker who according to transfermrkt has:

• 23 goals in 22 Lowland League Games this season

• 6 goals in 7 UEFA youth Champions League games

Those goals in the YCL coming against the likes of RB Leipzig, Club Brugge and Dinamo Zagreb all of whom have youth setups that have their fair share of talents.

Now I have to be fair to start. This season is the first season I’ve really seen anything of Daniel. I have no real recollection of seeing him on the couple of occasions I watched the B team live last season so I cannot talk about his history within the setup.

This season Daniel Cummings has been a predator in the final third for the Celtic B team. He’s around 6ft, he’s got a decent burst of pace, especially over short distances and he has an arrogance/confidence in his game that I personally think strikers need to have, especially at his age. His technical play isn’t as refined as some young strikers I’ve seen, but in that final third this season he’s been ice cold or on fire, you can choose which symbolic reference you prefer.

He has demonstrated a variety of finishes, and for me non better than his goal versus RB Leipzig where he has bent his run to create a lane for what was a well-made pass, an on rushing goalie comes flying at him outside of the box, a lovely left footed lift over the goalie and the last bit really struck me, and it’s something he has always impressed me with when I’ve seen him and that is how he shapes himself to protect his space. In this instance he has to adjust his stride taking what I refer to as the half step to ensure he doesn’t end up underneath the ball, keep his eye on the ball as it comes down whilst being aware of defenders coming his way and he keeps a strong body shape (arm out, strong and solid frame) that stops the covering defender from getting in through his left side. The finish would be described as a tap-in…. it was a beautiful tap-in and a brilliant goal.

I genuinely see shades of an Alan Shearer type striker, that’s not me saying he is as good as Shearer or that he 100% will become as good as Shearer who was an elite striker, just that he has a lot of similarities in his game from the ability to hit a booming right foot shot to his ability to go from standing into burst movements over a few yards along with that ability to take the half step to give himself space to fire off shots. If he can add a few more bits to his game and bring it all together then he’ll score goals at much higher levels than Lowland League and youth football. How high a level will likely depend on his levels of commitment to learning his crafty, and his mentality.

Overall, his highlight reel of goals this season are something for him to be extremely proud of. Mainly right foot, but a few with the left and some headers. No arguments from me, the lad can finish. I can see it, you can see it and Celtic, Brendan Rodgers, Stephen McManus and anyone who has eyes and a brain can see it……

WHY

Ok, so why is this player who I’ve just spoken so highly of not had a lovely Celtic contract slapped down in front of him and why are we reading about Celtic only coming to the table in late January, almost a month after other teams could approach Daniel and his representatives from CAA Base?

Good question….

And the truth is I cannot give you a factual answer that covers the various perspectives, no one in fan media can. What I can say is that while I’m a big critic of how Celtic deal with these things and I’ll be blunt it’s amateur stuff at times. It genuinely pains me to know how amateur it can be, but it’s always a 3-party situation and there is a lot to consider and I will try my best to break it down from what I have seen, learned, heard from people I believe are trusted sources and from people who have been in this situation with Celtic in recent times.

First, we have those who matter most: Daniel and his family. The key is that no matter what happens with his deal, Celtic must look after the player and his family in terms of treating this situation professionally and respectfully.

Secondly, we have his reps at CAA Base who also have duty of care for Daniel and again should be going about things in a professional manner and advising him to give real consideration to each or any offer that ticks his boxes for what he wants, not what earns them the most money.

Last but not least we have the club and on the basis of how we believe the club works there would be a few voices that would really count. Rodgers, Chris McCart, Darren O’Dea, Michael Nicholson, Chris McKay and his current manager Stephen McManus. All of whom I’d expect to have had a good conversation about what they see in Daniel now and what they believe his future could be with Celtic.

Now the harsh reality is the club need to look at Daniel and decide is he right for us long term, because this is a lad is in great form and we know is sought after by some good clubs and so the deal we would have to offer of 3,4 or maybe even 5 years, and we needed to find out where he is at and what he’s looking for to see if there is a deal that can be made. (Sounds very Trump like… urghhhh)

Should that have taken as long as it reportedly has with us reportedly making an offer in mid to late January, God no. It’s not like the club were busy sealing deals in the transfer window. It’s amateur stuff, and I’ll consider why that has happened at the very end as it’s broader point that goes beyond this deal on its own.

By that point in late January was it too late, probably….

In reality if it was me, or my son/daughter or a player that I was representing and the window opened for other clubs to offer a deal and my own hadn’t laid down anything in writing, then I’d take that as a clear message that says they don’t value me enough to try and keep me. Convincing me otherwise would take some going and if that’s how it played out for Daniel I can understand how his head could be turned to the point where any offer from Celtic was never going to be good enough even if it matched or exceeded those made by West Ham or anyone else.

Some clubs think that talking to players in their homes and continually promising a deal will come is enough to keep a player on the hook, quite frankly it’s bullshit, because it’s easy to move the goal posts and things can be at risk of perception on both sides. The fallout can be real egg on face stuff when you finally sit down in a formal environment with all the senior people and a player or parent stands up and calls someone within the club as unprofessional, or worse still a liar. So, in my opinion that sort of action means nothing, this is pro-sport. You either do it right or you take your medicine when someone leaves for a better offer because any extra credits you had in terms of loyalty diminish fast. It certainly shouldn’t be taken for granted that just because players or their families support Celtic that they will hang on and sign no matter what, it’s a horrendous attitude and one I know Celtic have been guilty of in the past.


It also has to be remembered that multiple factors come into these things from Celtics point of view:

Do the key stakeholders who have a voice in this look at Daniel Cummings or any young player in this situation and see a player who they believe is going to fit the first team tomorrow, or within the next year?

They’ll likely look at his progression over the years and think is where he should be?

Do they think he’s someone who will maintain the standards required to be at his peak level of performance for what is now 3 games every 7 or 8 days for large parts of the season. Being able to be on it in training, and deal with all the other duties required of a Celtic player. All the while ensuring he’s looking after themselves physically and passing the multitude of test that clubs put players through like bodyfat measurements etc. Areas that many clubs and managers look to the sports science team for answers when trying make informed decisions?

Now I don’t know the answers to all of those questions, but the lack of an offer, or the late offer would suggest to me that the key people involved don’t think Daniel hits their standards within our environment at Celtic and the offer was nothing more than a token gesture to calm down some noise. If that’s true I absolutely hope he proves them wrong, and I hope they hope he proves them wrong because developing players sometimes means we have to accept while one player isn’t for us, they might be it for someone else and they need to follow a new path, but it doesn’t mean we shouldn’t want them to be successful unless it’s for the San Glasgow 49ers.

Then we have the agent. The agent is meant to represent his clients to the best of their ability and find out where the club is at in terms of their thinking and to look at all the options a player might have available to them.

Some agents are better than others at doing that and some are quite frankly a bit crap. It must be said that nowadays agents are nowhere near as bad as they were in years gone by, but passing a test doesn’t mean they’ve all become good at what they do.

I don’t know Daniels agent on a personal level, I know of him, and I know that like many agents he followed that age old tactic of contacting various people within fan media and at the various rags that claim to be News outlets in Scotland to feed stories of interest from English clubs and that Celtic hadn’t been in touch when Daniels name was starting to really gain traction amongst the wider support back in November. That is his move to make and I understand why he’d do so. Like clubs’ agents want to present their story/narrative.

Then you have the most important person in all of this, Daniel. I want to give him massive credit for keeping all this noise out of his football. He’s kept on it, scoring goals and doing the job he loves. All the while you have everything that comes with your name being touted as the next big thing in Glasgow, especially as a goal scorer. People who have no idea about the choices you have to make saying you’re a money grabber, that you’ll leave and end up playing for Clyde if you are lucky…. All that absolute nonsense that many dismiss as part of the game.

Daniel Cummings > Next Step

Daniel for me has a clear ability and was one of the best strikers on display in the Youth Champions League this season, so the signs are positive, but that’s done….

The next step is the biggest one for all young players, especially those who make a big impression in tournaments like the Youth Champions League. That next step is to show what else he has got in his locker; can he improve his game to the standard required across the board to be Celtics number 9 or the number 9 elsewhere and hopefully one day Scotlands number 9. He needs a clear vision of his own pathway that will help him to achieve his goals. Then he needs to prove to himself that he can be the player he imagines himself being when he considers the above at the club he is playing for.

Kasper Schmeichel made an absolutely brilliant point in his recent appearance on Skys Overlap (YouTube) saying the thing that really elevates the best players at pro level is their mentality and desire to learn and improve. Well worth a watch to listen him discuss his opinions on players and styles.

If Daniel or any young player wants to find that then the key thing is to be in a place where you can work with people who have that (guys like Kasper) and where you get real opportunities to earn those golden tickets aka minutes, lots of them. Those minutes in competitive games, playing with and against players who are as good as you or better than you, stronger than you, faster than you, more experienced than you will help you get to that spot where you then know you have the ability, and hopefully have or develop that elite mentality….

Players cannot shy away from that and use their age as an excuse because your age cannot protect you in pro football, you need to step up and give it everything. That means you might have to feel what it’s like to fail when it really matters, succeed when no one expects you to and to take all those moments and learn from them.

What should you still get at 16, 17, 18 years old. You should get forgiven for when things do go wrong as long as you show that you are learning from it. Players need that allowance, but at the same time as soon a player signs a pro contract and get on that pitch they are as responsible as the man next to them, even if that man is 35 and has 100 international caps. If you sign a pro contract at 16 for Celtic, Livingston or Barcelona, you aren’t an under 18s player, you are not a B team player…. You are a professional footballer who has an opportunity to play first team football.

Players have to accept that this is the life if they want to have a sniff of playing at the highest levels. Live right, eat right, be as fit as you can be and embrace learning. Don’t be continually seen stoating out of Wunderbar or Sub Club, or shock horror the perception that people have of players who do those things sticks.

Martin O’Neill has said many times recently in his interviews that perception of people is massive in football and often has more value than it should. He used the example of if you can develop the reputation of being an early riser, you can sleep in all day and that perception and reputation will protect you up until you take the piss with it. That very much applies today with young players. Getting a reputation for being a hard worker, as someone who listens and who wants to improve can only help your chances. Alternatively get the reputation for being a party boy, or a bully and hope you can find a time machine that takes you back to the 80s and early 90s and see if you can make it as a player when that wasn’t as big a deal.

When Brendan Rodgers talks about setting standards then he’s not just talking about being good on the training pitch or in a game. He’s talking about the whole picture of how players live. He wants to have a belief that you can be what his idea/perception of a model pro is today.

This era of football isn’t just about being a player anymore. It’s about being a student of the game, an athlete and a player. 16 or 34…. It does not matter, you have to embrace those things every day at the top level, and the very best teams at the top level will be doing everything in their power to create an environment that supports you with that. You only need look at Arsenal, Barcelona and many others who have a raft of young players coming through and being put into the biggest games to see what benefits you can get from that.

The reason I’m not at pains when we lose young players right now is because I don’t look at many of them and think they meet the level that I think Brendan Rodgers wants, but that isn’t just on them. I don’t see it being drummed into them early and so when people point to those who have left and not achieved much and say it reflect poorly on them, but it also reflects poorly on our setup.

Will we rue the loss of Daniel Cummings…
Probably not, because I don’t believe he has the overall package of someone who Rodgers would hang his hat on anytime soon in key moments. I think Rodgers will give him and others chances, like he did vs Villa to see what plays out, but that isn’t a you’ve made it moment. That’s a test. You’ve earned a wee taste of the good stuff. What a player does after that will give Rodgers what he needs to know.

If I was a betting man then I would bet the offer the club eventually made was decent, even when compared to the offer from West Ham, but mainly based around Daniel going on loan and then reviewing his situation again in 6 to 12 months because I don’t think they are totally convinced Daniel is going to kick on enough when they look at all the factors I’ve tried to cover above.

Pathways and PR

I’ve touched on this before about pathways and my feelings around why it’s important. Not that it’s an entitlement program for young players, it should be anything but that. What I would want it to be is a flexible design that every club should have with a view to supporting players to become the best person and player they can be. It should be about education in all areas including academic, social and football. It should be about a design that considers each person and their learning styles. Helping young boys and girls become positive representations of themselves, the club and the sport. If the club can achieve that then the pathway (Academy) will always succeed.

Last but not least the PR, and this is close to me because I have seen the fine details of things from years gone by and it’s a big question for Celtic takes me back to the start of this section. Why… why offer a player a deal so late in the day. If you already know it is less than what is on the table from others and you are aware they won’t sign.

The answer sometimes is the club thinks they can convince a player to stay, but often it’s because there is narrative to be played out in the media when it’s known a highly touted player or “wonderkid” that has generated interest is leaving and the support are asking difficult questions. It’s one I personally struggle with because some players have no right of reply, even when they feel like the club are attacking them.

The club media spin machine means we then often hear the words from our manager at any given time cover the idea of players needing to be patient and following the likes of Ralston and McGregor, maybe look beyond the riches being offered by clubs in England or abroad. Those words imo should stick a little, as many of our previous managers and our current manager have all left clubs to try and better themselves elsewhere, somewhere they believed offered something better. Whether that be money or environment or both. The players mentioned have had periods where people in the club were actively looking to move them on at a young age. In football you have to bet on yourself, but you have to bet smart and so they are right on one thing….

Cash shouldn’t be the be all and end all in a decision for most, especially not for a young player trying to get into first team football but if it is, it is and we deal with it and move on. For most players I’ve met or spoken to it has to be a rounded package. Money, the environment, finding people they feel value them and that they feel they can form a professional relationship with, and work well with to get the best from themselves as a player. The same applies to all of us. Many of us will have made moves in our lives, the reasons will vary and not everyone will agree with them. Sometimes it’s money, sometimes you want to change environment, maybe a new place has better prospects and facilities or benefits or maybe you have senior figures around you that you no longer respect or trust. Those things are magnified in football because of the money involved, but it doesn’t mean the choices are always easier or clear cut, especially when you know the career you want to make for yourself is short and the outcomes are extremely unpredictable.

So, when a player looks at their options, weighs up the pros and cons of each offer and make that choice….If that’s Celtic, brilliant, but if it’s not we don’t need PR campaigns and soundbites in pressers that leave supporters thinking it’s nothing more than a player being greedy. That’s not a good look and not something we’d accept being said when we sign young players or managers from clubs who are considered to be smaller than us, or at least I’d hope we wouldn’t.

Stay or go, I hope Daniel Cummings finishes this season having won the Lowland League, maybe even got his first start and a goal for the first team, and that he goes on to have a great career. Just as I hope that all the other young lads in the setup do the same whether that is at Celtic or elsewhere.

Well, unless they join the soon to be feeder system over at the Govan Comedy Club.

I sign this off by saying this. People in the game love to say if a player is good enough, they will get a chance like it’s a fact or guarantee, and fans love to repeat it, but it’s no more of a fact than saying a goalie should never be beaten at his near post. It’s just a throw away comment made by people in the game that sounds great in theory.

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