Another great article Ross. I feel we possibly have too many " celtic men " in the youth set up and maybe a fresh pair of eyes from Europe would do our development of youngsters better. Scotland as a nation struggles to develop proper quality players but players have emerged in recent times sadly for us most from other clubs such as Lewis Ferguson ,Josh Doig and Arron Hickey ( who I believe we deemed too small?)
The only real " loss" from our youth set up so far has been Ben Doak. Our problem may not be development of youth players but identifying them? but the longer we don't get youngsters in a pathway program to first team football why would an aspiring young player want to sign for us when for example they can play for and captain Motherwell and get a Scotland call up all at 18.
I agree with your point about jobs for the bhoys. I am not against having ex Celts in jobs, but only if they are the best men or women for the job. Tommy Burns and John Clarke are 2 of the best examples. Their names don't hold weight just because they played for us, it's because people recognised they brought their experience and passion for the club into the jobs they did, never phoning it in and just taking a wage, always turning up and being the best person for the job. They set the standard and that's why their names are so respected within the game and by supporters,
In my opinion based on observations and by listening to those who have experienced our setup across all age groups, many do not meet that standard. Many are in football jobs because of who they know over what they know, or because they finish up playing, realise they still have bills to pay and they don't know anything else, that doesn't make them good coaches or educators. Yet many clubs don't pay that much attention when filling those roles, at the same time they claim their academy is a key element of their setup.
Another great article Ross. I feel we possibly have too many " celtic men " in the youth set up and maybe a fresh pair of eyes from Europe would do our development of youngsters better. Scotland as a nation struggles to develop proper quality players but players have emerged in recent times sadly for us most from other clubs such as Lewis Ferguson ,Josh Doig and Arron Hickey ( who I believe we deemed too small?)
The only real " loss" from our youth set up so far has been Ben Doak. Our problem may not be development of youth players but identifying them? but the longer we don't get youngsters in a pathway program to first team football why would an aspiring young player want to sign for us when for example they can play for and captain Motherwell and get a Scotland call up all at 18.
Thanks Barry.
I agree with your point about jobs for the bhoys. I am not against having ex Celts in jobs, but only if they are the best men or women for the job. Tommy Burns and John Clarke are 2 of the best examples. Their names don't hold weight just because they played for us, it's because people recognised they brought their experience and passion for the club into the jobs they did, never phoning it in and just taking a wage, always turning up and being the best person for the job. They set the standard and that's why their names are so respected within the game and by supporters,
In my opinion based on observations and by listening to those who have experienced our setup across all age groups, many do not meet that standard. Many are in football jobs because of who they know over what they know, or because they finish up playing, realise they still have bills to pay and they don't know anything else, that doesn't make them good coaches or educators. Yet many clubs don't pay that much attention when filling those roles, at the same time they claim their academy is a key element of their setup.