Stuck In the Mud – B Team and the Lowland League
Ross Hall looks at the issues of first team pathways and the current B-Team set up
Celtic along with Rangers entered B teams into the Lowland League for season 21/22. Hearts joined the following season and that setup remained until 23/24 when Rangers decided that the setup wasn’t working for them. This season to date Celtic (3rd) and Hearts (13th) still remain in the Lowland League setup, but is it an environment for young pro players to be plying their trade, are they playing against players who are going to test them in all facets of the game. My honest answer is a resounding NO
Having attended many of our B team games over the past 2 seasons I’ve seen very little that would convince me that the Lowland League is the best environment for our young players to cut their teeth. Games are often very stop start, the quality on show is often poor and, in all honesty, I look at the Celtic players and setup and have 3 real issues that jump out at me every time I watch the B team and the u18s.
1. They are spoiled, and that is a sentenced used by many people within the setup and even parents of those in the setup. Many Academy kids who have been looked after and told they are the best, playing in “Elite” setups. This couldn’t be further from the truth. The word elite is for players like Zidane and Ronaldinho or coaches like Alex Ferguson and Pep Guardiola or setups like those run by Red Bull, Dortmund or La Masia (Barcelona). It’s not for Academies with questionable coaching standards, clubs who impose NDAs on young players to secure registration releases and players who are Elite minus the E, and as a result are at best the American spelling of Light (LITE). Light on a footballing education and the standard required to claim to be even close to ELITE. Good players in their age group, yes. Players who could be elite one day, hopefully. Chances of that in the current setup / environment, slim.
2. They look uninspired, and that relates to my first issue and is also in part because they aren’t having to push themselves hard enough on a regular basis and for me not coached to the highest standard. Some of them don’t look or behave like they care enough off the pitch. I’m all for them having lives but falling out of Wunderbar twice a week, using snus or gambling their wages away to each other is not going to impress the man they should be aiming to impress, Brendan Rodgers. The funny part is some young players don’t see an issue with these things. A manager could never know, but he continually says it in pressers when he talks about professionalism and looking to Callum McGregor and others as the standard. Sadly, the standards are so low in the Academy and no one around them is laying down the law on what behaviors and actions are and aren’t acceptable, or at least not consistently.
3. This is an overall issue and that is Celtics standards through the Academy and B team are anything but Elite when compared to the best academies in the UK and Europe. I can’t help but feel the club lives off its size and name to attract players, but then has no real design to make the most out of having that appeal. They like the rest of Scottish setups are not helped by the woeful leadership of the SFA when it comes to finding solutions. Good at reports, awful at actions. We’ve had projects galore (Brave, Moana and Wall-E), Henry McLeish and all sorts of other nonsense. All those people talking, all that money in producing hundreds of pages of words, 6 or 7 figures spent on regression. Is the development of players by the top clubs in Scotland better now that it was 15/ 20 years ago… not if you use the national team as the standard. Some players may have started in setups run by the top 5 or 6 teams in Scotland but very few have made it at those clubs and moved onto the national team, mots have been loaned, sold or freed and had to take other pathways to reach the level of the national team, and now many are going south.
So, the question is what can be done to change this and how do we get back to a point where our first team manager can look within the club and feel optimistic that he might find players that he wants in his first team squad from within his own club. Players who he knows have been cutting their teeth in a competitive environment and are capable of stepping into his session and making positive impressions.
My own feeling is there is one instant solution that could be actioned quickly. End the season in the lowland league and scrap the B team. There are loan restrictions on teams loaning out players who have been signed, but there are no restrictions on loaning out homegrown players and players under the age of 21. Celtic are particularly precious when it comes to loans, only wanting players to go to certain clubs and while I understand that, for me a player at 17, 18 and 19 at any pro level is a good thing as long as you do your homework and everyone knows what to expect.
Minutes are gold for these players. If that means playing for a part time team like Stenhousemuir or Stirling Albion and getting real games that mean things to those clubs and training 4 days a week with coaches at Celtic, and then 2 nights a week with the teams they are on loan to, then so be it. If we can get players to a better level like Ayr, Raith, Queens Park, to teams down south or in other countries like Austria or Scandinavia then even better. The important thing is players are tested at the right level for where they are and that they get minutes.
We are quick to make fun of Rangers, but I for one applaud their move to step away from B team and while I disagreed with their initial move to a “Best vs Best” format which basically turned into many players playing a few meaningless friendlies, there recent wins over our B team show it’s not really made a huge difference.
What I do respect about them deciding Best vs Best isn’t a solution and totally doing away with a B team (I accept a large part of that is also a financial issue they have aka being skint) is that with no sign of a collective solution for them, Nils Koppen held meetings with many senior figures of teams in the lower leagues in Scotland and down south to discuss the possibility of players moving to other clubs on loan, or maybe for some on a more permanent basis. So, agree or disagree. Like or dislike, it’s an action, which is far better than inaction. Just sitting on our hands and accepting where we are when it comes to youth development, or lack of isn’t good enough.
The other solution is for Celtic and every other Scottish club who actually wants to promote youth development to go to the SFA and propose a solution to repackage and rebuild what we once knew as the reserve league. Currently it still exists with 6 teams playing in it and to date Kilmarnock have played the most games of any team (8). Comical, especially after yet another SFA report bemoaning the standards of youth football. All these people who apparently care about our game and yet this is the best we can do in this country.
Link to the current reserve league:
Reserve League League Table | SPFL
Most other countries have looked at youth football and taken action. Many European countries embraced B teams and have them in a position where they can be promoted to as high as their second tiers. Others have created Next Gen leagues or leagues like EPL 2. So, when you wonder why a player like Daniel Cummings or Aidan Borland could have their head turned by English teams, don’t just assume it’s a short-term financial choice they make when they sign a deal elsewhere. It’s every bit as much a long-term investment in themselves and a wish to play in environments that continue to allow them to develop and test themselves against some of the best young players in the UK and train with some of the best players in the same facilities as some of the very best players in world football. You only need looks at players like Myles Lewis-Skelly, Ethan Nwaneri, Rico Lewis and many others who have cut their teeth in EPL 2 and ask yourself where would you want to develop yourself. Vs Bo’ness or Stirling Uni. Teams that have players who work in bars, building sites and barbers, or against full time pro players who are being trained at the best footballing education facilities by some of the best coaches in the country?
I’ve said this on the podcast and in previous articles looking at the Academy. We do not have a footballing education facility. We have training grounds (Lennoxtown and Barrowfield) and the basic package of anything the club have been told is required, long lives the Peter Lawwell legacy of being a tight arse wherever possible. I’ll still never get my head round the stupidity of not building an indoor 11 aside pitch at Lennoxtown in 2007, only now 18 years on have we done so at Barrowfield which isn’t yet officially open. Having been around the outside of the facility and into watch games on the outdoor pitches I can’t say it screams Elite facility, maybe it’s just drab outside and is pretty on the inside.
In Scotland my ideal solution would be regional football at all age levels and this for the B Team / U21 level:
SPFL NXT Gen Tournament
40 teams split into 4 regions – Daytime KO times on Saturday or Sunday only
Applications open to teams from SPFL down to Tier 5 with financial rewards from the SFA for teams when players go from u21 to first team level and a rating system for each setup with financial milestone rewards for clubs outside of the top tier to promote this setup with a clearly defined financial compensation scheme for players who move within the setup
Clubs can register a minimum squad of 18 and a max of 20 players under the age of 21
Allowance for 3 over age players per game with agreed rules on volume of games each player can play or have played for the first team.
No relegation, which I would hope would encourage teams to be more open to playing players and trying different things.
Season 1:
League Phase (First Round)
4 Leagues of 10 Teams
Each team plays every other team in their league twice (Home & Away)
Total Matches per Team: 18
At the end of this phase, each league splits into two sections:
Top 5 teams form the "Championship Group"
Bottom 5 teams form the "League 1 Group"
Second Phase (Seeding Format)
o Team points reset to 0
o League Splits (Top 5 & Bottom 5)
Each team plays the other 4 teams twice (Home & Away)
Total Matches per Team: 8 additional matches
o Final Standings at the end of this phase determine seeding for final tournament
TOTAL – 26 matches which would allow for a full winter break from Dec to Feb
Knockout Phase (Finals Format – Closest Region)
Championship Groups: Top 2 teams in each group qualify for the regional semi-finals (seeded) & Region vs Region Final
League 1 Groups: Top 2 teams in each group qualify for the regional semi-finals (seeded) & Region vs Region Final
Example: North 1st vs 2nd Central & 1st Central vs 2nd North – Winners play regional final with best result gaining home advantage in the regional final and the winner going to the national final
Final (To be held in a neutral stadium in Central Scotland)
Winners of the Championship Regional Finals face off in the Championship Final
Winners of the League 1 Regional Finals face off in the League 1 final
Total amount of games to win the tournament: 29
Minimum amount played: 26
Advantages:
· Cheaper for clubs to run on a regional basis due to less travel
· Less travel for young players and no late-night games
· Can have a good winter break with a focus on training and educational development*
· All teams have something to play for when the splits happen
· Allows for teams to play a few over age players which can be beneficial for the younger players in terms of learning from and playing against
· Hopefully it would see players and parents make more sensible choices when selecting teams to join
· Better chance to see different teams win
· Lots of scope to improve the setup and regulations over time. Personally, I’d be a big advocate for players over 18, or anyone over 16 who has left education having to complete some base level SFA courses (Free) to help keep them in the game with choices like Coaching, Analysis or Talent ID. *This could be done over the Dec to Feb break by the SFA.
Alternatively, far better people with a far greater knowledge could stop posturing, writing reports and wasting money that’s done nothing. Get together, sit down in a room and sort this system out because it’s not just bad for Celtic, it’s bad for Scottish football full stop. I’ve sat and listened to people who have senior academy roles within Celtic and Hearts while doing SFA courses openly say they don’t rate B team/Lowland League setup. My question to them and anyone in a position to make it better is what are you doing about it?
From my point as a Celtic supporter, we are happy to say we are the biggest and best club in Scotland, so for me we should investing in the best, kicking down doors wherever it’s required to bring about improvement at every level of the game, especially youth football. Sadly, as I’ve discovered in my time watching the B team, u18s and listening to those in and around the Academy setup I don’t really believe we have anyone in the club who has the desire to want to fight for better, and I don’t believe that our boardroom or Director of Football give a toss either, but I would absolutely love for them to prove me wrong.
I would love for Michael Nicholson to go down to Liverpool or over to the Red Bull Academy in Salzburg and spend 3 or 4 days immersed in it, speaking to people like Alex Inglethorpe (Liverpool) or Manfred Pamminger (Red Bull/Liefering) and having a real good look at what they do and look at the standards they set and learn about how much they invest in facilities, players and staff and then to come back and look at us and sit down with some people who have proven track records in this and find the best candidates to bring things up to scratch and to stop the half measures when improving facilities, it only ends up costing us more years down the line.
I listened to Jenna Burns chat with Andrew a few days ago (well worth listening to if you haven’t already) and can only wish we had someone like her dad, Tommy Burns who spent so much time looking for ways to make our setup better. He stepped out of his comfort zone and had an absolute desire to learn and be the best he could be, travelled round Europe looking at the best setups (Ajax, Juve and others) and speaking to the very best people at that time so he could bring back that knowledge to Celtic. Unfortunately, his desire and ambition weren’t matched by anyone who had the power to take what he learned and turn it into something truly impressive. I’ve said this before by Tommy set a standard that no one in Celtic since has come close to meeting when it comes to the Academy. He in my mind should be honoured by having our facility turned into an elite facility and named after him, do the right thing and honour his legacy by building something that he would have looked at and say that’s what I imagined for Celtic.
We need leadership from Michael Nicholson, guidance from Brendan Rodgers who has experienced the academy levels and a group of people with a hunger to make positive changes. Then maybe, just maybe I wouldn’t be sat banging my head off the table as I write this or when someone messages me or mentions the state of our Academy and youth football in general.
Last but not least, because I know some folk jump to the words of Aiden McGeady when he says you don’t need, or there isn’t a pathway. A pathway isn’t a setup that gives you the divine right to play for Celtic, or anyone else. It is a setup that includes everything from environment to coaching and standards that are a yard stick for the club and the players to aim for, with an aim of us and them being the best we & they can be, nothing more and nothing less. That may have changed from his time, but walk into any top youth system on the planet and ask them to describe their system and two of the first words you’ll hear are player pathway and I would take that a step further and build a club pathway that is an ever-evolving design for the continual improvement of the facilities, staff and players.