Bhoys To Men?

I've been impressed from what I've seen of McGowan & Caddis. They may not go on to break any Celtic club records but there's something about homegrown talent coming through the ranks which lifts the supporters & club as a whole. Sadly I doubt they'll be given the chance to fulfill their potential (whatver that may be) at Celtic.

According to the club we've produced nobody of worth in the last 5/6 years since McGeady came through. What youth players do we have? I state McGowan, Ferry, Grant.....except they're 22/23!. How many times have they even played for the first team?

If they're not good enough why have they been given so many contracts? If they are good enough why weren't they played instead of the horribly out of sorts Graveson, Sno or Donati? Why did we buy Flood?

So from all the millions we've spent on the youth facilities all we've produced is Aiden McGeady? One good player every 10 years? That’s not good enough for a club like Celtic. One player good enough for the first team in this period is nothing short of disgraceful

You see when we loan players out what’s the process in tracking their progress & development? Is there a 'Loan Liaison'? Somebody who keeps in touch with the loan club in terms of the players development & also in touch with the player thus making him feel still part of the parent club. With cameras at nearly every ground he could keep tracks via video coverage of all the games and take it in turns to watch the various players first hand.

Jim O'Brien played once for Celtics first team, was loaned out for most of his time at Celtic before leaving for free to Motherwell. Whilst Celtic struggled to a draw against bottom of the league Falkirk, O'Brien was scoring twice for the Well. He may not go on to be a world player of the year, he may not even have changed the game against Falkirk.........but how many more players have we let go who could make a decent contribution?

Is Koki Mizuno really any better than Jim O'Brien?

Cillian Sheridan is currently on loan to St Johnstone. Will we have someone watch him to see how he gets on with a consecutive run of games? See how he could fit in to the Celtic team should the need arise? Or will we simply read the Sunday papers to see what rating he got from some half arsed journalist & check the scoring charts?

With Scottish football in a financial ruin at the moment the youth setup is a vital part of the future of this club. Even the top teams across Europe are having to cut their wage bills, its no surprise that with the collapse of Setanta and no Champions League money Celtic too will have to steady the ship in the coming years having splashed the cash this season, even if Champions League status is regained next season.

There's no doubting we need quality on the pitch, and to do so requires spending money and using nouse in the transfer market. The best deals can be found across Europe, Celtic having already stepped in to Scandinavia to pluck 3 players in this window., however, there is still the transfer fee, signing on fee & wages to outlay.

The best value for money certainly comes from within. We can't afford to pay £10000+ per week to the whole squad of 30 something players. A player signing from abroad will automatically demand a certain wage, double what a young Celt would earn that’s for sure & that’s what we need to do to balance the books, get more of these young Bhoys through the ranks & getting them first team football to prove their worth. Who'd you rather have in the squad a Japanese guy on £6k per week or a local lad, Celtic mad, of equal ability on half that salary?

Last seasons U-19 squad were all released, deemed not to be good enough. Fair enough is my response. I'm not for playing these lads for the sake of it, because they are local Bhoys who'd die for the jersey. Quality control is certainly in order, but what do we get from the Academy? A club like Man Utd have lots of players coming through the ranks, not all will be good enough for the first team, not all will be sold for millions, but the majority are sold for some money which helps the youth setup pay for itself.

Something must be done to sort this out. Do we have young players coming through who can make the grade? If so will we ever see them play for the first team? Will we even make any money on them? Or will they be loaned out year after year until suddenly somebody realises they're actually 27 & we've been paying them the last 10 years to play for Dunfermiline, Partick Thistle, East Stirling & of course Swindon!!

At the start of the season despite the financial plight they find themselves in it was inconceivable for Rangers to sell there best player Bougherra. Now it is an easy choice to offload him & help burden the debt due to the form of youngster Wilson. Injuries for a number of players forced Wilson in to the fray & he has seized his chance to cement a place in the first team.

Would the same happen at Celtic? When Naylor has been injured in the past the likes of Lafferty, Caddis & Misun have been overlooked in favour of Caldwell, McManus, O'Dea & even Robson. Why have so many players who are able to play that postion if we've no intention of playing them? How can we forget previous youth players like Mulgrew who we’ve let go for peanuts, a player who would have walked in to the left back position at Celtic Park the last few seasons.

As my friend always reminds me when we sign another Korean/Polish/Japanese superstar "Celtic have never won anything with foreigners"

 

I dunno whats hapening with the youth talent mate

Those highly rated never really seem to progress- since McGeady we've had Fotherinham, McGlinchy etc as "highly" regarded. Yet they never make the breakthrough and even when they are sold dont tend to do much. Is it the coaches or is it the players simply arent good enough.

As for the "ones for the future" - i read a good bit the other day saying for every petrov we seem to buy 10 Jacob Lenskys- highly rated but never develop.

Youth development is a must for me - its the only way we can ever have a world class player again IMO - but i'd rather spend £2m on a first team player than £200,000 each on 10 Rognes who may or may not be come a player

 

Good article Brum

Mulgrew's is a particularly ironic case as he was used as a make-weight in the Naylor transfer but a year or two down the line and he could have taken Naylor's place from him.

McGowan and especially Caddis look like decent prospects. Caddis I believe is our best full back after Hinkel, it's a shame for his own sake that he's not left footed.

The bottom line is as you have said that the club need to give these young Bhoys a chance. Ferry and Grant are two players I've heard great things about but never seen play. Why at 22/23 have they still never been given a chance in the first team? It's youngsters who should be pushing the first team players, not players signed from other clubs who aren't good enough and are never likely to be good enough to play.

 

Oh and as for the loaning players out etc - i think in prefernece to this we should press on with the plans to field a B side in the lower leagues of Scotland - indeed i thought this was the whole reason why they agreed to scrap the reserve leagues

I'd rather see them play competative games at that level yet remain under the wings of the club so the manager has an eye on them in training still

I mean i've never seen us loan anyone who has come back and fought for a place (bar O'Dea at the min)

 

I'd definitely like to see us get a B team entered in a lower division. It works well in foreign countries and it would be the ideal solution as the youngsters would get regular competitive football while still playing together and playing for Celtic and training at Lennoxtown.

 

Exactly lads.

Been sitting here all day thinking of youngsters we've had. Mulgrew, O'Brien stick out as players who may well have made the first team squad at Celtic had they been given a chance. They're not the CL standard we want but are no worse than Naylor, Wilson or Mizuno, Flood. I'd bet they'd be on a fair whack less to boot. Which would save us money to spend on a top quality player for the first team with the wages we've saved......not to mention the transfer fees, signing on fees we've wasted.

I accept the demand for instant success at a club like ours to a degree. But if there are injuries & all we have is a youth player available play him!!!

 

We need the Real Madrid Mentality (and budget would be nice)

"for every Zidane there will be a Pavon"

Yeah its important to buy decent players - but we need youth players coming through capable of challenging and playing alongside first team players

As Brum has said we have spent a fortune on players that have been "squad" players - Killen, flood, Mizuno even McCourt, Robson and Loovens to a degree.

we should be capabel of at worst producing a kid who can step in as cover meaning instead of spending £5m a year on a revolving door of 5 "squad" players we are putting that £5m towaards one decent signing

 

Thats always been the difference between O'Neill & Strachan for me.

Both had roughly the same amounts to spend. O'Neill would mix his £5m signings with free transfers & basement bargains inavariably from Europe & the odd English loanee. Whilst Strachan would prefer to have every player a mediocre standard £1m player.

If you gave them both £20m MON would get 3/4 quality players in the key areas & fling the risk free cheap options around them such as Agathe!! He also encouraged youth players & gave them chances to play, somethimes because he'd spent all his money & had a small squad!!

Strachan would get you 20 £1m signings who blow hot & cold, I dare say half of them would be midfielders too

 

Then he'd sell the ****s 12 months later - replace them again with more mediocrity and complain he didnt have any money to spend

 

Excellent Article Brum.

i think a lot comes down to the Management in charge at the time. The manager has to be able to trust these younsters enough to do a job before he will play them. the manager also has to have the balls to drop a player if he isnt performing to a certain standard, no matter how much was spent on bringing said player in.

i completely agree that more has to be done to improve the quality coming through the ranks and as you said, one player in ten years is certainly not good enough for celtic. with the economic climate as it is and the possibility of losing out on the champions league money if, god forbid, we lose the league then the next couple of seasons could see youngsters like Thompson, McGowan and Caddis given their chance.

heres hoping they can step up to the mark when called upon.

its good to have a football article for a change as well!

hail hail

 

Good input BelfastBhoy

I'm not one for pumping a 17 year old in the first team for the sake of it. Thompson has obviously impressed in training etc & deserves a wee run to prove himself after the fiasco at the back this season. I maybe wouldn't have dropped McManus or Loovens for him, but then i don't see the guy every day.

But its good to see Mowbray has the confidence in the youth players to put them in when needed. Last year when Naylor was out injured we even played Robson at leftback rather than Misun!!!

We've had O'Dea playing at rightback instead of Caddis!!!

 

i agree, if your good enough your old enough!

haha spot on! i remember that, i was thinking we have a LB there waiting to play but isnt given a chance.

Always rated Caddis, but with Hinkel in there he hasnt got a hope, i think Hinkel has been consistent enough.

 

The problem in the SPL is that one or two bad games makes you ****e. This destroys the confidence of certain young players. Down in England if Man Utd or Arsenal lose with the youngsters playing the press never say that the youth aren't good enough, just not experienced enough. Up here the press are looking for any excuse to slate Old Firm youth players just to get headlines and people talking.

 

McGeady, O'Dea, McManus, Caddis, Maloney, McGowen and Sheridan isn't a bad crop of youth players to honest.

 

But will Caddis, McGowan & Sheridan ever get a chance to get a few games under their belt?

All 3 have impressed me when I've seen them. Sheridan looked a good prospect upfront as a targetman who scored a few when forced in to action, but was dropped as soon as others became fit & has never been seen since!! The guy only took up football a few years ago & has plenty more to learn which could make him a great player considering how good he's become the last few years.

Caddis has already voiced his frustration & only agreed a one year deal. O'Dea fits in to both camps. Played immense against Milan a few seasons back & was dropped soon as Caldwell came back & rarely featured since, he also agreed not to request a move after being promised a loan spell to get him fit would result in more games at Celtic.

I'll give you McManus & Maloney, however, I was pointing out that since McGeady nobody has been given a fair crack to actually come through the youth & force their way in. Is it because they're not good enough?

The only reason many of these make the squad is to make up the numbers in terms of the U-23 rule. Otherwise we would never see or hear of half the youngsters.

 

Here's a team of players that are 23 or younger

GK Cervi (23)
RB Caddis (21)
CB Thompson (18)
CB Rogne (19)
LB Misun (19)
RM McGinn (22)
CM Ki Sung-Yong (21)
CM Crosas (22)
LM McGeady (23)
Str McGowan (22)
Str Sheridan (20)

Not a bad team.

 

AP - that is a good team, based on the players I've seen play in that list.

The main point is how many bar the midfield will actually play for Celtic first team for a prolonged period?

Whats the point in us having this youth & not playing them?