Was interviewed for the vacant Derry City job but was passed over in favour of a DCFC old boy. He had a great record with the Celtic kids in bringing them through and Derry have a very young and talented side full of ball players so I thought he'd be ideal for the job. Seeing how well our kids are doing, lots of talented players looking like they'll make the grade somewhere. The Next Gen series showing us exactly where we are, in terms of player development, it looks very positive and an area where we shall have to keep improving, is there an argument for bringing Willie McStay back in that sort of capacity?
It depends on his ambition... Does he want to establish himself as his own man i.e being the manager of a club? I'd have hime back at Celtic as he done a great job and, as you say, this current crop if youth players appear to be our best.
Agree Pud, though it seems he is better suited to working with young, talented footballers and bringing them on rather than being a club manager in its own right.
Being a GAA man, people in a club go where they fit best, or at least should. Every team is as important as the next. Getting players through to play senior level is part of the process and that part is as important as managing them when they get there. That is just my mindset and I don't know that it transfers that well to Football, especially the UK model.
I have been concerned for a number of years about the number of apparently good 18/19 years we seem to have and the ease they can win the league. I don't think we have had enough players coming through to our first team. I would have thought Celtic should be in a position to only have to buy one or two new players a season as we should have a steady stream of youngsters forcing their Way though. As it stands I think we may as well give up on the academy all together and just apply all our resources at about a 30 man first team squad.
The reserve league might come back and I hope the Next Gen thing can become a big part of player development in the near future. I reckon that is how things'll go.
That would be to the detrement of Celtic FC! Since Celtic opened Lennoxtown in 2007, they now have the facilities to properly train and develop youth players. Celtic's previous facilities were poor/not fit for proper use in the modern game. Hence, we only really saw McManus, Maloney n McGeady making it through. I have seen previous comments from youth academy experts saying it takes approx 5/6 years for academy results to be seen... so I would expect more talent (along the lines of Forrest) to start coming through in the next season or two. As Rebel has said/alluded to, the NextGen squad appears to be Celtic's strongest set up youth players and I would hope we could start seeing some "local youth" breaking through to the first team squad. The strongest/most talented need to be nurtured and for the management team to start bringing them through to the first team ... maybe starting against a team like Peterhead. Have a squad against Peterhead made up 75% first team squad with the youth making up the rest.
The, obvious, ideal objective in developing youth is to see young players come through and shine in the senior team but is it not about more than that -ie giving something back in providing the opportunities for young players to develop and achieve, whether or not they actually do make it in the end? In any case, as Pud has already alluded to, it takes quite a few years to see a good youth development policy come to fruition so hopefully, given time, we will see more reaching the quality needed to perform at senior level. As for Willie McStay, it does look like he wants to try his hand at developing his own managerial skills but if he was willing to settle at Celtic in a youth development capacity, I think there are few better men for the job.
As Willie left the Celts in 2009 it appears, from U-19 results in particular, that whoever is doing the job now is quite capable, therefore another question is; is there room for him back in the set up?
You might well say, or think, that - I couldn't possibly comment! However, if the turncoat does, hopefully he's gone off the boil bigtime!
I don't think the reserve league will be up and running ,as it does not suit Rangers. If it doesn't suit Rangers it won't happen. Rangers cannot afford to field reserve team. I would love to see more people coming from the youth into the Senior set-up. It seem to me without checking that although there has been one outstanding underage team After the other for at least 10 years we, currently have only one ex youngster in the senior team. That why I ask is the academy doing its job. I know normally a academy is important but we are not getting the results. We have had youth development and an academy long before 2008.
But only now do Celtic have the correct facilities with sport scientists etc in place! I hope we see results in the next two seasons. I'd love to see a Celtic team with core positions filled by ex academy players!
John Reid said that we shouldn't measure ourselves by the "Holy willies across the city". I never have. I don't like this old Firmery nonsense that he propagated at the club (even in spite of his words). However, there is an aligning of the stars here that we simply have to take maximum advantage of. The Huns are ****ed. Forget the big tax case, even putting that to one side, they are ****ed. Downsizing will keep happening over there. It has happened to us, but with our eyes wide open. They have to put everything they have into the first team. we have the opportunity to go for the "buy low, sell high" market and to produce players like Murray park should have. The more we buy low, sell high, the more we produce players, the more attractive a club we will become to young Scottish talent and overseas talent to learn the trade. The monkeys can't veto a reserve league. If they can't afford it, they don't have to play. I'd suggest they cannot afford not to be in it.
Pud, I like you would like to see the key positions of the senior team filled by players who were previously members of our development squad. However us wishing it won't necessary make it happen. In the likely event of it not happening there is no reason to continue putting 100's of thousands into an academy that is not producing results. Celtic is going to have to decide sooner or later if it is wise to throw their money into such a hole.
