Celtic Colts

Where's Adam brooks off to?

 

Inverness supposedly.

 

Loan or perm?

 

Perm. Rejected a new contract because he didn’t want to play Lowland League.

 

The b team for me is utterly pointless our promising youths should be playing at a higher level and if they do get a shot in the first team after 5 apps they can't play for the first team. Then on top of that there is no chance for promotion

They need to bring back the reserve league

 

It’s us that are/have pushed for this Lowland League * the hardest.

Even the Huns pulled out this season when they realised it isn’t going to lead to this big lower league gateway for B teams.

It’s been a complete disaster.

 

I think the Huns pulled because they can't afford to run a B team and invest in the first team.
Our biggest succes from youth players in recent years has been CalMac, and he got most of his develpment with Notts County.

So that might be the way to go. Our best prospects go on loan to the lower leagues in England, or even abroad, and the rest play in the lowland league.

 

We pushed for it because there isn't another option at the moment. The youth league was scrapped and I think the Conference was never going to go through.

 

The reserve league was * *, half the teams couldn't field a team in it. We need to be pushing for full integration upto championship level and leverage the partnerships with Admira etc. Lowland league is a good start, it gets cohesive football to get them playing the Celtic way, yes it's too low a level for multiple seasons for the team constantly, but, the team has not romped it, they haven't won the league at all so it's not below them collectively.

We do need youth to be integrated into the team, it's been a failing for years, we have next to no U20's in the first team even in late stages of the season. Vata, Lawal and Summers were the only ones that played last year and barely got on at all, they really should have got more of a chance as well as others, we should regularly have a youth or 2 on the bench in domestic games, just for the chance to get on.

We have a small bubble to play in in Scotland, simple as, we need to do more with our academy because of we don't, especially in this post brexit world, there won't be any homegrown Scottish talent at any decent level because they all * off to England before they've served long enough to count now.

 

Celtic have secured youngster Finlay Hale to his first professional contract.

Football Scotland understands the Hoops fought off interest from English clubs after the kid, 16, made it clear he saw his future at Parkhead. The versatile starlet has played at both centre-half and left-back for the academy squad and will remain in the under-18s for the coming season with a view to potentially moving into the B team down the line. Hale has also been capped by Scotland at under-16s including in the UEFA mini tournament against Cyprus back in February.



The move from the club comes in the wake of Celts losing a whole host of younger players over the past few seasons to clubs in England as well as abroad


Mitchel Frame is another who is likely to leave after he was watched by Premier League clubs including Crystal Palace back in May as he performed well against rivals Rangers in the Youth Cup final


The likes of Barry Hepburn and Liam Morrison have also been poached by Bayern Munich in previous seasons while other kids such as Josh Adam have left.

Ronan Ferns, another 16-year-old, is reportedly on the verge of an exit for Brighton.

 

Looks like he could be staying. Would be great if he did as long as he gets a chance.

 

Celtic FC B’s pre-season preparations continue this week, with the Bhoys making the trip to Ireland to face off against Sligo Rovers.

The young Hoops arrived in Sligo on Monday, ahead of Tuesday evening's friendly match at the Showgrounds.

The hard work is already underway with the 2023/24 campaign quickly approaching, and Tuesday’s game should prove to be a good test for the Celts.

Speaking ahead of the match, B Team coach Darren O’Dea reflected on his young squad’s pre-season so far, stating: “Pre-season has been good. This is a really, really young group we have got.

“So although we are working the players extremely hard, you are a tiny bit conscious of the fact they are still at a very young age.

“They maybe can’t handle the physical loads as well as a senior player can. So we are trying to be careful in how we do things.

‘But at the same time, we are trying to push as hard as we can. It’s a mixture between physical work and there is a lot of tactical stuff that we need to work on.’

“There is going to be changes this year in how we play. But ultimately, at Celtic the overall principle is about trying to attack and dominate the ball will always be the same.

“There is lots of work to be done, and we are just kind of going through it nicely and the players are applying themselves really well.”

The young Celtic squad will get more crucial minutes in the legs tomorrow night, as they gear up for the start of the Lowland League campaign later this month.

O’Dea is looking forward to seeing how his side will fare versus the League of Ireland Premier Division side, as the Hoops go up against more senior opposition.

“It is probably a game that you would look to take later in the season, to see as a benchmark of where you are at,” he said.

'We are playing against a men’s team, who are doing pretty well in their own division. It will be a huge test.'

“As I say, we have got a really young squad, so to play against men with a bit of an atmosphere as well, it will be a massive test for them, but that is what Celtic players have to handle.

“It won’t be defining tomorrow, but it will be nice to gauge exactly where they are at. What we will definitely see as the season goes on is massive improvements.”

It is bound to be a proud moment for O’Dea at the Showgrounds as he gets set to lead his squad out as a coach in his homeland of Ireland.

The former Ireland internationalist is looking forward to the opportunity of being in the dugout on Tuesday, and to watch his side put in more hard work this pre-season.

He said: “It’s great to be managing in Ireland. Obviously, I’ve played in the national team here, and playing for Celtic was as proud as you could nearly get.

‘Playing in the National Team brings the most pride.’

“So to be here as a head coach with Stephen (McManus) for Celtic, in Ireland as well, it doesn’t get much better than that.”

 

Friendly match
Tuesday, July 11, 2023
The Showgrounds, Sligo

SLIGO ROVERS… 2
(Liivak 17, Trialist 25)

CELTIC… 1
(Bonnar 51)

A youthful Celtic FC B squad put in a positive performance against Sligo Rovers tonight (Tuesday), narrowly losing 2-1 against the League of Ireland side.

After conceding two first-half goals, Jude Bonnar scored for the Hoops early in the second-half but an equaliser unfortunately evaded the Celts.

With a number of the B team regulars currently with Brendan Rodgers’ squad at their training camp, it was a young Celtic side that faced more experienced opponents in Sligo Rovers, but the Hoops acquitted themselves well throughout the 90 minutes at The Showgrounds.

In the opening 45 minutes of action, the Bhoys produced some positive moments in the attacking third.

Ben Quinn was working himself some space down the left, and a few nice interchanges of play almost carved opened the Sligo Rovers backline.

However, it was the home side who were able to take advantage in front of goal, showcasing a clinical edge, which helped them establish a 2-0 first-half lead.

Their first goal came in the 17th minute when Frank Liivak smashes a thunderous volley past Josh Clarke, before a Rovers trialist doubled their advantage with the half-hour mark approaching.

The Hoops best opportunity came just before the break after a lovely move saw Jude Bonnar produce a fantastic reverse pass into the path of Lewis Dobbie.

The forward took a touch before striking towards goal but his effort was blocked by the Sligo defence.

Going into the second half, the Celts grew in confidence in the attacking third and they managed to grab an early goal.

Following some fantastic individual play down the left hand side by Magnus Mackenzie, the left back delivered a pinpoint low cross to the back post, where Jude Bonnar was waiting to tap the ball home.

The Hoops went on the hunt for the equaliser in the second half and had a number of good opportunities to do so. After setting up the first goal, Mackenzie was causing all sorts of trouble down the left and put a number of great crosses into the box.

Substitutes Lenny Agbarie and Thomas Hatton has the best chances from those deliveries, but the Sligo goalkeeper produced a number of strong saves.

Bonnar also came close to grabbing what would have been his second of the game, but again, the keeper was a match for the powerful effort.

Sligo Rovers also came close to scoring their third goal of the night but Josh Clarke produced a stunning save, tipping the ball on to the crossbar.

The game finished 2-1 in favour of Sligo Rovers, but it was another good 90 minutes for the Celtic B team as their pre-season preparations continue. Next up for the Hoops is a friendly away to Alloa Athletic this Saturday (July 15).

CELTIC: Clarke, Osagie, Mackenzie, Bonetig, Robertson (Agbaire 58), Ure (Fearns 46), Bonnar, Turley (Cannon 58), Dobbie (Hatton58), Haddow, Quinn (Hale).
Subs: Morrison, McLean

 

Is there a way to watch highlights or the full game? I coached Liam Bonetig last year and I selected him again for the NSW All Schools tournament but he was unable to attend due to his trial with Celtic.