Daniel Kelly

We could maybe employ someone with a decent pedigree in coaching and developing youth players. A bit of experience..

Our youth setup is failing at the moment.. the new facilities and recognising the need for a Pathway manager are steps in the right direction.. but we have a distinct lack of vision when it comes to personnel.

 

Not really bothered if he leaves, same with Vata. If they are the best the youth academy has to offer, it’s not all that impressive.

I could pick two teenagers playing in Scotland right now who have shown far more than either of they did.

That being said, there is clearly an issue when it comes to a pathway for youth coming through into the first team and that needs to be addressed. I fear that losing Ben Doak will be one of the biggest regrets the club will ever make.

 

* all the club could have done to keep Doak.

 

When they joined the club, that's exactly what they were doing. Neither walked into a "head" job, both were coaches working under far experienced coaches, and have worked their way up.

Are they the "BEST" we can get? Who knows, but maybe the time has come for everyone to stop being so * arsey and just moaning at every single thing we do, and start.....ye know, backing and supporting and trusting folk with FAR greater experience to do their job - which as you say, you know nothing about.

 

And where is the manager's "fault" in all this as well? They have to give the lads a shot in the first team too, or is it all on O'Dea's and others' shoulders?

 

Such as?

 

It's a club fault.
As a collective.

From some managers too scared to utilise youth.
The youth coaches not preparing talent ready yet.
No pathway to the first team.
Any other reasoning we can come up with, they all take blame and responsibility for the lack of game time for youth and the proper development of them.

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That's the job of a head of recruitment... Oh wait.
That's the job of a director of football....*...

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Which coaches?

It's clear we simply haven't given enough young players a chance - be that because we are too competitive, or simply haven't focused enough.

 

What do you mean such as?

Its not my job to scan World Football for a coach with pedigree for developing youth players..

 

Neither of which's job would be developing youth players

 

Exactly my point!

Every * (don't take this personal) at every single turn goes "aw, we need this and we need, and we should be getting better than this wan and this wan hisnae got a clue" etc etc

Alright? Fine - that's you opinion, let's hear the alternatives...

 

I meant that's their job, to hire someone "such as" not me or you or anyone on the forum

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So we hire a head of recruitment and/or a DoF, and suddenly everything magically fixes itself?

Behave...

 

On the club's website it states we have 3 people in the Head of Academy bracket. Chris McCart - been here for over 20 years. Brian Meehan - been in the role since 2006. And Stevie Hammell - been here since 2023.

McCart and Meehan have been key figures of an academy that has produced 3 proper first team quality players for the first team in over 15 years. They've got plenty of experience aye, but not much success. These are the guys McManus and O'Dea have been working with/for and learning from.

All well and good saying why don't we back and support them, but why should we when our academy set up has been a * shambles for long enough?

Tierney made his debut in 2015. Since then our best academy products have been Anthony Ralston, Stephen Welsh and Mikey Johnston. The guys running the academy should have been given their jotters by now.

 

We hire a director of football that has experience of the role, we have the usual suspects step back from football operations and we let the DoF sort out the football structure.

Yeah, it should then work better and fix "itself"

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Everything? No, but it might be a start towards fixing things. I have long advocated that we should start headhunting backroom staff from clubs that have a proper track record for bringing through academy players, like Benfica and RB salzburg, to modernise our youth set up. But that would cost far more than we are likely willing to pay, despite the very obvious benefits it could bring us long term.

However you look at it it's clear things are not working well as they are. The lack of players coming through is evidence enough of that.

 

We should absolutely be demanding better, it's crystal clear where we've failed and continue to fail.

Youth development and the Academy is definitely a failure. And these appointments do nothing inspire...

I would like us to try and hire a head of youth development who worked in a club that is used to churning our youth players.. maybe someone from Lyon or Bilbao.. and if you want to have coaches working under them like McManus and O'Dea fair enough..

Chris McCart has been head of Youth Development since 2008 ffs and achieved very little.. surely a fresh outlook is required.

 

There are always things the club could have done. He probably should have been signed up to a longer term contract well before he was snapped up by Liverpool.

In reality, as soon as Liverpool didn’t signal their intention, it was always going to be near impossible.

 

I'll put my mortgage on it that you've never even heard of the guy Meehan until you opened up the Celtic page, yet I suppose you're blaming him anaw?

Again, all good and well saying this ones no good and that one hasn't done this and that, but what about the managers in that time as well?

YOU tell me exactly who's responsibility is what and why they have failed?