Youth/Development Team Thread

He'll also get paid handsomely

 

Best thing for us is if the league finally allow us to field a colts team in the lower leagues. Crazy that this is not allowed right now already for the leagues bigger teams from the standpoint of bringing players through.

 

Speaks volumes about how * * the entire Scottish football league setup is.

I'm not for one minute thinking these kids signing for man city, bayern, Chelsea youth/dev squads are about to be playing alongside lewandowski, de bruyen and the likes next season, but it's telling that neither the national side nor the clubs (more so us) or the general league setup is offering these lads any * chance at all of being able to develop. They need to fly off to other leagues to get a sniff at chances.

What's more telling is that it's top end clubs that are actually willing to give our own lads a * chance.
Again I do not think next year we will see a hunch of Scottish lads playing for bayern, but equally Bayern are not just signing random no mark names for the sake of having a quota. They clearly see something in these lads!
And these are teams who are in position to then develop, loan out, or give then a chance much more so than we are. Be that through choice (our managers being * * scared to actually utilise the youth setup correctly) or the league forcing us in to a situation where they simply put do not get any development beyond playing against other 16 year olds, some of these lads are getting to 17 and 18 and chapping at the door of first team football, yet we ignore it - across the board - and with no reserve league to get them playing at a higher level than u18s, then they are completely * wasted here.

* joke

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That runs the entire football program in Scottish football. Kids leagues are the exact same, that’s where it all starts and the authorities have not got a clue what they’re doing to develop the game. You wonder why the game in Scotland is a complete mess? Just go to Hampden ask them if they have a 10 year roadmap for youth football, you’ll no get an answer, because they don’t.

 

There is something seriously wrong here.

 

I really don't think it's an issue with the club, it's a major issue with Scottish football. None of the kids in our club have anywhere to learn. If they could play in league 2 as u23s at least they could progress as players enabling them to get a shot in the Celtic team. Players may be better off being at Motherwell as they will give their youths more of a chance as they have a tighter budget.

 

Agree on it being more an issue with Scottish Football than the club, the fact there isn’t even a reserve league that we play in and it is just bounce game’s all be it against decent opposition but not frequently enough surely must be a turn off for young prospects both coming through or that we look to attract to the club.

Like right now a good prospect LB/ LM would probably be getting a chance but all the ones closest to our first team are mainly CMs (which there are a few an fits also where the first team is stacked with players) with the odd attacker thrown in to the mix. Now I am not expecting a Tierney to be waiting in the wings but rather than pay £2.5m+ for a Taylor, I would like to think we could bring someone at that sort of standard or better through ourselves.

I think a partnership with a league 1 club in England or two wouldn’t be a bad way to go for some of the older ones near to first team football like Robertson. However for the younger guys it is really challenging to plot a pathway to the first team.

 

I think we need to offer something better than what these elite clubs are able to give. Right now young guys prob see themselves with as much chance of breaking through here as they do at clubs like City i.e not much. But in the meantime they can prob double their wages, train at elite academies with the best of everything and come up against the top players in their age group. It's tough to compete with that.

We need to get ourselves an elite academy able to rival the best ones in Europe and we should be looking to push for a Colts team to enter the league set up. Having direct access to competitive mens football would be a selling point to players and provide a clearer path way to the first team. We prob would be far more likely to give guys like Robertson chances if he had played a couple of seasons in say league 1 and in cup competitions.

 

It's * mind boggling in a country like ours that the big clubs don't have colt teams. It enrages me the people running Scottish football have no interest in making it better.

 

All footballers need a competitive edge, playing to win isn’t enough. To drive players on in terms of pressure, mental and other key aspects of playing for something, be it a cup or league, gives them skills they take with them on their careers. Playing bounce matches helps with some aspects of the game but will you give it 100% knowing that doesn’t matter win/lose/draw it doesn’t effect any real competition.

And the reason for the colts teams not being allowed simply because “what if Stranraer get knocked out of the league? because of them our 72 season ticket holders will no be happy!”

 

Kerr McInroy has joined Dunfermline on loan for the season.

 

In before Crow.

 

Kerr McInroy has signed for Dunfermline Athletic on a season long loan from Celtic. A local lad who has made his mark in the Celtic Academy arrived at East End Park today to meet the coaching staff and complete the necessary medical and paperwork. The 20 year old midfielder then told the website:

“I am looking forward to getting started because I need to come out and get games. I spoke to Celtic and they thought that Dunfermline would be the best thing for me. As soon as I heard that Dunfermline were interested in me I knew that this was where I wanted to come and that it would be the right place for me.

“I am local, grew up in Dunfermline and stay just ten minutes away from the ground. I used to come to games here with my Granda when I was younger. I know what Dunfermline is all about as a club. I had a season ticket at one time and came to the games quite a lot.

“I played at Pitreavie from the age of seven or eight with Blue Brazil in Cowdenbeath until I went to Celtic at the age of 12. I played a couple of games and then they signed me and I have been there ever since. I always enjoyed it and signed professional there when I was sixteen.”

Kerr attended Woodmill High School before moving under the Celtic school project to study at St. Ninians High School In Kirkintilloch.

His coaches at the Celtic Academy have been John McLaughlan, Tommy McIntyre, Shaun Maloney, Damien Duff and Stephen McManus until recently when he has been training with the first team under Neil Lennon, John Kennedy and Gavin Strachan.

“Seeing the standard of the first team boys who are doing the business every week and learning off them in training has been great.”

Kerr was Celtic’s reserve team captain when he incurred a torn anterior crucial ligament injury during a 3-1 Reserve League win over Motherwell in May 2019 and that kept him out until February 2020. He only got a few games before the coronavirus pandemic halted his return. Kerr admitted it was a tough injury to come back from:-

“I just had to stay focussed, there were some tough days that I just had to push through. Celtic as a club and their physios looked after me. I had a footballing friend who had the same injury so we went through it at the same time.

“I am back fully fit and raring to go. When I came back from injury I felt better than ever.”

Kerr has played for Scotland all the way through the age groups from Under 16s and has 15 caps at under 19 level. That has seen him come up against some formidable opponents and has proved to be great experience. He had not trained with Dunfermline prior to signing today but will play in tonight’s closed doors friendly against Spartans.

Cammy Gill, Paul Allan, Matty Todd and Lewis McCann have previously been Kerr’s opponents but the new man said that he knew of them rather than being friends. Kerr is out to make an immediate impact and help the team in any way. He is keen to get first team experience claiming that competition for places is always good conceding “there is good quality in midfield so there will be a good battle for places.”

 

Need to get Coffey afolabi out not too, maybe Harper too, Welsh may have to hang around while things are up in air with and even then we are prob too tight numbers at cb

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Totally forgot about him.

Need to be loaning our youngsters out a lot more than we do.

Ewan Henderson in-particular is just rotting away at the moment after breaking through, about 18 months ago, and looking a class act.

 

I don't even know what these guys are doing, it's madness they have nothing in six months and although it's crazy times I don't get how they seem to be doing nothing

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Working with Paul Hartley good stuff


COVE Rangers are delighted to confirm the signing of Celtic goalkeeper Ryan Mullen on a season-long loan deal. The highly rated 19-year-old stopper signed a new three year contract with Celtic last May.

Manager Paul Hartley said: ‘We are grateful to Celtic for giving us the opportunity to work with Ryan. He is one of the most talented young Scottish goalkeepers in the game and joining us gives him the chance to push his career on a bit.”

“It will be good for us to have Ryan competing with Stuart McKenzie for a starting place. Ryan will also benefit from working alongside Stuart and our new goalkeeping coach Alan Combe.”

“We are very happy to get Ryan on board as we continue our build-up to the new season.”

Ryan has already played for Celtic Reserves and is the first choice keeper for the Scotland Under-19 squad, with nine caps to date. He also made seven appearances for his country at Under-17 level.

Ryan earned plaudits for his performances at youth level for Celtic last season, including a 3-1 away win over Huddersfield Town and a memorable 1-0 victory over Chelsea U23s in London.

The teenager earned his original three year contract with Celtic after starring in their UEFA Youth League win over Anderlecht and narrow defeat to Paris Saint-Germain when he was aged just 16. Ryan will wear the number 23 shirt.

Everyone at Cove Rangers would like to welcome Ryan to the club and wish him well during his time at Balmoral Stadium.

 

Mad how many promising keepers we keep getting through our academy yet none are given the chance (I’m glad we signed Barkas) but why have them for so long then inevitably release them at the end of their contracts like I’m sure we will with doohan and hazard eventually, and then Mullen

 

Queen’s Park can today confirm the loan signing from Celtic of 19-year-old Brody Paterson. The promising youngster joins us on a season long loan.

Speaking after the formalities were completed, Head Coach Ray McKinnon said “I’m excited we’ve managed to get Brody to join us this season. He’s a very talented, athletic young player who will give us great balance and options up and down the left-hand side of the field”.

Queen’s Park would like to thank Celtic for their help in making this signing possible.

The media team will be arranging an interview with our newest recruit, so look out for that coming early next week.

Welcome to Queen’s Park, Brody!