14 Feb 2024 16:52:16
Are we not spending enough on Academy Players? Copenhagen spend money with theirs and so does Real Sociedad. You head the ex Academy players saying there's no pathway to the first team - is the scouting system out of touch or are we just happy meandering along buying cheap and hopefully selling high? Look at Rocco Vata and Liam Morrison. Should we be concentrating on bringing the youth through and completely overhauling the club's philosophy?
14 Feb 2024 17:17:55
Think Ed 007 and others have said the whole club needs a 'shake-n-vac' from the Academy set-up, through the scouting and recruitment, up to narrow/ short sighted Board; with a DOF position considered.
We have not moved forward an inch since 2012, during which we slipped into European obscurity and allowed Sevco to catch up.
The current 'Custodians' should be very ashamed - but they're not.
14 Feb 2024 17:59:20
Our demand for success and oven ready quality CL players means youth getting an opportunity is few and far between.
14 Feb 2024 18:02:56
We had 2 cracking midfielders right here in Scotland that we should have spent the money and made the deals happen. John McG and Lewis Ferguson. Both Captains at their clubs who give 100% every game. Our Board made 2 huge mistakes. Our youth set up is terrible when you look at the B team etc.
14 Feb 2024 18:07:33
I think Celtic would be wasting more money on our Academy, until the whole Scottish Youth Football setup is changed dramatically.
14 Feb 2024 19:50:26
Things are not always as what people like to think they are . In Scotland we have the SMSM who are noted for been anti Celtic . There is very good evidence available that Celtic did as much as can be expected to sign McGinn, but the great Celtic man chose Aston Villa . I don’t remember details of L Ferguson’s. transfer deal, but I seem to remember talk / rumour he didn’t want to play for Celtic .
Buzz Bomb, I remember very young Celtic reserve teams winning the Reserve League season after season and when they were about to create a record Rangers1872 pulled their team out of reserve football citing financial reasons . Reserve football ended then and so ended Celtic’s domination with their youthful reserve footballers.
{Ed007's Note - Lewis Ferguson - and his extended family - would have had no problem with him playing for Celtic and he never said he didn't want to play for us.
And you need to look into what happened to the Reserve League, Celtic were as much a part of leaving the Reserve League for the stupid B team experiment. There is a Reserve League that Celtic turned down joining again for this season.}
14 Feb 2024 21:27:36
I do recall CC, now that you have mentioned it.
The Celtic reserve team were also on about 7 in a row or maybe more, about 5 years ago I think.
Celtic must be able to see that it needs to go back to how it was, if possible.
15 Feb 2024 00:25:45
A competitive reserve league is very beneficial to every club I imagine . Not only does it give players who aren’t in first team squad an opportunity to play regularly, but it also give players who are returning from injury an opportunity to get some match practice. It can also be good for promising 18,19 and 20 yr old players a test playing against hardened professionals.
I thought Celtic were very happy with the reserve league when it was up and running until Sevco stopped us winning too many consecutive titles by opting out and the R league was in disarray.
I have no idea what rules and how many teams resulting in the number of matches to be played in the proposed reserve league from last season . Obviously something different must have not suited Celtic. Plans.
15 Feb 2024 07:17:51
From what I remember,
Sevco were the first club to pull out of the reserve league and other clubs followed.
A few smaller clubs were probably glad because they couldn't afford reserve football.
It's definitely had a negative impact on youth football in Scotland and Celtic would be daft to invest extra money our youth setup, until the system in Scottish Football improves and is restored.
16 Feb 2024 14:24:36
Just checked it Celtic Reserves had won 8 in a row in season2008 / 2009 when Rangers club after much deliberation decided to withdraw their reserve team as they found it too expensive to run .
Other teams who probably were finding it financially difficult, as they had no EBT streams running, also withdrew .
Funny enough, something that probably never occurred to Rangers they stopped Celtic reserves winning 9 in a row.