20 Jul 2025 22:33:20
I know it’s come up before but why don’t we just get rid of the youth system? What does it cost to run that and what do we ever make off it?
Don’t get me wrong, from a footballing perspective I hate the idea myself, but from a business perspective why would we keep the B team or youth?
20 Jul 2025 23:45:51
You can't as it is a requirement for SFA membership and UEFA license.
21 Jul 2025 00:32:17
I'm the opposite, I think we should be using more of our youth players instead of bloating the squad with the Kwong's, Tillio's, Lagerbeilke's of this world that way we stop losing talent like Doak.
21 Jul 2025 06:00:28
Bhoy 88, we'll always lose talent like doak Cummings etc to teams down south as the wages they can offer lads at that age are ridiculous. I do however agree when you see the money wasted on the likes of kwon, tilio, Palma etc etc I'd rather see as u say some of the younger talent we have given more of an opportunity. what we really need in scotland in general is to be allowed to tie these young guys up into longer contracts at an earlier age safeguarding ourselves from these clubs walking away with these guys on the cheap.
21 Jul 2025 08:05:17
I just think it’s a lot of money we spend per youth player. From 16 to say 19 we must average 6figures of investment per player, including travel, coaching medical, wages etc. then there’s a good chance we loan them out to another team to give them experience… why not just pluck the best youth up for players up for cheap. People talk about youth not being given a chance, look at frimpong, Ajer, Engels etc. just because they don’t spend 3-4years in our academy doesn’t mean our youth setup is broken.
21 Jul 2025 08:52:37
Bollox. Didn't Sevco just bin it?
21 Jul 2025 10:29:33
I think Sevco just withdrew from playing lower league sides? I could be wrong.
21 Jul 2025 11:37:45
You're absolutely right tony in what you said. Celtic Mad might believe otherwise, but the facts speak for themselves, having a youth development program is indeed a requirement for both SFA membership and UEFA licensing.
I know this firsthand because I looked into it a while ago. UEFA’s Club Licensing and Financial Sustainability Regulations (2024) clearly state that clubs must operate a youth development program that covers multiple age groups. It’s not optional.
Likewise, the SFA Club Licensing Handbook also requires clubs to have a youth development program. It doesn’t state that these teams must compete in leagues, but the program itself is mandatory for a club to be eligible for membership or to compete in European competitions.
This debate is a bit redundant, as it doesn’t matter what any of us think about youth development programs. The reality is that the governing bodies have set these regulations, and whether we agree with them or not, they must be followed.
It’s like the debate on capital punishment, regardless of individual opinions, it can’t be brought back in the UK because we're bound by the European Convention on Human Rights. It's simply not legally possible.
21 Jul 2025 13:02:38
Why anyone query Weejoe, surely you are aware that in Scotland Sevco can do what they like, play unregistered players and keep the result. Entertain referees on a regular basis, nothing is beyond the H. ns. Scottish SFA will always tick the appropriate boxes and everything is fine .
I agree we should strive to promote to first team squad a couple of our players in the summer window . I think we should draw out a road to first team football, having adopted a less rigid form of providing a list of agents that have a hidden Celtic link . If any player under 21 wishes to join another agency, that’s up to him but he is travelling off road on his way to ist team football.
21 Jul 2025 13:25:56
I think we should stop buying players in, put all the money available into developing a world leading youth system, it might lead to forty years in the football wilderness, but the end result will be worth it.
21 Jul 2025 14:23:09
You're spot on Garry, we should be allowed to tie these young players into contracts to protect ourselves?.
21 Jul 2025 14:47:54
It’s impossible to have a World leading Youth System at Celtic when our Youth leagues in Scotland are rubbish.
Who are our World leading youth players going to play against to challenge them?
Our Youth System will continue to be a waste of money until the SFA get the finger out and make a top division reserve league compulsory in Scotland.
To be fair it’s not easy on loads of smaller clubs who find it hard enough to fill 9 substitute places for each league match.
The SFA need to put a happy medium in place because it will continue to get worse with the massive gap between first team and Youth squads.
Maybe a big sponsor for a new and improved Reserve league is the obvious answer.
21 Jul 2025 14:57:39
You young pups might not remember this but Jim McLean at DU was famous for tying players to looooonng contracts. Maybe he was ahead of his time.
21 Jul 2025 15:19:28
We could just organize to play reserve or youth teams from other countries ? we have a player pathway and development system that surely if not being used to find young players a loan in at atleast league 1 in England or Scottish championship level or various European leagues like Austria Croatia Serbia even bundesliga 2 could be busy working on booking a years worth of competitive matches for the young players around Europe rather than the rubbish we play in the highland league if they are in charge of creating a pathway to first team for the players surely they should be looking at them playing proper competitive football and organizing that themselves aswell There job can’t purely be sat there trying to find players loans and not succeed if that’s so scrap the player pathway altogether and just have a full first team squad made up of all players at club except under 16s I also think UEFA should look at upping the quotas for home grown players in squads I feel that this would prevent clubs buying a lot of foreign players and make them have to bring through younger players from there system and local football teams and Scotland in general would benefit from teams having to put money into the grassroots level of football which is much needed.
21 Jul 2025 15:19:47
It was before the bosman ruling that Jim Mclean operated these long contracts.
With the bosman ruling the power passed from the club to the player.
21 Jul 2025 15:52:30
I remember Jim McLean had Duncan Disorderly on a lengthy contract at low wages and then he moved to Ibrox for a record British transfer fee in 1993.
21 Jul 2025 16:58:14
Fergusson was on 27.00 pounds per week at Dundee utd his pay slip was in the daily rangers at the time and he was tied in for 10 years, think that was one of the reasons they can't do that anymore.
21 Jul 2025 18:50:46
We could spend millions on a youth setup but I can guarantee many of the players, like the current ones, will still jump ship due to the exorbitant wages PL, Bundasliga, Seria A and La Liga teams pay. Even the Championship in Engurland.
There is absolutely no loyalty no matter how good a path to first team football ours could be.
If you are at Celtic and get put up to the first team squad and Bayern come asking, your agent will wet his pants and sign you up before discussing it.
That is our football reality. Our best young players move on and we look to buy some of the best young players from other leagues.
21 Jul 2025 19:24:06
I thought Celtic played a number of youth games or whatever we call them against English Premier league teams a few years ago . However it wasn’t repeated, I don’t remember what reason, but I imagine English teams would feel they were too high a standard to play against a Scottish team especially Celtic or no English side could tolerate losing to Celtic.