Celtic Database at thecelticwiki.com
All
Celtic
World Cup 2018
Tickets/Travel
Wiki
General
Sport
F&D
Entertainment
Travel
Tipsters
Tech
| Welcome to Kerrydale Street. We hope you enjoy your visit. You're currently viewing our forum as a guest. This means you are limited to certain areas of the board and there are some features you can't use. If you decide to register, please be aware that we don't accept email addresses from free web accounts like gmail, Hotmail, live.co.uk etc. Sorry, but almost all of the abuse and spam that we get is from free web accounts. The software on the forum will automatically block any requests using a free email account. Upon Registration, you will be given access to all our varied Forums, and you will be expected to comply with our fairly stringent Rules and Regulations. Meantime, enjoy your visit If you're already a member please log in to your account to access all of our features: |
| Celtic development side | |
|---|---|
| Topic Started: 22 Oct 2014, 09:33 AM (449,034 Views) | |
| Midfield Maestro | 9 Dec 2014, 06:52 PM Post #121 |
![]()
Retired and now a BT Sports pundit
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]()
|
This O'Brien? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jim_O'Brien_(footballer) I bow to your knowledge of our youth team players, but if McMullan (at nigh-on 19 years old) can't lace that chump's boots, he should not still be in the system. Are our youth players really that bad? |
![]() |
|
| Barrabhoy1 | 9 Dec 2014, 07:19 PM Post #122 |
|
Getting on a bit
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]()
|
A bit confused with the comparisons with Jim O' Brien myself. |
![]() |
|
| Bawman | 9 Dec 2014, 07:23 PM Post #123 |
|
Class is permanent.
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]()
|
As do Dundee |
![]() |
|
| thenakattack | 9 Dec 2014, 07:46 PM Post #124 |
![]()
Getting on a bit
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]()
|
Good shout actually Hartley would be a decent mentor for him |
![]() |
|
| ronan cfc | 9 Dec 2014, 08:01 PM Post #125 |
|
Retired and now a BT Sports pundit
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]()
|
4 seasons in the Championship is better than the vast majority of our youths have/will get. |
![]() |
|
| grahamcl | 9 Dec 2014, 08:05 PM Post #126 |
|
First-team starter
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]()
|
Just watched the Youth Cup match against Dundee United and really enjoyed it. A dominating performance away from home against a good side. Thought Henderson and O'Connell were tremendous. Henderson was the games most influential player and I can only recall him misplacing 1 pass all night. O'Connell's ability to pick out a pass into a crowded midfield is very impressive. Special mentions for Thompson's shooting (great goal) and Walter's tackling (the bhoy's no shirker!). The team really seem to have taken on board Ronny's thinking and are looking like a powerful unit. They aren't doing particularly well in the league, but I wouldn't be surprised if they go on a run now till the end of the season. Despite some of the negative comments on here, I feel that some of these guys have a chance. Especially with the support of the current coaching and management team. |
![]() |
|
| Midfield Maestro | 9 Dec 2014, 08:19 PM Post #127 |
![]()
Retired and now a BT Sports pundit
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]()
|
Which in itself is probably an indictment on our youth system. The fact that O'Brien played four seasons in the Championship for a terrible Barnsley side does not change the fact that he was never, ever even close to being good enough to play for Celtic. There is a lot of dross in the Championship, including O'Brien. If a 19 year old prospect at Celtic "can't lace O'Brien's boots" that prospect will never be good enough. Edited by Midfield Maestro, 9 Dec 2014, 08:20 PM.
|
![]() |
|
| The Pin | 9 Dec 2014, 08:36 PM Post #128 |
|
smoother than moves by Villanova
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]()
|
celtic are currently trying to sign a kid I used to coach a couple of years ago. He's nothing special, even at boys club level, but he's absolutely massive for his age. This is the 3rd freakishly tall but limited youth I've known Celtic to sign. It's absolutely astonishing that the club are still pursuing this policy. |
![]() |
|
| williebhoy | 9 Dec 2014, 08:42 PM Post #129 |
|
Getting on a bit
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]()
|
I actually watched O'Brien playing for Scotland schools, believe he signed for Celtic later that week before Chelsea were hoping to snap him up and I said to friends I'd have let Chelsea have him. Also watched him several times with Celtic youths and still held the same opinion. Developing youth players into first team quality is difficult as so many things can go wrong, attitude, injury or just a loss of interest. Farming them out on loan is an easy cop out unless we put more thought into what the players themselves will gain. I'd prefer to send them to France, Holland, Denmark etc rather than a lower league UK side. |
![]() |
|
| Midfield Maestro | 9 Dec 2014, 08:43 PM Post #130 |
![]()
Retired and now a BT Sports pundit
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]()
|
That's depressing.
|
![]() |
|
| Clowndog | 9 Dec 2014, 08:54 PM Post #131 |
|
Are you ready ?
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]()
|
i was talking to a guy who's son had signed pro youth and the club in question were hardly interested in his football ability. he was big, strong and could run. that was all that mattered. |
![]() |
|
| The Pin | 9 Dec 2014, 08:55 PM Post #132 |
|
smoother than moves by Villanova
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]()
|
I wouldn't believe Celtic were doing this if I hadn't seen it first hand. it's a definite policy of Celtic's. I don't know what the thinking is behind it, whether they're just trying to just win games at youth level by signing big kids, or whether they've taken a decision that big kids make better players in the future. Either way, don't believe the hype about Celtic's approach at youth level, it might be well-funded but there's some unsophisticated thinking behind their recruitment. |
![]() |
|
| Bobby Peru | 9 Dec 2014, 08:57 PM Post #133 |
|
The Maestro
![]()
|
It's odd that many of the players who make it through to the first team, Maloney, Forrest, Wallace, McGregor, Caddis, Henderson all tend to be on the small side. |
![]() |
|
| Yakmin | 9 Dec 2014, 09:00 PM Post #134 |
|
First-team starter
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]()
|
Agreed. Send them somewhere where they're more likely to learn something. |
![]() |
|
| The Pin | 9 Dec 2014, 09:03 PM Post #135 |
|
smoother than moves by Villanova
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]()
|
You'd be going back about 15-20 years to when Maloney was signed, so I have no idea what the thinking was back then. My guess would be that the wee guys who survive at youth-level are the ones who could actually play, so they disproportionately make it to the professional stage. Also worth pointing out that being a relatively short adult doesn't necessarily mean you were small when you were a kid. My advice to any youth player in Scotland would be to hit your growth spurt before teams start picking their U15 squads. |
![]() |
|
| ChiliPepper | 9 Dec 2014, 09:04 PM Post #136 |
|
Getting on a bit
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]()
|
Probably because they dont get found out for their lack of ability once all the kids have grown up and are roughly the same size, unlike the early physical developers. |
![]() |
|
| Lobey Dosser | 9 Dec 2014, 10:33 PM Post #137 |
|
Considering retirement
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]()
|
So what's the motive behind the policy, do you know ? |
![]() |
|
| williebhoy | 9 Dec 2014, 11:03 PM Post #138 |
|
Getting on a bit
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]()
|
I know many years ago Jim McLean at Dundee Utd told his scouts to find him athletes and he would make them into players. Football is constantly evolving and big strong pacey players have much more opportunity to make it than 10-15 years ago. Recall watching our youth side under TB and we had about 6 or 7 who were all 5'4 - 5'7 don't think any of them ever made any impact at Celtic. |
![]() |
|
| Neil Jung | 9 Dec 2014, 11:07 PM Post #139 |
![]()
Off treasure hunting in Holland
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]()
|
About ten years or so ago Celtic copied Arsenal and a few other teams who put in place a system where they looked for athletes amongst the youngsters as it was thought easier to teach them how to play than it was make athletes out of those with bad genes. I thought that had fallen by the wayside as our youth teams always seem small compared to teams like Hearts and Sevco but I've recently heard of young players of limited ability but physically mature for their age getting trials and being taken on. |
![]() |
|
| amccarten313 | 10 Dec 2014, 12:52 AM Post #140 |
|
Occasional Substitute
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]()
|
as an american i see the incredible caliber of athletes we produce for basketball/american football (lebron james, calvin johnson, dez bryant, etc) and can only wonder how good they would be if they played football from a young age. imagine kevin durant as a keeper for example! |
![]() |
|
| 1 user reading this topic (1 Guest and 0 Anonymous) | |
|
|
| Go to Next Page | |
| « Previous Topic · Celtic Football Club Discussion Forum · Next Topic » |






![]](http://z5.ifrm.com/static/1/pip_r.png)




That's depressing.



9:18 AM Jul 11