Would anyone be able to explain why have we not got an u23 team playing in the Scottish league. With no proper football on offer for these youngsters how are they meant to gain experience and be ready for that step up if they are not playing competetivly matches in the first place? Why can't a young team start at the lower league and see how they do. Other team's do that Europe so why not in Scotland. We are the club that produces the best part of the national squad weather there current or past players. Also they would get great support from us supporters. It would help out other clubs financially. A couple of simple rules like both teams couldn't play in the same league or against each other unless a final of a cup competition. If our young star's sign for CELTIC they should play for CELTIC not be loaned out to others. As we are the only one's who do invest in youth in Scotland that needs to be acknowledged by the SFA and our board should be fighting there case.
We would be the only club capable of fielding two teams. I'm unsure how the restructure to accommodate it would work. Would we have to enter a non league set up initially and work our way up? I'm guessing there wouldn't be the same freedom of movement player wise that we had in the old reserve league.
So young players couldn't play along side our older first team recovering from injury or playing to improve match sharpness. It might be strictly a youth squad and projects.
I'm sure we must of looked into it and deemed it too expensive or not worth it.
There's no point playing a skinny 16yr old cb against 14st hammer thrower center forward. There have been very few of our youth coming through that have been physically ready for senior pro football. Most I've seen have been skilful but essentially too light and small to compete.
Even guys like Johnston (who I rate) still has a bit to go before he can be pushing and displacing a first team player and he is 21.
By the age of 18 they should be capable of putting on some muscle mass but very few of them do.
Time and time again we hear the story of a player saying they put in extra work to build themselves up to compete better.
Are our youth doing that or are they just training and clocking out for the day?
Without the set up of a reserve league we can't operate in a way that would benefit the squad. A few injuries and we might need Soro to start or even a guy like welsh to be on the bench. We can't have them locked in B team set up and unavailable unless the sfa allow say a 10 game appearance rule for the A team.
We would have to break the mould and follow in the footsteps of a Spanish set up.
Not impossible but we couldn't use it to our advantage with the senior players registered to the A team in the way we did with the old reserve set up.
Would still be worth a punt though. Anything has to be better than this pro youth pish.
We are constantly at risk of losing our better players to the money of the EPL youth wastelands or to the German set up.
I'll add that the Germans are miles a head with what they are doing over there.
It's the no1 place young guys want to go.
Scotland is so far behind and as things stand any attempt to copy the model would fall flat on its arse over here as we are the only club that could afford to attempt it.
Even with better TV money English clubs are buried alive in debt.
Ze Germans just know how to get shit done