The B-Sides.
Pre-season, as we are so often told, is for “touch,” “sharpness,” “minutes in the legs,” and - my new personal favourite from Rodgers - “Getting our pitch geography back.” It’s also the stage of the footballing calendar when we get to see academy or “B” team players for more than 7 minutes at a time.
These have been barren years in terms of homegrown talent making an impact at first-team level. Under the age of 30, Stephen Welsh (25) and Anthony Ralston (26) are the last academy products to play over 50 games for Celtic, and to add further context, neither has ever been considered a first choice in their respective position.
This needs to change, and while not everyone will go on to become Kieran Tierney or Callum McGregor, there is certainly space in the squad for what we can broadly term development players. An additional layer of back-up that supplements, maintains, and ideally competes for a place in the team.
Early League & Scottish Cup rounds, home league fixtures against lesser opposition, and five substitutes per game, leave plenty of scope to introduce and build exposure to top-flight football.
In the last four weeks, we’ve seen pretty much all the academy has to offer. There are a few interesting cases, or candidates for promotion.
Colby Donovan (18)
About to turn 19, Donovan has featured heavily throughout the summer at both right back and central defence. He looks tenacious, confident, and enthusiastic to make his mark.
A great height and shape for the full-back position, he’s a swift runner with a long stride, who gets touch tight to opponents. There is nuance to his ability on the ball, particularly sharp when reversing passes into the feet of forwards and carrying the ball. He displayed brilliant composure and physicality when marking Anthony Gordon recently and even sent the £50million pound winger to the shops with a neat Cruyff turn.
Exactly the sort of precocious self-belief needed to stand out.
Dane Murray (22) - CD
Big Dane Murray looks like he’s been made in a lab. The tall, broad, and robust frame is the perfect canvas from which to start when trying to sculpt a first-team-ready central defender.
It’s his body that has let him down in these early stages of his career, though: having made his debut at 18 under Ange Postecoglou, Murray looked earmarked for life as a Celtic stalwart. The four years since have been cruelly snatched away by serious injuries, leaving the under-21 Scotland international pretty much back where he started.
There does seem to be a place for him now though. The 22-year-old was recalled in January -after a successful 6-month loan spell at Queen’s Park - with the intention of reintroducing him into the rotation. Injury – a minor clean-up op from previous surgery – once again curtailed plans, and Murray missed out on precious game time that had been earmarked for him.
Maik Nawrocki has now departed, along with Gustav Lagerbielke; Stephen Welsh has not been in the plans for a while and will most likely leave this summer. This is where the chance or “Pathway” opens up, and if he can just stay fit, those in charge seem eager to involve him.
Rodgers is certainly a fan. “He’s a young player who’s come through the system. A really talented young player who’s had a challenging time with injury. He’s 6’4, has good pace and can play”
The attributes are there; experience is all that’s needed.
Sean McArdle (17)
McArdle’s introduction came at the end of last season. A spot on the bench at Ibrox was followed by two cameos against Kilmarnock and Aberdeen(totalling 14 minutes). This was enough to declare him a “Generation talent” – my mate’s level-headed appraisal, received via WhatsApp during his 8 minutes at Pittodrie.
Without being too specific about it, the 17-year-old looks particularly gifted. His touch, gait, and poise on the ball add weight to the perception of a skilled, technical player. He’s also small and left-footed.
McArdle seems somewhat of a throwback, a vintage character. Oversized sleeves, cuffs pulled over the hands, he looks natural. Despite his age, he seems unflustered by the congestion of midfield, popping off passes with the outside of his foot, or pushing them round the corner first-time.
The scope of his potential depends on his physical development, which, in general, occurs naturally but can be expedited by softly launched exposure to the top flight. These friendlies have shown up the necessity for this to be a priority; at times, he has looked slight when pressed, coughing up the ball where he shouldn’t.
McArdle has started the first two games of the B team’s season. A demotion of sorts, but it won’t be long till we see him again.
Homegrown players bring us closer to the team and offer a different attachment than your average import. It makes the club evergreen, self-perpetuating, and renewable, but it’s also an effective way to add depth to a squad; to create talented players is to produce assets.
Last season, Scottish Under-21 players collectively accounted for less than 2% of all our minutes played. A poor indictment of the club, considering just how dominant we are in our league.
Celtic have recently entered into a partnership with Ayr United, which allows us to send players there for game time, whilst retaining the power to recall them at various stages in their development. A surprisingly innovative initiative from the SFA. Sean Maloney has taken the “Pathways manager” job from Darren O’Dea, and it’s now time to see if this role and the youth system itself are taken seriously.