It was reported last night on The Celtic Star that former Celtic players Charlie Mulgrew and Jonny Hayes were amongst the names interested in coaching the Celtic under 18 side.
I’ve nothing against the two names mentioned as I’ve no doubt they’d make excellent coaches, but it very much looks like a case of ‘jobs for the bhoys’.
Especially when we already have the likes of Darren O’Dea and Stephen McManus coaching at some capacity at youth level, it makes you wonder if the club ever cast the net in looking for our youth coaches?
Sometimes you need to look afar
Don’t get me wrong they know the club and they were good players, so they can pass on vital knowledge and experience to the youngsters aiming to make the grade at the club, but sometimes you need to look afar in hiring quality candidates.
In Brendan We Trust
Someone who doesn’t have a connection with the club, and has a great track record at youth level should be worthy of consideration. That should be the aim of those in charge of recruitment. The same aim that should be applied to the first team, get the best quality candidate aboard and not someone who is seen as ‘one of the bhoys’.
That said if Brendan Rodgers believes that Charlie Mulgrew, Jonny Hayes or both are right for the job then fair enough.
Just an Ordinary Bhoy
The issue I would have regarding the latest appointments is yet again we are looking at defensive minded players for coaching roles within the club?
Does this mean that we can only develop defensive minded players with the 8 homegrown rule in play for European football?
Considering we are potentially looking at ralston, Welsh, Taylor and lawal as defensive options and even Calmac doing a holding midfield role more than anything else for the team, are these really the only type of players we are capable of producing?
Since Tierney, we still haven’t produced a real quality defensive player, and even more so when we play most of our SPFL matches upon the front foot?
Yet the weaknesses in basic defensive issues still exist?
The whole set up doesn’t feel quite right to myself, and thinking we should be looking for better in development terms in quality than just giving knowledge upon the demands within the club imo?
Is it any wonder that when that potential talent does come along, then they choose to develop further elsewhere, when we operate with coaches only learning the trade themselves, and without prior knowledge it they are actually cut out for doing the roles either?
We should be producing better and more frequently than we have done for many an idle years in such an area within the club?
Will give credit to Rodgers for actually addressing the situation, but also think that we should have been looking at getting better to produce better also?
Wouldn’t be overly confident that the current structure with those involved will produce the player’s of the required standards imo?