For all our trials and tribulations in recent years, I think there's been real progress in our youth development. This hasn't always been allowed to carry through the first team level, but we've had a few good crops come through with players of real potential.
Even pre-admin, financial restrictions means we gave game time to some players who looked like they could be at least capable in the SPL (eg. Ness, Fleck, McMillan, Bendiksen, Mitchell, McCabe, Cole, Little, Wylde, Hutton). There was a bit of variety in levels of potential there, but there were youngsters we could bring in and who did a job. Post admin I'd argue we've seen higher levels of ability in the youth squad overall, many of them getting at least some game time. Lewis Macleod is obviously the brightest of those talents, but there are also guys like McKay, Aird, Crawford, Telfer, Naismith, Hemmings and McAusland (again to varying degrees of success) who followed on from those mentioned earlier, and more recently Murdoch and Walsh have made big impacts.
There are still more who are on the fringes, some of whom have featured for the first team (Gallagher, Gasparotto, Halkett, Hardie, Stoney, Ramsey, Sinnamon, Kelly, Burrows, Dykes)
The main thing is that there's been a fairly steady flow of talent now coming through the ranks, sometimes bolstered by guys taken in from other clubs' youth systems (eg. McKay, Hemings), and while I've always argued against the myth that Murray Park was supposed to be a 'conveyor belt' of young players going into the first team, it's certainly producing more than it was for a while. I don't remember a time in recent history where we've had such a strong looking set of names come through our ranks in a short period of time.
More credit needs to go to the people involved in the youth system whose work sometimes goes unrecognised or is undone by the failure of first team coaches to continue the development path. I thought Durie did a great job with the development squad and his inclusion on the first team coaching roster can only be a good thing for bringing out the best of them when they get first team chances. Do I have as much faith that Durrant will be as good for them? Eh...jury's still out on that one.
Admittedly the development league has been a bit of a bust this season, but to be fair our squad was a bit uneven with guys who should have been in it going out on loan or playing for the first team. I'd be happy with a top 5 finish as things are (and looking at this table by the way can anyone say that wouldn't be a reasonable lineup for an expanded top flight?).
Glasgow Cup final against Celtic is coming up too (does anyone know the date?) and hopefully we'll do better than last year's showing which was perhaps a sign of a forthcoming blip in the level coming through. There were a few decent prospects involved in that squad but it was a bit weak overall (although it also contained a few guys who were really playing at a level above their age). We lost in our group qualifier against Celtic 2-0, but it was reportedly a very even match and both Celtic's goals came from Jamie Brandon slipping on a wet surface so I'm more optimistic about this year's final. Hopefully our fans can behave themselves for once (though I'm not exactly expecting it). Doesn't really matter if the celtic fans riot, smash seats, throw things at players, chuck flares etc. since history suggests none of that will ever be reported.
It's promising that McCall has seemed happy to use youth, and I hope that's an ongoing policy (though whether or not he'll stay on in the job is still up in the air). It'll certainly help keep the fans onside, but we also have to be more tolerant of the mistakes the young guys will make as they learn. My hope is that this is the point where we finally learn to make use of our young players in a way that benefits both them and the club.
Even pre-admin, financial restrictions means we gave game time to some players who looked like they could be at least capable in the SPL (eg. Ness, Fleck, McMillan, Bendiksen, Mitchell, McCabe, Cole, Little, Wylde, Hutton). There was a bit of variety in levels of potential there, but there were youngsters we could bring in and who did a job. Post admin I'd argue we've seen higher levels of ability in the youth squad overall, many of them getting at least some game time. Lewis Macleod is obviously the brightest of those talents, but there are also guys like McKay, Aird, Crawford, Telfer, Naismith, Hemmings and McAusland (again to varying degrees of success) who followed on from those mentioned earlier, and more recently Murdoch and Walsh have made big impacts.
There are still more who are on the fringes, some of whom have featured for the first team (Gallagher, Gasparotto, Halkett, Hardie, Stoney, Ramsey, Sinnamon, Kelly, Burrows, Dykes)
The main thing is that there's been a fairly steady flow of talent now coming through the ranks, sometimes bolstered by guys taken in from other clubs' youth systems (eg. McKay, Hemings), and while I've always argued against the myth that Murray Park was supposed to be a 'conveyor belt' of young players going into the first team, it's certainly producing more than it was for a while. I don't remember a time in recent history where we've had such a strong looking set of names come through our ranks in a short period of time.
More credit needs to go to the people involved in the youth system whose work sometimes goes unrecognised or is undone by the failure of first team coaches to continue the development path. I thought Durie did a great job with the development squad and his inclusion on the first team coaching roster can only be a good thing for bringing out the best of them when they get first team chances. Do I have as much faith that Durrant will be as good for them? Eh...jury's still out on that one.
Admittedly the development league has been a bit of a bust this season, but to be fair our squad was a bit uneven with guys who should have been in it going out on loan or playing for the first team. I'd be happy with a top 5 finish as things are (and looking at this table by the way can anyone say that wouldn't be a reasonable lineup for an expanded top flight?).
Glasgow Cup final against Celtic is coming up too (does anyone know the date?) and hopefully we'll do better than last year's showing which was perhaps a sign of a forthcoming blip in the level coming through. There were a few decent prospects involved in that squad but it was a bit weak overall (although it also contained a few guys who were really playing at a level above their age). We lost in our group qualifier against Celtic 2-0, but it was reportedly a very even match and both Celtic's goals came from Jamie Brandon slipping on a wet surface so I'm more optimistic about this year's final. Hopefully our fans can behave themselves for once (though I'm not exactly expecting it). Doesn't really matter if the celtic fans riot, smash seats, throw things at players, chuck flares etc. since history suggests none of that will ever be reported.
It's promising that McCall has seemed happy to use youth, and I hope that's an ongoing policy (though whether or not he'll stay on in the job is still up in the air). It'll certainly help keep the fans onside, but we also have to be more tolerant of the mistakes the young guys will make as they learn. My hope is that this is the point where we finally learn to make use of our young players in a way that benefits both them and the club.
