20-04-2015, 22:08
I've mentioned before that it's been a disappointing season for our development squad, but in contrast to last season where we did well most of the season and finished weakly we've been getting better towards the end of this season. I stand by my hope of finishing 5th as a reasonable placing although we'll probably have to win most or all of our final 4 to do so.
Today we beat celtic's team 1-0 at Lennoxtown to get into that number 5 spot, although Falkirk below us have games in hand. Cal Gallagher scored the only goal as Mbabu completed 90 minutes and Ferguson made his debut, lasting 66.
It's always good to see a few talented boys coming through and there's 1 or 2 more in that current squad who I'm sure could do a job for the first team. Those who've come in recently have shown that we've got players who can make that step up and enhance the squad rather than just make up the numbers. In fact, if our youth players had been better managed it would have been possible for us to field a team now almost entirely of youth products that I think most people would be happy with.
For example:
Kelly;
Sinnamon, Gasparotto, Halkett, White;
McKay, Murdoch, Macleod, Walsh;
Telfer;
Hardie
And that still leaves options in Gallagher, Hutton, Crawford, Aird, a couple of others still in the u20s and maybe some more who left (eg. McAusland),
OK, so maybe reaching a bit with the defence and that's where we've had some from the youths who weren't good enough, but I'd be more than happy to see that side from midfield to front.That's not to say we'd have been able to rely on the young players 3 years ago, but by introducing them gradually and phasing out the big money players we'd have a sustainable squad that should have been competitive at this level. We'd have been in an even better position if guys like Ness and McCabe had stuck about and they'd been used as a basis for the team in 2012. What might have been, eh...
Today we beat celtic's team 1-0 at Lennoxtown to get into that number 5 spot, although Falkirk below us have games in hand. Cal Gallagher scored the only goal as Mbabu completed 90 minutes and Ferguson made his debut, lasting 66.
It's always good to see a few talented boys coming through and there's 1 or 2 more in that current squad who I'm sure could do a job for the first team. Those who've come in recently have shown that we've got players who can make that step up and enhance the squad rather than just make up the numbers. In fact, if our youth players had been better managed it would have been possible for us to field a team now almost entirely of youth products that I think most people would be happy with.
For example:
Kelly;
Sinnamon, Gasparotto, Halkett, White;
McKay, Murdoch, Macleod, Walsh;
Telfer;
Hardie
And that still leaves options in Gallagher, Hutton, Crawford, Aird, a couple of others still in the u20s and maybe some more who left (eg. McAusland),
OK, so maybe reaching a bit with the defence and that's where we've had some from the youths who weren't good enough, but I'd be more than happy to see that side from midfield to front.That's not to say we'd have been able to rely on the young players 3 years ago, but by introducing them gradually and phasing out the big money players we'd have a sustainable squad that should have been competitive at this level. We'd have been in an even better position if guys like Ness and McCabe had stuck about and they'd been used as a basis for the team in 2012. What might have been, eh...
