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The Young Team Myth


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First of all let me say that having watched the youth teams on a regular basis nobody enjoys seeing a youngster progress to the first team more than me.

 

A couple have done really well this season and the others have let nobody down and done okay.

 

The facts are we are in 3rd division and if we couldn't promote a few youngsters then we really would be in a bad way. There seems to be a perception that we have a very young team playing against lower league journeymen, if you actually look at the facts you will find this isn't the case.

 

Our starting lineup on Saturday had an average age of 24.9 with one teenager in Lewis McLeod, our opponents Montrose average was 23.2 and they included three 19 years olds, Ricky McIntosh (on loan from St.Johnstone), Leighton McIntosh and Martin Boyle (both on loan from Dundee). With most teams in this division having loan players teenagers in the opposition is not unusual, even Queen's Park started with a 17 and 18 year old in our recent meeting.

 

On Saturday Hearts reached the League Cup final with four 19 year olds in their starting line up, Fraser Mullen, Jamie Walker, Callum Tapping and Jason Holt, another 19 year old Kevin McHattie has been playing for their first team on a regular basis. An indication of where our young players are with Hearts can be seen in the last four youth league results.

 

5th Nov 2011 Hearts 4 Rangers 3

 

27th Aug 2011 Rangers 0 Hearts 2

 

22nd April 2011 Hearts 1 Rangers 0

 

1st April 2011 Rangers 1 Hearts 4

 

You have to go back to 14th February 2010 when goals from Kane Hemmings and Kmail Wiktorski gave Rangers a 2-0 in a youth cup tie.

 

There can be three reasons for this, Hearts had/have a better group of players, they were coached better or a combination of the two. Its probably a combination of the two with a bit of emphasis on the middle one.

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First of all let me say that having watched the youth teams on a regular basis nobody enjoys seeing a youngster progress to the first team more than me.

 

A couple have done really well this season and the others have let nobody down and done okay.

 

The facts are we are in 3rd division and if we couldn't promote a few youngsters then we really would be in a bad way. There seems to be a perception that we have a very young team playing against lower league journeymen, if you actually look at the facts you will find this isn't the case.

 

Our starting lineup on Saturday had an average age of 24.9 with one teenager in Lewis McLeod, our opponents Montrose average was 23.2 and they included three 19 years olds, Ricky McIntosh (on loan from St.Johnstone), Leighton McIntosh and Martin Boyle (both on loan from Dundee). With most teams in this division having loan players teenagers in the opposition is not unusual, even Queen's Park started with a 17 and 18 year old in our recent meeting.

 

On Saturday Hearts reached the League Cup final with four 19 year olds in their starting line up, Fraser Mullen, Jamie Walker, Callum Tapping and Jason Holt, another 19 year old Kevin McHattie has been playing for their first team on a regular basis. An indication of where our young players are with Hearts can be seen in the last four youth league results.

 

5th Nov 2011 Hearts 4 Rangers 3

 

27th Aug 2011 Rangers 0 Hearts 2

 

22nd April 2011 Hearts 1 Rangers 0

 

1st April 2011 Rangers 1 Hearts 4

 

You have to go back to 14th February 2010 when goals from Kane Hemmings and Kmail Wiktorski gave Rangers a 2-0 in a youth cup tie.

 

There can be three reasons for this, Hearts had/have a better group of players, they were coached better or a combination of the two. Its probably a combination of the two with a bit of emphasis on the middle one.

 

 

That's quite an eye-opener.

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We do have a lot of youngsters in our first team squad, but they're not getting enough game time for my liking. There's not that much we can do about it now though when the management have brought in older players like Kyle, Sandaza & Black who are all competing for a starting place when fit.

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