Kenny Miller Completes Rangers Hat-trick

[Ser Barristan Selmy 222]

I said introduced last season (13/14)

[CammyF 6,781]

Which youth players were introduced last season on a regular basis? We played 2 youngsters regularly and even when the league was over continued to play ageing players.

 

Mcloed, aird, Gallagher, Clarke, Crawford allplayed parts during the season - sure more could have played but to say mccoist doesn't play young players is a myth.

 

Apart from the above who have we got that could hold down a regular place?

 

Are you suggesting that we should play unproven youngsters that may or may not have talent ahead of the likes of Templeton, Miller, Law, Black, Wallace, Moshni, McLoed, Aird et al next season?

[SteveC 150]

I just presumed you had missed the rest of the sentence which you originally quoted Steve?

 

Yep, you are correct. Thanks, Zappa. It was either a senior moment or my varifocal glasses can only cope with my main PC screen. I'll not answer from my mobile again without double checking.

Now where's my slippers and cocoa for Saturday night.....

[SteveC 150]

Mcloed, aird, Gallagher, Clarke, Crawford allplayed parts during the season - sure more could have played but to say mccoist doesn't play young players is a myth.

 

Apart from the above who have we got that could hold down a regular place?

 

Are you suggesting that we should play unproven youngsters that may or may not have talent ahead of the likes of Templeton, Miller, Law, Black, Wallace, Moshni, McLoed, Aird et al next season?

 

In a league that was a "gimmee" and over as a competition long before the season ended. We regularly had a far higher average age than the teams we faced or the teams playing in the SPFL that we soon hope to be challenging.

It baffles me that someone like Luca Gasporotto got playing time the season before last season but not last season, not a single minute after having been introduced the year before.

[CammyF 6,781]

In a league that was a "gimmee" and over as a competition long before the season ended. We regularly had a far higher average age than the teams we faced or the teams playing in the SPFL that we soon hope to be challenging.

It baffles me that someone like Luca Gasporotto got playing time the season before last season but not last season, not a single minute after having been introduced the year before.

Look back on the thread and I agreed that we have missed an opportunity to develop young players.

 

However anyone who thinks next season is the time to introduce youngsters seriously underestimates the challenge ahead

[Ser Barristan Selmy 222]

Mcloed, aird, Gallagher, Clarke, Crawford allplayed parts during the season - sure more could have played but to say mccoist doesn't play young players is a myth.

 

Apart from the above who have we got that could hold down a regular place?

 

Are you suggesting that we should play unproven youngsters that may or may not have talent ahead of the likes of Templeton, Miller, Law, Black, Wallace, Moshni, McLoed, Aird et al next season?

I said a regular basis, how many games did Gallagher and Crawford start? Clark didn't feature much either and he is 23 so youngster is really pushing it.

 

We should certainly have had at least 4 or 5 youngsters starting regularly, some more getting sub appearances and they all should have been starting once the league was won.

[Ser Barristan Selmy 222]

Look back on the thread and I agreed that we have missed an opportunity to develop young players.

 

However anyone who thinks next season is the time to introduce youngsters seriously underestimates the challenge ahead

And the season after that the excuse will be it's our first season in the SPL (if we get back). Then every year after that it will be we need to challenge Celtic. Next season is the ideal opportunity to integrate some youngsters in the team with a view to developing them for the SPL.

[Ser Barristan Selmy 222]

Just want to add to my previous post by saying that you should really take a proper look at the Dortmund first team squad.

 

They currently only have three players (Reus, Schmelzer & Sahin) who are products of their youth system, but you can't count Reus & Sahin because they let Sahin go to Real 3 years ago and bought him back recently for 7 million euros.

 

Reus was a Dortmund youth from he was 7 till 17 yrs old, but then left and joined Rot Weiss Ahlen in the bottom tiers of German football before making a name for himself at Mönchengladbach and eventually being bought back by Dortmund in 2012 at the age of 23 for 17.1 million Euros.

 

On top of purchases like Hummels, Lewandowski, Reus and Sahin who cost Dortmund a combined 32.5 million Euros, their squad also consists of players like Mkhitaryan (bought from Shakhtar last year for 27.5 million Euros), Papastathopoulos (bought last year for 9.5 million Euros), Jojic (bought in January for 2 million Euros) and no doubt others I've missed.....

 

So really, Dortmund's current 1st team squad only consists of ONE direct product of their youth system who's been given a chance and stayed at the club; their left back Schmelzer.

 

The rest of their team has been assembled at a cost of well over 70 million Euros on transfer fees alone and supplemented with high quality freebies etc.

Reus and Sahin still count, they are products of their own youth development. I would say the Dortmund youth development is a work in progress, they have only recently sorted themselves out.

 

Three of their starting lineup came through their youth system and Marian Sarr is breaking into the team too. Most of their young players are brought in from other clubs, I don't see what's wrong with that? They still have a young team that will improve and their average age is far lower than ours.

 

The key point here is they develop younger players, whether they are bought in at 18/19 or produced by themselves. Most footballers are still developing well into their 20's

[CammyF 6,781]

And the season after that the excuse will be it's our first season in the SPL (if we get back). Then every year after that it will be we need to challenge Celtic. Next season is the ideal opportunity to integrate some youngsters in the team with a view to developing them for the SPL.

 

SBS would you risk promotion to introduce these youngsters? Which youngsters would you play regularly?

[Zappa 0]

Reus and Sahin still count, they are products of their own youth development. I would say the Dortmund youth development is a work in progress, they have only recently sorted themselves out.

 

If you're talking about youth being given a chance, then you can't count players like that who Dortmund developed at youth level, but then released or allowed to leave for virtually nothing at a relatively young age, only to be buying the pair of them back for a 24 million Euros after other clubs have given them a chance and developed them further.

 

Three of their starting lineup came through their youth system and Marian Sarr is breaking into the team too. Most of their young players are brought in from other clubs, I don't see what's wrong with that? They still have a young team that will improve and their average age is far lower than ours.

 

The key point here is they develop younger players, whether they are bought in at 18/19 or produced by themselves. Most footballers are still developing well into their 20's

 

I don't have an issue with clubs buying in the best young talent they can get their hands on (including ourselves!) because that's what top clubs need to do, but that's where your arguments here fall flat on their face because Rangers can't afford to spend 3, 4 or 5 million+ on a 16 to 21 yr old these days, so our best young talent appears to be normally coming right through Murray Park from a very young age.

 

MacLeod and Telfer are two such players where one has 'made it' and broken through, while the other hasn't, but let's not forget that Telfer is younger than MacLeod, so I'd argue that if Telfer had stayed at Rangers he'd maybe have had a good chance of breaking through, but now we'll never know....