LWYRUP. Youth recruitment. Newco cave
John Beaton was the man who put pressure on referee Don Robertson earlier this month, not Brendan Rodgers. Robertson had already awarded Celtic a penalty in the game against Hearts when VAR Beaton recommended he rewatch a high boot by Yang, who had already been cautioned for the incident.
Right then we knew the chances of a referee awarding Celtic a penalty, then declining to change his decision after a VAR recommendation was non-existent. Beaton was left helpless at the Celtic penalty, there was simply nothing he could do about it. The Yang incident, though, that was an open goal for him.
Celtic arrived at yesterday’s hearing LWYRUP, which was material to the SFA Disciplinary Panel’s decision to award the manager only a one game touchline ban, which he will serve on Sunday against Livingston. Disappointing, though this is, Brendan will be available to continue his dominance at Ibrox the following week.
The CIES Football Observatory this week issued a report on the average age of recruitment of first team players over 10 transfer windows (to July 2019) for over 800 clubs in the world’s top 48 leagues. It’s a fascinating read and documents a period after an incredible change at Celtic.
The Red Bull stable are unwavering in their commitment to The System. RB Salzburg top the table (ave. age 20.93 yrs) and RB Bragantino (Brazil) are second. Also in the world’s top 30 are RB Leipzig and New York RB.
Salzburg have taught the world how to recruit on a budget. They sign lots of young players, develop them through a collaborative network, then bring their graduates to the first team, before selling them on and promoting the next generation. The only UK clubs in the top 30 are Liverpool and Brighton, two impressive examples of how recruitment should be done.
Scotland’s highest entrants were Hibernian (41st) and Celtic (59th, ave. age 23.53 yrs). 59th out of over 800 is a high placing. It would be higher still without the likes of Kolo Toure and Scott Sinclair. I know what you’re thinking – don’t say a word against Scott Sinclair.
Scott was a stand-out in the Celtic team which won the first of our Quadruple Trebles; without him, one of the most historic periods of our history may not have happened. But there is a cost of this success. While we were spending money on Scott’s wages, Salzburg were signing hordes of teenage talent. Most of those would not make the grade (few as spectacularly as Kolo at Celtic), but this is always the way in football.
Apart from that Quadruple Treble, our most common 21st century reference point is the Martin O’Neill era. Martin transformed us from always-underdogs to always-favourites. He remains an inspiration. But Martin recruited old men with no notion of what tomorrow would bring.
Sign them at their peak and let them leave when they’re done. It was exciting, but despite all the trophies and European runs, we lost money every season Martin was here, as we marched a pace behind David Murray’s Rangers towards the cliff.
Change came just in time. Spend was curtailed and the club built a recruitment strategy which did not rely on Match of the Day. Murray’s Rangers, gloriously, stepped over the edge alone.
This season has seen us commit to a plan Salzburg would endorse. We are not as good as them (yet), but honestly, if you think there is an alternative strategy that would better serve our interests, you have an unhealthy need for short term fixes.
Celtic and Newco have agreed to allow around 3,000 visiting fans at their games after Celtic insisted on having a safe segregated area of Ibrox or nothing at all. After years of torment, Newco reduced Celtic’s allocation to 800 tickets (Celtic responded in kind). Celtic fans were left vulnerable in a corner of Ibrox and had to egress from the area through usually unhappy Newco fans. In the stadium, Celtic fans were subject to missile attack from above, while the journey home was far from pleasant. Eventually, Celtic decided it better to have no visiting fans at these games than allowing an unsafe situation to continue.
There will be some satisfaction at this decision, however, the devil is in the detail. I have been going to Ibrox since the days we got half of the old enclosure but only a third of the stand above; missile attacks from above have been around that long. Make it safe or don’t have Celtic fans there.