billko

Hopefully more teams see youth as the way forward and we do better at developing more throughout the whole system up here. I'm sure a scout from down south (think it was Brighton) who was at one of the exit trials at the 18's / 19's age group commented on how we lose so many players at this age in this country and in Europe they do things differently and will develop boys beyond this age level as they continue to develop and prepare them for first team football. Apologies Armand as I just noticed this post and thanks for the suggestion of Camlachie I checked their website and don't think they compete at U16 (players born 2000) age group.

I couldn't tell you this and couldn't tell you how many players Clyde have lost to bigger clubs who then don't develop those boys or know how many players Clyde have took on after they have been discarded by bigger clubs It's very easy to say any Academy is a waste of money when we really haven't developed any top players at most clubs for a long time of the calibre we once did. Clyde like all clubs hope to unearth that gem but it's probably more to do with the system and the mentallity in the game we have here and the old boy network of coaches and dinosaur managers who are really to blame. We develop youth players to a good standard up to a certain age and then we fall away through a system that has been scared to promote youth forward to first teams when a 30 plus year old journeyman is seen as a better bet. Players who have worked hard right through the system become disillusioned with the game and lose hope in ever making it. We need coaches and mangaers who not scared of fans who want a game where it's 100mph, win at all costs and be brave to trust the youth players and give them the confidence to push more of them forward to the first team Kids are developed to a high technical standard but when they reach the older age groups the game seems to change with the football being sacraficed for a game that gets us nowhere and turns folk away from the game due to the quality they are watching. It's not Clyde's Academy that is not working it's youth development as a whole in Scotland that has failed for decades and we need to concentrate promoting better forward thinking coaching and get these young coaches into placements at all the clubs up and down the country.

Those trips to Qatar were important you know for the future of our game.here. Scotland getting back to the major tornaments and reaping the finacial rewards of qualifying will hopefully see money filter down to the grassroots level of the game so the youngsters can benefit from it. Clyde maybe are in bigger financial bother than just scrapping their Academy through the lack of SFA funding, but iI would like to think the governing body helped them as much as they could for Clyde to at least keep their youth set up going. At my sons age group over the last few years they were always one of the strongest sides and everyone really looked forward to.these very tough games. They will be a big miss to the Club Academy Tier

Thistle Weir are now Elite status and competing in the Elite tier which should see them get the maximum funding available to them from the SFA The tier they moved up from is the Club Academy section and the funding received is lower and from what I have heard has been cut yet again and the main reason Clyde can't continue. It was really frustrating over the last few years that Thistle and other clubs couldn't compete at the higher tier and lots of hurdles were put in the way to make things difficult to move up to this exclusive group. The SFA want more Regional set ups where clubs merge set ups putting foward their best players to make these squads up across the age groups. This will save the SFA money and any merger will guarantee Elite status Thistle through the Weir funding can keep themselves independent from any such merger and also put in place everything needed to get Elite status. It's the place you want to be and once in I'm sure nobody is bothered too much with the teams struggling below them. Clyde will probably now get heavily involved with community set ups and have teams playing in boys club leagues but other options that could come up is merging with Airdrie for instance. I don't know Motherwell's position with regards the funding for the youths just now, but they were struggling financially for a few seasons there, and when you are struggling it's the youth set up that usually suffers. A longshot but they could be the third team in this mergier creating a North Lanarkshire Regional Academy that the SFA would probably back and it would gain Elite staus right away. Accie's still have the cash to keep their system independent but you could never rule them out joining it sometime in the future if a Regional set up was to be put together. As for the Weir's I would expect them to keep funding the ThistleWeir set up fror years to come but I suppose a quality player /players that are brought through the system and sold on for big money would help too. Thistle and Ayr Utd were given the go ahead to play in the Elie Tier this season with Dundee the team being edged out at the final hurdle of the selection process.

I have heard of them and we actually both spoke about this team last night. I know a little bit about them and it looks a good set up that train and play at a great facility. PM sent

That question could be aimed at most Academy set ups. Alot of clubs have failed youth systems and in a country where little money exists in the game that needs to change.. I don't think you try to move the game forward by scrapping youth set ups.

Plenty of boys clubs LIB but it's important for me to get one that is coached correctly. The SFA apparently have lowered the budgets they give to teams and probably would like to create more Regional Academy set ups across the country where teams merge set ups. Clyde are struggling financially anyway but clubs like Clyde or any club for that matter need their youth set ups and all clubs should invest in their youth.(Imo)

Having been away from the BC scene for a few years I have lost track a bit on it to be honest I know alot of good folk are involved at BC and the ones doing things correctly should be applauded for doing so. I was meaning the standard of training he would get by playing/training with boys older than him at the dual age group 16/17's at pro youth rather than the standard of coaching he would get. My son has been training for a team from the the east end (not celtic ) and been involved in a couple of friendly matches. In both games it's been a total eye opener on the negative things at this level with the antics from the sidelines which I hope isn't what it's going to be like every week. For me the coaching is the important thing and then the facilities is the next thing I would be looking at. In the two games I seen very little football was played and never seen so many long balls played in the games For me my sons game won't develop much in this type of enviroment but the team he is training with like to play it more on the ground which is more suited to his style. I have looked on Youth Football Scotland for possible teams for him and also had some teams recommended to me but I was waiting to see what was going to happen with Morton and Clyde before taking anything further and it's also the end of the season just now. He has been asked to play in a couple of summer tournaments with the club he has trained with but there is no pressure being put on to sign. I would also say he has lost a wee bit of confidence just now and it wil be important to get the right club for him so he can kick on again and I think that will be at U16's at a good boys club. We are based in Cambuslang but are willing to travel for the right club / set up for him to keep progressing.

Lack of SFA funding is being blamed for it and can see more clubs struggling if funding has been cut yet again. Thistle are very lucky to have the Weir's backing and that generosity should see the Academy continue to thrive in the future while other set ups struggle or have to fold like Clyde's have done which means around 120 kids from Clyde are looking for a place to play football now. I think it's quite sad that youth footballers are suffering in this country at a time when it they should be developed as much as they can for the future of the game here. Investment needs to be made at all clubs up and down the country so they can develop the talent that will help our game thrive for years to come

Trained with Morton and done well but he still would have the same problems with the dual age group and probably won't get decent game time. We left on good terms and he can go back in again in the future if we want to. The travelling is difficult and it's a big commitment to take on to be honest. We were waiting to hear from Clyde to go in for pre season training but that's also now a non starter, so I think his best bet is boys club football for a season at U16's then see where he is with his physical development to maybe get back in next season at U17's pro youth level It's a tough choice between getting little game time but training at a higher standard in the pro youth set up or getting game time at boys club level where the standard is not so good. Obviously I get his thoughts on what he wants and I need to protect him a bit from getting too many rejections in case he loses all interest in playing and to be honest at the age he is at it's easy for that to happen.

Heard today Clyde have scrapped their youth set up and they must be in a bad way to go down this route. It's a shame for all the boys who will be released at all the age groups who will now be looking for clubs to continue their development.

ThistleWeir's Academy has had Elite status for months now and met all the criteria required to join the rest of the clubs who have Elite status in the top tier of pro youth football.. All it was needing was to get the invite from footballing authorities to join the top tier Next season this will happen and all the teams in Thistle's Academy will play against the other Elite clubs and will do so for the next 3yrs at least. This will now see ThistleWeir being able to compete for the best young talent out there with the other Elite set ups and will also be a better footballing test for all the boys to be going up against the higher standard of footballer they will face at Elite level. How's that for info LIB?

A big well done to "wee" Neilly Mclaughlin who got to play at Fir Park today Still an U17 player and Neil shouild be really proud of himself for achieving some first team experience at such a young age..

February (bottom row, third boy in gong from left to right) That's a big clue 16 boys in the pic and half of them now away. As for the top I have a signed shirt from the 2013/14 season so if I win I will donate it back for Will to decide what to do with it.

First time i seen the draw the guy doing it mentioned the mystery prize and all around me folk were letting him know (using some colourful language) that it was a baw and i thought "How do they know thiis"? After a few more visits and the draw being made the mystery prize always gave me a laugh as the fans went through the same routine.

38 was my old bonus ball number that won me nothing but this could be my time I will even take 39

Thanks again to everyone for all the kind messages of support and believe me it really means alot to us and will give him a boost when he reads them. I will post again on the thread when he gets fixed up with a club and fingers crossed all the boys who got released get something sorted out for themselves.

Hi Will The majority of clubs voted against an U16 league a few months back but rumour is that some teams including Thistle will play U16 games every few weeks with a team being made up of boys being played up from 15's and boys eligible from the 17's playing All boys will still play at their own age groups at weekends so these 16's games will be arranged midweek (evenings) probably. We go from U11's 12's 13's 14's 15's to the dual age group 16/17's to some teams having an U18 development sides and then it's U20's. It's a big jump in the later years of youth development and some boys can be at clubs for 6yrs then go out the system altogether which seems a waste but it's the system in place whether you agree with it or not. It would be great if someone gave reports on the youths and done it in an official capacity and hopefully someone can do this. I won't be a stranger either Will

QP are close by and would be ideal for his development. Whoever could you mean? Also Thanks Soulful Jag and everyone else for the positive messages.you have all given us. I wasn't looking for folk feeling sorry for him and only started the thread because i didn't want to disappear without giving the real reason for doing so (just incase you all blamed my absence on a certain team not gettting promotion and i couldn't handle the huge amount of stick that would be coming my way)

Really overwhelming to get these responses and didn't think you lot could be so nice Some great reples on here and some that made me laugh and just what i would expect with wee digs at a certain team from Govan We are all gutted for him and we have felt part of a great club over the last few seasons but everything moves on in football. I said before in a previous post that i would be a proud parent if he ever reached first team and walked out at Firhill one day and with football being football you still could never rule that out. Once he has got his head around the shock of all this as Thistle have been a big part of his young footballing life, he will hopefully have the motivation to take the challenge on elsewhere and we will back him on whatever he wants to do. My only worry is that it's Clyde or Morton and i will scared to tell all of you I'm not lying when i tell you that it's been a great experience for both of us over the last 3 yrs and you do get to have a good feeling towards the club so you couldn't rule out a few visits to Firhill in the future I have run out of "likes" but can honestly say all of those messages we have received on this thread are greatly appreciated and will be a great help to him when he reads them. Cheers

My son was one of the casualties from the U15's squad who were released tonight and won't be part of things as they jump to U17's next season. He is one of the youngest in the team and the physical side of the game with the jump to U17's was always going to be tough on someone who won't turn 15 until the end of the year and who is still to develop alot physically. He has played in all but 1 game in 3 seasons and we have put iin goodness knows how many miles as we travelled all over Scotland to Elgin, Inverness to Annan and it's been a really enjoyable experience to have been a part of it and see the team develop each year. The Thistle Academy has come on leaps and bounds since my son came in a U13's and it WILL produce great talent for Thistle in the future. The match reports etc started to try and show Jags fans that they have a youth set up to be proud of and it's been really enjoyable doing it. Another year and i might even had a season ticket for Firhill We are both fine about it although it might not really have sunk in yet with him, but he will develop elsewhere and maybe sometimes change is good but where we end up is anyones guess.just now. It was also disappointing to lose the last game 3-0 today against Clyde but the squad was decimated with injuries and not a real reflection on where these two sides are just now in terms of the standard of players each team have. Some will be angry at being released and Gerry has a tough job getting it right on who to let go and who to keep, but we have no problems with anyone at Thistle and we will always see it as a positive experience. We will want to prove them wrong though but will use it as a positive motivation rather than having any ill feelings. A well earned rest and the difficult part is how to fill those 5 days in the week that was taken up by Thistle duties. Good luck to all the boys released at the different age groups who will be looking for new clubs and many will go on to good things in the game if they are dedicated to it. This is Pro Youth football and it's a ruthless enviroment that boys need to be mentally tough to survive in. Also good luck to all the boys who were kept on and hope you all continue to do well and get to run out at Firhill someday as first team players. It's been a great season again for Thistle and i iwish the club all the best for the future and hope you ALL get behind what they are trying to achieve. All the best

Not as cringeworthy as the obsession you have Fill her shitehole? Deary me

The one and only time he was "fast" http://www.bbc.co.uk...entral-14843099

Always good games against Queens Park and looking forward to Sunday's game at Lochinch Good luck to the U11's, and U12's against Dundee and for all the rest of the young Jags against QP