Scottish football: Are young players getting chance to flourish?

Many clubs will point to the fact their very best youngsters are poached by Premier League and other top European clubs by the time they’ve even reached 18.

Winger Ben Doak went from Celtic to Liverpool at 16, while Rangers striker Rory Wilson opted to join Aston Villa at the same age.

Charlie MacArthur left Kilmarnock for Newcastle at 17, United’s Kerr Smith joined Villa, too, and St Mirren’s Dylan Reid signed for Crystal Palace in January.

Many clubs will have a story like this to tell, with English clubs’ pursuit of young Scottish players intensifying after Brexit made it more difficult to look abroad. It poses a challenge.

“These players would stay if they were playing regular first-team football,” said Goldie.

“Ben Doak has probably played more games for Liverpool, who were Champions League runners-up last season, than the vast majority of Scottish players his age in the Scottish Premiership, which is incredible.”

One of the issues is after under-18 level, players in Scotland have no regular way to play games.

A watered-down reserve league has already been deemed worthless by Celtic, Rangers, Hearts, and Aberdeen, who don’t take part. The former three have B-teams in the Lowland League instead.

Loans can be an effective option for clubs to give players a taste of first-team action and try to bridge the gap. But that doesn’t suit every player, and clubs lose an element of control over the player’s development.

Rangers B-team coach David McCallum was clear about the challenge.

“The gap between academy and first team is too big,” he said. “Reserve-team football is different from what it used to be. You don’t always have the senior players who come down and make it the intense environment you want it to look like.

“We can never replicate what the first-team experience is. The jump is huge.”

Rangers and others believe the B-team model can help narrow the gap, but feel it needs to come with the opportunity to play at a higher level than the Lowland League.

That is hugely controversial in Scotland, because smaller clubs understandably feel it dilutes their existence as a competitive club.

A new Conference division with B-teams below League 2 is potentially coming in, external next season.

Colt sides are no panacea in any case, because there still needs to be a pathway from a B-side to the first team no matter what level they are playing at. That requires sustained commitment from clubs.