CELTIC SHOULD FOLLOW ABERDEEN’S LEAD IN COOPERATION REALIGNMENT

Celtic's young talents need a higher level than the Lowland League to test themselves

I read this morning that, unfortunately, Celtic’s plans to share young players with Queens Park next season, under the SPFL’s cooperation agreement, have been scrapped. 

Ongoing financial issues with The Spiders, as their major backer Willie Haughey plans to end his involvement at Lesser Hampden next year, mean the Celtic deal is off. 

Thankfully, Ayr United, led by our own former captain Scott Brown, are eager to step in and pick up this opportunity to develop Celtic’s youngsters whilst also hopefully giving a boost to their own Championship ambitions. 

The announcement last week that Jude Bonnar is headed to Somerset Park on a season long loan is, in all likelihood, just the start of a series of deals to come. 

However, the proposed Ayr United link-up should be just the start, not the conclusion to Celtic’s player development plans for the coming season.

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So far two other clubs in the Scottish Premiership have announced multiple cooperative agreements. 

Aberdeen will loan players to both Elgin City and Kelty Hearts next season. St. Mirren have similar arrangements in place with Dumbarton and Clydebank. 

Aberdeen’s approach seems especially noteworthy. They’ve opted for teams in both League One and League Two, the 3rd and 4th tiers of Scottish football’s pyramid respectively. 

This gives greater flexibility in terms of where to send players and for how long. It also allows clubs to tailor loan spells to an individual players needs. 

If a player needs to toughen up, send him to League Two. The playing standard is lower, but the physicality certainly isn’t. 

However, if you already see a player with all the right tools, just not quite the experience needed to go into the first team yet, then The Championship, one of the most competitive leagues in Europe, is the perfect place for those players to prove themselves. 

Celtic should follow this line of thought. We are permitted to enter into agreements with one club in each of the 4 tiers below the Scottish Premiership.

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In our case, Ayr United covers the Championship. We already have the Celtic B team in the Lowland League (hopefully for the final time this year). So, that leaves League One and League Two open for two further partnership arrangements. 

I haven't heard anything with regards to specific clubs, but the likes of Clyde in League Two and Hamilton Accies in League One would make sense. Bizarrely, disputes with stadium owners in recent times have seen these two clubs switch home grounds. 

Next Season, Clyde will play at New Douglas Park in Hamilton, while the Accies move to Clyde’s former home of Broadwood Stadium in Cumbernauld. However both of these venues are within a 20-30 minute commute of Celtic Park, so any players loaned there probably wouldn't even need to move house. 

This is just a speculative example, based on nothing more than geography, but there are plenty of other options across The Central Belt in League One and Two that, hopefully, Celtic are already working on in the background. 

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For now, we’ll just have to wait and see if or when Celtic officially announce anything. We shouldn't take too long though, since every other club in Scotland is now faced with this same, cheaper alternative to their current youth development programs.