Daniel Cummings of Celtic celebrates scoring his team’s third goal during the UEFA Youth League 2024/25 match between Celtic FC and RB Leipzig at Lesser Hampden on November 05, 2024. (Photo by Ian MacNicol/Getty Images)
Brendan Rodgers spoke about Cummings at his media conference on Friday afternoon. Here’s what the Celtic manager was asked and had to say in response to having first being asked about introducing two young players to the Champions League match against Aston Villa at Villa Park on Wednesday night then specifically about Daniel Cummings.
Q: The changes you made in the game, there were young players. Is that something you could maybe see a wee bit more of between now and the end of the season, some youth players getting a chance?
Brendan Rodgers: “Youth players will always get the chance from me if they’re good enough. You know, the pathway is not meant to be easy. Just because you’re a youth player at Celtic, it doesn’t mean then you go and play for the first team. It means you’ve got to earn the right. Dane Murray is a player I really like. I’ve seen him play here early on in his career and then he had a horrendous injury that’s put him out for a long time. He’s come back, you can see the work he’s done. He’s 6’4″, he’s big, he’s got good pace, he can play. I wanted to stick him on the other night because the things I’ve been telling him in order to be a top player, because he’s a great big guy, he’s a nice big guy. You step on the pitch, you’ve got to be aggressive. And sometimes you don’t understand that until you experience it.
Daniel Cummings of Celtic (L) celebrates scoring his team’s third goal during the UEFA Youth League 2024/25 match between Celtic FC and RB Leipzig at Lesser Hampden on November 05, 2024 (Photo by Ian MacNicol/Getty Images)
“So to stick him on for 15-20 minutes, to get bashed up a bit and make a mistake, that’s a part of your learning. Because you can play relaxed, or you can look relaxed, but you can’t play relaxed. But I think if he can really make that mindset step, then he could be a really good player for us.
“So that possibility to stick him on there. Liam Scales cramped, he’d obviously not played for a wee while. So we had to make those changes, Daniel coming on, Adam had run his race, done great for us. I always say the same thing, if the young players are good enough and they have the right mentality, there’ll always be an opportunity of playing him.”
Q: There’s talk of Daniel Cummings getting a new contract, is there any update on that?
Brendan Rodgers: “There’s no update on that. I’d always say for the young players, I think the challenge here now for young players is patience. They want to be in the first team at 17, 18. But that’s difficult at a club like this here, unless you’re an incredibly special talent. But it doesn’t mean that you can never be. I’ve spent my career and my life developing young players, putting them in the team.
“And some have been ready. Like Raheem Sterling at 17 years of age. He was ready. Physically, mentally, ability, everything. Then there’s been some other players, like Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall, that need a wee bit more time, and he gets his debut, and then he’s ready a bit later.
Daniel Kelly of Celtic during the cinch Scottish Premiership match between Hearts and Celtic at Tynecastle on 3 March 2024. Photo IMAGO
“It’s just about time. What young players need to have here is, is understand that there’s a bit of patience needed. And the captain of the club is a perfect example. Young players come through the system, had to take a loan away from here, and then at 21 he plays, and now tomorrow he’s playing his 500th game. There’s no greater example.
“But if you want to be patient and trust the club, you’ll get there. If you don’t, you might listen to your agent, who’s got a different agenda, that takes you away from here, and then you’ll go somewhere else. But there’ll always be chances here for young players. One, if they have the ability. Two, if they have a bit of patience.”
Ben Doak and Greg Taylor of Celtic celebriate victory after the Scottish Premiership match between Celtic and theRangers at Celtic Park on February 02, 2022. (Photo by Mark Runnacles/Getty Images)
Remember Ange Postecolgou bringing Ben Doak on in the 3-0 game against theRangers three years ago today – which we have just featured on The Celtic Star – before he opted to join Liverpool?
The brutal truth is that it’s all about money, and not development, you can’t argue with that. Daniel will most likely earn three or four times more than Celtic could have offered him, and that’s not a criticism of the player, it’s just human nature, and it’s well within his rights to look after himself and his long term future.
Rocco Vata of Celtic celebrates after he scores his team’s fifth goal during the the Celtic v Buckie Thistle – Scottish Cup match at Celtic Park on January 21, 2024. (Photo by Ian MacNicol/Getty Images)
It’s a blow to see yet another promising youngster leave the club, but that’s just the nature of the modern game. He’s certainly not the first, and he definitely won’t be the last.
Recently theRangers decided to bin their B-Team while Celtic continue in the low level Lowland League. There needs to be a major re-think on all of this especially if the potential first team player we develop leave the nest at the earliest opportunity and have agents touting them around English clubs as their Celtic deals come to a close.
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It doesn’t help that anytime a young player gets a game and isn’t Virgil Van Dyke right away that they get subjected to an insane amount of vitriol about how bad a player they are. When fans are demanding multi million pound signings and the young players who do make it through and go on to have careers with the club, who go on to become one of the most decorated players to play for the club don’t even get their own song, I mean if James Forrest was called Saintigo Forresto he would get treated a lot different than he does, would certainly the respect he’s due.
Fans demand a win every game, fans demand top players, they all say they want young players coming through right up until they’re trying to break through, then they’re Mikey Johnston “He’s mince, get rid of him” The amount of pressure that fans put those young lads through after one game.
What chance have most of them got? and how many of them in the youth ranks are looking at what happens to Mikey and the others?
100%
JP, I get your point but in the case of Mickey Johnstone, he had his chances. He went on loan to WBA and was excellent for them and came back to a seemingly even heavier jersey to wear. He was 24 so maybe didn’t quite have the temperament to handle playing for Celtic. We also had enough time to develop him into a tidy sum of money as opposed to the peanuts we’ve recently received for the obvious talent thats slipped away far to early.
Great article. Do these regular £300,000 fees cover the cost of the Academy? I’d play the youth players as often as we can for rest of this season, if not now when?
I really think it is waste having a youth set up. Nothing coming through that is anywhere near the first team. Nursery for Englieh cubs
As they say, in life money talks.
Celtic really do need to take a serious look at the development and progression of youth to the first team squad. This can be highlighted and referenced specifically from the way the Dutch teams (Ajax, PSV and feyenoord) bring young talent through the ranks, they see the potential then integrate them straight into the first team squad and start playing them, even if it is against the weaker teams in the league or be it 20/30 mins when the game is done.
Admittedly this may involve taking a few hits along the way but we play in a league where right now and for the foreseeable future we are more than capable of still having enough to be winning.
This then shows the youth that yes you may be the 3rd or 4th choice in your position but a pathway does exist to their dreams..
Cummings stats show he’s definitely deserving of that chance.
As they say though for some, money talks.
Wouldn’t say it’s totally about money, even if a factor.
Thinking opportunity has the bigger influence with a career path in place for themselves.
Lowland league to top of the SPFL, with not to much available in-between, is the current state of affairs.
The knock on effect, is making it harder with every passing season, to even fulfil our 8 homegrown quota requirements for a CL squad.
Going to become either harder with calmac and forrest at the back end of there careers, yet not to much around as potential replacements in sight still.
Wouldn’t be surprised that we could be looking at a situation further down the line, where we might be having to buy back some of these youngsters to fill homegrown requirements.
And at a much higher price than what they left for in the first place.
Would prefer for the club to pull out of the Lowland league, and maybe see if we could enter a team within the u23 league in England, to help with development along with players returning from injuries.
Scottish football remains in holding ourselves back in terms of what is potentially best for our club imo
Celtic are not playing any game and the fact that other clubs have written to the SFA to safe guard from losing young player they have developed on the cheap. The SFA as yet have done or said nothing,
EPL teams can throw these players £10k – £20K a week and it will not make a dent in their budgets – We cannot. So anyone who blames the club for this is an idiot
The hearts not in it and Celtic supporters know it he is better off leaving be nice to give us a season or two then sell him but the boys heasmds been turned he will end up with a nice car but no trophies I hate to think that about young players but brixit has done Scotland no good on all levels 10 percent of young hopefulls make it but money turns players
Its all about greed and what they can get down south. £10-15 grand a week and add ons. In a short career might sound good and when your 30 you have a few quid in the bank.
But what have you won? Nothing, no league winners medals, no cup winners medals just cash.
And no pride.
Bearing in mind that is if you actually make it.
Celtic cant match the money in England and rightly so not be held to ransom.
JP, I get your point but in the case of Mickey Johnstone, he had his chances. He went on loan to WBA and was excellent for them and came back to a seemingly even heavier jersey to wear. He was 24 so maybe didn’t quite have the temperament to handle playing for Celtic. We also had enough time to develop him into a tidy sum of money as opposed to the peanuts we’ve recently received for the obvious talent thats slipped away far to early.
I watch my kid playing on Sunday, his team almost folded last week because the boys are fed up with just running and passing drills, no other variation since the previous qualified coach left and a dad took over. That and the chairman saying they’re getting new facilities then just abandoning them to a terrible pitch and no support. I’m not blaming the dad – I’m blaming the SFA because at grassroots, there is no infrastructure, unlike say Germany. The comment above about asking the English FA to field an U23 team makes some sense, as the leap from lowland to SPL is huge.
The players we’ve lost, I don’t know if it’s money or they talk amongst themselves and feel it’s hopeless getting a chance to break through and succeed here. Whatever it is, if it’s money, then we simply cannot compete with that. If it’s progress, then yes, if we had our youngsters playing at a higher level, we could integrate them more often. It’s also the nature of football now that even a manager isn’t given long to show success. Can you imagine a Man U giving someone the time they gave Fergie to succeed? And it was youngsters that carried his team forward to greater success.
For us, we’re expected to win every game but…..if we get to April and have say a 15+ point lead, then there’s no reason we can’t play Sinisalo, Murray, Frame, Turley, Montgomery because…….we don’t even know the B team well, they rarely, if ever get the chance to play in the SPL. And either that helps push some towards the door or it’s money but either way, statistically, not all kids will go purely for money. Some must feel that there just won’t be chances given. So it goes back to the SFA. They should be working with all clubs to help create a blueprint for pathways to the SPL. And if they won’t consider the future of Scottish football, then yes, go ask the FA down south to join a youth league; at least they’d be playing at a higher level then
If they do not want to play for Celtic let them go…vata went Watford… Kelly went to Millwall… Cummings going to west ham… who cares… they are leaving Celtic for money… money grabbing twats the 3 of them… when was the last Celtic young player to come through the ranks and make a name for himself… you will struggle to find many… Brendan Rodgers is right what he is doing… Kelly cannot even get a game for Millwall… you guys at the Celtic star talk alot of nonsense…
A generation or so ago kids grew up and into football with glory on their mind, emulating great players, feats and wins. Wages? Afterthought.
Today, thanks to the commercialism of the sport, the web, social media, etc, they also grow up knowing the BLING involved and that unfortunately takes paramount over romantic ideals.
Professional Footballer’s contracts, mansions, burds and lambos are the new silverware, title and medal aspirations. Greed is God.