Tommy McIntyre’s Celtic B-Team will be playing Lowland League football again next season, after a Monday night vote – reported to be a close-run thing – went in the favour of Celtic, theRangers and Hearts who had issued an ultimatum to the Lowland League, whereby all three clubs had to be accepted or none would take part.
It was a dangerous game Celtic played and perhaps not our finest hour in terms of behaviour towards our hosts, but Celtic will no doubt argue the ends justify the means, as now the Lowland league has voted to have a 19-team league campaign next season and Celtic will continue to have the chance to allow our young players a chance to develop in a competitive football environment within the agreed rules of participation regarding age limits of players taking part in Lowland League matches.
Tommy McIntyre (left) when having to take charge of the Celtic first team post Dubai in the Covid bounce game season
Much has been said about the quality of the lowland league and the benefits our young players get from playing at such a low rung in the football pyramid, but as much as there are poorer sides towards the lower reaches of the league table there are also clubs within the league who would be capable of competing comfortably in League 1, and in the absence of a reserve league the bridge between under 18 football and the first team has to be crossed, and the Lowland League is as good as it gets at this time.
One thing that it does allow for is a continuity in training, formation, style of play and footballing philosophy from lowland league level to Ange Postecoglou’s first team. It also allows the opportunity for young players to train with the first team having learned their specific role at Lowland league level, and as such the tactical demands are far more easily transferable if they have already been tested out week in week out in a competitive environment, rather than simply on the training ground alone.
Celtic have been a club who have predominately played an Under 18 team in that environment despite being permitted to play an Under 20 side, and even then, managed a third-place finish in the Lowland League last year.
A lot of credit must go to Tommy McIntyre and his players for such an achievement as it really is a case of men against boys for Celtic at that level, and to test themselves still further by blooding younger players shows what Celtic are trying to achieve with the continuation of this Lowland League experiment.
Last season the likes of Dane Murray, Owen Moffat, Joey Dawson and Ben Doak all featured for Tommy McIntyre’s side as well as Ange Postecoglou’s first team. That will hopefully now continue next season where the likes of Bosun Lawal, Ben Summers and Tobi Oluwayemi can move from training with the first team and the odd squad place, to featuring in the season ahead, getting competitive football in the Lowland League, and playing the same way as Ange Postecoglou’s side can only stand them in good stead.
Celtic seriously need to look at how we behave towards our hosts in future, as threats such as the ultimatum we issued alongside the other top-flight clubs was behaviour more akin to the other side of Glasgow than ourselves, and it took promises from the SFA and Ian Maxwell – and assurances to re-examine the Scottish pyramid as a whole – to convince Lowland League clubs to accept a 19-team league season next season.
Perhaps when this subject rears its head again we can be a little more respectful of the league which is allowing our players a chance to play, where otherwise they would be without competitive football.
A little less aligning with an Ibrox playbook going forward should now be food for thought for Celtic.
Niall J
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