The Lowland League Give Provisional Approval to Celtic Colts Admission

The news that Lowland League clubs have given provisional approval at least for Celtic’s B Team play in their competition, and with it the opportunity of a football starved Celtic youth set up to play competitive football next season, is a divisive subject.

For clubs at that level a financial injection and an increase in exposure may well be beneficial, yet elsewhere concerns around sporting integrity raised by clubs within the Lowland league, further down the football pyramid, and the fears of clubs in the SPFL leagues above, who had already deflected Celtic’s advances, have clear merit. That said as much as the recent announcement has been met with a great deal of scrutiny, reserve sides further down the pyramid is nothing new, with both Berwick and Hibs having entered sides in the East of Scotland league previously.

For now, what was inevitable when top flight colt sides were allowed to enter the revamped Challenge Cup appears to only be a one-season solution. It is also premature to say it is an absolute certainty, but in theory it should be ratified by the lowland league’s annual general meeting on 27 May.

Photo: Vagelis Georgariou

It will be interesting to see if this is the beginning of a long-term plan or if it is simply a sticking plaster placed as a short-term solution for a long-term problem for Celtic. For now, it will allow Celtic’s young players the chance to play a league season and allow the opportunity for our youngster’s to be fit and ready –and hopefully well practiced in the same formations and systems as the first team is using – when they make the step up to first team football.

In theory a long-term solution similar to this, would allow for pathway plans for young players yet to make the grade however Celtic will also have to utilise the available alternatives.

Strategic Partnerships are something Celtic could well look at, as well as continuing to utilise loan options with clubs further up the pyramid, down south and abroad. However, it would be good to see some genuine planning in both these decisions. Hibs again as an example have a strategic partnership with Stenhousemuir and it involves coaches as well as players heading from Easter Road to aid the continuity and to benefit both clubs.

Photo: Andrew Milligan

The choice of club for such a strategic partnership has to fit with Celtic’s playing philosophy, whereas individual loans have to be chosen carefully to ensure regular game time and an environment where players strengths are reinforced but also where their weaknesses can be targeted for improvement.

At present there appears little by way of a cohesive strategy from Celtic about where players are placed on loan in comparison to what stage the individual is at in their development. For instance, Luca Connell or Karamoko Dembele playing Lowland League football seems an insufficient test for players with either higher level experience, as Connell had at Bolton, or a player who has already been deemed good enough to be tested at Premiership level as we have seen with Dembele, but for others the benefits could be important.

For Celtic there will be opposition from Lowland League club supporters perhaps disappointed their own clubs are selling out in some way particularly for what amounts to a little amount of financial recompense in exchange for the selling out of a pyramid system many clubs fought hard against resistance to see become a reality, only for it now appear to be compromised. And there will also be disappointment from within the Celtic support that this plan has been agreed in conjunction with a club many of us wish we could distance ourselves from when it comes to business relationships, going into this as we are with theRangers despite recent protestations of standing entirely alone.

There is also the concern that at present this is only a one season solution, yet it would be naïve to assume both sides will shake hands and go their own ways after a 12-month trial. However, for Celtic this has to be part of a youth structure reorganisation and hopefully an initial step on the way to a fully integrated youth set-up feeding ultimately into a first team environment for our younger players, as well as being part of Celtic’s ongoing and much publicised structural review that to date we have seen little evidence when it comes to how such a change in vision may look.

Photo: Jane Barlow

If Celtic do wish to win hearts and minds amongst what will surely amount to friction with supporters of suspicious Lowland League clubs then Celtic will also have to ensure that what appeared to be claims of increased coverage, exposure and money for the Lowland League clubs actually materialises.

Selling these games next season to the support and making sure the teams progress is well publicised could be a way to ensure gates increase in the lower leagues and some form of television or online coverage, even on a pay per view basis as the club often does with the women’s game would be a way forward, as long as that money also filters into the Lowland League clubs. As would ensuring access to games, highlights, players and management by way of Celtic media as well as the mainstream press would be beneficial in raising the profile of the young Celtic side.

There will be an appetite amongst the support for this new venture and it is important the club recognises the importance and benefits to all parties to ensuring there is regular access for platforms willing to cover this and in turn raise the awareness and the profile of Celtic’s involvement.

If Celtic intend to sell this 12-month project as a long-term solution both our support and the clubs and fans of the lower leagues will take persuading of its merits. Celtic alongside fans media could play an important role, as you can see from the coverage The Celtic Star and other sites, such as The Cynic who have given long standing coverage to the women’s game can testify to, but could also point out where improvements could be made from Celtic’s side.

It is strange to think that Jock Stein envisaged a Celtic B team playing in the lower leagues as far back as 1968 but was defeated by a vote from Partick Thistle wishing to protect footfall through their gates from Celtic fans unable to attend away games but looking for a Saturday football fix.

As such this opportunity has been a long time in the making and if it is to be a success there are many obstacles to overcome and support has to be cultivated. To do this communication and trust has to be earned from Lowland League clubs and Celtic have to show they are serious about some of the promises they have made to clubs and in turn the supporters in the league we are joining ahead of next season. If we do that perhaps a Celtic B side in some form could be a long-term option. If however, we behave like we’re doing the Lowland Leagues a favour by gracing them with our mere presence it could be a short-lived experiment.

Niall J

About Author

As a Bellshill Bhoy I was taken to my first Celtic game in the summer of 1987. It was Billy McNeill’s return to Celtic Park as manager and Celtic lost 5-1 to Arsenal . I thought I was a jinx, I think my Grandfather might have thought the same. It was the finest gift anyone ever gave me when he walked me through Parkhead's gates.

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