Kai Kennedy, Nathan Patterson & Lewis Mayo.

Ojo is currently a way superior player to Kennedy mate.


He is quicker, stronger and remember he's 3 years older.

It's not a fair comparison at the moment.

Kennedy has far more development in him than Ojo.

Ojo is 5 years older, Kennedy has the potential to be a much better player going forward.
 
Ferguson and Taylor were about 14/15 when they left, no? Also Gilmour wasn’t allowed to play as he was too young.

It's clutching at straws.

We've not let any youth player go in recent memory who has went on and made it big elsewhere without being given a chance here.

Josh McPake was a superstar on here a year ago and he went out on loan and struggled to make an impact at Dundee.

If any of the guys in our youth team are genuinely better than players in front of them they will eventually come through and make it.
 
Johnston and a young CB whose name is lost on me featured for spells last season, Dembele got sporadic chances and before he left, Tierney was playing every week when fit enough.

Meanwhile, Middleton has a decent first season, gets sent on loan and is replaced by two players who were unable to match his performance levels.


The centre back is Welsh and he's garbage.
I've seen him against us in development games.

Was on loan at Morton and struggled.

They had to play him because of injuries, as they didn't have the central defensive cover we have.

If everyone is fit for them, Johnson doesn't get close to a start.

You said Celtic's team is full of academy graduates.

It's anything but.
 
He's quicker and stronger than Mason Greenwood too. It's not all that matters.

Kennedy easily has more natural ability than Ojo


Potentially he'll be a far better player, no question.
 
For years people have been complaining about our young players never getting a real chance, this should be the season that these three play a real part over the course of the season.

Kennedy is arguably better suited to play as the left sided #10 than Kent is in terms of attributes, he of course is nowhere near Kent in terms of overall quality yet but he has more natural talent than Jones or Barker do. He is the best prospect at the club and it's a fairly open secret that we will lose him if he doesn't get a run in the first team soon.

Patterson is being touted as a future Scotland regular, he has made one senior appearance for Rangers and did absolutely fine, he didn't deserve to lose his place the following game and fits into our system better than anyone we have had in the past decade excluding Tavernier.

With Katic out for the season, Mayo coupled with Bassey should be sufficient cover for that spot. There is no point signing a designated squad player so I don't really think there's an argument against this one.

Does anyone disagree? I don't think you can make the argument that this season is too important. Celtic threw Frimpong in away to Aberdeen and he became a regular for them under comparable pressure to win that there is at Rangers
I disagree, this season is not the right time as we have to win the league no matter what
 
The first 3 left when they were 15 or 16. Kelly was a reserve keeper and is a totally different case.
Two of them would have been 18 during the second division/first championship season and the other two left at a time where you could have made an argument for them getting starts. They likelihood of them leaving drops if they were.
 
If we sign a CB to cover the loss of Katic at the expense of other areas (CM, RW/right sided attacker) then I will be disappointed.

Goldson, Helander & Edmundson is fine until he’s back with Bassey who can play there too.
 
The development matches they've played in are tougher opposition than the bottom six.

This is nothing but an excuse

They're really not. The jump from development games to first team is huge. Our youth team overperformed big time in the Challenge Cup getting to the semi final, and some games included players like Grezda and Docherty.

I think we'll be in a good place this way in a few years. It's just a timing and patience thing right now.
 
Billy Gilmour never got a chance? He was 15 ffs
Pedro was promising him and his parents first team opportunities for 6 months during negotiations and they never came.

He was good enough at the time, our midfield was utter dross.
 
Having no crowd will help with all the rangers Da’s not hurling abuse at anything they do wrong. Same people on here giving it “GIVE THEM A CHANCE”, slaughter them when and if they do actually play.
 
You think a development match is harder than going to Tynecastle or Easter Rd, or any of the bottom 6 for that matter?


Ffs mate, come on.

You're fishing surely?
if the development games are harder then how do so few of the development superstars make it to be good first teamers, even at bottom 6 level.
 
You think a development match is harder than going to Tynecastle or Easter Rd, or any of the bottom 6 for that matter?


Ffs mate, come on.

You're fishing surely?
I think the development matches they've thrived in are certainly more challenging than Hamilton, Ross County, St Mirren or Livingston at home. Will also be true for the reverse fixtures in some cases
 
I think the development matches they've thrived in are certainly more challenging than Hamilton, Ross County, St Mirren or Livingston at home. Will also be true for the reverse fixtures in some cases
The development matches aren’t competitive for starters, they are told the result is irrelevant so go out and play. They are not comparable.
 
Pedro was promising him and his parents first team opportunities for 6 months during negotiations and they never came.

He was good enough at the time, our midfield was utter dross.

A 15-year-old built like a bite-sized Peperami would get eaten alive in Scotland, especially in midfield. To use the boy as an example as someone who never got a chance doesn't make sense, he signed for Chelsea as soon as he was old enough.
 
Quit while you're behind @CR5.
What are you on about mate? Thinking they're capable of 10-15 appearances over a 40+ game season is hardly a controversial opinion.

Middleton in his first season performed at a more consistent level than Jones, Barker or Ojo managed, it's really not ridiculous to suggest that better prospects can do the same thing
 
You can't play a 15yr old. He chose to leave
I know he did, which is one reason I don't like all the fawning over him and threads following his every move personally. But the question was asked originally of kids who've left and gone on to achieve anything in the game.
 
I think the development matches they've thrived in are certainly more challenging than Hamilton, Ross County, St Mirren or Livingston at home. Will also be true for the reverse fixtures in some cases


Sorry mate, but that is ill informed nonsense.

Do you actually go to our development games?

If you did then you would soon see the difference between the standard between boys in the development teams compared to hardened pros in the bottom 6 Premiership sides.

That's why players like Josh McPake look outstanding at development level and then struggle badly at a Championship side like Dundee.

The clue is in the name... Development football.
 
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I know he did, which is one reason I don't like all the fawning over him and threads following his every move personally. But the question was asked originally of kids who've left and gone on to achieve anything in the game.

I was answering the comment of Gilmour leaving because we didn't play him. Its simply not true
 
What are you on about mate? Thinking they're capable of 10-15 appearances over a 40+ game season is hardly a controversial opinion.

Middleton in his first season performed at a more consistent level than Jones, Barker or Ojo managed, it's really not ridiculous to suggest that better prospects can do the same thing


You've said development football is tougher than Premiership football and Celtic's team is full of academy graduates.

Both so false it's off the scale.
 
Sorry mate, but that is ill informed nonsense.

Do you actually go to our development games?

If you did then you would soon see the difference between the standard between boys in the development teams compared to hardened pros in the bottom 6 Premiership sides.

That's why players like Josh McPake look outstanding at development level and then struggle badly at a Championship side like Dundee.

The clue is in name... Development football.
The UEFA Youth League is a higher level of technical ability, the games programme from a year or so ago is too. Then you have the Challenge cup where they beat numerous men's teams.

They are 100% adequately equipped to be tested against a packed defence at Ibrox.
 
Billy Gilmour, Lewis Ferguson, Greg Taylor and Liam Kelly.

Billy Gilmour left a month after he turned 16. Was nothing to do with not getting a chance.

Lewis Ferguson was let go when he was 14.
Rangers released Taylor when he was 16.

14, 15 year olds normally don't get a 'chance' at first team football. 16 year olds only if they're particularly special.
 
The irony is that SG got his chance at 17 ! He was a standout , granted, but you would think he would not be inclined hold anyone back if they were truly worthy !
 
The UEFA Youth League is a higher level of technical ability, the games programme from a year or so ago is too. Then you have the Challenge cup where they beat numerous men's teams.

They are 100% adequately equipped to be tested against a packed defence at Ibrox.


We've usually been turfed out in the first round of the Chllenge Cup.

This season we did better, but we struggled to beat Stranraer and Solihull Moors.

We then lost to Championship Inverness.

A bottom 6 Premiership side would've beaten us fairly comfortably.
 
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I witnessed most of Fleck's Rangers games and it is no exaggeration to say his level of performance got poorer with each game.

By all accounts Fleck failed at Ibrox because of the "friends" he kept, who led him astray.
I think he would admit that himself, I will counter that by saying getting punted to left flank every game didn’t help him flourish. Both valid points, Fleck probably played over 60 games for us so he did get a chance. Whatever way you interpret it.
 
We usually been turfed out in the first round of the Chllenge Cup.

This season we did better, but we struggled to beat Stranraer and Solihull Moors.

We then lost to Championship Inverness.

A bottom 6 Premiership side would've beaten us fairly comfortably.
It's a good thing I'm not suggesting we play the entire development squad then, just giving the pick of the bunch a chance is enough.

Those results do suggest that they won't immediately crumble playing against men
 
The irony is that SG got his chance at 17 ! He was a standout , granted, but you would think he would not be inclined hold anyone back if they were truly worthy !

I don't think it's a problem with not giving youngsters a chance, Middleton got a lot of appearances at 18. I think his philosophy is simply that they'll play if they're good enough but he's not going to risk giving a youngster a chance just to appease people when there is so much on the line.

Imagine he gave Mayo a chance at CB and he ended up costing us a game? Gerrard would get fücking hounded (although Mayo isn't a 'youngster' really, but you get the point).
 
It's a good thing I'm not suggesting we play the entire development squad then, just giving the pick of the bunch a chance is enough.

Those results do suggest that they won't immediately crumble playing against men


I'm not arguing against our youth getting a chance if they're good enough, in fact I would encourage it.

The reason we are debating is because you said Celtic's 1st team was full of academy graduates and that development football was harder than playing against bottom 6 Premiership teams.

Neither is true.

Will you now admit that?
 
I'm not arguing against our youth getting a chance if they're good enough, in fact I would encourage it.

The reason we are debating is because you said Celtic's 1st team was full of academy graduates and that development football was harder than playing against bottom 6 Premiership teams.

Neither is true.

Will you now admit that?
McGregor, Forrest, Tierney, Ajer(was signed as a 17 year old academy project) and Johnston have all featured a lot over the past few years. Then you have players like Dembele and Ralston who have featured when needed but aren't quite ready.

Some of the development matches that they're used to are more difficult to play in on a technical level, I never said (or at least meant) that as a generalisation.

So no mate, I'm not going to admit I was wrong.
 
We usually been turfed out in the first round of the Chllenge Cup.

This season we did better, but we struggled to beat Stranraer and Solihull Moors.

We then lost to Championship Inverness.

A bottom 6 Premiership side would've beaten us fairly comfortably.

I went to the Uefa Youth League game against Atletico where our youths got scudded 4-0. The Atletico Madrid team were talented and on average a year older than our group but still a group of youth players.

Patterson had a poor game and was at fault for a couple of goals. Kennedy had a few nice touches but was largely ineffectual.

We no doubt have a talented group of players in the youth system but both of those players are only 18. The idea that they should be commanding starting spots right now is far fetched.

The club is currently working on trying to bridge the gap between youth team to first team but it's still a work in progress. The youth system was a shambles and decimated post-admin, we've been making progress for 5 years and in the next few years should see some of the benefits from the work that's went into it.
 
All three should be involved in the first team squad this season, I guess we will see if they are. Patterson should be tavs back up, and mayo now that Katic is injured should be the 4th choice cb. Same with Kennedy, the likes of jones and barker should be punted, they are no where near good enough and only stifle Kennedy’s chances at us when they offer us barely anything over a season.
 
Tbf rino left for the thick end of 4 million and wasn’t dislodging anyone in our incredibly young midfield at that time.
But still went on to captain AC Milan and won the world cup and double Champions League winner, the poster was insinuating that youngsters who don't get a game don't amount too much, Rino leaving doesn't seem to rankle with Rangers fans as much as it probably should.
When you consider Bert Korterman got plenty of game time as a central midfielder under Advocaat it should ring a few alarm bells.
 
But still went on to captain AC Milan and won the world cup and double Champions League winner, the poster was insinuating that youngsters who don't get a game don't amount too much, Rino leaving doesn't seem to rankle with Rangers fans as much as it probably should.
When you consider Bert Korterman got plenty of game time as a central midfielder under Advocaat it should ring a few alarm bells.
Valid point, I think it’s more that we got 4 million for him. Wasn’t it Eck who played bertie in midfield ?. Thought Dick always had him at the back with Amo.
 
Rather Kennedy gets a chance next year than Jones, who I see is - once again - in the papers for all the wrong reasons.
 
McGregor, Forrest, Tierney, Ajer(was signed as a 17 year old academy project) and Johnston have all featured a lot over the past few years. Then you have players like Dembele and Ralston who have featured when needed but aren't quite ready.

Some of the development matches that they're used to are more difficult to play in on a technical level, I never said (or at least meant) that as a generalisation.

So no mate, I'm not going to admit I was wrong.


You said "the current Celtic 1st team is full of academy graduates."

McGregor, after a loan at Notts County as a 21 year old and Forrest are.

Nobody else in the current Celtic 1st team is.

Ajer didn't come through the Celtic academy and Tierney is no longer a Celtic player.

Johnson isn't close to a 1st pick if everyone's fit and if you're wanting to include a dud full back who's getting loaned about until his contract runs down and some wean they brought on for a few minutes in a meaningless match, then there's no point in debating with you.

That's not even mentioning your ridiculous claim that Development football is harder for a youth than playing against a bottom 6 Premiership team.

We'll agree to disagree and save us going round in circles.
 
I went to the Uefa Youth League game against Atletico where our youths got scudded 4-0. The Atletico Madrid team were talented and on average a year older than our group but still a group of youth players.

Patterson had a poor game and was at fault for a couple of goals. Kennedy had a few nice touches but was largely ineffectual.

We no doubt have a talented group of players in the youth system but both of those players are only 18. The idea that they should be commanding starting spots right now is far fetched.

The club is currently working on trying to bridge the gap between youth team to first team but it's still a work in progress. The youth system was a shambles and decimated post-admin, we've been making progress for 5 years and in the next few years should see some of the benefits from the work that's went into it.


100% spot on.
 
I witnessed most of Fleck's Rangers games and it is no exaggeration to say his level of performance got poorer with each game.

By all accounts Fleck failed at Ibrox because of the "friends" he kept, who led him astray.

Was it nothing to do with the fact that Walter Smith played him out of position as a 16/17 year old including playing him left wing at the piggery?

Fleck was never given a fair shot at Ibrox in my opinion. Raved about for years as the most exciting prospect we have seen only to be played out of position. One thing I will criticise Walter for.
 
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