Quality Rather Than Quantity

I SEE a new book has just been published, about Celtic's legendary Quality Street Kids. The cynic within me is always suspicious of any books written about either one of Glasgow's two biggest clubs - Graham Spiers long ago detected that I had bother buying into any sort of "authorised version". 'Britney', being an erudite university-educated chap came up with a big word to describe my deviation from what is seen as gospel, but, I have forgotten it and cannot be buggered looking it up.

But, I digress, books anent Celtic or Rangers generally seem to me to be somewhat "lazy" writes, aimed at the particular "family" audience - tending to perhaps paper-over the parts which "the family" will not like and following the Liberty Valance doctrine: "When the truth debunks the legend - print the legend".

Anent The Quality Street Kids. Sure, Messrs Dalglish, McGrain and Hay were 24-carat, platinum-plated, diamond-encrusted "stars", by any measurement. To have got even one of that trio out of an intake of young wannabees would be fantastic for any club. To get all three from a single grouping of players simply emphasises the talent-spotting and coaching skills of Sean Fallon, Jock Stein and their back-room staff. These three, plus Lou Macari, who stands one or two steps down in the pantheon of Scottish footballers - represents a fantastic return on talent identification.

There were others from the QSKs who served Celtic well - Paul Wilson should maybe have kicked-on and gained more than his single Scotland cap' Victor Davidson, if around today, would surely get capped. Also, if that troubled genius George Connelly had had access to the sort of help from sports psychologists today's young players can enjoy - what might he have achieved?

However, one or two of the lower quality kids, although they got the first-team exposure which today's Celtic management model of: "buy-in cheap foreign potential, polish and sell-on" tends to deny their Scottish-born successors - didn't exactly set the heather on fire.

THE QSK, still comes out pretty well in any measurement of how well a promising group of young players trains-on when they hit the big time. Dalglish, McGrain, Hay, Macari and Connelly surely measure-up to even Matt Busby's venerated Babes: Edwards, Charlton, Whelan, Violett and Pegg for instance. The Celts can be compared with Alex Ferguson's 1992 class - Beckham, Butt, Scholes, the Nevilles and Giggs and their adult performances dwarf those of the only other Scottish youth team to be as-praised: the "Lost Boys" of the 1989 Junior World Cup.

Stein gave his kids their chance early, and the better ones took that chance. Because in simpler times in the 1960s and early 1970s, Scottish football could and would allow young players to develop. I recall how Scot Symon refused to blood the young Willie Henderson, until he got Clyde at Ibrox and knew, Harry Haddock would not immediately set-out to separate Wee Willie's head from his shoulders. 

At Kilmarnock, Willie Waddell took the same duty of care when it came to allowing Tommy McLean to develop - in spite of being roundly encouraged by the Killie season ticket holders who watched reserve games to: "Get that boy into the first team Deedle".

Because, back then, Scottish football had a system which worked. Today, that system has been destroyed. At a time when squads seem larger than ever, where is the reserve team football? Where is the structured, long-term development plan? What good is age-group football - under-17/18/19/20 - when, once  the kids reach the maximum age, it's thank you and good night, because there is no next step: if the managers think they are good enough, they get kept on, otherwise, cheerio son.

This blog has repeatedly said and will go on saying: The quality of management in Scottish football, at board-room level, has been, for some time, pathetic. Poor, indeed incompetent directors, hire poor, incompetent managers and coaches and the cycle of downward spiralling goes on.

By all means, celebrate the Quality Street Kids; today, the kids are still there - sadly, Quality Street has been dug up, by the very men who were supposed to look after Scottish football's main roads - "The Blazers".