Hearts youth policy - deserves praise

[Martin_T]

Pundits are often keen to heap praise on Hibs great youth policy, but I think the current youth set up at Hearts is due some praise. There cannot be too many clubs in Scotland, maybe even the UK who have produced as many very good young players as Hearts have done in the past few years.

 

In the current first team squad, Berra, Wallace, Jonsson, Driver and Glen all look top prospects and all have the potential to command 7 figure transfer fees should they depart. When you also consider Craig Gordon now starring in the EPL, as well as Robbie Neilson and Scott Severin who have both proven themselves as consistent SPL performers, then you realise that the doomsayers who say that Hearts have not produced young players as good as other SPL clubs are talking nonsense.

[Mr Romanov Saviour of HMFC]

Yip.

 

It's easy to forget Berra and Wallace are still young because it feels like they have been around for an eternity.

 

We will have to depend on the youth system a lot more in the next few years so here's hoping we produce more of the same.

 

Still maintain we need more experienced players in the team though.

[hearts_crazy]

Sports programmes always go on about how [insert name of flavour of the week team here] are a young team, and isn't it simply super. We are never described as such, and yet we probably have one of the youngest if not THE youngest teams in the SPL.

[Groot]

You can also include Thomson and MacDonald who I believe will turn out to be decent SPL players, maybe not at Hearts but with another SPL team similar to what Grant Murray has done

 

In addition despite his detractors, Elliot is proving to be a decent player down at Livi and even if he does not make it at Hearts for whatever reason it is worth noting he is making a bigger impact in that league than any of the next bunch of Hobo wunderkids that have been farmed out on loan

 

The future's bright

 

Enter everyone's favourite Reindeer

[Ben Dover]

Lets not forget the likes of Halmar Thorarinsson and also the lazy barstewards like Simmo and Neil Janczyk ...............I wonder what Csaba might have achieved with them if given the chance ?

[Mr Romanov Saviour of HMFC]

Lets not forget the likes of Halmar Thorarinsson and also the lazy barstewards like Simmo and Neil Janczyk ...............I wonder what Csaba might have achieved with them if given the chance ?

 

Eh?

 

They were under Leveins guidance which is no bad thing.

 

I'm pretty convinced they still wouldn't have made it if Csaba was in charge.

 

Csaba can't really say he's brought anyone through yet, can he?

[Ben Dover]

Eh?

 

They were under Leveins guidance which is no bad thing.

 

I'm pretty convinced they still wouldn't have made it if Csaba was in charge.

 

Csaba can't really say he's brought anyone through yet, can he?

 

No he hasn't, yet, but jings give him some time !

Anyway, lets see if he has maybe saved Gary Glen from going the same way ?

He can certainly 'walk the walk' when it comes to telling laddies about the 'real' world out there.

[jamboinglasgow]

No he hasn't, yet, but jings give him some time !

Anyway, lets see if he has maybe saved Gary Glen from going the same way ?

He can certainly 'walk the walk' when it comes to telling laddies about the 'real' world out there.

 

I would agree with you there. I think that Csaba has saved Glen from going the way of Simmons. It is so easy for youngsters to believe the hype about them that they push hard to get into the first team, get there and feel they dont need to push anymore. The Glen that played on Saturday was one with a hunger in his eyes that told that he knew he had to prove himself.

 

Simmons just did not and lost what could of been one of the most talented players to come through the ranks at tynecastle.

 

But I do agree with the OP. Hearts dont get enough credit for its youth program, I think it has produced many quality players over the years. You do get players mentioned as products of Hearts youth academy but never any reports that predict a bountiful future.

 

There was an article a few weeks ago with John Murray where he openly criticised the idea that hibs had a quality youth system, ""People forget that Kevin Thomson did youth time at Coventry City, Scott Brown was at Rangers first," said the amiable Northern Irishman. "At that time, Hibs had nobody else to play. No disrespect to them but they had a very small squad and a low wage budget which gave young boys a chance early, to develop quicker."

 

I also remember reading a 4-4-2 article talking about (this was in the summer) how Scottish football had improved so much. And no where in the article did it mention Hearts as a producer of talented players, it mentions Rangers and Celtic academies as producing great Scottish players (when?) and smaller clubs playing alot of youngsters, but nothing on Hearts.

 

I think it may take a season or two to gain a reputation like this, though I feel the journalists in this country dont really look into youth development and report about it (maybe people dont find it interesting like I do) but it would good for a serial in a newspaper to go around clubs and look how they are developing youngsters and also different leagues (Stenhousemuir would be a very good one to look at.)

 

As I say we need to prove them we are good with our actions, make them see it and make it contious, then they will have to report it.

[avhudtheteeshirt]

Remember it was only a few seasons ago that Hibs were a young team yet when Hearts played them that same season Hearts were on average the younger team. But what do you expect we were a team of nations, but again the press never looked at other teams ie Rangers, Celtic & Hibs to see how many non Scots they played!

[Ben Dover]

Remember it was only a few seasons ago that Hibs were a young team yet when Hearts played them that same season Hearts were on average the younger team. But what do you expect we were a team of nations, but again the press never looked at other teams ie Rangers, Celtic & Hibs to see how many non Scots they played!

 

To be honest, if the weegie press aren't being spoon fed info on that score then I doubt it's ever going to make the back page. However even then they would probably put a negative slant on it

[Wolfstar]

Remember it was only a few seasons ago that Hibs were a young team yet when Hearts played them that same season Hearts were on average the younger team. But what do you expect we were a team of nations, but again the press never looked at other teams ie Rangers, Celtic & Hibs to see how many non Scots they played!

 

Im sure we beat hibs, and Monkey Heid came out and said they had a young team and were still deveolping, but it turned out we had a younger average age of a squad.

 

I feel to have a good squad you need a mix of youth with the more experienced players to show them how to mature into good players. Our current set up is starting to get this mix or experience and youth coming through the ranks.

[WASTREL]

I would agree with you there. I think that Csaba has saved Glen from going the way of Simmons. It is so easy for youngsters to believe the hype about them that they push hard to get into the first team, get there and feel they dont need to push anymore. The Glen that played on Saturday was one with a hunger in his eyes that told that he knew he had to prove himself.

 

Simmons just did not and lost what could of been one of the most talented players to come through the ranks at tynecastle.

 

But I do agree with the OP. Hearts dont get enough credit for its youth program, I think it has produced many quality players over the years. You do get players mentioned as products of Hearts youth academy but never any reports that predict a bountiful future.

 

There was an article a few weeks ago with John Murray where he openly criticised the idea that hibs had a quality youth system, ""People forget that Kevin Thomson did youth time at Coventry City, Scott Brown was at Rangers first," said the amiable Northern Irishman. "At that time, Hibs had nobody else to play. No disrespect to them but they had a very small squad and a low wage budget which gave young boys a chance early, to develop quicker."

 

I also remember reading a 4-4-2 article talking about (this was in the summer) how Scottish football had improved so much. And no where in the article did it mention Hearts as a producer of talented players, it mentions Rangers and Celtic academies as producing great Scottish players (when?) and smaller clubs playing alot of youngsters, but nothing on Hearts.

 

I think it may take a season or two to gain a reputation like this, though I feel the journalists in this country dont really look into youth development and report about it (maybe people dont find it interesting like I do) but it would good for a serial in a newspaper to go around clubs and look how they are developing youngsters and also different leagues (Stenhousemuir would be a very good one to look at.)

 

As I say we need to prove them we are good with our actions, make them see it and make it contious, then they will have to report it.

 

 

Good point. And a good conspiracy theory fact on that point would be that Hearts were the first SPL club to have a Youth Academy planned. It would have been the first to have one built had the project not been delayed by builders going into liquidation.

 

Rangers flung Murray Park up to beat Hearts and are counting the costs as they have discovered design faults in the buildings.

[jamboinglasgow]

Good point. And a good conspiracy theory fact on that point would be that Hearts were the first SPL club to have a Youth Academy planned. It would have been the first to have one built had the project not been delayed by builders going into liquidation.

 

Rangers flung Murray Park up to beat Hearts and are counting the costs as they have discovered design faults in the buildings.

 

Are sure we had the first one planned? I am a bit unsure when we first had the idea of it but I am pretty sure it was when we got the money from SMG which payed for it (which I think is 2000) and according to wiki Murray Park was opened in 2001 having been suggested by Advocatte when he first came to Ibrox.

 

But i do agree that Riccarton was the first place in the SPL that was designed more with youth development in mind. Murray park is for first team training with youth development a side thought.

 

I do think that Riccarton is a great facilty for developing youngsters, though if I had to improve it I would add a few more pitches and put under-soil heating under two of the pitches (though I do think that Csaba is trying to get that done after some of his recent comments.) At the moment there are 5 clubs that have proper training facilities. Rangers is a decent facility, celtic should e decent but there is alot they have realised they should of done (most serious is that the team coach cannot get to the facility as the gate is too narrow, forcing the team to train at their old facility the day before a game if they are playing an away game), Hibs have the cowsheds which aren't bad but as far as I understand their youngsters (certainly below U19) dont train there yet. Falkirk have facilities like us at a university (Sterling) which is known for it sport. I think they will have alot of benefit from that.

 

However that something that makes Hearts youth development superior is the set-up. The coaching and way the youth is run is the best in Scotland and yet it still has alot that can be done that will make it even better, that is the value of Csaba. I predict that in a seasons time, our youth set-up will be miles ahead of anything else in the country yet we will get no mention in the papers and the Scottish youth teams will still be full of Rangers and celtic players.