Luca Connell (D/M Barnsley b.2001)

[Eirambler]

An awful move for him again if it happens. Although I suppose marginally better than sitting around doing nothing with Celtic for another four months.

It's been said before but Connell to Celtic must surely be one of the worst moves ever by an Irish player, down there with but probably even worse than O'Connor to Celtic, Afolabi to Celtic, Oko-flex to Celtic and Duffy to Celtic (Best of luck to Lawal, Scales, McCarthy and Vata all the same).

I take it there's some kind of domestic transfer window in Scotland that allows this to happen outside of the main transfer window?

[Olé Olé]

How is he not getting at least a Scottish Championship move? I was speaking to a lifelong Queen's Park supporter through work last season and he said that Connell was far too good for their level.

[third policeman]

Similar to Conor Ronan. Talented player, impresses on loan, but never progresses with parent club.

[TonyD]

We considered making a UCD version, but it wound up looking like a Shels jersey.

And let’s face it, no one wants that :p

[irishfan86]

Similar to Conor Ronan. Talented player, impresses on loan, but never progresses with parent club.

He looked the part at Bolton. Honestly Celtic never should have signed him if they had no intention of playing him. If he was getting his game in League 1 I wish they’d at least send him back there to develop rather than the lower tiers in Scotland where the level just isn’t good enough to bring his game up to the required level.

I know Mick isn’t everyone’s cup of tea but he’s been around the block and saw enough in him to have him in and around our senior squad. And I appreciate even then we were at a low ebb. But to go from that to going on loan to a club in Scotland’s third tier? It just doesn’t make sense.

[sadloserkid]

The Bolton stuff was an anomaly, a club in crisis at the time and it was in no way reflective of O'Connell really being a Championship standard player at that time. His inability to get near the Celtic team under successive managers, to secure a loan move to another SPL team or even a Scottish Championship team is surely only indicative of Celtic taking a punt on a guy who hasn't turned out to be very good rather than Celtic necessarily preventing a young talent from blossoming. Shane O'Connor played a handful of games in the Championship too for all the good it did him in the long run.

I think a lot of people expected more from O'Connell and at least he's loaned out a division higher up the ladder than last season I suppose. But given that Lee O'Connor spent last year at Tranmere I think it's a fairly safe assumption that Celtic are loaning him to Queens Park out of necessity rather than design.

[seanfhear]

The Bolton stuff was an anomaly, a club in crisis at the time and it was in no way reflective of O'Connell really being a Championship standard player at that time. His inability to get near the Celtic team under successive managers, to secure a loan move to another SPL team or even a Scottish Championship time is surely only indicative of Celtic taking a punt on a guy who hasn't turned out to be very good rather than Celtic necessarily preventing a young talent from blossoming. Shane O'Connor played a handful of games in the Championship too for all the good it did him in the long run.

I think a lot of people expected more from O'Connell and at least he's loaned out a division higher up the ladder than last season I suppose. But given that Lee O'Connor spent last year at Tranmere I think it's a fairly safe assumption that Celtic are loaning him to Queens Park out of necessity rather than design.
The idea that Celtic are sabotaging players for the sake of it is comedy stuff. The reality is that the vast majority of these players are not as good as some people are dreaming of. What % of underage players actually make it, and Celtic are obviously Not getting the best young players. The options of the best young players is way above Celtic just as it is with best senior players with regard to joining Celtic.

[Philly]

Who said they were doing it deliberately?

I think there's a good case to be said for Celtic being a bad desination for young players. The underage leagues and structure in Scotland don't help.

[seanfhear]

Who said they were doing it deliberately?

I think there's a good case to be said for Celtic being a bad desination for young players. The underage leagues and structure in Scotland don't help.
Why would these players be going there then if they were good enough to go to the better clubs at bringing young players through ?

The most probable answer is that the clubs that are better at bringing young players through, do not think they are good enough. Obviously there may be the odd surprise or some young fella that gets his act together while previously not looking like he had that in him. The most probable answer is that these players are Not good enough.

[Bottle of Tonic]

Celtic are/were in disarray and have plenty of slots in the first team and first team squad for CM, LB, RB, CF etc for the like of Connel, Afolabi, O Connor and Oko Flex to put their hands up and be included on merit. They are desperate for these lads to come good. But come good they have not yet. For Irelands sake I hope they will but the signs aren't good.

[SkStu]

Why would these players be going there then if they were good enough to go to the better clubs at bringing young players through ?

The most probable answer is that the clubs that are better at bringing young players through, do not think they are good enough. Obviously there may be the odd surprise or some young fella that gets his act together while previously not looking like he had that in him. The most probable answer is that these players are Not good enough.

That’s a bit simplistic. I remember there being quite a few decent teams in for some of the players referenced by BoT (including the teams they were leaving) but they chose Celtic. A number of these could easily be put down to bad advice from and/or self-interest of agents.

[seanfhear]

That’s a bit simplistic. I remember there being quite a few decent teams in for some of the players referenced by BoT (including the teams they were leaving) but they chose Celtic. A number of these could easily be put down to bad advice from and/or self-interest of agents.
Can these young fellas leave Celtic if they think its not working out for them at Celtic ?

[Diggs246]

Can these young fellas leave Celtic if they think its not working out for them at Celtic ?

Yep surely if both parties agree to terminate the contract that can be done
Celtic may not want that though

[samhaydenjr]

Well, at least he's doing what he can where he is... Came on at the 65 minute mark against Peterhead and scored and equaliser eleven minutes later: https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/58606620

[Poor Student]

Who said they were doing it deliberately?

I think there's a good case to be said for Celtic being a bad desination for young players. The underage leagues and structure in Scotland don't help.

It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that between a quarter to close to half Celtic's regular starting lineup are academy graduates. These days you have Ralston, Welsh, Montgomery, McGregor, Forrest. Kieran Tierney is another recent academy graduate who went onto the EPL and Kris Ajer came through successfully having been signed at a similar age to the Irish lads. Moussa Dembele and Odsonne Edouard are other young players who saw Celtic as a suitable destination to get the necessary exposure and playing time to move onto a big league.

Luca Connell hasn't looked like he has the necessary strength and athleticism when he's appeared for Celtic. Afolabi hasn't set the heather alight in the Scottish champ. Okoflex is supposed to have attitude problems and I believe he was involved in a very questionable social media episode. O'Connor I'm not sure about exactly but he also didn't look like a stand out on loan last season. Okoflex aside I just think these guys haven't evidently been good enough to make the breakthrough.

[samhaydenjr]

Scored a brace yesterday to bring his tally to 6 for the season so, while the level he's playing at is still lower than he needs to be at, at least he seems to be doing well at that level. And remember, he's not yet 21. https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/60534573

[Jd2793]

hard to take too much from that given hes playing in a league that is a lot poorer than LOI

[Eirambler]

It would be the equivalent of playing in the League of Ireland first division in terms of standard. Not where he would have expected to end up after his stint playing in the English Championship a couple of years ago.

[Stuttgart88]

Maybe Celtic have a plan for him?

It's hard to know whether he's better regarded than their B team players. Knowing whether they see him playing men's football week in, week out as being better than the B team (including Lawal) would be telling. The B team plays in the Lowland League so it'd appear they see Connell's loan move as being better for him.

[Poor Student]

Maybe Celtic have a plan for him?

It's hard to know whether he's better regarded than their B team players. Knowing whether they see him playing men's football week in, week out as being better than the B team (including Lawal) would be telling. The B team plays in the Lowland League so it'd appear they see Connell's loan move as being better for him.

The age limit for outfielders for the Celtic and Rangers B teams is 19. Connell is too old.

[Jd2793]

celtic have no plan or interest in any kid playing at the level hes at. he'll be released once his contract is up.

[third policeman]

celtic have no plan or interest in any kid playing at the level hes at. he'll be released once his contract is up.

Considering he was playing in the Championship, which is probably a higher level than SPL, when he was a teenager, and had a senior international call-up from Mick, something has gone wrong. Either he had gone seriously backwards with his development or Celtic are squandering a genuine talent. Personally, I think the latter is quite possible.

[Jd2793]

my guess is that he never progressed after that bolton cameo and he just isnt a very good player. honestly, celtic may not have looked after some of their prospects optimally in the past but i struggle to see them loaning any 20 year old on their books with genuine ability to a scot l1 side for the 2nd season in a row.
also think boltons financial struggles played into his favour. if they didnt have them would we have any idea who he is now? judging by the fact hes playing with queens park, id say not.

[third policeman]

my guess is that he never progressed after that bolton cameo and he just isnt a very good player. honestly, celtic may not have looked after some of their prospects optimally in the past but i struggle to see them loaning any 20 year old on their books with genuine ability to a scot l1 side for the 2nd season in a row.
also think boltons financial struggles played into his favour. if they didnt have them would we have any idea who he is now? judging by the fact hes playing with queens park, id say not.

You could be right, but he wasn’t just getting a game at Bolton he was impressing and getting himself an international call-up. Time will tell, but at least he’s been doing well at Queens Park however poor the standard in that division.

[elatedscum]

my guess is that he never progressed after that bolton cameo and he just isnt a very good player. honestly, celtic may not have looked after some of their prospects optimally in the past but i struggle to see them loaning any 20 year old on their books with genuine ability to a scot l1 side for the 2nd season in a row.
also think boltons financial struggles played into his favour. if they didnt have them would we have any idea who he is now? judging by the fact hes playing with queens park, id say not.


You could be right, but he wasn’t just getting a game at Bolton he was impressing and getting himself an international call-up. Time will tell, but at least he’s been doing well at Queens Park however poor the standard in that division.

Yup - he probably wouldn’t have gotten the opportunity at 17 without Bolton struggling but… he was excellent playing for Bolton and by all accounts, he did really well with the irish squad till he got injured.

His performances for the 21s have been excellent. Every visual indication is that he’s an excellent young player, except his struggles at Celtic. But in recent times, every irish player who has signed there has really struggled. Okoflex, Afolabi, O’Connor, Connell, Coffey - all signed as genuine prospects, all have done nothing there. For example, if you compare Afolabi and Kayode - there’s no doubt Afolabi was far superior in summer 2019 - but he’s totally fallen off the radar - and there’s nothing in his game that he lacks, that Kayode has, it’s just about developmental opportunities. Lee O’Connor was well ahead of Danny McNamara at the same time. McNamara is playing two divisions higher than O’Connor now. So on, so on, so on…

The new crop (2003-2005) include Jonny Kenny, Bosun Lawal, Frankie Deane, Ben Quinn, Rocco Vata. Hopefully they’ll have better luck.

The issue is really Scotland’s. Celtic are stuck in a situation where their young players can’t play any meaningful games and can’t play quality opposition. As much as they’d like to develop good young players, compared to sides south of the border, they’re hamstrung.

The other thing that happened in recent years was they signed a tonne of cheap players with potential in their early 20s, hoping that they’d strike gold with a few of them. So they’ve always have a massive squad, like right now they seem to have a first team squad of 30 players, which is insane. So there’s about 12 first teamers starved of football - needing opportunities in cups etc, which leaves no room for youngsters to receive game time - and because there’s pressure to win every game, most of their recent managers have been reluctant to blood young kids who might make mistakes and cost you points.

By all accounts, the current manager is decent and should be a big improvement on Neil Lennon…

[Jd2793]

i watch coffey weekly at cork and know young lads who played him underage he was never spectacular. hes a pretty good loi first division player, not next or near spl quality.afolabi was relelased from southampton and had a great euros so celtic rolled the dice on him. hes another one struggling at a poor level in scotland. fact is celtic may not have done their level best developing these lads but nearly all of them arent near the level celtic need and proof is where they find themselves now.

[kennedmc]

Yup - he probably wouldn’t have gotten the opportunity at 17 without Bolton struggling but… he was excellent playing for Bolton and by all accounts, he did really well with the irish squad till he got injured.

His performances for the 21s have been excellent. Every visual indication is that he’s an excellent young player, except his struggles at Celtic. But in recent times, every irish player who has signed there has really struggled. Okoflex, Afolabi, O’Connor, Connell, Coffey - all signed as genuine prospects, all have done nothing there. For example, if you compare Afolabi and Kayode - there’s no doubt Afolabi was far superior in summer 2019 - but he’s totally fallen off the radar - and there’s nothing in his game that he lacks, that Kayode has, it’s just about developmental opportunities. Lee O’Connor was well ahead of Danny McNamara at the same time. McNamara is playing two divisions higher than O’Connor now. So on, so on, so on…

The new crop (2003-2005) include Jonny Kenny, Bosun Lawal, Frankie Deane, Ben Quinn, Rocco Vata. Hopefully they’ll have better luck.

The issue is really Scotland’s. Celtic are stuck in a situation where their young players can’t play any meaningful games and can’t play quality opposition. As much as they’d like to develop good young players, compared to sides south of the border, they’re hamstrung.

The other thing that happened in recent years was they signed a tonne of cheap players with potential in their early 20s, hoping that they’d strike gold with a few of them. So they’ve always have a massive squad, like right now they seem to have a first team squad of 30 players, which is insane. So there’s about 12 first teamers starved of football - needing opportunities in cups etc, which leaves no room for youngsters to receive game time - and because there’s pressure to win every game, most of their recent managers have been reluctant to blood young kids who might make mistakes and cost you points.

By all accounts, the current manager is decent and should be a big improvement on Neil Lennon…

Poor Students post summarizes the situation very well and accurately.
https://foot.ie/threads/239655-Luca-Connell-(D-M-Celtic-b-2001)?p=2089830&viewfull=1#post2089830

[third policeman]

i watch coffey weekly at cork and know young lads who played him underage he was never spectacular. hes a pretty good loi first division player, not next or near spl quality.afolabi was relelased from southampton and had a great euros so celtic rolled the dice on him. hes another one struggling at a poor level in scotland. fact is celtic may not have done their level best developing these lads but nearly all of them arent near the level celtic need and proof is where they find themselves now.

Referencing Alofabi, you imply Connell is ‘struggling at a poor level in Scotland’ but actually he isn’t. He is playing pretty well and scoring. Here’s the paradox, it’s rare for a player to be excelling in a competitive league when they are a teenager, then being farmed out to a pub league 2 or 3 years later. Simply saying he was never any good in the first place is not an entirely convincing explanation. Maybe somebody else, somewhere else could have done more to nurture obvious potential and talent.

[tetsujin1979]

i watch coffey weekly at cork and know young lads who played him underage he was never spectacular. hes a pretty good loi first division player, not next or near spl quality.afolabi was relelased from southampton and had a great euros so celtic rolled the dice on him. hes another one struggling at a poor level in scotland. fact is celtic may not have done their level best developing these lads but nearly all of them arent near the level celtic need and proof is where they find themselves now.

This has come up a few times, some reports say he was released by Southampton, some reports say he turned down a new contract.

[Jd2793]

Referencing Alofabi, you imply Connell is ‘struggling at a poor level in Scotland’ but actually he isn’t. He is playing pretty well and scoring. Here’s the paradox, it’s rare for a player to be excelling in a competitive league when they are a teenager, then being farmed out to a pub league 2 or 3 years later. Simply saying he was never any good in the first place is not an entirely convincing explanation. Maybe somebody else, somewhere else could have done more to nurture obvious potential and talent.

yeah theres no denying that but at some point the player has to prove themselves too. connell is playing at a standard thats closer to loi first division, Coffey is playing in Loi FD.If connell impressed last season why werent there better sides in the scot champ after him? these boys may at one stage or another looked to have potential but as is the way with the VAST majority of kids they dont end up at the elite level come the age of 20/21.

Hopefully they can all have good careers for themselves in the game, its very very hard to imagine any of those mentioned above apart from possibly lee oconnor , being called into the senior fold at this moment in time. Honestly, some LOI side should be chancing afolabi in the summer, he'll be back here sooner or later.

[Stuttgart88]

Funny thing is that Celtic fans raved about his pre-season performances last season.

[liamoo11]

yeah theres no denying that but at some point the player has to prove themselves too. connell is playing at a standard thats closer to loi first division, Coffey is playing in Loi FD.If connell impressed last season why werent there better sides in the scot champ after him? these boys may at one stage or another looked to have potential but as is the way with the VAST majority of kids they dont end up at the elite level come the age of 20/21.

Hopefully they can all have good careers for themselves in the game, its very very hard to imagine any of those mentioned above apart from possibly lee oconnor , being called into the senior fold at this moment in time. Honestly, some LOI side should be chancing afolabi in the summer, he'll be back here sooner or later.

That is the reality though how come there wasn't interest from a higher level side in connell this summer after last seasons loan? It's clearly the best level loan celtic and him could get that would allow him to play consistently. The only positive spin I can possibly think of is that celtic and luca took the decision that guaranteed first team football for the whole season was necessary to develop him physically given that he had played so little football for the last few years so they turned down moves to higher level sides where that guateentee of always playing couldn't matched.

Coffey never seemed to have the technical ability of connell but it seems has better athletic ability

[Poor Student]

Funny thing is that Celtic fans raved about his pre-season performances last season.

They didn't really though. The same way they're not raving about Scales. He looked potentially useful but pre-season performances aren't worth putting much stock in. There's ample examples of Celtic bringing academy players into the side. This season Doak, Dembele, Moffat, Dawson and Murray have all been given a chance, Welsh has become 3rd choice centre half and Ralston 2nd choice RB. Okoflex aside, who seems to have been moved on due to attitude and an unsavoury social media episode, the rest of the Irish lads just haven't shown enough to be given an opportunity.

[dr_peepee]

The Celtic fans did rave about Cornell’s pre season last season. Before the 20-21 season

[Eirambler]

Was that not just off one 45 minute run out that Lennon gave him having ignored him for the rest of the pre season? Think it was against a Hibs XI. He played a few nice floaty through balls, but raving about him is stretching it. I think they just thought he was someone who deserved another run out, which he never got.

I don't think Celtic have managed him well, but his complete lack of any kind of pace whatsoever looks to be a major limitation for him in terms of his career prospects.

[Razors left peg]

He either has no agent or the worst agent in football. After doing ok at Queens Park last season he should have at least gotten a move to L2 in England on loan.

Something seems very weird with him

[JR89]

He either has no agent or the worst agent in football. After doing ok at Queens Park last season he should have at least gotten a move to L2 in England on loan.

Something seems very weird with him

He has an agent, just ask Bolton fans and they'll tell you and they've got plenty of words to describe him too.

[sadloserkid]

He either has no agent or the worst agent in football. After doing ok at Queens Park last season he should have at least gotten a move to L2 in England on loan.

Something seems very weird with him

How does doing 'okay' in the Scottish, wholly part-time, 4th tier automatically lead to the English 4th tier though? It's fairly discouraging that he couldn't even muster up some interest from the second tier in Scotland. At least he's playing games but next season could be make or break for him having a career in full time ball.

[Razors left peg]

How does doing 'okay' in the Scottish, wholly part-time, 4th tier automatically lead to the English 4th tier though? It's fairly discouraging that he couldn't even muster up some interest from the second tier in Scotland. At least he's playing games but next season could be make or break for him having a career in full time ball.

Because he also had Bolton in the Championship on his resume from when he was 17. Theres a lot of sh1te in the lower english leagues. Oko Flex couldnt get near the Celtic 1st team and some how ended up at West Ham

[tetsujin1979]

Because he also had Bolton in the Championship on his resume from when he was 17. Theres a lot of sh1te in the lower english leagues. Oko Flex couldnt get near the Celtic 1st team and some how ended up at West Ham
Okoflex played twice for Celtic's 1st team
V Hibs: https://www.celticfc.com/news/2021/january/Celtic-held-to-a-draw-by-Hibernian-at-Paradise/
V Livingston: https://www.celticfc.com/news/2021/january/Stalemate-at-Paradise-between-Celtic-and-Livingston/

[elatedscum]

Okoflex played twice for Celtic's 1st team
V Hibs: https://www.celticfc.com/news/2021/january/Celtic-held-to-a-draw-by-Hibernian-at-Paradise/
V Livingston: https://www.celticfc.com/news/2021/january/Stalemate-at-Paradise-between-Celtic-and-Livingston/

During a situation where half their squad were ruled out due to covid or covid breaches as far as I remember (was it after the ill fated trip to Dubai?)

[sadloserkid]

Because he also had Bolton in the Championship on his resume from when he was 17. Theres a lot of sh1te in the lower english leagues. Oko Flex couldnt get near the Celtic 1st team and some how ended up at West Ham

Those Bolton games are an anomaly. The club was in freefall and he was playing because they couldn't afford senior pros, not because he was a Championship ready player. Shane O'Connor played a decent clutch of games in the Championship too for Ipswich and spent the bulk of his career in the second tier in Ireland. There is, of course, plenty of rubbish floating around the English lower leagues but it's generally a better clash of rubbish than it's lower league Scottish variant. It's arguable how much worse it is than the rest of the SPL to be honest yet there's no sign that Hibs or Dundee United or Motherwell or even Dundee had a sniff of interest in him. Ditto for the Scottish Championship. Connell shouldn't be written off yet, absolutely, but it's a massive concern that he went back to Queens Park for a second season (albeit a division higher) and that he's not at least plying his trade in the Scottish second tier. I still think next season is going to be hugely important to him.

[SkStu]

A good friend of mine is a Bolton Wanderers fanatic and is on all the message boards etc. He - and the majority of fans - were gutted to see Connell depart when he did and were raving about his appearances and his potential. Say what you like about Bolton the club being in freefall at the time - they were - but they still had a full squad of championship-level players that he was competing against for a place (Oztumer, Williams, O'Neil, Wilson). He grabbed his spot and did really well. To the extent that a) Irish fans were desperate for him to be called up and b) McCarthy saw enough to call him up. He was by no means the finished article moving north but I think Celtic have done his potential a massive disservice - as they have done to plenty others.

[Eirambler]

Yes, the Oko-flex Celtic appearances were when they were down 13 or 14 players after the Dubai debacle. Even then he was only getting on as a sub.

I have to say I've pretty much given up on Connell. Three years wasted now at Celtic and Queen's Park at a crucial stage of his development. A long road back from there for him.

[Poor Student]

A good friend of mine is a Bolton Wanderers fanatic and is on all the message boards etc. He - and the majority of fans - were gutted to see Connell depart when he did and were raving about his appearances and his potential. Say what you like about Bolton the club being in freefall at the time - they were - but they still had a full squad of championship-level players that he was competing against for a place (Oztumer, Williams, O'Neil, Wilson). He grabbed his spot and did really well. To the extent that a) Irish fans were desperate for him to be called up and b) McCarthy saw enough to call him up. He was by no means the finished article moving north but I think Celtic have done his potential a massive disservice - as they have done to plenty others.

You need to objectively look at all the youth getting a chance at Celtic and not be focused on this narrow cohort of Irish players in O'Connor, Connell and Afolabi. We'll know in the fullness of time but they don't appear to thus far. Okoflex was much closer to getting first team exposure but this (https://www.irishmirror.ie/sport/soccer/scottish-football/celtic-fc/celtic-player-slammed-saying-eight-21929191) incident plus his attitude held him back. The Irish prospects to watch at Celtic are Bosun Lawal and Rocco Vata.

[SkStu]

You need to objectively look at all the youth getting a chance at Celtic and not be focused on this narrow cohort of Irish players in O'Connor, Connell and Afolabi. We'll know in the fullness of time but they don't appear to thus far. Okoflex was much closer to getting first team exposure but this (https://www.irishmirror.ie/sport/soccer/scottish-football/celtic-fc/celtic-player-slammed-saying-eight-21929191) incident plus his attitude held him back. The Irish prospects to watch at Celtic are Bosun Lawal and Rocco Vata.

Interesting that you’ve isolated the last 7 words of my post which is really a minor sidenote to the main thrust of my post - that Connell went to Scotland a hot prospect with Championship experience, an international call up and a large amount of credit in the bank. Bottom line, Celtic was a really bad move for him and he arguably wasn’t given the chance that his appearances with Bolton had seemingly merited.

In any event, despite the throwaway nature of my parting comment, I’m not sure what your counterpoint actually is. Don’t look at Celtic in relation to those three players that didn’t make it, look at this other guy who also didn’t make it and these two who might make it but haven’t? “they don’t appear to”… what?

[elatedscum]

You need to objectively look at all the youth getting a chance at Celtic and not be focused on this narrow cohort of Irish players in O'Connor, Connell and Afolabi. We'll know in the fullness of time but they don't appear to thus far. Okoflex was much closer to getting first team exposure but this (https://www.irishmirror.ie/sport/soccer/scottish-football/celtic-fc/celtic-player-slammed-saying-eight-21929191) incident plus his attitude held him back. The Irish prospects to watch at Celtic are Bosun Lawal and Rocco Vata.


I don’t really buy it. If we take, currently eligible for u21 football as our cutoff for a young player, from their current first team squad, we have:

Murray - 2 appearances
Welsh - 22 appearances
O’Riley - 11 appearances (bought in Jan 22)
Dembele - 1 appearance
Abada - 46 appearances (bought in July 21)
Dawson - 1 appearance
Moffat - 3 appearances
Doak - 2 appearances

(Appearances this season)

So if you remove the 2 ready made first teamers who never spent time in the academy, you’re basically just left with Welsh - who has been given any significant game time and he’s played 9 of 30 league games this season and the rest were in other competitions, so it’s not like he’s been able to fully establish himself.

I don’t really think that’s an abundance of young players coming through or anything like that. I’d suspect if you compared that to premier league sides, Celtic would be well below average

[elatedscum]

Previous season was pretty much the same

Welsh 21
Montgomery 2
Ralston 1
Dembele 5
Okoflex 2
Henderson 3
Harper 1
Frimpong 30 (ready made first teamer)

[liamoo11]

Previous season was pretty much the same

Welsh 21
Montgomery 2
Ralston 1
Dembele 5
Okoflex 2
Henderson 3
Harper 1
Frimpong 30 (ready made first teamer)

Frimpong wasn't ready made first tester. He was bought from man city same day as o connor and o connor and had only been in youth and 23s football like oconnor

[Jd2793]

Interesting that you’ve isolated the last 7 words of my post which is really a minor sidenote to the main thrust of my post - that Connell went to Scotland a hot prospect with Championship experience, an international call up and a large amount of credit in the bank. Bottom line, Celtic was a really bad move for him and he arguably wasn’t given the chance that his appearances with Bolton had seemingly merited.

In any event, despite the throwaway nature of my parting comment, I’m not sure what your counterpoint actually is. Don’t look at Celtic in relation to those three players that didn’t make it, look at this other guy who also didn’t make it and these two who might make it but haven’t? “they don’t appear to”… what?

he wasnt given a chance because one can safely assume he wasnt good enough. people are going way over the top with those handful of appearances he made for a penniless bolton.