It seems obvious that the main reason for the Scottish football team suffering is Celtic and Rangers not providing their youth players competitive experience to develop them to the extent most clubs do. I am not an old firm supporter, but it seems obvious to me if you had for instance two big clubs in Denmark taking all the most talented Danish youngsters and just playing them on the bench in the reserves or the youth team, then the Danish team would not have produced many players over the years.

Yet that is basically what we do in Scotland. Imagine if Celtic and Rangers had produced the sort of talent the Merseyside clubs had over the last 15 years. Look at the local Merseyside players produced by those two Merseyside clubs youth systems that are still playing MacManaman, Fowler, Gerrard, Carragher, Jeffers, Rooney, Owen, Ball, Murphy. Compare that to the old firm and only one player who was sold to Blackburn and maybe Miller who went to Man Utd can compare to them. If the old firm had produced the sort of talent Liverpool and Everton had we would be challenging for world cups as dark horses, let alone just qualifying.

In the past the old firms youth systems would have won against Merseyside hands down: now Liverpool youth system alone could slaughter Celtic and Rangers youth systems. The difference is competitive games. The old firm don’t get a chance to develop new players as they need to win every week every season. So as a result they waste year after year of talent. So we need to find a new competitive division for their youth players to play in.

I think there is too much shifting of the blame from Celtic and Rangers.  People have blamed diet, education, foreign footballers, the quality of the league, for lack of players being produced but when it comes down to it the problem is Celtic and Rangers. Every other Scottish team has foreign players, but it doesn’t stop them giving their most talented youth players a 100 games in first team. All Celtic or Rangers youth players get is a 10-20 minutes at the end of the match, reserve football, or games when the season is over or when there is an injury crisis, but they don’t play full seasons, like players do at every other club in the league.

In the last Scotland team none of the players was produced by the Celtic or Rangers youth system. That is a disgrace. Imagine a Merseyside born select without Liverpool or Everton youth players. Yet the reality is in the present system Rangers and Celtic will never develop players from their youth system as they don’t give them competitive games. So they will waste millions of pounds of Scottish sports funding and playing talent, and yet they will continue to get the most talented players going to their youth system as they have the most money.

It isn’t any of the other SPL clubs or the English clubs or the diet that is the problem it is Rangers and Celtic. The evidence is surely conclusive. They have to be given a way of playing their youth players in competitive games.

The same is true for Hibs, Aberdeen and Hearts but to far less extent. It is still the case, that all 3 clubs have had players with talent who were forced to play their early career in the reserves or youth football, and when any of the three get a succesful youth system it still blocks the next generation. So by playing their reserves in the SFL it is more opportunity. All the football unions seem paranoid about Eastern European players coming in. Well if they’re so paranoid why don’t they campaign for the reserve sides to be placed in the SFL, then that gives even more opportunity for Scottish players, in competitive leagues.

The main reason for letting Hibs, Aberdeen and Hearts in the SFL, is they would add attendances to the SFL, and I feel it would improve the status of the 3 clubs. All 3 clubs have the potential to be as big as Middelsborough or Bolton. I feel by placing their reserve sides in the SFL, it would increase their status with the support, and remind people how big the clubs are, that even their reserve sides could get attendances as big as most clubs in the first division. I just think the clubs need a spark to get them going again to their true potential.

When Hibs were in the first division a few years ago they got far higher attendances than they do now in the premier. Mainly due to the lower ticket prices. I bet that if Hibs, Aberdeen and Hearts were in the SFL they would get attendances at home matches of 1,000 – 2,000. every week. There are huge numbers of supporters who just need lower ticket prices to tempt them back and the SFL could provide that opportunity. Look at Morton getting 10,000 for a third division match two years ago. I feel if Hearts and Hibs reserves were going for the second or third division they would fill their stadiums at derby matches just for the reserves, and championship decider's and it would give youth players genuine competitive experience.

I think what is the point in wasting playing resources in the reserve or youth leagues. It doesn’t do as well as the SFL has done at producing players. I still feel youth teams and reserve league have a place, but more competitive experience is needed.

I am not insulting Hibs youth players by admitting Celtic and Rangers should have the most talented youth players, they pay more money so surely normally have them. It is Celtic and Rangers that are wasting Scottish players it is no other teams fault. In the past Celtic produced Dalglish, Nicholas, McNeil, McStay nowadays they would just spend the first 6 years of their career sitting on the sub bench getting games when Chris Sutton, or Varga needed a rest. It is no wonder Scotland doesn’t produce the number of world class players we used too. They have to be given competitive opportunity on the league. Celtic and Rangers like Liverpool and Everton in Merseyside get the most talented young players but Celtic and Rangers do zilch with them.

Real Madrid reserves play in the Spanish second and third division. The present Liverpool manager once managed Real Madrid reserves to nearly winning the Spanish second division.

Scotland used to have a division C where, the big clubs reserve sides, and smaller clubs used to play. The Dundee United, and Montrose first teams used to play in Division C against reserve sides, and it didn’t damage them as clubs. So it won’t ruin the SFL clubs today.

How expensive would it be too put the big clubs reserve sides in the league compared to the million the clubs spend on youth policy at present. Rangers spent 12 million building Murray Park and 2 million year running it and yet will never produce any youth players for the national team. Maurice Ross, and Jamie Smith show what happens to old firm players in the present set up, even when they do show potential and get given caps early on they slide down the first team rankings, replaced by bought in experienced players, so wasting more players that could have got Scotland to championships.

The rule to make sure a player who played in the reserve team was a reserve player could be if a player had played in the last game or in the last week for the first team then he couldn’t play for the reserve side in the SFL. At present the the lower league clubs of the SFL are treated almost as a burden for Scottish football, by many fans and directors of the big clubs yet they should be used as a great resource to prepare the Hibs, Hearts, and Aberdeen, Celtic, and Rangers reserve players for international and European football. Thee Competitive first teams of clubs like Brechin and Forfar will provide more useful experience for first team football than playing reserve sides of even Celtic or Rangers. Unfortunately Reserve and youth football is just glamorised training football.