1FC1894

Just read his article, I thought this bit in particular - was applicable to a few people who post on these boards................

If you think the shite they've been putting in the papers is bad just now, wait until the independence 'debate' kicks off in earnest

Is it a movie or a book? How many syllables? <br>give us a clue<br>

I'm going to hell now, I know it. I didn't mean to press the green button, honest. I didn't notice he was a F*lkirk supporter until I did. A big boy made me do it and ran away....

There needs to be a complete and utter rethink of how the youth game is set up and run. I'm not an expert in any way shape or form but my opinions of the youth game here are based on entirely on coaching at the youth level and my son's experiences as a youth player both abroad and here in Scotland. One of the first things I would scrap is the non-competitive nature of the game until they hit U12. My son started playing at 6 years old and every game he played was in a competitive league until we returned to Scotland, then he had to go to a non-competitive league. And pro youth, wtf is the thinking behind the non-competitive nature of that? Football is a competitive game. Teach kids that it's ok to lose when they're 6-11 years old and you've sowed the seeds of doubt at an early age. Stop putting the facilities the kids have down. Scotland produced many good players who didn't have 3 or 4g astro pitches to play on, and funnily enough, in both Germany and Holland a lot of teams moved onto red ash around November . Spend the money that has been invested on the future of the game where it should be spent, on the kids, and get the fans of teams outwith the SFL to realise that they need to blood a lot of young players, put up with pish results and accept that the game will never change unless they do. Rant over, please return to your normal P&B service.

I would, but then I've been watching the Albion too long to be anything but a realist. And unfortunately, one of the main problems with teams like Celtic, Rangers, Hearts and Hibs etc. is as much to with the supporters as it is to do with how the clubs bring their youths on. Their supporters (like everyone who follows a football team) want success, and while they're willing to have maybe one or two young guys in the team who make the occasional mistake as they learn the ropes, they just won't tolerate their team getting humped every week. Bah, for me, not getting humped every week is a success.

I'm not saying that the investment will completely vanish, but it's not the first time youth set-ups have been scrapped when finances get a bit tight. The real problem is that a lot of government money has been spent on the pro-youth set up in this country and continues to be spent - if any team does consider scrapping their youth set up then there's something seriously wrong.

That's about the only thing you've said that makes sense and it's something that all fans should be up in arms about. Between 2006-2009 the SFA received somewhere in the region of £12m from the Scottish Government for the development of the youth game and to distribute to football teams who had 'pro youth' set-ups. The amounts paid since 2009 are harder to get a hold of since the Scottish Government called the SFA to parliament in Edinburgh in 2011 to explain the youth football set-up and what has happened to the money. If any club uses the current financial uncertainties to scrap their youth set-ups, they are severely taking the pish.

Aye, and I hope your next shite is a hedgehog.

Hi folks, Just thought I would pop in and say get it right up ye. Lots of love Your better looking 'cousins' from the west. xxxxxxxxxx P.S. Please don't pump us too much tomorrow; our arse is still sore from the 2nd division.