Academy idea gets top marks
THE academy system isn’t working. We are not producing enough players. Really?
That argument was well and truly shattered at the Superseal Stadium on Wednesday night when Hamilton played Hearts.
Of the 18 players in the Hamilton squad no fewer than eight were academy graduates.
The Accies have high hopes for the latest player to emerge from their production line – Lewis Ferguson – who just happens to be the son of ex-Rangers midfielder Derek and nephew of Record Sport columnist Barry.
The youngster made his second consecutive start under boss Martin Canning and won the sponsors’ Man of the Match award.
In the maroon corner, Hearts handed a debut to 17-year-old Andy Irving as he joined the likes of Lewis Moore, Harry Cochrane and Anthony McDonald in making a top-team breakthrough this season.
Irving impressed Craig Levein on the Jambos’ winter break to Spain and has reaped his reward by being given a crack at first-team football.
Hamilton, though, caught a glimpse of what life will be like without Greg Docherty and Mikey Devlin. In a word, tough.
Docherty is the highest-profile player to quit Accies since James McCarthy was sold for £1.3million to Wigan back in 2009.
McCarthy and James McArthur kick-started the revolution and put the Hamilton academy on the map and others now know development is key at a time when transfer fees are rocketing out of control.
Look at Rangers, bringing in Kevin Thomson, Gregory Vignal and Stuart Taylor to the coaching staff. Their roles will be to work with players in the under-13/15 range and development squad.
Many will say it is five years too late for the Ibrox club but better late than never.
Last summer, they refused to stump up Hearts’ asking price of £1m for Jamie Walker, who then moved down south and signed for League One outfit Wigan.
Rangers have been forced to fork out £650,000 in order to capture Docherty. Had they landed both targets they would have shelled out the guts of £1.65m.
The challenge now for the Light Blues, and the likes of Thomson and Vignal, is to get the Rangers training centre up and running by producing young, quality players capable of playing in the first team.
It may take a while but in time Rangers may well be able to boast about rearing their own McCarthy, Docherty, Cochrane, McDonald, Moore and Irving.
They would also save a fortune in transfer fees. They need only glance at the Hamilton and Hearts first-team squads for proof, if any is needed, that academies do work.