Celtic’s Lowland League experiment has run its course, and Celtic must pull the side from the Lowland League.
Celtic B currently sit second, with East Kilbride winning the league on Wednesday night.
It’s been a productive campaign on the pitch, with the young Hoops side losing just four matches across the season. Their form in the UEFA Youth League also turned a few heads, suggesting there’s real talent developing within the club’s academy setup.
However, despite the results, serious questions remain about the overall benefit of the Lowland League setup for Celtic’s next generation. The competition, made up of part-time teams and senior players, provides a physical challenge—but it’s not necessarily the environment where the club’s more technically gifted players will truly thrive or develop in line with Celtic’s long-term needs.
It’s not just about winning games at that level. The point of a B team is to bridge the gap between youth football and the first team. And while Celtic B have done well in terms of results, the pathway into Brendan Rodgers’ side remains limited. That issue is increasingly difficult to ignore.
And Celtic’s best prospects are getting game time at a higher level, out on loan at Championship and League 1 clubs or over in Austria.
The club now needs to look at viable alternatives. A proper B team league, similar to England’s Premier League 2, would allow Celtic’s young players to test themselves against similar high-potential talent, in games more focused on development than brute physicality.
It’s time for Celtic to take the next step in shaping a system that truly benefits their future stars.
The Lowland League stint has served its purpose, but if the club is serious about producing first-team-ready players, a more suitable structure is needed.
Amazing quick to criticise Celtic,for playing a team in B League, considering there is not enough teams who could make a a reasonable reserve league.What about the kids playing for teams in both the championship teams and Austrian league,if going to be quick to condemn try and be constructive
Seriously Scotland has way too many teams for it’s population size.
Four teams from fife, So many in a small radius of Glasgow.
The only way to really solve the B team issues would be to merge at least half of the smaller clubs so there is 3 divisions.
The B teams could play in this league as they are doing in Europe.
Other than that push for a youth super league involving teams from England Northern Ireland and Wales.
The real problem is we can’t hold onto many of our brightest youth prospects.
Yeah I think it’s OK when we can snatch up players from England for a “development fee” but it sucks when Doak and Cummins can just walk out the door for next to nothing.