HIBS TALENT FACTORY IN THE SPOTLIGHT - PAST ACADEMY GRADUATES MADE GOOD
Regular observers of Nick Montgomery are prone to indulge in a running joke about the Hibsmanager’s tendency to drop in a few favourite references and reminders whenanswering questions about another disappointing defeat. Chief among his go-todefence mechanisms involves the gaffer pointing out that he’s handed X numberof academy players first-team debuts.
Intended both as a way of raising the profile of the youth teams AND illustrating thepersonnel issues faced during a difficult season, the messaging is centred onthe wisdom of promoting from within. Something that appeals as much tosupporters as it does to directors responsible for paying the bills.
But the pressure to keep producing another “one of our own” for fans to laud isenormous. Even without the root-and-branch review of football operations announcedby the board last week. And the hit rate of even the most successful youth system can often appear miserably low, tothose not embedded in the challenge of scouting, nurturing and – most importantly,in the current climate – retaining young talent.
Hibs Under-18s beating Rangers 3-2 yesterday would have been a welcome boost at anage group where the really big leaps in physicality and ability are expected totake place. The fact that Rudi Molotnikov was one of the scorers alsounderlines the two-way benefit of youngsters being exposed to first-teamexperience; they almost inevitably return improved by exposure to seniorfootball.
What represents success, though, for an academy system at a club with ambitions to compete atthe business end of the Scottish Premiership? In an era when major Englishclubs are increasingly prone to take punts on very young teenage talent, whatsort of a return on investment should a club the size of Hibs expect to make?
The golden era that saw Scott Brown, Kevin Thomson, Garry O’Connor, Derek Riordan andSteven Whittaker emerge within a season or so of each other is obviously thestuff of dreams. Reality dictates that those sort of rich talent seams are fewand far between, regardless of how much you pour into the development budget.
But the goals haven’t changed. Within the academy system at East Mains, any number ofcoaches will testify that their job is not merely to get players into the firstteam at Easter Road. Their responsibility, collectively, is to give good youngfootballers a chance to make a real impact on that team.
So, yes, they’re happy that Rory Whittaker became the youngest debutant in club history soonafter Montgomery’s arrival. The academy coaches love seeing any of their young playersinvited just to train with Monty’s men. But there’s a bigger picture.
Restricting ourselves to players still active in football, let’s take a lookat some of the most notable homegrown players to have emerged over the past coupleof decades: