Murray Park - training facility or youth school?

[Danny 9]

Inspired by a couple of posts from papaguy51 and a general lack of clarity over the place's function, I thought I'd start a thread on this one.

Murray Park was proposed when DA took over, by DA, and took some years to be built.

It was mooted as a world class training facility relatively near Ibrox, a place players could receive sophisticated attention while also having medical amenities and various dietary programs etc.

However, I hear a lot of complaints about the lack of youth coming through.

Correct me if I am wrong, but since when was it proposed as a youth academy?

Far as I know, it's always just been a better option than kicking a baw around some park. It's not been for rearing youngsters. Any we've had we've simply 'had', rather than specifically nurturing them through Murray Park.

Have I got it wrong? What is the purpose of the place.

[papaguy51 912]

It's a training facility first and foremost, no doubt about it.

But within a £15m facility, surely there's got to be an element of excellent youth development, no?

[trueblue1872 2]

I'm sure there's decent young lads coming through the system they just never get a chance to shine in the first team and end up getting booted out on loan and then sold to some shite league 2 side.

Furman will be next!

[papaguy51 912]

I'm sure there's decent young lads coming through the system they just never get a chance to shine in the first team and end up getting booted out on loan and then sold to some shite league 2 side.

Furman will be next!

It's fair to say Furman's already gone.

I don't think we'll see him kick another ball at Ibrox.

[TMWWBK 0]

Murray's exact quote when asked about the youth side of it at the opening of the facilty was "If the club has a future we must train our own players".

The fact it's had around 4 youth supremo's since opening tells me that the club didnt/doesnt really know what to do with the youth side of it.

Apparently we have 16 scouts throughout Scotland though, and are actually really well equipped in a youth scouting sense. Frankie is your man when it comes to this side of these kind of things.

[Danny 9]

It's a training facility first and foremost, no doubt about it.

But within a £15m facility, surely there's got to be an element of excellent youth development, no?

I'm really not that sure it there has. If you want youth development you really need to do an Ajax and make such an academy.

Anything Murray Park comes out with is a bonus. btw, £15M isn't really that much when it comes to a building like that.

[papaguy51 912]

I wish we had some scouts in places where the youngsters are taught technique, poise and skill.

With 16 scouts in Scotland, we get the prime selection of the boys that can lamp it up the park furthest

[papaguy51 912]

It's a training facility first and foremost, no doubt about it.

But within a £15m facility, surely there's got to be an element of excellent youth development, no?

I'm really not that sure it there has. If you want youth development you really need to do an Ajax and make such an academy.

Anything Murray Park comes out with is a bonus. btw, £15M isn't really that much when it comes to a building like that.

You could argue that it's almost paid for itself with Hutton.

[docspiderman 1,245]

By looking at team selection and performances especially basics and set pieces for and against the answer is surely very obvious---------------- neither.

[Danny 9]

Murray's exact quote when asked about the youth side of it at the opening of the facilty was "If the club has a future we must train our own players".

The fact it's had around 4 youth supremo's since opening tells me that the club didnt/doesnt really know what to do with the youth side of it.

Apparently we have 16 scouts throughout Scotland though, and are actually really well equipped in a youth scouting sense. Frankie is your man when it comes to this side of these kind of things.

SDM's quote is interesting. Rather than saying we must train our own youngsters, he's suggesting a general training of our own players. Either he's phrased it badly or he meant exactly what he said - it's not a priority to rear youth.

[Youllneverwinaway 0]

First and foremost a training facility but it should and IS bringing through youth.

The down side, and i know its an aged old argument, is that we have a manager who is not interested in youth.

I know someone whose 13/14 year old nephew is in the system and its a cracking set up which includes schoolwork and everything. They get full use of the facility during the summer and are encouraged to keep on top of things during off periods.

Lets get the Smithasauras to feck and see some of this talent getting used. They cant be any worse than some of the performances we have seen from a few people over the last 7 months. (tu0

[TMWWBK 0]

I wish we had some scouts in places where the youngsters are taught technique, poise and skill.

With 16 scouts in Scotland, we get the prime selection of the boys that can lamp it up the park furthest

Im the same. Whilst the hyperpowers will always have first dibs on the cream of the crop of European and South American youngsters, i still believe it's feasable for us to attract the 3rd and even 2nd rate kids to us.

[papaguy51 912]

I wish we had some scouts in places where the youngsters are taught technique, poise and skill.

With 16 scouts in Scotland, we get the prime selection of the boys that can lamp it up the park furthest

Im the same. Whilst the hyperpowers will always have first dibs on the cream of the crop of European and South American youngsters, i still believe it's feasable for us to attract the 3rd and even 2nd rate kids to us.

I still think we probably have a tad more pulling power than we as fans think.

Coming to Scotland and grounding yourself in with British football for a year or two before moving on to the Premiership is a well worn path.

[chris_glasgow 2]

waste of f*cking money

[scotty74bluenose 0]

I've was lucky enough to get a tour of Murray Park and it's a pretty impressive set-up in terms of the facilities it offers. I don't know much about our scouting or youth development "systems" as such, but certainly in terms of the on-site facilities it's all there.

As for whether its a training or youth development facility, the answer is definitely both. The facilities are designed to cater for the first team squad's every need in terms of their preparation & recovery AND to give our youngsters the best environment in which to develop. Both are said to be equally important to the Club.

It's an interesting approach they have to combining those two objectives, one that was apparently insisted upon by Dick Advocate at the design stage and copied from the Ajax system. There are areas of Murray Park that are used exclusively by the first team squad (e.g. certain training areas, players restaurant & lounge etc.) These areas are purposely high-spec and deliberately positioned within full view of the youth facilities, the idea being that the youngsters will see the first team squad every day and aspire to progress to their level.

An example of this is the changing complex, where there is a single corridor running from one end of the building to the other. At one end is the youngest youth team dressing-room, the next age-group up is the next door up and so on, right up to the first-team dressing-room at the top of corridor. Again, the idea is that the youngsters will see the first team as their ultimate goal and they'll work hard to progress year on year up the corridor until they reach the first-team dressing-room.

I'm no expert and I've really nothing to compare it against, but it looked to me like our players (old and young) are certainly very well provided for.

[disgruntled_bear 157]

It was built as both, but sharing the name of "Murray" it was bound to fail

[NOLUWDC 1]

Do we have no scouts around the world ? We only seem to buy players that have played against us.

No disrespect to the young Scottish players but there is definitely superior players in places such as America, Africa and South America.

[nvager 498]

The facility is tremendous and should help attract players of all ages to Rangers, but at the end of the day it is only as good as the management of it. If the top man has no interest in youth, then that side of it will fail. If the top man is stuck in his ways then all of it will fail. Basically it is up to Walter, or is the youth set up run as a separate entity? Does anyone know?

[reddrock 107]

Stevenage Boro have a better youth system down here , it shames me to says it coupled with education and trade training for those that dont make ,

and concentrates on the guys 5 days a week year round

[wronglypenalised 14]

Having watched a bit of Arsenal TV and read a lot of interviews with Arsene Wenger over the years I thought I would share my point of view on this issue;

Arsene has been slated for years about not playing any English players, his interviews over the past few years have seen him say consistently that there was to be another surge of younger players about to make the step up, of which there were a good number of English players within it. He has stated in the past that with youth players you have to teach near enough nothing but technique and the mastering of the ball at the earliest age, once they get to the ages of around about 14 you can start to introduce speed building techniques and excercises. When the player is about 16/17/18 then it is time to build up muscle, reason is that until these players have grown from boys to men then it is pointless asking them to do what a grown man can do. Why should there be a session for 9 year old kids that is fitness based? By all means you can keep the players fitness to a high degree without making them do shuttle after shuttle by having short, sharp, intense bursts of ball skill coaching, believe me it is much more fun and enjoyable for a player to be working with a ball than without it.

Anyway back to my point, as these clubs cannot start getting/signing players until they are around about u9 level (believe it is u10 in Scotland) then it would naturally follow that if Arsene has went into Arsenal and restructured the youth side of things then it will take nigh on 8/9/10 years to see the benefits (due to batch of players at u9 who will be 8ish move up through the age brackets) and if it has taken a couple of years from inception to get the mix/blend right then it should be the case that as he arrived at Arsenal in 1996??? that there should be a steady stream of players ready to make the step up to Arsenals first team that have the skills and techniques that Wenger requires for it.

Basically what I am saying is that even if we had a settled youth setup (which we haven't as others have mentioned) it wouldn't see a steady return for around 8-10 years, add in the turnover of managers who all have a different idea of how the team should play and the bigger issue of the current managers reluctance to involve them then we are invariably pi$$ing into the wind with our youth setup (Maybe that is one of the reasons that Murray sub-let the youth side so that any youths who did make it and were sold on then the team in charge of the player would get the fee, that used to be the case so don't know if it is still in place)

Bottom line - training facility for first team and reserves and a base for youth teams but not an academy as such (but it could be!)