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Although he's only been in the post for two months, Taylor, Pittodrie's recently appointed Head of Youth Development and Community, has most certainly made his mark already as far as God is concerned.
God Speaks: The Kids Are Alright
Although he's only been in the post for two months, Taylor, Pittodrie's recently appointed Head of Youth Development and Community, has most certainly made his mark already as far as God is concerned.
Willie told RedAlert subscribers: “Lenny has hit the ground running and has been working away tirelessly assessing the situation in both areas of his responsibility, namely youth development and community.
“The current situation is that between us, Lenny and myself are formulating some initiatives we would like to introduce which may involve some personnel changes, a redefining of roles and an increased exposure in certain areas, such as the West of Scotland, where we are looking to appoint a figurehead to take the Club forward in conjunction with other key people such as Chic McLelland and Neil Simpson.
“The people we work with in youth development have the huge responsibility of bringing on the next generation of first team players at Aberdeen and that we need to focus heavily on.
“It's an exciting time and while we are happy with the quality of players we've produced to date, we do need to increase the quantity in order to lessen the requirement of bringing in players from other clubs. In effect, we need to be self sufficient and we need to have in place a system that allows us to fast track young players through to the first team.
“That is happening already to an extent but, for it to work to best advantage, we need to have additional players at under-19 level. At present we have fourteen and that should perhaps increase to around the twenty mark.”
Many fans are concerned that the Dons' youth development process lags behind other teams in the country, and while Miller believes that it is already seen as one of the best in the country, he believes there is still room for improvement.
“While at the moment we don't have a Murray Park or what Celtic are proposing, that ultimately must be the objective. For the time being though, there are areas where we can look to improve and the important thing is that we are always looking to do just that.
“While at the moment we don't have a Murray Park or what Celtic are proposing, that ultimately must be the objective. For the time being though, there are areas where we can look to improve and the important thing is that we are always looking to do just that.
“This is the most crucial aspect in the operation of Aberdeen Football Club and over the next few months we will be making a series of announcements that will demonstrate just how seriously we take it. After all, we are looking to produce the stars of the future not just for AFC, but ultimately for Scotland.”