Has Kennedy left Kilmarnock too soon?

Michael Kenrick , 3 September, 18comments | Jump to most recent

Kilmarnock manager Kenny Shiels fears that teenage striker Matthew Kennedy has left the club too soon and that joining Everton may have put his long-term development in jeopardy.

The 17-year-old joined Everton for a six-figure fee on transfer deadline day after playing just 14 times for Kilmarnock. And Shiels thinks the move to England could have come too soon for the player who only made his debut for Kilmarnock last year.

"I really would've liked him to stay to get some more proper development," said Shiels.

"Hopefully, he'll succeed; I really want the boy to do well, that's important to me.

"Having had two years' experience behind him would be ideal.

"If you draw parallels and make comparisons of all the players that have gone down to the English Premier League, 95% of them have had a spell in the SPL first.

"Steven Fletcher, Gary Caldwell, the two lads at Hamilton and Steven Naismith: they've all served their apprenticeships in the SPL.

"I feel that, the type of boy Matthew is, I really would've liked him to stay to get some more proper development here in a development programme, rather than thrown in to the rigours of the English Premier League."

Quotes or other material sourced from Sky Sports

Reader Comments (18)

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Trevor Powell
1 Posted 03/09/2012 at 18:11:39

... and We would have got a lot more money ..... I would agree if he was going to Shitteh or the Red Shite but EFC have a good record in developing talent ... I am sure they had that Rooney at the club once!

Mike Hayes
2 Posted 03/09/2012 at 18:16:30

Dont worry now he's at EFC he's in no danger of developing....until
he's released and gets snapped up.

Martin Handley
3 Posted 03/09/2012 at 19:57:27

Sour grapes that's all that is!

Matt Traynor
4 Posted 03/09/2012 at 19:59:13

Trevor #440, "but EFC have a good record in developing talent..." I'd say that's debatable. We've bought a lot of up and coming / promising youngsters, as well as our own home grown talent, and very few have made it to first team regulars.

I'm not bashing the club here, because I don't think we've got rid of anyone who has gone on to better things, yet.

Peter Warren
5 Posted 03/09/2012 at 20:33:04

You've got to say very few young players have been a regular under Moyes. Only one I can think of is Rooney and then there is Vaughan but he was 23-24. To be fair I think Vaughan would have been but for injuries. I don't think it's sour grapes by the guy – seems a fair comment to say having first team football in SPL would secede him better

Steve Smith
6 Posted 03/09/2012 at 20:32:46

Matt,

I suppose it's what is considered a success in development, raising millions by sell-ons or building a successful squad from within? It's somewhere in between probably but, for a club in our situation, raising £12-15M for the likes of Rodwell has to be construed as a massive success for our academy, likewise with Rooney and Jeffers.

Mark Pierpoint
7 Posted 03/09/2012 at 21:00:13

Bit harsh I think. Even if we released him at twenty he would still play at a higher level than Kilmarnock in all due respect. In life really, and certainly in professional football you can get one chance at the dream job opportunity and I don't think that deep down Shiels can criticise Kennedy

Sean Patton
8 Posted 03/09/2012 at 21:35:28

He loves the sound of his own voice that manger, somebody tell him that he is not Mourinho and nobody cares for his endless drivel

Barry Rathbone
9 Posted 03/09/2012 at 21:39:49

Southampton produce more footballers than us.

Drew O'Neall
10 Posted 03/09/2012 at 21:56:25

Fact of the matter is very few young players go from 'promising' to 'top player', fewer do so from being picked up at Kilmarnock by the age where they've made the first team.

We produce relatively few first team players because given the above, we also play in one of the hardest leagues in the world.

James Flynn
11 Posted 04/09/2012 at 00:30:45

Who knows? He's 17. Wherever he winds up, Kilmarnock will be nothing more than somewhere he played.

Anto Byrne
12 Posted 04/09/2012 at 03:31:00

I remember when we bought this skinny kid from Dumbarton and watched as he made his debut for Everton at Brighton. Seem to remember he went on and did quite well for us.

Paul Brown
13 Posted 04/09/2012 at 07:48:45

Anto, bit of a long shot this but did you move to Perth from maghull about 15 years ago?

Shaun Sparke
14 Posted 04/09/2012 at 08:23:02

Barry, Southampton haven't got Liverpool, Man Utd and man City within a 40 mile radius competing and scouting for the best young talent. They do have the mighty Portsmouth and Bournemouth though so it's no wonder they get the pick of any local kids.

Steve Carse
15 Posted 04/09/2012 at 09:14:25

When you look at the garbage Everton have often produced on the park in the last year or so and the limited size of the senior squad, it is disappointing that Moyes is disinclined to give the best of the youngsters more of a go.

Ross Barkley is suffering most from this. He is now further away from a first team place than he's ever been! Has he stopped developing? His performances in an England shirt strongly suggest not. Yet at Everton, when a washed out McFadden is regularly selected in preference (and then bombed out as not being good enough), you've got to ask why.

And if he genuinely has not come on sufficiently then surely questions have to be asked of the quality of the coaching staff (Moyes included). The attitude of Brendan Rogers and Ian Adkins to playing youngsters is in stark contrast to Moyes's. We can only hope that Moyes has got it right and knows what time plan he has got for Barkley.

Eugene Ruane
16 Posted 04/09/2012 at 11:41:51

Forget football, from a purely financial point of view, I think the lad has to say yes.

What if he listens to Shiels, stays with Kilmarnock and is crippled (for good) a week later?

Think Kilmarnock will look after him for the rest of his days?

Kenny Shiels would give it "Ah feel sorry fae the boy, but that's the breaks"

He won't be on fortunes with us, but it's a three year deal and even on 'shit' wages (ie: £15k a week) he'd be set for life (unless he has a thing for dinner plate-sized diamond encrusted watches and/or Stephen Ireland's penchant for customizing Bentley's for satsuma coloured scrubbers)

Gordon Simpson
17 Posted 04/09/2012 at 14:28:16

"Fact of the matter is very few young players go from 'promising' to 'top player', fewer do so from being picked up at Kilmarnock by the age where they've made the first team."

You do realise that Steven Naismith came through the Killie youth system and played over 100 first-team matches?!

Harry Wallace
18 Posted 04/09/2012 at 20:28:15

Steve, it's been said he asked for a transfer to Arsenal last season after they were sniffing around and Moyes has kept him out out ever since. Even Editor Mike said it.

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