Craig Mulholland, the SFA's chief football officer, has been cast as the caped crusader Scottish football needed, but his school-teachery approach to youth development has raised eyebrows across the game.
At a summit with all 42 senior clubs at St Andrews on Friday, Mulholland and chief executive Ian Maxwell delivered a message that is hard to argue against: young Scottish players are not getting enough exposure to first-team football, and if the trend continues, the national team could suffer in 10 years.
Yet for Mulholland to open his new job by lecturing on youth development while floating new rules that could be seen as threats has sent the irony meter into full scale clatter mode.
Mulholland's Rangers record questioned
Mulholland has spent the time since doing media rounds to promote his urgent action plan, talking up his credentials, which include 20 years in youth development at Rangers. During those two decades, the Auchenhowie production line coughed and spluttered, occasionally producing a player deemed worthy of serious first-team minutes.
Senior, highly experienced football men around Rangers are said to be unable to believe what they are seeing and hearing, asking how it has come to this.
Mulholland's rise at Ibrox was turbo-charged by the financial collapse that led to the club's liquidation. When Charles Green picked up the pieces in May 2012, he needed to appear serious about rebuilding Rangers, and Mulholland emerged as the man to future-proof the club's academy.
Flimsy return over two decades
When appointed SFA chief football officer at the end of May, Mulholland was credited with a significant part in the making of Billy Gilmour, Nathan Patterson and Liam Kelly as Scotland internationals. But Gilmour left Ibrox at 16 for Chelsea, and even with Ross McCrorie thrown in, that is a flimsy return over 20 years for someone now empowered to issue edicts to others.
Mulholland left Rangers in May 2023 for Nottingham Forest, following close pal Ross Wilson. Many believe the pair were engaged in empire building during their three and a half years together at Ibrox.
School-teachery rules and talent drain
Mulholland and Maxwell may have talked sense at the St Andrews summit, but browbeating managers into starting two Scottish under-21s in all cup ties seems a school-teachery approach. It might improve the league table showing Scottish clubs give youngsters less pitch time than almost any others, but it does little good if the youngsters are not good enough or ready.
The example of Gilmour highlights the real problem: the cream of Scotland's crop is lured over the border at 16 by lucrative offers Scottish clubs cannot match. Those left behind are less naturally gifted, and those who break through are sold off quickly.
Patterson, Josh Doig, Aaron Hickey, Calvin Ramsay, Kieron Bowie and Lennon Miller are proof that contradicts the need for last week's crisis talks. Scottish football probably needs a grown-up conversation about what's best for the kids, but maybe next time the capes and consequences of non-compliance should be left at the door.
