Sub Standard?

With Paddy McCourt's latest cameo
(against Hearts 11th September) providing another beauty of a goal showing the skill, poise, balance and arrogance of a player deserving of making any starting eleven in Britain, It does begs the question; is he more adept as a 'super sub' or could he make a similar impact if he was consistently named on Lennon's team sheet?

In recent years we have moved from the term 'supersub' to the politically correct 'impact player' - and with larger squads and long seasons, many players make their contribution throughout the seasons in different ways. The top teams sometimes even field separate teams dependant on which competition they are playing in, with Arsenal and Man Utd playing eleven youngsters and fringe players in the Carling cup, a more experienced but still relatively relaxed and attacking side at home in the league and cup, and a more resolute side away from home and in the champions league. It has become horses for courses in terms of team selection.

Could Paddy’s slightly less than galloping style, be more beneficial to the team in his ‘impact’ in coming off the bench in the second half of games. He certainly has the ability to make a difference, to give the opposition something completely different to think about, but is being a plan B, getting the most out of a player of McCourt’s talent?

Some impact players make a difference by bringing their pace and running power (like Samaras particularly in his first 12 months at Celtic) to the fore in the latter stages when the game becomes more open, others use a dogged determination and persistence to make their mark when defenders are tiring (shown by Nacho Novo throughout his spell at Rangers), players like Ole Gunnar Solskjaer watch the game seeing where they can cause danger and come on and take advantage of their knowledge of the game when defenders are struggling to concentrate to see the game out, while others are brought on to totally change the style of play that the team will attack with (used to great effect by England with Peter Crouch coming on as they move to a far longer passing style using him as a target to play off). Paddy McCourt can be said to bring a bit of all of these in his very own unique style giving the opposition hell, and bringing goals to Celtic when he comes on. Although by no means the quickest, he is willing to take possession and run at fullbacks again and again, and has the ability to pass, cross, or strike a shot with either foot once he has eliminated his marker (and often several others).

Logically it follows that there are calls from the Celtic fans that their cult hero should be elevated to the first eleven to see what he can do if played all the way from the starting line. Surely if he can change a game in twenty minutes then he could do even more given the whole hour and a half. The more chance he gets to do so, the stronger, fitter, and better understanding he will be able to build.

At Celtic we have seen the likes of Maloney, then McGeady get the majority of their chances off the bench in their first season or so, and this is often the case with young players all round the globe serving as understudy to more experienced and more trusted players. Not quite able to justify a start but building experience and trust on each performance. Whilst this has similarities to McCourt's current predicament, its not that Lennon doesn’t trust his mercurial countrymsn, or doesn’t quite know what he will get from him, quite the opposite, he knows exactly what Paddy brings, and indeed what he doesn’t.

With bags of natural ability, what does not come natural for the Irishman, is working hard, covering his fullback and stretching the opposition with his running without the ball. Certainly in some games, these things are a necessity to provide the team with the platform to then allow your attacking players to take the game to the opposition. Surely there could be more than a fleeting argument made that as Paddy is clearly made for only the second part of that game plan, that only once the platform has been built by other more industrious bodies, that he comes on to provide his more creative touch to proceedings.

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's famous quote could well have come from Celtic’s number 20;

“'It is no great mystery how I manage to score goals after going on in the later stages. The other players had already done 70 minutes' hard work, while I was fresh. That gives you an edge.”

And in Paddy’s case, that edge could be the difference between opening up a deep lying resolute defence, in those games that separate champions from the rest. Players like McCourt that can undo these defences, and win these tight matches, surely need to be given the best situation possible for them to perform. I am still to be convinced that for Paddy this lies in him starting most games.

Wing players, especially those who come in and out of the team, frequently struggle with confidence leading to inconsistent or a loss of form. McCourt; be it off the back of a spell on the sidelines, coming on as a sub, or starting a game, has the type of self belief that at times is half the battle whilst going at opposition defenders. Coming on with 20-30 minutes left of play does not seem handicap his confidence at all, infact I would go as far as saying he looks at his most comfortable and dangerous when the team have worked hard, the game has slowed down, and McCourt appears from the sidelines believing, even knowing, exactly what he can bring to the game. Excitement, entertainment, mazy dribbles, creating chances, and ultimately - goals.

If he continues to do that, and stays fit, who is to say he should force his way into the starting eleven, why can he not just continue being the super impact sub he has shown us already he can be?

Natural Born Talent

British football has long been criticised for being behind the times, be it youth development, players diets, training methods, tactics, sports psychology and now even the naturalisation of foreign born players eligible for their national sides. Even the fact a gentleman’s agreement has been made and stuck to pretty rigidly from the home nations that they would only pick players born with a bloodline to the country seems pretty antiquated in modern football.

While Jack Charlton’s early attempts at getting the most from Fifa’s eligibility criteria were often derided by a British media whose countries were neither going through a successful period nor where they just about too, with only Ireland of the home countries able to claim with any level of truth that they had made great strides from the 90’s onwards.

The recent introduction of the an added thread on the criteria being “having lived on the territory continuously for at least five years after the age of 18” has cerainly brought a fresh look at how National squads are now selected.

Owing much to the globalisation of the wider football community, even the larger countries have now made use of assimilated foreign players, with England (given their British gentlemens agreement) the only big hitter in Euriope not yet to have utilised it. The value of EU citrizensship for players in terms of their club careers cannot be underestimated, amd this can directly be used to beenfit the adopted nations international side.

While it is now generally accepted as ‘part of the game’ often Countrys face fierce opposition when its first raised, though I doubt whether theb portuguse fans who didn’t want Deco, the Spanish supoorters that didn’t want Senna, and even the Turkish patriots that didn’t want Auerlio, would now hold firmon their initial displeasure.

Since Brazil is the greatest producer of football talent in the world it follows that footballers most likely to be naturalised are from Brazil. There are Brazilians playing for Croatia, Bosnia, Bulgaria, Hungary, Azerbaijan, Tunisia, Lebanon, and even Qatar.

With Owen Hargreaves being the closest thing England have to a naturalised foreigner (with Owen’s father and upbringing being that of an Englishman) being born and raised in Canada, he certainly couldn’t claim to have been completely accepted by the English national teams loyal fan base. These supporters’ opinions on the matter read like a BNP manifesto, with even the media accepting that a huge correlation is placed on National identity and the national football team. Skinheads and football hooligans aside, for the average Englishman it is important that players who turn out for England have a strong connection with the country. The fact that a player may to choose to play for England simply because they are not good enough to play for the country of their birth just doesn’t sit well.


Let's face it: amidst the immigration backlash in many parts of Europe - "look what these bloody foreigners are doing to our country" - style scapegoating, it's far from easy to become citizens of any number of Western European states. However, would there be a slight leeway given for those whose skills are very much in demand. Mikel Arteta filling England problem left hand side is probably as comfortable the English public would be in accepting a naturalised player playing for England. It would be a major step for Capello to look to naturalised foreigners and recent British citizens, but as a foreigner himself Capello seems the ideal man to initiate such a call-up and in doing so bring England into the 21st century, Thus far Capello has not discussed the subject of Arteta with his employers, the Football Association, because it does not become a live issue until Arteta obtains British citizenship, and then pressure applied on the agreement betwenn the home countries.

Regardless of how scared England, and the rest of Britain are and would be of immigration and the impact it might well have on the future of our international squad, it will happen.

The new EPL squad systems certainly play in favour of talented players moving to England at a young enough age to gain citizenship while they are young enough to just be starting their club careers. The emphasis on home-grown talent regardless of the country of birth with only the exception of 25 players in each squad will mean clubs not only invest well on the best available talent round the globe, but are likely to be used or at least groomed for first team action.

Not only an increased scouting networked now used by many British clubs to identify untapped foreign talent, but simply increased immigration to our shores will help this happen. Whole families moving to Scotland, with many young boys growing up in this country not only doing so feeling a large part Scottish (spending their formative years here) and having a very strong affinity to Scotland and our culture, they will be involved in youth football set up, playing for clubs, schools and even Scotland Schoolboys and part of the national set up. Celtic's young Islam Feruz will be seen as a trailblazer and certainly shows the potential to have the sheer talent to change opinions, have guys not caring what colour, background or birthplace their Scotland players are, but if they can play like Islam then we’ll take them just fine. No longer is it about naturalising players who aren’t good enough for ‘their own country’, but about embracing talent and changes in society. Join the rest of the more forward thinking football nations, lets benefit from it.

Scotland benefit from Celtic, while Celtic could well benefit from Scotland if our society continues to accept immigrants, and our fans keep away from the extreme opinions shared by many of our English counterparts. Perhaps the difference in ability and expectations in the two countries provide difference enough as I get the impression Scotland would be happy with any good (even decent) players regardless of colour of skin or where he is from. The most abuse our country has produced to the world of football in recent time is in the frequent insults thrown towards Aiden Mcgeady. Regardless of the catholic/protestant issues used to explain it, could it be simplified that Scottish fans are aggravated that ‘one of their own’ is playing for someone else and would happily accept a foreigner McGeady’s ability coming in the opposite direction to play for Scotland.

Certainly how I feel about Celtic, I don’t want players as good as McGeady to play for someone else, its great to see the likes of he, Maloney, and young Forrest breaking through as you can relate to him and like to think there is continued hope for future young Celtic fans to get a chance to represent Celtic – However more important to me is that the players that do represent Celtic are the very best that we can possibly get.

It's not the creed or nationality that counts, it's the man himself

D Day 2010

So that’s the window ‘slammed shut’ then, well we certainly weren’t the only ones who didn’t rush and sneak someone in as the window was metaphorically shutting yesterday. With the Stokes deal albeit a done deal on Monday, now officially completed – it leaves us with a current first team squad of; L. Zaluska, F. Forster, D. Cervi, E. Izaguirre, D. Majstorovic, J. Hooiveld, Cha Du Ri, M. Wilson, M. Misun, C. Mulgrew, G. Loovens, T. Rogne, E. Juarez, S. Brown, S. Maloney, N. McGinn, J. Ledley, M. Crosas, Ki Sung Yeung, P. McCourt, B.Kayal, J.Forrest, G. Samaras, A. Stokes, D. Murphy, G.Hooper, with Andy Hinkel out with long term injury

Looking at the all round quality and balance of those players I can’t say I’m unhappy with it;

First step for the team to really gel will be getting together a settled team and in particular the back line – as the importance of the centre half partnership cannot be overlooked. Lennon as already mentioned about the team changing set up dependant on the opposition or whether Celtic are at home or away, however he will look to send out the same defence week in week out no doubt, and allow the middle to front to be changed in relation to the teams we are trying to break down. Majstorovic has got to be part of the pairing, as his experience (never mind ability) will be vital to build from particularly early season, and although many Celtic fans may be disappointed that no other centre half was brought in during the transfer window, the manager must well think that the likes of Hooiveld, Loovens, Misun, and Rogne who all have been seen in their careers to have decent potential can provide a foil for the aggression and know-how of the big Swedish defender. Again, would Kelvin Wilson, Curtis Davis or various other names, be a certain improvement or partnership with Majstorovic, I’m not so sure. It’s my belief that by the next transfer window the squad we currently have will have produced a far more steady and reliable partnership than we’ve seen in recent years.

While on the topic of players we didn’t sign, again I was not distraught that Robbie Keane didn’t make another deadline day dash – this time to sign permanently. Sure if we could have got him on loan would have certainly been worth another go, but for any more than a year, we’d be looking at 6 million at least if we’d got him permanently, and what sell on value would we be looking at there. Not worth what we’d have got from him I’d guess, particularly given this season will see us plough a domestic furrow only, and we should be quite confident that we are more than capable of edging out Richard Foster et al.

Regardless of their long term capabilities as players, which only time will tell, the only player Lennon has purchased that I am unsure about why we signed and his place in the squad is the weekends goal scorer Daryl Murphy. Given his transfer fee is undisclosed but estimated to be somewhere between £1-£1.5 million, I cant see what Lennon expects from the former Sunderland man that he couldn’t have from Morten Rassmussen. The Scandinavian forward is not someone I can profess a great knowledge of due in large to such fleeting appearances since he signed – but neither he nor Murphy are the quickest, but would provide much needed physical presence against certain opposition. The main difference between the two is probably best noted in Rasmussen’s goal scoring record – whereas Murphy can’t quite claim to be prolific.

The turn over of players is turnover still too high in a short space of time for my liking – not even taking into consideration the ability of players brought in and inadequacies of those who are away, but I feel a more gradual approach would give each new comer a slightly better chance of succeeding, and not as great a risk of instant abject failure! However Lennon obviously decided swift action was needed and the one great positive the transfer window brings, in my opinion - is that now it’s good to be able to close the hatch and know what we’ve got to work with – and let the management team shape them into the team they and we want, one in which that will win the league.

I have looked on enviously at the way Rangers have made the best out of a decidedly mediocre squad, their better player reaching a consistent level, and the other guys digging in for the team. When someone underperforms, their lack of options often leaves him in the team for next week, and there are no great chances. That consistency brings not only a unity and spirit, but the players become familiar with how everyone plays and the system becomes indoctrinated in the whole squad. That’s what Celtic under Lennon need to achieve, and I think the squad we have amassed while having far more options and strength in depth that Rangers, are capable of mirroring their admirable focus that has dragged them out of the mire while we were busy shooting ourselves in the foot repeatedly.

We have again outspent rangers and have a far stronger looking squad so I was in no rush to see the money from the sale of Aiden McGeady spent just so we can see ourselves at net sellers. Also if the players specified by the manager weren’t available at the right price then maybe it was best not to be hung out to dry over a player we likely wont need to win a league against an even poorer rangers side than their previous poor side. Celtic fans seem obsessed by buying big – marquee signings, big money, blue chip, call it what you will, the last time we did, Hibs played hardball for Scott Brown and saw us spend nearly £5 million on him. The majority of fans haven’t exactly thought he has represented much bang for those bucks. I stand by my view that we have spent enough ever season since the turn of the millennium to have secured the league given the standard of our opposition. I understand there is a slightly displaced anger associated with this dating back to our lack of spending in January 20009 - although if the manager wasn’t able to win the league with the 7 point advantage, and a better squad than our competition then perhaps he wasn’t the right man to have been given more money to in retrospect. That said, perhaps with the shrewd moves Lennon has made thus far we need not worry about that this season, not only is there still money in the pot available for players, but its conceivable that we will already have blown Rangers out of the water by January.