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McCourt IS NOT Messi

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Long time no speak, see, hear or even tweet some of you may say but here I am back from the wilderness with a new re-vitalised outlook on life and even more sporadic, un-conventional views on our beloved club and its ongoings.

Firstly I will kick-off with Motherwell a.k.a Murderwell (according to our resident founder Mr LOTW) and some of the debated and shouted at match happenings.

So again we became subject to an onslaught on the ball and off the ball, being kicked like we were up against a rabid mule with a cucumber up its jaxi lashing about, it soon became clear that McCall had wrote the 1989 Kickboxer, starring Jean Claude Van Damme, synopsis into his tactics in preparation for our somewhat stylish-er football that they were about to witness.

Compliment to our superior football? Not really.  If it was it was a very somewhat angry compliment that nearly snapped poor wee James Forrest in half. The poor boy looked in pain, the sort of pain when your a kid and you slip and graze your knee in gravel, type of pain that made my Mrs retort “Awww look what them b*** ards are doing to that wee boy, sh!tes what they are”.

Out of order? Yes it was and for McCall to say post match “We deserved at least a point from today” was an overstatement, possibly if UFC officials where conducting the officiating for the match YES Stuart you would get a point or two.

One thing I am very glad of is that we took the 3 very much needed points in a tricky match that could have ended up much worse if not for a bit of defensive intervention and big Frazer being on his toes.

For more on the Murderwell aftermath see Mr LOTWs post match gubbings – https://thecelticblog.com/2011/11/blogs/stuart-mccall-can-safely-be-questioned-now-one-sentence-summary-and-player-ratings

**N|O|T**

Like a domino affect, I move onwards to another point. The enigmatic Paddy McCourt (Disclaimer – I support Celtic football club and all its players, so please respect my viewpoint on Mr McCourt whom I love to watch perform to the best of his ability, so don’t chuffing slate me ok 😀 for this next opinionated flurry.)

Like the wind doth blow occasionally, Paddy brings to the forefront a moment of magic and excellence that we DO require now and again, BUT the fans who constantly call for his inclusion at any moment in the match (when he is benched) at the pub, ground, home or wherever it can become sometimes annoying.

Lets face the facts folks, we have took him to our hearts but he is not Lionel Messi, he is not a saviour (Not on a Larsson scale) but if given the game time? Who knows? He could be our wee magician.

He did show some magic that got us out of the smelly brown stuff at Murderwell, I hold my hands up and thank Paddy for that and Mr Lennon for such a precise substitution at an almost pivotal period in the match.

I want to see him do so well that I am disappointed we he does come on and does not perform to his ability, it is this that gets to me most.

Until I see him destroy the Gers or take apart European opposition of sheer quality I think the critics will always say that he can do the diddy teams but disappears and falters in the big matches.

I can also argue the case – has he had the chances in the big matches? Is he such an impact player that he will never perform consistently for 90 minutes after 90 minutes, week after week?

His profound talent but yet enigmatic essences to his being may hamper him with a “Part-time magician” tag, this is what I want to develop into a full-time skelper of the highest ability but do you think he will ever be able to progress to that bhoys?

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  • jocky Spants says:

    We are crying out for some creativity in midfield and we have one of the most skilful players in the uk sitting on the bench! If Paddy was given 10 games on the trot he might believe he has a place in Paradise and just show all the doubters what he can produce during the 90 mins instead of bits here and there. Alex Ferguson was given a run when most associated with the club wanted him out!

    • Sean says:

      LOL I dont think Ferguson is the right complimentary example for this lol but good shot, There are alot of doubters, but can you honestly say you have doubted any of our players even paddy?

    • bhoylondon67 says:

      We don’t have ten games to get him up to speed, he shouldn’t need ten games anyway.

  • John D says:

    just in terms of balance – think how many, and there are many, players in the ‘tic side last 18 months or so who have had extended runs in the team and contributed little or nothing?

    so why we always concentrating on paddy… minute to bangs ratio he’s well worth it.

    but neil must use him earlier if he’s going to use him as the impact player – as paddy himself realises – on for the last 4 minutes to rescue the game is a joke… play paddy last 30/ 20 mins then we’ll see.

    we should treasure paddy rather than be suspicious, but in an age where broonie is considered a midfield talent paddy’s skill will always be seen, wrongly, as second best to spitting and snarling.

    what a pity… keep the faith with the derry pele

    • Sean says:

      Good comment John, I do want him to be more consistant to be honest and a run in the team could help this. He does give his all when he comes on but it DO want him to do so well against the bigger teams. Who knows what the future holds John, but I will keep the faith.

  • John R says:

    Fully agree about McCourt. I would love to see him become more consistent, but I think he’s a way off.

    He’s a sharp dribbler, yes. But when he gets the ball, despite beating three or four defenders, he always seems to end up stuck on the goal line with no angle to shoot and no one to pass to. The problem, therefore, is with his decision-making and field awareness. He needs to be coached more.

    I would like to see him in the starting XI for more matches against lesser opposition. Give him 90 minutes against Aberdeen or St. Mirren the next time we see them and see if he doesn’t learn a lesson or two about smart passing and ball possession.

    • arniebhoy says:

      surely it has as much to do with his team mates and their decision making and field awareness? sometimes you beat 3 or 4 defenders and you kinda hope that your team mate is making a run into a decent position whereupon you can make a pass?

      if nobody makes a run into space for him to pass to, can he be liable for that lack of positional awareness?

  • iorek says:

    i always hear people say “he only does it against the small teams” – but that’s fine to me.

    we need it against the small teams, especially at home. i don’t think we’ll ever see him single handedly destroy barcelona, but if he digs us out twenty points a season against ICT, St Johnstone et al…….

    maybe he’ll come good against rangers, that would be real nice. but if not, he’ll still hold a place in my heart

    • Sean says:

      If he digs us out 20 points a season, fair play hes one to keep thats for sure, but is it a definate 20 points? form says not frankly but I do push your point I hope he digs his heels in a plays a blinder against our rivals if given the chance

  • jim says:

    McCourt is lazy but a genius with the ball at times. I’m not sure he can reach his potential but its worth giving him a starting spot for a god few games to see how he develops. Lennon unfortunately wont do that so were always going to be scratching our heads with the lad.

    I just want Lennon and his background staff to go now as there not up to leading a club like Celtic. We also need a few senior players to join so Zendan is a start but clearly not a solution long term going by age. the youngsters need players to look up too and can spur them on with that winning mentality.

    • Sean says:

      If you want Lennon and the back staff to go who would you replace them with? I dont think Zenden is a step towards the good. He is just another Ljunberg Project.

  • John Singleton says:

    Over-rated

  • john says:

    What can we lose ,we have been inconsistent all season he can,t make us play any worse or worser ,we have injuries we insist on giving Samaras games. Paddy can win us fouls in dangerous positions he can split a defence with pass and we all know he can score wonder goals and he will play for the Celtic jersey ,compare that to some of our so called stars and i think he deserves more games

  • Larry says:

    Just because Paddy is Irish does not mean he will necessarily “play for the Celtic jersey”. If you and or I were told “you can become a Celtic legend if you pack in the fags, take it easy with the Guinness and spend a wee bit more time in the gym” then how many milliseconds would we spend thinking about it?

    Paddy has talent to burn, but after four seasons at Paradise I think we can assume that his attitude is less then professional and his love for Celtic does not match his love of certain indulgences.

    Give him at least 25-30 minutes to turn a game and he will win us some points against nine-man defences, but do not rely on the bold Paddy for anything more.

  • John D says:

    oh dear, a litany of anti paddy cliches- ‘lazy’, ‘likes a beer’, ‘inconsistent’ – it seems like we have a hair shirt support – no pain no gain… does anyone really think that paddy would be given repeat contracts if he was on the piss all the time – wise up!

    well i’d like a bit of magic when watching the tic and i’ll take a wee bit of paddy’s indulgence along with his talent anyday before any number of mercenaries hitching a ride on their way to the EPL.

    there is a reluctance to support real talent at our club where real talent is in very short supply, how come we are happier watching players who can barely trap a ball, players who often cannot pass to a tic shirt from 10 yards away – because as long as they are sweating blood, crashing into tackles we are all happy… there is a need for the mcgrains and mclouds… and bertie auld was handy as well…

    but without the paddy mccourts we may as well close the gates and find something else to be obsessed about, because without the potential of some magic our great game is nothing.

    and by the way, all you doubters and cynics, why do you think it is that paddy is so adored by many many tic fans?

    it isnt because he can run about like a tesco bag in a strong wind, it isnt because he’s got a great engine…it is simply because he gives us the fantasy we need, the hope that, like the other day, he gives us something on the park that we so rarely see… aye, he might no be messi – but he’s paddy mccourt, and he’s ours, treasure him whilst he’s here.

    keep the faith

  • mick f says:

    great article. 100% correct about Forrest it was shocking the treatment he received (with no help from the ref but better not complain about them).
    It was a game Brown would have loved when they were kicking the lumps out of us thats who we needed.
    As for Paddy he’s a poor man’s Messi & lets face it the level we are at financialy that’s all we can afford.

  • bhoylondon67 says:

    Some players just make a bigger impact when used from the bench late in a game. Paddy could probably be decent if he started regularly, but I think there are players who are more affective. Paddy loves running at players, there’s obviously no better time then when your opponents legs are tired to run at them.

  • chiefinkorea says:

    I don’t know if he’ll ever be a regualr styarter but I’d like to see him given more time. Paddy gets arses off seats. No doubt he oftens tries to do too much. However as LOTW commented the other day we play in a league full of cloggers so we should embrace flair players who try to entertain.

    Also, one of Paddy’s best games was the 2-0 win at Ibrox last season where are certain well-loved Greek star got the headlines and a new contract out of it. He should that day he can put a shift in.

  • bobocop says:

    McCourt’s definitely very talented but cannot be producing it on the training pitch often enough to be a regular first pick. He looks like a guy showing up for a Sunday morning pub game and I would think that he just doesn’t work hard enough at those parts of the game that are not much fun and hurt as well i.e fitness, endurance, strength and diet.
    Old firm players tend to be fitter, faster and stronger than most of the others in the Scottish game. That’s why they’re paid more and maybe explains why he has a lack of success generally against Rangers and European defences.
    All of the top players need to have a stronger mentality to force themselves on to higher levels of fitness which then allows them to perform at a higher level more consistantly. A telling comment on this was made by Englands best left handed batsman of the last 50 years when he said “making the game look easy is really hard work.”

  • frhugh says:

    Apart from one run, Paddy was a complete passenger against Rennes. He spent most of his time in or around the half-way circle.
    Of course he is immensely talented – when he is in the mood. He is inconsistent at best, which is an immense shame. I doubt whether he can effectively play for 90 mins. I don’t know the reason for that – maybe it is psychological.
    But right now, 12 points behind Rangers, we need consistency, and Paddy in not the man to provide that, over 90 mins. Play him for the last 25 mins or so. If he does not produce the goods after a fair assessment, the he needs to go.

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