Last night, Ange was obviously in a good mood when he was discussing the performances of the Japanese Bhoys, and in particular the performances of Hatate and Maeda.
The hacks were pretty taken with them as well, with Chick Young of the BBC a case in point.
He moved quickly to compare Hatate with legendry Japanese Bhoy Nakamura.
It’s a bit of a wild comparison; Hatate has only played one game and although he looked great it’s a stretch to link the two this early. Ange blasted back at the very idea of it.
He didn’t do so because he doesn’t think the comparison holds up; he did it because he genuinely doesn’t look to compare players.
When Young made the comparison, Ange was quick to shoot it down.
“He’s Reo Hatate mate. He’ll make his own mark and you know, he’s a very talented young player but he’s a very determined young man. They’re all different and he’s got his eyes on reaching the very top in football and I’m glad to have him in our football club at the moment. We’re just going to try and get the best out of him and push him to the levels we know he can get.”
To make such comparisons means that we judge one man on the standards of another, and that’s okay for the fans and for certain people in the press … but Ange doesn’t like to do it as a boss.
It’s a daft comparison. The two players play in very different positions.
Naka could play anywhere across the front; Hatate prefers to play wide left, although his superb display last night was from a central position. He looks like he will be a major player for us … but Naka was such a consistent performer with that world class dead ball ability it can only hinder the new boy to expect him to ascend to that plane.
Naka was different. Naka was special.
Ange is defending Hatate on his own merits, and those merits were obvious even after just 75 minutes.
He was outstanding.
The longer he plays in this team, the more he will offer us from whichever position he does play. There are areas where he looks extremely capable; his first touch and his delivery are clearly first-rate. He is also tough in the tackle.
This manager can definitely spot a player … he knows what Hatate is and what he isn’t.
He knows what he can do and what he can’t.
Young wasn’t trying to be insulting last night – a comparison with Naka isn’t exactly mis-treating somebody – but still the manager carefully guarded the player. That is proper management. That is what a leader does.
Neither Young, nor anyone else, will make that mistake again.
I don’t really consider Chick Young a journalist. He’s just a sycophant who likes to kiss the arse of whoever he deems beneficial to getting his voice heard. I know for a fact he prefers that to be whoever is in charge at Ibrox (I think every Celtic fan of a certain age knows that) but he’s not averse to sucking up at Celtic Park if the opportunity arises.
The comparison between Hatate and Naka was a silly one. As much as I loved Naka playing in a Celtic shirt, it took him a while to “prove” (to the MSM) that he could do it against the huns when he scored that wonder goal in the home straight of the 2007/2008 season. I don’t think there will be as much pressure on Hatate to score against that lot. I see him more in a creative role. He does seem to have a bit of steel about him as well which is not something I think you’d say about Naka too readily.
It seems to me the comparison stems from them both being Japanese and playing for Celtic. It seems quite racist to me. Yes, that’s it. Chick Young was being racist.
I REPEAT: CHICK YOUNG IS A RACIST. Cancel the c**t. Now.