Mark Pirie thinks Ange has big choices to make ahead of the coming season. He thinks that our manager hasn’t made some of these crucial decisions already. Today in his latest daft column he lists the seven decisions our manager needs to make about the peripheral players in his squad, as though Ange has been playing God Of War II all summer.
Of the seven players he mentions, two are not in the first team squad and have had little to no involvement in the pre-season. One is a player who spent last season out on loan and was never going to be a first team regular. Two we would dearly love to get rid of and everyone is well aware of that fact, and two are squad players and no decision is needed.
Scott Robertson and Liam Shaw are B team players, and both were out on loan and will probably be allowed to go out on loan again. The B team isn’t Ange’s responsibility. Urhoghide was also out on loan and that could have turned into a permanent move. That we’ve signed another central defender, and that he won’t get into the right back role ahead of Juranovic, Ralston or even Stephen Welsh in an emergency suggests the writing is on the wall.
That he would even discuss these three as choices for the manager, when none are even close to being first team considerations, shows how desperate he is for something to write about. The other four are no less ridiculous.
The two we want out the door – Jullien and Ajeti – are too expensive to be sitting in the stands so they are part of the squad until some business can be transacted for them. The manager will have made up his mind on that; indeed, you can take it to the bank that the decision to turn down a bid for Stephen Welsh is rooted in the decision over Jullien.
These two are only at the club because we’ve not yet been able to move them on, and that’s something we have no control over. There has to be interest to do that and we can’t speed that process up no matter what this eejit thinks.
Ange has made it clear that because they are in the squad they will be available for inclusion up until the moment they leave. As was the case with Christie and Edouard last year. I don’t really expect to see either play that much, if we see them play at all.
Of the last two there is no doubt; Ange is happy to have them both in the squad. McCarthy and Mikey Johnston might not be regulars in the team but they are important to the club for a couple of reasons. First, Ange has the measure of them both and knows when they can be relied on and not. Neither is a bad player, just not fully with it in his team.
Secondly – and this is crucial at the moment – both help fulfil the UEFA requirement for home grown players and that, as much as anything, is why Ange is content to have both around. At the SPFL level both are more than capable of performing; in Europe they negate the need for us to leave gaps in the registration squad. That’s the basic fact of it.
All this is basically obvious, and if Pirie thinks Ange has a decision to make on any of these guys he is wired to the moon. But of course he’s not. He’s just another lazy hack.
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I am pretty sure that Scott Robertson and Liam Shaw were both injured during their loan spells and I guess that is the reason they have not been involved in the pre-season games. There is therefore no reason to exclude them completely from Ange’s plans, they still deserve consideration and should not be cast aside, I don’t think that Ange would do that.
Being desperate for something to write about is not uncommon, it would seem.
Listening to a radio show and then running a headline quoting a foaming at the mouth hun saying CCV and Jota are ‘ Donkeys ‘
Is where the Daily Record is at
Is there no truth in the Johnston to Standard Liege rumour? I really hope there is. He is in no way good enough. His decision-making is just poor. He may have benefited from a loan move when he was young, but he’s not young any more.
Pirie is a non entity! I am more concerned with which boss at the Daily Record gives him permission to type his horse manure to such a daily amateur standard! The mad thing about all of this is that Pirie himself probably thinks he’s got a future in journalism!
Well the way people on this blog piss their pants over the vacuous claptap Keevins shits out his mouth, I rather think the guy could be right if that is his assumption.
If I was a bit younger, I might think about a career in Scottish football journalism. It’s money for old rope.
1) Write a mawkish “what a great guy” piece about some piece of human garbage like Andy Goram …..
2) Huns think you’re a dick but stay silent coz you’re writing nice stuff about one of their heroes.
3) Tims go mental because, as I said, the guy was a piece of human garbage.
4) Sit back and stroke your cock as you watch the fallout thereby guaranteeing you i) clicks ii) an invitation to write a similarly stupid piece for a red-top masked only ever read by cretins iii) a job for life on Clyde SSB with all the other retards.
The old guy is getting on a bit so when God does us all a favour and he eventually croaks, I hear Katie Hopkins is lined up to replace him.
And before anyone says so, yes I am being deliberately offensive to prove a fucking point. Spastics.
You were doing GREAT until the last word.
That was the point mate. i.e. they are only words. Don’t get upset.
Calling someone a spastic is not worthy of a Celtic fan. Disgracefully. Go over to our disabled section and educate yourself ffs. Why did you allow this offensive term on your site James.
Offensive to who? Idiots like you? I would never call a disabled person a spastic. Only clowns who, for example, take exception to a word without giving a thought to the context or associate that word with disabled people.
Offensive too people who were labelled with that term in the 70s and 80s. The world has moved on from offensive slang like that. You are a fucking clown. I work with adults and children with physical and learning disabilities. The challenges they face every day are terrible. For you to use that term shows how fukn ignorant you are.
Dear Lord! Are you for real, or what?
“….as though Ange has been playing God Of War II all summer ….” LOLZ!
I reckon Liam Shaw could turn out to be quite handy for us as can play in defence and CDM. I feel a bit sorry for Urghohide as I don’t really know who signed him or why. He’s not part of plan Ange and that’s a crap place to be in for him, as he seems like a decent guy and works hard.
MJ- give him 1 season to “Ralston” it. If not- bye.
Again another Hun reporter won’t call him a journalist,trying to sow seeds of doubt or discontentment in squad or make supporters think mngr not upto job,hard luck son you’ll need to better in fact just chuck it get job writing for Sevco oh sorry you do that just now
I think Mikey should be loaned out he need to gain some form and will only get that with games. Shaw & Robertson may make the bench. McCarthy will see out the last year of his contract and a handful of sub appearances.
I’d love to see Jullien stay and Ajeti move on.
Don’t think Ange is finished in the transfer market yet. It may be a couple of loan deals. There maybe 1 or 2 more leaving sevco though.
Nah. Mikey is just another Owen Archdeacon. Got a bit of trickery about him, is obviously a fan but (unfortunately) just not good enough. He’ll end up at Aberdeen or Hibs.