The Guidetti enigma

1242

I was asked to contribute a piece on John Guidetti to a German magazine last month.  John was on his way to winning the European U21 Championships with Sweden, while being every inch the football personality.  The German publisher wanted to know why Celtic, Stoke and Manchester City had decided against re-employing a striker with a flattering pedigree.

During last season it looked like John was destined for the English lower leagues, or perhaps one of the resting homes in Turkey, but a few weeks at a tournament later he’s won himself a five year deal with Celta de Vigo.

Guidetti is a better player than he looked at Celtic last season.  We don’t play a system which lends itself to a classic, British style, penalty box striker, which is what John is, but would you give him a five year contract to play in La Liga?  Of course not.  You’ve watched the player way more than Celta’s scouts and you know better than they do.

This is the truism in scouting, people who watch a player week-in, week-out, know vastly more than a scout who only gets to see a month’s games, or a handful of games across the season, or worse, a selection of DVDs provided by the agent, or TV highlights.

What’s made John Guidetti is his outlier season, 2011-12, when on loan at Feyenoord he smacked home an astonishing 20 goals in 23 games.  Without that season, the Celta scouts wouldn’t even know his name.  Maybe the serious illness he subsequently suffered robbed him of his mojo, maybe he’s a pound or two heavier than his fighting weight, but my money’s on Vigo suffering buyers regret soon enough.

The best of luck to John in Galicia, but I suspect he’ll be available for loan this time next year.

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  1. Ah just getting all nostalgic for the days of personal jet swooping over Govan way…

     

     

    Dear old Mr Galllagher telling us how rangers are moving on to a new level.

     

     

    Incredible that we still actually do see pathetic attempts at such crap by the MSM but deep down they all know ..

     

     

    Their day has come …. Our day has come !

  2. Burnley78

     

     

    Thoughts and Prayers for your Mum, hope she gets much better

     

     

    The article will have cheered her up, it was good, and very well done to you and the venture

     

     

    Should still have told them your hobby was the Celtic mind :-))

     

     

    Hail Hail

  3. Cowie and LeftClick Thanks re my mum. We will all know more tomorrow after a wee op.

  4. Cowie

     

     

    That connection might be more evident sometime soon.

     

     

    Watch this space !!!!

  5. WeefratheTim on

    Hi ghuys

     

     

    Have been having horrendous problems with my BB since the storm last Fri/Sat. Still no landline since then. So, while I get the chance, got an email fae oor Swindon CSC, was that forwarded from you cowiebhoy? Incidentally, Sky are shoite when it comes to service issues. My contract is up in December, have told them their getting binned, after 25 years. Sad.

     

     

    Weefra HH praying to Wee Oscar.

  6. WeefratheTim on

    burnley78

     

     

    Prayers will be said for your mum. Stay strong buddy. KTF.

     

     

    Weefra HH praying to Wee Oscar.

  7. South Of Tunis on

    Stjarnan.

     

     

    Inter mad old codger from down the valley uses my tele to watch Inter

     

     

    I watched Stjarnan 0 – Inter 3 and Inter 6 – Stjarnan 0.. Stjarnan parked the bus @ the home game . Took Inter @ 40 minutes to score . Stjarnan offered no threat . Game in Milan was a walk in the park for Inter ..Stjarnan are mediocre.

  8. lennon's passion on

    hamiltontim

     

     

    18:49 on 12 July, 2015

     

     

    Was at the affiliation meeting last Sunday. Seems Hearts and Aberdeen will be struggle for tickets.

  9. WeefratheTim on

    kev/j and parkheadcumsalford

     

     

    Birthday wishes to both you fervent Celtic mhen. KTF.

     

     

    Weefra HH praying to Wee Oscar.

  10. lennon’s passion

     

     

    Probably 2,000 for Pittodrie, as per last season.

     

     

    My estimate is about 1,200 for Tynecastle.

  11. The Good Ship Celtica on

    Good evening,

     

     

    Anyone have any experience of taking the train from Edinburgh to London on a Friday afternoon? Specifically looking for an idea of how busy it is as we can’t book a seat for an under five.

     

     

    Thanks in advance.

     

     

    TGSC,

     

    Sailing On….

  12. It’s great to have the grandkids round for a family bbq, but it’s nice when they go home.

     

     

    peaceandquietCSC

  13. Pfayr

     

     

    Aberdeen cut the allocation to us last season. Previously we’d received around 3,500 but after a higher number of season ticket sales at Pittodrie they claimed that some areas previously given to us would be needed to accommodate home supporters. Consequently they cut the allocation to around 2,000.

     

     

    Hearts are claiming for the same reason that to accommodate their own supporters they need 3 sections out of 5 in the stand normally given to us. I’m not certain of exact numbers but I think we’ll only get around 1,200 for Tynecastle but that’s a high estimate.

  14. Awe_Naw_No_Annoni_Oan_Anaw_Noo on

    That is some article on Dave King and that is only the last three years. Never forget that Peter Lawwell was an integral part of the decision to approve him as a fit and proper person.

     

     

    HH

  15. lennon's passion on

    hamiltontim

     

     

    19:42 on 12 July, 2015

     

     

    1800 was the figure mentioned last week. Thought that was a bit high.

  16. Magnificentseven on

    Awe_Naw_No_Annoni_Oan_Anaw_Noo

     

     

     

     

    19:52 on

     

     

    12 July, 2015

     

     

     

     

    That is some article on Dave King and that is only the last three years. Never forget that Peter Lawwell was an integral part of the decision to approve him as a fit and proper person

     

     

     

    and how is that working out for the peepul?

  17. awe naw

     

    just like i was an integral part of the tories winning the general election even though i didn’t vote for them.

  18. EDB

     

     

    Good to see you on I hope you’re well.

     

     

    Burnley78

     

     

    I’ll say a prayer for your mum.

  19. Was away there reading that article face Leftclicktic – nice and all true :-)

     

     

    Weefra , Yes, I asked him to forward, I know they have a part to play in your life as well

     

     

    Burnley78 – great to hear :-)

     

     

    Hail Hail

  20. 67Heaven .. CHALLENGING THE LIE ..I am wee Oscar...... Ipox belongs to the creditors on

    I cannot, for the life of me, understand why Raheen Sterling didn’t quite make the grade for sevco …… re peepul were reassured by the daily sevco / sun that, following the psychiatric element of the medical, it was a foergone conclusion that he was heading for ipox…..unfortunately, for the Scottish game, Raheem recovered his sanity at this vital stage of the medical …..

  21. I was trying to establish the capacity of the Wheatfield Stand at Tynecastle (our end) and noticed this.

     

     

    “Ticket prices range from £19.00 for a seat at the lower tier behind the goal to £30.00 for an upper tier seat at the Wheatfield Stand. Prices are increased for the matches against Celtic and Hibernian to between £30.00 and £35.00.”

     

     

    Why?

  22. What is the Stars on

    Almore

     

    Re Dublin and Westmeath

     

    I though it was poor enough. Lots of poor misses bad Dublin. Training game really, backs against forwards for much of the time. Dublin strolled through it which is not the way any cup final should be . I would worry about Dublin when they meet a proper challenge

  23. 67Heaven .. CHALLENGING THE LIE ..I am wee Oscar...... Ipox belongs to the creditors on

    Sign of the times when I haven’t given the klan a thought today (’til now) …..may they rest in pieces.

  24. Corkcelt/ North Cyprus

     

     

    What have I missed ?

     

     

    Been on the Aul gargle abit too much past few days

  25. Wits

     

     

    It was a rhetorical question and Cowiebhoy, being smarter than yer average monkey, realised that :-)

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