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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What is the Stars
18:13 on
11 July, 2015
For the boys at Hamilton races, I mentioned sean corby 2 rides in the 715 and 745 earlier. Made some enquiries from someone who knows his family and been told both horses are fancied, Pabusar and pull the pin
______________________________________________________________________Hope the bhoys missed the first race,25/1 skinner!!!!!!!
Made a mess of that.
Three in a row.
The Inter Milan ties really captured the strengths and weaknesses of John Guidette for me.
His last gasp equaliser in Paradise was a great bit of ability from him but in the San Siro his lack of pace was a real eye opener to me.
Knew he wasn’t fast but i did not realise he was as slow and thought the Inter defenders strolled it against him to such an extent that it was a little embarrassing.
I’ll try again………….
See if you/we have better players than the other team, you can expect to win most of the time. Systems are grand but you have to have the players to suit.
Jock Stein made Bertie Auld, Bobby Murdoch and Bobby Lennox better players than they were prior to his arrival at Celtic Park. The rest, he (mostly) pretty much said “fit into the system, and we’ll be fine”.
At every level of football, the best players win the games most of the time, agreed???
From Boys Guild to international, you want to be the best and to play for the jersey is an emotional winning combination, or was at one time. If we can make that joint endeavour a way forward and maybe, just maybe we can challenge the money driven sides by countering them with team spirit and self belief, and of course having the fantastic Celtic support lifting our spirits and frightening the feguck out of the opposition adds considerable help in achieving such…………
Ask Real Madrid or Sporting Lisbon…………..
I live in Hope.
God Bless.
Enjoy your day Mick…………..
Regards & Hail Hail
TBM
Dena 29
Went until the day we won the league before I had my first alcohol this year. One or two health and finance issues saw me take a break from it and mostly not missed it. Except with a carry out curry when an ice cold lager usual works a treat
I should be okay until Oct 10 but on that day the company I will be in would drive anyone to the hard stuff!
Jimbo67
Thunder road
John who? ?
what is the stars
18:13 on 11 July, 2015
I text your post to Richie and PFayr.
Keep the Faith!
Hail Hail!
jimbo67
I should be okay until Oct 10 but on that day the company I will be in would drive anyone to the hard stuff!
Its hard when your among eejits……but dont beat yourself up about it ……
even when you fall down the next full day is your new beginning……..if you do your best no-one, no-one can ask any more
KTF
HH
Lenny
Thanks
wits
5 year contract!!!
Great deal for him.
Cannae help thinking someone at Celta Vigo has made a big mistake.
Hope not and best of luck to the lad…..maybe he’s used it all up getting that deal!
Dena29
Real reprobates I can assure you!
Seriously though a wee sesh on holiday, trophy winning days and at Hootenannies is enough for me now.
Thanks for the kind words
Jimbo67
Thunder road
He looked a great player in his first few games for us but after that he faded badly. He may do the same at Vigo
Was there any word on the hmrc case against the hun mob of yesteryear
jimbo67
:-)))
HH
Til later bhoys
HH
B.M.C.U.W.P.
All the best to you ,have a good one
HH
Any Cqn’s in Epcot florida today wearin a Henrik 7 t shirt?
I admired it earlier.
got to go , catch up later
Jimbo67
Thumbs up thingie with bells on!
HH jamesgang
DENA29
Stoap wi the encouragement of temperance wi JIMBO67,please.
Like everyone else,he has three months to get some practice in(!)
Mailed you earlier,btw,with grateful thanks. Which goes for all off you. Getting used to salty Guinness now.
Here’s hoping proud Dubliner Conor Mc Gregor does the business tonight. Usually the foreigner gets booed in USA , strange to see it the other way around yesterday. Cmon Conor. Hail Hail
Mahe
But is it a sport
TBM
I hear you and I think it’s a sound enough principle…
Wimbledon v Liverpool in the Lawrie Sanchez goal final.
Just an example of when it doesn’t work..the best players issue that is.
There are tons of them from our own back catalogue against a deid club.
Under Jock it was a perfect mix, but even he couldn’t replicate that feat.
Some managers believe in just buying the best players (most expensive?) and flnging them on the park with instructions to enjoy themselves. The Brazilians made it look like they were just having a laugh – but they had a system to complement their great players.
They worked at getting their system right.
It’s a balance I think. Manager, players, system, spirit in the club, support network for players, scouting, communication, BUDGET (there I said it).
Morinho’s record is second to none in terms of taking sides to their national league titles and his CL record is pretty good too. No mention of Uefa Cups.
Hope you and V are in great form.
KTF and catch up after the sharks get fed up trying to bite me.
HH
The mrs on Facebook just noticed that Celtic ambassador wee Jay is on holiday in
America.
Spread the word wee man
HH
TBM
Jock’s simple mantra was not to ask players to do something of which they were incapable of.
Therefore, he devised his system around the players he had.
From someone earlier, a pols for lack of name check, but Jinky would have walked into any team in any era.
He was that good, that fit and that clever.
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=1022829557751379&set=a.583700174997655.1073741825.100000730329250&type=1&theater
dont know if this will work but you know your doing something right when you make it onto the bigots bonfire
HH
Later bhoys
play nice have to bring the mammy to a wedding party
oh joy………..but you only get one mammy right
HH
DENA29
Too bliddy troo.
Good to meet some CQNrs in La Lanterna this afternoon : Richie, PFAyr, CRC and your pal whose name I didn’t catch – apologies for that. Hope you enjoy your trip to Hamilton Races (just next to my old school, Holy Cross), and have good luck!
HH
Wits,,surely no? Two men competing against each other with rules and a ref. If its not a sport then boxing ain’t. I understand it’s not some people’s cup o tea . nought wrong with testing yourself legally against another man. The first few ufcs were there was no weight classes etc was brutal but its cleaned up its act. Mac is big big news here, a superstar in fact, breaking records. I’ll be cheering him on. Hail Hail
weet weet weet(gbwo)
19:15 on 11 July, 2015
Trip to see his second team Boston Celtic :-)))
Since its a quiet Celtic day wee post from Celtic rumours
11 Jul 2015 16:46:30
Celtic set to bid for ICTs Ryan Christie in a bid thought be around £500,000 and a 4 year deal with the midfielder remaining at ICT on Loan until january with a further 6 month loan subject to Celtic’s consent. To end of next season. Celtic apparently making their move to thwart rangers who were keen to add Christie next term subject to promotion to SPFL. Hearts also keen but unable to raise the prerequisite transfer fee. Celtic also looking at losing the player to Molde. Celtic have been clear that they want the player but want him to keep playing first team football.
This could be great business. Also subject to ECL situation with Lech Poznan, Celtic will make a move for Barry Douglas. Douglas keen on move back to UK
Odegaard deal not happening with player wish to stay in Spain with Espanyol likely suitors for a 1 year loan
Thunder Road…
i cant help thinking you are wrong, when it comes to Guidetti…
In the world of sport, never mind just football.. there are 2 types of athletes..
One being the person who is naturally fit, and two being the other who has to work hard on their fitness.
Guidetti typifies many a football player, in that to see him at his best, he needs a run of 1st team games to ensure he is fully fit and match sharp.
Ultimately, by not comitting to a full time contract with Celtic, Ronny quite rightly ensured he wouldnt be considered first pick striker.
As a result, we witnessed the half arsed, slow John Guidetti you describe.
However, if given the vote of confidence and the regular 90 mins, i think we would of seen a vastly improved john guidetti on the park.
Personally, i think he will do well at Celta Vigo.
I dont decry the guy… i just think he should cut out all the sideline bullsh*t, like holywood goal celebrations…. concentrate on his football, and he’ll do just fine.
Mahe
Good luck with it. But not my cup of tea
Mahe
However boxing is a sport, that other stuff is just thuggery. Why not let them use knives and guns also
Wits, fair play. Hope to buy you a pint in Dublin at Easter. Hail Hail
BMCUWP: Breithlá sona dhuit. Hope you are celebrating your day in your favourite polo shirt.