Watching players on the edge

1018

I like watching a professional perform on the edge. We watched Anthony Stokes do just that at the Cup Final, where despite two superb goals from Gary Hooper, he was clearly head and shoulders above everyone else on the field. This has not always been the way for Anthony, so has too often failed to command a starting place, and live up to the form he promised all those years ago at Falkirk.

Celtic have put a contract in front of him but it will be considerably lighter than the contract Hooper has no intentions of signing. It’s very much up to Anthony now. Deliver and the riches will follow. Don’t bet against him.

Only just catching up on the somewhat demeaning promotion of a football club hiring a new team bus. Every time I see the coach/manager at that club, buses, or to be more precise, Blakey, from On the Buses comes to mind. These people lend themselves to parody so unselfishly.

Coach/Manager

Inspector Blakey

The fascinating part is, only one of the two above was trying to be ridiculous. You enjoy another day of being a Celtic fan.

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  1. Tom McLaughlin 04.12

     

     

    Beautiful afternoon here in Sydney too. Best of luck today.

     

     

    KTF

  2. Had my scan, which was not an ECG but an ultrasound.

     

     

    Was told my heart sounds fine and is pumping away good style, so no problem with surgery.

     

     

    CT scan on Friday and that’s the tests complete.

     

     

    Onwards and upwards.

     

     

    Mon the Hoops.

  3. Murdochbhoy, yermanfromMK on

    Good morning CQNers,

     

     

    Good luck Tom.

     

     

     

    It’s great to have football back on the agenda and looking forward to this evening’s game. I hope we have the opportunity of seeing the new spine of the team (Forster- Virgil – Rogic – Amido) play at some time during the pre-season.

     

     

    Sadden to read Paul McGrath was involved in a disturbance in Ireland over the weekend. His autobiography ‘Back from the Brink’ is a searingly honest account of his alcoholism and its impact on his life, from orphanage to football retirement. It’s a great read and one I’d recommend.

     

     

    TSD – I see it’s the Irish and Welsh taking on Australia this Saturday

  4. .

     

     

    Celtic’s recruits ready for first taste of action.

     

     

    Celtic’s two summer signings Virgil van Dijk and Amido Balde are both set to make their debuts for the club tonight in Germany.

     

     

    Neil Lennon’s side open their pre-season tour against the Ukraine side Sevastopol, and van Dijk sats he cannot wait to get his Celtic career started. The 21-year-old from FC Groningen aims to make the most of the four games in 10 days during their fortnight in Germany.

     

     

    He said: “Two weeks is a long time, but this trip will help me learn about my team-mates. I will see how they play and find out what they are like off the field as well, which will be good.

     

     

    “I’m used to doing a lot of running in pre-season, but I’m enjoying the fact we’re doing a lot of work with the ball. It’s hard work, but it’s good. I’m not top-fit right now, but I’m getting there.”

     

     

    Meanwhile, Cardiff are still considering the revised package they want to present to Celtic as they attempt to secure the services of the £12m-rated midfielder, Victor Wanyama.

     

     

    Summa

  5. .

     

     

    Courtesy The Herald..

     

     

    McVeigh’s road to redemption is a remarkably entertaining journey

     

     

    Hugh Macdonald

     

     

    HE worked on the pitch, he learned in the dressing-room.

     

     

     

    Pic:STEADY PAIR OF HANDS: Paul McVeigh has been impressed by Paul Lambert and is not surprised by the Scot’s success in management. Picture: Getty Images

     

     

    Paul McVeigh was a professional footballer for 16 years but he listened and watched as well as ran and jumped. He is an athlete but he is a storyteller, too.

     

     

    “Paul Lambert is the most focused, intense and best manager I ever played with,” he says. And then he tells a story.

     

     

    It is Monday, October 19, 2009. It is Lambert’s first match as Norwich City manager and his team has just lost to their promotion rivals, Leeds United, with the last kick of the ball. This winner is the direct result of a an error by their young goalkeeper, Fraser Forster, now at Celtic.

     

     

    McVeigh, who played at Tottenham Hotspur, Luton Town and Burnley, is an unused substitute. “There is a culture in football that we expect to be slaughtered after a defeat,” says McVeigh. “But what did Lambert do? He praised the team for playing well at a tough away ground, said we should have won but pointed out the performance boded well for the rest of the season. He then turned to Forster in front of the whole team and told him what a great goalkeeper he was and what a future he had in the game.”

     

     

    McVeigh was impressed. “It is no surprise that Lambert has taken on a big job and has done so well,” he says of the Scot who has changed the culture at Aston Villa. “He makes demands of his players but he supports you totally.”

     

     

    There is another story about another Scot at Norwich City. “Malky Mackay was a huge personality as a player,” says McVeigh. “He was witty and caustic and I was young and got a bit down about it. But he realised that I was quiet and asked what was the matter. I told him I had been affected by his chat and he apologised. He didn’t mean it, it wasn’t personal. He was just being an alpha male. We are good friends and I realised I had to be tougher mentally in the dressing-room.”

     

     

    He adds: “Football is full of big personalities in the dressing-room and Neil Lennon was like that when I played with Northern Ireland. You always knew what Neil thought of a performance and it is no surprise he has successfully gone into management at Celtic.”

     

     

    Mackay is now a manager at Cardiff City, now in the Barclays Premier League, and McVeigh is forging a career as a commentator and an inspirational speaker and writer on how to be a professional footballer. He is also the author of the fascinating The Stupid Footballer Is Dead, a book that deals with the psychology of the aspiring footballer and how a career can be made with the proper mindset.

     

     

    “The tainted culture of old football is finished,” he says emphatically. “The British way has to change and is changing. The traditional dressing-room mentality is holding the sport back. There is a trait of mocking those who want to be better, who want to learn, but learning is the way forward.”

     

     

    McVeigh points to the Great Britain cycling team and Spain’s national football squad as exemplars of seeking an edge, trying to be just that bit better.

     

     

    The Northern Irishman speaks with the passion of a sinner redeemed. He admits to playing a youth match while still drunk from the night before. “I was like Messi in the first half,” he says. He was a mess in the second half. He also accepts he returned to Spurs woefully unfit after a summer holiday.

     

     

    These experiences, though, only define him in the way they shaped his future conduct. “I became determined to do anything that would help my progression as a footballer,” he says. His 12 lessons in The Stupid Footballer track the road to enlightenment for both McVeigh and any youngster who wishes to follow him.

     

     

    “The story is about taking personal responsibility for your success. I remember playing against Frank Lampard when he was a youth player at West Ham United. He was decent but not a stand-out. But he accepted that and he and his father worked constantly on his ball-striking and fitness. It is no accident that Frank is Chelsea’s record goalscorer.”

     

     

    The lessons in his book are backed by his experience and that of others and it makes The Stupid Footballer the most intelligent and entertaining of books. He boils down the ingredients needed to succeed in the game as natural ability, physicality and a strong mentality. It is the last attribute that now consumes McVeigh in his retirement from the sport.

     

     

    “I do not have any mottoes as such,” he says, ” but I know that your thoughts will determine the outcome of any project. If you accept this then it is vital to look at that way of thinking and make it efficient.”

     

     

    The talented Belfast boy has become an influential commentator. He describes his journey simply as a quest to extract the best from life.

     

     

    Along the way, he has played about 200 first-team games, mixed with top players and played under managers who have gone on to substantial success.

     

     

    He has been praised by sports writers and cheered by fans, but the most convincing compliment must surely have come from Lambert, who said there had been “few more driven” players than McVeigh. Kindred spirits recognise each other.

     

     

    *The Stupid Footballer Is Dead, by Paul McVeigh, is published by Bloomsbury

     

     

    Summa

  6. .

     

     

    Re; Van Dijk..

     

     

    Spoke to My Dutch mate Last night he said Celtic FC have Ole Dickie Advocatt to thank for Landing Van Dijk..

     

     

    Seemingly Van Dijk was lined up to go to PSV this Season but Ole Dickie Plundered 15 Million last Year and PSV had to rethink their Budget..

     

     

    Jeezo whit is it Way Ole Dickie and 15 Million..;-)

     

     

    Summa

     

     

    Ps..Cannae wait to see Virgil Fae the Dijk..

  7. .

     

     

    The Venga Bus is Coming..

     

     

    Gordon Durie returns to Rangers as coach

     

     

     

    FORMER Rangers striker Gordon Durie has joined the club’s coaching staff to work with the reserves and under-20s.

     

     

    The 47-year-old – who spent almost seven years at Ibrox between 1993 and 2000 – will work closely with youth coach Billy Kirkwood.

     

     

    Durie was previously manager of East Fife, before stepping down from the position in November due to ill health, but is now well again as he prepares to take on the new role at Rangers.

     

     

    Manager Ally McCoist told RangersTV: “Everybody got a bit of a fright when Gordon was unwell not so long ago but thankfully he has been given the all-clear and he’s in fine fettle. He’s coming in to take the under-20s and the reserves with Kirky and hopefully with the numbers we’ll have, we can get some games arranged against quality opposition.

     

     

    “I’d be very, very hopeful we can organise friendlies with teams from down south and maybe even take the boys on the road if need be. It’s important the lads are kept ticking over and Gordon will play a big part in that.

     

     

    “We lost Tommy [Wilson] earlier this year and Alan Kernaghan left not so long ago, so it’s good to fill that gap. We’ve been down on numbers and it was high time we got a replacement. We’re delighted with who we’ve got and Gordon has fitted in exceptionally well in his first couple of days.”

     

     

    Summa

  8. watched the peter grant vip……it was fine good hymns…..then followed on and watched the tommy burns edition…….tear to the eye,lump in the throat, after the tom boyds tribute to tommy…………..celtic in Europe on Thursday and spl away on the saturday…why was this not flagged up then………thank god for the internet,they cant do it now…………….a family man. a calton man, a celtic man, tommy rest in peace….you never lived to see it, but we got them, they died last year,and they aint resting in peace……..and my choice is LMAO or PMSL …giruy

  9. .

     

     

     

     

    My brother Gary couldn’t trust anyone enough to tell them he was depressed

     

    Gary Speed’s sister breaks her silence on his suicide

     

     

     

    TRAGIC footballer Gary Speed couldn’t trust anyone enough to confide in them about the depression that drove him to his death, his sister has revealed.

     

    In moving BBC3 documentary, Football’s Suicide Secret, Lesley Speed talks about her regret that she never reached out to him and admits the family were in the dark about Gary’s torment until it was too late.

     

    The frank interview forms part of the show’s examination of the secret mental health crisis facing some of football’s biggest stars.

     

     

     

    Lesley said: “If someone had asked me if I thought my brother was depressed I would have said no, absolutely not.

     

    “From what I know now about depression and suicide, of course he was depressed. He hid it from us.

     

    “People suffering from depression are not only fighting their illness but also the stigma that goes with it. It did perhaps stop him from asking for help within his job.”

     

    Dad-of-two Gary — who played for Leeds, Newcastle and Wales — was found hanged at home by his wife Louise on the morning of November 27, 2011.

     

    A coroner recorded a narrative verdict, saying that there wasn’t sufficient evidence to prove he intended to commit suicide and that his death, aged 42, may have been an accident

     

    The loss of the hugely respected midfielder and international manager, who scored 103 goals in 677 appearances before taking charge of Wales in 2010, sent shockwaves through the football world.

     

    During an emotional interview on the show with Professional Footballers’ Association chairman Clarke Carlisle, Lesley tried to understand why her brother never sought help.

     

    She said: “Trust probably had a lot to do with it. Who could he trust? What if it got out? He would be seen as weak. Depression wasn’t really talked about in our family. It was something you didn’t have.

     

    “You get treated if you have an illness but with depression people tend to withdraw and you don’t know.

     

    “Maybe he thought he had to put on this persona and hide what he was feeling.”

     

     

     

    Close to tears, Lesley opened up about her heartbreak that Gary had never revealed his suffering.

     

    ‘I sat on a bench and popped 50-odd pills’ She said: “A huge regret is that I didn’t get him to one side and say, ‘Is everything all right?’ Even now when we look back it is still so unbelievable and we miss him.”

     

    For the documentary Clarke, who recently retired from playing, met and talked to other players, who despite all the adulation, have tried to take their own lives.

     

    And he courageously discussed his own personal battles with the condition and his own suicide attempt after an injury left him thinking his career might be over.

     

    He admitted trying to take his own life while playing for Queen’s Park Rangers in 2001.

     

    For the show, Clarke — who confessed that he didn’t tell his team-mates about his troubles — returned to the spot where he tried to kill himself and revealed: “At the time, football was me and I felt that, if that was taken away, I didn’t know what I was going to do with my life.

     

    “I couldn’t see the reason for anyone to be proud of me.

     

    “I had already made up my mind about what I was going to do. When I was here and I saw the park and there was no one there, I thought, ‘I am going to take all these pills and kill myself because I am now of no use to anyone. Because without football they are going to see me for what I really am and that is nothing’.

     

    “I sat on a bench and popped 50-odd pills and waited for it to happen.” The central defender, who also played for Leeds, Burnley, Watford, Luton, York and Northanmpton added about his return to the park: “It’s horrible being here.

     

    “Sometimes you can go back to points in your life and you know you have learnt something and you know you have grown and you have learned lessons from it, but I can’t stand being here.

     

    “There are certain things that you don’t appreciate at the time. It’s so horrible that something can come over you and make you lose sight of these things in your life. Even now I feel so ashamed.

     

     

    “Luckily I was found by my girlfriend and was rushed to hospital in time to have my stomach pumped.”

     

    Among those Clarke spoke to was former Aston Villa star Lee Hendrie, who joined the club at 18, and whose financial ruin during the recession left him so depressed he twice tried to commit suicide.

     

    The ace earned £40,000 a week and had a fortune to spend on luxury cars and houses for his family.

     

    But while England under-21 team-mates Frank Lampard, Rio Ferdinand and Steven Gerrard went on to glittering careers, Lee’s life fell apart.

     

    He lost a potential £10million in property deals and ended up with £1million debts when bad financial advice left him unable to afford the mortgage.

     

    Lee sank into depression over a career wrecked by injury and money problems.

     

    Talking about his first suicide bid in 2010, and a second attempt in summer 2011, he said: “I was declared bankrupt, it was horrific. I was too embarrassed to go to the shop. I felt like the whole world had fallen down on top of me.

     

    “I blamed myself for it as I had put my family in these positions where they had nice cars and houses and they ended up with nothing. I said to myself, ‘I can’t go on’. I had a big pack of sleeping tablets and took every single one. I remember waking up and my family was there. I was embarrassed.

     

    “The second attempt, I sort of had a bad day. I remember someone saying to me, ‘You’ve got no money’ and it hurt me badly and I tried doing the same thing.

     

    ‘To fall that huge drop to the bottom is awful’ “Again I woke up and I found my family were angry with me. I don’t think I could describe how I felt and I don’t think anyone could understand how I felt.

     

     

    Secret suffering … ex-footballers McKenzie, Enke, Hendrie and Carlisle all experienced severe depression

     

    “I had everything — money, cars, houses — and everything had gone. To be there and to fall that huge drop down to the bottom, it was horrible.” Meanwhile, Norwich City’s Leon McKenzie revealed he tried to kill himself after potentially career-ending injuries to his heel, ankle and thigh.

     

    A culmination of the injuries and off-field issues including his sister’s death, divorce from his first wife and separation from his children left him so low he tried to take his own life in 2009.

     

    Now a professional boxer who competes in the super middleweight class, Leon said: “Depression crept into my life, I started suffering a lot of injuries — I ruptured my thigh and my Achilles.

     

    “After that I was never really the same. Everything sort of changed in my life and I got scared of what I was going to do after this (football) finishes. I lost my direction. I couldn’t cope any more.

     

    “I got to the point where I wanted to take my life. I didn’t even hesitate. I tried to commit suicide. Luckily for me, I was found. Depression probably crept into my life in a period of missing my children after my first divorce.

     

    “In our game we can bottle things up, and if you do that, sometimes you can come unstuck. I really do think we need to do a lot more in this field.”

     

    On the show — to be screened next Tuesday — Clarke also met writer Ronald Reng, friend of the the late German goalkeeper Robert Enke, whose secret struggle against depression led him to walk in front of an express train in 2009.

     

    Ronald said: “It’s fair to say he was prone to depression but in his case it was the particular pressure he put himself under as a goalkeeper to always be perfect, to never make mistakes.

     

    “And football, lots of the time, was the trigger for his illness. His first case of clinical depression came in 2003 when he joined Barcelona FC.

     

    “And he put himself under so much pressure, ‘I need to be Barcelona’s No1 goalkeeper.’ ”

     

    Playing for one of the world’s leading football clubs was Enke’s biggest challenge. But his first game was disastrous.

     

    He conceded a second-half hat-trick and the team was knocked out of the cup.

     

    The following day he was lambasted by critics and teammates. Soon after he left the club.

     

    Ronald added: “Because he had such high expectations of himself, he blamed himself so much and he went into a spiral of blame and the whole process of depression started there. He was Germany’s No1 goalkeeper. No one understood why he would kill himself. He always looked so calm on the pitch. But it comes to the stage that the thought of killing yourself takes over and you can’t get it out of your mind.”

     

    Enke’s death led to widespread changes in how German football deals with mental illness. Now every club has access to psychiatric treatment and they have set up a 24-hour hotline for those who need help.

     

    The Robert Enke Foundation also campaigns to raise awareness of suicide in football.

     

    In his role as PFA chairman, Clarke is now working to tackle the issue of depression in football and to change the stigma of the illness.

     

    He said: “It’s shocking to me that the players’ union, which I represent, has not been offering enough support for those in need. I know how vital it is to speak to someone when at your lowest ebb.

     

    ‘It is vital you are able to talk to someone’ “We have to do something about it. I have to do something about it.”

     

    Clarke added: “On my journey into mental health in football, I discovered many of my fellow professionals have suffered in silence and even considered taking their lives. I have seen how other countries, like Germany, tackle this taboo and are trying to improve the mental welfare of players.

     

    “This process has allowed me to tackle my own demons.

     

    “It has helped me accept failure on the football pitch does not mean failure in my personal life. I had my priorities all wrong.

     

    “Football defined me and gave me my position in life.

     

    “Don’t get me wrong. Football means a lot to a lot of people. But being a father and a husband means more.”

     

     

    001Bhoy

     

     

    Suicide:A Permanent Solution to a Temporary Problem

  10. Morning all.

     

     

    Bring on the Sevastopol!

     

     

    Looking forward to seeing the new bhoys in action tonight.

     

     

    HH!!

  11. Steviebhoy66 on

    Summa of Sammi….

     

    06:42 on

     

    3 July, 2013

     

     

    Spoke to My Dutch mate Last night he said Celtic FC have Ole Dickie Advocatt to thank for Landing Van Dijk..

     

     

    —————————————-

     

     

    Thought for a second DICK had recommended us????

     

    Should have known he was spending Toooooo much money

     

     

    Things never change

     

     

    HH

  12. Old DICK Advocatt still spending MILLIONS on players?!

     

     

    Who would have thunk it?!

     

     

    HH!!

  13. Steviebhoy66 on
  14. Morning,

     

     

    The usual drunken, sectarian thuggery this Saturday then. Their own stewards worked well in Edinburgh last weekend.

     

     

    ‘Police will be taken off duty from as far afield as Stirling, Fife and Edinburgh to be deployed at this weekend’s major Orange Order march, the first big parade in Scotland since the creation of the national force. Almost 750 officers will be committed to the city’s streets to police the annual Boyne celebrations, with rest days also cancelled to control the event. There will be 57 parades through Glasgow next Saturday, as about 4500 members of the Orange Order and tens of thousands of supporters gather for the organisation’s biggest event outside of Northern Ireland. Another parade in Coatbridge will see over 10,000 members of the Protestant loyal orders and bandsmen march. The cost of policing the Glasgow event alone will be more than £500,000 despite the Orange Order using its own members to steward the parade. Referring to Saturday’s County Grand Lodge of Central Scotland event in Coatbridge, Chief Superintendent Nelson Telfer, divisional commander of Lanarkshire division, warned participants involved in any anti-social behaviour, or drinking outdoors would be severely dealt with. County grand master and North Lanarkshire councillor Charlie Cefferty said: “We recognise that an event of this magnitude is a huge challenge and to assist Police Scotland, the Orange Order has trained over 2000 stewards which will allow them to focus on normal police activity.”‘

  15. Murdochbhoy, yermanfromMK on

    ASonOfDan

     

     

     

    Serious question, which political party, if any in Scotland is prepared to voice the concerns of the Catholic minority in Scotland?

     

     

    Sorry I’ve gotta go, but i would be interested in the answer to my question.

  16. blantyretim

     

     

    from last night,

     

     

    “Is she related to Tony who used to write for the DR..?”

     

     

    No she isn’t, and he still writes for the DR, and according to yesterday’s edition, is currently with the Hibs pre-season tour in Spain or Portugal or somewhere like that.

  17. Kilbowie Kelt

     

    Craigellachie10

     

     

    23:03 on 2 July, 2013

     

     

    There is a fabulous Imagine documentary on BBC1 about photographer Don McCullin’s experiences. Worth turning over if you are not watching.

     

    _________________

     

     

    I watch practically NO television, outside the News & some sport.

     

    I took your advice.

     

     

    That programme was, at the same time, very horrific, very shocking, yet somehow very beautiful.

     

     

    Thanks.

     

     

    I would advise you to read Don McCullin’s autobiography Unreasonable Behavior. A brilliant book but some horrible parts.

  18. Paddy McCourt takes Celtic show on the road

     

    IT was the season when Paddy McCourt’s Celtic career should finally have taken off.

     

     

    Instead, it became the year in which it finally fizzled out.

     

     

    The challenge of competing in the Champions League, in tandem with defending the SPL championship and trying to grab the domestic treble without Rangers breathing down their necks, appeared ready-made for a two-tier – if not two-team – approach by manager Neil Lennon.

     

     

    Surely, the mercurial McCourt could find a regular place in one of them, whether it be trying to provide a moment of magic in a tough European tie or entertaining the fans with his vast repertoire of skills in games against domestic opposition?

     

     

    Alas, no.

     

     

    And, as the Northern Irishman talks to Birmingham City and clubs as far afield as the United States in search of the next staging post in a career which, sadly, seems destined to wind down largely unfulfilled, the full analysis of why he did not realise his potential in the Hoops can begin.

     

     

    Undoubtedly, there was a huge wish for McCourt to succeed at Parkhead, simply because he was a one-off, the type who can brighten up the dullest match.

     

     

    Leading the fan club was Lennon, who tried everything in his expanding managerial book to find a way to incorporate the Derry Pele and his penchant for scoring spectacular goals into his side.

     

     

    Indeed, Lennon was the man who persuaded McCourt to hang around the club as long as he did, and to reject attempts by Blackpool to take him south.

     

     

     

    Even as recently as January, when the chance to move to Vancouver Whitecaps was mooted, McCourt was encouraged to sit tight in the hope he might be able to make a late case for having his contract at Parkhead renewed.

     

     

    But the stats show his chances did not improve.

     

     

    Throughout the entire season, McCourt made only four starts, all in the SPL, the final one coming on the last day of the campaign when he waved farewell to the appreciative Paradise crowd.

     

     

    In total, he added 20 appearances, including a late run-out in the Scottish Cup final, to take his tally during five seasons as a Celt to just 88.

     

     

    In that time, he did enough to collect two championship medals, which at least fulfilled his ambition not to allow his Parkhead career to end without being able to claim he was a winner.

     

     

    But within the detail of this success lies the real story.

     

     

    Last year, when the Hoops reclaimed the title for the first time in four years, all 13 of his appearances in the league were from the bench, and this despite becoming a regular starter at international level.

     

     

    The expectation was raised at the start of season 2012-13 since the championship was not going to be as tight as it had been in previous years.

     

     

    Thus, a bit of wiggle room, in terms of team selection, should have been possible.

     

     

    More than that, Lennon knew he would have to utilise his squad as the demands of playing midweek in Europe had to be offset by resting key players at the weekends.

     

     

    The stage appeared set for McCourt to finally strut his stuff on a regular basis.

     

     

    So, what went wrong? Why, with a new contract on the line, was it another season of cameos from the 29-year-old?

     

     

    Is it the case that there is no room for pure entertainers in the Scottish game?

     

     

    Or is McCourt just a unique character destined to come up short at this level as his talent is overwhelmed by his lack of fitness?

     

     

    Certainly from the first day he pitched up at Lennoxtown to begin training with his new team-mates the portents were not good.

     

     

    As the rest of the squad lapped the training pitches, McCourt was soon struggling half a circuit behind.

     

     

    His physical condition led the then manager, Gordon Strachan, to infamously say a few months later when detailing which players he had available: “Then there’s Paddy, but he doesn’t count.”

     

     

    Indeed, it took McCourt five months to develop the fitness required to make his debut.

     

     

    As he tried to push himself on, the toll on his body told, and a succession of niggly injuries began to bite.

     

     

    So often it was a case of one step towards a starting place in the team then two steps back to the treatment room.

     

     

    Strachan, then Tony Mowbray and most recently Lennon have all appreciated McCourt’s talent, and have tried to accommodate him in their teams.

     

     

    But, ultimately, all came to the conclusion his best role was as an impact sub. And, as McCourt said himself: “I don’t get brought on when things are going well.”

     

     

    The best example of how he could turn a game came at Fir Park in November 2011.

     

     

    Drawing 1-1 in a match Celtic had to win to prevent Rangers extending their 15-point lead, and Motherwell taking second spot in the table, McCourt came off the bench with 13 minutes left to set up Anthony Stokes, who passed for Gary Hooper to score the winner.

     

     

    McCourt’s calmness on the ball and precision with his pass epitomised the man every bit as much as his lack of core fitness.

     

     

    Throw in an audacious ability to weave past opponents, then despatch a shot into the net, and the reason for the cult following becomes clear.

     

     

    The fans sang: ‘If you sell McCourt, you will have a riot on your hands’.

     

     

    Well, Celtic have neatly avoided any such insurrection by allowing the fans’ favourite to run down his contract.

     

     

    McCourt has gone, but the question remains: why did his popularity far outweigh his contribution?

     

     

    Summa

  19. Summa

     

     

    We remember the brilliant things that Paddy did…but we ignore the games where he didn’t have an impact. Sad to see him go but it’s probably for the best..

  20. Morning all.

     

     

    After CF’s revelation of Murray’s gifting Bain loadsamoney and C_F’s dissection of its implications, can we expect the MSM questioning such shenanigans? Wouldn’t hold my breadth.

  21. Dontbrattbakkinanger on

    Many happy returns to cloudwatcher #1 Jobo Baldie.

     

     

    What a week it’s been for our favourite strato-cumulus, big day in lovely Shangri- La, and today he gets to blow out his candles with the ‘ Turbinator’ aka Harbajhab Singh; Teutonic trackmeister Sebastian Vettel and his fellow top barometer totty Sian lloyd.

  22. The Celts are back in action tonight and that’s always a good thing. However after many years of enduring pre-season friendlies I think I’ve learned that these games are all about fitness etc and many other cliches…

     

     

    Previously we’ve had cracked crests and even heated debates on here but the only game in town for us is Cliftonville and that’s what these games are all about.

     

     

    This common sense is from someone who cheered on the dogs wearing green bibs who were playing their blue counterparts in the Kelvin Hall circus many moons ago…we won 4-1!

  23. lionroars67

     

     

    08:42 on 3 July, 2013

     

     

    Grand Master, Harthill, Councillor, Expenses…

     

     

    could be the plot for a sordid novel but sadly this is democracy in Scotland.

  24. Good morning friends from a fair bit brighter but still cloudy although dry East Kilbride.

     

     

    Apologies for the lateness of this morning’s report. Had a little bit of a midweek house party last night.

     

     

    Ssshh, please keep the noise down,…

  25. Yorkbhoy 08.27

     

     

    Funny how we also ignore other players who have come on and never made an impact…and some are still at the club. But I agree best for all concerned and particularly Paddy that he moves on.