Heāll be available but will WGS play him?
Heāll come off the bench after an hour, score the winner after a jinking and slaloming run past a raft of Hun cunts and then pile into the Celtic hordes behind the goal. It will be monumentally emotional and grown men, along with adult dwarves, will shed a tear.
We can all dream anywayā¦
Bandage- thought the lads on OTB would have you on as the expert? Just heard Giles give one of the laziest analyses of the situation that you could imagine. MOney for very very old rope at this stageā¦
WBY
Chesney Out
This is a touch patronising from Strachan:
Strachan Plays Down McGeady Row
Celtic manager Gordon Strachan scoffed at suggestions his bust-up with Aiden McGeady has presented him with his biggest test in his time at Parkhead.
The 22-year-old Republic of Ireland international was excluded from training with the first team for two weeks and fined two weeksā wages after a dressing-room bust-up with Strachan following last Saturdayās 1-1 Clydesdale Bank Scottish Premier League draw with Hearts.
McGeady, who was āshockedā by the severity of the punishment, intends to appeal the decision which will ensure the saga rumbles on well into the new year unless the player is sold in the January transfer window.
McGeadyās plight has dominated Scottish football this week but Strachan began his weekly press conference ahead of Sundayās trip to Falkirk mainly sticking to the clubās official position on the issue.
āFor you it was the story of the week,ā he said.
"Itās different for me.
"But I will take you back to Tuesday when we made the statement.
"Nothing has changed from then and thatās it as far as Iām concerned.
āThe statement is self-explanatory and that is all we have to say at this moment in time.ā
However, asked if he had endured his most challenging week at Celtic in the three-and-half seasons he has been in charge of the club, the Hoops boss, who confirmed that McGeady had been using the training facilities at Lennoxtown, replied: "Far from it, I can assure you.
"There have been far, far, far, far - and I can keep going with these āfarsā for a long time - worse weeks than this.
"Trust me. Far more.
"I will tell you what had been good this week - training, and today was outstanding. Outstanding.
"The players were very receptive and a real joy to work with today.
"In fact it was inspiring for the coaches.
"The coaches were wet and a bit cold but warm from the fact that the training has been that good.
"The players have been an absolute joy to work with this week, although they are a joy to work with all the time.
āThey have been busy, they have visited the hospitals and we have had good feedback from that, so they have done their good deeds.ā
Would the hammering they got from Artmenia in his first proper match not have been his biggest test bandage?..
that statement says all you need to know about what strachan thinks about little aiden.
this bit is goodā¦
The players have been an absolute joy to work with this week, although they are a joy to work with all the time.
[quote=āThe Pukeā]Would the hammering they got from Artmenia in his first proper match not have been his biggest test bandage?..
[/quote]
Id say the death threat Croppy left him the morning after the Artmedia debacle must have effected him slightly.
Unfortunately Croppy bottled it though
Iād imagine so. There was a whole raft of supporters who wanted him sacked after that first competitive game. The 4-4 draw away to Motherwell in the league opener the following weekend was almost as shambolic.
[quote=āBandageā]Iād imagine so. There was a whole raft of supporters who wanted him sacked after that first competitive game. The 4-4 draw away to Motherwell in the league opener the following weekend was almost as shambolic.
[/quote]
And many peopleās stance hasnāt changed since.
[quote=āW.B. Yeatsā]We can all dream anywayā¦
Bandage- thought the lads on OTB would have you on as the expert? Just heard Giles give one of the laziest analyses of the situation that you could imagine. MOney for very very old rope at this stageā¦
WBY[/quote]
What did Giles say?
many celtic fans are now of the opinion that mcgeady wants out & is engineering the situation to get a move
It appears that Strachan was slaughtering all of the players and Aiden interrupted him six times by saying āarseholeā.
Strachan told him to stop interrupting himā¦He didnātā¦
eventually the incident that was widely reported took place. He also suggested the agent has been advising Aiden and his dad there is money in that there transfer malarkey.
tfk well known source also said mcgeady was bang out of line
The usual guff- spoke completely in generalisations
The lad has talent, but has not fulfilled his potential, he needs to work hard.
The manager canāt be challenged like Strachan was even though I (Giles) donāt know what was said.
I learned from the best- Matt Busby- would never have happened on his watch.
Absolutely zero insight.
Another transfer target was mentioned by Strachan yesterday - a Hungarian winger playing with Hannover. Article from The Evening Times below. Heās talking fairly openly about transfers and how the credit crunch could benefit us indirectly as scheidt EPL teams might not necessarily be able to continue offering players multiples of what we do. Possibly a load of scheidt.
Gordon Strachan sets transfer targets
Graham Spiers
Despite the fact that Celtic are lining up at least four new signings - Niall McGinn, Milan Misun, Lukasz Zaluska and Szabolcs Huszti - Gordon Strachan still spent most of yesterday fending off the vexed subject of Aiden McGeady. And the Celtic manager stolidly adhered to a what is done is done position in front of a salivating media.
McGeady, docked two weeksā wages and banished to training with the Celtic youths following his abusive outburst at Strachan last weekend, is still considering his appeal, let alone his future. Yet the Celtic manager still contrived to chirrup his way through yesterdayās press duties without getting overly agitated by the subject.
Asked, inevitably, about the McGeady situation, Strachan said: I donāt think I have to explain it. The club issued a statement on Tuesday and it is self-explanatory. Thatās basically it. Iām fine about it. Iāve made a statement about it and thatās it.
When pressed on whether McGeady might still have a Celtic future beyond the forthcoming January window, Strachan replied: People determine their own future. But on that subject, Iām now closed.
The received wisdom, both within and beyond Celtic Park, is that it will be a minor miracle if McGeady is not sold during the imminent transfer window, notwithstanding the fact that Celtic may have to lower their asking price in order to off-load the player. If they do sell McGeady the likelihood is that Celtic will have to accept a sum in the region of 5million.
While McGeadyās future remains unclear, Strachan said he was pressing ahead with the usual attempts to enhance his squad. Huszti, the crowd-pleasing Hannover 96 winger whose contract is up in the summer, is a definite Celtic target, though the usual pitfalls lie ahead while trying to secure the Hungarian on a pre-contract agreement.
He is on our radar, Strachan said. We have watched him a lot and John [Park] and Peter [Lawwell] will start talks in January with the player. But, until you meet the player, you just donāt know.
Ideally, you would like to keep these things quiet, but this is the world we live in here. [Other clubs being alerted] can happen and it has happened to us a couple of times. As you know fine well, you canāt keep anything a secret here.
Misun, the 18-year-old defender with FK Pribram, who is already being described as a Czech wonderkid, has given his assent to joining Celtic in January, while McGinn is already at Celtic Park. Zaluska, meanwhile, has privately indicated for weeks that he would be leaving Dundee United to join Celtic, either in January or in the summer.
McGinn and young Milan are both gambles - they are works in progress, Strachan said. I think thatās what we have to do. The question is, can we make them better? So weāll take it from there.
Milan is a young man who has come from a different area altogether, so heāll take a bit longer, thatās for sure. But we liked what we saw in him in terms of raw energy, pace and ability. Now we need to see if we can add to that.
As for Zaluska, we were allowed to speak to him in December - the club realised his contract was up in May and have brought it forward by six months. People have been working and talking with Zaluskaās people, but there is no definite outcome at the moment.
Strachan confessed again yesterday how difficult the transfer market was for both halves of the Old Firm - both Celtic and Rangers have to spot players like Huszti and hope that they can be lured before a pack of richer clubs are alerted - yet the Celtic manager also espies a chink of light amid the current financial meltdown.
[b]We have to gamble, and we have to be [creative], Strachan said. For example, weād been talking about [Marouane] Fellaini for a long time, and we were thinking, Could we go to 3million or 3.5million for him?ā But then a club [Everton] comes along with 15million. So what club does the player choose?
Yet I was speaking to Walter Smith [the Rangers manager] the other day and we were saying that, with the credit crunch and how things are in England, what might happen - I hope - is that their wage structure will come right down, nearer to our own. If so, then when players are picking maybe from a Blackburn or a Portsmouth, as opposed to Celtic or Rangers, they might choose to come here. But at the moment, because of the wage structure, there is not a choice for a professional man, so in a way the credit crunch could benefit both Celtic and Rangers.
I think, as a professional man, if you are offered four times as much to go to England, then you go. That is the reality of it. But if the wage structure comes right down, then you start thinking about it.
I donāt know what is going to happen, but Walter and I were floating around some ideas the other day, and it could be a wee break for Celtic and Rangers.[/b]
Heās a good player that Huszti lad. Saw him a couple of times this year - Hannover play an awful lot through him. Has a good left foot on him too but very one-sided.
What side of the park does he play on? Is he the traditional old-school left winger or does he cut in from the right?
He played on the left when Iāve seen him but in one of the games (maybe Bochum at home) Hannover went one down so they sort of left him drift infield (and I think he ended up on the right). Heās good at going by players so he was dangerous in that role but he did try and engineer absolutely everything onto his left foot. Bit like Alan Thompson or something in that regard. And his left foot did look very good.
I did actually write his name down though because I was impressed with him. He inspired me to start a process of writing down players I thought would be good purchases for Celtic. Never added to the list but he was certainly good enough to get noticed.
The deal for Milan Misun was finalised last night so heāll be on board from 1 January.
The word from a decent source on Kerrydalestreet is that he really looked the part in a couple of bounce games during his trial and is a smashing prospect.
So much so that weāre not following up our interest in the Brann Bergen lad we also had over on trial and have cooled our interest in Sylvinho too.
Heās only 18 so is unlikely to go straight into the team but he should be eased in over the next few months.
These trialists from Eastern Europe and being sent our way by Dr Jo and Lubo.
[quote=āBandageā]The deal for Milan Misun was finalised last night so heāll be on board from 1 January.
The word from a decent source on Kerrydalestreet is that he really looked the part in a couple of bounce games during his trial and is a smashing prospect.
So much so that weāre not following up our interest in the Brann Bergen lad we also had over on trial and have cooled our interest in Sylvinho too.
Heās only 18 so is unlikely to go straight into the team but he should be eased in over the next few months.
These trialists from Eastern Europe and being sent our way by Dr Jo and Lubo.[/quote]
quit regurgitating the rumour mill
Heard Graham Hunter (think that his name?) on Newstalk yesterday. He thinks McGeady is gone and said that it was FACT that McGeady was trying to get a move to La Liga.
Reckoned it would be a huge loss to SPL to lose a player of his talent years before he will reach his peak. Also felt that McGeady was far more skilful than almost every other player he meets on a weekly basis now, but that once he got to Spain he would be playing with and against fells who were almost all as skilful as him. Wasnt sure how that would work out.