I think Reid was a real quality player. Obviously not up there with Keane, Whelan, McGrath et al but still very good. He was excellent in his appearances in the WC 2002 as well and I was surprised that he didn’t get more game time. Injuries have really destroyed him though which meant he never played long enough to get a run together and get a move to the top teams. It also meant that his appearances for Ireland were limited. I think the only real time he had a decent run in the Blackburn side for a season, Man Utd were sniffing around him.
To be honest Thrawneen, he is finished now. Also, I don’t really like this ‘well I have retired but I’ll play if you are stuck’ attitude. It is understandable given his injury problems but Trap is trying to instill a proper morale in the squad and to bring Reid in on that basis wouldn’t be the best move.
You are clutching at straws a little, but i accept he hasn’t played a huge amount. farmer, you do know he’s a right back, not left ya?
It’s not a question of watching hundreds of games, it’s a question of forming an opinion based on evidence or guesswork. Those who have seen McGeady play for Celtic regularly in the last couple of seasons will all say that he was one of Celtic’s quickest players, if not the quickest, in that time. He’s quicker than every full back he plays against pretty much. He’s been that quick for a few years and it was a marked improvement one season and there are various media articles at the time (one of which I linked to earlier) outlining that. Even just do a search on here for Dupont and read about the TFKCSC talking about his pace at the time.
I don’t think you’ve seen enough of him play if you think he’s quicker now than he was last season. That’s not arrogance or defensive or anything else you want to muddy the waters with. It’s just the simple truth.
Of course its not guess work from me. Maybe its not based on as many games as you have watched, but it is certainly not based on guess work. I’m not saying, or ever said he was slow, all i pointed out was that i thought he had made a marked improvement in his conditioning from this year to last, you jumped all over that for some weird defensive reason. The benefits, while quicker with a professional obviously, don’t happen over night, or even over months sometimes, and his progress will be continual. Whatever about his speed, he has increased his size quite recently, of that i am certain. I didn’t specifically say speed anyway, i just felt his overall conditioning was improved.
Again you ignore my point on the physical trainer, i checked it out, nothing special, probably should have happened earlier. The fact that he was a player himself, French and young looking seem to be influencing the reporters. What he did was still basic improvements that you would do with a guy when fully grown.
[quote=“caoimhaoin, post: 527249”]
You are clutching at straws a little, but i accept he hasn’t played a huge amount. farmer, you do know he’s a right back, not left ya?[/quote]
I’m clutching at straws but you accept my point. God love you. He’s a kid, he’s made mistakes. We all hope he improves but it serves nobody well to pretend he’s established or to pretend he’s proven or to pretend he hasn’t made mistakes just because there were no goals scored as a result of some of them.
I think you’ve missed the point entirely here Kev. I’ve never said what Dupont did was anything special or extraordinary. I just pointed out that it happened years ago. You have obviously convinced yourself at this stage that you have seen improvements in the last few months that you have attriubuted to his move to Spartak. I’ve just explained to you that those improvements happened ages ago and there’s been fuck all difference this season.
And it’s easier to follow this thread if you let us know when you’re changing your mind. I specifically stated earlier that “He isn’t any stronger or faster now than he was six months ago.” You highlighted that part of my post and replied with “He clearly is.”
That’s what I took issue with. I find it hard to reconcile that post from last night with this sentence today though:
“I didn’t specifically say speed anyway, i just felt his overall conditioning was improved”
I’m glad you’ve changed your mind but we could have saved an awful lot of debate if you just told us you weren’t standing over the original statement anymore. It’s ok to be wrong.
Oh and one last point - of course it’s guesswork from you. You’ve seen fleeting glimpses of McGeady on television. You don’t seem to have seen him in the flesh. You really fancy yourself as an expert on these things but you’re actually just a bluffer sitting on a couch and drawing conclusions on things you know precious little about. A little like KIB Man actually.
S Reid was pure class against Georgia and Montenegro in last campaign
McGeady has bulked up a little over summer imo. His speed improved a couple of seasons back and while he may have got some of that speed back he was certainly never slow imo
Whatevcer about the dribble after the bolded part, i never said anything about Spartak, in fact it didn’t cross my mind. I actually just thought the lads had been on a programme, whoever gave it to him. I have seen a difference, your definance that it was made by a Celtic employee seems to be the point you want to get across, fair enough, who cares. He’s a better player for it. Jesus ye are really insecure.
Rocko, watching on tv gives a person the right to an opinion as well. Obviously you won’t see everything, but the same actually works the other way round as well. How could it be guesswork if i have seen him play with my own eyes? I don’t fancy myself as an expert, in fact i seek opinions of people on here who i think may see a little more than me. I made a casual enough point about McGeedy and how he looked as a player recently, you took it as a slight against the whole Celtic organisation. Its more than a little weird, you should stand back a little and look at what you are saying.
You are really starting to look pathetic now, leave it off. Larry even agrees with me.
Larry makes his own mind up. I disagree on some of his points.
You stated earlier that McGeady us quicker this season than last season. You’re no longer standing over that comment. As I’ve said above that’s fine but I just wish you’d conceded it earlier.
The improvement in McGeadys conditioning at Celtic or elsewhere isn’t really that important. Contrary to your guesswork I couldn’t care less where it happened. Like many Celtic fans i’m alarmed by the conveyor belt of lightweight youth players produced at the club who are techinically sound but simply too small. They have remeiated this somewhat in recent years and those who are familiar with Celtic and the SPL will know that McGeady is the most high profile example of a player who developed a lot physically as a youngish pro. That you’re not aware of that is no harm. I don’t expect you to be an expert on everything. All I’d ask is that you don’t pretend to be an expert on subjects youre not familiar with.
On Reid, in Montenegro he was outshone by Whelan. He was decent enough but looked to be hampered by injury. To be honest he should never have played that night and I wonder would Blackburn have a decent case against the FAI if that went to court. He has never come right since that night. Think there is a serious degree of revisionism with him in this thread in fairness. Cant remember him being much under Kerr and Staunton, while he made a couple of good cameos under McCarthy at the World Cup he isnt the loss some people are building him up to be. Better than Green and Whelan definitely but anything else :rolleyes:
Rocko making some fool of himself here. Its like he thinks the more words he writes the more people will doze off. Fair play to Kev for getting through it, it was quite a test.
I’d have doubts about the quality of the supposed worldbeaters not in the squad at present. Coleman needs to get a run of games ahead of Hibbert who is shit, I’ve only seen him a few times but Coleman looks a little free to me in his play and positionally. Playing well at home to a ten man Wolves is one thing but getting on the ball against better teams when he doesnt have space will be the key for McCarthy. To be honest, I was surprised at his ability to win the ball back against Wolves that day which Trap will like but he has a long way to go too and his commitment would need to be questioned too. I thought Foley would be better in the EPL but he struggled against Villa as did Ward badly in the same game. Long has only got a single goal at club level this season, O’Dea, Garvan, Walters, Cunningham, Clark, Wilson, Stokes all have a good bit to do aswell. If only 2 could come through as decent options for March I would be delighted.
I stand over that McGeady is quicker and stronger, i just pointed out that its his size is most notable. I have even stated that i was not an expert on Celtic or their training, again, i only made an observation, you seem to think because something was started in the past that the fruition can’t be seen in stages along the way.
One thing i do know a fair bit about is working on speed, strength and conditioning. While you will always see very sudden results at the start of a new programme with a full grown athlete, it can take some time for the full benefits to emerge. Sports Science is ever evolving, and what Dupont did for McGeady a couple of years ago may have brought him on alot, in fact i’m sure it did. Maybe Dupont was still involved. But there is a thing called “Training Age”, you should look it up. No doubt McGeady has moved on a level or two or three. The next level is probably the changes i have noticed. You see, you wouldn’t get a new programme, do it, and just repeat it. The value would be there for a while, but the body would adapt and be unchallenged, thus you would lose your edge. I’m sure the French man knows this, and tailored it this way. The physical conditioning of a professional athlete (or indeed a serious amateur) is a continuous development of gradual improvement through the method of periodisation. There is tapering also involved, which is quite tricky with an athlete that plays every week. For instance keeping him at the correct weight would be a challenge if he plays on average 3 games every 2 weeks, or maybe more. Anyway, the point is, you have to do strength and power training at the start of every season as there is natural drop off in strength and weight at the end of a season, and indeed any time off. You would start you cycle of periodisation again, only you would probably be starting from a better base year on year.
Please stop talking through your hole and accept that you are not familiar enough with the subject. If you have any further questions please PM me, i’d be happy to answer them.
Rocko: He isn’t any stronger or faster now than he was six months ago.
Kev: He clearly is.
Rocko: He’s been that quick for a few years and it was a marked improvement one season and there are various media articles at the time (one of which I linked to earlier) outlining that.
Kev: I didn’t specifically say speed anyway, i just felt his overall conditioning was improved.
Rocko: You stated earlier that McGeady is quicker this season than last season
Kev: I stand over that McGeady is quicker and stronger
You didn’t do a great job of standing over it when challenged with some facts yesterday.
Everyone knows about training ages and the likes Kev. Again it’s not in the least bit relevant. You’re constantly changing your mind on whether you think McGeady is quicker now than he was last season. Come back to me when you’ve made up your own mind and then we can debate it. In the meantime have fun contradicting yourself in every second post.
In fairness to you and I mean this, thanks for clarifying that you’re not an expert on Celtic’s training. One might have been left with the impression from your posts that an Under 11s hurling coach from Cork would be extremely familiar with Celtic’s training regime and the conditioning and development of each player. It’s quite astounding that you don’t have that professional insight but thanks for clarifying.
1st point - What facts? You have provided none. Have you his test results to hand, lets say for the past 3-4 seasons. If you have i’d love a look at them, and see the type of tests they perform in Celtic. I wonder are they as advanced as the testing they do at some of the professional clubs i have been to. Going on the way the rest of the club is run i’d imagine they are a year or two behind, but you never know.
2nd point - Of course it does, don’t continue with your ignorance, please, its embarrassing for a moderator. You should know you limits of expertise.
Couple of things though, just so you know. I don’t coach hurling, i don’t coach underage. There are things i have been able to do and observe that have given me great insight into how professional teams work, including Celtic funnily enough, but i won’t go into it as i’ll be accused of grandstanding.
Kev at 11:00:
I have even stated that i was not an expert on Celtic or their training, again, i only made an observation
Kev at 11:28
There are things i have been able to do and observe that have given me great insight into how professional teams work, including Celtic funnily enough, but i won’t go into it as i’ll be accused of grandstanding.
An expert Rocko, do you even know the meaning of the word? I’m saying i’m not an expert, as i don’t work every day in it. I do have an insight though as well as a big interest and qualifications, which you clearly don’t.
To be an expert i believe one would have to work day in day out in that field. So, i don’t claim to be an expert.
Just leave it go, you have gone down an avenue which has shown you up. Best stay away.
Ah that’s just super. You’re not even acknowledging the blatant contradictions.
Others are arrogant but you have “great insight” into the world of professional sports including Celtic but you don’t claim to be an expert and you don’t even want to mention it. Why mention it then? Because your continuous humiliation on here forces you to make greater and greater claims about your extensive knowledge of a world you are sadly misinformed about.
Did i use the word “great”. You keep adding and subtracting from what i have said.
What world are you on about? Celtic? Professional sport? Sports Science?
You are arrogant, you don’t believe anyone knows as much about Celtic as you do, that is a definition of arrogance, the refusal to acknowledge someone else’s view or experience on a subject you feel you are an expert in.
Humiliation on a web forum? If you offer opinions, people will inevitably disagree with you on certain things. Some people though disagree just for the sake of it, and others like to pretend they are well informed about subjects. You certainly seem to fall into the latter category on our discussions on sports science and general sports fitness and conditioning, or maybe you are not but you let that knowledge drop for the sake of supporting another argument. I don’t pretend to know the in’s and out’s and daily goings on a Celtic, not do i want to either, you seem to feel its your preserve, so hold onto it. I just like to watch the games, especially those involving Irish players. On that i form opinions, is it as well formed as maybe my opinions on Gaelic football, probably not, but i don’t have the same interest or the time to watch it. It doesn’t make what i see any less true, or my opinions any less valuable.
Again, this all goes back to a positive comment i made about a player. You felt the need to suggest i hadn’t seen what i’d seen as i had missed these changes happening in the past, totally ignoring that these changes would have probably having been incremental.
Anyway, you are blind on anything to do with Celtic/SPL etc so its all going to fall on deaf ears.
