Tony Watt

Definitely. Tony hasn't been the same since the Barcelona game, what is it with these young players thinking they have made it after 1 good season

 

He hasn't been the same since the game after, against St Johnstone I believe it was? Came on at half time and completely changed the game for us and equalised (or went 1 up if I remember right) a couple of minutes after coming on.

Seemed to have went a bit awry since then, he hardly played but when playing he still seemed to stick the same effort in but from everything that has came out since then it looks like he went a bit up himself. I'm hoping to * he can turn it around because he is one of the most talented Scottish Youngsters I've saw.

 

Yeah I hope he comes good and finally realise the opportunity he has

 

No point bringing him back just now, we will end up having a squad full of strikers not playing football, which is exactly why some of our strikers don't perform and get slated. It isn't like we need him, why bring him back to sit on the bench? The worst thing we could do is hamper the progress of Balde, Fridjonsson, Atajic (who should also go on loan) and Pukki. Denny Johnstone is also knocking on the door of a debut so why bring in more strikers?

 

This is the thing that bothers me. I never saw a decline in his efforts on the pitch, only stories of him acting up off it.

His game never suffered, unless you count the usual dry spells that young players go through as his game suffering.

He always gave 110% on the park, and was always dangerous up front. Call me old-fashioned, but that's all I really care about.

 

Naw you're spot on. I said this the other day. The guy in my opinion is better than anything we've got at the moment, I don't care if he is a * off the pitch. Football is a results driven business, Lennon knows this. Extreme example but that's why Suarez never got the boot after all his controversy on/off the pitch.

 

Once his off-field antics start to encroach on his performance then it's a different matter, of course.

But I feel that as much as we can all point a finger at Watt and blame him, the club are just as much to blame for trying to offload the issue to another coach & club.

 

Exactly..

Messi is a * by all accounts off the pitch and a nasty little */bully..
Attitude off the field doesn't always change it on,and tony from what I've seen is no different in that respect..

 

What gets me is that a young lad comes in and does well, like Tony did, like McGeouch did at one point, and they don't get another game for ages. It's like there's a big divide between how 'senior' and 'junior' players are treated. After Dylan M scored that cracker he should've been in the team next week, same with Tony after Barca. It doesn't seem like it's always on merit tbh, and that leads to sloppy performances like against Partick Thistle.

 

The favouritism,rotation and tactical chopping and changing aswell as playing youngsters out of position and not utilising them more(mainly mcgeough) are all justifiable complaints amongst the support..

I'm really hoping after we come back from our break most of that will change..

 

It's an issue with home grown players I feel. If Watt was Italian or Spanish we'd be more willing to explain away his attitude off the pitch as "continental personality" and suchlike.

I've seen people complain that he thinks he's better than he is, or a bigger star than he is. That's a good thing in my book.

I want a striker who takes to the field against top European sides with the honest belief that he's better than anyone lining up against him. We need that kind of arrogance in the side.

 

I agree. Like that photo where Tony looking straight ahead and Xavi looking him up and down, like 'who's this guy'? Also I remember reading that Broony used to have a go at the Celtic players before a game when he was at Hibs - gallus, arrogant telling them he wou;l * destroy them. I want that in our players, not shrinking violets.

And frankly, if I'd been playing for Celtic at 19/20, I'd have been * intolerable! :smiley-laughing002:

 

Thus far the main arguments I've heard against Tony Watt during his time at Celtic are that he had the cheek to buy himself a house, and that he shags birds down the club on a Wednesday night.

All of which has the square root of * all to do with his actual football.

 

I was of that opinion at first but thinking about it more, both Menzomand Billy Stark - and Stark is a massive Celtic man - have said that his fitness wasn't up to scratch. His half hour appaerences here and there can mask that, week in week out over 90 minutes is a different story though.

 

On Tony's gallus streak - that's something we must keep in him, it's what made him come on the pitch and terrorise Mascherano. The bhoy has balls of steel, we just need to focus him a bit.

 

They said that at the start of a new season, when players are traditionally still trying to get back to full fitness. He needs games. It's really as simple as that.

If he isn't getting them in Belgium then we'd be better sending him elsewhere.

 

Billy Stark said it a couple of months into the season, Lennon agreed with him. We know that's the reason he was sent out on loan. It's the full reason he's not in our team just now.

He has been playing up in Belgium as well. We know what's happening, there is no point denying it.

 

The truth is though Dev, if we want him to retain his gallus streak we need to be prepared to accept his shortcomings.

We can't have him facing up to Europe's best with balls of steel, yet curb him in other areas. It just doesn't work that way.

 

Yes, we can do exactly that. We've done it with Scott Brown, have we not? We need to divert him on that sort of course, rather than the Derek Riordon one.

 

Brown was different though, because it wasn't off the field antics that people were questioning him about.

As things stand Watt has played 10 games for Lierse. 3 starts, and 7 from the bench and has scored 3 goals.

I have to believe he'd have seen that kind of action with us in the SPFL.