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Callum McGregor

Discussion in 'Celtic Chat' started by greengrocer, Jul 5, 2014.

Discuss Callum McGregor in the Celtic Chat area at TalkCeltic.net.

  1. Ziggy

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    Cos he plays for Celtic
     
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  2. Valhalla Thus spoke Batistuta.

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    Even when he was scoring goals nearly every week he wasn’t this good defensively.

    His all round game has went up a level. Far better at controlling games as well.

    Biggest compliment I can give him is that Scotland are a very, very poor side when he doesn’t play.
     
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  3. Liam Scales Gold Member Gold Member

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    Honestly think he was, he just wasn’t focusing on that part of the game. Like just now he’s focusing on the defensive side and not really scoring.

    As are we really.
     
  4. PaulM1888 Moderator Moderator Gold Member

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    When you have his footballing brain and base technique you could literally have him doing anything. He is that good.

    I flip flop constantly between wanting him deep and further forward, in reality he’s superb at both - there’s just less end product when he’s deeper but the team as a whole is arguably better with him as a link from defence to attack.
     
  5. Slaw Gold Member Gold Member

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    Yeah I do prefer him deeper as the heartbeat and metronome of the team.
     
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  6. Graeme1888

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    Just not at left back again…:fear:
     
  7. hiphopaddict

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    He is underrated in general I think. The reason being I think is cause he is always always there. He always plays more games than anyone in the side...than anyone .in the country probably and there is never a time when we notice how much we miss him when he's not there. I think he would walk into the midfield of any EPL team outside the top 4. Thats how good he is. He could go down to like an Everton or maybe even Arsenal standard and be in the starting line up.
     
  8. PaulM1888 Moderator Moderator Gold Member

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    Ironic thing is, he’d be an excellent left back in this current side…
     
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  9. Liam Scales Gold Member Gold Member

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    How good would he be at Ange’s version of a left back though :56:
     
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  10. Henrik 07 Gold Member Gold Member

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  11. Henrik 07 Gold Member Gold Member

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    NOBODY can accuse Callum McGregor of not knowing his history. Not when it comes to the long list of storied Celtic captains who preceded him in the role, and the weight of expectation now on his shoulders because of what they achieved.

    Far from being an albatross around his neck though, McGregor is using the example of the legends of the past as an inspiration for what he wants to achieve in the future, and in the very near future at that.

    His immediate aim is to get the first trophy in the cabinet as club captain, and to do that, he will first have to lead his team to victory over the holders of both domestic cup competitions, St Johnstone, at Hampden this evening.

    The League Cup may not be top of Celtic’s priorities this season, but it is a priority nonetheless, and there is little doubting the importance of winning it for McGregor as he looks to make his own mark as Celtic captain - just as those who went before him did.


    “You look at the names on that list and it inspires you,” McGregor said.


    “You want to be a winning captain at Celtic, nobody wants to be a captain that doesn’t win anything, so I’m very conscious that’s at the forefront of my mind, and I’m pretty sure everyone else’s minds as well.

    “I’ve got to do everything I can firstly to help the team, do what the manager is asking me to do, and then try to help the players as well to get over the line when these occasions come around.


    The first of them is Saturday, and trying to progress into a final, and then we look at it from there.

    “That’s something that we want to do as a team.”

    The echoes of the glories of the past are never far from the ears of a Celtic player, and the sad passing of Lisbon Lion Bertie Auld this week was another reminder of the heights that this club once scaled.

    Auld, of course, had his own inspirational captain in the form of the late Billy McNeill, and McGregor is acutely aware of his duty not only to represent Celtic in the way that they did, but to also follow their lead by passing on that responsibility to the next generation.




    You carry it with you every day that you’re responsible for the success of the club and you’ll give absolutely everything to do that,” he said.

    “When you see guys like Bertie and Billy, who are remembered so well, you know that you have a responsibility to make the next group of players successful and that’s what I’m working hard to do every day, and the players have been absolutely top class as well.

    “We need to try to achieve that together and put a tribute together for Bertie at the weekend.

    “I remember meeting him in the players’ lounge once when I wasn’t in the squad – a young boy trying to break through.

    “It was the measure of him that he knew exactly who I was and what stage of my development I was at. He just gave me a few words to push me in the right direction – to make sure that I was on the pitch.

    “He was somebody who helped the young ones so much.”

    That education in what playing for Celtic means and demands from players extends to the fleet of new arrivals who have come into the club since new manager Ange Postecoglou appointed McGregor as their captain.

    “They see the faces around the place, the pictures, and some of the new guys ask, ‘Who’s this?’ and ‘Who’s that?’ and you fill them in,” he said.




    Celtic’s just so built-on tradition and built-on history and anybody who comes to the club can see that and how much the history means to people that are in the building.

    “The new players take a massive interest in it.”

    As McGregor knows well, the League Cup can also be a building block towards the overall collective success of the team throughout the season, as it was in the Quadruple Treble winning years.

    And ultimately, it will be this team’s ability to overcome hurdles like today’s that decides where their legacy will lie.

    “It is important,” he said. “When you start the season with new players and a new manager and you start building good results and performances you know that ultimately judged on success and win trophies.

    “In the early part of a successful period, it’s those trophies that come early that give you the real belief and a bit more incentive to keep going. You know that you’re on the right track, so they are important.

    “You can put performances together and results but one thing at this club is that you need to win the big games when they come around.

    “It’s been a good progression from where we started at the beginning of the season. When you get close to making finals and winning silverware, that’s where the separation is between the good teams and the great teams.”
     
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  12. Montero Gold Member Gold Member

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    I actually keep forgetting he signed a new 5 year deal at the start of the season.

    He'll only be 33 by that point and could easily see him drop deeper the older he gets.
     
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  13. Dannybhoy81

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    I really love him being our captain, I wasn't sure about him at first but defo our Captain now
     
  14. Henrik 07 Gold Member Gold Member

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  15. NomDePlum

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    Needs a rest.

    Wasn't in the game tonight. Played more games than most this season.
     
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  16. Callum McGregor The Captain Gold Member

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    Definitely wouldn’t say he wasn’t in the game. He was involved in a lot of our play, especially as we tried to create openings.
     
  17. King of Kings

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    Thought he was poor today. A rare bad performance.
     
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  18. Officer Doofy Come to me, human man Gold Member

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    Miles off it tonight.
     
  19. Double Dutch

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    The man needs played in the 6, with quality in front of him. He's wasted further forward for me. Still the best midfielder in the country who is allowed off days like anyone else.
     
  20. McChiellini..

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    Aye he got overrun and his passing wasn't what it usually is..