Colby Donovan

Talks very well for a 19yr old (much more sense than I had at that age) Hope to see him a lot more this season.

 

I'd be looking for him to really push on and take ralstons place tbh. Seems to have more about him and I dont mind ralston.
But at 19 he needs the game time more and could really progress. Fingers crossed maybe be a ready replacement for when AJ heads for pastures new

 

Another great performance from him, has slotted in as if he’s 21/22 with a few seasons under his belt already. An upgrade on Tony.

 

Passing is a little loose at times but he's a far better option than Ralston.

 

I'd still have Ralston ahead of him, he's not been tested defensively yet. Killie played a 3-5-2 where the wing backs sat in and Partick carried not threat today and he was badly exposed with a ball in behind in the second half and completely lost his bearings.

If he is to start against Red Star we'll soon find out where he is at.

I thought he had a good game against Killie last week but looked a lot more unsure of himself today.

 

Hard to tell how good he is going forward as we almost always went down the left, but he did decent overall again.

Passing is still an issue but thats something thay can easily be coached.

 

Brendan, just on young Colby Donovan, it was a really nice moment for him at the end there. How pleased have you been with his contributions since stepping into the team?

Yes, delighted for Colby, and a little bit at the end was just to let him feel that moment that he probably dreams of all his life, being a Celtic supporter.

I've always loved his personality, coming back the second time, just seeing him as a young player, and he was going through a growth spurt in his first year at the club. But what he has, he has the personality to play for Celtic, and I thought he did very well today. The servicing of the ball was good, aggressive.

Sometimes a young player can get picked out for the ball to go on that side, but he's dominant in the air, and he's only going to get better. So, really pleased for him, and he trains really well every day, and he was deserving of his opportunity.

He said he's bonded with Kieran Tierney, that's his ideal role model, isn't it? Look no further than Kieran?

I think all the kids coming through can really look to all the young players that have come through the system. James Forrest, you look at Callum and all the guys that have come through, and Stephen Welsh, and Tony Ralston, all these players that have come through the system, they're all of the same DNA, humble, hard-working and consistent, and Colby’s definitely learning from him.

 

Hard to judge his quality yet in terms of attacking imo because he seems nervous to try things i think. But everything else i really like, aggressive and more mobile than Ralston.

 

I like the kid, yeah as above, seems nervous at times, but he doesn't shy from anything and looks to want to play through that and gain the experience.

How high his level is to be, we don't know her, but I'm excited to see more of him and hope he gets some good experience and rotation when AJ returns as well.

Sent from my Pixel 9 Pro XL using Tapatalk

 

Don't know about long term just now but I do know he has a far higher ceiling than Ralston if he applies his self..

 

It would be nice to see him with a good winger in front of him.

 

Another good wee run out from him, one wee criticism tho that he needs to cut out, noticed this week and last week a couple of times each game the ball has gone to the winger in front of him and Colby has run and taken whoever was on him into the space where the winger would like to drive into (assuming we can find a right winger to actually do that) minor thing that I'm sure he'll sort out through gametime tho.

 

Glad he's getting game time. I know people wanted a loan right back in, but then you're just cutting youth out and not creating a pathway. It may cost us a euro result but in the long run better for the club.

 

He’s ahead of Ralston for me. Needs to be playing regularly and his development will be much better for it too.

Far too long we’ve * young players careers up by not playing them.

Think he will be a mainstay for years to come.