Callum McGregor

Tbf, you weren’t wrong at the time. A lot of us saw the same thing.

For some players, just being trusted by the manager - and especially if that trust extends to making you captain - is enough for them to grow exponentially in certain areas. I think that’s what we’re seeing with Callum.

 

Tenners in the post mate

 

I'm not going to list off all his faults. I've done it before, and others have done so the past few pages, but he was not deserving of his place in the team by the end of the season. That was the same for about 75% of the squad. Everyone is allowed a bad season. But if it encroaches into 2 bad seasons, like Eddy, we need to think about a contingency.
I'm ecstatic to discover that he has up'd his game significantly. In fact, I think it's the best he's ever been. If he can keep this up he'll be a shoe in for Player of the Year.

I'm happy to admit I was wrong. CalMac is a superb player and a seemingly fantastic captain.

 

Accepting £7m after just one poor season, where he was nowhere near the worst in the squad is * mental but.

 

Going on last seasons performances, could be forgiven for at times wanting a complete clear out, but it was clear it was a coaching issue; even clearer now! I never wanted him gone and hope he ends his career at Celtic.

 

Yup agree with all that although I'm still a bit mmmm about the Captaincy part. Not quite won over yet. It's a difficult one that and you have to get it spot on. Broony was a hard act to follow but now I'm looking at us needing different qualities. Straight up if Calmac hadn't got it based on seniority and the fact he can turn in a great performance I would have given it to Hart Now there's a guy who has the experience enough to spot when something isn't right, what to do about it and has the cojones to let the manager know his game plan needs adjusting Maybe we need several captains on the field

 

It's really not. Accepting £7m for an out of form player is not mental. Not from a business point of view. You might not want him to leave because you like him, but that doesn't make it madness.

If he'd started this season like Eddy has, I'd have accepted £7m and reinvested. That would still be in our top 10 highest ever sales.

 

It’s mental because he is on a long contract, has a lot of admirers in the game and showed that he is worth far more even out of form.

 

How? £7m seems crazy now because of the Euros and his early season form. Why would anyone come in with a big bid for a player that hadn't performed well in over a year? Especially considering he is Scottish and in a non-glamarous position. And no one did bid for him until he started performing well again anyway.

I don't want to argue this, because he will be worth 3 times that by January but is priceless to us. I'm thrilled he has turned it around.

 

It wasn’t over a year at all, it was a bad 6 months and it’s mental because of his his full career up until that point.

 

Some fans have ridiculously short memories, a bad spell under a toxic lennon, where the entire squad regressed, basically erased years of being one of our most consistent players in their minds.

 

Mental mate, especially because the 9 season was probably his best yet.

 

We'll have to agree to disagree on that one.

Anyway, good luck to CalMac. He has proven me and a lot of others wrong.

 

I've harped on about this but I think the decline of Broony and his general lack of mobility really affected McGregor's game, last season.

 

Think anyone watching our games last season, other than lennon, could see that, Brown was deadweight dragging the rest of the midfield down more often than not.

 

Early on in the season when Brown wasn't playing, we were suddenly more solid through the middle. Big mistake to keep playing him.

 

Neil Lennon affected everyones game! Messi would have had a bad season last year if he was at Celtic..

 

And it obviously had a huge impact on the rest of the team, not just on the park but off it, knowing no matter how * certain players played nothing was going to be changed and you weren't going to get a fair shot. I actually lost a bit of respect for Brown himself last season, if he really was the great leader on and off the field that he's supposed to be, he should have been man enough to recognise he was done and take a step back.

 

I should clarify, the game when Brown wasn't playing and we looked more solid through the middle, was against St.Johnstone away.

I find it difficult to disagree with you there. The majority of players are aware when they're not playing well, but a combination of Brown's faith in himself and Lennon's reliance on his leadership was a fateful combination. It was the only reason we were poor, but it was a part of it.

 

Brown could have still played a part last season if he was used correctly, was getting started every game. Lennon was infuriating towards the end.