Paddy McCourt: I’d leave if I wasn’t in Celtic first team

The fact is we do need Tims in the club who know what the club is about or else we face up to losing our identity on the pitch.

However they need to be good football players or at least offer something on the park. That is something Paddy McCourt does; he has an excellent influence on almost everygame he plays in.

[YOUTUBE]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Br9Q8Hrdd2s[/YOUTUBE]

 

what because McCourt can't get a game means we're demanding too much out of the team?

the point is in three years and three different managers, he hasn't started many matches. ask yourself 'why?' it's simple, McCourt can't get a game because he isn't good enough. good bench player but one of the last resorts for starting a match.

 

I think that vid Dev is testament to the skill that McCourt has.

In no way am I comparing the two players here, but you can see the same type of close-control dribbling skills that McCourt and Lionel Messi have.

 

Exactly. He offers something different and is a die hard Tim.

I don't see how anybody can have a problem with it, I've mentioned before there was three games this season were Paddy McCourt scored the only goal against a very tidy packed defense.

That's 9 points worth which we wouldn't have got otherwise. Commons is ahead of him definitely but Paddy is a first team player, probably the first back up. The fact that he is our most used sub last season shows you that Lenny thinks of him as a one man Plan B.

 

Exactly,

There is something to be said about having more players in your team who know what the club are about.

How exactly do you think das Huns installed a winning mentality into their team of players who were not of the football quality of Celtic players? Because they packed their team full of die-hard bluenoses who gave EVERYTHING they had for the team.....we have to keep a hold of our Tims.

 

the first point is irrelevant. we've had boyhood Rangers fans in the past become great players for us.

i'm ok with keeping him but he'll never break into the first team unless of multiple injuries. the three games he scored in, did he come off the bench?

i wouldn't say he is first back up. Ki is ahead of him in the middle and had more starts last term as did Maloney and Forrest.

this is my last post on the matter as i'm sure everyone is sick and tired of me and i've been as subtle as a sledgehammer with my opinion on McCourt starting more games.

 

.....so your comparing ronaldo to commons? McCourt used to have fitness problems, he doesn't now, that's why he didn't stake a claim before.

We can't get big players so we need players who will play passionately. I predict that Lenny will give McCourt his chance and it's up to him to prove his worth.

 

First point is not irrelavent. It doesn't matter if we had die hard Huns in our team, when they were playing we had Die Hard Tims in our team and that is needed. We need people in the team that know the club, live and breath the club and they are the ones that get looked at for guidance in the dressing room. It's a fact that this happens at any club.

No he didn't he started all three games were he scored the only goal, off the top of my head Caley Thistle first game of the season and a game against Motherwell can't remember the third but I know that he did. What does it matter if he came off the bench anyway? That just proves the point that he is a very useful player to have around. 9 points because of him, we had not a chance in * if Paddy wasn't there in those games.

Paddy McCourt is not a central midfielder, Ki Sung Yeung is. Doesn't matter about starts, Paddy was used more times than either Forrest or Maloney was and scored more goals than the two of them. Put them two together they scored the same.

We aren't saying he should be a nailled on first teamer all the time, Commons is far ahead of him in the pecking order but he is a very useful player to have because he is a * genius with the ball at his feet. Is a good passer and he has upped his workrate this year.

Lennon views him as Plan B and that's all that matters.

 

OK..

First of all, i can understand that first part in bold IF we got him on a free and he didnt have a club, so wasnt playing with a team, or training etc, but we didnt, we bought him from another team.

Secondly, i dont buy all the bullshit about McCourt "not being fit for a full game" .. he is a * professional football player. His job is to be in shape and look after himself, as well as play for a professional football team. *, even guys at Hearts, Hibs, Dundee Utd, Kilmarnock, their ALL professional footballers. So get THAT idea out of your head.

And another thing. It shows alot about our club if we see buying a (so-called) professional football player who cant even play 90 minutes of a football match.

I would hazard a guess that its not because he isnt fit, its because he is in-effective. He only offers something in the last half hour of a match when fatigue starts to kick into the other team.

And il state again, i like mccourt, but i think if he wants first team football week-in week-out, he will have to move elsewhere.

 

100% tootally agree with devlin1888.. paddy is in-effective..you dont have a clue steve... look at paddys stats when he got a runa games in dec/jan...started 8 ina row.. 7 wins 1 draw , 1 goal conceded.thats hard to beat and that has only been his proper run yet.

 

Just for the record, all I'm saying is that he should be given a chance, he should start one it two games and see how he fares, it's bit unfair to bump him out of the way for commons they should both be given an equal chance to prove themselves.

Nothing is wrong with his fitness, whatsoever, he just wants to play football. He had injury problems, he no longer does, nothing is wrong with his fitness,

 

i understand that he should be given a chance, im all for giving lost/forgotten bhoys in our squad another chance to shine and cement a place, but its just something celtic never seem to do for whatever reason. I would rather give our own players a chance, before buying in new talent, but thats just me, and i can totally understand in the buisness that sometimes its just better to buy in your own players that you want, which -unfortunatly enough in this case- lennon has done here.

I think the next 6 months are going to determine paddys future at celtic if im being honest. if he wants to play first time football, and be part of the starting 11, then he's going to have to show the gaffer what he's got. Obviously if he cant make the full step up, then most of us would be happy for him to stay and have him on the bench, but its his choice in the end. cant fault the guy for wanting to be more valuable to the club.

Just in my opinion, i cant see him holding down a starting place, so i think he will be for the off!

 

Agreed 100%

It is down to the manager, as Lennon has done, to instil what Celtic and Old Firm matches represent in players minds. Hooper, Ledley, Kayal, Larsson, Mjallby, Thompson....(this list could go on a while) had absolutely no affiliation with Celtic before joining and ended up adoring the club and the supporters.

MON did it and Lennon has started to do it. Other clubs do have players that are fans of the club, however, their love for the club has to be matched by ability, John Terry for one.

Keeping inadequate players or giving them an extended run when they haven't justified it is bordering on ridiculous.

 

Selling them if you aren't going to make any money and they can still contribute something to the season is equally ridiculous.

 

He's got the ability, but not the fitness. I hope he remains happy as a squad player. He's the kind of player who could tear up a lesser league, like he did in Ireland. Not as much demanded of him there.

 

Some good footage in that clip, hadn't seen some of that stuff against Man City etc.

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=48RqQqj9L5I&feature=player_detailpage

paddy tearing up an equally bad league

 

I said keep him because he is a good impact sub, has low wages and wouldn't command a large transfer fee. I am definitely more than happy for him to stay now that McGinn has gone, he is a great alternative to have on the bench, he just isn't a starter.

The point i quoted from you - which you had quoted from me - was referring to the fact that we shouldn't keep players on the basis that they are Celtic fans if they are inadequate or just for the sake of it. E.g. Mcginn, O'Dea etc, they have to match it with quality. But people like Mulgrew, who add to the quality of the squad should be kept

 

Paddy McCourt isn't good enough.

Anyone think that McCourt is wasted in our team? Personally I prefer Commons. McCourt is too fragile and greedy. Let the arguments begin....