Can Paddy McCourt be a regular feature for Celtic this season?
Time for the Irishman to step up to the plate
Celtic fans may be clinging to the dream of Craig Bellamy coming back….and surely they hope for a new defence but at this moment in time, there isn’t a lot of creativity in the Celtic side.
The home friendly on Sunday against Blackburn Rovers was brightened up by the one man that most Celtic fans crave action and excitement from…especially now that Aiden McGeady has moved to Spartak Moscow.
For 60 minutes against Blackburn, Paddy McCourt was in fantastic form combining close control, passing and deft touches to bamboozle his opponent. Sadly, McCourt was fairly anonymous for the last 30 minutes, tiredness creeping into his play and his passing range becoming severely affected.
And such is the riddle wrapped in an enigma wrapped in a Celtic jersey that is Paddy McCourt.
It could be argued that at full flow, McCourt is the most talented player in the SPL. It can equally be argued that he is one of the most frustrating players in Scotland due to his inability to gain and maintain match fitness.
McCourt has to be involved more with Celtic this season, his trickery and vision could be the difference between breaking down stubborn defences and dropped points.
McCourt will have to be managed well by Neil Lennon and the medical staff, building up the players fitness and knowing when to rest him.
Squad rotation is important in the modern era and if Celtic can maximise the impact that Paddy McCourt has in matches, they could right a few wrongs of the past two seasons.
We keep saying it but if Celtic don’t strengthen their defence, they will lose out on another title and both Neil Lennon and the PLC board deserve to lose their jobs due to negligence. It can’t be any clearer…but there is still time left in the transfer window for these positions to be filled.
And even though the rumours about Craig Bellamy have been quieter today, the links between Celtic and defenders have gathered pace today.
There is strong talk that Swedish internationalist Daniel Majstorovic, currently with AEK Athens (Dundee United’s Europa League opponents), is set for a medical tomorrow and could be a solution to the problems the club faces at centre back.
The twitter world has also been buzzing with links between Celtic and Arsenal left-back Armand Traore. The talk about the Swedish centre half is stronger than the links with the French U-21 player but at least it proves that the management team at Celtic know where their deficiencies lie.
Once the backline is resolved, a degree of pressure will be off the attacking players, hopefully enabling Celtic to be less nervous and wasteful in front of goal.
This would be the area where Paddy McCourt can excel if he can just stay fit. The talent and trickery of the Derry Pele is not in any doubt…the ability to be of use to his team when it matters is still very much up for grabs. It’s time for McCourt to stop being a cult hero and start being a first-team player.
What’s your take on Paddy McCourt, the part-time player but full time genius?
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If there is enough players around him to help cover his position and fill the gaps he leaves he could have a big impact on the season, but only if he can play more than two games in a row.
I still think that Juarez is going to be this years new Celtic hero.
Would play him every time he’s fit, he is virtually guaranteed to create a few clear cut chances for himself/teammates which is more than could ever be said about maloney/mcgeady…. this alone vaidates his selection, regardless that at times he drifts out and takes a breather. If Barca and Milan could accommodae ronaldinhio, we can do the same for Pat! besides, in the current squad, he’s the only true entertainer, its what we pay our money for,
Paddy McCourt answered his critics by getting the winning goal for Celtic at Inverness but gets injured in the process.
Paddy McCourt is why people watch football matches.
Was a good goal, freak injury cost him the rest of the game?
Paddy McCourt wasn’t injured, he just knew his work was done and decided to head off for a cigar and a brandy.
In all seriousness, would be a blow for Celtic if he missed out on Thursday night.