Heid heads to Wigan

The move has not yet been confirmed by either club but the BBC have reported the move as being confirmed by Caldwell’s agent. Caldwell is said to have agreed a four and a half year deal with the English Premier League side.

No player can be consistently great in every match, not even the acknowledged greats.

A consistent level of good performances is what most fans ask for, especially in the SPL, where any truly astounding talent would be whisked away.

Even consistently average performances by a player can be tolerated by fans, nothing spectacular but nothing disastrous can keep many a player in wages and in the first team line-up.

Where fans start to get edgy though is with the players who rapidly flick between great and horrendous in the blink of an eye. Football fans may claim to want to be on the edge of their seat at matches but when it is caused by your own centre half, it is maybe not the best.

WeKnowSFA acknowledges the work done in this field and doffs its cap to Gary Caldwell.

The man known as Heid is off to twitter from the English Premier League and the footballing Mecca that is Wigan. So called because Bingo is the second most popular sport in the area, after rugby.

Some highlights of the Gary Caldwell era:

Having a big massive heid
Pointing one way and passing the ball in the other direction
Replacing Neil Lennon in the 2007 Scottish Cup final and moving the team a further 20 yards up the park resulting in a scrappy triumph
A low controlled shot against AC Milan which Dida spilled allowing Scott McDonald to poke home the winner
His penalty in the shoot-out against Spartak Moscow
His chipped pass to Scott McDonald in the build-up to Jan venegoor of Hesselink’s injury-time winner in the 2-1 win over Rangers
In fact, his performances in the run-in for Celtic’s 3 in a Row campaign

Some lowlights of the Gary Caldwell era:

Needlessly giving away a penalty in injury time at Tynecastle, costing the loss of 2 points
BENFICA
Aalborg
Arsenal at home
Barcelona at home
The “we’ll decide if we’ve played well” remark
The general fear when teams were awarded a corner against Celtic
In fact, the general interviews and sound-bites offered to the media
Walking the ball out of the park at the San Siro under no pressure (although this was rather funny)

For a Bosman signing who was played out of position for a reasonable period of time, Gary Caldwell was probably more good than bad for Celtic. His player of the year award will doubtlessly remain in pride of place in his new Wigan apartment and the medals and memories of his time at Celtic Park will hopefully remain pleasurable for Gary.

That said, there is a definite feeling that Celtic need to refresh their line-up and with the defenders contract ready to expire in the summer, a fee of around £1m is good business for Celtic.

Well Gary, Scottish fans will be watching MOTD every week waiting to see which Caldwell turns up, hoping for some wonders, some blunders and if we’re lucky, a startled walking the ball out of the park just like that night in Milan.

All those who say the EPL is the best in the world…remember there are two Caldwell’s playing there now.

What is your abiding memory of the man known as Caldenbaur?

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Tempting fate comes easy for the Bosman-rated stopper

Things had been a little bit quiet but three home wins have seen everyone’s favourite Hermit since Peter Noone return to the spotlight. Aside from telling the world how great he is on Twitter, Gary Caldwell has been staying out of the media spotlight of late.

Some would say it was about time he kept himself to himself as his form has been questionable at best but the past few games has shown the better side of Gary Caldwell.

Clean sheets at the back and devastatingly effective long passes have been noticeable from Heid but he has a long way to go to redeem himself in the eyes of the fans.

Which is why some will be annoyed that he has been shoved in front of the journalists once again.

“We are now getting the chance to do that and over the past week the performances and results have been great.”

“That’s us just won three games in a week and I am amazed at the change of atmosphere in the changing room.”

“When you go on a run like that it really does give you confidence and the whole club is buzzing.”

“When you go on a run like that”???

Three games?? After two away games in the league where Celtic failed to win? Just before they face trips to Fir Park and Tynecastle, where Celtic will be stretched to their limit?

It is not unfeasible that Celtic could be coming out a 6 game league run with only two wins and then Caldwell will start to look rather silly.

You have to hope that Caldwell has an agent acting on his behalf when his future gets sorted out in the next few months because he can’t be trusted to open his mouth!

If Celtic can take 6 points from their next two matches, their fans will start to believe a corner has been turned and will overlook some of Gary’s grandiose comments. If they slip up on the road again, some will be wanting Caldwell’s head on a platter.

Celtic fans, do you think the team has turned the corner?

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It is fair to say that the Tartan Army and Celtic fans don’t always agree.

Lets not get carried away, there are a great number of people who like Celtic and Scotland but there is a sense that some of the followers stand apart.

In the opinion of some fans, “the kilt and desert boot wearers who are only there for a party” may be opposed to “the tricolour waving political activists that pepper Parkhead” but there is one topic that brings them together.

Yes, Gary Caldwell and his massive heid manages to pull these two groups together, an act that Henry Kissinger may have struggled to pull off.

Its a shame as he managed moments for both that should have made him a legend in the eyes of even the harshest of fans.

Scottish fans won’t forget the winner that rainy night at Hampden when Gary slid in to stick it to the French.

Celtic fans won’t forget the way Caldwell stepped up to the plate and was a key player in the run of 7 victories that propelled them to a third title in a row back in 2007/08.

However, even with all this goodwill built up, Caldwell has somehow managed to obliterate it with poor performances and an even poorer attitude.

It says a lot about the state of modern football and the relationship between fans and players but the poor performances could probably be tolerated. Caldwell is not the worst player for either club but insists on singling himself out with an inability to keep his mouth shut.

There are those who will point at some of the private life indiscretions Caldwell has made but they should probably remain his private matters. It is the wage demands of around £15,000 to £20,000 that has caused the most offence for fans.

With the economic situation being what it is, any player openly making a claim for this sort of cash is going to be viewed poorly. When it is being made by a player who is making mistake after mistake, it is hard to fault fans for not having patience.

The start of the 2009/10 season was a disaster for Caldwell, an early dismissal in Scotlands drubbing in Norway setting the low standard. For all that there can be debate about whether it was a harsh sending off or not, poor defensive work allowed John Carew to have Caldwell in his back pocket and draw silly fouls.

The international form has been carried to his club, with Caldwell being part of a defensive line-up that has shipped 5 goals in their last two games.

Credit should always go to the attacking team but the goals Celtic have conceded to Falkirk and Dundee United have exposed a very weak central defence.

Losing two free headers in the six-yard box in the final few minutes consigned Celtic to their first defeat against Dundee United in over 10 years. The man with the captain’s armband could only look around and realise he had no one left to blame.

The issue is, within a few days, Caldwell will be back spouting off to the media about how the team can bounce back and that fans opinions don’t matter, the team will decide what is good enough.

Celtic fans can at least look forward to the fact that Caldwell is unlikely to be at the club next season, Scottish fans may have to suffer his performance and attitude a bit longer.

Tell us your opinion on Heid in the comments section below.

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