Aiden McGeady

Just?

Been saying it for years - he had a grudge against McGeady, who hints to other behind the scene stuff in this interview.
Also been saying Strachan * up by not building the team around Tommy G, and here again McGeady hints to Strachan taking the huff and not liking him.

 

Do you think we would have bettered those last 16 runs built around Tommy Gravesen? I don't personally.

 

Well yeah. I obviously feel Strachan was wrong not to and he wasted Tommy Gravesen in our team. He was a player well above the quality and experience we had at the time. We should have utilised him a lot more.

Typed that first post out while watching that video, and now I have finished it I am going to stick by my thinking on Strachan for years now. The guy is a dinosaur and plays his pals. He clearly didn't have time for Aiden, and it seems similarly for Tommy G. Maybe he was a bit too loopy for Strachan liking?

Either way, think Strachan * up big time. People will always bring out the two last 16 runs - undoubtedly a good thing, but a lot of that squad was still MONs.
His football was dire, and very telling that his final squad would never have made it to the last 16. Coming last in a group with * Aalborg with only 5 points.

He rode the wave from MON and yes he had restraints on him with the wage budget, but things like this interview highlight to me how much he lucked out early on, and the more that team became his own, the worse it got.

 

Mental the amount of people strachan signed/played that he hated, the gravensen stories sounded class would've been some laugh being in the team with him

 

I don't entirely disagree with your opinion on him but your selling him very short there. For one - O'Neill's team itself never got to that stage and the only major player from both teams was Lenny.

Maloney and McGeady were fringe, youth players under Martin, McManus was nowhere in the picture. Guys like Naka, Boruc, JVoH, Scott McDonald even Kenny * Miller was a big part of the European success. Then obviously Jiri Jarosik, Massimo Donati and co.

None of that success was Martin O'Neills. As much as I love him.

I don't think that team ever had it in them to become Champions League semi finalists, I still find it a * miracle that Strachan got to the last 16 in the first place when we had fielded a defence of Telfer, McManus, Caldwell, Wilson at one point.

Biggest part I can remember Gravesen playing part in, in European football for us, was completely costing us the game at Old Trafford, where he repeatadly and unerringly found Paul Scholes.

I liked Gravesen but not enough to sacrifice others in the team for his tactical indiscipline.

 

Don't agree with this at all mate.

The only MON players who would have been integral in the Last 16 run would have been, ironically McGeady and Lennon. He built that team itself.

It's a bit like saying Rodgers has rode the wave from Ronny Deila.

 

I love both McGeady and Strachan btw, but can see why they wouldn't have got on.

McGeady comes across as a little cocky if not arrogant but I think you need to be when you're the type of player he is at the level he's playing at.

 

For me, he refused to change his footballing ideas to fit in with a player like Gravesen. We should have played a 433 - or even the modern 4231 we play now.
Where Tommy would sit in a DM dictating the game etc.
He needed to sit between the midfield and defence. But what was, was.

I do admit I will always come across a lot harsher on the guy than I ought to, I have a grudge for some reason. But * it, we did see some great players in that time etc.

 

Gravesen never had the tactical discipline for that role mate, think even Gravesen admitted that himself. I can remember him saying he thinks Real Madrid thought he was Lee Carsley

If we were doing that, it should have been to compliment Naka in the middle of the field.

 

Naka playing the Rogic role in this team would be immense.

That's something else I really wanted to see during the Strachan years as well, and it annoyed me that he didn't change it at all to fit in an Attacking Mid/Number 10

 

Only time I can remember doing it was the cup final with McGeady in the middle of the pitch against the Huns, him and Darren O'Dea scored. McGeady was * unreal that game.

 

I'd have to listen to it again.

I can barely understand them.

 

Its a bit muffled/fast, but he does mention the season before - as being last 16, then the teams he mentions is the 07/08 season - so I assume he knows both, but was just talking of one season in particular

 

Strachan was not arrogant ?

 

Aye, liking the style. Seems to be just going for Celtic and Rangers players just now - perhaps trying not to seem purely doing Celtic videos to help branch out.
Imagine he would do more with other footballers in time.


Certainly a much better attempt than Tony Watts one to watch *.

 

Just listened to it again.

He talks about us losing to AC Milan and Benfica beating Shaktar, but I don't know if he then says "that meant they were through" or "we were through"

 

This I love them both too..

Strachan was a cocky wee * as a player anaw. You can see why they clashed..

Loved it when TB said 'Don't just be a first team player, be a top first team player in the CL for Celtic..

 

Id say he is, wasnt suggesting otherwise. Id say the same about him though, manager at that level probably needs a bit of arrogance.

 

I still don't quite get his patter but a good insight into a player I feel I never really knew