Liam Scales

"Because it's true" - sounds like a statement of fact....

I admit I could be reading the tone of your comments wrongly, so I'll give it a rest.

Peace

 

His hair sets off his eyes beautifully.

 

I wonder if you guys haven't got your wires crossed, mate. The way I read those posts, he acknowledges that his view that Starfelt was "twice the player Scales is" is just his opinion and claims the assertion that his (Scales') mistakes are overlooked all the time as a fact.

I could be wrong and I guess @Callum McGregor will correct me if I am.

 

McCarthy and Mikey Johnston are both, and have tifos bout them every week eh

 

Starfelt wouldn’t be able to do what Scales has done this season. He was a very, very good partner for CCV.

Anytime CCV wasn’t there, he * struggled. Really, Scales and Welsh that stepped up to fill in for his leadership and organisation at the back.

Starfelt had a gelling period with his CB pairing. Scales has dealt with a different one most weeks, and quite a lot, different ones in the same game.

 

Can you give a few examples mate?

 

Howling tactic that, lets not put the guy * on the ball under pressure, give him time and space. It was £9m I’m sure, and Rodgers wasn’t getting * all off the board, and made clear he’d rather Boyata and knock it back rather than £9m and maybe getting £1.5m to spend on a replacement

 

I know what you mean; but I think it can be a good tactic if you're playing a better team, mate. I remember Boavista doing the same with Bobo Balde and it worked quite well for them.

 

I’m not going to change your opinion mate.

Scales has done well, but I’d swap him in a heartbeat for Starfelt if I was offered it tomorrow.

That’s not being disrespectful to Scales, who I think is a decent player, but I consider Starfelt our 3rd best centre half in the last 20 years, behind Carter Vickers and van Dijk.

Starfelt put in numerous monumental performances that shaped Ange’s era.

Defending your front post and tracking your man has somehow become overlooked in the modern day. I loved the guy, and wish he was available for the Champions League when he was here.

His performance against Rangers in the second half at Ibrox when we came from behind from Ramsey’s opener to win 2-1 to secure the title in Ange’s first season is the best performance I’ve seen from a defender at Celtic for many years.

 

I get why mate I really rated him as well, but I think he struggled to be the main man at the back and was that good next to CCV, he was a perfect partner and perfect for Ange’s style he demanded. Starfelt’s covering and positioning I’d say was actually world class, put they two aspects of his game right up there in world football mate.

And next to CCV, that’s all he needed to do, and when we realised he wasn’t the best on the ball Taylor and Calmac just made a very easy option over 5-10yards for him he’d find every time.


But when he was needing to partner anyone else, he had to be the experienced guy doing more than that back there and it showed his weaknesses but as a partner to CCV? He was peerless and I think he was more suited to CL than SPFL, but sadly didn’t see they two together in it man.

Who would you pick out as the second best pairing we seen with Starfelt plus one other who’s not CCV? Just incase I’m misremembering and there’s some good examples

 

Different styles they two teams though, covered the short easy pass for Bobo and gave him a pathway to stride forward and think he was a player.


Without both covering easy pass to someone like Lenny or without a glaring opportunity of space to move into, balls going to Lenny or launched to Suttys napper for Larsson running in behind.


BR’s Invincible team though? CB’s on the ball wide open needing to play, then you don’t let the nervy one on the ball have zero pressure mate. Scott Brown was very aware of that though as well, he’d put himself infront of pressing midfielders so they’d run into him or drop back to get the ball of him between the two CB’s. Often overlooked that

 

Aye fair enough buddy, I’ll happily concede that Scales’ ability to adapt to high pressure games and the different centre half partners he’s had has been very impressive.

I really like Scales and think he has done great, my original post was more just responding to the comparison between the two players.

I think something that is often overlooked that is missing in our team this year is Starfelt’s extraordinary recovery pace.

I feel it went unnoticed the amount of times we were caught down the left hand side last season and were bailed out by Starfelt’s covering.

Although it’s a much higher level, it’s no coincidence we were punished there several times last year in the CL when he was unavailable.

 

Coming from someone who was waiting on the Scales bubble bursting i have to admit I can’t believe how * good he is. Someone else said if we signed him after Rodgers arrived and he played like he did in the champions league and against Sevco, we’d all be raving about it. And it’s true.

Whether he’s better than Starfelt or not i’m not sure, definitely better with the ball at his feet - i always thought Carl was going to fall on his * when he had the baw

 

@Liam Scales

Just seen your question at the bottom of your post there.

I’ll be honest and say I can’t remember him playing with anyone else really, other than with Welsh and Kobayashi in a few canters in domestic games, and with Iwata at the very end of last season.

He made his debut at Tynecastle with Nir Bitton without even training with the team. Even his arch enemy would surely give him a pass on that

 

It’s that more than anything else that I’ll say that what Scales has done this year Starfelt wouldn’t have been able to. Purely just how much he’s adapted to chaos around them. I think they’d be a good * partnership btw, both are quick, Scales is mad underrated in the air I’m sure the Sun shared a stat he’s in the top ten aerial duels won in CL or in the world, I know that’s very vague but I can’t * remember what one it was and didn’t click in to the article cos the sun

Thing for me though, Scales wasn’t the replacement for Starfelt. It was Nawrocki or Lagerbielke.


One thing I will say Scales is streets ahead in compared to Carl, his passing and on the ball is a different level.


I’m a massive supporter of what Scales has done this year - he’s been MotM at Ibrox, Brilliant at Parkhead New Year and one of the best in the CL. Infact him, O’Riley and Calmac were the only who looked comfortable at that level IMO.

The cry has been well wait to see if he can deal with… the next level of challenge he’s facing, and everyone he’s not just got through, he’s excelled. So now it’s lets see if its just a purple patch, from what I’ve seen from him, when we get a run of him next to CCV for 20 games or that, like Starfelt showed his worth when there was doubts about him. When he settles in next to CCV, then we’ll see more out of him.

And I’m also content knowing if CCV isn’t playing, he can step up as the main man at the back. Welsh is the only other one that has shown that lately. Any other without CCV, defence and midfield fell apart without him.

 

I think the awkward style of Starfelt made him look more dodgy on the ball than he actually was.

Said it before but his passing style reminded me of Mamadou Sakho that played with Liverpool.

* looked so uncomfortable with a mad hunched over back when passing the ball, but hardly ever gave it away really.

 

That might be my issue with him without CCV, I expected him to stand up and be the leader there, the experienced first choice defender.

Welsh done that more, and Starfelt was decent next to him but they didn’t gel instantly, which is fine btw it sounds harsh but that’s what Scales has done all year. And that was my point - Scales constant change of partners, needing to adapt what he’s doing and how to play and anticipate what another new partner at CB will do. Mate, I can’t explain how impressed I’ve been with that. Have you seen so many times during a single game there’s been 2/3 CB partnerships like this season? Scales has always been one of them, and excelled. Honestly, BR is jammy that he has cos it was a * accident he was on his way to Aberdeen then we got 5 injured CB’s

 

That was my point, he’d be safe as * with the easy option over 5/10 yards that GT and Calmac made sure of. And Aaron Mooy as well btw, that’s playing to our strengths, he wouldn’t stride out and create from the back but we could keep him safe on the ball. Starfelt last year had something like 94% pass success, and like 8 passes 15 yards or more. Ange had us well drilled to make the best out of everyone’s strengths and weaknesses mate, but Scales is a better passer, and more comfortable in possession


EDIT: I’d give Starfelt the credit of not being a * idiot like Sakho btw, he’d see where he wanted to pass and do it if there was another teams player there or no

 

99% of * I feel were. Not enough * hoping it wouldn’t burst, and we have that level of guy out of * nowhere playing for us

 

Looked up the aerial duels thing, he’s been ranked 60th best in the world statistically- stats took in percentage won, how many faced, level of opponents and frequency of aerial duels the full team faces.

So…. * knows how they calculate that, sounds stat based opinions but being up there when SPFL opponents will be most of them and level of opposition is a factor, * more impressive that. Like Henrik when he won the Golden Boot when Scottish domestic goals were counted half as much as the guys he was up against.

No quite like that tbf, but ye get the analogy troops