Paddy McCourt

Next SPL game I'd start:

Forster

Lustig Ambrose Wilson Mulgrew

Wanyama Kayal

Commons McCourt McGeough

Lassad​

 

I have always liked McCourt but I won't sit and say he should be starting every game or that he is a superstar. One thing I will say though, when he come off the bench on Saturday, within the first two minutes he had contributed more than half of the team on the park.

 

Almost exactly 50/50.

Isn't it great to be part of a free thinking open to all opinion football support.

No hive mind here!

 

True but I remember him creating the winner against Motherwell at Fir Park last season in a "must win" game for us, when Motherwell were still above us in the table. He didn't get the assist as Stokes squared it to Hooper but it was Paddy who beat his man and played in Stokes. We were toiling up until that point so Paddy won us the 3 points imo.

 

I find it quite amazing that this thread has been started after Paddy McCourt put in what was a good performance at the weekend after coming on as a substitute. I think he provided a lot more imagination, creativity and attitude in that short spell than players like Commons, Hooper and Ledley etc have offered in the last number of weeks.

I think it's about time he's given more opportunities.

 

I think McCourt is a bit of an enigma. He has abilities that very few can match, but considering that he has been with us for a few years now, the fact that he hasn't forced his way into being a first team regular, speaks volumes for his attitude and consistency.

He played reasonably well on Saturday when he came on, and provided more than Commons did in the whole game, yet he was still largely ineffectual.

If he can't displace some of the others in the team after three years, we should really be looking to offload him for someone who can make a bigger impact.

 

That's the best comparison in terms of playstyle I can think of.

It would be hard to implement Paddy in a similar role. For Italy, the entire team, in particular De Rossi, plays around Pirlo, dropping in deep and surrounding him with support, slowly but surely inching there way up the pitch with Pirlo being the locomotive, occasionally springing a pinpoint pass from deep to the strikers.

To do that with Paddy we'd need to play a a diamond 442, with Paddy at DMF and Kayal/Wanyama and Ledley shielding him at CMF, whilst you'd have Commons/Forrest in the hole and the two strikers making runs, our fullbacks providing the width, which they're more than capable of.

Lennon's only tried that, or something similar, once, to my recollection, in that cup game where Paddy set up a Stokes goal with a long pass from the halfway line to Samaras. Can't remember the name of the team we were playing but the pass was exceptional. I think the game ending up 1-0 and if it wasn't for that play from Paddy, well....

Lennon rates him, that's for sure, otherwise he wouldn't have hesitated in shipping him off for a few bob ala Ki Sung Yeung and Shaun Maloney (remember him). I honestly believe though, that Lennon struggles integrating players like Paddy, McGeouch, Ibrahim and indeed Ki i.e. playmakers, within his current system. And as we all know, regretfully, Lennon doesn't deviate much from his hoof it up to Sammy system. Although it appears he at least wants to, hence his signing of such players and keeping them on the books.

Why get rid of Ki and Maloney whilst keeping McCourt?

 

Would agree with all of Che's points above. Yes, when he came on he looked more threatening than Commons had (or has done in weeks, for the most part.)

However, end product.......that is what we are lacking at the moment. He may well just be keeping our head count up with a wasted wage as things stand.

He's obviously not thought of highly enough to get more game time when it's clear that a creative force is sorely what we need. That in itself speaks volumes for me.

 

really cant be bothered reading through the eight pages of the thread cause its all just gonna be his supposed talent v his inability to run for more than 25 seconds.

can anyone explain why he should be ahead of someone like mcgeouch in the pecking order when coming off the bench? cant think of a single reason myself.

 

Paddy's had much more influence in games than McGeouch. Other than his wonder goal on his debut I've yet to see much from Dylan, granted he has had very limited opportunities and he was playing well until injury against Real.

 

On form he is one of the best players in Europe.

I'd keep him.

 

It was mentioned on one of the previous pages :bbpd::icon_mrgreen:

 

Not sure if serious?

 

What?

 

After seeing him on Saturday I don't want him near the team again. No doubt he will probably play against Arbroath, tear them a new one, then everyone will love him until he makes his next 10 appearances and does literally nothing except try go past people and fail miserably.

 

I don't understand the hate towards McCourt.

First of all, he is no regular. He's a bench player, nothing more nothing less.

It goes without saying it's the hardest task in football to come off the bench and save the day in 10/20 mins time you are given.

Let's have a look at our bench players in the past. We have had random wee guy, random johnny foreigner.. many came, many left. Most of them have not impressed anyone. That's why they left after one/two yr.

Supersubs like Solskjaer or Dzeko are very rare.

So what's left? We have a passionate guy, who's capable of scoring a miracle goal every now and then, who is able to create some magic - not on daily basis, otherwise he would be playing all the time, but still capable. Something a lot of subs, even regular players lack though.

May be we should go for another random guy who sits on our bench and leaves at the end of the season again.

I don't think the problem is McCourt, the problem is some fans' expectations.

They expect him to win the game single-handedly every time he puts his feet on the pitch. They want him to score a goal of the year every 5 minutes.

That is not realistic, it's even impossible.

Just compare him to other subs. He doesn't do less than them. He may don't do more than them either - except a wonder goal sometimes.

So I ask again: What do you want? A faceless random guy on the bench or Paddy McCourt, a passionate Celtic supporter with some special magic now and then and hardly cost a dime.

They both are equally useful.

I know who I'd pick.

 

That's the problem right there. He'll never be in contention for a starting place. Players like McGeouch will be. I don't like terms like 'super-sub' - which Paddy most certainly isn't (when was the last time he came off the bench when we were trailing and turned the game around?) and 'squad player'... If a players being labelled with that it means they are not good enough for Celtic! The only players I want to see sitting on the bench are first team players who are competing for a limited number of spaces within the team e.g. Lustig and Matthews at RB - players who can step straight into the starting XI without there being any drop whatsoever in quality, or young players like McGeouch who have a huge amount of potential and would be able to develop that if they didn't have guys like McCourt
hindering their progression in the first team.

And McCourt couldn't lace Džeko's boots. The difference between Džeko coming of the bench and McCourt is that Džeko is good enough to start the match in the first place. He's more effective off the bench because the game becomes more open the longer it goes on which will benefit any good striker. Mancini could just as easily start with Edin up front and Tevez or Agüero on the bench. Wouldn't detract noticeably from their goal threat. If we started McCourt it would...

Ask yourself this: when was the last time Paddy scored? How many wonder goals has Paddy scored in his Celtic career? Who were the opposition and what was the scoreline when he came on? Then ask yourself: How many times has he come on and been completely ineffectual - I'm not talking about failing to score, I'm talking about failing to make a straightforward pass in the opposition's half - or been at fault, at least partly, for us losing a goal due to his inability to hold onto the ball e.g. against United? Then ask yourself: What have other players contributed to the team either from coming off the bench or from starting when they've pushed for a place in the team?

McCourt's not good enough. That's the bottom line. He's not entertaining either.

We don't expect him to go and score a wonder goal every time he comes on. We expect him to contribute something positive to the game.

If we had no other players pushing for a starting place then I'd have no problem with Paddy sitting on the bench and coming on for the last 15 minutes against St Mirren or whatever but the fact is he's stopping players, who might be good enough to start in a Celtic team in the future, from progressing.

I like Paddy, but I don't think he has a future at the club. It'd be better for his career as well if he moved on.

 

When McCourt stops making an impact coming off the bench, then that would spell the end for him because that's all he's good for. It sounds harsh but he's never going to be a regular starter here. If he loses that spot on the bench, he may as well be sold for whatever we can get for him.