Tony Watt

And you do I suppose? Your mates wee brother knows the guy that lives two doors down from a wee burd he shagged one Wednesday night, right?

So let me get this right, he was sent on loan to Belgium for a season because Lennon doesn't want him having access to his new house or having *?

Yeah, that makes sense. A guy scores a goal within minutes of coming on for his first game at the club, yet the manager is "calling him out"?

The manager should be * ecstatic that Watt scored the clinching goal in a win for his team, not calling him out.

Yeah, we can't have him getting "too big for his boots", can we? If he's left unchecked he may end up going mental in Belgium as well. Before you know it he'll be looking at houses and going out on a Wednesday night again.

 

I am largely tempted to agree on the part re Balde.....however, conversely I wouldn't have put a penny on Watt being in the top 2 bearing in mind Hooper finished 5th last season and there can be little doubt he's at a far higher level than Watt. IMO your confidence levels with regard to him may be a little bit high for someone so raw and young.

 

I stand by my claim. I also believe he'd walk into any other SPL side without much trouble.

He's 19 years old, not 16.

Why is it that we readily accept that foreign players (and even English players) can easily come into a side at 19 if they have the goods, but if a Scottish player does the same he's "raw" and "too young"?

He came in last season, he scored goals and he looked like a threat most of the time he was on the park.

I don't care if he's 19, buys houses, shags burds, goes dancing (at least he's doing it on a Wednesday night and not a Friday night!) as long as he puts the * ball in the net regularly for Celtic.

As for him "getting to big for his boots"? Well, the truth is that without that cockiness and swagger to him he wouldn't have got the goal against Barcelona in the first place.

Just out of interest, would we consider Charlie Nicholas and Frank MacAvennie to be "to big for their boots" when they were at Celtic?

I'm sure both of them knew how to cut a rug and chat up the opposite * with the best of them during their time here!

 

And Balde and Watt are polar opposites as players. Balde is not a replacement.

 

Polar opposites? Isn't Balde a striker?

 

RE standing up for your claim, i'd expect nothing less!:icon_mrgreen:

However, looking at the cold, hard facts - Hooper finished 5th, so why Watt could be expected by anyone to simply walk to a minimum of second is probably harder to back up than the contrary argument.

Concerning "too big for their boots" i'm not even involved in that topic for debate, because I read enough sh*te on here to no longer believe the stories from a mate of a mate's uncle's dug that he's got a problem. So, in short, yeah - not even a topic I have an iota of interest in.

Concerning "raw" - he is raw, as he's inexperienced, and whenever I saw him last season I still think "raw" is a decent assessment. I have no issue with a 19 year old walking in to the team - if they're good enough. However, for me Stokes and Pukki are the starting 2, and would have been irrespective of Watt being here.

As such, him getting a game week in / week out is better for him by far; in addition, had we NOT bought Pukki, and went with Watt / Stokes as the main striking threats for the season, then i'd be stunned to hear many people thinking that was sufficient. In fact, you yourself have indicated no problem with Pukki or - indeed - someone of higher quality coming in to compliment what was here with Stokes / Samaras / Forrest / Commons / Boerrigter still here as attacking outlets.

For me, with Stokes here as well as a Pukki (or a Pukki+Balde money) I fail to see how Watt's progression would have been anything but hindered; this as opposed to the opportunity he has been given to get 90 minutes each week in a technically strong league.

That and the fact we can take him back in 100 days anyway.

Just seems to be win-win for me, truth be told.

 

You believe they have similar styles?

 

I never said that, but you described them as polar opposites? That isn't true at all, is it?

 

Stop your semantic pish. They are quite clearly two very different players.

 

Balde has been signed as a "project" - not as a replacement for anyone.

 

He's a tearaway because he bought a house and shags girls from his area? Really?

Is it written into his contract that he has to live with his parents and take a vow of chastity? :smiley-laughing002:

 

Nobody mentioned him walking to anything though, did they? I said I'd be confident that he would finish in the top two as far as SPL goals scored if he was given regular starts.

Again, no one said that he was supposed to walk into the team, I'm simply saying that he's more than good enough to be getting regular games for us in the SPL at least. We're playing two games a week most weeks now, with Champions League being the priority most likely. I assume we signed Pukki to play in the big games, didn't we? Why not let Watt start the majority of league games up until the end of our Champions League involvement? Give him a real chance and see what he can do?

I just don't see Lennon letting go of a player that he figures is a part of his plans, even if it is for a season long loan. I hope I'm wrong, but I doubt we'll see him back here again next season.

 

Well yes, it is. As strikers they are polar opposites.


What makes you believe they aren't?

 

Haha, ok "very confident" then. But still you have not commented in response to my query of why anyone would realistically expect a top 2 when Hooper only broke in to a top 5.....I just don't think there's anything there to back up that in the slightest.

In addition, you seem to still suggest that Stokes / Pukki could / should be dropped regularly to allow Watt to fill a place...whereas what we have now is all three of them playing regular football, without having to move folk about for the purpose of accommodation. The regular game time will only aid these three guys as opposed to hinder them - which the level of rotation you mention above has the propensity to do; especially to strikers who feed of goals and continuity IMO.

At present, we have the best two strikers at Celtic likely to be afforded the most game time - for me, that is what it should be. Meanwhile, Balde can get acclimatised to the game up here, while Watt can get the constant 90 minutes under his belt that his game can thrive upon.

Personally I think it's excellent - and, in addition, if we don't see him next season it certainly won't be because he's not had a chance to show what he can do on a consistent basis - which should be the hallmark of any striker that wants to play for us.

It's a great opportunity for him, as far as I am concerned, and one I know we both hope he takes full advantage of.

 

What I mean is that both of them are supposed to score goals, aren't they? They may have different styles, but at the end of the day they'll be judged on their goals to game ratio.

 

It's not just the first-team minutes he'll get in Belgium that make this a really shrewd deal. It's the change in culture and attitudes that might just help him.

John Collins benefited hugely from his move abroad, and so did Paul Lambert. It helped them improve as professionals.

 

Can't disagree with that either mate.

 

Well said kieran.

I made that point about Collins previously in this thread,.

 

At the end of the day, no they won't. They'll be judged on what they bring to Celtic as a whole and so they should. They are two completely different olayers who would have different roles in the team. There is no comparison to be made there, just as it is unwise to judge Balde against somebody like Tony Stokes who Tony Watt would be competing directly against for a olace as they are similar players.

Had this thought before mate, especially with the record that Belgium currently has for bringing through youngsters.