EalingGreen
16/09/2010, 2:42 PM
I dont think it's accurate to characterise McCourt as a "Fourth Division failure" or an impact player for when you are cruising to victory. Many of his goals and impact contributions have been in games where Celtic have been struggling. It's sad in a way that "the British game" has difficulty accomodating talents like McCourts, and is inevitably inclined to dismiss them as "luxury players".It is even more incredible that NI with their present embarrassment of medicrity can ignore a player who could genuinely make a difference to a game. Come on GR you dont honestly mean to tell me that players like Little, McAuley and the Coleraine goal machine (Patterson) are a class above McCourt? Niall McGInn's impact at Celtic has hardly been more significant and yet he is a squad regularAs I've said many times before, nothing would please me more than to see McCourt strutting his stuff in an NI shirt.
But when I look at his actual record, as opposed to his "Two Minutes of Fame" on YouTube etc, I side with Strachan, Mowbray, Lennon, McIlroy, Sanchez and Worthington, each one of whom has taken a look, even given him a run-out, then decided against.
Face facts. Paddy is in his 3rd season at Parkhead, during which time he has made just six (five?) SPL starts, none against Rangers btw. I'm not sure he has ever completed 90 minutes in any of those. As for his 6 SPL goals to date, I think I'm right in saying all bar one has been after coming on as a sub, when Celtic have either been level, or more usually ahead i.e. opposing defenders have tired. He has yet to score against Rangers, and his recent injury-time goal vs Hearts (he came on with 17 minutes to go with Celtic 2-0 up), was his first at home.
Beyond that, he usually gets a cameo in Scottish Cup games, but hardly features in the 'must-win' European games, including all four this season (vs Utrecht and Braga).
And to be quite honest, as a wonderfully skillful, but lazy-arsed player, he's not even unique for being ignored by an Irish international manager, as this guy demonstrates:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u_ilqmcslw4
P.S. Little and McAuley are both Right Backs (our problem position) and Patterson is an out-and-out striker, whereas McCourt is neither. As for McGinn, such has been his impact for NI that I wouldn't swap him if you offered me three Paddy McCourts, to play half an hour each!
But when I look at his actual record, as opposed to his "Two Minutes of Fame" on YouTube etc, I side with Strachan, Mowbray, Lennon, McIlroy, Sanchez and Worthington, each one of whom has taken a look, even given him a run-out, then decided against.
Face facts. Paddy is in his 3rd season at Parkhead, during which time he has made just six (five?) SPL starts, none against Rangers btw. I'm not sure he has ever completed 90 minutes in any of those. As for his 6 SPL goals to date, I think I'm right in saying all bar one has been after coming on as a sub, when Celtic have either been level, or more usually ahead i.e. opposing defenders have tired. He has yet to score against Rangers, and his recent injury-time goal vs Hearts (he came on with 17 minutes to go with Celtic 2-0 up), was his first at home.
Beyond that, he usually gets a cameo in Scottish Cup games, but hardly features in the 'must-win' European games, including all four this season (vs Utrecht and Braga).
And to be quite honest, as a wonderfully skillful, but lazy-arsed player, he's not even unique for being ignored by an Irish international manager, as this guy demonstrates:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u_ilqmcslw4
P.S. Little and McAuley are both Right Backs (our problem position) and Patterson is an out-and-out striker, whereas McCourt is neither. As for McGinn, such has been his impact for NI that I wouldn't swap him if you offered me three Paddy McCourts, to play half an hour each!