Liam Scales D Celtic b.1998

[Stuttgart88]

He was good first half. Lost his way in the second and was at fault for Ross County's goal. Let his man get ahead of him from a set piece. Would've gotten away with it at LoI level maybe. Has to get up to speed with the defensive side of things but looks comfortable going forward. My Celtic mates are happy enough with him.That goal was a classic example of why I prefer zonal marking from corners. A forward can always just dart around and a defender will always take a fraction of a second to react. The ball should never have arrived at close to ground level so close to the goal either. I'd also be looking at my keeper or someone who should have attacked the ball higher up.

[Charlie Darwin]

From what I am hearing his conditioning and stamina just isn't at the level required coming over from Rovers. He didn't even make the bench after his Betis start apparently due to tiredness.
I'm not saying you're wrong about his conditioning but he's been carrying an injury that kept him out of that game. He's been at Celtic for five months and, frankly, if his conditioning is still at as low level as you say they would be negligent if they didn't sack him.

[Poor Student]

I'm not saying you're wrong about his conditioning but he's been carrying an injury that kept him out of that game. He's been at Celtic for five months and, frankly, if his conditioning is still at as low level as you say they would be negligent if they didn't sack him.

Just conveying what I've read. No idea of its veracity, it just seems to be the word of people I've seen deliver accurate inside information. Tom Rogic is a player I've seen at Celtic take a long long time to come up to the level of conditioning to sustain regular 90 minute performances at Celtic.

[pineapple stu]

Another league start tonight, away to St Mirren.

One goal and one assist from his two league appearances so far; be nice to see that continue

[Olé Olé]

Scales is starting again today, away to St Johnstone.

[Poor Student]

Scales is starting again today, away to St Johnstone.

He started today as Taylor has COVID. I'd say he's largely earned his way into being 2nd choice left back in the last month having previously been behind Montgomery and even Bolingoli when Taylor was previously unavailable. He definitely has a fighting chance of becoming the preferred left back while Celtic don't go out and sign another LB.

[Olé Olé]

He started today as Taylor has COVID. I'd say he's largely earned his way into being 2nd choice left back in the last month having previously been behind Montgomery and even Bolingoli when Taylor was previously unavailable. He definitely has a fighting chance of becoming the preferred left back while Celtic don't go out and sign another LB.

Yes and they have played Juranovic left and right back plenty but went with him further forward which is another show of faith. Fingers crossed he can press on.

[Stuttgart88]

Very solid again, good decision making, always seems to have time on the ball. Great delivery at times.

[Charlie Darwin]

He's tipping along nicely now. Obviously had a slow start and you'd expect Taylor will come back as first choice when he recovers, but Scales has had enough opportunities to show he can do it at that level.

[pineapple stu]

Starts today against Alloa in the Cup - marking Conor Sammon

[Stuttgart88]

Super delivery for first goal. didn't really watch much after that. Those plastic pitches are awful.

[Fixer82]

Apparently just scored a cracker for Celtic

[Olé Olé]

Apparently just scored a cracker for Celtic

https://twitter.com/PremierSportsTV/status/1492898329675460609?s=20&t=29UevQk5SC_9zqnUVcs_rA

It's a gorgeous goal.

[tommy_c12000]

Nice goal. Was poor in his last game apparently. Deserves an irish call up if he establishes himself as a regular first team starter at Celtic.

[Trequartista20]

Has to be in the next squad, surely?

Stevens turns 32 this year and McClean (not really a wingback) is 33 in April. It's probably time to consider and assess our succession options.

[pineapple stu]

Definitely succession planning is needed, but let's keep things in context - he's only played 9 games all season, and two of those were sub appearances in relatively meaningless League Cup games. I'm biased towards Scales of course, but even I'd like to see him be more involved at club level before he's starting for Ireland

[Bielsa´s irish]

He is great At left back, he will only gets better there. Or left side of defense left foot defenders are a luxury nowadays.

[third policeman]

He's beginning to look and play a bit like Bhoys legend, Tommy Gemmell.

[tommy_c12000]

Let’s see if he can establish himself as first choice before we get ahead of ourselves

[Trequartista20]

Fair points by Stu and Tommy. Though I'm not absolutely sure that being first choice at a huge club like Celtic is an absolute prerequisite to gaining a call up with Ireland these days, it would be preferable, of course. I don't think it's totally unrealistic to think that Scales could usurp Taylor in the Celtic side in the relatively near future. Next season will be telling.

Anyway, it's good to see a LoI signing like Scales starting to establish himself as he is.

[Diggs246]

The speed in which he has done it, would indicate he will grow into a very good player

[elatedscum]

Has to be in the next squad, surely?

Stevens turns 32 this year and McClean (not really a wingback) is 33 in April. It's probably time to consider and assess our succession options.

Pretty sure Stevens is injured, hasn't been in the match day squad for Sheffield United recently. I think the players who you could probably make an argument for are

a) Scales - arguments for and against laid out plenty in this thread
b) Manning - decent championship footballer, very versatile - hasn't looked good in an irish shirt but hasn't had many opportunities
c) Derrick Williams - equally versatile, impressed for ireland in his 3 caps, unlucky with injuries and is playing for a good MLS side
d) Joel Bagan - getting his game in the championship at that age is nothing to be sniffed at. he hasn't stood out at 21s enough to think he's ready but should certainly be in the conversation

I think the guys who were involved in the previous 21s campaign apart from Scales can't really be in the conversation but any one of them could be in maybe 2-3 years:

1) Trevor Clarke - injury woes continue
2) Thomas O'Connor has taken a big pay rise to move from League 1 to The Conference (and has been playing in midflield)
3) Darragh Leahy - Dundalk move hasn't really worked out, given how much they've regressed as a club
4) Tyreke Wilson - Has looked good for Waterford and Bohs but it's a long way from there to international football
5) Kam Ledwidge - still 21s eligible but was released by Southampton and is playing for Shels, considering his performances for the 19s that's a serious drop-off

[SkStu]

Pretty sure Stevens is injured, hasn't been in the match day squad for Sheffield United recently. I think the players who you could probably make an argument for are

a) Scales - arguments for and against laid out plenty in this thread
b) Manning - decent championship footballer, very versatile - hasn't looked good in an irish shirt but hasn't had many opportunities
c) Derrick Williams - equally versatile, impressed for ireland in his 3 caps, unlucky with injuries and is playing for a good MLS side
d) Joel Bagan - getting his game in the championship at that age is nothing to be sniffed at. he hasn't stood out at 21s enough to think he's ready but should certainly be in the conversation

I think the guys who were involved in the previous 21s campaign apart from Scales can't really be in the conversation but any one of them could be in maybe 2-3 years:

1) Trevor Clarke - injury woes continue
2) Thomas O'Connor has taken a big pay rise to move from League 1 to The Conference (and has been playing in midflield)
3) Darragh Leahy - Dundalk move hasn't really worked out, given how much they've regressed as a club
4) Tyreke Wilson - Has looked good for Waterford and Bohs but it's a long way from there to international football
5) Kam Ledwidge - still 21s eligible but was released by Southampton and is playing for Shels, considering his performances for the 19s that's a serious drop-off

There’s a fairly good chance Tayo Adaramola leapfrogs quite a few on both lists there, ElatedS, in the next 12-18 months all going to plan. I’ve also watched a couple of games where Festy Ebosele played the left side / lwb position and played it as well as he does the right.

[elatedscum]

There’s a fairly good chance Tayo Adaramola leapfrogs quite a few on both lists there, ElatedS, in the next 12-18 months all going to plan. I’ve also watched a couple of games where Festy Ebosele played the left side / lwb position and played it as well as he does the right.

Tayo's excellent from what I've seen at 17s and 19s and probably the best left-back prospect we've had in forever, but he's only just turned 18. He could be an option soon if everything breaks right and he makes progress into Palace's real first team thoughts or gets a really good loan move, but the more likely scenario is that he's still a good way away. If you're looking at guys who are still in their teens, after Tayo, you've got Jay Furlong and Sean Roughan who seem to have stalled a little bit for different reasons but could both be good players in the medium term and Val Adedokun who I've only seen twice but has attributes to be a good modern full back as well.

Alex Murphy is the U18s left back, not sure if he ends up there or in centre mid or elsewhere - highly regarded nonetheless. Not really convinced by Luke O'Brien who's the 17s left back from the little I've seen.

As for Festy, my instinct is he'll end up playing higher up the pitch. He's defensively pretty decent for the most part and I think he would end up being a very good wing back or full back but I think ultimately his ability on the ball and the quickness of his feet mean he'll end up as an attacking player...

[Olé Olé]

James Furlong and Sean Roughan have a chance of making it into either of ES' two categories. They're behind Adaramola I'm sure but Roughan has a loan to Drogheda to do something with and Furlong will surely be targeting his own loan for next season.

[Stuttgart88]

Pretty sure Stevens is injured, hasn't been in the match day squad for Sheffield United recently. I think the players who you could probably make an argument for are

a) Scales - arguments for and against laid out plenty in this thread
b) Manning - decent championship footballer, very versatile - hasn't looked good in an irish shirt but hasn't had many opportunities
c) Derrick Williams - equally versatile, impressed for ireland in his 3 caps, unlucky with injuries and is playing for a good MLS side
d) Joel Bagan - getting his game in the championship at that age is nothing to be sniffed at. he hasn't stood out at 21s enough to think he's ready but should certainly be in the conversation

I think the guys who were involved in the previous 21s campaign apart from Scales can't really be in the conversation but any one of them could be in maybe 2-3 years:

1) Trevor Clarke - injury woes continue
2) Thomas O'Connor has taken a big pay rise to move from League 1 to The Conference (and has been playing in midflield)
3) Darragh Leahy - Dundalk move hasn't really worked out, given how much they've regressed as a club
4) Tyreke Wilson - Has looked good for Waterford and Bohs but it's a long way from there to international football
5) Kam Ledwidge - still 21s eligible but was released by Southampton and is playing for Shels, considering his performances for the 19s that's a serious drop-offOf the above who'd jump out to you as the guy most likely to come in and stake a claim? For me it's Scales all day long. He's not dynamic but he's calm and composed, makes good decisions, always seems to have time and has a good knack of sliding the ball into the "corridor of uncertainty". When asked to step up a level he has always looked good (SPL, European...) and I think he'll only get better.

I don't care if he's not a regular starter for Celtic. Taylor is very experienced but I think it's clear Postecoglou appeciates Scales' ability at this stage. With European football about to re-commence this week and a tight title race and the SFA Cup still to come I'd imagine Scales will see a few more club games between now and Easter as Postecoglou uses his squad.

I can't comment on the Palace kid as I've only read about him but surely Scales has a clear advantage?

[Eirambler]

Scales and Manning have the advantage of being a bit older and having already been involved in senior squads. Bagan may well have a higher ceiling than either of them in the long run though. He's two footed and he looks quicker than Scales, but has played less senior football up to now.

I don't know enough about Adaramola or Furlong to comment on them to be honest, but it's concerning for Furlong that he never seems to get minutes in cup games for Brighton when other younger players do.

I think we can safely write off Williams, Clark, Leahy, Ledwidge and Wilson at this point as far as bring serious options for the senior team go. O'Connor is good enough to make it back up the divisions in time, but probably as a midfielder, not a left back.

[pineapple stu]

though I'm not absolutely sure that being first choice at a huge club like Celtic is an absolute prerequisite to gaining a call up with Ireland these days
With Celtic being comfortably beaten 3-1 at home by a Bodø side in pre-season in the Conference League, I wonder do we need to re-evaluate how huge a club Celtic really are?

That'd be three European competitions they've been dumped out of this season unless they can salvage something next week.

[Eirambler]

Celtic are an annoying team from an Irish player point of view, the Irish players they sign (usually cheap punts, if we're being honest) struggle for game time, yet the team themselves are not that good.

They're a big club in terms of history and fanbase and so on, but there's a biscuit tin mentality in the board room that holds them back badly.

As for Scales, if he can't force his way into that first team ahead of the Taylor lad that was playing left back tonight, he has no real prospect of being first choice left back for Ireland.

[Jd2793]

if celtic themselves are not good and the irish lads are struggling to get in maybe.... the irish lads are not actually good. Scales is the best one to land at celtic in a while all of the others were poor.

[Eirambler]

Absolutely - they haven't signed our best prospects, or anyone even close to that. Scales the best of a bad bunch that have gone there.

At the same time I don't think they have done an awful lot to develop the Irish players they have signed, more or less ignoring Connell for two years and then shipping out to a part time team being an example of that.

He's probably not good enough for Celtic, but fair to say he'd have seen action somewhere in the Football League at least had he stayed in England.

[JR89]

Absolutely - they haven't signed our best prospects, or anyone even close to that. Scales the best of a bad bunch that have gone there.

At the same time I don't think they have done an awful lot to develop the Irish players they have signed, more or less ignoring Connell for two years and then shipping out to a part time team being an example of that.

He's probably not good enough for Celtic, but fair to say he'd have seen action somewhere in the Football League at least had he stayed in England.

Would have been playing week in week out had he stayed at Bolton when they got relegated to League One.

It is concerning that Scales can't get in ahead of Taylor and wouldn't be surprised if they looked at a new LB in the summer. Scales probably a Dermot Desmond signing, did he or was it McCarthy that were signed before the new manager came in?

[Jd2793]

Would have been playing week in week out had he stayed at Bolton when they got relegated to League One.

It is concerning that Scales can't get in ahead of Taylor and wouldn't be surprised if they looked at a new LB in the summer. Scales probably a Dermot Desmond signing, did he or was it McCarthy that were signed before the new manager came in?

how long would he have played week in week out though? he was playing down to their financial situation. hes now in the scottish 3rd tier, regardless of what you think of celtics handling of him and how he played a handful of games in championship for bolton , you cant pretend theres a lot of calibre there if thats the level hes finding himself at now. mccarthy was definetly not a signing by the new manager imo. injury prone player whos not the most mobile given a 4 year deal by a manager who likes to play intense high pressing football? no chance

[DCWA]

It is concerning that Scales can't get in ahead of Taylor and wouldn't be surprised if they looked at a new LB in the summer.

It is almost certainly an area Ange will look to recruit a new first choice player for, it is one the very few positions he hasn’t improved and with respect to Scales who is ticking along nicely is probably now the weakest area in the squad.

Scales is very popular though and will be around for a while I feel and will be getting games for a while albeit if not as first choice. One benefit of Celtic is that they tend to play a lot of games across 4 (and possibly/probably more depending on how they regress in Europe) tournaments

He has exceeded expectations to date though and who knows could push on.

[Stuttgart88]

Would have been playing week in week out had he stayed at Bolton when they got relegated to League One.

It is concerning that Scales can't get in ahead of Taylor and wouldn't be surprised if they looked at a new LB in the summer. Scales probably a Dermot Desmond signing, did he or was it McCarthy that were signed before the new manager came in?I don't think it's that concerning, not yet anyway.

As for Connell, I read somewhere that Celtic have worked on the "youth to first team" pathway and come up with a more strategic structure. They also realised that the communication of their development plans for any given player was lacking, so each player now has a defined route to first team football and each player knows that route. The first thing I thought was "Luca Connell".

So in Connell's case it could be that they feel first team men's football is better than youth football, and that he's happy with his situation because he has been told that there is a plan for for him. Or they just don't rate him, and maybe we've overrated him.

I think he's looked like a proper baller anytime I've seen him but was a bit disappointed in his U21 showings in Malaga or wherever it was.

Maybe we all just need to be patient.

[seanfhear]

how long would he have played week in week out though? he was playing down to their financial situation. hes now in the scottish 3rd tier, regardless of what you think of celtics handling of him and how he played a handful of games in championship for bolton , you cant pretend theres a lot of calibre there if thats the level hes finding himself at now. mccarthy was definetly not a signing by the new manager imo. injury prone player whos not the most mobile given a 4 year deal by a manager who likes to play intense high pressing football? no chance
That was a special situation at Bolton at that time ~ ~ How many players did they actually have ? Or could afford to pay / play ?

The idea that Celtic or any club are letting players go to the bad for the heck of it makes, no sense, obviously.

[pineapple stu]

Starts tonight in Bodø. Could be a big chance for him

[Crosby87]

Starts tonight in Bodø. Could be a big chance for him

Hopefully the scales have tipped in his direction Stu.

[liamoo11]

I don't think it's that concerning, not yet anyway.

As for Connell, I read somewhere that Celtic have worked on the "youth to first team" pathway and come up with a more strategic structure. They also realised that the communication of their development plans for any given player was lacking, so each player now has a defined route to first team football and each player knows that route. The first thing I thought was "Luca Connell".

So in Connell's case it could be that they feel first team men's football is better than youth football, and that he's happy with his situation because he has been told that there is a plan for for him. Or they just don't rate him, and maybe we've overrated him.

I think he's looked like a proper baller anytime I've seen him but was a bit disappointed in his U21 showings in Malaga or wherever it was.

Maybe we all just need to be patient.

Doak seems to have benefited from that pathway, it will be interesting to see if vata who is the same age as Doak benefits from this pathway

[pineapple stu]

"Struggled a bit tonight" is the commentary view, with Celtic 2-0 down into the last ten.

[joey B]

Tough night for him,but in fairness Celtic have been really poor…..

[tommy_c12000]

Getting slated online anyways. Taylor will be ahead of him for a while longer in the games that count

[Poor Student]

He's been poor in his last few games. Having seen all his appearances now for Celtic I think he's unlikely to make it.

[ontheotherhand]

He's been poor in his last few games. Having seen all his appearances now for Celtic I think he's unlikely to make it.

I don't watch every game so that's interesting to hear. Reports seem to have been positive outside of last night. Sutton raves about him everytime I watch.....not saying Sutton is a reliable judge now! But generally the reporting has been favourable.

Last games he played were in the cup no? Did well in both and was named in the SPFL team of the week after Alloa. Are you talking about SPL games only? Hard to judge any player when the entire team falls apart over two legs as Celtic did against Bodo.

From what I've seen he's done well but probably isn't ready to step up to Celtics important games yet. Plenty of time for him to do so.

[paul_oshea]

I watched him for rovers in Europe I was surprised he got a move to be honest, he was poor, caught out of position a lot and just looked like a weak link defensively. His level is LOI

[ontheotherhand]

DO you watch much LoI Paul? His last few games in Europe weren't great after the move was secured but he's better than LoI.

[paul_oshea]

I watch enough, I watch all available games in Europe. I had a LOI pass for 2 seasons. Ya you're right I wouldn't be watching Finn harps much or much of cork or Galway. But the level I've watched he's about right for that.

[elatedscum]

I watch enough, I watch all available games in Europe. I had a LOI pass for 2 seasons. Ya you're right I wouldn't be watching Finn harps much or much of cork or Galway. But the level I've watched he's about right for that.

Was refreshingly surprised that Derry v Rovers worked on the rte player from Germany last night. Expected it to be geo blocked…

[ontheotherhand]

Would disagree having seen him play every game he played for Rovers. He was probably our best player for a while there and we were the best team in the league. His worst performances came after the deal was done which coincided with Europe and our half our team being crocked as well so wouldn't judge him much on those. Not saying he's a guaranteed Celtic starter but he's above LoI level.

Have a Celtic season ticket holder friend who rates him and thinks he just needs to learn positional discipline in somewhat of a strange system. That's what I've seen. Caught out here and there but physically up to it and calm on the ball.

[ontheotherhand]

Was refreshingly surprised that Derry v Rovers worked on the rte player from Germany last night. Expected it to be geo blocked…

They've finally removed it! I'm guessing due to the overall deal with the FAI having expired or been renegotiated due to the streaming services but either way it's great.