Liam Scales D Celtic b.1998

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.

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Originally Posted by 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.

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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?

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Originally Posted by JR89

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?

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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

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Originally Posted by JR89

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.

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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.

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Originally Posted by JR89

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?

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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.

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Originally Posted by Jd2793

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

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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.

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

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Originally Posted by pineapple stu

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

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Hopefully the scales have tipped in his direction Stu.

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Originally Posted by Stuttgart88

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.

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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

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

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

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

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.

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Originally Posted by 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.

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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.

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

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.

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.

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Originally Posted by 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.

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

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.

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Originally Posted by elatedscum

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

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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.