Paddy McCourt

[Predator]

It's great seeing Paddy doing well. Bit in the Irish Times: Celtic's McCourt reminds Lennon of what he has to offer

DIVISION: PADDY McCOURT knows there is little else he can do to persuade Celtic boss Neil Lennon to give him a starting slot but keep delivering the sort of moments of magic he produced against Hearts on Saturday.A freak neck injury picked up when celebrating his winning goal at Inverness in the first league game of the season meant the winger has returned to the bench in recent weeks.
But, with Celtic leading through goals by James Forrest and Shaun Maloney, the substitute wrapped up a 3-0 victory in the dying seconds with a wonderful goal, dinking the ball over Marian Kello after a trademark solo run.
The mercurial Irishman recognises that, with Celtic top of the SPL with four wins out of four and no goals conceded, he faces a battle for a starting slot. “Coming on and scoring goals won’t do me any harm,” the former Derry City winger said.
“The competition in the wide areas and up front is really strong and it is driving everyone on.
“There are probably four or five strikers who think they should be playing every week and maybe three or four wingers as well.
“I’m sure when the manager sits down on a Friday or Saturday to pick the team he has a few headaches but that is better than struggling to pick 11 players.
“I started the first game but picked up an injury and James and Shaun have started the last few games. But I think it would be a bit stupid to knock on the door when we have won every game and haven’t conceded a goal yet.”
The Northern Ireland international is well aware the Hoops fans expect to see some brilliance when he takes to the field.
“The expectancy is something I thrive on,” he said. “I always get a buzz when I hear the reception when I come on.
“I know people are there to see me entertain and that is the strongest part of my game so if I can keep producing goals and chances for the team then hopefully that will be good enough.”
Lennon was as pleased with the clean sheet as with the chances his side created and converted in what was his 12th SPL victory in succession. The Irishman admitted there were aspects of the performance he was not happy about, one of which must have been the performance of skipper Scott Brown.
Lennon, though, claimed he had substituted Brown on the hour mark because the midfielder was struggling after his exertions for Scotland against Lithuania and Liechtenstein. “Scott was just a wee bit sloppy in possession at times and he was probably feeling the effects of two games in a week,” the former Celtic captain said.
Rangers manager Walter Smith hailed the efforts of Allan McGregor against Hamilton as the goalkeeper prepares for what could be one of his busiest nights of the season against Manchester United at Old Trafford tomorrow night. McGregor was on fine form with a number of excellent saves as the Scottish champions ran out 2-1 winners thanks to a last-minute winner from Kenny Miller.
The win allowed Rangers to keep the pressure on Celtic and also provided the required confidence boost ahead of the Champions League clash.

[thischarmingman]

Started for Celtic today but injured after 22 mins.

One Connor Salmon made it onto the scoresheet though...

[OneRedArmy]

Picked in the Norn Ireland squad, although likely to be injured for one of the games.

Good to know Nige listens more to foot.ie than EG and Co.......

[Buller]

You'd have to be mad not to have him in the norn ireland squad - what a player to bring on with 15 minutes left in a game...
too bad he's so injury prone, he really does have incredible talent.

[EalingGreen]

Picked in the Norn Ireland squad, although likely to be injured for one of the games.

Good to know Nige listens more to foot.ie than EG and Co.......

I was generally agnostic in my posts on Paddy's inclusion etc (if you check, you'll see my comments were more on explaining NW's reasons for overlooking him).

But if you do want to know what I think, having been out in Maribor, I can state with complete conviction that he would have been exactly the wrong sort of player for a "backs-to-the-wall" performance like that.
As for the forthcoming games, I wouldn't have had him near the Italy game, either, for two reasons. First, Italian defenders are rather more proficient than Paddy faces at Inverness or Motherwell etc(!). Second, if we lose the ball against them, it could be 10 minutes before we see it again - especially against an Italian team playing away from home (i.e cautiously).

That said, NW made it clear when he called Paddy up that he would not be fit for the Italy game anyhow. Therefore we must assume he had him in mind for the Faroes, which is "fair enough" (sorry) imo.

In any case, it is all moot, since Paddy has since withdrawn completely, due to fitness/injury concerns - more evidence, I'm afraid, that for all his prodigious talent, the "Derry Pele" will never prove sufficiently physically robust to make a career in full-time, professional football*.


* - With all due respects to Derry City/LOI etc.

[OneRedArmy]

I was generally agnostic in my posts on Paddy's inclusion etc (if you check, you'll see my comments were more on explaining NW's reasons for overlooking him).

But if you do want to know what I think, having been out in Maribor, I can state with complete conviction that he would have been exactly the wrong sort of player for a "backs-to-the-wall" performance like that.
As for the forthcoming games, I wouldn't have had him near the Italy game, either, for two reasons. First, Italian defenders are rather more proficient than Paddy faces at Inverness or Motherwell etc(!). Second, if we lose the ball against them, it could be 10 minutes before we see it again - especially against an Italian team playing away from home (i.e cautiously).

That said, NW made it clear when he called Paddy up that he would not be fit for the Italy game anyhow. Therefore we must assume he had him in mind for the Faroes, which is "fair enough" (sorry) imo.

In any case, it is all moot, since Paddy has since withdrawn completely, due to fitness/injury concerns - more evidence, I'm afraid, that for all his prodigious talent, the "Derry Pele" will never prove sufficiently physically robust to make a career in full-time, professional football*.


* - With all due respects to Derry City/LOI etc.

To quote my dear grandfather, you wouldn't know if it was blown up or stuffed.

[EalingGreen]

To quote my dear grandfather, you wouldn't know if it was blown up or stuffed.

Perhaps you might get your dear Granda to point out where I was incorrect in my post, seeing as you have pointedly failed to do so...

[harry crumb]

Perhaps you might get your dear Granda to point out where I was incorrect in my post, seeing as you have pointedly failed to do so...

Paddy's been making a career out of professional football since he was 15 whatever you might think he's been up to.

AFAIK he isn't an accountant/carpenter/dentist.

[EalingGreen]

Paddy's been making a career out of professional football since he was 15 whatever you might think he's been up to.

AFAIK he isn't an accountant/carpenter/dentist.

OK, I shall qualify my final conclusion to meet your objection, as follows:

"In any case, it is all moot, since Paddy has since withdrawn completely, due to fitness/injury concerns - more evidence, I'm afraid, that for all his prodigious talent, the 'Derry Pele may never prove sufficiently physically robust to make a career in full-time, professional football, at a level high enough to merit regular international selection, even for Northern Ireland. ".
(His suitability for international football being the topic of discussion, after all)

I hope the above is clearer. Of course, you may disagree with that last conclusion, presumably on the basis of Paddy's 30-odd League starts for Rochdale in the (old) English 4th Division over 4 years; followed by 70-odd starts in the LOI over three years; with half a dozen starts in the SPL now that he's in his 3rd season at Parkhead.

As for me, much as I would genuinely (still) love to see him turning it on in an NI shirt, as each month passes without his being able to hold down a regular place even in the SPL, I become less optimistic.

If nothing else, Paddy will be 27 in two months time; therefore I hold out greater hope for eg Niall McGinn, who may not be so outrageously talented as Paddy, but who at 23 is more likely to reward being given a chance to prove himself on the international stage over the years to come.

[hedderman]

I think Ealing Green makes a number of very valid points. Paddy McCourt is a very talented player but is frequently ineffective.

[Stevo Da Gull]

Just heard on Sky Sports Soccer Special "Paddy McCourt, the outstanding player from the first half" coming close to breaking the deadlock in the second. Will be interesting to see if he runs out of gas and gets subbed off before the end.

[ifk101]

He wasn't outstanding by any means but he nearly scored another spectacular goal at the start of the second half after turning ex-Irish international Alan Maybury inside and out - but he was slightly off-balanced when he took his shot which pushed it high and wide. He had a good chance to score from a header in the first half but heading the ball has never been Paddy's strong point. I thought overall he did overdo the dribbling somewhat and too often cut inside when ideally Celtic should have been trying to stretch St Johnstone's defence. But in saying that he was Celtic's most creative attacking threat throughout the game and he certainly is a valuable player for Celtic to have, especially when Celtic are expected to dictate the pace and be creative in the vast majority of their games.

[gustavo]

Another nice goal for Paddy this evening

[thischarmingman]

Played entirety of Old Firm game ay the weekend. Mentioned fairly often on the liveblog too:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/foot...em/9333063.stm

[Scooby Doo]

http://www.breakingnews.ie/sport/fai...on-489789.html

A non-story, but some poor website editor will likely get clipped for this error.....

[ArdeeBhoy]

Don't tell certain posters on here!

Meanwhile that august journal The Daily Record, confirmed earlier in the week, the recent fan mail sent from the North was by those 'nice' people in the UDA.
Means they are finally decommissioning??

[DannyInvincible]

Wowzerz!



The goal nearly even causes the presenter to break out of casual-run-of-the-mill-runthrough-of-the-rest-of-the-day's-lower-leagues-goals mode. Some great accompanying sounds.

[DannyInvincible]

A good read from 'These Football Times' on McCourt's career to date and his possible return to the League of Ireland: http://thesefootballtimes.co/2017/02...come-a-legend/

...

McCourt’s image concealed his genius. Sometimes that worked to his advantage, but occasionally it may have led some of his coaches to underestimate him – to their own cost. For others, however, there was never any doubt as to his quality. “Paddy is as gifted a footballer as I have ever seen,” said Gordon Strachan, the man who took McCourt to Scotland, in 2015. “Some players can see a pass, but not dribble. Others can dribble, but not see a pass. Paddy can do both. And, I have got to say, watching Paddy is one of the best things in football.”

After leaving Celtic in 2013, McCourt flitted around the Football League for a few seasons before returning to Ireland with Glenavon in 2016. Now 33, there are certainly some years left in Paddy, but at the time of writing he is without a club. Recent rumours linking him with League of Ireland champions Dundalk came to nothing, but the possibility of his return to the league will excite those who recall his glory years with Derry. Even in his 30s, McCourt would be one of the competition’s shining lights.

Simply put, Paddy McCourt had nearly everything required to be a world-class winger. With the ball at his feet, he was extravagantly talented, a showman in the mould of his compatriot George Best. Perhaps he was simply too much a product of the old school to succeed in the modern football landscape. Had he been born a decade earlier, his name might now be mentioned in the same breath as some greats of the game, at least in the UK and Ireland. As it is, Paddy never truly managed to rise consistently above the level of local hero status: the brilliant boy-next-door who thrilled and awed the few who were lucky enough to see him at his best.

It’s just a shame that his gifts never found a wider audience.