Aiden McGeady

[youngirish]

great post YI, very reasoned and fair.

Ta Paul but before I get carried away did you forget to add a sarcastic smiley face to the end of your post?

[paul_oshea]

No I didn't, I am singing from the same hymn sheet and having been saying the same for the last 15 or so page

[Stuttgart88]

Wayne Rooney is a young player who has delivered World Class performances at both club and international level. That's the benchmark

For every Rooney there must be dozens of others who reached high status later in their careers. Rooney's a freak and is no benchmark for anyone. It's far more normal for creative players to peak later. Look at Zidane or Bergkamp. Also look at Owen, past his best when he was 24.

I'm sitting on the fence as far as McGeady is concerned. He's got extraordinary feet but looks like he needs to learn the game more. This may or may not ever come, but anyone can see he's a better player than he was a year ago and hopefully he'll keep improving.

I'm bloody glad he's available for us and not Scotland.

[Stuttgart88]

I'm fed up with this "SPL is sh1t so anyone doing well there must be crap" nonsense. The Premiership is a top league but with players of staggeringly different levels of ability. The eLOI isn't a top class league but there are players who can clearly play at a higher level just as there are those who drag the standard down. Why not just look at the player and make a judgment?

[BigmanCas]

For every Rooney there must be dozens of others who reached high status later in their careers. Rooney's a freak and is no benchmark for anyone. It's far more normal for creative players to peak later. Look at Zidane or Bergkamp. Also look at Owen, past his best when he was 24.

I'm sitting on the fence as far as McGeady is concerned. He's got extraordinary feet but looks like he needs to learn the game more. This may or may not ever come, but anyone can see he's a better player than he was a year ago and hopefully he'll keep improving.

I'm bloody glad he's available for us and not Scotland.

Good point - Look at Thierry Henry...

[NeilMcD]

Fair play Stuttts a very balanced and well put forward few points. Are you the guy that settles all debates at home. You are far too reasonable for your own good. Fair play

[Billsthoughts]

I'm fed up with this "SPL is sh1t so anyone doing well there must be crap" nonsense. The Premiership is a top league but with players of staggeringly different levels of ability. The eLOI isn't a top class league but there are players who can clearly play at a higher level just as there are those who drag the standard down. Why not just look at the player and make a judgment?

IMO Mageady benefits more than most from playing in a below standard league. the type of player he is means he can make fools of players of a certain standard. Did ya ever play football and a guy who plays at a decent standard comes down and runs rings round everyone and then ya see him at his own standard and he isnt all that and a bag a chips? I know its not the same thing but thats the only way I would describe my mageady doubts. would love to see him do well for us tho. goes without saying

Fair play Stuttts a very balanced and well put forward few points. Are you the guy that settles all debates at home. You are far too reasonable for your own good. Fair play

Feb 29th was the day women could propose to the man they loved.
....
how did you get on Neil?

[eirebhoy]

In fairness Puyol didn't look very bright against him, same goes for the Brazil right back and both Benfica full backs (he played against the left back in the away game and the right back in the home game).

[Billsthoughts]

remind me who won the brazil and barcelona matches again?

[eirebhoy]

remind me who won the brazil and barcelona matches again?

Seriously? McGeady couldn't have been that good because he was on the losing side?

[Billsthoughts]

he cant have been that great either. you could easily just have said he is rubbish and use the Cyprus, Slovakia and Czech games as irrefutable proof.

Player with pace causes ageing defender problems. hardly shocking. tricky player causes disinterested brazilian C team problems(altho not that many as it turned out).

[eirebhoy]

Player with pace causes ageing defender problems. hardly shocking.

Wouldn't have thought 29 was old. I don't think you can claim to hold no bias tbh.

[Billsthoughts]

Wouldn't have thought 29 was old but if you want to play McGeady down feel free. Just don't claim to hold no bias.

Lets call him pushing 30 then?
I dont understand your bias comment? Please explain.

[eirebhoy]

Because everything about him has to be negative. Ignore the positives and just say that any average winger should be troubling Puyol. I'm certainly biased when it comes to McGeady. I want him to succeed more than a lot of Irish players.

[Billsthoughts]

No your a cheerleader for him. As I have said a million times before I would love for him to be good for Ireland. Hes the type of player I love to see. However he hasnt been. Can you not just accept that? There is no bias on my part. I followed him since he was just getting a game for celtic and if anything I would have been biased in favour of him doing well. But your saying he should walk into the Ireland team on the back of a freindly game against Brazil. Thats ridiculous. His good form at club level has to be tempered by the standard of league he is playing in.

[eirebhoy]

I'm saying I'd have him in the team if we had a competitive tomorrow because I believe he has gotten over his confidence problems with Ireland. That wasn't an excuse I used for McGeady. I'm absolutely convinced his problems with Ireland previously were down to confidence and pressure. He was a nervous wreck in some games and couldn't play a 5 yard pass.

[Billsthoughts]

I actually agree with you to some extent on this one. The Irish fans seem to get on the backs of players(more so flair players) very quickly. probably due to the nature of the makeup of the support. There was obvious signs of this in his play like the example you mentioned. However in the Czech and Slovak games he actually looked like a player who didnt give a damn. Nothing to do with confidance and everything to do with attitude.

[eirebhoy]

I don't know, I never watched those games back but he's really not a player that'd slack off. When he's full of confidence like the Brazil game he'll come and demand the ball, look for it. The opposite is the case when you have no confidence. Maybe that made him look lazy.

[geysir]

It's whats churning around on his insides that matter. He know he was cráp in those games and is determined to do himself and the team justice
Players who let their frustrations come out get sent off

[jmurphyc]

IMO it's unfair to keep judging him on the two performances in September. They were both in the space of 4 days, so it's not as if they were two mutually exclusive performances. He played well as an impact sub in the last campaign, and considering he was relatively young during that campaign, that was probably the most we could expect from him. He was also playing under an incredibly incompetent manager who probably didn't instruct him well before kick off. It's not like he was the outstanding poor player during the campaign.

As I said earlier, we can't keep holding the September games against him. IMO he's done pretty well since then and he deserves to start in the first game of the qualifiers if he carries on his form. There's no doubt that an eventual move will benefit him and we'll be able to assess him more accurately if that happens. However, he definitely needs to impress in the upcoming qualifiers. He'll be 22 by then, and it'll be time to step up and prove his consistency. Perhaps he'll never be a world beater, but he could definitely be one of our most influential players in the years to come.