csinclair Posted February 9, 2020 Share Posted February 9, 2020 A good piece on Fleck's career to date Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dohadeer Posted February 9, 2020 Share Posted February 9, 2020 Why is he not one of the first names on our team sheet? Aside from Andy Robertson, surely he’s playing regularly at a higher level than any of our other players. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave78 Posted February 9, 2020 Share Posted February 9, 2020 36 minutes ago, dohadeer said: Why is he not one of the first names on our team sheet? Aside from Andy Robertson, surely he’s playing regularly at a higher level than any of our other players. Agree. He has to play against Israel, and hopefully* Norway/Serbia. *please note the "hopefully" Doh-Doh Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Texas Pete Posted February 9, 2020 Share Posted February 9, 2020 57 minutes ago, dohadeer said: Why is he not one of the first names on our team sheet? Aside from Andy Robertson, surely he’s playing regularly at a higher level than any of our other players. I think he probably is now. He’s been fantastic for Sheffield Utd over the last few months. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aaid Posted February 9, 2020 Share Posted February 9, 2020 (edited) 12 hours ago, Texas Pete said: I think he probably is now. He’s been fantastic for Sheffield Utd over the last few months. He probably is now, particularly with injuries. Whether he was a year ago is debatable. Edited February 9, 2020 by aaid Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ProudScot Posted February 9, 2020 Share Posted February 9, 2020 Multiple reasons why he’s our #1 cm at present - with McGinn and McTominay injured. Only Celtic fans think Callum McGregor deserves to play ahead of him. The same ones who think James Forrest should always start. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PASTA Mick Posted February 10, 2020 Share Posted February 10, 2020 21 hours ago, ProudScot said: Multiple reasons why he’s our #1 cm at present - with McGinn and McTominay injured. Only Celtic fans think Callum McGregor deserves to play ahead of him. The same ones who think James Forrest should always start. Is Steve Clarke a Celtic fan? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Squirrelhumper Posted February 10, 2020 Share Posted February 10, 2020 21 hours ago, ProudScot said: The same ones who think James Forrest should always start. I think he should too and I'm a Killie fan. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ceudmilefailte Posted February 10, 2020 Share Posted February 10, 2020 Reading the Sheffield UTD forum yesterday more to find out about McBurnie than anything else but one thing that stuck was that in the first half when Fleck was well bellow par UTD were too and when he came to life in second half so did the whole team. The Fans in Sheffield really do think he is that important to the team. Sheffield UTD don't have any great players but they do seem to have formed a great unit nice if we could do the same. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ceudmilefailte Posted February 10, 2020 Share Posted February 10, 2020 53 minutes ago, PASTA Mick said: Is Steve Clarke a Celtic fan? Touche! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wanderer Posted February 10, 2020 Share Posted February 10, 2020 Did Fleck not have a bit of a stigma around him that dates back to when he was at Rangers after a bust up with McCoist that kind of saw him blackballed to a degree by the Scottish press? Even when he was at Coventry (granted League One) he was showing signs that there was a player there (seem to recall a cup game v a pretty strong Arsenal team, which he stole the show in), so I think there has been signs there that a player is there, just a case he has went to the next level this season Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fairbairn Posted February 10, 2020 Share Posted February 10, 2020 49 minutes ago, wanderer said: Did Fleck not have a bit of a stigma around him that dates back to when he was at Rangers after a bust up with McCoist that kind of saw him blackballed to a degree by the Scottish press? Even when he was at Coventry (granted League One) he was showing signs that there was a player there (seem to recall a cup game v a pretty strong Arsenal team, which he stole the show in), so I think there has been signs there that a player is there, just a case he has went to the next level this season I've no recollection of the McCoist thing. To be fair to Fleck, there was far to much expectation on him at a young age which wasn't helped by the fact that he was badly misused by Smith and played out of position. Smith had a horrible habit of trying to shoehorn players in to a left midfield position that they clearly weren't suited for and Fleck's performances suffered as a result. To be fair at the time he'd have been up against the likes of Davis, Thomson, and Mendes for a central midfield position so he was always going to struggle for game time there at that stage. There's no doubting he was talented though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ProudScot Posted February 10, 2020 Share Posted February 10, 2020 5 hours ago, PASTA Mick said: Is Steve Clarke a Celtic fan? Hopefully not Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Texas Pete Posted February 10, 2020 Share Posted February 10, 2020 5 hours ago, PASTA Mick said: Is Steve Clarke a Celtic fan? I think he is actually. Most folk that pretend to support Kilmarnock are at it. I mean, why would you? 😂 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kirk Posted February 11, 2020 Share Posted February 11, 2020 21 hours ago, PASTA Mick said: Is Steve Clarke a Celtic fan? pretty sure he is 21 hours ago, Squirrelhumper said: I think he should too and I'm a Killie fan. why, he has consistently been one of our worst players Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Squirrelhumper Posted February 11, 2020 Share Posted February 11, 2020 2 hours ago, Kirk said: why, he has consistently been one of our worst players Has he? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kirk Posted February 11, 2020 Share Posted February 11, 2020 45 minutes ago, Squirrelhumper said: Has he? Yes, completely ineffective in the majority of his appearances. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dohadeer Posted February 11, 2020 Share Posted February 11, 2020 1 minute ago, Kirk said: Yes, completely ineffective in the majority of his appearances. I agree that he’s usually a passenger. A luxury player that Celtic can get away with playing, but Scotland can’t. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Squirrelhumper Posted February 11, 2020 Share Posted February 11, 2020 19 minutes ago, dohadeer said: I agree that he’s usually a passenger. A luxury player that Celtic can get away with playing, but Scotland can’t. Sounds like Robertson (and just about every other player) for Scotland. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stocky Posted February 11, 2020 Share Posted February 11, 2020 3 hours ago, Kirk said: why, he has consistently been one of our worst players If it wasnt fpr his (5 ? ) Goals we wouldnt be having a play off semi final game next month... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Squirrelhumper Posted February 11, 2020 Share Posted February 11, 2020 35 minutes ago, stocky said: If it wasnt fpr his (5 ? ) Goals we wouldnt be having a play off semi final game next month... Folk are saying Forrest is pish but want Griffiths and McBurnie to start, both of whom have done next to the square root of fuck all in a Scotland shirt (England game excepted). I agree Forrest can be frustrating at times but he's our best option in that area. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dohadeer Posted February 11, 2020 Share Posted February 11, 2020 3 minutes ago, Squirrelhumper said: Folk are saying Forrest is pish but want Griffiths and McBurnie to start, both of whom have done next to the square root of fuck all in a Scotland shirt (England game excepted). I agree Forrest can be frustrating at times but he's our best option in that area. Yeah, I’d start McBurnie or Griffiths, because there aren’t any other options. We have an abundance of quality in midfield though, so I wouldn’t give one of those five places to James Forrest. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Squirrelhumper Posted February 11, 2020 Share Posted February 11, 2020 1 hour ago, dohadeer said: Yeah, I’d start McBurnie or Griffiths, because there aren’t any other options. We have an abundance of quality in midfield though, so I wouldn’t give one of those five places to James Forrest. Who's the abundance of quality out of interest? Specifically wingers as that's where he'll play. Here's the last squad - who are these abundance of wingers? Bearing in mind that Forrest scored 5 goals in our 4 Nations League Qualifers, then I'd be happy to say he's turned up in a Scotland shirt. Midfielders Stuart Armstrong (Southampton) Ryan Christie (Celtic) John Fleck (Sheffield United) Ryan Jack (Rangers) John McGinn (Aston Villa) Callum McGregor (Celtic) Kenny McLean (Norwich City) Scott McTominay (Manchester United) Forwards Oliver Burke (Alaves)* James Forrest (Celtic) Ryan Fraser (AFC Bournemouth) Oliver McBurnie (Sheffield United) Steven Naismith (Hearts) Lawrence Shankland (Dundee United) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dohadeer Posted February 11, 2020 Share Posted February 11, 2020 2 minutes ago, Squirrelhumper said: Who's the abundance of quality out of interest? Specifically wingers as that's where he'll play. Here's the last squad - who are these abundance of wingers? Bearing in mind that Forrest scored 5 goals in our 4 Nations League Qualifers, then I'd be happy to say he's turned up in a Scotland shirt. Midfielders Stuart Armstrong (Southampton) Ryan Christie (Celtic) John Fleck (Sheffield United) Ryan Jack (Rangers) John McGinn (Aston Villa) Callum McGregor (Celtic) Kenny McLean (Norwich City) Scott McTominay (Manchester United) Forwards Oliver Burke (Alaves)* James Forrest (Celtic) Ryan Fraser (AFC Bournemouth) Oliver McBurnie (Sheffield United) Steven Naismith (Hearts) Lawrence Shankland (Dundee United) I find it really difficult to judge Celtic players, (or Old Firm players, but Rangers have hardly any Scottish players) compared to English Premiership players. It’s a totally different thing winning for Celtic every week, than it is in the cut-throat world of the non-big six English Premiership teams. For me, I’d play Armstrong, Fleck, Fraser, McGinn, and McTominay, but I find it hard to judge where Christie and McGregor are standard-wise compared to those five. A quick check now, suggests that Oliver Burke is getting game time in LaLiga, which is impressive as well, so he’d be an eighth contender for a midfield spot, who I’d pick ahead of Forrest. In terms of wide midfield, I’d go with two from Armstrong, Burke, and Fraser, all ahead of James Forrest. (I think that Armstrong plays wide midfield for Southampton, but I may be incorrect, and he may be more central.) I’ve seen too many anonymous games from Forrest, where he’s barely touched the ball, to merit inclusion in a big game. Perhaps include him for Israel at home - although I’d rather he was an option off the bench - but certainly not away to Norway or Serbia. I think that Armstrong and Fraser offer much more of what we need in that type of game, they don’t have the tendency to fade to anonymity as Forrest does. I think that I have something against small midfielders, who play on the wing, (Theo Walcott and Aaron Lennon are recent examples that spring to mind) as I think that it is very easy for them to have anonymous games if the match is not the type of match that suits their abilities. Away to Norway or Serbia, if we get that far, and possibly at home to Israel, we are going to need more of the skills that Armstrong and Fraser can offer, rather than what James Forrest offers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Texas Pete Posted February 11, 2020 Share Posted February 11, 2020 3 hours ago, Squirrelhumper said: Folk are saying Forrest is pish but want Griffiths and McBurnie to start, both of whom have done next to the square root of fuck all in a Scotland shirt (England game excepted). I agree Forrest can be frustrating at times but he's our best option in that area. Griffiths played pretty well in Slovenia and scored a good goal but I see your point. I think people want to see him back as he was just becoming an important player for us when he started having his issues. Nobody has emerged as a better option than him so if he’s fit and playing well for Celtic I think most of us would want him to play in the playoffs. I like James Forrest and would have no issues with him starting against Israel (and hopefully Norway/Serbia) but like you say he can be very frustrating. If he plays well against Israel he can do real damage to them as he has already proven. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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