Could Aiden McGeady actually make the step up?
With the transfer deadline looming many clubs are looking to do some last minute business. One player linked to many Premier League clubs is Celtic’s Aiden McGeady, but is he good enough to leave Parkhead and make the move South?
McGeady has been a key member of the Celtic team this season providing his trademark flair and trickery to a below-par squad. Yet even McGeady has had his critics this season, missing gilt edge chances in recent weeks.
As a Celtic fan I would be devastated if McGeady was to leave Glasgow, as he is the one player of undoubted quality in the Celtic squad. He has become the marquee player at the club and he would be a huge loss to Tony Mowbray’s plans. The simple answer to the question of his ability is ‘yes of course he is good enough!’ He has performed for Celtic in the Champions League, successfully showing his dribbling skill and flair against giants such as AC Milan. To add to the argument is his international career, with 31 caps to his name in a strong Irish team. Fellow Irish internationals are prominent in the Premier League, such as Robbie Keane, Richard Dunne and John O’Shea, and McGeady is surely able to follow in their footsteps.
If and when McGeady does play in the Premier League he will have several issues to overcome. A huge decision for McGeady will be which club to join as it is vital he joins a club with a manager that is willing to allow him the freedom to express himself. He is far from a lazy winger and he will track back but he is undoubtedly at his best when allowed to regularly torment opposing fullbacks. So a creative and attacking manager will be vital to his success.
The other major issue McGeady will face is the increased physical ability of his opponents. Although he is used to playing at a higher level he had never played against competitive teams every week. It will be vital that he deals with this attrition and accepts that he may not be able to skip past every fullback in the league. In the SPL McGeady can get away with the occasional poor cross because he knows that he will get another opportunity soon. In contrast in the Premier League he may only get a couple of good opportunities to deliver into the box and he must therefore improve his delivery.
This same point goes for his shooting. McGeady is capable of scoring some terrific goals yet is also culpable of missing easier chances. In the Premier League his teammates, manager and fans may not be quite so forgiving of such mistakes.
McGeady is undoubtedly the most talented British and Irish player outside of the Premier League. He will be successful in the Premier League so long as he chooses his club wisely. He may not set the league on fire as he does in the SPL but then how many players really do that in England anyway. I just hope that Premier League managers continue to avoid the risk as I would be very happy to keep him for a few years yet.
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Ewan Nisbet…that sounds about right!!
“Make the step up”!!!???
Apart from the evidence of ‘journos’ (ahem) like yourself ‘Ewan’ desperate to get aiden of Celtics books with an oh so transparent 24/7 campaign to do so, and you can bet your bottom dollar that any Celtic player being touted about by ‘journos’ like yourself ‘Ewan’ he’s got to be kept at the club.
Add to that the fact that the Celtic support are fed up watching our Bhoys hump EPL teams in Europe, to the extent that your EPL superstars who have been good enough to “take the step up” have to resort to blatant cheating (Giggs, Eduardo…et al) to get a result against us!
You EPL fans don’t half like sookin’ yer ain boabies!! lol!!
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Thanks for the comment max. Unsurprisingly i have a few points to make. I myself am a Celtic fan and would be delighted to see McGeady play his whole career in a Celtic shirt, and i fear the loss of creativity his potential sale would mean to the Celtic squad.
Despite being a Celtic fan i am however not blind to the fact that the english premier league is a far superior league, with a vast financial advantage. Players such as Pedro Mendes and Anthony Stokes are at best average in the EPL yet are stand out players in the SPL.
I also make no claim to be a (ahem) ‘journalist’. I am a football fan writing my opinion on issues and i welcome any further views you may have.
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