Thursday, July 05, 2018

Celtic in for John McGinn? If you know the history, the move would make sense

Anyone who reads this irregularly-published blog more than twice a year can tell you that I never shy away from saying, "I told you so".

I make no apology for doing so as I simply have a near-perfect memory for those occasions on which I have been proved right.

A cynic might suggest that's because they are so few in number but that's not true.

In fact, they are too many to count on the free fingers of my hands while I type this.

One of those times was my enthusiastic support for Scott Brown, from the outset. Scott's critics are a lot quieter these days but I still have their names in a sealed envelope in my desk.

But the memories some hold of the days when Scott signed (for ten times the price of Kenny Dalglish) seem to have dimmed.

It went like this. Neil Lennon, the most-targeted player in Scotland - by opponents, fans and media alike - was coming to the end of his historic captaincy of Celtic and Gordon Strachan was openly musing that he would leave a gap that would be extremely difficult to fill and perhaps impossible for one man to replace.

What Gordon meant was that he wanted the talented, battling young engine-room of Hibs - Scott and Kevin Thomson - to provide the foundation for the future of Celtic.

We now know that Celtic's Peter Lawwell allowed himself to be beaten to the punch by Walter Smith, seeing Thomson head off to Ibrox, by his own admission, taking the first offer to get away from John Collins.

Many - not least Derek Johnstone - expected Scott to follow his close pal and team-mate but the player had other ideas. Massimo Donatti - a good servant to Celtic - was recruited by Celtic's clever scouting operation deeming him a player who could do what Thomson did.

Apparently, this cleverness had omitted to account for the impact on both players and Celtic's ability to replace Neil with what might have been to Celtic and Scotland a midfield partnership to be spoken of with the same relish as the centre-backs, Miller-and-McLeish, was to Aberdeen and Scotland fans in the 1980s and 90s.

Personally, I had always quietly admired Thomson, though I much preferred Scott. (I recall an English friend spluttering that Thomson must be a player if I was complimenting a guy who had played for Rangers.)

While I may have digressed, Celtic are coming to another watershed moment, though planning for it with rather more foresight than when Scott was thrust into one of the most unforgiving positions Scottish football could offer and basically told: "Perform!"

Referees and a minuscule sense of fair play permitting, Scott's legs have a few seasons left to run but the void that he will leave will be no smaller than when Neil hung  up his boots for Celtic.

He is Celtic's captain, unquestioned leader, icon and, in this blogger's opinion, still our best player.

So, we do need to plan for that sad day when Scott finally takes his last bow for Celtic.

And it would be utter folly to try to find a replacement at the time. A comparable player would be far beyond the means of Celtic and, even then, by no means guaranteed to make that step  successfully, never mind immediately.

So, we absolutely must plan for a slow transition. And that's where John McGinn comes in.

Forget false comparisons between McGinn and Stuart Armstrong, which many have made. Armstrong has all the technical tools to be a top footballer but had never shown the stomach to be a Celtic captain or midfielder ready to take responsibility for all the good and bad that may happen to the club.

And, aside from that fact, they are players of very different styles.

The more direct comparison with Armstrong would be the vastly-superior Olivier Ntcham, who is a footballer of the highest quality. So much so that I believe that next summer's clamour will be for the signature of Olivier.

To turn a metaphor on its head, Olivier could be described as a velvet fist in an iron glove. He has such a good touch with both feet, as well as superb balance and reading of the game, yet his powerful physique enables him to show these skills when under intense physical pressure.

He shares many of these attributes with Moussa Dembele and these are highly-prized at the top levels of the modern international game.

So, appreciate Olivier while he is here, as I expect Europe's top clubs to be using a battering-ram on Celtic's front door, rather than knocking.

That leaves Eboue Kouassi, for whom I still retain hope. Eboue has made two massive cultural changes in just a few years, going to Russian and then to Scotland before he was twenty.

So, it shouldn't be a great surprise that he hasn't made a major impact in a year-and-a-half.

Eboue is another obvious contender to assume the mantle of Scott but, as with Neil Lennon, replacing our captain may be too big a job for one man (even, if for some different reasons).

So, we come to Hibernians' John McGinn.

Is he as good as Scott? Let me join in with those wailing, "No!", as if any player in Scotland could be, with Scott having swept all awards last season.

Could McGinn be as good as Scott? With similar dedication and excellent coaching, I think it's possible.

I do think that Scott had a bit more than McGinn when he came to Celtic. Then again, I had rarely seen a player with that unstoppable dynamism that Scott possessed, coupled with his instinct to create an attack when, in those days, he invariably rose first from a crumple of bodies and immediately looked to play the ball forward.

But I do see huge potential in McGinn and, given great coaching and top-level experience, I think that he has what it takes to develop into a future Celtic captain.

It's easy to forget that the coaching of Gordon Strachan and Brendan Rodgers, in particular, coupled with Scott's own maturing and intelligence have combined to produce a player who I wouldn't swap for anyone else in the world.

The criticism of McGinn saddens me, not least because of its merciless negativity.

As the great Tommy Burns once said, you should always focus on what a player CAN do for you, instead of what they can't.

John McGinn - the best player in Scotland last season, outside Celtic - can already do plenty of things in midfield.

Learning from Scott and coached by Brendan, I would like to see what else his game has to offer in green  and white.

The Hooped kind, of course.
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