Aiden McGeady

Frankly, there doesn't seem much point in even opening the polling booths. Ballot papers are not required.

Just be done with it and give Aiden McGeady the player of the year awards now, both Scottish Football Writers' Association and that of his fellow professionals. It's shootie-in.

The gifted young Glaswegian, who allowed his football soul to be wooed over the sea to Ireland, has lit up the season with his dancing feet and dipping shoulders, leaving magic dust and shell-shocked defenders in his wake.

Oh, what a loss for Scotland is the one who got away. How could that have happened?

You can't blame the lad. He's entitled to play for the country of his forebears if that's what stirs his heart.

The Irish prised a foot in his door when Celtic stopped him playing for the Scottish schoolboy team and Packy Bonner started to nibble his ear.

It was a piece of opportunism by Dublin, that's what it was. But it was Scotland's loss all right.

McGeady is the fans' kind of player. Big, ugly centre-halves might be vital components of successful teams but they don't affect the box office. You don't make up your mind to take in a game just to see a bloke built like a brick outhouse boot a ball into the stand.

But McGeady and his ilk? Things of beauty they are. They make turnstiles click like machine gun fire and they warm the soul on a cold winter's day.

Four years ago I stood with Martin O'Neill at Celtic's Barrowfield training ground on a spring afternoon and watched the club's youngsters play. McGeady shone like a diamond in a coal face.

It was as if the ball was laced to his boot. They couldn't get it off him, couldn't get near him.

Except he loved it so dearly he couldn't bear to part with it. He should have been in dribblers' anonymous.

Beating three men was never enough - he always needed to take on just one more.

And so the strikers grow weary of making runs and checking out of them only to go again...and again...and again. They are, after all, playing football, not dancing the Grand Old Duke of York.

O'Neill told me that at that stage of McGeady's development it was not a problem, but there would come a time when the player would realise that the pass and the cross were as telling as the mazy run, when the extraction of the Michael of just a couple of players was enough.

And now the Celtic player has reached - and eased into - that stage.

It makes you wonder what he might be worth in the transfer market if Alan Hutton- a defender - and Craig Gordon - a goalkeeper - are price-tagged at £9m.

Celtic are sitting on the kind of goldmine which at one fell swoop could write off the cost of their Lennoxtown training complex.

Multi-million pound deals will never replace the joy of discovering and nurturing your own talent, although McGeady can reflect on the irony of life given that those who were developing with him - players like Ross Wallace and Craig Beattie - never quite took it to the next level at Celtic.

That's not McGeady's problem. But I doubt if he has many, as spring thinks of poking her head out from under the duvet.

It's his season in the sun, all right, and that showing against Aberdeen at Pittodrie on Sunday was the embodiment of everything in his locker.

The double drag-back - copyright Zinedine Zidane - for the creation of Scott McDonald's second goal was stuff to take the breath away.

But there is more to his game now than flicks and tricks. He is not a performing seal.

But he should retain the skills. He'll have two player of the year awards to juggle with come May.


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What is the world coming to? Chick Young saying something positive about Celtic I think that just shows what kind of form Aidenhio has been in

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jqf8n1QYreo - Sums it up really...

In work so banned but I'll hazard a guess and say it's McGeady raping 3 Aberdeen defenders

He get jailed for raping them? haha just kidding. Great player but cant believe he picked Ireland over Scotland

Seemed like the right thing to do at the time but he must have been kicking himself last season when he had to return to training and the likes of McManus & co walking talking about humping France where as he was away getting played off the park by Cyprus

very overated player.yeah he does tricks in the scottish league.plays terrible for ireland.love to see him the premiership.wouldnt get a sniff

Do you watch Champions League football much?


Wouldn't get a sniff in the EPL...haha. Would walk into the majority of teams

EDITED to stop any aggro CFCBhoy

you are from ireland arent you.should know the majority of the country dislike him.stephen hunt and damien duff are much better.scottish league isnt anywhere near the standard of epl

Because the majority of Ireland follow English football. He had a few poor games for Ireland but no-one ever seems to mention the good games he had. MOTM against Denmark by a mile. He is better than both Hunt & Duff. Duff is finished for a start. I really rate Hunt but McGeady is a better player. Name Irelands 3 best performers in the last campaign. Bar maybe Dunne, I can't think of anyone that played well at all. Hunt came on as a sub a few times and played well but too little too late. McGeady was one of a number of players to play below par but he's the one getting the rough end of the stick.

Obviously everyone is going to turn around and say 'sure he's only playing in the SPL'...funny how they said the same about a certian Henrik. He was blasted time & time again and everyone said he wouldn't hack it in a top league. Wins the CL for Barca & a cameo role for United and everyone creams their pants over him saying 'what a player he was' and 'he should have left the SPL earlier'.

I have no doubt that the SPL is a much weaker league than EPL but to write of the best player in it by a mile is ridiculous. He's putting in key performances on the biggest stage of all. The Champions League. I would love to hear Nesta's or another top defenders view on him. I'm hoping Puyol is fit enough to play Celtic as he'll probably be at RB (because Zambrotta is injured). McGeady will torture him.

Personally, the longer EPL fans don't rate him, the better. I hate the thought of the EPL club's sniffing around trying to sign. The ignorance towards SPL players is so annoying. I actually thought it had gone after the likes of Larsson & Gattuso made names for themselves elsewhere

do you think he is better than nakamura.he is a player that can play in the premeirship.very good.duff aint finished.excellent against brazil.3 players who performed well for ireland.given,carsley,kilbane gives 100per cent all the time,he wont make it into the ireland team under trapattoni...he wont go watch scottish football

I'll just ignore you from now on after saying Duff was excellent against Brazil. I have now set 'paul' to ignore

nobody like ignorant people.duff was good.the only threat from an irish player.lets close this case with a certain anthony stokes.scored 3 hat tricks while with falkirk and look at him now.cant score at all.big step up from the scottish league.mcgeady is crap

*whistles*

Anyone with an opinion that matters about?

Stokes is the same player who decided to join Sunderland to sit on the bench. Great career choice. Least at Falkirk he got a game and did score "the reason why sunderland noticed him and ireland" if he hadnt gone on loan to falkirk he would never of been spotted by sunderland.

McGeady is one of the top 5 brightest prospect in Britain in my opinion. How anyone can call McGeady crap is insane. His goal against Aberdeen sums him up perfectly. What a player.

Steven Fletcher is also in that top 5 list by the way.

On the matter of Fletcher, I read on a Celtic forum a list of the worlds top prospects made by Spanish jurno's and Fletcher was in it. must see if I can find it for you

fletcher should not be on that.

Will you still be saying that when we go and raid Easter Road again and take him?

From what i have seen, the guy looks a real class act. Very impressive Champions League performances and many skillful, impacting displays in the SPL.

Personally, even though i am English i thoroughly enjoy watching the SPL and i laugh when people instantly dismiss the players showing promise because of the strength of the league.

hahaha Damien Duff? He plays for Newcastle mate, enough said.

As for Hunt, he is good but will never play in Europe will he?