Neil Lennon is going to be a busy man over the next couple of days.<\/p>\n
First, he wants to have a chat with Lierse boss Stanley Menzo over emerging stories that he slapped on loan striker Tony Watt. Stories that have emerged mostly from Tony Watt.<\/p>\n
Watt said: \u201cI held out my hand without looking – as he usually does to me – and he gave me a slap on the face. I said \u2018what is this?\u2019 and he told me to look at him when I shook his hand.\u201d<\/p>\n
There is no substance to a related story which claims that Watt was then told to stand on the naughty step, but its obvious the forward isn’t enjoying his time in Belguim, as his twitter account would suggest. You just feel that he needs a mentor, or some sort of care worker probably, to help him with what is fast becoming a difficult period for him as he enters adulthood.<\/p>\n
The Daily Record claims that Dutch forward-I think he’s a forward, I’ve only seen him briefly-Derk Boerrigter is demanding showdown talks with his boss.<\/p>\n
Which , as usual isn’t what he said at all.<\/p>\n
\u201cCeltic\u2019s current tactics don\u2019t work to my advantage.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe manager has asked me if I can eventually play on the left side of midfield in a Gareth Bale-type role and I like the sound of that. In recent weeks the team has been winning virtually every time and I have been a regular substitute.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut it is my intention to get into the starting line-up in the foreseeable future. If that doesn\u2019t happen I will have to go and knock on the manager\u2019s door and we will need to talk.<\/p>\n
\u201cI have not come over here to sit on the bench. When I made my debut everyone, including the manager, raved about me. Sadly I\u2019ve not got to play many games. I don\u2019t agree with those who say I am not cut out for the physical football they play over here.<\/p>\n
\u201cI spent three years in the Dutch second division and that demands other skills beside technical and tactical ability.<\/p>\n
\u201cI can draw confidence from having played in the Champions League. No manager would pick a player to face AC Milan or Barcelona if he didn\u2019t believe in him.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt has been bitter for me to have my season overshadowed by my ankle injury. But once I am fully fit and back to my old level I know for sure that I can play an important role for Celtic.<\/p>\n
\u201cRemaining unbeaten this season would be a matter of prestige above all but they put a lot of worth on statistics and records in Scotland.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe could still set a new best-ever tally if we don\u2019t drop any more points. But even though things may look easy for us, that is really not the case.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNobody gives Celtic any gifts. Every single opponent in the Scottish league plays against us with foam coming from their mouths.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe tackles players make over here are much tougher than the ones you get in the Eredivisie. Refs let far more go in British football.<\/p>\n
\u201cMatches in Scotland are less well balanced than those back home. At Ajax I could calmly pass the ball around at times. But when I receive it here I have to get the action going. People expect you to go forward all the time and to keep going for 90 minutes.<\/p>\n
\u201cCeltic\u2019s training sessions are very tough, even on the eve of matches. I have had to get used to the intensity.<\/p>\n
\u201cUnfortunately it hasn\u2019t gone as I had hoped. I have been suffering with my left ankle for the past half year, as a consequence of an injury I got while with Ajax. It\u2019s now a matter of getting fully fit once again.\u201d<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Think I might have found the exception. It’s a pity, because from what I’ve seen of Boerrigter, there is a good player in there somewhere.<\/p>\n
Perhaps if the clubs doctors ask him to say “aaahhh” they could have a look for him.<\/p>\n
I must have missed the bit where he demanded a start every week. He does sound \u00a0disappointed that things haven’t worked out, but hasn’t given up hope of playing for the first team, in a role that Lennon seems to have earmarked for him. The article is just another example of piss poor reporting to try to create a situation out of nothing. Boerrigter might decide he’s had enough when the season ends. Its not like he’s a major player, though, so its hardly time to panic.<\/p>\n
And at least it would free up his wage to spend on someone else, not to mention lowering the clubs insurance premium, already at a record high with James Forrest and Beram Kayal still under contract. Remember the day they signed new contracts ?<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The Sydney Morning Herald has a wee opinion piece on Tom Rogic, and it seems the player is not living up to all the hype after all, according to journalist Michael Lynch;<\/p>\n
<\/em><\/p>\n ” It can\u2019t be easy being charged with the responsibility of being your nation\u2019s saviour, especially when you are not long out of your teens.<\/p>\n Its a burden borne for the past few years by on-loan Melbourne Victory midfielder Tom Rogic, and it seems to be weighing rather more than he can bear.<\/p>\n The hype around Rogic for the past couple of years has been enormous.<\/p>\n But on the evidence of his form since his arrival back in the A-League in January, the hype has been misplaced. ”<\/p>\n The problem, it seems , is that Australia is desperate for a hero, and in the land where Rupert Murdoch made his name, the hype cannot be unexpected. Lynch continues;<\/p>\n ” On what we have seen so far in his half a dozen games in navy blue, Rogic is a long way from being the player everyone in the country wants him to be; the player many believed, before his return, that he had already become.”<\/p>\n With his silky skills, his languid movement and his size and scope, Rogic, who moved to Scottish giants Celtic just over a year ago, seemed the obvious candidate.<\/p>\n He had, at times, dazzled in his 24 appearances for Central Coast, and also impressed in cameo displays as a substitute for the Socceroos.<\/p>\n But the reality is that the progress everyone expected and desired does not seem to have been made.<\/p>\n A player of Rogic\u2019s quality should, after nearly two months in the A-League, be making a bigger impression than he has.<\/p>\n The 21-year-old has yet to dominate proceedings in the manner his admirers would have hoped, and he struggles to finish games. He has not scored a goal, nor contributed many assists.<\/p>\n There is no doubt he has a terrific touch, but there has been little end product.<\/p>\n When he gets on the ball, he often takes too many touches. When he loses possession, he does not always track back to help the defence \u2013 a trait, it must be acknowledged, many of Victory\u2019s other forward players have shared this season. ”<\/p>\n I think the mystery of why he had so few starts at Celtic has just been solved. As good as he is-or as potentially as good as he is, he isn’t doing what the manager wants him to do. \u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n He has also been rather injury prone and struggles for fitness, all factors which have impeded his progress and will be of concern to national team coach Ange Postecoglou.<\/p>\n Looks like they’ll be sending him back soon.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n Lynch :<\/p>\n ” In fact, there are some Victory fans not only wondering what all the fuss is about, but whether or not the club should have signed him in the first place on a loan deal.<\/p>\n Not because he doesn\u2019t have talent, but because the logic of the deal was more about Rogic than Victory.<\/p>\n There was little likelihood he would stay beyond the period of his loan, so there would be no long-term benefit for Victory, and his presence there was chiefly for Rogic to play regular first-team football and gain fitness before the World Cup. ”<\/p>\n Actually, this is starting to sound a little sinister…..\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n When he left the Mariners last January, it didn\u2019t stop Graham Arnold\u2019s team from getting on with the job: three months later they had won their first A-League championship without him in the team.<\/p>\n And far from decrying Celtic and the Scottish Premier League, perhaps there should be a pause for reflection. Rogic has been in Glasgow for a year and had not established himself as a first-team player. When Mark Viduka went to the Glasgow giants, he overcame a shaky start to quickly become a top player in the league and a prolific goalscorer.<\/p>\n Scott McDonald, a forward who often attracts more criticism than is warranted in this country, went to Celtic and was a regular first-team player and regular scorer, netting against the likes of Manchester United in Champions League ties. The article concludes that Rogic has a chance to prove the doubters wrong. Melbourne face Yokohama Mariners in a Champions League game on Tuesday night, and calls on him to do just that.<\/p>\n “Sportal ” preview the game;<\/p>\n If Rogic starts on Tuesday, he’s due a performance. The playmaker, on loan from Celtic, was signed by Victory to provide him with playing team ahead of the World Cup and to assist in the club’s ACL campaign. Last week at home to Jeonbuk he struggled to make an impact on the game and was withdrawn with 17 minutes remaining. If the hosts are to see enough of the ball in advanced areas to win the game, the former Central Coast man must be on song.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
\nHave we been sold a dud ? Purely on the recommendation of others ? Surely not ? Celtic did take the lad on trial, but the signing was a little hasty….\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n
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