Ex-Rangers player and ‘pants pundit’ Charlie Adam has weighed in (no fat jokes please) on what he perceives as a lack of leadership in the current Celtic team basically having an underhand dig at new Celtic Captain Callum McGregor which is hugely uncalled for.
Speaking to the PLZ Football Show, Adam said: “It’s alright playing against your Motherwells and Dundees at home, but to go to that next level against a Bayer Leverkusen you get done.
“Ange looked frustrated last night. That’s the first time I’ve seen him after a game where he was a bit downbeat from what he would usually be saying.
“And the leaders; who is grabbing Turnbull to say ‘boot it in row Z, who do you think you are trying tricks in the box?’
“I don’t see a Scott Brown in there. People say that’s not the game now, it is the game, that is still going to be there in the next 15-20 years.
“You need that leader, you need that aggression in the dressing room.
“It’s not acceptable to make those mistakes at the top level, and things like what David Turnbull did last night is not what you need if you want to go to the top.”
The point Adam is probably trying to make here is that Celtic are missing Scott Brown or a type of leader in that mould. Scott Brown was a true one off, a special personality that is actually unusual to see in the modern game.
The one thing Charlie doesn’t mention is that most successful clubs these days don’t rely on a Scott Brown type character to bark orders or call out players who make mistakes. In fact the only reason it actually worked under Brown’s captaincy is because he was a club legend who had been at the club for years. Someone hugely respected for the success he had but also someone who was loved by all his teammates due to his friendly and supportive personality off the pitch. Do not get Brown mixed up with the likes of Roy Keane, were he enjoyed the fact that teammates actually feared him.
In Callum McGregor we have a player also hugely respected amongst his teammates. A player who came through the academy, who improved every year and is now easily the best player in our squad. A player who produces remarkable stats when it comes to games and minutes played throughout the season. Someone who reads the game so well and drives his teammates on, not by shouting at them, but by giving his all everytime he steps onto the pitch. This is how a modern captain should be.
Charlie Adam is captain of his club Dundee. How well are they doing this season with him ‘inspiring’ his team with his outdated captaincy methods? Bottom of the league with no wins. Enough said…
Conall McGinty
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