Holding the ball as Celtic looked to hang on for seven minutes to record a famous Champions League victory against Barcelona, the logical thing for Fraser Forster is keep his hands on the ball, waste time and move it towards safety.

Instead, the giant goalkeeper punts the ball high upfield. It could go anywhere. Fortunately, his big kick is completely missed by Spanish superstar Xavi, allowing Tony Watt to sprint clear into the penalty area and beat Valdes with a brilliantly taken finish.

But what happened afterwards is almost a tragedy of Greek proportions. The 18-year-old with what seemed like unlimited talent would find himself on the outer at Celtic, loaned out to a Belgian club and said to have an attitude problem that gnawed so much at two astute managers that they were revving the accelerator to get him out the door.

What exactly happened to a player that appeared to be the next Celtic super kid and Scotland’s scoring salvation?

THE EARLY YEARS

Tony Watt was spotted playing for Coatbridge amateur side Whifflet Athletic, gaining trials with St Mirren and Queen’s Park. Both clubs decided not to take things any further, with the Buddies’ head of youth brandishing him “too lazy”. This would be a portent of things to come. Undeterred, the 15-year-old Watt tried his luck at Airdrie United and the side’s youth coach identified a raw talent.

Watt soon made an impression on the U-19 squad and quickly made his first-team debut in a friendly, scoring twice. In his competitive debut Watt scored just 10 minutes after coming on as a sub. His second goal came at Glebe Park against Brechin City, and by this time he was already being tracked by Liverpool.
He was invited south for a trial in September 2010 but a move never eventuated, though the Anfield side were said to have kept tabs on him.

A mere six months after his Airdrie United debut, the now 17-year-old Watt signed a three-year deal with Celtic. He was scoring for fun for Celtic’s development side, including one against Barcelona’s U-19s in the NextGen Series.

Aware of this raw talent Neil Lennon included the teenager in his squad for a league game against Motherwell. Ironically, he became available due to suspension after receiving a red card in a youth match. Watt came off the bench after an hour. Within minutes he had pounced onto a Victor Wanyama cross and guided a shot into the net from a tight angle.

Three minutes later Watt rifled in a second from the edge of the box for a stunning debut.

A SUPERSTAR ENTRANCE

And then came 7 November 2012, when the unfancied champions of Scotland defeated Lionel Messi’s Barcelona – which hadn’t lost an away match in the Champions League for six years.

Celtic lead through a first-half Wanyama header. Watt came on with less than 20 minutes remaining to replace Mikael Lustig. His movement and pace was electric as he timed his run to perfection, took one touch and bulleted his shot beyond the keeper.

Four days later Watt struck against St Johnstone, and a further four days later, he signed a four-year deal.
But that was as good as it got for the teenager. Perhaps the plaudits for his super strike against the Catalans and the new deal made him feel secure of his place in the side and that with his undoubted talent he didn’t need to do any more of that tedious donkey work.

He failed to score again that season and was used mostly as a substitute playing a modest role in Celtic’s League and Cup double of the 2012-13 season.

DECLINE AND FALLOUT

Concerns began to surface that Watt was neither mature enough nor mentally capable of being a Celtic regular and, at the beginning of the 2013-14 season, he already seemed out of favour with Neil Lennon, who sent him out to Belgian Pro League side Lierse on a season-long loan. The fact that millions was wasted on strikers Amido Balde and Teemu Pukki just made Watt’s fall from grace even harder to stomach – and comprehend.

Few players loaned out by Celtic return to their home club so good the manager couldn’t possibly leave him out. If a teenager is loaned out it’s usually to give them experience; Watt, however, had already proved he was capable. Suspicions were already raised as to how he was coping with the adulation of his winner against Europe’s top team.

In just nine months Tony Watt had slipped to fifth-choice striker at Celtic Park and instead of being involved in Champions League encounters with AC Milan, Barcelona and Ajax, he was in the backwaters of Belgium.

NEIL LENNON WASN’T EXACTLY SUPPORTIVE

“I’m not of a mind to bring him back,” the Irishman said. “We’ve loaned him for the year and I would like him to see that out. There’s an immaturity about Tony and the reason for putting him out on loan was to see life at a different place. We wanted him to sample a different culture and a different type of football. If it’s not going well, he needs to knuckle down and make it work, the onus is on him.”

The move initially seemed to invigorate him. Watt took just 90 seconds and two touches of the ball to score his first goal for Lierse. But that didn’t prevent him from a lashing from his new manager Stanley Menzo, who described him as lazy and unfit.

He wasn’t the only one to think that: Scotland U-21 boss, Billy Stark, axed him from his squad, raising concerns about his fitness.

By December 2013 Watt had twice been sent home from training and sent off after 30 seconds against Charleroi. Menzo threatened to end the loan deal early.

On Boxing Day, Watt came off the bench to score twice against Mechelen. Was this the kickstart to his flagging career?

Unfortunately for Tony, Menzo is a man not to be messed with and in March the striker was demoted to the reserves after publicly criticising his own gaffer, which seemed to be fair comment with Menzo a renowned hothead. But still, you don’t slag off the boss in public. Watt returned home that summer.

SLAPDOWN

When Ronny Deila took over from Lennon in the summer of 2014, he made it clear that conditioning would at the forefront of his regime. This would be at odds with Watt’s apparent distaste for graft. He was now 20.

In three seasons he played 34 times and scored eight goals in the Hoops. His best season was 2012-13 when he played 20 times in the league.

Watt signed a lucrative five-year deal with Standard Liege. This didn’t work out and six months later he was in London with Charlton Athletic.

He was loaned out to Cardiff City, Blackburn Rovers and Hearts, before moving back to Belgium with Leuven. His scoring rate was not especially impressive at any of the sides, but still gained a Scotland call-up during his time at Tynecastle.

But even then his condition was an issue. Mark McGhee, the national coach, soon regretted his decision to call him up and delivered a scathing verdict. “He doesn’t train hard enough. I know that if you could get him to work hard in training, he would be a better player.”

Watt experienced all of 12 minutes as a Scotland international, making his briefest of appearances in a meaningless match against the Czech Republic.

On his return to Charlton from Edinburgh, the Londoner’s manager Karl Robinson vowed to work Watt so hard he would cry.

“Tony has to apologise for certain things,” Robinson said. “I want to see whether he has the desire to play for me and this club.”

We now know the answer to that one.

NEW BEGINNING?

Despite saying in February 2017 that he had no intention of playing in Scotland for the next five or ten years, Watt was back in his homeland, with St Johnstone.

At Hearts, Robbie Neilson frothed about Watt’s talent. “Tony gives you something different from anything else in Scotland,” he said. “He can turn a game in a split second. In training we see him go by three, four, five players. It is just about getting consistency from him. That’s the key to his development.”

Could it be that all he needs is a sympathetic coach that knows how to get the best out of him?

Six goals in eight matches at St Johnstone appeared to suggest that, perhaps, finally he may have rediscovered the form that made him an immediate – albeit brief – hero at Parkhead. It was that stunning form that earned him the SPFL Player of the Month award for August 2018.

But there was a familiar turn of events as Watt scored only once more for the Saints and rejected an extension to his contract as he left Perth in the summer of 2019.

In the whirlwind of career moves for the striker, it’s hard to keep up with all the movements. And there was still no sign of a big club wanting to sign him. But he found an admirer in Bulgaria, signing for CSKA Sofia with what can only be described as a very generous three-year contract for a player used to short-term and loan moves since leaving Parkhead in 2014.

Everything seemed good: he’d just married, set up his own film review site (true) and liked the “chilled” lifestyle of Sofia. Soon after his move, Watt scored a stunning volley against Arda and gained the man-of-the-match accolade. And a month later he scored twice as the Bulgarian giants won 3-0 against Lokomotiv GO in the Bulgarian Cup and again picked up the man-of-the-match award.

This was it, this was the move that would propel Watt back in the limelight at a club with a massive history.

But the striker was left out of the club’s winter training camp in Spain and parted ways due to what were described as “personal reasons”. I’d like to give him the benefit of the doubt here: Bulgaria can seem somewhat alien to a Western player and the language barriers, style of play, a possibly unhappy wife, and the distinct culture of the Balkans can all add up to one grumpy star. But his exit is also tinged with suspicion given Watt’s history.

Once again Watt is back in Scotland, at Motherwell, professing the desire to spend at least two seasons at one club. Including Airdrie and a few loan spells, Motherwell is his 12th club in a decade.

Now 26, Watt has what could be a final chance to prove himself. But, of course, we have been here before.

Craig Stephen

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