No surprise Tierney firing on all cylinders for Arsenal
CELTIC losing to teams from the Highlands in cup competitions became quite a tradition for a while.
Inverness on three occasions knocked their lofty opponents out of the Scottish Cup. Ross County did the same in two semi-finals; the last shock which wasn’t really a shock came in 2016 during the death rattle of the Ronny Deila era.
A certain Neil Lennon was manager, albeit on a temporary basis, when, in 2010, County of the First Division beat a Celtic team which boasted Robbie Keane, Scott Brown and Aiden McGeady 2-0 to reach the Scottish Cup final.
As good as County were – they thoroughly deserved the win – Celtic were awful. They offered no threat, heart or passion. The supporters were far from happy.
“That’s the worst Celtic team I have seen in my life,” ranted one irate punter outside Hampden Park. “This is the future in front of us,” he then added, pointing to his 13-yearold giggling, rather gawky, son.
Michael Tierney got that one right. His boy, Kieran, was to go on and become a hero to the Celtic fans.
Tierney is unrecognisable in the footage, as he is when Shunsuke Nakamura hands him a pair of his own boots because the then 12-year-old caught the Celtic legend’s eye during a training session.
An awful lot has happened since then.
Please believe me when
I say that not everyone at Celtic Park believed Tierney would make it, at least early on. There was a time when the future three-time treble winner wasn’t guaranteed a long-term contract, which with hindsight seems ridiculous.
Willie McStay always knew that Tierney, a boy first spotted by his late father, had every chance of being the real deal. Now England knows why so many in Scotland claimed he was the best young player in Britain while in the Premiership and not in the self-proclaimed “greatest league in the world”.
His move to Arsenal was never going to be smooth – as good as he is. He went there injured and behind his teammates. The left-back got in the team, played well and then dislocated his shoulder. For a lad who lives for football this was a nightmare.
However, there was no moaning. He did his rehab, worked hard and since the season down there started up again has been one of the best players on show for his team.
In a 3-4-3, the boy from Muirhouse in Motherwell has excelled in his more attacking role. The Arsenal support now see the Scot as the future. This shouldn’t surprise anyone. Tierney is a lovely young man, utterly dedicated to his profession and completely unimpressed by celebrity or fame.
Having got to know him fairly well, I knew how difficult it was for him to leave his beloved Celtic.
But he’s got his life to live.
Arsenal are an amazing club; London a magical city. It’s been terrific to see him come back better and stronger than ever.
Steve Clarke has to find a way of getting he and Andy Robertson in the Scotland team together; they are our best players.
The 3-4-3 system at Arsenal will help the national manager. Tierney will be more used to playing in a more forward role, with Robertson behind him at left-back or on the left of a three-man defence. If Clarke can get the two of them on the park then we have a real chance of getting somewhere – starting with next summer’s delayed European Championship. This won’t be easy. The two haven’t played together too often but when they have, and in roughly the same area of the park, it hasn’t worked. The national team manager’s job is to square this circle.
If Clarke can get our one world class player and Tierney, who has the potential to become just that, we might just find ourselves in a major tournament. It is good to see KT back to his best because his best is something else.
His da’ was right about that.
AND ANOTHER THING
THE sports department of BBC Scotland have had a good lockdown.
Their trips down nostalgia avenue when there has been no football have been a lot of fun but I found it hard to treat their feature of asking the general public to name Scotland’s 50 best players anything but fun.
I realise this makes me sound sad and petty but I am sad and petty, so there.
I find it hard to believe the list hasn’t been rigged. If not, then this country is in bad shape.
And then came the part when people and pundits were asked to name their greatest Scotland XI.
I won’t name names, Billy Dodds can defend himself, but imagine naming a Scotland team and not having Denis Law there. It’s a bit like voting for Simply Red as the best band to come out of Manchester.
Neil McCann had Barry Ferguson – a great player, but just naw. I would happily have the babies of James McFadden but I would argue Jimmy Johnstone was a better player. This aberration made it onto the BBC website.
It is, of course, a bit of fun, but if you’re going to have a game then you have to play properly.
So, in a 4-4-2 formation, with me as manager, this is the greatest Scotland XI of all time and, while you are entitled to your opinion, if you differ, your opinion is wrong.
Goram; McGrain, Miller, McNeill, Greig; Johnstone, Murdoch, Souness, Baxter; Law, Dalglish
Kieran was to become a hero to the fans