What can you make of the enigma that is Aiden McGeady? When the young McGeady marked his debut at Swincastle in April 2004 with a brilliant far post volley the faithful salivated about a player that we had been hearing about since he was fifteen.
Young McGeady had previously lit up football in the Southside of Glasgow from a young age, culminating in him signing a bumper boot deal with adidas at the tender age of 15! McGeady’s early promise was halted by an inability to get into the team under O’Neill, a fact that can be attributed more to the quality of the squad at the time as opposed to any fault on the managers part.
In his early Celtic career, Aiden McGeady was the ultimate footballing enigma. With the ability to inspire feelings of awe and infuriation in two steps of his twinkle toes McGeadys rise to fame was always punctuated by his frequent lack of a final ball. Too often he would skin a player only to deliver a weak cross or he would lose possession by trying to beat a man twice.
His trademark two-touch shuffle was a joy to behold; even though the first few times we saw it was during defeats (Aberdeen at home, Rangers at Ibrox)
When WGS arrived and started giving youth a chance young Aiden saw himself getting a chance. When he missed an open goal in Bratislava against Artmedia his head went down and Shaun Maloney made the wide right berth his own.
MCGeady was utilised sparingly in Strachan’s first season but the next season he was about to come into his own. Aiden spent the entire summer of 2006 working not only on his game but also on his physique. Constant gym sessions and private one-on-one sessions with Gordon Strachan started to add a new dimensions to McGeady’s game. He was more direct, no longer would you see Aiden stopping and trying to "tippy-tap (py)" (© Erroneous of Keevins) past defenders. Instead our new hero would go at them at pace and put them on the back foot.
More importantly however, Aiden not only started adding more goals to the mix but he also introduced a final ball and also a strong defensive element to his game. Young Aiden really started to come of age in the first Derby match of last season. Apart from playing a major part in the first goal (his header was net bound anyway before Gravesen helped it in) he had also stood his own against the Rangers midfield and it was a joy to watch the Rangers players bounce of the slight young Irishman.
The moment in that game that best described how far Aiden had come was the pass for the second goal.
Aiden broke away from Chris Burke on the right and with Barry Ferguson closing in on him he cut across Captain Trackie and took a touch before sliding the perfect pass through to the run of Kenny Miller. Aiden had now started to look up and pick a pass and had added another piece of the puzzle.
One of the most important junctures in his development was Maloney-gate. When young Shaun decided to head south of the border and hook up again with the manager who never played him Aiden became a first team regular. When he signed his new deal not long after Maloney’s exit and made comments regarding "loyalty" and "commitment to the support" he ingratiated himself to all and this gave him the carte blanche to become the player he is today.
We could not talk about young Aiden without mentioning the sterling work of the new Sports Science Department at Celtic. Gregory Dupont and his team have given McGeady the ultimate gift, an extra yard of pace.
So what next for our young hero? Well now that he has added goals to his game after he scored his first senior hat trick he must get Erroneous of Keevins vote for writers player of the year!
Lets hope he continues to develop his trade. I for one look forward to watching him every time he plays, "the Glasgow Celtic Way"
Yours in Celtic
Clydebuilt