Celtic fans give their view on McManus
By Shaun • Jan 30th, 2010 • Category: Boro NewsScotland international defender Stephen McManus goes straight into Boro’s squad to play Bristol City today after the Celtic defender agreed on a loan move to the end of June.
Boro Manager Gordon Strachan said:
We’re delighted to have Stephen join us. He has achieved a lot in his career, winning trophies, playing in the Champions League and captaining club and country.
I think the world of Stephen as a player and as a man. He’s a leader and will be a great asset to the club.
The defender will no doubt add a lot of experience to Boro's backline and I once again asked a few Celtic fans for a quick summary of the player.
Vincent:
Like a lot of the faithful at Celtic Park I'd be sad to see big 'Mick' leave the club. He's been there since he was a boy and was club captain for two of Strachan's championship winning seasons. He's your old style defender par excellence, that is until he got notions above his station and started to try things which he couldn't do and beginning to leak bad goals. His form declined from a regular who could always get a goal or two at the death.
Following an injury which left him out towards the end of last season he never looked composed on his return and I think his confidence was shot through. I really hope he regains his form at your place. He is a great big guy and on his day a solid, sturdy, no nonsense defender with a big heart and an ability to motivate. Good luck to him and to you, anymore 'Bhoys' arriving in Middlesbrough and you'll have to change your strip!
EB:
You were linked to Caldwell earlier in the window now you have signed McManus affectionately known to Celtic supporters as the Chuckle brothers.
Stephen had great potential but unfortunately never got any better. For me Celtic and in particular Gordon Strachen did not do right by him. Giving him the Captains armband at such a young age was a mistake. He needed an experienced CB beside him to learn from, something he never had throughout his time at the club. With the armband brought responsibility, as a man he is a quality guy and in that sense the armband suited him.
His commitment and attitude could never be questioned a whole hearted defender who will play through injury and has no problem going in where it hurts. For me he’s an old fashioned backs to the wall type of defender but when the games stretched he struggles to close down space and can be guilty of over committing himself. Struggles when side on with crosses coming in to the box. Not sure if that was down to Strachen’s zonal marking or just his inability to defend cross balls, probably a bit of both. Distribution of the ball can be abysmal at times, although when he keeps it simple he’s fine.
As a man sad to see him go but as a defender I am delighted to see my club looking for a better and hopefully more rounded defender. No doubt he will do a job for you and I can see him having a successful remainder of the season. Championship football is probably his level, however if you harbour ambitions of promotion then you will need better quality for the EPL.
Good luck to Mick and to Boro for the rest of the season.
George:
Stephen 'Mick' McManus got his break playing as a left back under Martin O'Neill back in 2004-05. Not many of us thought he was first team material but he was young, keen and willing. After O'Neill left, he was on the verge of a move to another SPL club when Strachan decided that it was worth trying to mould Mick into the new Nesta and made him captain, which seemed to restrict him somewhat. If Strachan was honest, he'd admit that Mick was no more than decent back up material at CP and hadn't really improved over the years. However, his whole hearted style of defending helped us to crucial wins over Milan, Man Utd, Benfica and others in the CL as well as for Scotland in Paris. And he was captain for an emotional 2008 title win, which will live long in the hearts of the Celtic faithful.
All in, an honest if limited big fella who could really shine at the right club for the right manager.
Shaun is A Boro fan and owner of BoroMania.com. Born and brought up in the North East. Favourite players are Juninho, Slaven and David Wheater.
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glad to see the back of the 2 of them and to be honest he is every bit a championship player who will do a job but dont expect him to set the team alight.he is a medium player playing beside good players.was never the celtic faithful captain as most would say he was too young but in saying that he was a great man of the field never and big headlines about him.if everything goes well for him he will be a good servant for boro but nothing more
glad to see the back of mcmanus and chris killen mcmanus was never a celtic captain and chris killen couldnt hit a coo in the arse with a banjo both players should have left paradise a long time ago
to be as honest as a day is long plenty of Celtic fans are really happy and revealed to have McManus left Celtic Park, every game brang fatal errors and really poor performance from the Celtic captain, he was a half captain, never a leader, to my mind even worse than Caldwell sold to Wigan this month. to all Boro fans - dont expect much from him unless you might get disappointed
I have said before you were lucky not to sign Caldwell…You have now signed his twin. Thanks.
Is this the same McManus that kept Milan out for 180 minutes in a CL last 16 match? The same McManus that kept Manure out for 90 in the CL? And the same guy who brought us 3 titles 2 cups and 2 last 16 in the CL?
I seriously cringe at some of the vacuous pish that dribbles from the mouths of some of my club’s so called fans.
The guy’s not Vidic but he’s a long long way from being the player painted in the comments above. Hopefully at Boro he’ll get the chance to gain the confidence that has been knocked out of him by the twisted-faced blowhards in the stands of parkhead.
Good luck, Mick, and thanks for the memories.
haha laugh out loud , it was Boruc indeed who kept Celtic in the champions league games. for the rest unexpectedly O’Dea, introduced onto top european level at that time, alongside Hoalie Goalie prevented Celtic from losses, McManus had nth to do with that. and it was also main merit of Nakamura then. McManus is ridiculous and will stay the same in championship … poor Boro fans that expect McManus to turn out to be their defence leader
Well said, Berniie Lomax,
i was never a massive fan of mcmanus but you cannot doubt for one second his commitment to the cause. he gave 110% every time he was on the field and has a big heart off it too.. not the most gifted of players, but none the less, a good solid defender who was prone to the odd mistake when short on confidence.. FFS lads, compare him to some of the other shite weve had in recent years at centre half… Laursen, Raphael Sheidt, Vega, etc etc… best of luck mick. you’ll never walk alone big man
Without doubt the poorest captain and centre half in living memory at celtic park.He will be a disaster for Boro as well.
you have been warned
If you truely believe that, “the hoops PL”, then your grasp on reality is as loose as your grasp of the English language.
“mick47″ is obviously a fan of carrots.
Bernie - everyone has the right to its own opinion, Ive talked to quite many fans on british island and they obviously feel the same .. of course if you dont agree with my point of view , lets agree the differ. i can add during Celtic games McManus has often been booed , i neednt to be on Celtic games to know and realise that he is very poor and let rivals to score many goals
cheers
I didn’t say you didn’t have the right to an opinion; just that yours is ill-informed and full of semi-literate, banal pish that isn’t worth a shit.
Now, give the Borat impression a rest and leave it to Celtic fans who have actually seen the guy play to deliver an accurate appraisal of his merits.