This is such a shit line, I don't know how anyone can actually write it.
He chose to continue his development at a champions league team, under a good coach, at a club where any dropped points is treated as underperforming. It's an absolutely great environment for players to develop and learn, which is why we keep sending players there.
The idea that leaving an environment in which you're making progress, where you'll see game time against the best clubs in Europe, and get experience of winning trophies, is somehow worse than getting into a relegation battle with Southampton would be laughed out of the room by any player.
Agree with that, though I'll be intrigued to see if we do actually keep sending players there. Roberts returned, which might have been against our advice, and we sold them Ntcham, but we never sent anyone else this season on loan. If nobody beats that path next year (Gunn?), then perhaps that relationship has come to an end, post Deila.
post Celtic and Roberts taking the piss, more like.
Agree with that, though I'll be intrigued to see if we do actually keep sending players there. Roberts returned, which might have been against our advice, and we sold them Ntcham, but we never sent anyone else this season on loan. If nobody beats that path next year (Gunn?), then perhaps that relationship has come to an end, post Deila.
This is such a shit line, I don't know how anyone can actually write it.
He chose to continue his development at a champions league team, under a good coach, at a club where any dropped points is treated as underperforming. It's an absolutely great environment for players to develop and learn, which is why we keep sending players there.
The idea that leaving an environment in which you're making progress, where you'll see game time against the best clubs in Europe, and get experience of winning trophies, is somehow worse than getting into a relegation battle with Southampton would be laughed out of the room by any player.
A relegation battle with Southampton is beneficial in many ways.
- He plays with top-flight quality teammates against top-quality opposition
- He experiences a high-pressure environment
- The club get a better idea of his true capabilities at this level
That's why the club wanted Roberts to go on loan to a Premier League club like Southampton or Newcastle. So he could gain meaningful experience.
Let's face it, Celtic are probably never getting into the Champions League knockout rounds in Roberts' career. So the question is whether 2-4 games against genuine elite clubs, most of which will probably consist of him watching Gordon pick the ball out the back of the net, in the middle of a season playing against vastly inferior opposition is enough to justify forcing a move back to Celtic rather than opting for a challenge to test himself in the Premier League. I don't think it's enough and I'd imagine the club agree.
His first loan to Celtic was a great idea and he performed very well, but this season was intended to represent progression as he tried his hand in a tougher league with better players around him. He made the choice not to even attempt that challenge. To me, that says a lot about his mentality.
Players literally will go on strike at clubs like Southampton to play in Champions League group stage. He would have learnt more in 6 games there against top opposition than in 38 league games under Claude Puel and Mark Hughes.
He wasn't done at Celtic. It's obvious when players are too good for the level they are at, you could see it in Denayer and Van Dijk when they were at Celtic, you couldn't see it with Roberts because it was clear he still had a way to go before he'd out grown that level of football.
The idea that a player is mentally weak because they chose to play in the Champions League against Bayern Munich and PSG is absolutely hilarious.
As for your bullet-points -
- Southampton are so badly run, with such a lack of quality that they're in a race to the bottom with Stoke and Swansea.
- A club competing for nothing in the Premier League is not more high pressure than fighting in the Champions League and Europa League. No one could possibly say that with a straight face.
- The club don't care if he's of the level to play for a team aiming for 12th in the Premier League, they want to know if he can play against the best of the best. Manchester City, PSG, Bayern Munich, Juventus. These are the games that tell us how good he can be.
What a load of bollocks
- A club competing for nothing in the Premier League is not more high pressure than fighting in the Champions League and Europa League. No one could possibly say that with a straight face.
- The club don't care if he's of the level to play for a team aiming for 12th in the Premier League, they want to know if he can play against the best of the best. Manchester City, PSG, Bayern Munich, Juventus. These are the games that tell us how good he can be.
Players literally will go on strike at clubs like Southampton to play in Champions League group stage. He would have learnt more in 6 games there against top opposition than in 38 league games under Claude Puel and Mark Hughes.
He wasn't done at Celtic. It's obvious when players are too good for the level they are at, you could see it in Denayer and Van Dijk when they were at Celtic, you couldn't see it with Roberts because it was clear he still had a way to go before he'd out grown that level of football.
The idea that a player is mentally weak because they chose to play in the Champions League against Bayern Munich and PSG is absolutely hilarious.
As for your bullet-points -
- Southampton are so badly run, with such a lack of quality that they're in a race to the bottom with Stoke and Swansea.
- A club competing for nothing in the Premier League is not more high pressure than fighting in the Champions League and Europa League. No one could possibly say that with a straight face.
- The club don't care if he's of the level to play for a team aiming for 12th in the Premier League, they want to know if he can play against the best of the best. Manchester City, PSG, Bayern Munich, Juventus. These are the games that tell us how good he can be.