wee_od's scouting reports | Vital Football

wee_od's scouting reports

A place where, od, can post all his 'scouting related info'. :emoticon:14

Can I, respectfully, ask other members to keep any postings in here to a bare minimum. Thanks.

All yours, od.............................
 
hey folks! hopefully this thread will turn out to be quite good!

as Tic doesnt want too many other comments in here other than my own, I think what might be best is if any of you have any suggestions on a particular position we need to look at or if there are any players you hear rumblings of and want me to look into, let me know in here or private message me and I will try and get some info on people.

if there is anyone that I look at and you want to discuss further, we shall just create a new thread for them.....think thats it for now, should hopefully have my first scouting report up in a few days! :D
 
MY FIRST SCOUTING REPORT (in this new format anyway)

First up - Guillermo Molins

Molins is a Uruguayan born Swedish national. He is 22 (Septmeber 26 1988) and currently plays in the Swedish league for Malmo FF. He made his league debut in 2006 but it was not until 2008 where he reallly made a breathrough in the team, 27 appearances in that season scoring 2 goals. Considering he is a midfielder and the majority of those appearances were probably off the bench, he has done quite well. After the 2008 season he has since become first choice as RM/RW for Malmo FF. This season (thats March - October in Sweden) he has made 26 appearances for Malmo, scoring 7 goals and with 7 assists! for a right winger, thats quite impressive! He only missed 4 games all season.
Although normally a right winger, he is easily capable of playing on the left or even in more advanced roles.

he has pace, he has skill, he can score, hes tough and strong and he isnt small (6ft 1).

Molins has a year left on his contract, his value according to tansfermarket.co.uk is around £2m.

Although now experienced in first team football, European experience is something he is lacking. He has however been involved in many games for the Swedish U21 team including the finals a few years ago and has now been promoted to the full national squad. His Uruguayan roots shine through in his style of play.

I think he is the type of player Lennon would like in that he has a decent amount of experience of playing in the first team but is still young enough to develop with the rest of our young squad!
 
Molins videos!

These first two videos are quite long but show a lot of good highlights of his play!

[YOUTUBE=TjneP-Sr5IQ]

[YOUTUBE=-u4zxGG7W10]

this last one is just a bit of fun but shows he has some nice ball skills! I personally love the bit where he flicks it behind him, leans back and balances it on his shoulders! :D

[YOUTUBE=4Py3XUgbLzg]
 
I like the look of this guy and I'm sure Big Dolph and Henke have tipped off Lenny.
One of the things I like is he gets assaulted a lot and that is the sign of a potentially great player scaring other teams into rash challenges.
When my playing career finished,many a long year ago,all that was left of me was a hand,an eye and a single Lug..fekk knows where the heid went.
C/O Jimmy G in a Bottle University College Hospital Embra.

:emoticon:21 :emoticon:21 :emoticon:21 :emoticon:21
 
ok, so it's been a while since the last (and first) scouting report but unfortunately there was little feedback on the first one as to who are what position I should scout next, that and the fact that I have unfortunately been busy at work! :(

On the plus side, various threads have shown the feelings of everyone and what sort of positions we need improving. So, I have been out scouring for possible players to look at and looking again at a few I discovered during the summer...so here we go!

Up first we have the strikers. with Samaras' departure looming, Murphy not filling anyone with confidence, the likelihood of McGowan, Hutchinson and Rasmussen all being sold in either January or the summer, some back-up for Stokes and Hooper. We also need a striker to offer a different approach to some games, ie the long ball to a target man.
As I see it, Stokes and Hooper are great in the box strikers with the ball at their feet from low crosses or when we split open defences with pace, but sometimes its good to have a big striker who can get his head on the ball, turn a defender in the box after holding him off and slot the ball home, essentially, a target man. its the one thing missing from our strikers at the moment. Samaras should be able to offer us that, but as we know, he doesnt do it!

First up, we have Graziano Pelle, a 25 year old Italian striker currently playing for AZ Alkmaar. He currently has 18 months left on his contract and is mainly used as a substitute for AZ. His goalscoring record this season is played 8 games, 4 of which he came on as a substitute, scored 4 goals and has 1 assist. This may not sound outstanding but when you watch the video, I think you will understand why I continued to look at him.

He is big, at 1.93m (just taller than Samaras) and he is strong. He likes to be in the box or go through the middle, you won't find him drifting out wide. The majority of his goals come through crosses from the wide areas where he either gets up to win the header or makes a run either to the back post or to the near post.

have a look www.youtube.com/watch?v=yX18qw9y-Qk
[YOUTUBE=yX18qw9y-Qk]


Next on the list is Denni Avdic. He is a 22 year old Bosnian born Swedish international. He is big, 1.93m tall and has been attracting interest from Birmingham and Blackburn in the EPL. His goalscoring form has been hit or miss at times but he loves to be involved in the play. The problem with this guy I think is that he reminds me a bit too much of Samaras. Unlike Pelle, he can be found out on the wings and he likes to drop deep to pick up the ball. He can take a man on and has good feet for a big man. He still seems like quite a raw talent as well and we have enough of that at the club already, we could perhaps do with someone more experienced and settled in their style etc.

22 goals in 36 appearances in all competitions and 5 of those appearances he has come on as a substitute. He also has 4 assists this season as well.

The big plus for this guy is that his contract runs out on the 31st of December so he is available on a free, but as I mentioned, he has been attracting interest from other clubs so we could struggle to get him.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=TOnZ89CMYYs

[YOUTUBE=TOnZ89CMYYs]


next up, Hyun-Jun Suk. 19 year old South Korean striker currently on a one year deal with Ajax. The story goes that the young lad went along to watch Ajax train, after training he met the coach, Martin Jol (formerly of Tottenham) and asked him if he could train with them one day. Martin Jol accepted and was so impressed that he gave him a further trial and then a one year contract. The contract runs out next summer and whether he is likely to be offered a new deal is currently unknown.

He is a big young lad, standing 1.94m tall. He has a good amount of pace and skill and his obvious height gives him an advantage in the air. He is also a good finisher and isnt afraid to take men on with his skill and pace. This does mean that he can be found coming deep for the ball or indeed out in wider positions, but I think some of that could be due to the service he is receiving. He has only made a handful of appearances for Ajax so far this season but there is a lot of footage from what appear to be reserve games.
Suk may not be ready for a starting place in our first team or indeed Ajax's but he is showing so much potential that I had to put him in here, especially when you consider the progress that has been made by Ki this season! Suk a player for the future perhaps?? Can Ki be used tempt him to us?
www.youtube.com/watch?v=xKcRMbau77E

[YOUTUBE=xKcRMbau77E]



The final striker to mention is Victor Anichebe. Originally born in Nigeria but was brought up in England from the age of 1, he has been in and around the Everton first team from a young age. Now 22, his current deal is set to expire next summer. He is a strong, 6ft (1.91m) tall striker with a good amount of pace. Described as an "old fashioned centre forward" he could give that strong physical presence and harassing of defenders that we somewhat lack at the moment. The big problem with Anichebe, his injury plagued progress!! If his injuries are now behind him, could we offer him the perfect place for him to become the striker he has promised to be for so long?

Out of all of these players mentioned, surprisingly my favourite is the Italian Grazziano Pelle. I just feel he has that bit more experience, the better physical presence in the box and just in general, more of the kind of player we have been missing for a while now! It's a surprise to me because generally I am not a fan of Italian footballers and would normally steer clear of them.

I am quite impressed by Suk though and I think taking him on board witha view to him being a sub and getting him ready for the first team within a year or two could be quite an exciting idea. As I said, after the way Ki has taken to Scottish football and progressed this season, how many other players are out there who can do the same??
 
:emoticon:01 :emoticon:01 :emoticon:01

I'll get working on those straight away. I'll probably split them up and do a separate one on each scouting target over the coming days.

I forgot to ask you last time, how do you want your user-name displayed on these, wee_od or wee_od_88 ?

Great scouting work again, mate!
 
Now that the strikers have been looked at, the midfield could do with a look at. The centre of our midfield is looking pretty solid most of the time, but it is in the wide areas that we are struggling. I have already done a scouting report on one winger, Guillermo Molins but I have since found a few other possible alternatives.

First up is Reto Ziegler. A 24 year old Swiss left-back/left-winger. Formerly of Tottenham, Ziegler dropped off the radar after failing to make an impact at White-Hart Lane but has since rediscovered his form and become a good quality player. Currently playing for Sampdoria in Italy, his current contract expires in 6 months. He mainly featured on the left wing for Spurs but can easily fill in at LB. This could give Celtic manager Neil Lennon the option to let Izzaguire get forward more and leave Ziegler behind or ask Ziegler to sit and cover the LB position when Izzaguire does go forward on the overlap.

Moving for a player like Ziegler who has experience of playing in European competitions would surely be seen as a step forward for Celtic and show that we can attract a bigger class of player. Although not a star player, Ziegler is the type of player that Celtic have not tried to sign since the days of Martin O'Neill. That could also give an answer as to the stumbling block behind a move for a player such as Ziegler, just how much would he want in wages? Is he worth a try anyway?
www.youtube.com/watch?v=12k1UwnSSzc - only a small clip but it shows what he is capable of.

[YOUTUBE=12k1UwnSSzc]


Another 24 year old left winger, Valter Birsa. Birsa has been a prominent member of the Slovenian national team for some time now having notched up 43 appearances already. Birsa is currently playing for AJ Auxerre in France but his contract expires in 6 months time. Sky Sports reports Birsa as being a striker, and not a prolific one of Auxerre unfortunately. ImScouting also states Birsa as being a striker but reports that he had a good spell in France before moving to Auxerre and was a lethal striker in Slovenia at just 17 years old. He is capable of playing as a left winger or left forward and so may not be the best option for what we need.
Could we sign him as another striker though? If lennon is wanting the sort of striker who can create, has a good work rate and can move out into the channels and the wide areas then this could be the man to get.

I have just come across another two young wingers who could be worth a look after looking for more information on Birsa.


Both players are currently at Partizan Belgrade, one is a right winger and one is a left winger. from ImScouting.com

Nemanja Tomic
Age: 22
Nationality: Serbian
Position: Attacking midfielder (R)
Estimated market value: €1-2.5M
Efficiency rating: Goal or assist every 426 minutes

Tomic is a fantastic Serbian talent.

He is an amazing dribbler with very high technical ability, intelligence and creativity.

He has made steady progress for the club since breaking into the side in the 2008/2009 season, and has scored two goals this term, including a free-kick in the Champions League qualifier against Pyunik Yerevan.

His main weakness, often said of young players, is that he sometimes holds onto the ball for too long.

But if he improves his decision-making and under the right tutelage, Tomic could turn into a terrific talent.

Aleksandar Davidov
Age: 23
Nationality: Serbian
Position: Attacking mid(L)
Estimated market value: €250K-500K
Efficiency rating: Goal or assist every 426 minutes

Davidov is left midfielder with all the right traits for the role.

He is fast, explosive, has excellent technical abilities, very good dribbling skill and a sweet strike at goal.

The man who set up Cleo 's second goal against RSC Anderlecht in Champions League qualifying is a versatile player, having also played in the central and defensive midfield roles.

Davidov's lack of physical strength is his main weakness.

Could they be worth trying to sign? I dont see why not if a deal can be done.
 
TicV"Establishment" - 2/12/2010 19:27

:emoticon:01 :emoticon:01 :emoticon:01

I'll get working on those straight away. I'll probably split them up and do a separate one on each scouting target over the coming days.

I forgot to ask you last time, how do you want your user-name displayed on these, wee_od or wee_od_88 ?

Great scouting work again, mate!

cheers man, just uploaded some midfielder reports and got some defenders to come as well :emoticon:19

not too bothered about the username Tic, most of the guys just call me wee_od or even just OD on here anyway so...not bothered! lol.
 
As part-time scout for Serie A, I'd just add Ziegler is a good player. I've seen him a number of times for Sampdoria and he loves to attack .

I also really enjoy watching Zarate over at Lazio. Had a failed spell at Birmingham and can't score goals regularly, but so much natural skill.

But for absolute perfection and pure aesthetic joy ... Pastore (Palermo).

:emoticon:35
 
after a quick look at them stev, they are undoubtedly talented players but unfortunately well out of our price range and have contracts until 2014.....
 
Javier Pastore is a fabulous player. Attacking upright midfielder with grace, elegance and perfect balance. A beautiful footballer. Made a couple of substitute appearances for Argentina in the World Cup. Half of the leading clubs are probably already trying to sign him - and the other half should be!

:emoticon:70
 
TicV"Establishment" - 3/12/2010 00:19

Sadly, Stev... Our Head of Scouting also knows our budget and which shops we can enter without the alarms going off :emoticon:19

:emoticon:19 unfortunately Tic yes. :emoticon:26 I wish I could come up with some better players like Pastore but its just not going to happen under the current economic climate and the current celtic board. I can understand why though, when you consider that we are still unable to fill the stadium for home games! That's never going to help!
 
That's why I'd be an absolutely rubbish manager and bankrupting every club I ran.

If it's any consolation, watched Pastore again last night against Sparta Prague. He had an absolute shocker and even managed to get himself sent-off!

:emoticon:10
 
That's your second scouting report due to publish 11am, od. It should appear on NewsNow shortly after..

And you now have your own area in our drop-down Menu list too.
:emoticon:55
 
Latest Celtic News