July 17, 2007 2:19 PM
Celtic profiles: McManus and the defense
Stephen McManus works out Tuesday morning at Dick's Sporting Goods Park. (EVAN SEMON/ ROCKY MOUNTAIN NEWS)
With the MLS All-Star Game scheduled for 7 p.m. Thursday at Dick's Sporting Goods Park, FC Rocky finishes its series profiling Glasgow's Celtic FC. Today we take a look at potential captain Stephen McManus and the defense.
If you missed FC Rocky's other profiles, here are the links:
Vennegoor of Hesselink and the forwards.
Following Neil Lennon’s departure to Nottingham Forest, one of manager Gordon Strachan’s looming preseason decisions is naming Celtic FC’s next captain.
Center back Stephen “Mick” McManus has worn the armband during recent exhibitions. And although there is precedent – McManus served as the team’s captain last season following a Lennon suspension – Strachan has not committed publicly.
Murdo Macleod, of Scotland’s Daily Record, makes his case that only two real candidates exist to be captain: McManus and goalkeeper Artur Boruc. And of those two, the Macleod wrote that he would pick the defender, citing his Scottish background and his ability to move forward and score.
McManus, 24, a product of the team’s youth academy, made his debut during the 2003-04 campaign. He cemented his position by scoring eight times for the team in 2005-06 and twice last season.
Here’s his profile on the Celtic Web site.
And here’s the Macleod article on the Celtic captaincy.
Steven Pressley, 33, left Hearts in December and signed with Celtic, despite interest from Charton Athletic and Derby County. The Scottish international's nickname is Elvis, and he has also served as a fill-in captain for the club. He plays center back.
John Kennedy suffered a serious knee injury in his debut with the Scottish national team in 2004 . The ligament damage kept him out of Celtic’s starting lineup for three years. He even came to Colorado for three surgeries by Dr. Richard Steadman, of Vail. Now it seems he is ready to compete for the center position next to close friend and former youth teammate McManus. He signed a three-year contract with the team in April and recently received word that the team was not planning send him away on loan. This Glasgow Evening Times Online story discusses his recovery from the injury. And here is his profile on the Celtic Web site.
Lee Naylor was recently sought by Fulham, but Celtic told the Cottagers to keep their hands off. Naylor played for Wolverhampton for nine years and was a member of England's U-21 and U-18 squads. He signed with Celtic in August 2006 and won a spot at left back. After the season, he was nominated for player of the year by the Scottish Professional Footballers' Association. His Celtic profile is here.
Mark Wilson, 23, was a Celtic fan growing up. He told the Yahoo! eurosport Web site that he's excited about Italian midfielder Massimo Donati joining the Glasgow club because of his fond memories of watching Paolo Di Canio. Wilson has appeared for Scotland more than 30 times up to the U-21 level. Normally plays on the right side of the defense but can fill in at left back. The Celtic Web site has a story about Wilson's injury history.
Gary Caldwell revealed to Glasgow's Evening Times recently that he had a chipped bone in his foot when Celtic won the Scottish Cup ... and it was caused by current teammate Scott Brown, who was playing in his last game for Hibernian at the time. Caldwell has had to wear a protective boot and has not appeared this preseason for the Hoops. Read the full story here.
Adam Virgo, a 24-year-old from England, joined Celtic in 2005 on a transfer from his hometown team of Brighton & Hove Albion. Virgo, who also has been used at forward, was loaned to Coventry City for the 2006-07 season.
Dianbobo Balde has played a spot role on defense in the preseason. But because Celtic is well-stocked, the team is reportedly willing to sell Balde. Read more about it here.
Dutch international Evander Sno has seen little action with the Hoops in the preseason. In a friendly in Switzerland against BSC Young Boys, he played the first half then came out. However, he re-entered the game in the game in the 60th minute, only to leave again 10 minutes later. He briefly took over Thomas Gravesen's midfield spot last season.
Darren O'Dea plays on the left of the defense or in the middle. He is a former captain of the Celtic reserve team. He has impressed the team with his leadership and composure and signed a three-year contract in March. Made his Champions League debut against Copenhagen in December, when he came on as a second-half substitute for McManus.
Gary Irvine primarily is a reserve, playing on the right side. He was loaned to Ross County in 2006-07.
Scott Cuthbert was captain of the Scottish U-20 team that competed this month in Canada at the world championships. The BBC has an audio interview with him here (scroll down and click on the "LISTEN" button).
If we look at the defenders used in Celtic's four preseason games so far, we can get an idea of the players we might see Thursday night. Right now, my best guess is Wilson, Kennedy, McManus and Naylor.
Here's a list of who has played so far:
vs. Queens Park Rangers: Mark Wilson (Gary Irvine 64), John Kennedy, Stephen McManus, Lee Naylor
vs. Peterborough United: Mark Wilson, Steven Pressley, Stephen McManus, Lee Naylor
vs. BSC Young Boys
First half: Dianbobo Balde, Stephen McManus, Lee Naylor, Evander Sno
Second half: Naylor, Steven Pressley (Sno 60) (Chris Killen 70), John Kennedy
vs. Basel: Mark Wilson, Steven Pressley, John Kennedy (Dianbobo Balde 46), Lee Naylor (Stephen McManus 46)
John Kennedy pours water on his face to cool off
Tuesday morning in Commerce City. (DOUG PENSINGER/GETTY IMAGES)
Steven Pressley works out with his Celtic
teammates. (DOUG PENSINGER/GETTY IMAGES)
(Sources: soccerbase.com, soccer365.com, Celtic FC, Glasgow Evening Times Online, Daily Record, Yahoo!, 4thegame.com)
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