Does anyone agree with this statement?

Question

from Johan Mjallby ..Balde is being missed by the Hoops

He was a big character in the dressing room, but he was also someone who could make a real difference for us in games.

when I saw the lad Daniel Cousin bullying McManus and Caldwell a bit on Sunday, it did cross my mind that Bobo wouldn't have been pushed around quite so easily."

our very own 30m a week defender could have saved us?

Answer 1

couple of points adele.

1)strachans statement about needing 30 million to be able to better caldwell and mcmanus is so silly,its utterly embarassing

2)big bobo  has never been bullied by anyone and mjallby is quite right.unfortunately strachan disnae like him and wont play him.totally bizarre

Answer 2

He may well have done.  I was surprised by Cousins' inclusion, but he was very effective, until the red card.  Hats off to Walter for that.  

Another point to consider is, if Balde gets a game, who do you drop ?  I would think Caldwell would be the obvious choice, but what happens at the end of the season, and in the time between now and then ?  Would Caldwell be happy to play in the reserves, losing his place to a player that has hardly kicked a ball in the last few years, and is definitely leaving the club, at the end of the season ?  

And surely Balde's motivation must be in question, how many moves has he turned down, knowing he is out of the picture at Parkhead ?

It's not a good situation for Celtic, no matter how you look at it.

Answer 3

He would have made a difference.  However he is also prone to stupid mistakes and getting booked / sent off.

The bottom line is that he is deliberately standing in the way of every single offer that is made for him.  He is ruining his own credibility and that of the club's.  Therefore he doesn't deserve any more money from us (i.e. appearance money, win bonus, etc).  He helped to create this situation and he is the only one perpetuating it.

Answer 4

quite agree and have thought this for ages.no frills,just good old fashioned central defender who takes no prisoners.he got slated by plenty earlier on but his last ditch tackling saved us lots when mart was there.why he doesnt get a few games puzzles me.

Answer 5

Indeed, Strachan is a stubborn man though who rarely changes his mind on anything (Riordan being another example)

  He has never given Balbe a chance, the few games he DID play at the back end of last season, he done pretty well

Seen Paul Lambert say similar in the paper to Mjallby.

Bobo takes out every ball and person within range, sometimes thats what is needed in a defender.

Answer 6

Bobo is twice the defender Caldwell is. yes hes clumsy and at times daft as a brush but Caldwell is as Hibs calibre defender in a celtic and scotland shirt. Certainly not good enough and hes making McManus look bad as he has to constantly cover Caldwells goofs and being out of position.

Strachan, in my opinion would never have allowed Balde to be a first team Reg becasue Balde IS a  major fan favourite

Jealousy i put it down to