McGeady, Aiden

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Personal

Fullname: Aiden John McGeady
aka: ‘Aidenho’,  Aiden McGeady
Born: 4 April 1986
Birthplace: Glasgow
Signed: 20 April 2004
Left: 13 Aug 2010 (£9.5-11m to Spartak Moscow)
Position: Midfielder (attacking via central midfield or wings)
Debut: Hearts 1-1 Celtic, League, 24 April 2004 (and scored on debut)
Squad No.: 46
Internationals: Ireland
International Caps: 93
International Goals: 5

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Summary

Nationality: Irish (Born in Scotland but plays for Republic of Ireland through his Donegal grandparents)

Signed on 20-04-2004

McGeady signed a 4 1/2 year deal in Feb 2007 [BBC]

Scored his first hat-trick in mid-week SPL game v Falkirk [Link]

Won Young Player of the Season in 2008 [BBC]

Signed for Spartak Moscow for £9.5M on 13-08-2010 [BBC]

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Biog

Undoubtedly skilful with twists and turns down the wings (and the ability to do incredible step-overs with the be-all to befuddle any defender), his end ball could be frustratingly poor. A good run and then beating a few defenders wasted by a poor cross or a lost ball at the next tackle meant it could all be in vain, and during the 2006-07 season after a fair start the support was surprisingly split down the middle over the player more so than any other over recent seasons. One extreme saying he was a one trick pony whilst the other side that he was a fine precocious talent and people should have patience with him.

He had a great skill to be able to turn the ball almost inside out with his turns and left defenders flailing in his wake. The moments could be funny to watch too, and showed his natural talent to entertain as much as a lot else.

The arrival of Shaun Maloney into the first team as a regular pushed McGeady behind in the pecking order, and after a fine season Maloney had cemented himself in the starting line-up. In some ways this was good for Aiden. Firstly it took the attention/pressure of him with another young player taking the limelight instead, and second as it gave him a kick in order to show that he had a lot still to learn and do.

National side
His most difficult decision was his decision to play for Ireland instead of Scotland. Pilloried by the Scottish press for this decision, they seem to ignore the fact that it was the Irish association would were willing to assist him when he was a teenager whilst the Scottish association didn’t at all. McGeady had said that he promised his grandfather that he would play for Ireland, and so there should have been no issue over this. Sadly this is Scotland, and he became a big target for the boo boys from other clubs to target him during matches. Would have liked if he chose to play for Scotland, but it’s not as if he was opting to play for Ireland for the money.

2007-08
After a few seasons of bedding in, it was in the 2007-08 season which was a big turnaround. McGeady cemented his place in the team with many fine performances and goals, although still some work-in-progress. The support was fully united in praise for his performances in what was an otherwise difficult season for the club with a roller coaster set of results.

Additionally, Shaun Maloney’s move to Aston Villa was a warning to McGeady that leaving Celtic for the EPL (which he admitted did attract him for later in his career) is not all as great as it seems. Gordon Strachan (manager) praised McGeady for the work he put in over the season for conditioning himself better for the long season. Gone were the neddy days (some thought), although over time it was to seem that both he & Strachan were to have at times a difficult working relationship. Notably, on Tommy Burns’ death, McGeady left a note for Tommy Burns with his flowers missing the great man and stating how he could rely on him. Tommy’s loss to Celtic likely thus was also a big loss for McGeady too.

To seal off a great season personally for McGeady, he was awarded the Player of the Season for 2008, which was a great way for him to get one back on all his critics, and showed his vast value to the first team. It was a tough season but he was a bulwark in pushing the side when on form.

However, his temper had got the better of him at times and referees sadly found him an easy target to book for silly tantrums which could be passed off if they were from other players. He was improving but rough edges needed smoothed out.

2008-09
Not a vintage season for Celtic, and a bit of a step-back for McGeady. No denying his talent but with the squad tripping up continuously there was little he could do. McGeady’s season will be remembered most due to a needless spat with manager Gordon Strachan. A very publicised following out with the manager saw McGeady disciplined publicly by the club for an outburst at a team post-match meeting. He was suspended from the squad for a few games, which created much debate amongst the fans, many supporting McGeady others backing the manager. The manager had made himself unpopular with some sections of the support, and in truth the debate wasn’t really just a “McGeady v Strachan” wrangle, and was used by different people to push their views on both to the hilt whether their points were relevant to the current events or not.

Notably, one of the games he missed was a game v Rangers, but as Celtic won that game and did comfortably in the other games he was out, it appeared to backfire on McGeady, and the manager’s cries that it was about disciplinary reasons seem to have won out at the end. There were plenty of stories flying about that McGeady and WGS didn’t get on and effectively he was going to leave at the end of the season or earlier if possible (Jan window). McGeady stayed but the team didn’t work out well and McGeady was no better than most (but by no means the biggest issue in the team).

Celtic lost the league and it was a poor season overall for all. A change of manager at the end of the season was the best thing for all, and likely McGeady was happy with this too, but it was to be a double edged sword. McGeady’s dissent was the only public slating of the manager by the players (only departed players made any criticisms otherwise), so really highlighted his general manner.

2009-10
While 2008-09 was a disappointing campaign for Celtic it was still a damn sight better than the season that followed. With Gordon Strachan now departed it was hoped that McGeady would flourish under new manager Tony Mowbray and his stated desire to play attacking, passing football. It was to all fall apart, and not even a talent like McGeady could make a difference in such circumstances.

Despite a promising start to the season, it was not to be. Prior to Christmas, McGeady was undoubtedly one of Celtic’s better performers – however that is damning with faint praise. In the early months of 2010 his form dipped and he yet again continued to frustrate with performances which frequently failed to do his obvious talent justice. A change of manager wasn’t making any difference.

No longer a promising youngster, McGeady was now at a stage of his career where youth was no longer an excuse for his inconsistency. However, he was still highly valued and created many assists, providing space for others as defenders chased him.

In August 2010, McGeady was sold to Spartak Moscow for £9.5M, making him the most expensive player ever to be sold from Scotland (to time of sale). Later reports (from Celtic TV & Russia) actually indicate the figure was actually £11m. Celtic needed the cash as well as the first team were to be now go two seasons without Champions League money. Celtic’s board couldn’t say no. It was said that former Celtic manager Martin O’Neill resigned from Aston Villa on the back of lack of funds to buy players, of which included the opportunity to buy Aiden McGeady with whom he had been repeatedly linked to take down south.

Review

As repeatedly said earlier, Aiden McGeady was a cracking prodigious talent. He was able to many a time bamboozle the opposition defence with turns and moves we’d not seen since Lubo. It was wonderful, and as a product of Celtic’s youth system it was great to see a supporter play like he could at the club. He turned enough opposition players inside out which even they had to smile at the wonderful style of it all.

However, the difficult situation at Celtic with some poor coaching undermined the ability he had. The abuse and pressures put on him by opposition fans for choosing Ireland over Scotland for the internationals hadn’t helped. He seemed to split the Celtic support. Some ridiculously saw him as a one-trick pony, but many just saw a boy with great talent who could take on many defences yet then blow it all away with a powderpuff shot or a squandered pass. Additionally, his crossing was not as incisive as it should have been (the coaches should have worked harder with him on it all). It was frustrating but when it worked out it was terrific.

Most critics needed to see the facts as the Herald newspaper wrote:

“Last season (2009-10), for example, McGeady was joint first in the creation of goals in the SPL with 14 assists. Steven Davis of Rangers who spent most of the season playing wide with the champions, also created 14. McGeady scored seven goals to three by the Northern Irishman. Indeed, as far back as 2007, McGeady was the most prolific creator of chances in the league with 16. He was not a regular taker of set-pieces so statistics show he was the best at creating goals from open play.”

That shows a player of quality and ability. With better management and better players he could have been a far superior player with Celtic, but when his colleagues could be poor (e.g. Samaras) then really it’s hard to not be downhearted and let the head go down. In truth, success in the SPL alone is not always the highest of benchmarks in light of the increasing emphasis on European competition, and even his staunchest supporter has to admit that the figures were actually a fraction of what his talent could have achieved.

People must also realise that many opposition defences had players double-up on McGeady. This left him little room for manoeuvre. As the team’s most skilful player, he was the most targetted by the opposition fans with their continual barracking of him (due to opting against Scotland for international honours), and it made sure he had it tougher than any others. It’s a back-handed compliment that he was targetted by defenders but it did give the other players room to take advantage, just meant that McGeady’s best moments & value could be missed by even Celtic’s own support.

He was a hard worker in many games and deserves credit, you just need to see the below list of man-of-the-match awards as voted in the KDS forums, which showed his value to the first team.

One issue was off-field. Unfairly marked as a bit of a ned due to his hairstyle/looks/quirks etc, he was not a favourite with the more conservative in football (even within Celtic). The aforementioned spat with manager Gordon Strachan highlighted this tension, but in truth McGeady never really acted to put the club’s name in the red. He was no better or worse than any other young man and it was easy for critics to over play it (and they did). McGeady to his credit just got on with things.

He really had the ability to be a great player for Celtic and achieve a lot. There were many great moments in his time that made the support roar with delight and he turned many a defence inside out, but he hadn’t done enough to rank with the greats. He had many great achievements whilst he was at Celtic but he was never the lead architect of those as say Larsson, Sutton, McStay or Lubo. He might have become so in time, however he still played his part with the club and for that the Celtic support will respect him.

You can argue it in many ways how McGeady’s post-Celtic career panned out but really it’s impossible to argue that it hit glorious heights. There were still some memorable moments along the way, but scant reward for his ability.

An expensive signing for Spartak Moscow, he helped them to the runner’s up spot in the Russian Premier League, but no major medals in his time. At one time he got in trouble for striking an opponent and making an offensive gesture, and then also of vandalising a dressing room door at an opponent’s.

His side even ended up with Celtic in the same Champions League group stages, but Celtic triumphed in both matches (including Celtic’s first ever away match victory in the Champions League group stages) and went through in second place. Spartak finished humiliatingly bottom of the group. Regardless, he was a regular in his three seasons at Spartak, but he didn’t seem to set the heather alight.

He then moved to Everton to where things really didn’t work out, although Everton has often been a dead-end for many. Ex-Rangers player Steven Naismith was a player of far inferior quality, but proved more valuable for Everton. McGeady despite all his talent just didn’t settle in well at Everton.

Aiden McGeady did reveal in 2021 there was a possibility of him returning to Celtic with an offer for the chance by John Kennedy when Ronny Deila was manager. He opted not to as thought it was too soon, as he was playing with Everton. In retrospect it was a mistake by him as the way things panned out.

Later moved to Sheffield and Preston NE (their player of the year 2017) in the lower tiers on loan spells, before ending up at Sunderland who had been relegated to the 3rd tier in England.

He had a long tenure with Sunderland, with a brief loan spell at Charlton, and then returned back home to play for Hibernian, followed by a season with Ayr Utd. He hung up his playing boots in October 2024.

There had been rumours and discussions of bringing him home to Glasgow by some supporters and he was questioned on this but both he & Celtic had moved on. There was admittedly no real demand from either side for it.

One notable match for McGeady at Celtic Park was a Scotland v Ireland international qualifier for Euro 2016, Scotland winning 1-0 with the goal scored by former Celtic colleague Maloney. The match was moved to Celtic Park due to refitting at Hampden Park for the Commonwealth Games. The sad fact is that there was abuse & booing from various Scotland fans at McGeady for his choice of Ireland. He had the last say as Ireland qualified for the Euros with Scotland again failing at the qualifying stages despite being in the driving seat at one point.

One further sad sticking point for McGeady was that despite having amassed 93 caps with 5 goals for Ireland, some commentators were stating that there have been few other players who have amassed so many caps for Ireland (or anywhere else) with so little fanfare. He came so close to the landmark haul of 100 caps but was being little heralded despite the milestone. He wasn’t doing badly but to many he wasn’t proving his high value as against the skill all knew he had. As Roy Keane (ex-Celtic player and McGeady’s later Ireland assistant manager) once caustically remarked in his own inimitable style:

“My reaction to Aiden’s performance? I think he can play a lot better but maybe that’s the story of Aiden’s career.”

His greatest legacy will probably be the McGeady Spin, a term derived for a move in which when tackled by two opposition players he would bamboozle the attacking players, playing the ball off one foot and the next, and then turning the whole move inside out and spinning round, leaving the defenders for dead and lighting up any game. It has become a term used across all football, and has been attempted by many but few have been able to make it payoff like Aiden McGeady could.

[….]

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Playing Career

Club	From	To	Fee	League		Scottish Cup		League cup		Other
Sp. Moscow	01/08/2010		£9.5m
Celtic	20/04/2004	01/08/2010	Youth	147 (38)	31	15 (6)	1	9 (4)	3	26 (6)	2
				Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals

Honours with Celtic

Scottish League

• 2005-06, 2006-07, 2007-08

Scottish Cup

• 2005, 2007

Scottish League Cup

• 2005-06, 2008-09

Individual

• Celtic FC Young Player of the Year (2005, 2006, 2007)
• Celtic FC Fans Player of the Year (2008)
• Celtic FC Players’ Player of the Year (2008, 2010)
• SPFA Players’ Player of the Year (2008)
• SPFA Young Player of the Year (2008)
• BBC Sportsound Player of the Year (2008)
• Clydesdale Bank Young Player of the Year (2008)
• Scottish Premier League Player of the Month (5x)
• Scottish Premier League Young Player of the Month (6x)
• Eircom Republic of Ireland Young Player of the Year (2009)

KDS Honours
MOTM Winners 2006-07
12-Aug-06	Celtic 2 v 0 St Mirren	SPL
20-Aug-06	Inverness CT 1 V 1 Celtic	SPL
26-Aug-06	Celtic 2 v 1 Hibernian	SPL
Aug-06	Aug-06 Player of the Month
23-Sep-06	Celtic 2 v 0 Rangers	SPL
Sep-06	Sep-06 Player of the Month
01-Oct-06	Falkirk 0 v 1 Celtic	SPL
26-Nov-06	Hibernian 2 v 2 Celtic	SPL
02-Dec-06	Celtic 1 v 0 Aberdeen	SPL
10-Dec-06	Dunfermline 1 v 2 Celtic	SPL
11-Mar-07	Celtic 0 v 1 Rangers	SPL
31-Mar-07	Dundee Utd 1 v 1 Celtic	SPL
Mar-07	Mar-07 Player of the Month
07-Apr-07	Celtic 1 v 0 Motherwell	SPL
MOTM Winners 2007-08
15-Sep-07	Celtic 5 v 0 Inverness CT	SPL
31-Oct-07	Celtic 0 v 2 Hearts	CISLeague Cup
06-Nov-07	Celtic 1 v 0 Benfica	Champions League
Nov-07	Nov-07 Player of the Month
11-Dec-07	Celtic 4 v 0 Falkirk	SPL
22-Dec-07	Celtic 1 v 1 Hibernian	SPL
29-Dec-07	Celtic 3 v 0 Gretna	SPL
Dec-07	Dec-07 Player of the Month
10-Feb-08	Aberdeen 1 v 5 Celtic	SPL
Feb-08	Feb-08 Player of the Month
05-Apr-08	Celtic 0 v 1 Motherwell	SPL
2008	***KDS Player of the Year 2007-08***
MOTM Winners 2008-09
29-Oct-08	Kilmarnock 1-3 Celtic	CIS League Cup
24-Jan-09	Celtic 3-1 Hibernian	SPL
01-Feb-09	Inverness CT 0-0 Celtic	SPL
07-Feb-09	Celtic 2-1 Queens Park	Scottish Cup
22-Mar-09	Dundee United 2-0 Celtic	SPL
08-Apr-09	Celtic 4-0 Falkirk	SPL
MOTM Winners 2009-10
15-Aug-09	Aberdeen 1-3 Celtic	SPL
18-Aug-09	Celtic 0-2 Arsenal	CL 4th Qual Rd, 1st Leg
26-Aug-09	Arsenal 1-3 Celtic	CL 4th Qual Rd, 2nd Leg
Aug-09	Aug-09 Player of the Month
20-Sep-09	Celtic 2-1 Hearts	SPL
22-Nov-09	Dundee Utd 2-1 Celtic	SPL
28-Nov-09	Celtic 3-1 St Mirren	SPL
Nov-09	Nov-09 Joint Player of the Month
02-Dec-09	Celtic 2-0 Hapoel Tel Aviv	Europa League Match 5
12-Dec-09	Motherwell 2-3 Celtic	SPL
22-Dec-09	Hearts 2-1 Celtic	SPL
Dec-09	Dec-09 Player of the Month
03-Jan-10	Celtic 1-1 Rangers	SPL
13-Feb-10	Aberdeen 4-4 Celtic	SPL
24-Mar-10	St Mirren 4-0 Celtic	SPL
04-Apr-10	Hibernian 0-1 Celtic	SPL
17-Apr-10	Celtic 3-2 Hibernian	SPL
30-Apr-10	Apr-10 Player of the Month
01-May-10	Celtic 4-0 Motherwell	SPL
May-10	Joint Player of the Month for May ’10

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Pictures

• Aiden McGeady Pics
• Wallpaper (by Cartuja of KStreet forum)

Song

• Aiden McGeady song

Articles

• Miscellaneous Articles
• McGeady Spin

Forums

• McGeady leaves Celtic (Aug 2010)

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Quotes

Lionel Messi [Barcelona] yesterday paid his own accolade, saying: “I really like the way McGeady plays football. He is a natural talent who can create a brilliant piece of play in the blink of an eye.” This came in the wake of Catalan sportspaper El Mundo Deportivo publishing a glowing tribute, which lauded the Republic of Ireland international as “a blond version of Messi and Diego Maradona”, adding that a lack of media exposure is all that currently prevents him from achieving the same fame and renown enjoyed by Messi and his Argentinian predecessor.
(Source: Fifa, Feb 08)

“My reaction to Aiden’s performance? I think he can play a lot better but maybe that’s the story of Aiden’s career.”
Roy Keane (ex-Celt & Ireland assistant manager) on Aiden McGeady (May 2016)

Mulgrew to WGS: “You used to practice having someone lying down behind the wall”.
WGS: “It used to be Broony unless Aidan got on my nerves and I’d put him there.”
(May 2021)