Riordan, Derek

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Fullname: Derek George Riordan
aka: Derek Riordan, Deek
Born: 16 Jan 1983
Birthplace: Edinburgh
Signed: 23 June 2006 (150k from Hibs)
Left: 1 Sep 2008 (200k to Hibs)
Position: Forward, Striker
Debut: Celtic 4-1 Kilmarnock, League, 29 July 2006
Internationals: Scotland
International Caps: 3
International Goals: 0

Biog

When Celtic signed Hibs striker Derek Riordan on a pre-contract agreement in May 2006 the Bhoys had captured one of the brightest attacking talents to emerge in Scotland in recent years. At one point, he was the leading SPL striker for career goals after our own Henrik Larsson and Rangers’ Kris Boyd. He was seen to be one from the Hibs fans self-styled ‘Golden Generation‘ of young reared players.

Originally the agreement meant Riordan would not be able to play for the Hoops until January 1st 2007, as he was contracted at Easter Road until October 2006. However the clubs came to a compensation agreement which saw Riordan move to Parkhead in time for the start of the 2006/07 season.

Riordan, a one time target of Rangers, Kaiserlautern and several English league clubs, had played mostly up front for Hibs where he had earned a reputation as a skilful attacker with pace and an eye for goal. An exciting talent, hopes were high that Riordan would develop into a true talent at Celtic Park.

However, the player’s Parkhead career stalled in the starting blocks and in his first five months at the club, appearances were restricted to rare cameos from the subs bench and the odd start in the CIS Cup (League Cup).

Questions began to be asked as to why Celtic had even bought the player. Manager Gordon Strachan said that Riordan would have to bide his time and pointed out that he was being kept out of the first team by on form widemen Aiden McGeady and Shaun Maloney. That in itself raised eyebrows as the player – and most supporters – saw himself as a forward and not a wide midfielder.

When Riordan did play he certainly showed glimpses of his undoubted talent and chipped in with some key and memorable goals. Few would argue that his on field efforts, while maybe not spectacular, at least warranted the chance to prove himself with a run of first team starts. It was a chance that never came. Although, there were actually also a number of games in which he could be simply anonymous too.

He became a bit of an icon for some as an example of the manager’s ability/inability to handle players. Notably, at the end of the 2006-07 season when Riordan was taken off during a certain match there were loud boos from the fans over the decision. He actually had a very fair scoring record, and deserved more of a chance whilst Kenny Miller was given routinely favourable treatment instead. The irony in his not being played was that Strachan was on record as stating that Riordan was the best finisher at the Club.

Rumours of major fall outs with Strachan, training ground bust-ups and off-field disciplinary problems began to crop up on a daily basis and Riordan was persistently linked to a move away from Parkhead during the summer of 2007, and then in January 2008 – with the player desperate for a move – Celtic turned down a £400,000 offer from Burnley. Didn’t help that he looked like a ned, and had a reputation as one (rightly or wrongly) whilst the manager had been on record about his (at times) jumped up personal crusade against neds, hardly fostering a great relationship between the two of them. Made you wonder even more why Strachan even bought him.

In April 2008 Riordan went to the press about Strachan’s handling of him and criticised the way the manager had treated him during his time at Celtic Park. Not a great move (unless the tactic was to find the exit door), and sealed the inevitable with few sympathising after this act. The following is an example of some of his remarks:

“I only get chucked on if we need a goal so he must think I can get him a goal but he obviously doesn’t want to do it unless he really has to because he doesn’t want me to prove him wrong. He knows I would score quite a lot if he played me as much as he has played the other strikers but I don’t think he wants proved wrong. When I speak to him, he’s nice to me and says all the things players want to hear about me being part of the plans but you know by his actions that he’s talking rubbish.“

To make matters worse, in August 2008, Riordan had an existing ban from Edinburgh’s nightclubs extended when he broke this ban (not exactly illustrating any intelligence from him). So maybe Strachan was right to ostracise him until he grew up. There is a limit to what a manager can do, and granted not all players are angels but the players themselves have to take greater responsibility for their own actions due to their circumstances.

Whatever the truth about Riordan’s lack of opportunities at Celtic it became clear from a relatively early stage that the relationship between player, manager and club had deteriorated significantly and overall no one benefited from the resulting stalemate. Celtic looked to be keen to offload the player, allegedly offering Riordan to Burnley as part of a proposed deal at one point for Kyle Lafferty (a duffer who went on to sign for Rangers).

Post Celtic
In August 2008, he returned back to Hibernian which was a mixed result.

A later stint in China was short-lived (with various punters on the forums even jokingly betting on how short a time he’d actually last). He moved back to Scotland, and again another stint (this time at St Johnstone) failed. It was sadly becoming a repeat performance wherever he was moving to.

Things got so bad, that at the age of 30 he was nowhere. Still able to play and you’d believe he should easily find a club, yet he was shunned by all, even the lower tier clubs. It was an unwanted & sorry situation.

“I’ve asked quite a few clubs for training and it’s been a no-go, which I can’t understand. It’s odd for me. I’ve offered to play for nothing and nobody’s taken it up. I’ve changed agents a couple of times and, whether you’re getting the right information back, I don’t know. It could be that someone’s put out a bad word about me. I think I’ve only had one breach of the peace charge in my life, so it’s not exactly that bad. I don’t know what it is. It is quite frustrating.”

He claimed there was a whispering campaign against him, but in truth concerns over him were quite public.

He finally won a place and contract but with Brechin and East Fife. A far cry from the SPL where he might have still have been making a name for himself. He wrapped up his time in the seniors with York City then Edinburgh City before returning to the juniors. A disappointing decline but through his time at Hibs in particular he still has some great memories, and at Celtic some great experiences & well-earned silverware too.

In January 2020, Riordan took over the popular Easter Road bar The Four in Hand, renaming it ‘R10rdan’s Sports Bar‘ (styled after the Number 10 shirt number that he had worn at Hibernian).

Playing Career

Honours with Celtic

Scottish League

• 2006-07, 2007-08

Scottish Cup

• 2007

KDS Honours
MOTM Winners 2006-07
07-Nov-06	Celtic 1 v 1 Falkirk	CIS League Cup

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