James McFadden has suggested that Celtic player Oliver Burke was not coached properly in the past due to him being a quick winger.
He suggested that when Burke was younger, coaches would often assume that because he was a winger and was strong and quick, they should just put him on the wing and let him do the rest.
The Sky Sports pundit implied that he has not had much guidance because of this, but he did praise some elements of the 21-year-old’s game, such as bringing others into play and making good movements when deployed as a striker.
“The biggest thing that was stopping him was he wasn’t playing. The way he has been playing since he came up has been brilliant. You can see that he is developing a game sense,” he said, as quoted by the Evening Times.
“Some of his play has been, maybe not eye-catching, but he is holding it up, he is bringing others into play and he is making good movements that you would expect a striker to play.
“Maybe when Oli was younger because he was so strong and quick, coaches would say ‘oh, he is a winger, we’ll just stick him out wide. We’ll not teach him anything. We’ll just stick him out wide and give him the ball’. And that happens to a lot of fast players like Oli who have an athletic body shape.
“I imagine he has not had an awful lot of instruction because of that. Just give it to Oli and he’ll do the rest. It is learning. It is alright telling a player do this and do that.”
OPINION
Burke has come on leaps and bounds since he has arrived at Celtic, but McFadden does have a valid point. Yes, he is showing all the signs that he can make it as a striker, but the fact that he was probably not coached properly in the past has not done him the world of good. Playing regularly for the likes of Celtic will no doubt help him become a much better player, as he did not get much game time before arriving at Parkhead. One thing is for sure though, he is showing signs of being a fantastic player, and there is definitely more to come from him before he eventually returns to West Brom at the end of the season. He has improved Celtic’s overall play somewhat, and for this, he must be commended, particularly as he is not overly familiar with the striker role. McFadden is perhaps suggesting that he is being coached a lot better now that he is at Celtic, and that can only be good news for Brendan Rodgers.