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Fullname: Derek Riordan
Born: 16 Jan 1983
Birthplace: Edinburgh
Signed: 23 June 2006
Position: Forward/Striker
Internationals: Scotland

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.

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 were 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.

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 there were louds boos from the fans over the decision. The truth is that he actually had a very fair scoring record, and deserved more of a chance whilst Kenny Miller was given routinely favourable treatment instead.

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 (right or wrongly!) whilst the manager had been on record about his crusade against neds etc, hardly fostering a great relationship between them. Makes you wonder even more why he then even bought him.

In April 2008 Riordan went to the press about Strachan’s handling of him and attacked 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).

In August 2008, Riordan had an existing ban from Edinburgh's night clubs extended when he broke this ban (not exactly illustrating any intelligence from him). So maybe WGS was right to ostracise him until he grew up.

Whatever the truth about Riordan’s lack of opportunities at Celtic it was clear that from a relatively early stage the relationship between player, manager and club had deteriorated significantly and ultimately no one benefited from the resultant stalemate. Celtic looked to be keen to offload the player, allegedly offering Riordan to Burnley as part of a proposed deal for Kyle Lafferty (who went on to sign for Rangers) at one point. In August 2008, he returned back to Hibernian.

Playing Career

Club	From	To	Fee	League		Sc Cup		League cup		Other
Celtic	23/06/2006	01/09/2008	£150k buy £200k sold	8 (16)	5	2 (2)	3	3 (0)	0	0 (1)	0
			_______	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals

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

Pictures

• Derek Riordan Pics

Articles

• Derek Riordan - "My Celtic hell (sic!)" (Apr 08)