As a Celtic fan I think I'm quite fit to supply some of my own (possibly biased) information regarding Aiden. By lurking this thread for a week or so I can see that there are a lot of mixed opinions on his arrival. This was partly the case when he was at Celtic too, but I'd say about 75% of the support loved and appreciated his talent when he was there. Personally I fell into that category, but what I will say though is that at times he can be annoying. The lad has bags of talent and on his day, can be a very exciting and top class player. Really for him its about performing consistently and playing in the right team for him to reach his full potential. And with Everton's fluid, fast and creative football I think they can be the perfect match for him.
In the 07/08 season at Celtic he was tremendous and looked as if he could play for anyone, the 2 more seasons with us after that he was quieter, this was because he would be doubled and tripled up on literally every match, with a lot of the defenders in the SPL kicking him all over the park. At this this time the team was regressing quite significantly, but even so he contributed his fair share of goals and assists, and IMO he pretty much carried the team for these 2 years.
People talk about his sh1te end ball a lot and though it can be frustrating, it is exaggerated. I think he'd be better off here playing as a more of an inside winger, or even behind the striker.
A lot of people don't realise that he can be really effective as a CAM too. He's very technically gifted and with the right striker in front of him (Lukaku) he could bag loads of assists. I'd love him at Celtic and would have him back in a heartbeat, but with Everton being my second team I am ecstatic he's here. I just hope he delivers and shows what he can do. He's been wanting to play in the PL for a while, so he really should take this great opportunity with both hands and I think he will. What worries me slightly is that he hasn't played for a while, and the pictures of him at Goodison yesterday showed him looking quite overweight. I've never seen him look that big in my life! He's all about pace and agility so he's going to a need a mini pre season and get back into shape ASAP.
Admittedly I haven't seen much of him at Spartak, but from what I hear he was decent in the years he was there, and by no means should he be labeled a flop. I think he made the wrong decision moving there, but getting £40k per week tax free (roughly equivalent to £75k/week here) might tell him different. Anyway he started well and there was a lot of talk about Zenit bidding 27mill for him a year later. I don't think he has been a world beater there, I think injuries may have hampered his progress, but most Spartak fans will tell you he was a good acquisition. By the looks of things they loved him and was definitely a fans favourite, with them being sad to see him go.
In a nutshell - worried, hopeful but most of all excited. Martinez is a smart man, and if he can get the best out of him (Shaun Maloney, Wigan..?) we are in for one hell of a ride.
