The recruitment drive for central midfield players continues unabated with the pursuit of Australian international, Riley McGree (23). The player made 8 starts for Birmingham City last season, where he was used largely in a supporting role for the Championship side. This season, he became first choice after making his first start of the season on 20 October. Since then, he made a total of 10 starts before his loan deal ended on 31 December.
In short, Birmingham have done the heavy lifting to develop Riley into a Championship first team player. He is a year older than David Turnbull, a full and regular Australia international player and, if he joined Celtic, would rank alongside the three recent Japanese signings as first team considerations.
What does this move tell us about Celtic’s objectives? Often enough in the past, when we were nip and tuck in a title race, we would spend January trying to recruit loan signings from the EPL. The likes of Roy Keane, Craig Bellamy and Robbie Keane raised our game but were inexplicably short-term and often, as with of these star performers, failed to achieve their objectives.
This time we are recruiting players who have never competed for a league title in Europe, untested in Uefa competitions, who are by any measure, a risk. Sitting 6 points off the pace, this is a sign of confidence from Celtic. Why?
Ange clearly has confidence that his core group of players are good enough to claw back the deficit. He is not looking for a Roy Keane-type to shore up any area of the team. When injury and illness reduced his options, performance levels dropped. Celtic went 10 though a 10 game series in November and December where they only managed to win by more than one goal once. With Jota, Kyogo, Forrest and Jullien (!) back, you would fancy us to get the better of any domestic opponent.
Despite the enormous weight of consequences resting on this season’s title, Celtic are busy this month planning for the medium to long term. At the moment, it feels like the right strategy, we will find out for sure soon enough.
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Another Aussie internationalist – we’ll do anything to get that Feb 2nd game called off.
Saint Stives Been down at Barrowfield a few times ,what I seen is there is a lot of spare land there heading up to we’re the old Belvedere Hospital was ,and have they started on Construction on Barrowfield maybe some of the Bhoys on here could give us more information,many thanks.
DRAMBOWIE CELT
Too true! I’ll give Morocco – Ghana a go and definitely watch Man U – Villa later.
@inquit Me to mate ..Man u for me
Stx2 @ 2.46
There are plenty of sites / pitches available to use for the B team close to P/head.
Orr St or Crownpoint could be used next season if the will was there.
More longer term ideas:
You have the derelict site between the Emirates and the LL stand.
Or you could build a multi storey car park behind the JS stand and stick a pitch on top.
Not quite the SDM hover pitch but a huge benefit to the club.
For a second rate property bean counter — PL has done nothing regarding facilities at P/head.
Plus L/town was a property / house building punt dressed up as a training ground.
Not good.
Barrowfield has potential but it would mean the loss of two training pitches.
Even the indoor pitch has potential if it was sized correctly.
Rubb produce indoor arenas with a clearspan of 100m approx.
Enough for a full size pitch and 20 rows of seats / 4000 capacity.
More cost than a basic indoor pitch — clearspan of 80m approx — but it would offer an income stream.
Main thing would be to develop a sports village in the P/head area so that more games would be available to watch at the centre of the club rather than as now a collection of other people’s pitches spread about WCS.
INIQUITOUSIV on 10TH JANUARY 2022 3:07 PM
Police haul injured pilot out of Cessna that crash landed on railway level crossing, seconds before express train turns it to matchwood.
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https://youtu.be/slSb72vwaBc
and how many people would attend a Celtic B, Womens or academy matches ?
Inverclyde has a huge celtic support, only a few hundred ever turned up at cappielow on their doorstep, and that was for the euro ties.
I suspect, like the big team, interest would peak when any of the teams played against something representing “rangers”
MADMITCH
I really enjoy your post honestly, but all the abbreviation do my nut. I struggle sometimes to figure out to whom you refer. Could be I’m thick, but nonetheless keep posts coming.
KINGLuBO
WCS = West Central Scotland
B team games — 12.15 kick off before home games.
Get people to P/head earlier and hopefully then will spend more money.
IniquitousIV- 😁
MADMITCH
There’s not a club in Britain who would sanction a full-scale 90 minutes on the main pitch immediately prior to a first-team game.
You don’t half come up with some shite.
DRAMBOWIECELT on 10TH JANUARY 2022 3:19 PM
@inquit Me to mate ..Man u for me
* not a fan of the current manure set up and have always liked Villa, however, not that I hold grudges, I hope the red devils bug slippy’s mob and they go out of the cup early doors in a similar manner to artita’s side last night, the latter was recently salivating about “stephen” and his fantastic achievement last season.
When that uncouthed uneducated mob on the south side were being called out for chanting “he knew, he knew, he knew” about a mhan who tended to the injured and dying victims of the January 2, 1971 manslaughter, they claimed they were actually chanting “edu, edu, edu” to their septic tank flop, a player who suffered racist abuse from the same fans.
In a similar manner our Green Brigade are subject to continuous harassment for alleged racist and sectarian chants when in fact they are only singing songs commemorating the land of our founding fathers.
As such mibbees they could in support of our latest signing, allegedly a descendant of the legendary original “Wild Colonial Bhoy” Ned Kelly sing “Oh Riley McGree I long to see the Boys of the Old Brigade”.
@Stivs…ref..the ole dublin end ..when my uncle J played wae them….
That end was stowed …All good st Marys bhoys
H.H
I really am beginning to doubt that some attend celtic park or know or take an interest in what happens around celtic park and the east end.
Orr Street – Glasgow club sports centre (crow-point) that is for me the only plot in the east end close enough and big enough to make as impactful use as a Celtic owned and operated “mini-estada” complex.
I get that it would be wonderful to be behind st marys and literally on top of our birthplace (east rose street/henrietta street) but it has to be viable, and would then meen operating 3 locations.
Clyde gateway / Jock Stein car parks / West side
huge task to build a flat pitch on that side, but the plot is already footprinted for the hotel development
so not viable option.
Lisbon lions car parks, / east side,
allready used as match day parking, for me also, not big enough to have a mini estada, sure nice to have a view of original celtic park , maybe that is what we could recreate somewhere, the design brief if you like.
London Road / Springield Road,
across from the vaults, already being built on as residential flats.
London Road out to Barrowfield,
continues residential builds, and fine they look as well.
Barrowfield itself.
Bounded west side by residential , east side industrial scrap yard and dewars whisky disribution
South side to the river council allotments (celtic buy out poor peoples green food production and sustainability/health/wellbeing in a cruel twist from their origins).
Along London road eastwards,
there is no avaialble land, I dont know where people are seeing this availabilty.
There is st peters, with many of the founders resting places.
Beyond that new logistics parks.
It is what it is, Celtic are limited to the barrowfield site, and are building what fits the plot.
Ps, Lennoxtown never had zoning ever for more housing development, primary reason we got the land “cheapish”.
DRAMBOWIECELT on 10TH JANUARY 2022 3:58 PM
@Stivs…ref..the ole dublin end ..when my uncle J played wae them….
That end was stowed …All good st Marys bhoys
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alright remind me who J was ?
st marys, st mungos, st johns, all within walking distances of cappielow.
I heard a couple of years ago now that Barrowfield was being redeveloped at a cost of around £2.5 m,new pitches,dressing rooms,physio/rehab area,all teams except the first team would be based there, and Lennoxtown would be used by the first team squad only,must have been shelved for a while…….
test
drambowiecelt
that was meant to be an Alrighty hello rather than a cheeky way.
Bada,
thats all true, and its kinda almost what is to be delivered now, just not it seems with areas to allow josie public to wander around.
The complex has planned wall of 5metres high, with only 3 pitches (2 outside and 1 indoors, if it hosts all the youth set ups right up to b team it is going to be very busy.
similar in purpose to toryglen i would suggest rather than a place for paid entry to football matches.
Has the old Carntyne dog track ever been built upon? That is only a short distance from Celtic Park. If memory serves (and this is going back about 60 years) there was a football pitch in the middle of the ground. Could it be acquired as a place for the B team to play?
As I have previously suggested the Scottish Government are likely to keep crowd restrictions for the forseeable future at least till after the Feb 2 game.
No friends of Celtic are the Scottish Government
We really should have had an indoor pitch before now…..
knocked down a longtime ago, built houses on it
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carntyne_Stadium#/media/File:Carntyne_Greyhound_Stadium_in_Glasgow_c.1950.png
BIGBHOY
I didn’t realise the 500 crowd limit applied to Celtic only.
Damn.
PRESTONPANS BHOYS
Hope you are having a great day!
Best wishes!
Scottish Rugby play Ladies and sometimes junior Internationals after the main event at Murrayfield, so the main event has had the benefit of a pristine pitch. Would anyone remain after a league game at Celtic Park to watch Celtic Women? Sometimes, yeah. Certainly a daytime game.
And lest anyone get upset, yeah I do see Celtic 1st team as the main event.
Was it Helenvale ?? the small football ground a couple of streets back from the stadium, had a small terracing and track around it ?? – about 100 along from St Michaels school (can’t remember the name of street)
Prestonpans Bhoy
Very very H888py 60th Birthday
Hope you have a Gr888t day
I only ever went to a reserves game once , circa 1987.
1st team game was called off due to ice in the car park and paths. i didn’t know but when my pal and i arrived, they said a reserve game was being played on the big pitch as it was not frozen.
Quite enjoyed it but would not have travelled for it if i knew. Hats off to folks who watch the youth, reserve, b , women’s games
PS
i have watched women’s games on TV over the years and the standard has come on a lot over the years. Big spike after it went pro in big countries but we will get that boost in the next few years.
i was watching the English ladies last nigh on BBC and the one area that still is an issue is goalkeepers. Positional sense and agility is pretty bad
i was watching the English ladies last nigh on BBC and the one area that still is an issue is goalkeepers. Positional sense and agility is pretty bad
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big packy esque.
SS,
Thanks for that info. It’s a long long time since I used the path outside the dog track as a short cut to and from Duke Street.
Couldn’t pay me to watch women’s football, it’s a no from me
Norrie- Helenvale St
NORRIEM on 10TH JANUARY 2022 4:46 PM
Was it Helenvale ?? the small football ground a couple of streets back from the stadium, had a small terracing and track around it ?? – about 100 along from St Michaels school (can’t remember the name of street)
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Norriem was it not Helenvale street??
D :)
Bada – oops
D :)
St stivs..i never took it as cheeky mate…
Uncle Jim Mooney who i know you had a lot of time for..
And Uncle Peter….. Hope your well son…
Whole household isolating
H.H
DRAMBOWIECELT on 10TH JANUARY 2022 5:53 PM
St stivs..i never took it as cheeky mate…
Uncle Jim Mooney who i know you had a lot of time for..
And Uncle Peter….. Hope your well son…
Whole household isolating
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I thought it was, just being sure, both great men.
I told you, he set me on my way, “dont do as I do do what i say”.
That temper, hahaha,
H.H
BIGBHOY on 10TH JANUARY 2022 4:29 PM
As I have previously suggested the Scottish Government are likely to keep crowd restrictions for the forseeable future at least till after the Feb 2 game.
No friends of Celtic are the Scottish Government
The Irish are no friends of Celtic according to a previous haver.
So you don’t mind if I take above with a pinch o salt
HH