Last week I wrote that Celtic were lucky their central defensive crisis happened during the transfer window. They had time to make their move, although the requirement could not have been easy to fit.
A player was needed who could play in the Champions League alongside a young Swedish defender who is new to the club. That sets the bar quite high, but the player would also know that with two new central defenders signed this window, Brendan Rodgers will be motivated to develop them whenever possible. Game time may tail off when Cameron Carter-Vickers and Maik Nawrocki return to fitness.
I would walk past Nat Phillips without recognising him on Buchannan St this afternoon, but on paper, he is about as good as we could hope for. Interestingly, he was the player Bournemouth signed as replacement for Carter-Vickers when his loan period there ended two years ago.
I hope he spends much of today and tomorrow in the company of Gustaf Lagerbielke. They have lots to talk about before Sunday.
Welcome to Celtic, Nat. Own it, while you’re here!
More blogging to come today.
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Joe Hart the perfect anti dote to Dhimitri Karine Ian Andrews Carl Muggleton Alan McKnight Magnus Hedman Dorus De Vries and ………Vassilas Barkas
Uncle Jimmy
Last year we had a much easier League Cup draw.
We did not go to a plastic pitch in Ayrshire to play an in form SPL team in a knockout game after playing only 2 matches.
We also had a settled system and fewer injuries.
None of the so called experts, who can’t actually name a single player we should have signed in the window, can actually say if we are stronger or not in terms of player pool.
DRAMBOWIECELT on 1ST SEPTEMBER 2023 3:24 PM
:)
UNCLE JIMMY on 1ST SEPTEMBER 2023 3:36 PM
St Stivs
I believe the 3 trophies are still there, though the league cup will be leaving shortly.
Whilst we won all of our league Cup games last season, we lost the only one we played this season
Do you feel last years team was possibly stronger?
————-
It might have been, they scored 149 goals in all competitions, but I wont know until the end of this current season only then can i truelly measure like for like.
I was going to say the loss of our league cup trophy (winners in 7 from 8 seasons) could be bettered by some run in europe, a 3rd in CL and a few rounds after xmas in the last Europa league format like this would be nice, but I dont count on it. it probably wont happen no matter who we sign, i have hope in my heart, but that means little.
As an aside, if people want to go see our 3 trophies , they will be in Celtic Park until early February 2024,
so sometime yet to get that really elusive picture of the grand weans and the rarely seen 3 trophies together
CELTIC40ME on 1ST SEPTEMBER 2023 3:21 PM
Brendan:
“I know how to win, I know what it takes to win. And I’ll show the players how to win.”
So guys like McGregor, Hart, Carter Vickers etc need to be taught how to win.
Arrogance personified.
So much bitter angst coming through today.
Folk who admit they don’t know enough to even say who we should sign are all squealing because we have only filled some emergency gaps.
Not at all helped by an interpretation from the guy who is supposed to lead and galvanize the club. A guy who is paid handsomely for it and seems to have only been finding excuses since he arrived back.
Didn’t see Ange or Billy or Jock or Gordon or Neil behave like that.
Others have whined publicly but no surprise that the above (apart from Ange who just gave us trophies and great football) really did beat the big teams on the biggest of all stages.
Why would any fan suggest who we should sign.
Is that not what lawwells son and his team are paid to do.
Then again, look at the last left back we signed
Listening to BR there, he seems confident of more incomings other than Bernardo.
SAINT STIVS @ 3:38 PM,
No disrespect to anyone and you are right I know little about that
My eldest is COO of a cutting edge data analytics company in another industry, he caught the technology bug from me but I’m light years behind.
However, business intelligence is not going to replace dyed in the wool professionals, it’s a tool, a very useful tool, a very smart tool but a tool
It doesn’t replace nous know-how and experience as Ange has shown.
Hail Hail
CHAIRBHOY
There’s a lot of tools on here today
PHILBHOY @ 4:03 PM,
You may say that, I couldn’t possibly comment;)
Hail Hail
CHAIRBHOY on 1ST SEPTEMBER 2023 4:00 PM
Why did Ange talk about the need for the aggressive model you’re saying isn’t fit for purpose at the AGM just before JJ and GG were sold?
He said it was essential if we’re to get better in Europe. He talked as if it was what he was suggesting rather than something that was imposed on him
Rodgers body language concerns me – in addition, he talks of promise and potential.
He asked for experience and strength – something is just not right and back to pre -Ange days.
Kyogo carries a known shoulder problem and we don’t have a similar back up other than Maeda who gets a game based on speed and workrate.
I’m excited by yang , Palma and Holm -I think we have supported the CB positions – but extremely disappointed we didn’t sign an athletic LB , experienced midfielder and striker.
Pretty disgusted TBH going into champs league.
BTW I think Rangers team shows promise and will improve with games – Sunday will be a wake up call for many!
Burnley78 @ 3:45
Since this seasons Celtic exited the league Cup at the first hurdle, I’ve read a lot about the plastic pitch in Ayrshire.
Here are our last few results down there (killie score first)
1-0
1-4
0-5
0-4
1-1
1-3
Our league Cup exit was out first defeat at rugby park in some time.
I take your point about an in form Kilmarnock, and I’ve no desire to argue the toss. However, my opinion is that the team which started that game was weaker than that which finished last season.
Some positive signings these past few days, however.
“We’ve got to be going in step,” Ange said. “There’s No point in me having a vision and out of step with the business perspective. We try to fit the business model around that.
“We have to understand to be a Champions League club – the ones we can compare ourselves with – the ones who make an impact is they are constantly there. Then once there, look to continually grow in the football aspect within resources and finances.
“We need to be aggressive in our approach but within the financial constraints of a club like ours. Aggressive in the transfer market – it could be unsettling with players in and out quickly but if you look at the models of clubs our size they’re very agile.
“Every couple of years they regenerate and move players out at the right time with improved players in. We need to push aggressively over the next two to three years, first qualifying and then making an impact.”
Also
“Don’t get too attached to your heroes”
He talked about adopting a more aggressive trading model, then sold GG and JJ and replaced them with AJ and OH at the first opportunity.
Yip, back to pre Ange days, it’s all about the OF
ChairBhoy,
That has to be the most accurate statement I’ve read for a while, all the data in the world doesn’t help if you haven’t got the knowledge to use it.
Interesting that different people appear to have wildly differing views on the press conference varying from we are doomed to we should be excited for the rest of the day.
Still have my fingers crossed for a LB
I as Ange really a big incompetent oaf all along?
Sorry to break into the transfer discussions, but I just had to say that I went to the Celtic Story yesterday evening. If you have not thought about going to the show, do get a ticket now and enjoy a tremendous evening of celebrating the history of Glasgow Celtic. You will have a great time joining in the singing of Celtic songs . Oh, and you might have a few tears in your eyes before the show ends.
CELTIC40ME @ 4:09 PM,
Think this summed it up nicely
Other clubs our size are very agile,” Postecoglou said at the club’s AGM.
“Every couple of years they regenerate. We need to push forward aggressively in the next two to three years.”
The 5-1 loss to Real Madrid rounded off a group stage that saw Celtic go winless and finish bottom of the group.
They have failed to win in their last 10 Champions League matches and of his regular starters, only Callum McGregor and Joe Hart had played major minutes in Europe’s elite competition before this season.
However, Postecoglou believes Celtic can catch up with the Champions League regulars despite usually having significantly lower spending power if they execute a clever transfer strategy.
The Australian has been successful in the market since he joined in 2021, with Portuguese winger Jota, United States defender Cameron Carter-Vickers and Japan forward Kyogo Furuhashi among the biggest recruitment hits.
“My aim is to keep improving. Never stand still. My ambition is to make us a Champions League club,” he said.
“Hopefully as our players progress, and as players leave, hopefully we can bring in others and improve. I think bridging the gap between us and the elite in Europe is one we need to keep chipping away at.
“We can make gains by being aggressive and agile in the transfer market.
“I make the football vision clear and try to fit the business model around that. We need to maximise the greatest amount of revenue into the club.”
So…
Have we stood still
Have we pushed forward
Have our players progressed
As players have left have we brought in others and improved
Are we closing the UCL gap?
We need to make leaps of progress each transfer window to keep to Ange’s plan.
Hail Hail
CAMUSBHOY @ 4:19 PM,
Yes, that’s exactly it.
Hail Hail
CHAIRBHOY on 1ST SEPTEMBER 2023 3:29 PM
SFtBs @ 2:24 PM,
It’s not a coincidence, Tony Mowbray, Neil Lennon or Ronny Delia didn’t set the heather alight and we didn’t win trebles until Brendan Rodgers came along and won seven out of seven trophies
Likewise after the carcrash of Lenny MK II it was no coincidence Ange won five out six trophies
They are very good managers
—————
Tony was a poor manager at Celtic.
Neil Lennon mk1 won 2 scottish cup and 3 back to back league titles (only maley, stein and strachan had done this). A 70% win ratio. So Neil won 3 titles in a row, Ange didnt stay long enough to do this.
Last 16 ecl x 1 – beating
Ronny D – 2 League titles back to back and a lague cup. Not shabby.
Brendan won 7 trophies in a row. An invincible treble, followed by another treble , a first for any manager, followed by a league cup, generous to say 2 and third of a treble.
NFL MK2 – 5 trophies in a row (ange didnt fo this) , he completed the treble treble for us , then does one of his own for the Quad treble.
Ange won 5 out of 6, back to back titles, which all the rest of them had done, neil done it twice,
His football team played the most exciting football out of them all , imho, but the others deserve their places in celtic history.
The much maligned NFL will always, and i mean always be a celtic hero for me, and his acheivements will always count.
BRRB
Were you on yer todd in the Shipbank or did any of the Wrecks turn up?
CHAIRBHOY on 1ST SEPTEMBER 2023 4:22 PM
What he’s describing is exactly the model you’re saying isn’t fit for purpose. He’s also saying it’s his idea and he’s getting buy in from the board for it
You say the board aren’t capable of making good footballing decisions be they are business people
Ange, by any stretch of the imagination a football person then outlines his vision for improving in Europe which involves an aggressive player trading model
He then, at the first opportunity sells two experienced first team players and replaced them with younger less experienced ones. As per the new model
This made me laugh……
Another reason why Fenerbahce decided to stop the transfer of Alfredo Morelos was shown as the aggressive attitude of the player. Yellow-Lacivertlier did not want to take risks because of the Colombian’s movements on the field.”
Better managers win more trophies shocker
CBs:
CCV Nawrocki Lagerbelke Welsh Phillips. Something comes to my mind about either Lagerbelke or Nawrocki having played LB quite a few times for their previous clubs. Perhaps once everybody is fit then the plan is to have one of them at LB? por cierto
POR CIERTO on 1ST SEPTEMBER 2023 4:38 PM
CBs:
CCV Nawrocki Lagerbelke Welsh Phillips. Something comes to my mind about either Lagerbelke or Nawrocki having played LB quite a few times for their previous clubs. Perhaps once everybody is fit then the plan is to have one of them at LB? por cierto
———————————————–
All the new CB’s are right footed players, unaware of any of them having played LB before but could be wrong.
Brendan literally just said we are trying to get more over the line.
CHAIRBHOY on 1ST SEPTEMBER 2023 4:00 PM
SAINT STIVS @ 3:38 PM,
No disrespect to anyone and you are right I know little about that
My eldest is COO of a cutting edge data analytics company in another industry, he caught the technology bug from me but I’m light years behind.
However, business intelligence is not going to replace dyed in the wool professionals, it’s a tool, a very useful tool, a very smart tool but a tool
It doesn’t replace nous know-how and experience as Ange has shown.
Hail Hail
——————–
I am willing to bet , in the big new world of cloud computing and data centres that if Ange did indeed say to the sports scientists and data collectors I want these guys Kyogo and Maeda ……… that they already had them on the data bases, knew who they were and had statistical analysis available to compare with multiple others in the same positions or seen as similar performers.
If their findings complement what the managers proposes then everybody is happy, and they agree what would be the ceiling for the transfer fee.
If their findings say different, we looked at him , he is good but he has a recurring shoulder injury, and here are 3 alternatives, and we scouted these ones, and we recommend someone else in the same price range, then I am sure that is a thoroughly professional scheduled meeting at Lennoxtown several times a week.
The manager might still say – i want Kyogo.
The manager might also have influenced several of the signings short term, get them in, try for fit, turn them over, make a buck, ………. or indeed brought several prospects then buggered off and left them pining .
I believe Moneyball (business) and AngBall (the fitba) worked hand in hand, and i think that continues.
I have multiple dashboards across all the kpis in my business units, the stuff I know well i can ask questions on, make observations, and then ask for clarity to make decisions.
On the techinical stuff i rely on the expertise of others.
Ange interview today on sky deadline day. Like a ex telling you how much they love the younger, fitter, faster more physical version of you.
Saint Stivs – your KPIs would show Celtic LB continuously fails to stop crosses into the box and is outmuscled in 50-50 challenges. The same KPIs that all teams target as a known weakness. Yet, so far we have failed to address it (hoping for a surprise late signing)
Brendan:
“There’s obviously areas we’ve wanted to improve and we’ve been able to do that”
CELTIC40ME @ 4:37 PM,
…”never stand still”
…”keep improving”
…”as players leave we can bring in others and improve”
The key is being aggressive in the market, never standing still and always improving.
Have we done that?
Also our current manager highlighted what he wanted in the team, more aggression, more physicality, better defence, a change in structure
Now all that takes time especially changing the structure, yet a lot of it needed to happen during this window
For me we are weaker than last year.
The AGM is in three months time, that will be a year after Ange stated his vision.
With the league almost half done and the UCL complete we should know where we are.
Hopefully the progress Ange hoped for has been accomplished, the knives are already out for Brendan, so it is no coincidence that we are where we are
As Brendan said today, he knows how to win, he will teach his players to win, let’s hope the good ghuys do win this time
Hail Hail
STEBHOY on 1ST SEPTEMBER 2023 4:55 PM
Saint Stivs – your KPIs would show Celtic LB continuously fails to stop crosses into the box and is outmuscled in 50-50 challenges. The same KPIs that all teams target as a known weakness. Yet, so far we have failed to address it (hoping for a surprise late signing)
————
yes they might.
and that big data trawl across the known football worldscape doesnt offer up anyone better, at this moment available, in the right price bracket.
or we might have taken a punt on a young argentinian, who so far hasnt displace the incumbent
or we might have made bids, early in the window, that another club is ok with , but the agent says, lets stay put till deadline day and see if we can squeeze out something better.
if all else fails, we should be going for a loan from man city because mark used to work there, there must be someone tall and fast,
lots of moving parts and co-dependencies.
i do think there are better that Greg for LB, the two in front of him in scotland team for example, but keiran didnt crystalize as an option, and andy will have another 5 years at pool before he comes to us.
CHAIRBHOY on 1ST SEPTEMBER 2023 4:59 PM
With all due respect, that’s waffle. You’re changing the subject to suit.
That was the window that was.
Celtic as predicted by a few in June, ran the window to its conclusion and did well to stay out of the absurd English fee paying game where it’s impossible for us to compete with Brentford never mind ‘the elite’ in a world wide game. Until streamers, crazies and good old fashioned malcontents, recognise that the wage cap is there for a reason and it’s why Celtic will never sign CL players to turn up at Dingwall in a country with a demographic measured in Jim McCluskey’s.
I’d rather we didn’t risk our money with any more abominable Ajeti’s and prolong Celtic, no point in throwing money away in broken Britain, better saved for that rainy day round the corner. If we keep it up, ground redevelopment started by Fergus McCann might even get completed in our lifetime, not the next. Mineshafting never goes away at any club, certainly never at Celtic. We are up against teams in Europe who can blow us out the water and that’s before we get to Scottish Football and it’s leetle new problem.
Previous top buys and Celtic record transfers have no relevance today getting a Jota to come is the trick, he wasn’t a £25M player when he got off the plane, some would argue he wasn’t even that, when he got back on it for Dubai. Selling him after two seasons for a mega price is part of the Celtic deal, they don’t tend to want to go to Dingwall or Livingston too often, life’s way too short.
Astonishing that we’ve signed so many players some of them even first team ready others not, extensions for treble winning stars, all on cards dealt from the correct side of the deck. Good teams break up, staff rotate we’ve done well to keep it together, and have avoided the need for another Ange type, rebuild. Celtic will buy again in January players will be in the revolving door, but the windows of Willo Flood , Steven Fletcher, and Michael Gray are nailed down forever.
In Brendan we trust CSC
In a silly wee schadenfreude way, I am really enjoying the English Sky commentary teams whinging about Saudi money stealing away the leagues best players.
The offer to Salah if true – £1.5m per week.
and Klopp saying, we wont let him go not at any price, and ayways we are disadvantaged by thems keeping their windows open after ours.
the saudis will be in the CL in a few years, or they will create that Super Clubs league, it is a matter of time.