I doubt even Leigh Griffiths’ dad thought he had this kind of form in him when he signed for Celtic in January last year. The then 23-year-old had ‘squad filler’ written all over him as he waited in line behind Gary Hooper and Anthony Stokes. The arrival of John Guidetti and Stefan Scepovic a year ago could have limited Leigh’s chances further, but neither showed enough form to make the striker position their own.
Prospects looked bleak last season. Two starts before Christmas, Leigh spent time with the youths and looked to be heading out of the club in January, but with the manager’s mind increasingly made up on Guidetti and Scepovic, he got his chance. The transformation has been remarkable. His goals return compares to the best in the modern era, but it’s the type of goals he scores which has caught the attention most.
He’s fast, skilful, can out-jump central defenders and scores goals in big games. Should Celtic choose to play with Carlton Cole as a target man, Leigh will also be able to play to his left.
Whatever Ronny Deila achieves this season, the improvement in Leigh Griffiths will feature high up the list. Leigh’s attitude to self-improvement is also worth noting.
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FOR ITS A GRAND OLD TEAM
TO PLAY FOR
HH
Loving all the ‘crisis’ references in the articles. Very funny.
Hail! Hail?
JTT 53
I agree. Humour is a good way to deal with the idiocy of the Scottish Press.
Any news on Our Captain and his injury?
JJ
Jimthetim,
Aye I had a wee laugh at them too. :)
Butsybhoy from previous,
I didn’t hear any booing of mcginn on Saturday but I wouldn’t have a problem if there was. Most of the booing of players is more pantomime than anything else.
Vile verbal abuse is another kettle o worms.
HH
Good morning, first of all condolences to GFTB on his loss.
When I was worried about not getting back from Heathrow last night, you look round and see families with young kids ,who have been travelling for 12 hours or more, trying to get a seat in an airport, then you wise up. I have little to worry about, mercifully.
I did get home about 1 am this morning and we were lucky, I was able to scoff cider and Rioja whilst I was delayed, other poor buggers were made to wait in line like a scene from Oliver Twist for a £5 compensation voucher!! British Airways need to get that sorted out.
Returned to gym this morning and despite my best efforts in London,never put on any of the weight I thought I would, the old GP will be pleased..
Flat hunting with the lhad was a big disappointment I’m afraid, looks like we will drive down this weekend to blast round a few more prospects with the car..fingers crossed.
HH
– See more at: http://www.celticquicknews.co.uk/celtic-v-aberdeen-live-updates/comment-page-37/#comment-2709742
JJ,
Barring a miracle broony will miss Thursday unfortunately.
HH
Apologies for the shameless repost…
In case anyone forgot about the Norwegians. Here is a daughter of Molde.
Ane Brun
https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&persist_app=1&v=8s5ihWIywzg
Bobby
From last article
Watched Niall at Derry City for couple seasons, never thought he had what it took to make it with us but we had good side then.
I think this past season he would have been as good for us as James forest has been.
But I’m glad he moved on and has made good career for himself. Seems like a good down to earth lad. And always a Celt.
Paul67
Agree re the improvement in Griff the Quiff. When first I saw him play for us, I predicted ( on here) 30 goals a season if he remained injury free. My prediction looked unlikely at one stage but he is back on track.Some time ago, I watched him at the half-time kick about. His control was fantastic. I believed then there was a really good footballer in there as well as a natural goalscorer. Sportscene were saying last night he is the best player in Scotland. I disagree. I think Scott Brown is but there is no doubt Leigh is a great guy to have in your/out team.
JJ
Assuming Brown is injured the only change I’d make from Saturday is Armstrong for Commons. Keep Tierney at left back and give Rogic his first European start.
Geordie
Bad news but thanks anyway. Let`s hope for the miracle. Broony makes a massive difference to my confidence in games.
JJ
Gary67
I would go along with that. I would also consider Janko instead of Lustig. I rate the Swede very highly but he is not firing on all cyclinders at the moment.
JJ
Very pertinent last sentence Paul67.
Leigh’s attitude to self-improvement is also worth noting.
Leigh should be the case study of every presentation, class, lecture and training provided by the club as evidence of what can be achieved by those WILLING TO LEARN.
Guys like McGeady and Stokes could have been world class players with the ability they possessed unfortunately I just dont think they could be taught.
A consequence of the modern day footballer who believes in his own hype his ego tells his mind he already has all the answers.
The leap and ability to hang in the air was nowhere near his locker when he joined Celtic.
Didnt like the moment he decided he wanted to score for his hat trick more than he wanted Celtic to score on Saturday but I believe Ronny has correctly pulled him on it rather than choose to let it go
Blog broke for a wee bit ?
Wee blip there ?
My cqn was down for a few minutes
Glowing piece on LG and rightly so just aswell as he doesn’t like criticism. His dummy was out after Molde “Celtic fans were out of order booing us onto bus”.
JUNGLE JIM HOT SMOKED on 2ND NOVEMBER 2015 8:46 AM
” slightly underwhelming career to ”
Can the career of a professional footballer who has received seven caps for a strong footballing nation really be called `undewhelming`? If so, what does a player have to do to` whelm`?
————————————————————————————————————————————-
Start a game for his country? All of his appearances are from the bench.
Score? He’s a striker.
My point was not that he does not have abilities, I like him as a player, rather that I hope he is even more successful with us, than he has been to date. As he started his senior career with Chelsea, but has been released twice by West Ham, the feeling persists that maybe he could have been more successful. IMHO.
Anhoo, if he scores the goals that get us into the Champions League group stage next season, that would Whelm me ;-))
Hail Hail
Clink/,
Didn’t know she was from Molde. I do like her song “do you remember”;
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1lI30Qw69AQ
She has also covered Laughing Len’s “Ain’t no cure for Love” however I don’t think she was a patch on Jennifer Warnes’ version that’s on Famous Blue Raincoat.
Sorry, that should be
Clink/
Whit! I definitely typed your full moniker both times!
If it doesn’t work this time I’m going to flounce big style (the full tutu);
Clink /
Yep. Griffiths is scoring some cracking goals and it’s brilliant to see!
Still chuffed about Saturday’s win.
Meanwhile, I am still laughing at Sevco’s defeat yesterday to a Hibs side who managed to show some bottle!
Here are my thoughts on that…
https://theclumpany.wordpress.com/2015/11/01/we-ran-a-really-long-upbeat-headline-about-the-sevco-goalkeeper-and-now-we-look-silly/
I’m off!
Anhoo = Anyhoo ⚽️
imo Stokes was dropped because he didn’t buy into the Ronny kool-aid. Commons, the more intelligent player, kept his head down before not so wisely blowing his top in Norway.
Leigh Griffiths is a goalscorer, but at the moment that’s all he is, and it has been to the detriment of the team in European matches. He gives away possession, gets caught offside too often, and misses too many chances – fine when you’re playing Scottish opposition, but it’s been hampering us in Europe.
The adulation of Leigh is what happens when fans focus on goals, not results.
Bhoys and Ghirls,
I don’t post very often, but do enjoy the banter on the blog and reading other comments from the many Tims out there. Have a wee story from last week I wanted to share.
I went to Munich for a work trip and had the Saturday and Sunday to myself, which I spent watching the football and rugby and drinking good old German Weissbier. In the irish pub, Kennedys, I could see some rowdy Scottish singing “here we go, 10 in a row” and I happened to bump into one of them in the jacks a short time later, where we proceeded to dance around the pub singing here we go, 10 in a row” getting other Tims in a huddle and so forth. The big man Dave explained to me that there was 6 in their group – 3 Tims and 3 Huns and they go away on the piss every year together. they wore their respective jerseys to a bundesliga 2 game the day before and met a German fella in a celtic tracksuit who couldnt believe his eyeballs seeing 3 celtic top and 3 Sevco tops on show together!
Anyways, I bumped into the 6 lads later in the night outside another Irish pub (you can see the pattern here) and got to give the 3 huns a good fleecing (I dont meet many of them in Ireland!) “Talk us through liquidation day, how did you feel when you knew your club no longer existed, how much do you hate Craig Whyte and Charles Green)” had serious banter with the lads – Mitch (ragin’ hun), Chris (Hun), Vish (confused hun, more Liverpool than anyone) got pelters and then dave told us the story about the time Chris lost a bet. They were living in Sydney and the old firm game was coming up. After he lost the bet, Chris had to wear a Celtic jersey the day of the game to Scruffy Murphys pub in Sydney. Long story short, Chris got pished and as he was walking home that night after the game (Celtic won) he got chased and beaten up….by a group of Rangers fans!! they gave him a good beating,all the while no doubt shouting presumably “im not a fenian, im one of youse”! He lost a tooth and all! I honestly fell off my seat laughing when i heard the story. If any of ye know these 6 Glaswegian lads who were in Munich last weekend, tell them the Irish guy they were drinking with back at the hostel til about 3am says hello!
Celtic Gucks
up_over_goal on 2nd November 2015 2:03 pm
What is the one thing a team needs to do to get results?
up_over_goal on 2nd November 2015 2:03 pm
Leigh Griffiths is a goalscorer, but at the moment that’s all he is
Is a goalscorer not what we need? Is that not we’ve been crying out for since Hooper left.
16 goals in 21 games this season, 4 in 9 in Europe and as for scoring is all he does, did you see Rogic’s goal on Wednesday?
Hooper was long gone when Leigh arrived in January 2014. The boy is a finisher no doubt about it. 30 goals for a rotten Hibs team in 12/13 told us he could score but the quality of some of his goals have surprised, particularly some headers have been outstanding. His overall hold up play is also much improved. I remember watching him warm up as a sub at half time against Killie on January 5th this year. Ronny went with Scepovic that night and I remember thinking it looked his days were numbered. So fair play to him.
Weeminger
You’re missing the point.
One player gets one chance in a match and takes it, then spends the rest of the game helping his teammates keep the ball.
While another gets two chances in a match, misses both, then spends the rest of the match getting caught offside and giving away possession, or attempting to go himself when others have a better opportunity.
Think Sammi/Leigh.
That’s the difference in Europe.
Of course, we could have both, but Henrik Larssons happen once in a lifetime.
From previous thread.
Timaloy & Greenpinata
A few moths ago, I had a conversation with an old acquaintance who favours the blue dome – all about the paedophilia and church etc. He was scathing and pretty cold about the whole thing until I reminded him…
That ALL the victims were Catholic (in our discussion anyway) and they had suffered multiple betrayals.
He actually stopped, looked at me and said that he’d never thought of it like that before.
The victims had been dehumanized in his eyes and for those “lads” on Saturday I think the same applies.
Sometimes when we are in a group (and even on our own), we all dehumanize others…
I know that last week I felt an unusual animosity watching the angry, finger pointing, frothing jambo fans leaping up to scream abuse at any Celtic player, even one just picking up the ball to take a throw in.
I needed some decompression time after that game.
I loath the thought of the blue meanies being back in the SPFL for similar reasons – I will be less calm.
Some vile, vindictive & cruel personal songs just cross the line and should be banned by every football fan, which brings me to the OBAF and songs that Police Scotland do not recognize as being in breach of the act.
There is much more evidence that those same wretched songs heard on Sunday and on many other occasions are specifically directed towards one religious group, namely Catholics, than any song about Sevco fans being Huns. I don’t want to legitimize this odious legislation, but if these songs do not fit the description of “offensive behaviour directed towards a religious group” then what does?
The incompetent politicians and their simplistic solution – to criminalize enough songs on both sides so as to be seen to be even handed by the worst offenders – have made this rod for their own back. If the song is directed at one ethnic/religious group and is offensive then the song should be banned and those singing it dealt with by Police Scotland.
I know what happens though: those songs will be dismissed as just banter and not directed specifically at Catholics, so that no action need be taken. The cycle of institutionalized sectarianism pedals on and on and on.
We used the previous less than perfect legislation to isolate the hordes who sang profanities about the religious culture of our club’s founders. We need to use this legislation more cleverly and do just the same.
The intent of those who sing about Saville, the church, paedophiles and our greatest ever manager is to cause offense to us and the religion with which the club and many of our fans identify.
That is the intent and the consequence is that many of us are offended – on religious grounds.
Just make a complaint to the police. Tell them that the song is sectarian and that you are offended.
My apologies, this post started off being much shorter.
HH
CELTIC GUCKS
Were you one of the huns?
Only kidding,welcome aboard,and post more often.
It’s great meeting Tims in unexpected places,innit?
Your all missing the reason Leigh has improved
Its all to do with the hair weave he got last year … think it was Henriks hair they used
And before someone asks – the guy used mo banguras hair in Tony stokes scalp
All you Celtic bhoys look at the referre
when Hanlon scored on The Clumpany blog
to B.M.C.U.W.
The rehabilitation of Griffiths has been remarkable – The forgiveness shown to Commons, almost divine, so it makes me wonder…what has Stokes done, or is continuing to do, that pushes him so far out of the picture?
Success is preparation meeting opportunity.
Leigh’s Tattoo CSC