Clear player development strategy

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A metric you and I have followed for many years is the number of games a young player has played before signing for Celtic.  We have a hot spot of between 60 and 80 games.  Before this, there is not enough time to scout and make a decision.  Afterwards, if the player has genuine potential, there are usually clubs from the big leagues competing.

Although 23-years-old, Hayato Inamura can still be considered young, as he only left the Japanese university system last year.  He played 36 games in all competitions for Albirex Nigata before signing for Celtic on Friday.  36 games produces very few data points, the central defender is not going to show on many analysis tools due to the small sample size.

So what can we infer from this?  The great lesson of Moneyball (the book, not the movie), is that if you want to out-perform more resourceful rivals, you need to find a metric they have overlooked, but which helps you.  In plucking a Japanese player with 36 games on his CV, you can be sure we are working to a system.

Brendan Rodgers suggested Hayato may be put out on loan, this will be to give the manager the information he does not yet have on the player.  We can be confident he will have triggered at least one metric and he will have been scouted several times.

No player is the finished article this early in his career, so there is work to do.  But overall, I am happy that unlike last summer, we have a clear player development strategy.  We will find out in due course if it lives up to previous strategies.

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  1. Back to Basics - Glass Half Full on

    One can only imagine what nick we’d be in if the likes of that drunken idiot … who harangued Peter Lawwell to “just spend the money” … were running our club.

  2. SEERGINHO from Viborg – that’s the type of winger I like – made for Celtic. Contract expires 2026 , 4-7m would secure him – we get 25+ in 2 years.

     

     

    If Celtic are scouting shin Yamada , the scout needs punted! I can’t find a YouTube vid where he scores without duffing it!

  3. Djokovic is like the Huns and their fans.

     

     

    Neither of them fell for any of the Plandemic bs.

  4. Melissa Ciummei

     

    @KSCUBKEE

     

    Jul 6

     

    While Sinn Féin is socialist in branding… it’s globalist in practice. While they retain socialist rhetoric, their modern incarnation has shifted towards Progressive globalism with open immigration policies, EU alignment, and support for identity politics.

     

    Sinn Féin’s modern platform betrays its working-class, socialist roots — trading sovereignty and self-reliance for EU alignment and globalist agendas. Ask yourself,

     

    would James Connolly have supported handing control to unelected EU commissioners in Brussels?. Would the men of 1916 have fought for a republic, only to see its borders erased by globalist migration policy and its industries sold off to foreign capital?

     

    How can you claim to fight for Irish sovereignty while handing power to the EU?

     

    How can you defend the working class while promoting policies that dilute community and drive down wages?

     

    There is a contradiction here,

     

    Sinn Féin speak of socialism…but act like technocrats. They wave the flag of republicanism — while quietly ceding power to global institutions. They claim to represent the working class, yet promote policies that undercut the very communities they once fought to defend. This isn’t just political evolution, it’s ideological betrayal. Sinn Féin may still call themselves socialist, but in practice, they’ve traded class struggle for global alignment, they’ve turned their backs on the sovereignty they once died for.

     

    So it’s time to ask:

     

    Who do they really represent today?….The Irish people….or the global elite?

     

    The truth is simple:

     

    Sinn Féin has betrayed its roots, trading working-class socialism for globalist compliance.

     

    https://x.com/KSCUBKEE/status/1941891451299770777#m

  5. bigrailroadblues on

    Leggy flying to Dublin then train to Cork. That will be a treat for the locals. 🙄😂

  6. McPhail Bhoy on

    Maestro on 7th July 2025 10:00 pm

     

    More comedy 😃

     

    https://x.com/Celtic67Champs/status/1942187519883506155?t=YbaxRA3YHkJUNinoDaq24w&s=19

     

     

    ____________________________________________________________________________________

     

     

    ‘It’s a breath of fresh air’, says the guy near the end of the video. By the looks of the clientle there will be very little ‘fresh air’. I hope they have a defibliraltor handy as there’s quite a few of them ‘not match fit’.

  7. STEBHOY @ 9.46pm.

     

     

    I haven’t seen him so you have the advantage over me. However, if he lacks pace then we shouldn’t be touching him. Lack of pace is the issue with Palma.

  8. bigrailroadblues on 8th July 2025 8:01 am

     

     

    Leggy flying to Dublin then train to Cork. That will be a treat for the locals. 🙄😂

     

     

    >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

     

     

    Genuine support. 🇮🇪🇮🇪🇮🇪🇮🇪🇮🇪

     

     

    Have a good day and keep an eye on AT.

     

     

    HH

  9. Balikwisha, a product of Standard Liège’s academy, made the move to Antwerp in 2022. Since then he’s impressed in the Belgian First Division A, combining real pace with direct dribbling and flair on the flank. At 24 he offers both potential and immediate impact—qualities Celtic’s hierarchy would value.

     

     

    From ‘CELTS ARE HERE’

  10. Shin Yamada on the bench for Japan today, who are currently 2-0 up against Hong Kong.

  11. lets all do the huddle on

    As Celtic return to Ireland for a symbolic pre-season clash with Cork City, Tony Haggerty meets the fans, families and associations keeping the club’s Irish connection alive despite the growing dominance of the English Premier League.

     

     

     

    it will probably come as a surprise to The Celtic Way that we have fans in Ireland.

  12. Make that 5-0. Maybe we should be looking at Ryo Germain, who has scored 4 in 20 minutes.

  13. Dylan O’ Connell

     

     

    Thousands of people will descend on the Rebel County this evening for the Cork Super Cup between Cork City FC and Scottish giants Celtic at SuperValu Páirc Uí Chaoimh, kick-off 6pm.

     

     

    Adam Idah will be the star of the show, as this is the first time that the Douglas native will play football in his home town for the first time since leaving College Corinthians to sign for Norwich City as a teenager.

     

     

    The fixture comes at a collision point between two seasons, as the Rebel Army will go into the game in the middle of their campaign while their Scottish rivals are just getting started.

     

     

    Gerard Nash is expected to use the Cork Super Cup as an occasion to bed in new signings after adding Fiacre Kelleher, Rory Feely, and goalkeeper David Odumosu to his squad.

     

     

    There will also be various members of the U20s involved on Tuesday evening at SuperValu Páirc Uí Chaoimh.

     

     

    This is a long standing tradition with the club, with friendlies often acting as a way to give minutes to those emerging from the academy. Various managers have considered this a necessary step, before using the Munster Senior Cup as a formal graduation ceremony.

     

     

    Matthew Murray is one of those on the cusp of breaking through, as he deals with talk of a move to Brighton & Hove Albion.

     

     

    The 17-year-old has already been to England for a trial and the forward will be able to sign a professional contract when he turns 18.

     

     

    Murray has already seen first-team competitive action with Cork City as he was involved in a 2-0 victory over Carrigaline United in the Munster Senior Cup and a defeat to Galway United at Eamonn Deacy Park.

     

     

    As for Celtic, Brendan Rodgers’ team already have one outing on their belt after coming up against Queen’s Park last Friday.

     

     

    This is the first visit of the Hoops to Leeside since 2013, when a B side took on Cork City in a friendly at Turner’s Cross.

     

     

    Eoghan O’Connell and Fiacre Kelleher both lined out that night saw Patrik Twardzik and Lewis Kidd hit the back of the net.

     

     

    12-year-later and a new generation are getting ready to come to Cork – a city made famous in Glasgow by a host of the Rebel County’s finest, a list that goes from Jim Foley in the 1930s to Idah with the current squad at Parkhead.

     

     

    In between – there was Colin Healy, Liam Miller, and Roy Keane while Saoirse Noonan is currently under contract with Celtic’s women’s team.

     

     

    Hoops’ captain Callum McGregor knows the history, and what this game means to the people.

     

     

    “It’s been a while since we’ve been in Cork, so it’s nice to come over and see the fans, and let everybody see us in the flesh,” he said.

     

     

    “We’re all looking forward to it. It’s a special stadium, and we want to come over and put on a show and hopefully have that connection with the supporters as well.

     

     

    “The connection between the Celtic fans and the club has obviously been there throughout the test of time, it’s a special club with a special fan base, so when we get to come over and see everyone in person it’s always a special occasion, and we want to come over and give it our best.”

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