My biggest worry about Newco a year ago was that the US investors would bring a discipline of Data First, enabling them to pursue a strategy of steady and inevitable progress, while Brendan Rodgers sat on the pot at Celtic, waiting to spend eight figures on a ‘proven’ entity from one of the top European leagues.
While we do not yet know which direction Celtic will move next, it is some comfort to remember that we invariably try to fix the last major problem with the next managerial appointment (I know Brendan was not our last major problem, but he was the last permanent manager who worked through a transfer window).
As for the US guys across the city, not so much Data First as I’d feared. I don’t want to over-play signing someone on a free contract, but a striker who will be 31 in August and who looks decidedly on the ‘solid’ side, is as far from Data First as you could hope to get. We discussed exactly the same a year ago, when Shankland re-signed for Hearts, but excused Tony Bloom for the deviation from plan, as he only bought his shares in the club 10 days earlier.
All squads can carry a few players who are off plan – Kelechi was pivotal to our league win – but the mood music is worth noting. If we hear Celtic mimic Newco and talk about buying players who “will get their fingernails dirty”, you can be sure that whatever data analysists left after the Rodgers years are probably spending as much time polishing their CVs as running regressions on stats.
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Good afternoon all from the Brazen Head.
Go on yirsel BRRB!
Happy Invincibles Day
9 years ago on this date 👍
Morning all from Mexico City.
Another braw day to be a Tim.
Booking final flights for Boston soon and will be searching oot Aipple and his Loo’vil lass to join our family for a few swallies.
nothing but click-bait
Kelechi and Engels ???????
Luke McCowan ???????
Brendan still getting blamed for the duds brought in last summer……get over it and move on
Bournesouprecipe
What a great day after an amazing week that was.
I can still see my wee mum (who was struggling at the time) getting a lift from a disabled Celtic supporter on his wee green and white scooter bombing down Aitkenhead Rd waving her scarf. It was her favourite Celtic final and sadly her last.
A great season capped by a final which could not have been scripted better after the thug (prompted by McInnes for sure) damaged KT early on.
What approach are we taking? Will we have a DoF and modern scouting system?
Bada
Maybe penny dropping with folks re that guy.
Great first 2 seasons. After that he was a disgrace who undid all the good and some.
For me I am past it now. Folk will believe his spin and manipulation and probably will never see it differently.
Maybe he brought in the January duds too……
TexasTim
Boston is going to be fun with rangers new striker elevated to Scotland leader status.
Not sure what Billy Gilmour will be thinking and as he was the token hun association now that Souter has been found out.
Monte Carlo and the Markov Chains CSC
See you soon TexasTim.
Right around the corner.
Shankland has been a pretty prolific striker throughout his career. All things being equal and he stays injury free, he will probably be their top scorer next season and be there or thereabouts for the top SPFL goalscorer. He is a far better option than what we or the huns signed in January. I will include Kelechi in that for the simple reason that Shankland can still be expected to start every game. Kelechi, for all his superior skills, is a bit part player, a super sub you might say but injury prone.
Obviously we should be aiming for superior players and ones that fits our business model. If we unveil a Dembele, Edouard or Kyogo level of striker then we will all be happy. I think most of us have high hopes for young Osmand but we will still need at least two new forwards for the coming season. Maeda loss will be massive.
We need some culling too. Of the following, who do we keep?
– Kenny
– Yamada
– Palma
– Mvuka
– Cvancara
– Adamu
– Balikwisha
– Iheanacho
GEEBEE1978
Even allowing for the difficulties associated with January windows our last one was a shambles . Not one of the loans with option to buy is worth keeping . Only Cvancara saw reasonable game time and with Kelechi injured it was needs must.
The scouting and recruitmant used in that window needs to be chucked in the nearest skip and replaced with something fit for purpose .
Celtic are lining up loanee Data Analytics for the January window to cover for this summer’s lack of spend.
Brendan’s phone book delivered us Kelechi and I don’t think we win the league without him.
With that in mind,I can see why the Huns have signed Shankland. On a free transfer it’s a bit of a no brainer.
Questions I assume are being asked at Hearts about how the feck a player has negotiated a three year deal with break clause that allows him to walk for free a year later.
Burnley78
God bless your wee Mum
🇮🇪🇮🇪🇮🇪🇮🇪🇮🇪👍
Dress it up whatever way you like, but Shankland on a free is excellent business. They will get 30 goals out of him in all competitions, and you cant make a trading loss on a free.
Kelechi is a different animal altogether. Maeda was given the Larssonesque moniker last week, but Kelechi actually IS Larssonesque. The hold up play, the movement, the finishing is all top class. The club would be mad not to give him a preseason and the softly softly KT treatment.
He is our Shankland, only better. Osmand can learn a lot from him.
BSR@12.41
Those Croatians are usually decent players .
I heard he’s a bit raw 😉
MISTERTAXIMAN
I’ve heard a few people say he just needs a pre-season. He has a pre-season every year and it has taken him four years to get the same number of minutes as Maeda has this season. As gifted as he is, he’ll never be fit or reliable enough.
Andrew Cavanagh said as much in his most recent interview.
A return to short term thinking in the perennial quest for quality and a winning mentality.
He’s caught Rangersitis just as the great disrupter that is Tony Bloom starts his work in earnest at Hearts.
I think Iheanacho contract is till September
Shankland is an emotional and demand-led signing. We need to be more astute. The talk around MON staying on does remind me of Lennon permanent appointment. He had come in and steered us to two trophies in difficult circumstances. I am not comparing MON and Lennon in terms of temperament, but MON himself after the Cup Final openly admitted he has little clue about modern coaching methods. His role was to provide a calm head and motivation.
There will be a big turnover of players this summer. We need a recruitment structure, a coach with fresh ideas and someone who can decide whom among those returning from loan is worth keeping. All of this with a view to winning our two biggest games of the season – which we play in August.
MON is a great Celt, but we got through so many games lately by the skin of our teeth. His reappointment has the potential to go horribly wrong, which would be a shame. He deserves to leave on a high, or to be given some figurehead role.
I think we need to get someone in Celtic with new ideas, by all means with our same backroom team, but someone who can manage the first team and the academy in a modern forward-looking way. There is a rebuild needed and we require someone with the energy, drive and vision to lead it.
i am missing something in the subtle messaging here, when the CEO says we are listening ot what the fans want, and the fans actually want “scottish players2 who get our culture. does that mean something else , what could it actually mean ?
I think the bold Andrew is at sometime in the future going to use the “we was duped” line.
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Saint Stivs on 27th May 2026 1:15 am
linkedin is now the go to place for pro rangers posts about employing scottish players first. all things being equal.
seems a tad racist to me. but hey ho.
Saint Stivs on 27th May 2026 1:21 am
starter for 10.
name a celtic eleven Scottish players who won the league for celtic this last 5 years ?
then name me the Scottish players who can sign for rangers that will win thems the next one ?
according to podcasts. phone ins. hotlines. even linkedin thats all they had to do and if they had hired shanks they would already be going for 3 in a row
daft canutes
MON is nobody’s mug,if Desmond says his budget is around £15 million, he will walk
Wasn’t Mooy 31 or 32 when we signed him?
In that way Shankers prob is a good low cost acquisition for them; but he’s not the messiah.
TexasTim : Mrs Quad and I will be in San Antonio and Houston late June; any recommends on must-dos while in either toon?
Ps: I’d still interview Muscat for our manager vacancy : the right age and profile imo 🇦🇺 🇲🇹
Kelechi scored 2 non penalty goals and gave one assist in the SPL this season
THE BADA BING on 27TH MAY 2026 1:18 PM
MON is nobody’s mug,if Desmond says his budget is around £15 million, he will walk
Where did you hear about the 15m budget?
He’s not in the job so how can he walk? We need another manager who threatens to walk if he doesnt get what he want like a hole in the head, last season should be a lesson to us all
Irrespective of how good he is or isn’t , Shankland has gone from this season’s nearest challengers to the third place team.
They haven’t cloned him.
One of them , depending on how he plays, is probably weaker than they were last season, especially as Hearts haven’t supplemented their transfer budget as he went on a free.
Ps; I thought thems were gunna ape our player trade model rather than an analytics ethos?
Chunky poachers don’t make for great trading collateral.
Mibby we’re going all in w analytics hence why no move on the popular Mr Scratchy ?
CELTIC40ME on 27TH MAY 2026 1:32 PM
I’m not challenging your facts but those stats alone don’t represent anything like his contribution.
His strength, quick feet, game intelligence and ability to bring others in often got us up the pitch and changed the dynamic of games just when we needed it.
You either want to work at Celtic under the constraints that are set out at the start of your time or you dont come at all.
Learn from our mistakes. If we dont they’ll come back to bite us further down the line just like they did with Brendan
Talking about data.
If these data centers are going to be popping up everywhere, and they are, a season ticket is the last thing you’ll be allowed to buy.
https://ourchube.com/channel/AnthonyNesci/video/81956
Just saying….
celtic40me on 27th May 2026 1:35 pm
THE BADA BING on 27TH MAY 2026 1:18 PM
MON is nobody’s mug,if Desmond says his budget is around £15 million, he will walk
Where did you hear about the 15m budget?
He’s not in the job so how can he walk? We need another manager who threatens to walk if he doesnt get what he want like a hole in the head, last season should be a lesson to us all
It’s a blog ffs,where you post thoughts and opinions, get over yourself If the rebuild budget is low,when we need about 5 first team starters,MON will not touch it imo ( in my opinion)
THE LONG WAIT IS OVER on 27TH MAY 2026 1:40 PM
The season is 38 games long, he was only fit for the last 8 games. We needed him at the start of the season when we couldnt score and ended up 8 points behind Hearts.
I’d probably have him but taken as a whole his first season at Celtic doesnt scream must keep. He definitely cant be relied to be our first choice.