Brendan Rodgers brought five players to the club this transfer window: Moussa Dembele, Kolo Toure, Scott Sinclair, Dorus de Vries and Cristian Gamboa, two defenders, a wide midfielder, a striker and a goalkeeper. Moussa has been used sparingly so far, but there’s a decent chance four out of the five will be first choice for our key games this season. Kristoffer Ajer also arrived but was signed up by Ronny Deila earlier this year.
The leavers over the summer were mostly deadwood, with honourable mentions to Charlie Mulgrew and Stefan Johansen, both former Player of the Year winners. Our best wishes go with them. We also saw Saidy Janko escape on loan to Barnsley, Scott Allan head to Rotherham for the season, while Aidan Nesbitt will continue his apprenticeship at Morton until next summer.
You would be hard pressed to identify a better transfer window than this since the ‘Robbie Keane window’, which looked good at the time but was ultimately unproductive. Try naming one. Peter Lawwell’s adage about coming out of the window stronger than we went into it, was unequivocally achieved.
We also managed to achieve something you and I have debated here for years: spend early in the window in enhance your chances of reaching the Champions League. No one should be in any doubt that the reason we were able to achieve this, this season, was down to the personal pull of Brendan Rodgers.
Kolo, Scott and Moussa would not be here for any other manager, and without them, we’d not be in the Champions League. It wasn’t a decision to spend early this year that we didn’t want to do in earlier years, we’ve simply not had the drawing power to get the targets we wanted. That included Teemu Pukki, who wasn’t prepared to walk among us until we’d delivered Champions League football for him to enjoy. This is the reality, even for everyday-jobbers like Teemu.
Those of us who like the scientific approach to football won’t like this. Success shouldn’t be about reputations, it should be finding good managers or players who are undervalued, and giving them a platform to shine.
What the last two years demonstrated more than anything else, is that a football dressing room is an incredibly difficult place to get scientific. Brendan’s reputation as a top manager helps him deliver success, which we’re all happy about.
I spoke to someone last night who felt “cheated” by the window. “Why?” I asked. “Because we were promised a major spend. Dermot was raging at that other lot after the semi-final and we were promised a big spend. A week ago we were promised James McCarthy.”
Honestly, some journalist writes a complete fantasy and we’re jumping off cliffs after one of the best July and Augusts we’ve had in years. Don’t confuse media output with actual reality. It’s mostly nonsense. Dermot left the game in question before the penalties, there was no overreaction from the other lot.
And Celtic told anyone who asked that they had no intention of signing James McCarthy. If a fan told you otherwise, his taxi driver-source was misinformed. It happens. If a media outlet told to this, they either wanted to run the story without checking, or didn’t care.
Did we want more from the window? Yes. We all did and we all always do. That’s why Celtic were still on the hunt for a deal or two yesterday, but the manager’s primary bases were all covered. Celtic will continue to do what they always have done financially – spend all the money that comes in over any business period you care to mention.
Enjoy this season, I think it’s going to be a memorable one.
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Bobby,
I just pressed the red button and my telly went aff :)
HH
SETTINGFREETHEBEARS
Well,if it’s that bloody difficult,we might as well make the tea-lady or sumdy chief executive and put another million a year that we’ve saved onto the table for a new signing!
Bloody hell,mate. PL is paid to do a job. IMO,by failing to land a defensive midfielder-a position which we definitely need filled-he has failed in his remit.
Jimmynotpaul,
You, too, could be on to something.
It could have been a combination of both scenarios.
Perhaps the reaction to the training ground bust up was exacerbated by the fact that non clique member SJ was involved.and not another member of the squad.
GEORDIEMUNRO
lol
Evening Celts
Quiet tonight.
Windae slammed shut on our fingers:)
Still hurts:)
HH
Pretty happy with all our transfer dealings this summer, transfer business actually happens outside of deadline day too, but this doesn’t count it seems.
We have brought in an experienced defender to help bring our younger players on. This is something we have been calling for to balance the number of “projects”. We have a seasoned pro in Scott Sinclair and a talented young forward in Moussa Dembele, who was subject of an actual multi million pound bid in the last transfer window and we got for a small fee how bad is that. The other signings have only arrived and have not made an impact as yet.
Brendan’s first 3 signings have all contributed massively to our reaching the group stages. Did Brendan want a defensive midfielder?, probably yes is my guess but it’s not just a matter of clicking your finger and players magically appear in Glasgow. Deals can fall through for any amount of valid reasons but if your default position is that Peter Lawwell is the devil incarnate and the board are the real enemy of Celtic supporters then you can twist anything to suit your own preconceptions.
Please note all of the above are my personal opinions, I have no “guy in the know” or “well placed source” at Celtic so cannot tell you that Celtic did try to sign all of Brendan’s signing targets but I have no evidence to say they didn’t either.
What happened to our new midfielder Brendan?
Well done Aberdeen FC.
Start the fightback against the farce.
“No previous meeting found”
The poetry of Truth.
Owen- re Dembele, i hope we play him and LG up front v Sevco, Paddy and Scott Sinclair wide, i think we could batter them, Craig Thomson permitting HH
BOBBY MURDOCH’S CURLED-UP WINKLEPICKERS
I thought PL had been put back in his box by DD, or so some insider info, corporate types on here told us…
Hmmmm I’m confused:))
Starry Plough
Pedro was put back in his box….but he escaped:)
Again.
HH
Just stick ‘league’ in there Celtic, and there’ll be at least one more bum in any spare seat.
Last night Ka Ka spotted at Ross Hall
As ever CSC
Beatbhoy- I don’t think our mob have the balls to say the same to Sevco
Owen.
Good post.
My thoughts were it was a good transfer window but, like most football fans, I always want more. I would have loved a centre mid and another striker. We are still a little short up front. Griff, Dembele, Cifti then maybe young Aitchison.
Some posters last week or so, saying P.L had been sidelined and Brendan was the man. Now when the signings that were hoped for by some didn’t happen its all P.Ls fault.
BSR- VG
Maybe I should rephrase that.
Na, it’s truth we’re after.
Was listening to Shortbread whilst making the tea, Rich Wilson on talking about Scotland’s game tonight on the tv, Part of it is about mismanagement of Hearts, Motherwell, Gretna & the huns. He was lambasting Romanov, Brooks Milestone and John Boyle who was willing to lose £2m / year chasing the dream. Named each of them personally but when it got to the monkeys he couldn’t bring himself to name Murray, passing it off as a complicated situation.
What I think he was trying to say was that Murray looked over enviously at us with the big cup and blew other peoples money chasing the dream. He sounded quite hurt did our Dickie…
THE GREEN MAN SAYS SACK THE BOARD
Och yer baws:)))
STARRYPLOUGH
I think he was advised to stick to what he is good at and leave the football side to the football people. Just my opinion.
Starry,
Ha! Aye some need to make up their minds.
HH
God love the transfer window novice PL he’s only had what twelve transfer windows practice.
I think we all get that deals can collapse for any number of reasons but please spare us the patronising diatribes. He’s paid handsomely and comes up short too many times.
PL gets the scraps from the big table for one reason only and that’s because of us, all of us, the support, he’d do well to remember that
Bada
In the same way I never thought we’d get the Brodge, I’m hoping they surprise me again by a display of testicular fortitude!
But,after all this time, I fear you’re correct.
” ………….from Annan and Tyrone……………”
Over the past 7 or 8 years, there have been a large number of players who came & left Celtic. We did get a couple of princes Van Dyck & Wanyama immediately spring to mind but we had to kiss a lot of frogs in the process.
So far Brendan has bought 5. It’s far too early to pass final judgement on any of them, but so far Toure, Sinclair & young Dembele look like they could be the business.
We will have to wait & see do they maintain their early form & wait & see how de Vries & Gamboa pan out.
It’s the success ratio of the buy ins which is the critical factor not the amount of players bought in.
P.S. Has anyone noticed the pics of Gamboa’s partner, absolutely stunning ghirl.
BOBBY MURDOCH’S CURLED-UP WINKLEPICKERS
So how is he and he alone responsible for the non midfielder appearance..
It’s boring now Bobby on here when it’s good it’s nothing to do with him and as soon something doesn’t go right it is him.
That’s just laughable in my opinion..
Folk just love an escape goatee:))
https://twitter.com/AberdeenChanged/status/771409818905083904
No previous meeting found.
http://www.afc.co.uk/matches/matchcentre-overview.php?FixId=1905
Starry Plough
Peter Lawell in his box.
A bit like Steve McQueen in the Great Escape.
Wee Angus Lennie/Shooie McPhee was there as well.
Pedro will be on that motorbike tomorrow:)
Wooft……gone.
HH
BANKIE
♬ ” Now you must raise our child with Dick McGhee ” ♬
Starry Plough –
You mean you don’t know?
When decent signings are made, Peter is in his box. When a signing fails to materialise, he’s not in his box.
Schroedinger’s Cat CSC
I’m not disappointed with our transfer dealings. I would have liked to get the defensive midfielder everybody is talking about and i would also have liked to offload a few more players. But Brendan is only in the job a couple of months so expecting an immediate transformation is unrealistic, imho. We have who we have until the next transfer window so it is up to the manager to prove himself as a winning coach with the players at his disposle
Have Aberdeen apologised yet?
:)))))))))))))))))))))))
BOURNESOUPRECIPE
Do Hun central office know yet, they’ll no be best pleased.)))
“Has anyone noticed the pics of Gamboa’s partner, absolutely stunning ghirl.”
Corkcelt,
Erm duh. Im a red blooded male :)
Funny enough when I heard we were linked with him I googled his name and his good lady was one of the top links in the ‘searched for’ section.
HH
STARRYPLOUGH
AULDTAM
Unfair,lads. I’ve congratulated PL on here many times. I’ve congratulated him for financial results (while disagreeing with the means of achieving them) and I’ve congratulated him on getting certain players in,most recently Dembele.
It’s not a one-way street,to suggest otherwise is,as I said,unfair.
Equally when I think he has failed to come up to scratch-which is more often-I’ll criticise him for it. IMO,Brendan will have identified a defensive midfielder as a requirement,and even a few possible targets. I’d be surprised if he didn’t. So,since the final negotiation is in the hands of PL,whose fault is it?
BBhoy & Lennybhoy, you both have mail.
Get it right up the hun shites.
Nice touch by Aberdeen, sure beats Peter Lawwels only effort to date.