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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Well done Aberdeen. re Sevco, Previous Meetings. No Record Found. Pure Magic.
SID
“my point stands Ajer is at present not suitable otherwise he would be making the squad, ie the lad is not ready.”
And that point was agreed between us. I just added the point that he could be soon ready to contribute and by soon, I mean this season.
I also pointed out that no-one had been posting that he is currently ready, as you asserted. Maybe the term “Bollocks!” belongs more accurately to that point.
Easily the best transfer window ever…Paul67 + SFTB …er naw it wizny
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2000%E2%80%9301_Celtic_F.C._season#Transfers
Much much better.
Almore you would be just as well talking to the moon,than on here ,The Celtic Supporters are more concerned about Sevco,than trying to get decent facilities like you mentioned on here,if you have cash then you don’t need to worry about a pie and a Bovril,you will get the 5 star treatment, and you won’t need to wait in a big que,but be an ordinary hard working supporter ,you are treated like a nobody,Snobs everyone on that board at Celtic,I hope some day that the fans have a greater say,on running Celtic Football Club.
Notice our new South American is not even in the squad for the game tonight, I was under the impression he was something of a regular, canny get injured then :-)
Jimmynotpaul, things are not as enjoyable as they once were in my place.
It would be good for Luke to get much needed game time this season after his injury hit time last season.
I wonder if he will be allowed to play for Alloa in our game against them.
Good night all and sleep well.
Corkcelt.pity our own club is so wedded to racism to make money eh?
SFTB
If you check back posters were discussing whether or not Ajer could fill that midfield role.
My point was that it is extremely unlikely that Ajer will play in any important games this season.
Why? At this time he has not made one 18 man squad.
Ralston, McCart Oconnell, all had game time.
I’m willing to wager with you that Ajer will get no run of first team games this season.
Wanna bet?
Oh Dear, he disny play for Ecuador then, no wonder he is no playing, Doh
Dallas.
No he won’t be allowed to play.
That was agreed when loan deal was made.
A wee bit of double standards by Celtic as we will be hoping Man City don’t mind us playing Paddy Roberts against them.
Night all, enjoy.
another wasted night.
this job on commission does not pay well
hun finder general
none
Now that I have sussed he plays for Costa Rica and not Ecuador, I very much he will be playing against the huns, he is playing against Panama on the 7th, doesn’t give him much time to get back and do a bit of training with the team
More evidence, admitted by McLeish, that the huns would have been ‘behind Celtic’, if they hadn’t used EBT’s.One of the few times our Board spoke up was after the LNS whitewash , they need to do so again IMO, will it happen?
Maggie McGill
I don’t recall claiming it was the best ever especially since I hate all transfer windows equally
SID
We’ve moved a bit from posters saying AJer WAS a solution to now asserting that posters were wondering whether he could fill the role.
As for a run of games- I think Ajer will play in 1 to 5 games this year. I wouldn’t dare predict if two of these would be consecutive and, therefore, form a “run”. If he continues to play only at Development league level for the whole season, we will have wasted the advantage he gained by playing 50 odd games with Start. Either he will get squad time later in the season or he will get a loan placement in January and our bet would be void.
I am encouraged by the fact that Brendan kept him here rather than send him out on loan straightaway.
SID
Ajer played in both ICC games against Barca and Inter and also came on for Kieran after an hour in the home CL tie against Red Imps
I think the Barca and Red Imps games were consecutive. Has he already had that “run”?
Almore
Agree regarding facilities the main stand is shocking they say there is no room not they could extend the entrance gates out like murryfield and have food and drink bars all round the stadium you try and get in to the kerrydale about 2 you have no chance all bars along London road are full they are losing a lot of money they could put up a marque at front of stadium and have food and drink
Aberlour, Wearhouse No.1, 15 Y.O. Himinez finish, 62.25 abv. Thats what I.m drinking.
Meanwhile the huns are drinking their own pish and eating the scraps fed to them by jimmy T and his pals in the big hoose.
AN TEARMANN on 1ST SEPTEMBER 2016 5:59 PM
DallasDallas Macjay
A wee history of St.Al’s
http://www.jesuit.org.uk/blog/archives-150-years-st-aloysius-college-glasgow
HH
===================================================================
Thanks very much,
Now winging its way to five of my contemps.
Philvis ( in absentia ) would probably be interested.
“A wee bit of double standards by Celtic as we will be hoping Man City don’t mind us playing Paddy Roberts against them.”
Jimmynotpaul,
No double standards.
There is no mechanism to stop loan players playing against parent club in Europe.
See bangura for details.
HH
Well Done Aberdeen.. Admire your Spirit.. Lets hope more Clubs can simply put the truth into print.
BBC ‘Scotlands Game’.. More of the same evasive avoidance from last week.. …..’
“bad management..” was the cause of Scottish Footballs downfall. No questions asked, No facts stated, No truth being told… Just more of the same lies.
We’ll never ever move on.
SFTB
So you are aggreeing with me, you don’t think Ajer is capable yet of holding down that position.
I’m glad you are endorsing my opinion.
So he plays a little at the start, now everyone up and running and can’t make the 18 squad, I suggest these are clues to our discussion.
I thought I had a money making bite on my line oh well.
http://forum.rangersmedia.co.uk/index.php?/topic/299497-scotlands-game/
Have a laugh. HH
Night night. HH
All in all not a bad window without being brilliant either.
Not only has the defence been strengthened by Toure, but he has also brought much needed leadership qualities into our side.
Guess we need to see how De Vries and Gamboa work out but so far Brendan hasn’t put a foot wrong so im looking forward to seeing them in action for us.
Gamboa is a flying machine and looks very attack minded, but also quite small so although he may offer us so much going forward, i dare say he will be targeted with long diagonals for knockdowns and backpost headers.
Offensively we have also been strengthened with Dembele, Sinclair and Forrest(being like a new signing)
Not been too impressed really by Dembele but he is young and raw and will need time to adjust to the fitba up here!
He does have a bit of everything and gives us much needed options up front, so im a bit surprised that ive not been too impressed with him so far…….if that makes sense?!
Hopefully a bit of time will help the lad settle into it all.
Sinclair is the key signing in that area to me though, just as Toure has been at the back, but Sinclair is a quiet assassin…….very clever, constantly on the move, taking up positions by dropping deep or ghosting into the spaces left by the centre halves that are trying to cope with Griffiths. Whether he has the ball or not……he knows where to be to cause damage.
He has a great work ethic as well regarding the defensive duties so that is a huge thing going into the champions league.
It would be brilliant if Forrest could learn from him but even if he doesn’t, Sinclairs presence on the other flank is making defending against Forrest and Roberts that bit harder so they will both benefit from him.
The midfield has perhaps been singled out more as the area desperately needing strengthened as the deadline approached, but id say each of the 3 areas of the team needed strengthened and for 2 of them to have been(imo) its not a bad start(cannae believe naebody had Meatloaf-Bat oot of Hell in their top 10 albums btw!)
So a defensive midfielder became top of the christmas wish list and rightly so but does it specifically need to be a defensive/holding midfielder?
Id love for us to get another couple of players in there that can do a bit of everything, with no serious deficiencies to their game in the way that a few of our men have when we don’t have the ball……solid midfielders.
Id be happy with us signing 2 players each transfer window that are immediately 1st team picks, that improve us and to me we have done that already with the additions of Toure and Sinclair in Brendans 1st window.
If he can add another 2 in January and then again before next season, within a year the team will be transformed…….hell……i guess it is already.
Anyway……just my tuppence worth……..baw baws now!
The transfer window…?
Decent improvement and moving on of surplus.
Still a sniff of limited ambition. Can only assume Rogers has an eye on January to prepare for CL 2017?
WeefratheTim on 1st September 2016 11:30 pm
Holy Shit…. I knew they were bad.. But this is really serious!!!!
Shortbread: Rangers liquidated (good, well done).
Rangers are back. (Newspeak).
Only lights being shone on the Truth today have been Northern ones.
NPMF. True dat.
Simunovic denies he failed a medical and says the move collapsed because Torino changed the terms of the deal.
Weefra/ Andy
The appeasement worked well then!
ANDYR53/BEATBHOY
fecking hilarious. Hahahahaha. HH
WEEFRATHETIM on 1ST SEPTEMBER 2016 11:30 PM
Magic stuff. :-)
Think I should visit that site more often.
Thanks, Fra.
Alex McLeish admits Rangers wouldn’t have won title if it wasn’t for EBT’s
STRIP THE TITLES @ScottishFA
Sorry if this does’nt work. HH
Nope, didn’t think it would. Sorry. HH
WEEFRATHETIM
Howdy,mucker.
That RM stuff is so unbelievable,I’ve had to make up a new word to describe it politely.
Deludedness. Had to ‘fool’ my spellcheck to get it on here!
That’s Big Eck on the banned list now. They really are the SEPTIC TANK of the SPFL. HH
From Pittodrie.
Pick it up, Celtic.
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/9a/HJRK_A_62b_-_Long_gauntlet_of_Maximilian_I,_c._1490.jpg
BMCUW
Hi “M” so glad you’re on. Your moby may well ring a bit earlier the mo, have to go in to EK. No enough cash in my C/A to pay my CL package. So pleased you survived another harrowing week in that job of yours. Luv to the family and tok later. HH
Was there a distinct non-appearance of a James Traynor on tonight’s episode? Hmmm….
Well said Tom English.