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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Macjay
Whilst I don’t disagree.
BR has only done what any new coach would have done by now, having survived
Gibraltar, some early mibbery, and a reasonable Hapoel side.
He has made his decisions on who is in, most of them were easy enough even for Joe six pack.
The real power brokers at Celtic are more firmly in control, than ever and the window of opportunity now closed, is proof positive that there will be no big spender for any fantasising Celtic fanatics.
It’s up to BR’s ability as a coach now, and the jury went out from midnight, he is now separate again from ‘the
board’
The dissension will only dissipate after we’ve duffed up Sevco,
James McCarthy to have an operation on his groin tomorrow, bugger ! Look what we missed…
It’s been quite the summer for Brendan Rodgers and his nascent Celtic side, the undoubted highlight of which is qualification for the Champions League.
The draw we’ve landed though puts the kybosh on expectation. Talk of 3rd place is in my view naively hopeful. While we might expect to punch above our weight in a given match or two, we simply don’t have the power to compete with the three sides we’ve drawn over the cycle of matches. We have a puncher’s chance in any given group match, but a glass jaw.
Gladbach, the 3rd seeded side in the group, are a top team, 4th in Germany last year, and expecting to progress from the group, notwithstanding Pep’s Man City.
City themselves want to measure up against Pep’s old flame, Barca, and have ambitions to win the damned tournament, let alone the group.
And then there’s Barca.
Ernie’s point above that we ought to look to improve the side over the coming two or three seasons to become competitive in this company is valid and realistic. That’s the timeframe we should be looking towards, not the next 3 months.
Brendan now knows the players he has to work with, and the teams he needs to tool up to play against. The idea of playing Toure as a sitting midfielder is a good one, not least given the issue with height we have at the back. More particularly, the issue we have keeping the ball in possession against top teams.
A 4-1-4-1 shape in the Champions League is a decent shout, although with Toure one ahead, the focus then turns to who, of Lustig, O’Connell, Boyata, Ambrose or Simunovic to pair with Sviatchenko. Brendan needs to make that call around about now as he files his squad with UEFA.
Patch one leak, another springs. And that’s the job he’s got to fix in the short term. He needs to find a way to shape a team of average players to compete with some of the best in Europe. The list of possible partners for Sviatchenko crystallises his constraints.
Longer term, it’s about improvement one transfer window to the next. To that end, beyond Brendan’s ability to improve mature players and polish rough diamonds, the Board’s approach to selling (and replacing) our top performers becomes the biggest influence on the outcome.
Buckle up bhoys. We’re in for quite the ride.
It will take a few transfer windows for BR to get the squad he wants.
Rome wasn’t built in a day, lads.
It will take a few transfer windows to really convince the fans that the transfer policy has really actually changed for good.
Rome wasn’t built in a day, lads…
Another “succulent lamb” leader.
I love this phrase:
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.
That would include spending on non contractual bonuses. And I guess a business period can extend over years given we have been saving money.
Tosh.
VFR800A8 on 1ST SEPTEMBER 2016 1:54 PM
BIG GEORGES FAN CLUB – HAIL, HAIL, WEE OSCAR on 1ST SEPTEMBER 2016 1:47 PM
MACJAY1 FOR NEIL LENNON on 1ST SEPTEMBER 2016 1:48 PM
______________________________________
I don’t doubt Tony meant it as grooming for the flag waving BUT it has the implication of grooming children; so much so that it now has that meaning listed in an internationally renowned dictionary.
===========================================================
No it doesn`t.
It only has that implication for our blog bullies who have it in for T.D. and will use any pathetic little excuse to impugn his character. To discredit him and his opinions.
The mutual backslappers who gang up on one individual.
I feel sure you`re better than that.
Actually think some fans would rather we’d signed Dembele for £10m for a skysportsnews adrenaline rush than get him in early doors for a bargain £500k.
Everyone is disappointed we didn’t get a midfielder but Rodgers has said several times our squad is too big. No point in adding to it unless it’s real quality.
McCarthy is injured so wasn’t going to happen. We don’t know who the other targets in midfield were but there are lots of possible reasons why they didn’t arrive. Maybe they didn’t want to come, maybe their club would sell.
The attitude of “SPEND THE £30!” Is insane. There isn’t £30m to spend, it’s not all profit. A lot of it has already gone on salaries for Rodgers, Toure, Sinclair, Dembele etc.
As for the club “hoarding money”, FFS. Have we still not put this nonsense to bed? Read the accounts.
On another note, Brendan needs to start shopping outside England. Understandably he has started here while he’s getting his feet under the table but we won’t get proper value there long term.
Scenario.
You’re the major shareholder of THE biggest team in Scotland. It’s the semifinal of the Scottish cup. You’re team go to a penalty shootout. You’re a billionaire, you call the shots, people wait for you, you don’t have to rush off anywhere.
You leave before said penalty shootout takes place?
Aye right. Gies peace. Spin spin spin.
THE GREEN MAN SAYS SACK THE BOARD on 1ST SEPTEMBER 2016 12:48 PM
TD67
Poor, poor excuses, which nobody is buying.
Sad that you cant tell the truth.
All mouth, with nothing to back it up.
No evidence, nothing.
Just vile accusations about Celtic supporters…..with no proof.
Id watch what you are saying….because someone, sooner or later, will pull you on it.
You are responsible for what you say, like everybody else on the blog.
Don’t you worry about me, you don’t know me, you just mind your own business, what happens to me away from this blog is nothing to do with the blog or you.
THE GREEN MAN SAYS SACK THE BOARD
That wasn’t the question.
You think if we had signed one midfielder yesterday we can compete..
We signed half a team and the middy required didn’t come through.
You’ve written us off already. So what difference does it make.
Time to stop chucking your toys out the pram and get on with being a Celtic supporter.
This years CL is a bonus where the players will grow in experience playing against the best players around, next years qualification should see us build on that and I expect Brendan to get the players in to do that.
You just love a fizz and froth, get a Mr Angry t-shirt for the next Hootenanny :)))
MacJay
See, we want the same thing….a better team.
But…thats what we always have wanted, that what fans want, nothing more.
Its not fair, that Bobby Lennox cant play against the sevco mob:)….Get him in the team.
It be fine if it wasnt for all these Trotskyists:)
HH
DAVIEL…
Well said, I have met many friends on here and had great times at hootenannies and other events.
I’ve yet to meet anyone that wasn’t more than a gentleman and Tim.
Some should realise the hard work Paul 67 and others do.
The blog is and always has been a fountain of knowledge, I may not agree with some that’s posted but generally, it’s educational, be it football wise or any other topic…even how to toast cheese;)
Timaloy 29, I never said we were hopeless. I just think we have an excellent manager now, let’s back him with as many resources as we can and see how far he can take us. Probably not to the CL but who is to say we couldn’t make a major impact on the EL. Who wouldn’t want another Seville, except with the right result this time.
Maybe we still will. Still feels like a missed opportunity.
50 shades of green
You eat crisps in the library? Shocking!
Monster Munch in the Horror section?
Walkers while perusing the Travel section?
Quavers beside the sheet music???
Maybe – just maybe – our ability to spend 2-3million on a player doesn’t always buy us anybody any better than what we have?
If you look at Brendan’s activities to date, it looks like he is signing players who were discarded or under-valued in the EPL – but that particular well can’t be bottomless given the sort of deal we can afford.
I suspect that our last day prospective signing(s) would also have come from the EPL – but it sure is a problematic market to go looking for bargains.
TonyD,,
You should have said radicalising or brainwashing.
It would have saved you a lot of hassle from the One Meaning Thesaurus brigade.
Starry Plough
Get me in the team:)
Wouldnt cost nothing, and im better than Bitton and Scott Brown.
Perfect solution.
I can get us to the CL final…..believe:)
HH
SP @ 1.54
BR should have been able to Get us into the CL proper with last year’s squad.
We had enough talent to do that with what we had on the books.
What was missing was coaching, belief and confidence.
HBS was a tough gig but we made it hard for ourselves.
Just goes to show that BR can heal the sick but not raise the dead as certain comedienne used to say. Of course the new guys helped they just made the odds that we bit more in our favour.
However the main point is that we had everything in our favour and 8 days to do something.
Consequently I think that we have failed to make the most of this.
And I think we have to blame PL for this — not as if he doesn’t have previous on this.
In an alternative universe, Glasgow Celtic stormed the transfer window last night, Brendan Rodgers snapping up Dembele, Sinclair, Toure, De Vreis and Gamboa in the last hour of activity.
Fans are ecstatic about the signings, bringing a combination of pace, youth and experience to the squad, adding the essential qualities of players used to performing in the higher class of England’s top divisions.
The signings may not completely anaesthetize the pain of seeing the remnants of Ronny Deila’s reign pumped 8-0 in Astana back in July and the absence of any European football until summer 2017 but, hey, at least the Hoops got talked about for a few hours by Jim White…
MACJAY1 FOR NEIL LENNON on 1ST SEPTEMBER 2016 2:00 PM
Maybe grooming doesn’t have such an implication on Aus (I think that’s where you are based), but in the UK the term grooming has strong implications about grooming children for sex by those who wish to harm them; as I said, so much so that the Cambridge English Dictionary lists this as its secondary meaning.
It’s not an attempt to impugn Tony Donnelly’s character; rather offering him an opportunity to accept that he may have been ill-advised to use such a term and admit that it has caused upset on the forum.
KTF
BOURNESOUPRECIPE on 1ST SEPTEMBER 2016 1:58 PM
Well see, Bourne.
We have a different stance.
I trust the Board. It would appear that you don`t.
That`s not reconcilable.
Sevco ? In the scheme of things , irrelevant , but as you probably guess , I `m desperate to cuff the stewards.
Remember the words of Jock in relation to hun games…
” It`s just two points , same as every other game.”
Incidentally , the loss to the hun 3 months ago turned out to be the best thing that could have happened.imho.
A departure and a magic win for the Hibees.
Not including the fallout.
THC-U @ 2.00pm
It will be interesting what the accounts show when they come out.
My bet is on another bonus friendly set of numbers.
My dug gets groomed. Maybe TD67 meant that members of the Green Brigade are getting their hair cut while the groomer curses under their breath at their wriggling and lack of cooperation???
THE GREEN MAN SAYS SACK THE BOARD on 1ST SEPTEMBER 2016 2:02 PM
Mate.
Respect.
We can have diametrically opposing views but communicate in a civil fashion.
That`s class.
NegAnon2 on 1st September 2016 2:00 pm
Another “succulent lamb” leader.
I love this phrase:
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.
That would include spending on non contractual bonuses. And I guess a business period can extend over years given we have been saving money.
Tosh.
=================================================
I look forward to popping back here at dinner time and reading your detailed analsis of cashflow and budget, but moreso will be fascinated with your insights into who exactly we should have signed and for how much, their role in our squad, how negotiations should have taken place and the crucial details of their demands and the strategies of dealing with their agents.
Enlighten me.
THOMTHETHIM FOR OSCAR OK on 1ST SEPTEMBER 2016 2:06 PM
Any decent Celtic fan with an ounce of intelligence or human empathy would know exactly what connotations and associations that word has in the context in which it was used.
Unlike many on here I don’t think the poster in question is as stupid as he tries to make out, so I wouldn’t excuse him on that ground.
He wanted to denigrate the GB and wasn’t fussed about he did it. He used the word deliberately taking full use of the innuendo implied.
He’s like a child seeking attention and it’s probably best just to ignore him if he has nothing worthwhile to say.
MADMITCH
Who else would you blame MM, as long as people can apply blame they’re happy, I don’t know what happened yesterday so anything I say is pure speculation like quite a lot of the posters here.
We did our business early something that people were foam’ at the mouth about last year and hey presto we don’t don’t any business on the last day and miraculously the goalposts are moved.
I’m sick to death of the goalpost movers on here and as ever for some it doesn’t matter what Celtic do.
The team is moving forward under Brendan, that’s not enough for some fear enough, compared to last season I’m enjoying my football again and that’s enough for me.
How many on here thought we would make the CL???
Go back over the pages..
It’s written in black and white..
VFR800A8 on 1ST SEPTEMBER 2016 2:08 PM
MACJAY1 FOR NEIL LENNON on 1ST SEPTEMBER 2016 2:00 PM
Oz it is.
We`ll just have to disagree.
Having read T.D.`s stuff for quite some time , I`m sure in my own mind that his use of the term ” grooming” had no sexual connotation whatsoever.
Mate .
Kip time.
Good to chat.
Davidopoulous
What i cant get my head round, is the fact that, according to some, the GB are not Celtic fans.
Well, you can imagine my confusion.
Im still trying to grasp it.
Crazy:)
The World Turned Upside Down….or what:)
HH
Has anybody actually met Tony Donnelly?
Is he well groomed?
…
MADMITCH on 1ST SEPTEMBER 2016 2:07 PM
I agree there’s previous but that also doesn’t mean things just didn’t work out.
I know we’re told McCarthy wasn’t the target but for the discussion let’s just say he was. The rumours surrounding the interest from other teams suggested that he was only going to move if Everton got Sissoko in. They failed to do that. Is that PL’s problem? No.
So was there a plan B? Who knows maybe BR had 1 target alone, and didn’t really have an alternative that he was 100% convinced was better than existing options – based on what he’s seen so far. So perhaps the fault lies there.
Who knows? We’re only 3 months into the reign of BR and I’m fairly certain priority 1 this year was steamroller the SPL and hopefully get into Europe in one form or another, so we’re ahead of the game.
Just got this…
Aberdeen supporter I work with just showed me the ticket website for Aberdeen v Rangers……….has a section for score the last time the teams played……….,,,,,says no previous ties! Lol
SANDMAN on 1ST SEPTEMBER 2016 2:17 PM
Has anybody actually met Tony Donnelly?
Is he well groomed?
====================================
I believe he was when acting as best man.
Macjay
Got it in one bud.
We can all disagree, with humour.
HH
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*********** FREE SEAT*************
Celtic v The rANGERs
Celtic Park 10/09/16
Dedicated to Harry Fathersham RIP
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The new meaning of the word grooming has only come about in the last couple of decades. It’s primary use is still listed in all dictionary’s. It may not be the most advised terminology that TD has used, however IMO the only people to be offended is the people looking to be offended.
I would also bet that TD being the age he is uses the term Wireless to describe a Radio.
HH.
Going forward the main issue for BR is to turn SB / NB into a real CL quality MF partnership.
They each have enough talent and recent quality to make this happen in the 3 home games but last Saturday showed that they are well of the pace at the moment as they turned our MF into a laughing stock for 30 minutes after a pretty poor start.
Failing that we need to get KA up to speed.
Interesting that BR put him in the U20 games — possibly to make his feet were on the ground.
Also very interesting that he has looked and played better when he has been given the chance in the senior team than when he has been with the U20’s.
Looks a more complete MF’er than VW.
However VW did and does the basics to a real quality level.
Hopefully necessity will be the mother of invention.
AURORABOREALIS79 on 1ST SEPTEMBER 2016 1:08 PM
AURORABOREALIS79 on 1ST SEPTEMBER 2016 12:02 PM
that’s impossible ;-)
——–
Haha
Verygood!
Think I need to see a Doctor now.