Assuming Celtic hold onto their three goal lead over Cliftonville they will almost certainly face Elfsborg in the third qualifying round of the Champions League. The script is written for Elfsborg striker and current Celtic employee, Mo Bangura, to score his first goal at Celtic Park, while it is another tie for Henrik Larsson to politically wish both of his former clubs the best of luck.
Elfsborg are five points off the pace after 16 games in the Swedish league. Happy with the draw.
It’s the Columba Club, Blantyre, tonight for Paul McConville, Phil Mac Giolla Bhain and myself for what is sure to be another thoroughly enjoyable Question and Answer. Proceedings get underway at 19:30, tickets available at the door.
See you there.
At the turn of the century then St Johnstone chairman, Geoff Brown, told the world his club would rather suffer relegation than indulge in the financial craziness which was then going on in Scottish football. Relegation soon followed, creating its own financial problems for St Johnstone, while others, most notably for Saints, Dundee, paid over 100% of turnover in player wages.
What do you do when your direct competitors are acting like lunatics, when remaining competitive requires you to behave likewise? I remember feeling frustrated for Brown and St Johnstone fans. They did the right thing but suffered as a consequence.
Yesterday’s win, away to Ronsenborg, who are 16 games into their league programme and top of the table, was among the most impressive by a Scottish club in Europe in the last 25 years. This is a well-run club. In the last six years they have lost Owen Coyle, Derek McInnes and Steve Lomas, all cherry-picked by better-funded, but not better-organised English clubs, but their progress continues. Coyle was taken before he reached the Premier League, McInnes won promotion and Lomas reached Europe. Tommy Wright has now made an impact in Europe within six weeks of being appointed.
Still a lot of work to do next week, Rosenborg will arrive in Perth capable of winning the game, but the scene is set for a special night’s football.
The Celtic Charity Five-a-side tournament takes place on Saturday, 12 October (an international weekend) at Lennoxtown (where the scouts are based, this could be your big chance!!). If you can get a seven player squad together and think you can raise £40-per-head for charity, get your application in now. Ages 18 and over, winners get to take a halftime bow at a subsequent home game. To sign up email janemaguire@celticfc.co.uk.
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burghbhoy,
Should we retire the jersey though ?
:o)
Someone bailing out at 42p :))
From twitter
someone just dumped 1million in 4 trades.
Didn’t Fat Sally have exactly 1m? #justsaying
Canamalar1
PMSL
Dontbrattbakkinanger
12:52 on
19 July, 2013
No real movement in the price.
I really think the club should take a very close look at Diabaté from Bordeaux if Gary Hooper leaves. He is an absolute handful for any defence, and only 24/25 years old. Neil was at the French cup final and Diabaté hit the winner. Juventus often play 2 big guys up front (Diabaté is 6’4” and very strong) and Juve really terrorised a lot of teams in both Serie A and the CL.
Luxcelt – I like your thinking, had a look at a couple you suggested last week and they looked good players. Imagine Diabate & Toure up front!!!!
LuxCelt
Is Neil keeping his funds to attract a top player once we are actually in the CL? Risky strategy but he knows what we have and what we need. Maybe he feels we have enough at the moment to make the group stages.
LB
LiviBhoy
13:03 on 19 July, 2013
West Ham a far better option for Hooper than Norwich, and especially QPR.
Paul67
A tough draw on par with Helsinki at same stage last season. In fact tougher league in Sweden sooo a huge test of fitness and composure so early in the term. Bang Bang will have much to prove to a few folk – including himself- beware!
We should have enough about us to do the job, but would have much preferred another option.
Very well done to the lads from Saint John’s Town of Perth. Hope they can hang on at home and progress to next stage. Hibs not out of it yet either.
Suppose Armageddon going to have to wait for another year…
Lux…,
How much do you think he would cost ?
blantyretim.
Just booked the Clydesdale Hotel in Hamilton.I’ll be the good looking gent sitting at the Bar supping a G/Tonic,I had a bit of practice Yesterday and in a fit drinking mode today.Tell that poncing git H/T, where I am and he’s welcome to have a drink with me.
Kayal33
I have heard big Sam is keen and although Hooper is a Spurs fan it’s the sort of club he is looking for. If we get over £5m and he gets his move and the wages he is looking for it’s good business all round and we wish the Bhoy well and move on.
LB
I’ll give ye ‘poncing got’ ya oul tart!!! :-)
Time you in hamilton at.?
Get off at hamilton west and walk too your left the hotel is directly behind the council offices.
Livibhoy,
Or he is not getting the choice, for all we know he could have been told to wait and see if DD wants any more new players.
I’m wondering if grabbing the money for Vic so early is a tactic to attract the greedy and a ready made excuse for not getting any quality.
I’m sure vic’s sale could have waited till closer to the end of the transfer window after we had brought in our targets at prices that did not incur the greed of what they thought we had to spend.
Livibhoy, to be fair if we reach the group stages and haven’t had to sign players , as much as i’d like to see squad strengthened , would there be any point in splashing the cash for this year? We’d be at the party and banking around £25m(to go with £18.5m from KI & Vic, Hooper would increase this to £24m as well as £31m from CL last year) which imo we would used to ensure that a crop of better players are in the door at this stage or before next year. We had very little opportunity to plan for this year and should win the league. The CL last year has give us a good safety net , this years qualification would puts us well in the clover. At some stage a dead team reaches the spl and if we have earned CL group money every season they are out then our financial might & planning would have us on a different planet…
canamalar1
I feel we have to trust the club on that one. They may be working hard right now trying to get players in. It’s not a straight forward process these days. Takes time. The money for Victor was too good to turn down. I think the club done the right thing there. If Southampton had went elsewhere and Victor had stayed and not signed a new deal. We may be in the same situation with Victor as we are with Hooper now. It had to be done.
Hooper to be fair to him wants the club that are right for him. Plenty time in this window yet. I think Celtic have made it clear now that he is for sale and I don’t expect him to play again. That forces a move on Hooper. He knows that he can;t afford a year in the wilderness. Sign a new deal and play or move to a club in England. Maybe the strategy will pay off and he will move or maybe, just maybe he will not get the sort of club he is looking for and will re-sign for Celtic. Quite a wise move by Celtic. We could yet sign him on for another couple of years and get much more than the £5m being mooted now.
I do expect West Ham to come in and Hooper will go there BUT stranger things have happened. I would be quite happy if Gary Hooper signed on for another few years but I am glad that the club have effectively said he is available for transfer. It’s all quite amicable and it’s a good way to do business.
LB
Weet-see you about 3.
Re Elfsborg, Boras
When I was a young man of 20,living in Sweden, this was the place to be or go to for virile young men, a massive majority (4/5 to 1 or more), of mainly young women due to light industrial employment. Would need an update (long time ago) as Sweden too have had their hard times, but if any Bhoys fancied getting lost for a couple of days, could make up for the price of booze!!
Good luck and to Celtic if…..
tusker
Hooper to West ‘am?
That’ll do nicely. £7 million?
He’s an Essex boy, and West/East Ham is nearly in Essex.
HH!!
https://twitter.com/Xfm/status/358202158602125314/photo/1
The Ice Cream Van has melted
paolosboots,
Aye the balance book would look great and we can all go to Celtic park turn out backs to the pitch and applaud the board for 90 mins ffs, it’s about the football, we go to see the Celtic play on the park no in the boardroom, if we’ve got it then prove it on the park improve the team no the balance, that’ll look after itself when people are queuing up to see the team.
Only a imbecile could turn our club into a failure.
canamalar1
– > Well… it is guesswork, but he is under contract for 2 more years. However there is a rumour that Bordeaux are trying to get N’gog from Bolton (similar type of player) and Diabaté has been punted out on loan before….. so it would depend on whether other clubs were interested. he is a wee bit raw still, but Celtic clearly offer good coaching (the improvement in Wanyama is testament to that). 3 million? (like I say… guesswork).
paolosboots
The sheer number of games would require more players IF we reached the CL group stages. I would expect signings to be made as long as we are still in Europe whether that be CL or EL before the window closes.
It’s a long season and we know injuries and suspensions will take their toll. Are there enough youths to see us through? I’m not sure our younger Bhoys are ready apart from Watt, McGeouch and maybe Twardzik. The others may get a few outings and maybe even a start in the cups but we need some players who can play top team football straight away and I would love the club to get a seasoned pro who is experienced in Europe and Internationally. Whether Celtic will spend big cash remains to be seen but I doubt we will pay anymore than £3m on any one player and the wages will be around the £20k a week mark tops. The lure is CL football and winning trophies though. Maybe the bonuses need to be a bit better contructed to entice the higher end of the market. If the club is making X amount I have no problem in some of that filtering to the players and coaching staff. Money is a great incentive for these guys to perform and get results.
LB
Livibhoy,
Trust the same people who tried to save rangers ?
BOBBY MURDOCH’S CURLED-UP WINKLEPICKERS
The Royal Horse Guards – Doesn’t sound like a Celtic boozer to me!!
The New Inn sitting outside will be the only job – I shall keep a close eye out for your curly winklepickers there
Hail Hail
Celtic Gucks
Lux..,
From what you say it all sounds a bit suspicious, first Italy the France and both getting shot, sounds like he may have personal issues he can’t shake off.
canamalar1
I trust everyone at Celtic Park is working for Celtic’s best interests.
LB
Livibhoy,
And what are Celtics best interests ?
Drinking and watching the golf and cricket, should be cutting the grass. Looked away a bit from the cricket but did that short on the Glasgow cricket clubs rivalry show the huns scoring against us?? Or did I miss us scoring?
Back to the cricket and still grass uncut.
Canamalar1, i have no idea on costs at present but am just looking at the what if scenario! what have we to gain by spending big money to get to the last 16 if we reach the group stage without making the investment , the spl is a busted flush what odds are we to win it now! I’d rather see a better quality of player come in that we shouldn’t be worrying about qualifiers, if there is a stage 2 to our new business model it might be the £3-4m player that we are targeting as the next step rather than alot of quantity instead of quality. imo
canamalar1 12:05:
Sorry for delay, been busy. You are right, they did not play in every game through either suspension or injury. My point mate is that we have lost two in the main, main stays of the team. We will no doubt pick up injuries and suspensions, Kayal is now only one booking away from a European suspension. We need quality players to replace the quality that has left and is about to leave.
Keep the Faith!
Hail Hail!
canamalar1
You have misunderstood me. he hasn’t come from Italy. CAme through the Bordeaux youth system and was sent out on loan aged 21 or 22. has been back at bordeaux the last couple of years i think. I was just drawing an analogy with Juventus, as they quite often used 2 big strikers last season.
LiviBhoy
13:33 on 19 July, 2013
Our ‘younger’ bhoys need to be given more game time to see if they are good enough. Watt is 19, as is Fraser, Herron & Atajic, McGeouch the Twardziks and Irvine are 20.
We sign player of a similar age or younger and put them straight into our first team (Matthews, Wanyama & Rogic for example) but are seem reluctant to give our home grown players a similar opportunity.
Instead of development prospects or squad fillers we need to spend our budget on 2 or 3 more experienced players through the spine of the team (defender, midfielder & forward) and fill the squad with more of our own youngsters, especially in SPFL games during the August to November period when we are involved in European competition. Running a squad of 25 players
canamalar1
To win the league. Always our priority.
Compete in Europe.
Run the business side to make money.
I think we are doing that. Rangers were beyond saving. Anything that is being mooted about Celtic trying to save them is garbage in my eyes. They are dead. They don’t exist! If Celtic had tried to save them they would still be around!
LB
Paolosboots,
There is no stage two, there is no alternative to waiting for newco to reemerge, stop kidding yourself on.
Charlotte’s tweets over the last couple of days has made that very clear, our board have been at the forefront of trying to keep them in the SPL then in the professional system.
Running a squad of 25 players only stops younger players getting a chance and the wage bill means less quality due to more quantity.
Kayal33
You would prefer the youngsters to get a run in the team in the league and Europe rather than bring anyone in?
I am happy with that myself IF they are good enough and ready.
I think that in this day and age though you need to sign players to challenge the players we have, open new revnue markets and excite the fans.
LB