We saw a thoroughly professional performance from Celtic in Stockholm last night. AIK were always a team we should have beaten, but ‘should have’ does not always happen, as our previous encounter proved.
James Forrest, Mikey Johnston and Odsonne Edouard were on fire, while Christopher Jullien and Boli Bolingoli looked more comfortable than in previous outings.
Lazio finished eighth in Serie A last season, behind all the big names, but a decent ‘Best of the Rest’. Rennes are off to a flier, top after three wins from three games, including a win over PSG, but finished 10th in Ligue 1 last term. They will be better than anyone we have faced so far this season but this is why we want to be in European football.
Cluj are the team I wanted most of all. They are a strong pot 4 team but we were awful against them and need to put it right. This is a challenging Europa League group providing lots of opportunity to prove a point. Bring it on.
48 hours from now, we will be in action at Ibrox, where we were outplayed twice last season in games that ultimately cost nothing. Those experiences seem to have left some in our number with a bedwetting disposition ahead of Sunday. Steven Gerrard has added ten to his squad while Celtic, if you read some coverage, have done little transfer business of note. This is bollocks!
Gerrard starts from a losing position. His team have not won any major trophies. Celtic have been imperious on a level never previously known, three consecutive trebles!
Of Newco’s ten additions, two were for money (Helander, who they did not pay the reported £3m for, and Edmundson, sending £700k to the English fourth tier in return). Two are loans (Ojo and King), but the bulk are the Tried and Tested Free Transfers route to building a successful team (Hastie, Jones, Stewart, Davis, Aribo, Barker).
Bargain bucket- teams are easier to assemble than teams full of players who command transfer fees, but when the trophies are handed out, they are seldom on the receiving end.
By contrast, Celtic have so far spent £12m reassembling their disrupted defence (Jullien, Bolingoli, Elhamed), with Bauer on loan – and an option to buy him. There is also a quality left back on his way.
Fraser Forster is here on loan (he’s not cheap). We took advantage of the cross-country opportunity we exploited to sign Moussa Dembele, to capture Luca Connell for £350k, and I expect another first team addition (as well as the left back) before the window closes.
Celtic got everything wrong on one game this season but have all of the most productive, successful and valuable players in the country on the field at Ibrox on Sunday. We cannot take any game for granted, and I have seldom gone to Ibrox without concerns, but Celtic will blow Scottish football away again this season. I’m not buying the Newco threat.
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TBB – thanks for that. Dessybhoy – check out the link from TBB.
A cracking post SFTB.
There is no way we can win all the Time.
No spirit of fear here.
Spicelab – The Spirit of fear is a banging track from the awesome Harthouse label. Cannae dae music links doon here.😔
Oh and 2 Timothy 1- 7 is relevant.
Lenny is a wee Genius and we are Blessed to have him in situ.
Transfer window closes Monday TFFT.
Boredofthyhysterics.
The transfer strategy or lack of is a strange one. We seem to have pulled of a few interesting aquisitions yet at the eleventh hour.
Tomorrow should be a cracker. In the meantime lots of sport to occupy you tonight to pass the time.
Hail Hail and bring that mob on.
While I’m very happy we’ve got a left-back, Taylor isn’t exactly unknown to us and wouldn’t have taken long to scout.
Just wondering why this was done so close to the end of the window and after the damage had been done against Cluj.
If we had plans in place during the KT negotiations as Lennon had said, this deal really should’ve been done not long after KT signed for Arsenal.
Pps after last night’s barbaric scenes in Govan. The 700 need to be very vigilant. In fact I reckon it should be boycotted.
If someone had said in May, replace KT with Greg Taylor and the support would be happy, then you would have been called names. As I’ve said in the past, you have to respect the way PL manages the situation, by waiting until the last minute it creates an ‘anyone will do’ situation. Since selling KT they’ve served up a couple of loans and a basement buy from 40 miles down the road. In a backhanded way you have to admire them for what and how they do it. Good luck to the boy all the same.
David,
To be fair not many teams in the world are capable of replacing genuine pedigrees.
I mean just look at Man Utd. They still haven’t replaced Paul Scholes. How much spent???
HEKNOWSWHOKNOWS
I never expected KT to be replaced like for like because players that good cost £25m.
I suppose my question is, if his replacement was under our nose all along, what took so long? He could’ve been signed well in advance of the Cluj game.
GeeBee,
As I said the other night. I’ll be feckd if I know.
You would think we would be used to it by now as it’s the same every year. Is its financial thing. Is it poker or is just Peter dragging his heels? I Don tknow but I’ll be happy when the pantomime window shuts on Monday.
Enjoy the game tomorrow
Hail Hail
Thought Boli Boli was KTs replaceament.
Boli / Taylor?? Who ever Lennon picks as his favoured first choice will be respected by me.
Rock Tree Bhoy – bet you are virtual pint Boli will have a huge part to play this season.
Hail hail
Taylor still doing the beep test then?
Big Wavy
He’s obviously fit as a butchers dug :)
They said Pedro would sell the family silver to make up shortfall for failure to reach Group Stage Champions League. Well 1 day to go & Eddie, N’tcham. Rogic & Cal Mac are all still here.
They said we had our dinner, Pedro will buy nobody, well he bought Boli, Julian,Elhamad & Taylor, brought in Bauer on loan with option to buy, Mohamed, & Forster on loan & good projects in Luca & Afolabi.
What started as a disaster losing KT doesn’t look too bad a window at all at this stage.
Team playing well also, great recovery since Cluj debacle, Skelp the Huns tomorrow and I reckon we are back on a diet of Jelly & Ice Cream.
HEKNOWSWHOKNOWS
As he’s been sitting by the phone for the last 4 weeks I’d say he’s well rested….
Big Wavy, Word is that Medical went fine.
@ DAVID17 on 31ST AUGUST 2019 4:29 PM
Yep. There is no reason for the delay in getting Taylor in this late in the window, unless Melling was a go-er which broke down.
I’m not too concerned about Boli/Taylor in competition for LB. Obviously we could not replace KT with someone of similar quality. What does annoy me is that the £25m bounty for KT is not being spread around the team. We could do with quality, first-team acquisitions in other areas but we are getting two loans and a £2m signing off the back of KT’s sale.
I recognise funds were spent earlier in the window, but as we know, we had received £9m for BR and his team and Neil and his team were brought in without paying out any compensation and will be on a significantly lighter pay package.
HEKNOWSWHOKNOWS on 31ST AUGUST 2019 4:42 Pm
I agree, we are way way too fast in dismissing new signings before they have bedded in.
CorkCelt
True all that. Whilst passing by the day, there’s just a feeling that Cluj was a mixture of bad recruitment planning and a Lenny / Brown brainfart on the night.
Can we bring forward recruitment to help with those games? That is the question.
@ CORKCELT on 31ST AUGUST 2019 4:51 PM
The family silver was sold before the CL outcome was known. We sold KT and since his sale have not signed anyone (other than two loans). If we get Taylor we will have spent £2m(?), plus any loan fees, after receiving the largest transfer fee in our history.
It’s hardly pushing the boat out or reinvesting in the team. As pointed out separately, we received £9m for BR and his team which goes a long way to meeting the transfer fees earlier this summer. Plus the wage bill will be significantly lighter this year.
Big Wavy,
He didnt pay his bill :)
Someone said it earlier this morning. The timing of these qualifiers are rotten however the club no the routine. They should plan accordingly.
Know
THE_HUDDLE on 31ST AUGUST 2019 2:28 PM
Sorry wasnt listening to comntry
Joe Cole part of BT ?
He is indeed phic as mince but should be on made in Chelsea
HH
I agree Big Wavy, The Huns had their business done well before us & you wonder why. Having said that their biggest buy Helander hasn’t set the heather alight & doesn’t seem a first team pick.
Hard to know what is right & wrong, we are all highly emotional when it comes to Celtic & we react on the day to transfer news/results. A lot of the time we the Supporters get it wrong as well.
Reality is we won’t know for sure whether it was an inspired window or a disaster or something in between until about 2 months time.
We’re DOOMED. HE STILL DOING the Bleep test.
Have we signed Cosgrove yet? Is he still doing the sheep test?
Baaaaacsc
The Hands, Celtic didn’t want to sell KT but he had a clause in his contract & after much anguish he decided to leave. Similarly Boyata & Benkovic leaving was outside our control. The only first team pick we voluntarily let go was PC Lustig.
It’s hard to know exactly what we spent as for a large part we are relying on the Rags for figures, Including Taylor I’m guessing about 14 million, but the loanees will have cost us a bit of money as well.
The headline amounts doesn’t tell all either, there is a lot of stuff like VAT, Agent’s Fee’s, Signing on Fees etc that can significantly eat into the Income.
I have little doubt but we are still in quids but we might get that Cluj forward in yet.
Is it not possible that the reason we have only moved to complete the deal with the Kilmarnock player is that we have been involved with discussions with other players and since these deals are not happening have moved to finalise this deal.
Of course that wicked Peter Lawwell might just be determined to keep all that money for himself. Irrespective of trifling things like the law and audited accounts.
I’ll be very disappointed if Lenny leaves out Craig Gordon tomorrow. He had done nothing wrong when he was dropped in favour of Scott Bain. And he was good in Stockholm.
You want Taylor early, you probably pay Killie’s inflated price of £3m.
You wait until the end and you pay less by virtue of the summer dance you’ve played.
Apply this to most transfers and loanees (who can only be leveraged at the end).
We have clearly a try before you buy approach, which is sensible. Worked for Eddie and Toljan with different outcomes.
Frazer Forster and Bauer do well this summer and we buy and likelihood we make no substantive changes to the defence next season.
Risk averse CEO and a risky approach to games still means the margins are fine. With less pressure on us I expect to beat Cluj twice in the Europa.
Corkcelt
IMO
Celtic agreed to a deal with KT as it kept both parties happy. KT’s sell on clause goes up but he gets a better deal until such times as ….well we know
Both parties look ok.
HH
How many signings/loans is that now? Most have not been in the media and that is the way PROFESSIONALS do their dealings. Just go out and put the currant buns back in their box. Have faith in Lenny and the team
Rock Tree Bhoy
Regarding Fraser or Craig in goal, am a massive Craig Gordon fan but think Neil will defo go for Fraser, not paying loan fee and % of premiership wages to sit on the bench … Craig has done nothing wrong but Neil wants his team on the park … watched the full 90mins against AiK today with no nerves knowing the score thought Bolingoli put in a great shift, big Julienne as well … these bhoys are still finding their feet, am always wary about starting too many debutants especially at ibrox … hoping Ajer & Simonunivuc are fit to give Neil the choice who plays where …. my world won’t end tomorrow if they beat us, am hoping for far better performances for the bhoys who get the jerseys compared to our last two games there …. for the gamblers out there a “penalty awarded” 2/1 with paddy power should be easy money, I won’t be betting it as Madden will try his best to make sure we don’t get it :-) am confident of beating them, surely they canny get their 3rd third win in 90mins against us in 7yrs :-)
AIK game is on BTSPORTS now.
just tuned in and celtic are 1 up.
i think it will finish 4-1 to the celts
https://m.independent.ie/irish-news/theft-kingpin-fat-jimmy-connors-dies-choking-on-a-burger-38452839.html
You couldn’t make it up….
Will the real Oli please Stand up the morra.
Show how Good ye are.
Mikey – From the bench you will be a Star.
GFTB on 31ST AUGUST 2019 5:38 PM
Yeah its a tough one, I like Craig he has been great for us but I think big FF like Neil loves these type of games,
For sure, tomorrow, our goalie will be called upon regularly.