The No. 1 rule of the transfer window is: get your first choices, and there is no doubt that Ronny Deila wanted Stuart Armstrong and Gary Mackay-Steven. We’ve tracked them for months, Ronny will have watched both players many times, John Collins will have watched them more often, and the entire scouting team will have watched them dozens of times, so on that basis alone, I’m happy.
I spoke to someone at the club early last month and there was some concern that some of our key players would ‘Do a Kelvin’, and present as not in the right frame of mind to play, unless we agreed to a transfer. While we are still competing in four competitions this was a major worry, but those players who were wanted elsewhere were happy to get their heads down and work to the spirit as well as the letter of their contracts. Happy at this too.
Stuart Armstrong is every inch a Ronny Deila player. He can run all day, gets into the box to support – or go beyond – strikers, and closes space in front of the defence. He will allow us to play to plan a lot oftener.
Last summer’s window was characterised by the signing of wingers. Wakaso, Inge Berget and Tonev all arrived on loan, while Callum McGregor emerged as a first team contender on his return from loan, and during the early season outshone all of them. None of these players are now considered as first choice, nor is Derk Boerrigter, who was recruited from Ajax 18 months ago and has proven every adage that ever existed for oft-injured players.
So we’re not short of wingers, but we need good ones, and Gary Mackay-Steven is another known quantity. He is fast, skilful, and will lend a creative hand to Kris Commons, who had shouldered those duties alone for years.
I’ve no proper information on Michael Duffy, who joined the development squad from Derry City.
To paraphrase Neil Lennon, this is only the beginning. Of the 10 outfield players who started at Hampden on Sunday, only one was a Ronny Deila signing, the rest were recruited by one of his predecessors. The summer transfer window was overwhelmingly misconceived, as the regime change cast a shadow over processes. As well as the wasteful wingers, two strikers were signed, neither of whom could dislodge last January’s late stocking filler, Leigh Griffiths.
Mackay-Steven and Armstrong will both make an impact at Celtic, but it will take more than a couple of players to craft the squad into the image of Ronny. More work will be needed in the summer.
Hibs, Hearts, Queen of the South, Ross County, St Mirren, Motherwell, and the SFA will all be alarmed at the flagrant influence Mike Ashley exercised at newco Rangers yesterday, despite his written agreement not to get involved. While the SFA must react accordingly, I’m not sure five players whose appearances are measured in minutes, not games, are ready for a promotion fight. It can take good player months to settle into a new team, and the potential for disruption, especially if the ‘manager’ didn’t play an active role in the process, is considerable.
The upside for newco is that these players settle quickly, take a Premiership place off Hibs, Queens, Motherwell or St Mirren, and leave a lot of clubs wondering what the point of having rules in the first place is. The only appropriate sanction the SFA can levy is a player registration ban, which would be the club’s second in their short history. Clearly a one year ban is not long enough to teach them a lesson.
Whatever you think of Ashley, you have to admire him:
On the last day of the window, he has 5 unwanted Newcastle players he is unable to loan to anyone else.
Realising he had no takers, he sends them to Ibrox, easing the Newcastle payroll.
Newco pay the players with Ashley’s loan, which they still have to pay back. If his men are kicked out at an EGM, these loans mean the new regime have even more money to find. It’s almost as though he wants to burn through the entire £10m loan before the EGM, leaving a new regime with an empty bank account and crippling debt.
It is a thing of Machiavellian beauty. Hibs and the rest are right to be upset, and Stewart Regan will feel humiliated, but I find the whole episode hilarious.
Welcome to Celtic, Gary, Stuart and Michael.
Well done Celtic on a productive transfer window. As always, it’s too early to tell how well we’ve done, but the perennial adage of leaving the window stronger than we went into it seems assured. Well done Mike too, keep up the good work.
Start your League Cup final weekend at the CQN11 St Patrick’s Dinner, at the Kerrydale Suite, Celtic Park, on Friday 11 March. Email me for details, celticquicknews@gmail.com
872 Comments- Pages:
- «
- 1
- ...
- 15
- 16
- 17
- 18
- 19
- 20
- 21
- 22
- 23
- »
kojo
Yes, Ronnie is a winner. A most clever coach with superb football knowledge. IMHO you understand. Stay safe kiddo. KTF.
Weefra HH praying to Wee Oscar.
“We will see how the Support is treated now, the Support is Celtic.
Ronny is the Biz.”
HH to that Pedro.
BTW I was doing a bit of day-walking today in the dayshift. It was cold and politically mainstream. That dayshift is a real clique :)
FFM – I’m the only conspiracy theorist in the village)
23:51 on 3 February, 2015
“We will see how the Support is treated now, the Support is Celtic.
Ronny is the Biz.”
HH to that Pedro.
BTW I was doing a bit of day-walking today in the dayshift. It was cold and politically mainstream. That dayshift is a real clique :)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Hearts of Gold, them all.
Oh Ronny, Ronny.
Ronny, Ronny, Ronny, Ronny Deila.
Love how Ronny’s surname breaks the i before e rule. :)
I just caught the end of the programme, I’d like to catch it up but I can’t guarantee I will.
There is an information deluge going on.
Let’s be having you Ronny!!!!
Petec
Hiya, dear Palomine..?
Great tae Greet Ye,as per usual.
Of Course, ye ur correct.. Ah wiz soitnely not alone in Hiving n Sustaining a Belief in
oor Noo Manager.. Right frum the GIt Go.
Ah wiz Jist Being a Wee Bit Self Agrandizin… as is Ma Wont..
Ah know that You, n.. Ithers.. Liked..and Continued like.. Whit Ronny wiz Daeing
right frum the Git Go.
Ah wiz Not alone ,in Sharing that belief.
As ye know..
Ah want a Complete Refurbishment of Oor Mid Field.. With One Exception
Steffi..whom Ah like aloater..
The ithers.. Leave a loat tae be desired..
Especially.. Broonie.. n.. Commons..
Bitton.. Did ..Ah Must Admit,… did Not Put a Foot Wrang agin the Sevco..
He had a Real fine Outing.. a did Commons..as well.
Howevahhhhhh..
The Oppositiion wiz..well..Non Existant..
Sevco, are a Poor Team..
Frankly…They Stunk. oan Sunday..
But, while Playing agin Superior Opposition
Ah Want Bitton tae Show Me Mair..
Commons..Well..He jist canny Handle Superior opposition, n ..he becomes a Definite Drawback..if Selected..
Anyway.. we hiv Made a start.. tae Bringin In a New N Improved
Mid Field..with the addition of Armstrong..whom Ah like .. but ,again, He will hiv tae
Prove himself..
That he kin Become a Full Member of Mr.Ronny’s Model Mid field.
But, Ah wanna See A far Bettah Midfield that the one which Played agin the Sevco.
We need tae Build A bettah wan..if we Will Evah expect tae Make an Noise
in The European arena..
Which is where Ah want us tae Be.. Every Damn Year..
N.. improving ,by leaps n bounds.. til we.. Get oor Mitts oan The big Prize..
Wance again..
Nice Chatting ,Pal..
as Alwiz
Kojo
Still Laughin
Gotta go, joe..
Seeya.
Ok so I’ve broken every cardinal sin, but Daily Record today…..
“Danish winger Laudrup enjoyed four epic seasons with the Light Blues, helping them win the last three titles of their nine in a row as well as the Scottish Cup and League Cup.
The 45-year-old was twice voted Scottish Football Writers’ player of the year, and is widely regarded as the country’s best-ever foreign import.”
“Widely regarded” By whom???
I think not……smashing player no doubt, but widely regarded as better than Henrik? Lock the drinks cabinet man.
Anyway everyone knows it was Sebo
After this transfer window, I am convinced CFC have laid down the marker that we will dominate Scottish Football for the long term in all competitions.
On the EU competition, failure should be laid at our esteemed board of directors. They are all culpable, like it or lump it, they are making the money, expose them now. Speak up you Billionaires, these minions have been boosting yer billions for the past umpteen years
You know what, not one CFC rep will come out and comment on that.
Weefra HH praying to Wee Oscar
One thing the Barcelona players were when they became the Greatest side ever, they were fitter than Everyone else, the way they worked to get the ball back was remarkable.
Their first touch was ingrained into them from a very early age, everything stems from the most important aspect. That first touch.
Building from there is easy enough with the proper coaching. It is good that Celtic are Schooling and Training players from a very early age.
TommyBurns.csc
Erskinetim
You in that video with oor manager? :))
WeeFra Tim
JIst wiz leaving.. when Ah noticed yer welcome..
Response, Palomine..tae Me Submission.
Thanks fur the Nod..
Yes, You ‘Get’ Ronny.. same as Me an a few ithers…
N.. that Maks me Happy..
Gotta..go… noo..
Nice chattiong ,Pally..as Alwiz..
Kojo
Still,Laughin’
Delaneys dunky
Nah, but it is my local he was in.
My son came from school saying all the kids were talking about Ronny giving it big in the pub. Didn’t believe it til I seen the video.
V. funny.
Nice the see him enjoying life ;-)
Kojo 00:06,
I always listen to what you say, I definitely see what you are saying all the Time.
I want, like Paul67 says, Ronny’s team out there, ASAP. ;))
I think it will be very Exciting and Hard as Nails but play beautiful fitba. If Broonie went off on Sunday we could have crumbled.
Ronny disnae want Celtic to be relying on 1 or 2 players to “carry” other players, neither do I.
This Window has been Good and we will get progressively better over the next 12 Months, hopefully.
Erskinetim
It is 10 minute drive from me over the bridge. Have been in often. Noticed it straight away in the video, along wi a few local Tim faces wi Ronny. :)
He is keeping safe company. ;)
NN & HH
Lucky Man.CSC
Just watched the International Space Station fly across the sky above us in North Kakalakie. Going South West to South East, but still quite high in the sky. So add on a few hours and if the sky is clear you will see it in the UK. It was going at a fair clip which I understand is in Startrek lingo is warp factor one.
Klingon CSC
Petec
We got a love that never dies!
Lucky Man
A big THANKS to the moron who threw the bottle at the Sevco fans minibus.
We already know the SMSM is just champing at the bit for any negative stories they can link to Celtic and up you pop to duly oblige. I most certainly hope you are proud of yourself.
On the reporting issue, whilst I in no way condone the thuggish behaviour (as I posted before), the SMSM are once again showing their rampant hypocrisy. They are milking this story for all its worth.
Now given the fact that some poor Hearts fan got the crap kicked out of him by a group of Sevconians only last week, you might expect to see photos of him splashed all over the press, with full page reports, interviews etc….
What about the descriptions of the perpetrators of the doing this fan received…?
No?
I’m not the only person who is not in the least surprised.
That report from the RST sums them up to a T.
Occasionally some posters write on here about “Oh it’s the fans you feel for” etc….
Clearly, they don’t know understand the mind-set of this particular group of fans.
The pain and suffering they are enduring hasn’t even begun to alter their mind-set.
In fact, it is only embittering them even further.
Just ask the people of Barcelona, Manchester and just about every town/city they have ever visited what they think about this group of fans.
No-one wants them back. No-one.
Sadly, it only takes one moron to throw a bottle and hey-presto, the MSM are once again portraying the 2 sets of fans as being as bad as each other.
The SMSM and SFA are heavily conflicted when it comes to the behaviour of the Sevconian/RFC fans. Perhaps if they had reported the truth and punished these louts as they deserved, they might just have learned that their behaviour is wholly unacceptable.
Only in Scotland…..
Mea Culpa
Great post. I totally agree with it all. Where is the self police Celtic support I grew up with on my travels throughout Scotland and Europe? Identify and rehabilitate this moron. The Celtic Way.
Fholks,
Of couse you are right in all you say above.
Should we have a perfect support, the ole establishment wouldn’t be slow in manufacturing a story.
My point?
Aye, we do have half-wits in the support, I’ve experienced it first hand, but wait for the facts before jumping on the Celtic Support.
This is an MSM story, which means it should be treated with utter contempt until you see or hear the evidence.
The fact that the DR was scanning here and publishing the charity action from someone new to CQN within minutes of it happening says a lot.
“within minutes of it happening”
Apols, that should read “within minutes of it happening”, it being the fundraising post today.
Mags,
Got a horrible feeling you won’t change your mind, but, as you did to me, which meant a lot, am urging you to keep posting, with more urgency.
HH
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KGS62suDaoU
Meeeja wars statement update.
Rst issue statement.on bigotry and sectarianism.
Huns feelin insecure.whats new!
Suprised it gets oxygen.
I prefer the statement if facts from page12 in last weeks herald
Facts are facts.
HH
FFM
My scepticism was raised by that new poster looking for money. Thought scam. Hope I am wrong.
DD,
It’s the DR.
They were quick on the mark.
Am sure Rod will be back to thank everyone, after the fundraising was blocked today………
Double whammy for the DR today :((
Got to wonder about a rag that’s stokes up violence against anything that moves, then claims to be the big protector of children.
On another note, interesting to watch the death of an utter scum rag. Every person working on that rag will have it on their CV, while printed journalism dies a death.
I’ve seen how they work when trying to dig up stories about footballers. I’ve seen how they work when familes have experienced the unspeakable.
The majority of folk tell the where to go; they have always represented scummery.
Will I feel sorry for them when their CVs arrive through the door?
No.
Will I feel sorry for them at all ?
For once in my life, no.
Anyone associating themselves with those rags has set themselves up for hun aggression, yet also have alienated all support from the rest of humanity. All for a quick buck.
FFM
Same old till their readers expire. Newspaper closures coming soon. Who buys a newspaper today??.
DD,
Aye, it’s an age thing.
Defintely on their last legs, and I think I might actually laugh more at the death of the DR and the Sun than I did at the huns.
Their pitiful attemps at survival, along with STV & Clyde, make me cringe. It’s so bad I can’t even laugh.
RIP Rags.
A horrible, horrible part of society that has long out-stayed its welcome, and needs buried right now. Without ceremony.
FFM
My dad bought the record every day till he retired. Said he had given up reading rubbish.
DD,
Took us all variable times to see sense.
I read the Star, because it’s pretend attempts at socialism, and its gratuitous sex for the working class helped me get through tiresome lunch breaks :)
DD,
For your dad :))
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=__ungV_Q12M
FFM
While having a wee Sandy Chugg?
Above in reply to your 0212,btw…
BMCUW,
Nah, never done that. :)
Met plenty of Sandy Chuggers though.
Jeez, they’re everywhere.
This is some obscure ryhming slang for rozzers, right?
FFM
No,mate. The real name of an arrested hun,and prominent member of RST.
:)))
Can’t be made up anymore this stuff :))
I must be going mad !
There was an auld hun called Chuggers,
Who posted by the name of Hun Buggers,
He lit his own fart,
From his arse where a dart,
Had been aimed at by the newly armed Polis Scotland rozzers much to their dismay when they realised who he was.