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
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Wasn’t is Scarborough who hung a monkey thinking it was a Frenchman?
stairheedrammy
10:58 on 4 February, 2015
Hartlepool
Think the Hun’s really do need to get the Monkey off their backs on this one.
MWD said AYE
Geordie..,
So what’s all the talk about long term replacement about ?
Stairheed
Hartlepool. The football team mascot is H’Angus the monkey.
BobbyM
What did the SD do to upset Jobo ?
HH
The Monkey Song
In former times, mid war an’ strife, The French invasion threatened life, An’ all was armed to the knife, The Fishermen hung the Monkey O! The Fishermen wi’ courage high, Seized on the Monkey for a spy, “Hang him” says yen, says another,”He’ll die!” They did, and they hung the Monkey O!. They tortor’d the Monkey till loud he did squeak Says yen, “That’s French,” says another “it’s Greek” For the Fishermen had got drunky, O! “He’s all ower hair!” sum chap did cry, E’en up te summic cute an’ sly Wiv a cod’s head then they closed an eye, Afore they hung the Monkey O!
LB
Huns are definately Monkey’s.
You have the Oldco World monkeys (Cercopithecoidea) and the Newco World monkeys (Ceboidea).
MWD said AYE
Dont tell me them gorillas are going ape about our monkeys ffs.
And its alright for you lot, I’ve got to get up and open my curtains now to see what the EK weather is like, bloody cold it is. Bring back JOBO.
http://www.historic-uk.com/HistoryUK/HistoryofEngland/The-Hanging-of-the-Hartlepool-Monkey/
HH
gsu
Morning all
Kev # 10.13
I know where you are coming from but I do not think a boycott would help thingd ot mske the bosrd act.
Any boycott would be piecemeal anyway – especially if the team is doing well ie winning trophies . I share your and many others in here’s disappointment with the board’s ‘dignifiec silence’ on many matters and its historic reluctance to invest in the team when it is doing well but for once I wi
Canamalar,
I can’t speak for others.
But I suppose it’s comes down to what you class as long term.
We’ve always had a decent Scottish player on the books for a bit longer than some others. Often becoming captain. Maybe on more money?
Imo Scottish players are always just a wee bit easier for us to hold onto.
THE EXILED TIM
See his post at 0643 yesterday,mate.
TSD is someone I would love to see in attendance at a hootenanny. I’m sure we would all be queueing up to introduce ourselves.
Of course,he may already have been at one,but been too shy to say hello.
TET ,
Maybe TSD is Jobo!,
Monkeys.
There is a Scottish folk song about people from the village of Boddam killing a monkey on a beach .Reason – it was the only survivor of a shipwreck and the law said if there are no survivors , the spoils are yours .
Alan Lomax CSC
cintd…I would believe the Board and its apologists if they said that a full scalr boycott would achieve nothing except damaging Celtic
Jimbo67
They can look at contracts all day long. They need a pitch to play on. All the contracts are tied into Ibrox Stadium, No Pay – No Play por cierto
How long will it be before the ole huns will try to have the term “sevco” and all its derivatives defined as sectarian?
Few names I recognised on Jobo’s twitter.
Gave the follow button a good exercising there!
P
Email I sent to Fleming after he had replied to a question I asked about Thompson’s performance on Sunday.
Thank you for your reply.
Strange that you rarely comment on Scottish referees. So when you do
comment are the footballing public allowed to hear your comments. For
most supporters in this sad footballing world that is Scotland the Cabal
approach to administering the game leaves much to be desired. The closed
shop or the boys club mentality does not help the game in this land. I
wonder when the SFA will wake up to reality.
Fleming’s second reply.
I operate within the recognised Scottish FA lines of communication with
all media outlets and this ensures a balanced approach to any points
that I may wish to reply to or raise. I do not and have never operated a
“closed shop or old boys mentality” and it is disappointing that such
views are still perceived by some.
Reality for me is that everyone makes mistakes at all levels and it is
how we react and respond to such errors that is important by means of
education, coaching or by other actions.
After being exposed to their archaic songbook again on Sunday, we should be apologising to all monkeys for referring to them as huns.
We called them flies too; no end to the banter:
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/B89KVP1IIAAWX1D.jpg:large
HH
TIMMALONEWILLTELL
Anything at all from other fans which they don’t like is termed sectarian. It stems from Green accusing us all of bigotry,IMO.
Coulda been nipped in the bud there and then had people pointed out where the real bigotry in Scotland stems from,but heyho,the comment stood,and the huns have taken advantage.
As they do.
Strange post yesterday at 0643.
Appears to be stalking Jobo
P
The ole RST don’t like monkeys or flies but they really like bears…
awblessCSC
I watched the whole game on iPlayer and was particularly struck by the “bias” with regards placement of BBC microphones and pan shots of the crowd – everything directed towards the Sevco end.
Interesting that in good old Bonnie Scotland, the BBC seem to view The Famine Song, No Pope of Rome and Billy Boys as more socially acceptable than a few songs and banners deriding “Sevco”?
Tim Malone Will Tell@11:15
according to this it is at the hootsman
http://www.hibs.net/showthread.php?272473-Sevco-is-now-considered-Sectarian-Language-by-the-Scotsman
SEVCOSEVCOSEVCOSEVCOSEVCOSEVCOSEVCOSEVCOSEVCOSEVCOSEVCOSEVCOSEVCOSEVCOSEVCOSEVCOSEVCOSEVCOSEVCOSEVCOSEVCOSEVCOSEVCOSEVCOSEVCOSEVCOSEVCOSEVCOSEVCOSEVCOSEVCOSEVCOSEVCOSEVCOSEVCOSEVCOSEVCOSEVCOSEVCOSEVCOSEVCOSEVCOSEVCOSEVCOSEVCOSEVCOSEVCOSEVCOSEVCOSEVCOSEVCOSEVCOSEVCOSEVCOSEVCOSEVCOSEVCOSEVCOSEVCOSEVCOSEVCOSEVCOSEVCOSEVCOSEVCOSEVCOSEVCOSEVCOSEVCOSEVCOSEVCOSEVCOSEVCOSEVCOSEVCOSEVCOSEVCOSEVCOSEVCOSEVCOSEVCOSEVCOSEVCOSEVCOSEVCOSEVCOSEVCOSEVCOSEVCOSEVCOSEVCOSEVCOSEVCOSEVCOSEVCOSEVCOSEVCOSEVCOSEVCOSEVCOSEVCOSEVCOSEVCOSEVCOSEVCOSEVCOSEVCOSEVCOSEVCOSEVCOSEVCOSEVCOSEVCOSEVCOSEVCOSEVCOSEVCOSEVCOSEVCOSEVCOSEVCOSEVCOSEVCOSEVCOSEVCOSEVCOSEVCOSEVCOSEVCOSEVCOSEVCOSEVCOSEVCOSEVCOSEVCOSEVCOSEVCOSEVCOSEVCOSEVCOSEVCOSEVCOSEVCOSEVCOSEVCOSEVCOSEVCOSEVCOSEVCOSEVCOSEVCOSEVCOSEVCOSEVCOSEVCOSEVCOSEVCOSEVCOSEVCOSEVCO!!!!!
ah that feels better
:-)
HH
ps morning CQN
RC
That RST piece is a joke. Deflection from their obscene songs of hatred.
oops think I may have broke the blog with that post.
soz Paul67
If the zombies are so upset at being called “huns”, why is their nickname for Mark Hateley – “Attila”.
Source – their official website:
http://www.rangers.co.uk/club/history/hall-of-fame/item/596-mark-hateley
Delaneys Dunky
I know, never mind the sectarian and racist singing from their own fans (9 arrests OBFA!), the GB had blow up monkeys…
I just laugh now it’s better for my health.
HH
Cheers Bob
Strange post, I saw it yesterday, didn’t twig.
FFS Jobo, don’t let that clown stop you posting.
HH
ttt
Could be, but have ma doubts :)
HH
Things to do and no time to do them…..laters
ROYCROPPIE
Laughing at them? Nope,not allowed.
They find that offensive behaviour. And as such is actionable under the law.
Afore I go, a while back there was a site, ran by a hun, called something or other, but it had the hun word in it, they were proud of the hun name.
Had a look for it, couldn’t find it, but it deffo existed.
HH
Is the sea cucumber is the reason then I think he’s being a bit precious, imagine this place if we all followed his example.
Ffs jobbo is that any example to set the youngks ? Run away
BMCUW
I keep thinking their statements must be parodies; they are actually wasted as there are some good comedy scripts in there somewhere.
theydon’tdoironyCSC
Tim Malone Will Tell
11:15 on
4 February, 2015
How long will it be before the ole huns will try to have the term “sevco” and all its derivatives defined as sectarian?
==========================================
The Scotsman deems ‘Sevco’ a sectarian term, you cannot print the word on their comments, has done since we started laughing and pointing at them.
ROY CROPPIE
Get a group of them together,it’s like Mason Boyne-alike night at the ludj…
Maybe we should retaliate and demand that words like “tattie” and “muncher” are removed from all publications?
The world – or Scotland at least – has truly gone mad.