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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glasgowdave,
Leigh must have been missing when FOCUS came to visit the Bhoys at Lennoxtown!
AR
Canamalar
Let’s agree to disagree on this occassion.
HH
CB
hun skelper
14:03 on 3 February, 2015
thomthethim for oscar ok
13:54 on 3 February, 2015
The way the orcs have reacted to him I don’t think he’ll stay long :-) HH
****
I think they have potentially ruined the boy’s career.
They will redirect their anger towards him.
Can anybody tell me what the situation is with Kris Commons? Is he now out of contract or is he under contract to the end of the season ? Haven’t seen anything about him re-signing.
Even with our new Bhoys in, I don’t think we should be letting Kris go.
A hearty Hail Hail and Celtic welcome to our new Bhoys, may your time with us be one of great success and medals:))
Mon The 14
Mon the 16
Bring on Dundee…
Cults…,
Naw, you are telling us the child was picked out and attacked with a bottle in fact bottled in the face by a Celtic supporter.
The first part is a shameless lie and the second part is speculation.
Shameless meeja propagandist.
masty @ 13 47..
Inter are a shambles..They have the necessary to be much better than they are.Playing badly , look short of confidence and team spirit. Support think they are big heads who don’ t give a **** for the shirt.2 victories in their last ten games.
I think Celtic have a chance but worry that Inter might find their mojo.Kovacic is a big threat .He will go on to bigger things than Inter.
traditionalist88
100% agree.
I’ve been coaching youth football for 9 years. I’m still in touch with many players I had at an early stage in their development. The hard working disciplined guys who understand football generally out perform the naturally skilful over the longer term.
I think when it comes easy you don’t develop the same work ethos.
The boys I’ve coached who have moved to Pro youth have been committed and hungry to learn and improve from a very early stage.
‘Arry resigns at QPR
HH
Canamalar
Ok I’ll agree to disagree…
An tearmann,
Spending more time with his loaded dug :)
14:29: Rangers fan hit by bottle Andrew Kerr BBC News Kieran Duffy, the 10-year old boy who was hit by a bottle before Sunday’s Old Firm game.
It was Kieran’s first game away from Ibrox. His dad Robert says he was knocked for six and nearly fainting after his son was hit.
Kieran says he saw the bottle coming out the corner of his eye. His Dad says it was one guy in a crowd who has shamed everyone.
LB
SoT,
I’ve got a horrible feeling inter will click what it comes to European competition which might kick on their domestic form, irrespective, it will be the litmus test for how well Celtic are really doing,as we meet some quality for the first time in months, Sundays game was nothing near as good as many are making out. Our players usually look good against dross especially out of form dross.
BREAKING: Harry Redknapp has resigned as manager of Queen’s Park Rangers.
CultsBhoy
14:28 on 3 February, 2015
What you describe as ‘hard working’, ‘discipline’ and ‘work ethos’ are probably just different manifestations of conscientiousness which is a basic personality trait and as such is, to all intents and purposes, innate and cannot be learned, acquired or imposed.
Maybe QPR are doing a audit soon
Geordie Munro
Enjoy the game.mind n get the permission slip.:-)
Think ‘Arry will now take his place on the pundits bench.:-) after his knee surgery
HH
Neil Lennon already being mentioned in connection with QPR
CultsBhoy
Yeah and its notoriously difficult to tell from a young age, many players will make it of course but then the next question is – at what level?! What if Airdrie hadn’t taken a gamble on GMS?! These guys are not robots, what if he decided, after being released by Liverpool & Fulham, that he’d had enough? Thankfully his attitude is good and he has forged a great career for himself.
So many factors at play and of course, I’m sure there are always ways for our scouting network to improve and adapt to new techniques of spotting players at home and even abroad now, but there are thousands of scouts out there doing the same thing looking at the same players!
HH
Aw poor ‘Arry didn’t get to squander millions yesterday and speak exclusively to that clown Jim White..
toysoutoftheperambulatorCsc
Surely Swally will be the bookies favourite for the QPR job.
LB
canamalar .
Inter are struggling in Serie A but they are way better than the likes of Dundee United / Aberdeen / etc etc etc.. A team choc full of very good players who are playing at a level well below their best.
timaloy29
13:55 on
3 February, 2015
For every Snograss there are 3 david goodwillies..
And I am not saying we shouldnt be looking at local talent, it needs to form PART of our improvement strategy – PART being the key word.
Over the last few years our squad has gradually included less and less Scots / Irish players and they are the only ones who will have any intention of sticking around for 4,5,6 + years so we need to have that backbone in our team to avoid this recurring nonsense of a foreigner walking in and wanting to walk straight out again.
Barring Andrew Robertson it usually takes the successes 2-3 years of development.
Its highly unlikely you will buy a player from Dundee Utd and they instantly become a CL player (Stephen Pearson wonder game against Barcelona asides because it turned out to be a 1 game wonder!)
So the original question still stands – what have we done to attempt to rectify the situation whereby we were a CL standard team 2 years ago and are not today?
from ‘a’ Dundee Utd player, S. Pearson obv being signed from Motherwell.
ACGR,
If your lurking, the package arrived safe and sound. Cheers mate. Hail Hail
Earnie lynch and traditionalist88
True… I think folk don’t realise how much effort and discipline is required to succeed at highest level of football.
If you ever get a moment you should read the book ‘Bounce’ by Matthew Syed.
The sub title is ‘the myth of talent over the power of practice’…
All aspiring young sports people should read it. In fact anyone who wants to be good at anything should read it.
SoT,
Biggest fear is a defeat knocks the confidence out of our inconsistent team.
To think, that game against the dross on Sunday had people on hear proclaiming some of our players as world beaters, I think there might be a shock in store for some.
And I’ll be as sick as them but not as surprised.
CultsBhoy
Will check it out, cheers. I have a copy of ‘The Nowhere Men’ which is more about the scouting side, haven’t read it yet but meant to be pretty interesting,
HH
I reckon the huns will take to Shane Ferguson quite quickly.
As soon as they find out what date his birthday falls on.
(Caveat-his Wikipedia page might have been altered)
timalhoy
Your origonal post stated you’d be volunteering.
I was a member of Labour. Chucked when I realised that my vote didn’t count. I also stopped my donation via union subscription to the party.
They have become a Tramp Tory Reds.
not for me.
My hope and it still is for a real socialist Scottish Labour party to emerge in an Indy Scotland. With the appointment of Jim corrupt Murphy with his corporate phycosis even that is outwith our reach now.
MWD said AYE
Hi Ghuys, Salve salve;- Probably the best transfer window for a while, hopefully the new lhads will gel and Ronnie’s vision will start to take shape. Scottish Premier league teams really need to do something about the refereeing standard, it is simply abysmal.
If that ground had been in any condition at all on Sunday there would have been nothing left of Sevco.
timaloy29
13:11 on
3 February, 2015 , Salve salve;- Total respect to you, absolutely right you will not change anything from the inside. I wish you all the very best.
Greenwells.
Nemo surdior est quam is qui non audiet
Bobby,
Lol. I believe it’s genuine.
GREENWELLS GLORY
Dunno about not hearing,but we might have understood you better had you said it in English!
canamalar.
The current Inter are very similar to the AC Milan Celtic played in 2013..They too were ” in crisis ” and struggling in Serie A .
SoT,
We just seem to give European clubs their mojo back, any players we have who revel in that company are moved on pdq.
SoT
THANKS FOR THE REPLY,
STILL THINK WE COULD HURT THEM WITH OUR PACE ON THE BIG PITCH IN THE SAN SIRO.
Masty,
You serious about our pace compared to theirs ?
SoT
Where would the current Celtic team finish in the Serie A?