Managers often have the task of focussing players’ attention on the next game, instead of an important subsequent game a few days later, but Brendan Rodgers has an additional task in this respect right now.
You only need to speak to a fellow Celtic fan this week to understand what’s on all of our minds. Two games over the next four days will make a significant impression on the season, but there is no certainty what the squad will look like when the second match takes place. The closure of the transfer window in a little over 48 hours will loom just as large as Sunday’s league encounter with Newco.
This is where the manager earns his wages. While tomorrow’s game against Suduva should present a straightforward challenge, you and I remember another Scottish team, no longer with us, going out of Europe to Lithuanian opposition just months after competing in the Uefa Cup Final.
Get them ready to run through walls for you, Brendan.
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Glendaly
Used to be intrigued by my cousins talking about The Jungle Possil’. Great appropriate name for that scheme. ;))
the hands cant hit
“I appreciate that well intentioned post, however, a lot of it is whataboutery.”
No more so than anyone else’s argument. What aboutery, I take to mean, avoiding the main thrust of the argument , and introducing squirrels. I believe I tackled the argument straight on and it is no more “what about” or expectation management” than anyone making a contrary point. We, each of us, try to present the truth as it hits us.
“No one is claiming that we can compete with the EPL (no other leagues can) or the big boys throughout Europe.”
And neither did I but there are people claiming we should keep players who have options to go there or attract players from there that still have options there. John McGinn’s wages at Villa would see him paid well ahead of Moussa and Broony.
“But considering the situation we are in currently on its merits, I fail to see how PL or the board escapes criticism.”
And there was criticism there in my post. No-one is happy with the window so far, not even PL or DD. Posters criticising a board-loving constituency on CQN whom they imagine are applauding all fiscal reticence and decrying any spending, are titling at an imaginary enemy. It is, literally, quixotic.
“We have committed the same error in that we did not strength in anticipation of a difficult CL campaign.”
Of course, bigger bucks gets you better players. But, if the top 1000 players in Europe get hoovered up by the big clubs , we are left to scramble amongst the littered and the unwanted. It is as if the NFL draft system allows us to make our first transfer move on the 10th round of draft picks. We either own that poorer prospect outright, hoping he is an unappreciated gem that we can polish or we get a loan of a 4th or 5th draft round pick from the clubs that have been stockpiling players. That gives us a slightly better chance of doing better in Europe but it closes no gap between you and the teams that will qualify from CL groups, as they have spent 5, 10 or 100 times more than what we can layout. I have used this analogy before- it is like buying 2 lottery tickets, rather than one, and believing you have doubled your chances of winning.
And, if we do get a player that shines, we will have him stolen from us and we have to repeat the trick without making Pukki-esque or Amido-esque mistakes. I know of no scout (apart from CQN posters) who believe thay can pick only winners.
“We can all accept that Moussa would leave at some stage However, it is the manner in which after a summer of transfer window inertia, we compound our issues by selling Moussa? (of course, he is not gone yet). That is why it has elicited the reaction online.”
The reaction is varied from disbelief to resignation to fury and to paranoia. What I have not seen is applause for our dealings. I like to see a reasoned evaluation of the dealings in the round. Frankly, I am not seeing much of that. I am seeing fury before events happen. Fury about self-serving (and expectation managing) predictions about no transfers in, an event that hs not happened yet.
We all know that the Willo window was a disappointing one. We all know that, so far, this has been a disappointing window too. We could and should have won the league after the Willo window (and we dodged a bullet in not getting the retrospectively sought after Steven Fletcher) and we can and should win this league too.
Far more harm will be done to our prospects by maintaining the “Divided House” emotions, and by not rallying round the team, than willl be done by the failure to sign a new Dembele ( I remember Moussa being written off by quite a few on here after his first few games ).
I signed off by saying help yourself to criticism of The Board or PL. And I meant that. We have been promised the pitchfork scenario for many years now. Maybe it will be this year.
“Why are we so hamstrung?”
I have tried to state on here some of the factors I think contribute to this hamstringing.
But, believe me, I get it, many many more people would rather explain it away and deposit all the problems onto one scapegoat. It is a popular pastime and populist politicians exploit that tendency all the time.
I just think life is a bit more complex than that.
People argued under MON that debt was unsustainable and we could not spend more. Under other managers we did not have the reserves to spend and to speculate to accumulate was imprudent. What was the argument this window? The pandora’s box of excuses is running low.
Jim the tim
Sorry to hear of your family’s troubles.
FFS PL will be sweating blood, he’s not passed his medical yet ?
Team @ Info: The # OL and @CelticFC have just reached an agreement to transfer #Dembele. Agreement of 25M €. Dembele arrives tomorrow in Lyon for the medical examination. 4-year contract for young French
He is here #rt to thank our President @JM_Aulas #TeamOL
And, If you tolerate this?
Then your children will be next!
MSP CSC
If CQN is good enough for some influential people at Celtic to make their point, well it’s bloody well good enough for me too.
Ron
Ok! I won’t discuss or put over my opinions on CQN about PL and the boards failure to build on success. I’ll take leave (six) and leave CQN to all you guys who through very dark green tinted specs refuse to recognise and criticise failure when it is fully deserved.
I didn’t realise CQN was strictly for positive comment and opinion for those of you who who would praise Peter for having a good solid shit in the morning.
MWD
How the hell can anyone on here back the board?? Why as a celtic fan with the clubs best interests at heart would you carry out some of the things like moussa being sold for example and not realise it is to the detriment of the club?? Madness..complete mismanagement!!
Lawwell’s position is not tenable? His position is ‘seven’able,
working on ‘eight’able. He’ll be fine.
T
It’s not selling Moussa, or anyone else, that’s mismanagement, it’s the not having replacements in place and strengthening from a position of strength that is real mismanagement.
“We keep saying it but we want to come out every transfer window stronger than we’ve gone in.”
Dons won’t sell McKenna to us. Thank feck. Who scouted that lump a wid?
Celtic sell to anyone wi money.
Our soul has been sold.
Scunnered CSC
Moussa being sold is probably as much as the player wanting to go than anything else. It’s the how we got here that people will not and cannot accept. The board have got it so wrong the past 6 months. I really hope they can recover because if they don’t the team won’t.
BOURNESOUPRECIPE on 29TH AUGUST 2018 8:15 PM
EXCATH
Lesser spotted Jamesie bids?
Thought of you, when I read on here the other day that ‘ He’d have to turn it on for Sunday ‘
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My fear is they will play Halliday ( who is a thug ) at LB which will cause JF to seek the inside channel as opposed to the wing,hope he runs riot, but not confident based upon previous.
To sell your best player 2 days before transfer window closes is an absolute joke.
With no replacement lined up other than a loan deal for Shane Long . Scored about 6 goals in the last 3 seasons
No matter what hysterics are going on,if true22 million profit is a fantastic bit of business for a guy who wants away,after a couple of years.A player who has dodgy injury record.
We have no control over when other clubs will bid.
The time for the pitchforks and burning torches will be Friday evening,when the window closes.We,and I mean,Brendan and Congerton,should have their targets lined up.The anger and hysteria should be saved until we see the outcome.
Excathedra
Feck the Sevco game. Tomorrow is more important
YNWA
Vale Bhoy
agree 100%
fail to prepare = prepare to fail
excath
I think that is what the team is missing at the moment…. some nastiness/toughness. MD (sorry to mention him) was a physical specimen and clearly put the fear of God in the sevco defenders….KT is tough in a ‘I can take what ever you can dish out’ kind of way, but isnt going to go and lay down a marker (like Barry Robson did) …
and not sure anyone in the team at the moment is someone I would want beside me in a street fight …. and I think every team team needs one or two like those … just so that other teams dont take liberties…. and because of ithe league in which it plays, I think Celtic needs someone like that more than most teams…
Turkebhoy
I wish I shared your optimism
If we’re scouting Shane long then we really need to pack football in that’ll be the biggest boot in the haw maws of the transfer window
students have often heard endeavour doesn’t equal achievement
Hopefully Shane Long is just paper talk ,and we have a worthy replacement for Moussa waiting in the wings.
No loans , no projects. We definitely need three first team ready strikers given our seeming inability to keep even two fit at any given time.
My friends in Celtic,
Gutted again if reports are accurate. Moussa although suffering heavily with injury,was our talisman.
He gave us anticipation and hope. Not many players can do this.
I knew he would go at some point, but not so soon. £ 22.5 m is maybe an offer we couldn’t refuse, it just doesn’t feel like that though.
HH. Guttedcsc.
From Coll_Wild
Peter Lawwell is like a politician.. Come season ticket time/election time, they promise us the earth, once they get what they want, they screw us rotten
MOONBEAMSWD on 29TH AUGUST 2018 9:19 PM
Ron
Ok! I won’t discuss or put over my opinions on CQN about PL and the boards failure to build on success. I’ll take leave (six) and leave CQN to all you guys who through very dark green tinted specs refuse to recognise and criticise failure when it is fully deserved.
I didn’t realise CQN was strictly for positive comment and opinion for those of you who who would praise Peter for having a good solid shit in the morning.
MWD
Good? Solid?
Guinness or Lager?
WeshouldbetoldCSC
The atmosphere tomorrow night will be muted.
STIRLINGBHOY,
What “Board lovers”?Have not seen one.Have seen a few try to be a a bit rational in their thinking.Not joining in with the actual,Board haters,of which we have plenty,does not make you a Board lover.
Instead of premature hysterics,,I will wait until Friday night before making my choice.
Moussa is a great player when fit but that’s been the problem. I would imagine that Lawwell sees £22m for him under those circumstances as a good deal. Perhaps but the timing is madness unless there’s some other target in the offering.
Get them ready to run through walls for you…….
Lawwell has to go.
Sell your best asset the day before a European final qualifier, when the guys with the biggest wallets have shut up shop and you cannot get in a suitable replacement.
Rank amateur
ST TAMS,
Not optimistic.Hopeful,but I am not going gaga until that hope is gone.
Pointless.
Moussa’s going to take a lot of replacing, totally gutted he’s going this summer, I really wanted to see him fully fit and banging in the goals again:(((
Hen1rik
PL is a bean counter. Celtic PLC are full of accountants. Not many enrepreneurs on our Board.
Here’s what i think (hope) we have a right back a central defender and an attacking midfielder lined up and we need to sell Dembele to get them in before the window closes.
Otherwise none of this makes sense
Although i love the big man, 22mill (if true) for a mostly injured striker to rebuild the team is a good piece of business.
I know i know…. like i said… i hope
Hello, this is WEE BGFC. Aye, because £20 million’s really going to help us tomorrow.
HH
WEE BGFC
If Moussa has still to have his medical tomorrow then who could rule out the transfer window nightmare reaching new depths. Fails the medical-deals off then we really would have a player “not fit to wear the jersey”
Turkeybhoy
I can say with absolute certainty that anyone bought or loaned to us, will be a last minute, hastily concocted punt.
You can probably add into that cocktail unfit.
Why am I so certain ? Simple if the club had mid long term targets they’d have been signed for the biggest fixtures of our season some weeks ago.
For the avoidance of doubt that was the CL qualifier we lost.
Aye and wait to see the face on Boyata tomorrow.
More than a club ?
Advertising bullshit spouted by the corporate entities of Barcelona and Celtic.
Both sets of fans deserve that accolade but the suits only recognize and use it for it’s financial advantage.
Moussa Dembele at Celtic
Games: 94
Starts: 69
Goals: 51
European Goals: 8
Game Winning Goals: 14
Braces: 9
Hat-tricks: 3
Assists: 18
Trophies: 6
Scores or assists every 89 minutes
———-
Good luck replacing that. Worrying times ahead for us supporters, but plenty of caviar and salmon in the Boardroom. Forget the 10 boys, they don’t give a feck.