Those who want Celtic to stop with all the ‘ones for the future’ and concentrate more on players who are ready now, will be delighted at the prospect of Joe Hart (yes, I know, they will never be delighted). At 34, Joe has the prospect of three years in Glasgow, helping to put Celtic back into domestic contention and into Champions League group stages.
He is 11 months older than Fraser Forster, whose decision to decline Celtic’s contract offer, after agreement was made with Southampton last year, precipitated so much trouble. Neither keeper is at their peak, but Fraser was an incalculable loss, Joe Hart could go a long way to filling the gloves.
After securing star status with Manchester City and being first choice for England for seven years, Joe found himself loaned to Tornio and West Ham, before signing for then-Premier League Burnley, who required stopgap cover. Last season was spent at Tottenham, largely on the bench, although he played 10 cup games.
A high profile fumble against Iceland at Euro 2016 was the Saka penalty of the day, ending England’s participation in the tournament, the incident lives longer in the memory than it would have in a different game. He could have done better with the first of Leigh Griffiths free kicks that sailed past him at Hampden in 2017. These and other circumstances combined to ensure he did not make the cut for the World Cup squad a year later.
I cannot tell you where Hart will perform on the spectrum between Fraser Forster at Hampden in 2019 and Vasilis Barkas throughout last season, it feels over optimistic to expect error-free miracles. Nor is Joe a sweeper-keeper – an element of his game that hampered his ability to move to another top English club after Man City.
His abiding attribute is organisation. Who does what, where and when, has been Celtic’s Achilles Heel in defence for a year, we can be sure this particular element will improve. This, is the reason Joe is currently undergoing a medical.
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GEEBEE1978
I once read ( possibly on here ) that Liverpool maintain a constantly maintained and updated worldwide data base of 10,000 players. A couple of years ago, there was a story on here about a crumpled sheet of A4 yellow paper found in a waste basket in Celtic Park with names of possible transferees. I wonder which end of that spectrum we are closest to? I suspect Lawwell’s data file consisted of not much more than the phone numbers for Dudu Duhan and The City Group.
Olympiacos 1 v 1 Ludogorets
Referee
Bobby Madden SCO
Assistant referees
David Roome SCO
Alan Mulvanny SCO
Fourth official
Craig Napier SCO
!!BADA BING!! on 3RD AUGUST 2021 10:07 PM,
Nail on head
Big Ange should be having a wee whisper in Eddie’s ear, ala, score some bloody goals while you’re here mate and you’ll get the move you want,
HH
GSU
https://youtu.be/9hT-Yv-Gqn8
Joe Hart interview
Thanks, Bada,
HH
GSU
Philbhoy,
Like,Danny mc Grain,Andy Robertson,Danni Alves,,Roberto Carlos,Gordi Alba,even our wee Izzy,all of these,are you apologising to. :-).
Greek and Turkish teams always hot and cold,in Europe.
Greensideup- Joe Hart comes across as a very good type,professional, maybe he needs to find a home and be loved again, we can only hope it’s with us.
The Eddie to Brighton story seems to have gone quiet which is a pity as we could do with the funds for at least one quality goal scorer . I reckon Ange has seen enough of Ajeti to know that he’s not up to it which leaves Griff , whose peg has never been shooglier .
We’ve certainly picked up the signing pace with Hart and McCarthy so here’s hoping .
Bada – agreed.
We need more of that attitude about the Club especially the starting eleven.
He comes across well,
now for a bona-fide Goalscorer
“He is 11 months older than Fraser Forster, whose decision to decline Celtic’s contract offer, after agreement was made with Southampton last year, precipitated so much trouble.”
So, as I understand it from a well renowned and respected CQNer, Celtic agreed a 5 year deal with Fraser and Peter bonus man found out that Southampton were willing to do a loan deal for a further 12 months. Peter Bonus man decided to change the terms of the offer and Fraser rejected this having agreed on the former, for lack of security for him and his family.
So tell me, Paul67, are you being led astray from the truth as well as the rest of us, because your leader is troubling misleading? Or is the info I have is wrong?
All I can say is thank goodness we are moving away from the bonus man
HH
CRC
….this year we still need to take the likes o’ Boaby Midden ooot the equation.
Selling Gordon when we did, was idiotic.
LAXALT @ 9:59 PM,
With all due respect, you just made all that up, in no way shape or form does that represent Celtic’s signing policy over the last few seasons.
Let me help you out here…
If you are going to make things up try to make it at least credible.
Temu Pukki was a last minute dot com signing when Lenny was manager.
BANKIEBHOY1 @ 11:38 PM,
Aint that the truth, but Celtic didn’t sell him, the declined to take up the extension to his contract.
Hail Hail
Craig gordon? we got his best years!! sure he’s capable of pulling off some great saves but watch the howlers in the coming months. Never comfortable with the ball at feet and doesn’t fit Ange system.
B78
Frustrating if true. hopefully with Joe on board we are going places
HH
CRC
interesting celtic mac- going to look that up. Also going to try to get up to Hadrian’s Wall this summer!
Boaby Midden gazing adoringly at Halliday a few days before the Hertz game. Could this have something to do with the fact he never even spoke to him after Halliday felled Callum?
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/E7qCHIPXEAEV3BR?format=jpg&name=360×360
The problem wasn’t letting Sinclair, Lustig, Gordon, Forster or Simunovic go.
The problem was who was signed to replace him. I don’t recall Barkas being influential when we played AEK, one save from a Griffiths header in the away leg, perhaps, but otherwise his defenders covered for his failure to lay a glve on things or Celtic missed the target. At International level, he managed 3 clean sheets in his 11 competitive Internationals with Greece (Estonia, Hungary and Slovenia). He conceded goals to Hungary Finland, Estonia, Liechtenstein, Kosovo, Cyprus and conceded 3 to Italy in Athens)
“Those who want Celtic to stop with all the ‘ones for the future’ and concentrate more on players who are ready now, will be delighted at the prospect of Joe Hart (yes, I know, they will never be delighted).”
Paul I think this is unfair. Most fans have called neither for prospects or older players. We have asked, not unreasonably, for proven players who are still of an age to contribute and even to improve themselves.
I am underwhelmed by both signings. Of course, Hart is better than either or both of our keepers. And if £15k per week is correct, then great.
As an Ireland supporter, I can tell you that McCarthy offered very little over the past 10 years though to be fair I didn’t watch much of him at Everton. I hope he exceeds my low expectations, even though midfield ought not have been the priority.
Given the ages and injury history of both signings, ironically we have again singed 2 projects
Always nice to awake to news that puts a smile on yer mug.
Mycket bra Malmo!!
Oh, and bonus that we’ve signed a couple of EPL proven players to better our playing balance for negligible fees. Canny complain. KTF
SFtBs @ 12:25 AM,
Totally agree – far from the established narrative that Barkas was a top Greek international GK, my memory was of a player who was struggling.
It crossed my mind that Celtic thought Steve Woods had resurrected Craig Gordon and Fraser Forster’s careers and could do the same with Barkas.
Of course it wasn’t possible, he looks way short of a top class professional GK.
Hail Hail
kofjgs f
DEXTER P. BAMPOT @ 12:25 AM,
Yes, the snidey put down is all too typical of the CQN clique these days.
For me they have made all the excuses and lost all the arguments and have run out of road in serious, factual and thoughtful debate.
So the snidey remark it is.
Most CQN free thinkers didn’t have a problem with the ‘ones for the future’ such as Ajer. The problem was with the plethora of players like Amido Balde whi had no Celtic future.
In Hart and McCarthy I have to disagree, sure not at all perfect but desperate times call for desperate measures and experience to steady the ship and get us through the next few months is critical.
Hail Hail
jackiemac
Not that the Romans did not venture further North, they landed a huge army years earlier at Mons Graupius, up against who they called the Caledonians, and built Antonines Wall later, (and forts all over) which is pretty much South of where the Forth and Clyde Canal was built a whole lot later, but Hadrians Wall really did define the Northern limits of the Empire, and though never the border between what became Scotland and England, it did create the idea of both, and in that sense always worth a visit. And of course the idea of Caledonia lives on. Hibernia too.
Ffs
A wee while back I was of the idea that Stephen Welsh might move to the midfield, for two reasons, one, we were too lightweight in there without Brown and Ntcham, and two he cant read the game as a centre back. McCarthy, if fit, helps both the defence and the attack, and is a good forward passer. Good signing, even if Tony Mowbrey didn’t think so back then. Big Joe adds physical to our back line, as does Starfelt, who appears to be comfortable bringing the ball forward, young Dane too. Shaping up. But, if not Eddie, where are the goals coming from? Abado if Madden not refereeing, Jamesie, missed too matchwinners already, new bhoy from Japan, well here’s hoping. Griff, Ajeti, big qs there. Our rivals looked vulnerable to quick passes in the box, we look capable of doing that, but we need to convert it into goals, that is now the main challenge.
Hopefully our new signings will fit right in – will be interesting to see how Ange uses them. I think Hart will also help Barkas turn a corner – he still has an important role to play I believe. It’s interesting that Hart is not a sweeper-keeper type and I wonder if indeed this means Ange is being more pragmatic. Hope so. But we still need a lot of changes at the club to become world class. That’s why we need a DOF so that things don’t halt or regress if the manger changes as it did after Rodgers left.
They are all projects until they prove they can work for Celtic
Freddie Lljungberg was a project that didn’t work
As were other experienced players like Ian Wright, Roy Keane, Dirk Boerigter, Martin Comperr, Martin Hayes, Dmitri Kharine, Magnus Hedman, Berkovic, Gravesen, Dion Dublin, Shane Duffy & Edson Braafheid.
As were inexperienced rookies like Amido Balde, Filip Twardzik, Cillian Sheridan, Okoflex and Afolabi.
As were moderatelly priced and relatively more experienced plyers like Landry Nguemo, El Khadourri, Diamansy Kamara, Miku, David Fernandez, Scepovic, Pukki, and Bayo.
On the other hand we had experienced players like Robbie Keane, Sutton, Lennon , Bellamy, Hartson and JVOH who came and contributed.
We had young unestablished projects like Ajer, Frimpong, and Liam Miller who all came good
And mid-price talent like Hartley, Armstrong, Robson, Commons, Van Dijk, Scott McDonald, Nakamura with various levels of experience behind them who were successes.
There is no guarantee that being experienced or a costing a big transfer fee or wages guarantees success; it may be more likely but it is easy to get burnedin this rich market as David Murray’s Rangers regularly were (Kuznetsov, James Beattie, Andy Gray, Michael Ball, franny jeffers, El Hadj Diouf, Emerson, Ostenstadt, Boli, Thern).
Our best transfers were arguably mid-market (Larsson, Van Dijk, Petrov) in terms of sell on fee or for recent youngsters like Frimpong and Ajer who went for big money.
Buying a big name player in their twilight years with no sell on value has to be done really carefully. No one can argue that Craig Gordon, JVOH, Lennon and Hartson, despite arriving late in their careers, served us well before departing into football obscurity.
Regardless of where you buy , older players, in their prime or youngsters and regardless of what they cost – Record fees, Modest money or cheap frees or loans to buy, you have to buy well.
Recently, we have gotten quite careless.
Whether Hart or McCarthy, or Shaw and Scales, or Abada and Furohashi fall into that bracket will only be proven in the next few months, regardless og how old they are or how much they cost or we pay them.
This player recruitment is not as easy as some of you make it sound.
SFTB –
It’s generally accepted that ‘projects’ mean younger guys with promise/on verge of becoming ‘good’.
Agreed – no guarantees that a big number fee means a big performance every game.
To me, TRFC made a decent fist (v Wilson) of the kind of guys to take it to us, within a workable formation.
Given we have so many ‘projects’ (old def) Afolabi, Connell, Hazard, Hendo, karamoko, O Connor etc, I’m wondering how long you give a prospect b4 you discover he’s never gunna be at the level.
Frinstance; wondering what’s happened to McInroy who looked good at LB and LM early in the season.
SFTB
Excellent post. When the most recent iteration out of Govan acquired McGregor and Davis, many scoffed, including me. My, how wrong we were. I agree that recruitment is not easy, or an exact science, but I also feel that we have been a tad slipshod in our pre-signing evaluations, for example with players like Arzani, Boerrigter, Compper, Dublin, Balde and the Swedish forward with the initial B whose name has slipped my mind. As I recollect, You Tube videos at the time, ( and no substitute for a scout at several games ) showed precious little evidence that they were going to be of any utility.
Great signings. Have added much needed experience to the squad.
Wonder how many times McCarthy will see red this year though. He loves a whole hearted challenge and I don’t imagine the Scotland’s finest will take much encouragement to order our players off the park.
We still desperately need to be rid of Eduoard and sign an aggressive striker capable of playing the target man role and 20+ league goals a season.
Left and right full backs needed with Bolingoli out (or a miraculous change from him).
A central defender as Julien is far too far away from recovery.
Christie signing a new deal and Lovric would be a nice bonus.
If we got all of that I don’t think anyone could argue that the club hasn’t managed to pull off a good window.
mornin Celts
hh
TURKEYBHOY on 3RD AUGUST 2021 11:16 PM
Like,Danny mc Grain,Andy Robertson,Danni Alves,,Roberto Carlos,Gordi Alba,even our wee Izzy,all of these,are you apologising to. :-).
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Plus the 5’5″ Phillip Lahm.
MALONE BHOY on 4TH AUGUST 2021 7:56 AM
The Bolingoli situation is strange as there were noises of a “clean slate” and that everyone would be given a chance.
Does this suggest that this wasn’t true or that even with a clean slate, Boli and Ajeti simply haven’t been doing it in training?
Midtjylland have played an ineligible player against us in the second leg. I’ll be surprised if that game isn’t awarded 0-3 to us. The rules are clear.
An Dun, where are you seeing this?
AN DÚN on 4TH AUGUST 2021 8:24 AM
This might be a tricky one. FIFA only confirmed he was ineligible two days ago so Midtjylland will appeal.
I think the worst-case scenario will be a fine.
Part of me hopes we drop straight into the EL with Jablonec to play Alkmaar but as the PSV tie has already been played, there’d be no chance of us being reinstated into the CL.