Neil Lennon suggested Gary Hooper, unquestionably his favourite son, was Celtic’s best striker since Henrik Larsson. It’s an interesting question.
The list is long: Chris Sutton, John Hartson, Henri Camara, Craig Bellamy, Dion Dublin, Scott McDonald, Marc-Antoine Fortune, Chris Killen, Maciej Zurawski, Kenny Miller, Derek Riordan, Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink, Georgios Samaras, Robbie Keane, Diomansy Kamara, Olivier Kapo, Anthony Stokes, Pawel Brozek, Moh Bangura, Daryl Murphy, Miku and Lassad.
Apologies if I’ve overlooked someone. That’s 22 strikers in nine years (it’s a bit soon to consider Amido Balde), some of whom were loans, but the list doesn’t include the many Celtic youth players who got their shot at first team football, or those, like Tony Watt, who were signed for low fees from lower league Scottish clubs.
Chris Sutton and John Hartson were already at the club when Henrik left, but it quickly became evident they were past their best. Robbie Keane and Craig Bellamy were quality but only played a dozen or so games, so can’t really be considered as competition to Hooper.
Maciej Zurawski arrived a year after Larsson left and had a phenomenal first season at the club. He made his debut after the 5-0 reversal to Artmedia but inspired Celtic to a 4-0 win six days later. Maciej was on fire when he joined and only failed to score in five league games before the league win in April but he never found anything close to that consistency again. Record: 22 goals in 55 games.
Scott McDonald’s YouTube clip of goals in the Champions League and against Rangers will have featured heavily in the portfolio as his agent looked for a new club this year. His goals got us into the Champions League, beat European champions, Milan, and regularly put our (then) nearest rivals to the sword. Record: 51 goals in 88 games.
Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink arrived in summer 2006 and immediately outshone Zurawski. His debut as a substitute against Hibs transformed Celtic and won the game. His signing was pivotal in Celtic winning the title in 2007. Record: 34 goals in 78 games.
Georgios Samaras arrived 18 months after Vennegoor of Hesselink and alongside Barry Robson pushed Celtic over the line for three in a row. 2008 was a fabulous year for Georgios but although he’s still a forward, he’s not really been a striker since. Record: 41 goals in 138 games.
With 63 goals, 95 games, Gary Hooper’s scoring record is better than anyone else’s, but the challenge to be best since Larsson was simple, just outperform Scott McDonald. With all those strikers as competition, that’s not as high as the bar could be.
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The Enlightenment, the esoteric meaning anyway certainly brought a lot of Death to Humanity.
Hows that work then thebhoywithmcgraininhisside?
Petec
So now as I’m leavin’
I’m weary as Hell
The confusion I’m feelin’
Ain’t no tongue can tell
The words fill my head
And fall to the floor
If God’s on our side
He’ll stop the next war.
thebhoywithmcgraininhisside
Your pushing the same Myth, the Huns do, what the Secret Societies do.
“The fact is that more people have been slaughtered in the name of religion than for any other single reason. That, that my friends, that is true perversion!”
Are you really sure there?
How many have been killed in a religious war in the last 100 years for example? Roughly?
200 years?
Petec
I have nothing to sell. I live my life, you live yours. I have countless views and opinions on myriad topics. Some you’ll agree with, some you won’t.
As for any similarities with sevco & other secret societies, I can assure you it is purely accidental.
thebhoywithmcgraininhisside
05:24 on
29 July, 2013
There was order in the created world.
What is more ordered than D.N.A.
“Man” naturally looked for the creator or architect.
Most of the chaos is created by man.
Look at Ibrox.
thebhoywithmcgraininhisside
“The fact is that more people have been slaughtered in the name of religion than for any other single reason. That, that my friends, that is true perversion!”
Now,that I agree with.
ElDiegoBhoy:
I remember the day well though it went so fast. It must be six or more years ago now. I’d love it if you turned up at my door one day. I’ve been fortunate to have had the company of about ten or so Celtic Supporters from these pages spend some time at my house and every single session has been memorable.
But none more so than the time one evening when I sat down with Estadio on the steps out in my garden and two full bottles of whisky and several beers later we were still cranking out rebel songs as the sun came up.
My neighbours didn’t speak to me for ages after that.
Even in the haze of that night I still remember talking to Matt about how I feared the day that the Celtic Support would fracture. To an extent, although it was not in my mind back then, I think I see a manifestation of my fears in how the Green Brigade are being treated and how they are being allowed to be mistreated and how opinions are aligning.
I’ve kept my own council with regards the Green Brigade but from what I hear from guys whose integrity and heart I have trust in and who tell me the true extent of the Green Brigades victimisation, I’m beginning to grow more callous towards, and mistrusting of, my perceived motivations of some in office at Parkhead. Their actions are most certainly not in tandem with our mission statement or the125 year old ethos.
Thinking back to what we discussed that night I remember what concerned my the most… it was the collective apathy in the face of adversity. I remember getting all teary because I believed the Support was that used to being treated as second class citizens they did not have the collective will, or determination, or even the interest, to behave as equals.
thebhoywithmcgraininhisside
M8, as awe naw would say, don’t do lazy journalism.
Blaming Organised Religion for most deaths is just so wrong, hh and hopefully we get a couple of belters in for Wednesday, canamalar has his doubts we will but the rumours, are at least sounding good. It gives hope in the ole Heart.
This is a Big pre-season and I do expect us to come out from it stronger despite it not looking like that right now.
Macjay1
“This is rather as if you imagine a puddle waking up one morning and thinking, ‘This is an interesting world I find myself in — an interesting hole I find myself in — fits me rather neatly, doesn’t it? In fact it fits me staggeringly well, must have been made to have me in it!’ This is such a powerful idea that as the sun rises in the sky and the air heats up and as, gradually, the puddle gets smaller and smaller, frantically hanging on to the notion that everything’s going to be alright, because this world was meant to have him in it, was built to have him in it; so the moment he disappears catches him rather by surprise. I think this may be something we need to be on the watch out for.”
macjay1,
Likewise with tbwmihs, how do you come to this conclusion?
If we go back just the 100 years, are we talking religious or political?
All wars are about power wealth money
Empires come and go
The GB are at the other end of a power struggle, they need to learn to play the political game
Petec
Which was the last army not to have God on its side?
A just war is one sanctioned by God, or whoever is playing his earthly representative at that time.
thebhoywithmcgraininhisside
05:46 on
29 July, 2013
A just war is sanctioned by the media……………………………. 1984
Lionsroar67
The Green Brigade need to copyright their name. And then sue all news outlets who wrongly attribute said copyrighted name to any other group of Celtic supporters.
thebhoywithmcgraininhisside
05:42 on
29 July, 2013
Don`t quite get the puddle analogy.Parable?Fable?
Forms of being.
Human.
Others.
Lionroars67
I will eventually get your name right…
Orwell was a genius. At school 1984 was described as a dystopian nightmare, now it increasingly becoming reality with each passing day.
“War is peace.
Freedom is slavery.
Ignorance is strength.”
thebhoywithmcgraininhisside
And how many Just wars have there been since the Enlightenment?
But that is not the question. :)
The enlightenment has done nothing but darken humanity IMO. :( The amount of Mass Killings, not in the name of Religion or the God of the Bible is horrific to even contemplate. These beings had a god, a very persuasive and manipulative one as well, as I said earlier entropy, entropy.
thebhoywithmcgraininhisside
05:51 on
29 July, 2013
HA HA Yes copyright names and all those marketing ideas that Celtic have cashed in on, thats playing the corporate game………………….i agree play smart
petec
05:45 on
29 July, 2013
“The fact is that more people have been slaughtered in the name of religion than for any other single reason. That, that my friends, that is true perversion!”
That`s what I agreed with.
Human sacrifice to a deity from time immemorial.
Currently? Let`s start with today in Egypt.Or Nigeria.Or Bali.Afghanistan.Pakistan.Sunni and Shiite.Northern Ireland.Burma.
Muslim and Christian.
The major,but minor ! ,competitor to religion is ethnicity and land ownership.,which often has an additional religious component.
Macjay1
Douglas Adams wrote the puddle bit as a critique on the notion of intelligent design.
I prefer the ghia philosophy, but attributed to the universe. Basically the universe is an organism that is evolving. All evolutionary steps along the way were necessary to result in us. And so from chaos order is established.
The reality of asking players to come to Scotland, the irony of the newspaper giving the quote is they play a huge role in Scotland’s poor reputation
Rudnevs also helped to kill any further speculation on a move to Glasgow stone dead. “Why would I move from the Bundesliga to Scotland? I have established myself in the Bundesliga – the Scottish league is not comparable,” he said.
“I accept there will be striker competition for me – that’s football. But I have not come to Hamburg just to leave again after just one year. I would never consider such a move.”
Lionroars67
Yeah any future tifo displays etc remain the property of the Green Brigade, but they agree to license the club to sell reproductions etc. But only if the Green Brigade get final approval on how money raised through this is spent.
It would be worth it just to see the Green Brigade haters’ heads explode.
“Man will never be free until the last king is strangled with the entrails of the last priest.”
thebhoywithmcgraininhisside
06:11 on
29 July, 2013
Its easy to hate the GB, the media hates them, young, political, anti establishment
Perfect for the tabloid fodder to demonise and shake their heads at
As i said the GB are at the wrong end of a power struggle, Celtic should understand that postion we as a club have been there and still remain
thebhoywithmcgraininhisside
06:05 on
29 July, 2013
Macjay1
Douglas Adams wrote the puddle bit as a critique on the notion of intelligent design.
I suspect he wrote that to stimulate discussion and thought and…..erm…..argument.
Alternatively,he was a nutter.
Ghia?In my day,that was an upmarket ford.
Evolving organism? Yes.
“from chaos,order” Nope.Other way around.From relative order to cascading chaos,Orwell style.
Bleak future? I have Hope.:-) How about you?
macjay1
Ok, let us take it after Christ. I think that is the only Time that matters to us, being mainly Christian or from Christian backgrounds.
I just don’t believe that more people have been killed for Organised Religious reasons than other reasons. I must Terminate this discussion as I am due to get up in a couple of hours.
thebhoywithmcgraininhisside
;) – I think you are pulling my chain, and fair play to you – order out of chaos is the mantra of the orders after all.
petec
06:23 on
29 July, 2013
The sleep of the just ,mate.
Enjoyed the chat.
Joseph Ruddy @joebhoy2412 1m
Cardiff City want to bring £3million Joe Ledley ‘home’ from Celtic http://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/football/transfer-news/cardiff-transfer-news-malky-mackay-2100136#.UfX9YrB0oL0.twitter …
Macjay1
No chaos is chaos.
Einstein, another genius, couldn’t believe in quantum mechanics because God wouldn’t play dice.
Zeus, Mars & Loki have been replaced with Higgs, his boson & the elusive graviton. The human condition is to attempt to find order within the chaos, be it real or imaginary.
Macjay1
I meant Gaia not Ghia. However, if life, the universe and everything in it was an indian curry… The flavour combinations…
Nottingham Post
Jul 29th, 2013
NOTTINGHAM Forest are close to completing a deal to bring Kelvin Wilson back to the City Ground.
The Reds are understood to have returned with an improved bid for the Celtic defender, after having their initial £1.5m offer rejected by the Scottish giants, and Wilson could be back for a second spell with the club within the next 48 hours.
The 27-year-old is keen on a return to his home town for family reasons, after leaving Forest to join the Glasgow club on a Bosman free transfer two years ago.
Billy Davies has made eight signings already this summer, with the Al Hasawi family demonstrating their willingness to support a promotion push this season.
But the Scotsman regards Wilson as being one of the final pieces of the jigsaw, when it comes to challenging for a place in the Premier League. Forest have also had several bids rejected for another former player, Wes Morgan, but – while he remains on the radar – it is Wilson who is currently the priority.
Wilson was not involved as Neil Lennon’s side lost 2-1 to Borussia Monchengladbach in a pre-season friendly on Saturday, although Celtic did field a youthful squad against the German club, ahead of their Champions League clash with Elfsborg on Wednesday.
Wilson began his career at Notts County before moving to Preston and then Forest. He made 130 starts and six sub appearances for the Reds.
He has started 70 games for Celtic, along with three sub appearances, over the past two seasons in Scotland and is regarded as an important player by Lennon, who will not be keen to lose another of his squad following striker Gary Hooper’s move to Premier League Norwich last week.
Petec
No chain pulling just insomniac rambling. Putting the world to right at 06:30 on a monday, it’s got messy written all over it.
Good Morning Timland.
Another massive week for the club…….will settle
for a 1-0 on Wednesday,unlike better Celtic side’s
of the past,we seem to know how to do the business
away from home…………time for the coal face……be
nice to one another on here today………..good honest
debate, without the name calling.
It’s a grey and drizzly (but still warmish) EK morning for Jobo’s return to work after a 3 week break.
Always try to remind myself that I am fortunate to have a job, without which there’d be no next holiday to plan for.
Just under 49 hours till kick off so time for the positive energies to start…
thebhoywithmcgraininhisside
06:40 on
29 July, 2013
Last I heard,Einstein got it wrong.:-)
Kip well.