If you were lucky enough, like me, to enjoy a long Christmas holiday, I hope you had a good one. I’m sure few of us are delighted to be back at it today but there’s an indisputable mood on the blog for bringing in the New. A fresh start is needed and fortunately we’re at the start of the transfer window.
For Celtic most attention will be directed towards recruiting a striker who is capable of doing the business in the Champions League, not to overlook the important point of doing the business in Champions League qualifiers. 20-year-old Icelandic striker, Holmbert Fridjobsson, finally joins the club this month but although we’ll hopefully see plenty of the player this month he is surely considered ‘one for the future’.
One prolific striker does not solve all of Celtic’s issues, however. The club remains acutely dependent on Kris Commons’ creativity (as well as goal scoring), which will become increasingly less-effective as opponents setup to inhibit him. He needs a foil.
Since the annihilation in Barcelona Celtic have offered greater protection from midfield but with both full backs encouraged to overlap the midfield anchor role, previously occupied by Wanyama, becomes crucially important. It also offers support to the strategy of allowing Commons a free role as an attacking midfielder.
Over the break, Archie MacPherson, Scotland’s greatest ever broadcaster, wrote an article for Celtic Quick News comparing two of Scotland’s greatest ever managers. These debates are, of course, subjective, but the article provides a few objective points for consideration. Archie has a totally unique range to deal with this question and is in no doubt as to who the master was. Look out for the article next week, you’ll enjoy it – no guessing now.
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jamabhoy
Enjoy bud
It was my failed attempt at humour as our targets seem to be 6ft 4″
praecepta
Who is his parent club ?
heard of the fella, from the Balkans somewhere, he used to play for the club we got Efe from, I think, so JP must have seen him, banging the goals in, in a better league that we are playing in.
HH
Glorious balance sheet.
Just as Gretna were on the Uefa coeff table until they dropped off recently. I think a country is allowed to keep a dead club’s coeff points for five years.
Hope whoever we get to score goals,does just that and the manager doesn’t turn him into a defensive square passing midfielder. We have enough of those and goalscorers who can’t score goals already.
Just in and reading back,
Collectively we have been asking for more communication and transparency.
Yet when NFL answers a question and states hypothetically we would pay £6 million for the right player, we then read “tell them nothing”
Damned if you do and damned if you don’t.
HH confusedcsc.
praecepta
Just looked him up, the same fella, Partizan, and he did play for Ashdod for a while.
Well worth a look at, good spot mi amigo.
HH
Twists N Turns
I’m not sure Finnbogason is a slow secret emerging.
Newcastle, Celtic, Cardiff, Everton Werder Bremen, Hamburg, Augsburg, Ac Milan, Zenith St Petersberg and Villareal have all been link with the guy.
Anyway, If off to my bed, have a good weekend.
Hail Hail
The Exiled Tim,
There are a few sticking blocks with Yamada, most notably visa issues.
Jubilo Iwata were making noises about a fee but they have just been relegated and they have to cut costs. Shouldn’t be too much of a barrrier.
I really hope we aren’t hedging our bets and waiting to see if something better comes up because Bundesliga clubs have embraced the value and talent of the J-League – someone will take him.
Having watched Yamada for a couple of seasons he is absolutely first class and would be a sensation at Celtic.
TJ
Talking of Strikers who score goals-
This boy has 11 in 17 in the league and 2 for the under 21s in Slovakia.
Tomas Malec
Trencin FC
20 years old
6ft6
Fast
Market value of 75K
Now that is a project but perhaps a good shout.
Has only developed this season into a striker of any note and is the top goalscorer in the Corgon Liga.
Should be scouted in my book
Bedtime for me too. Goodnight all.
Cheers Marrakesh Express
TET
That’s the guy – played on loan for Ashdod – is contracted to FK Partizan.
TJ
Why would there be visa issues ?
Serious question.
I have only seen the u tube stuff, but he looks the biz, and ticks all the boxes for our transfer policy, most notably merchandising.
HH
twists n turns
23:14 on 3 January, 2014
…………………………
I really wish I had paid more attention to the article I read about April 2013 in an Edinburgh newspaper. I’m through in Leith 2 or 3 times a week and I saw the article in one of their papers. I can’t remember if it was the Scotsman or Evening News. Finboggasson was quite specific. He said that he had lived in the Blackhall area of Edinburgh for a number of years when he was a kid. He played for Blackhall Primary School and they won a lot of trophies. He scored a lot of goals. When asked about which team he supported, he said that his pals went to see Hibs but Henrik Larsson was his hero. I don’t think he wanted to say outright that he supported Celtic. He most definitely didn’t say that he was a Hibs supporter and he had the chance to say that he was or had been.
I came across a site called Football Pantheon yesterday.
It lists the 50 greatest club sides in European history.
Lisbon Lions at No.8
Guess who’s not in the top 50?
praecepta
Every time I go to a bar, I always pick up a paper and read the sports stuff, his name has featured often, he is doing the biz at segunda level, trust me, clubs in the top div will want him.
There are players out there, I wonder how much JP’s wage is ?
A hell of a lot of misses to hit the jackpot.
HH
TET
Plays along the coast from my friends in Santander.
Believe he scored in 5 consecutive league games and has International caps.
Hotshot
Your namesake Hamish would be perfect for Celtic! :)
I don’t understand the intricacies of corporate finance, but Celtic must be very close to having more cash than they know what to do with.
Consider that all of this fiscal year sales ( conservatively £18m), plus the CL money / gates (again conservatively £15m) equates to £33m of income.
This is offset by transfer fees (being generous £6m), cost of hosting CL games (£2m) and the ST reduction (£4m).
Bottom line is we will have a surplus of c£20m, plus the surplus from last season.
Unless the cheque book comes out to sign players, or, an even bigger ST discount next year, then the club will come under pressure from corporate speculators who will buy shares, and then put pressure on board to pay out increased dividends or return cash to shareholders.
I know some people who knows super salary and apparently he has got a couple of signings he wants to go for if (whoever) releases the purse strings. He has been pouring over videos of the last year and he wants to sign a guy called Carr who has a great football background and another winger called N. Fielding.
The Exiled Tim,
A few colleagues in Japan have noted he has turned 25 now and has only played twice for the national team. Apparently a committee will have to be convinced of the value he can bring to sporting life in this country.
I’ve linked my article on the guy below which illustrates the high regard I hold him in, if you have the time, please have a look.
A future Celtic hero, in the mould of Modric and Moravcik, given time.
http://celticjournal.org/3793/hiroki-yamada-scout-report/
TJ
praecepta
Aye, it won him player of the month.
The Spanish Segunda is miles ahead of the spl, div 87 is miles ahead of the spl, they have proper footballers here, none of this in your face bollix, they teach the kids how to play football as soon as they can walk, it’s taken many years, but Spain are not world and euro champions for nothing.
They believe that football is a beautiful game, a game that should be rewarded when it is played in the right way.
I listened to ssb earlier, and that hun bfdj was on, he said it as it is in scotland, hit them before they hit you, and he was creaming himself that, that was hte right thing to do, how feckin sad is that.
Footballers can’t play in scotland, thay are not allowed to, the hun mindset is so feckin ingrained it will take something radical to change it, something like all the clubs getting together and saying, feck you sfa, we want our game back.
HH
And while I am on the subject of Japan, and mildly inebriated, let me offer my fellow CQN’rs the opportunity to get rich.
Japan have just beaten Belgium and passed Holland off the park in a recent 2-2 draw.
They have a favourable World Cup group and are THE emerging force in world football. 200-1 to win the thing outright, they will give you an entertaining run for your money. A beautiful, aesthetically pleasing team.
And guess what, it looks like Naka may make a return for Brazil.
TJ
TET
Any Spaniard watching the Embra derby last night would have thought it was a GAA or Aussie rules game.
England getting a doing – 14 for 3.
TJ
Thanks for the heads up.
A wee EW for Japan and Nigeria for me
TJ
Is that your report ?
Seen it before, I would have the fella in a heartbeat, as I said, he ticks all the boxes, better than we have presently, has the right attitude, forward passing, dearie me, forward passing and attacking, how will that go down >}
The last time I saw Japan was at the confed cup, they were awsome, they played the game like it should be played, attack, attack attack, the Celtic way.
Well done.
HH
True TET
But what is the chances of getting rid of SFA and the MIBs.
No Chance.
They were salivating over getting us in the cup last season!!
They realised how pish they actually were this season and were hoping we didn’t draw them in the cup.
Another couple of seasons and hopefully they will sake up an know they are dead.
The beautiful game? They do not know what it is and they never have done.
sake up = wake up
Evening gents
Too much negativity on the site recently.
Those having a go at our summer signings seem to forget the signings our manager has made have made the club alot of money. Every manager takes chances in the transfer market, some work, some don’t. Lennon has a decent record with signings but we are crying out for a striker.
Btw when was the last time we paid big money for a player and he was a hit?
Give players time to settle.
HH
DD
The derby last night was all that is wrong with scoddish football, in your face, no skill, lots of passion, but no desire to get the ball on the deck and play football.
Enjoyable all the same, but give me tippy tappy football any day, that is how the game should be played imo.
In saying that, the Germans have a decent way of playing the game, fast, skillfull and relentless passing teams to death.
Oh the dilemma, anything must be better than the garbage on offer in scotland.
Give us our game back.
HH
Delaneys Dunky
22:48 on
3 January, 2014
Roy Croppie
Thanks, I see John Clark about Clydebank a lot. Think he must live out this way now.
*last I heard he was living up in Balmaha and nipped doon tae St Kessog’s on the weekend.
17 for 4!
Tommy Joad
Japan have looked an outstanding team over the last couple of years and think they will make an impact in Brazil. They do not stop pressing and chasing, International teams do not have their energy.
….PFayr supports WeeOscar 21:40 on 3 January, 2014
Jeez oh the longest sentence in CQN history
………………………………………………………………….
Ha HA PF, that made me laugh a lot. Belter!!
Whaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhh
DJBee
Had a reunion with a childhood mate at the game on Wednesday. He observed that the Tims we grew up with, all loved to talk about Spanish, Italian,French fitba, Champs League, World Cup etc. The buns we grew up with only like Ibrox fitba. The more I think what he said, the more I see what he means.
Delaneys Dunky
00:07 on 4 January, 2014
Who plays there these days?
DJBEE
This is where I am confused.
The suits at the sfa, do they not want the country to do well ?
Are they not in the game to better the game ?……..it seems not.
They are in the game to protect the establishment club at all costs, come what may, the good of the game is not even on their radar, they give not a toss for the national team, they only care about the hunand making sure they prevail.
The hun wanted rid of the reserve league, it was gone.
Celtic are saying nothing, can’t get the head around that, but the other clubs are saying nothing, eben more baffeling.
What is to be done, little it seems, it seems the clubs are happy playing in a backwater league, we are happy with access to CL money when we can get it, a sad state of affairs mi amigo.
In all honesty, I would rather we started a basket ball team and be done with the corrupt football stuff, it’s really no the may west for my blood pressure.
HH