The injury crisis in central defence had an interesting consequence for Celtic’s Champions League squad, announced yesterday. As things stand, we have only two fit central defenders who have played for the club, Liam Scales and Gustaf Lagerbielke. Nat Phillips is fit but has yet to make his debut.
As recently as a month ago, Liam could have expected to be at another club by now, but subsequent events, not least his performance at Ibrox, mean he was certain to be included as one of the 17 non-home-grown players in the 25-man squad.
Had Maik Nawrocki been fit, it is unlikely that Nat Phillips would be at the club, or that Liam made the cut (he would not have played at Ibrox), freeing up an extra place which would have been taken by Alexandro Bernabei.
Liam can also play left back, so our first reserve for that position missed out. Being Scottish, Scott Bain benefited as Benjamin Siegrist missed out. James Forrest, Mikey Johnston, Tony Ralston and Stephen Welsh, Greg Taylor and David Turnbull are the other Scottish-developed players in the squad. At the rate English and German clubs have picked off our teenage talent in recent years, it is no surprise the club work to keep fringe former-youth players on the books.
Clubs from small countries face many pressures, shoe-horning so much of our Champions League hopes into only 17 players raised outside our territory is one of them.
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Wed, 13 Sep, 2023 – 16:05
Andrew Horgan
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Republic of Ireland U21 manager Jim Crawford has hailed Rocco Vata as a ‘very, very good prospect’ but hinted he may need to leave Celtic in order to best continue his development.
On his first competitive start at U21 level, the 18-year-old netted the opening two goals in Ireland’s comfortable 3-0 victory over San Marino at Turner’s Cross on Tuesday night.
It’s a case of so far so good for the Irish as they have made the perfect start with two wins out of two although there will be bigger obstacles to overcome in a group that also contains Italy and Norway.
Vata is likely to play an important role during the young Boys in Green’s bid to qualify Euro 2025 but Crawford admitted the talented midfielder may need to leave Brendan Rogers’ side in order to play first-team football.
“Rocco has been playing but the difference is the intensity levels, at this level you’d be different to what he is used to with Celtic B but at least he’s playing every week. That’s the main thing,” began Crawford.
“I think we saw flashes of how good he is there. He is still eligible to play with the U-19s. To score two goals, I’m excited by him. There is a lot more to come from him.
“Rocco is ambitious. Reading between the lines I think he wants to get out and play first team football.
“Is he going to get that at Celtic? It’s probably unlikely at this stage but that’s between Rocco, his representatives and the club what’s best for him going forward.
“All I can say from an Ireland side of things is that he is a very, very good prospect.
“I have seen it with players how that decision with their club or where they go impacts them at international level, and how international level affects their own development.
“It’s important that whatever he does is in the interest of Rocco.”
I can’t remember all the reasons why that happened but they could have found a better solution to it because at the end of the day the health of the game is derived around supporters and those supporters weren’t there.
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Crap
Former Celtic defender in cancer treatment appeal as he begins fundraising attempt to fight rare disease
Stuart Gray spent six years at Celtic and is looking for help in his fight against cancer
The 49-year-old, who started his career at Celtic and also played for Greenock Morton in Scotland, was diagnosed with Cholangiocarcinoma in June while he has also been diagnosed with a chronic liver disease to make things even more difficult and it’s believed that played a part in the development of the cancer.
There are some treatments available on the NHS but the most advanced and potentially life-saving of those isn’t and Gray is looking to raise £100,000 to try and extend his life expectancy or find a cure for the cancer to allow him to live a longer life. The current life expectancy is estimated to be between six and 18 months but Gray is determined to fight it as hard as he can.
The dad-of-five has also revealed that if there comes a time when the treatment is no longer needed then the money raised will go towards the AMMF Cholangiocarcinoma charity that will continue to look for ways to defeat the cancer and increase life expectancy for patients.
He posted on GoFundMe: “I was recently diagnosed with stage four Cholangiocarcinoma, which is a very rare and highly aggressive form of cancer that forms in the bile ducts. Sadly, by the time this cancer begins to show symptoms, it is usually too advanced for surgery, which is currently the only potential cure.
“To make my condition even more complex, I was also recently diagnosed with PSC (Primary Sclerosing Cholangitis), which is a chronic liver disease in which the bile ducts inside and outside the liver become inflamed and scarred, and eventually narrowed or blocked. This disease has no known cure and was most likely a contributing factor in the development of my cancer.
“The severity of my illness means that doctors estimate my life expectancy from time of diagnosis (June 2023) is somewhere in the region of six to 18 months. However, treatments are available for the Cholangiocarcinoma that can prolong life expectancy, and in some rare cases even cure this terrible disease, and I am determined to do everything I can to fight it with everything I have.”
The 49-year-old spent six years at Celtic Park between 1992 and 1998 and played 29 times for the club before leaving to join Reading.
Celtic have spent £54M assembling the current squad of players. This puts us in position 91 in the top 100 spenders in World football. Topping the spending list is Manchester Utd, closely followed by Chelsea who both spent almost £1B.
Our CL group opponents Feyenoord, Atletico and Lazio have spent £76M, £333M and £128M respectively. This leads me to believe we are never going to compete in the latter stages of the CL and will have to punch way above our weight just to get out of the group.
https://www.skysports.com/football/news/11661/12960426/man-utd-top-world-rankings-for-squad-cost-from-transfer-fees-premier-league-clubs-dominate
scullybhoy
Wonder if Jim Crawford would apply the same sentiments to Evan Ferguson as he does to Rocco Vata;
Am I right in thinking that Evan is stuck on three competitive senior apps for the Republic, if so then, like Declan Rice before him, could still switch his allegience to the Motherland, ie England. Martin O’Neill suggested as much on TalkSport on Monday.
“It’s important that whatever he does is in the interest of Rocco” Try that with Evan instead.
Celtic Mac………….Evan Ferguson did join the Irish squad for the recent Internationals but was injured, another piece of bad luck for Stephen Kenny. I just cannot see him declaring for the English, they just would find a Dublin accent rather strange in the camp.
please pick up some CL points Celtic
hankray
Lets see if he turns up fit for Ireland’s latter Euro games
JACKIEMAC
I am quietly confident Celtic will not lose in Rotterdam on Tuesday.
Can we end the McCoist debate …he is a self serving bigoted cheat end of ..practical proof ..watch his actions at the hideous tackle by Souness on the Steau Bucharest player..a horrendous example of his crawling deflection…something he perfected as a player …just ask Roy Aitken… He is an odious liar then and now
login smogin
There is too much interest in Vata,for him to be a flash in the pan,all about the money we are offering, and first team opportunities, he looked decent in a couple of the games he had last season
CARPE DIEM- spoke to Big Roy last night, looks fit enough to play….
CARPE DIEM 63 et Al,
There was also his ‘Up to his knees’ celebration when he scored against us.
Scumbag.
HH
Good Evening fellow blessed Tims.
Maybe I should introduce myself, or actually reintroduce myself.
I was a long time member of this parish, going back almost to the time when Paul laid the corner stone.
I haven’t been posting much in recent years, but when I tried to login recently, I was unsuccessful.
After much confusion, I gave up trying to be myself and adopted a new persona.
I now identify as Rab Hawe, a distant relative of thomthethim.
Be gentle.
3T- welcome back
RH – quite a few have had lengthy pauses on here over the years, including me ;)
So I look forward to your contributions once again.
HH
Gerry
!!BADA BING!
Thank you,
Good to see a familiar name. looking forward to the weekend game and which of the new lads are on show.
Cheers, Gerry
I wondered who RH was for a minute there.
Celtic v Hearts Wummans fitba on BBC Scotland channel
RH- It’s taken a wee bit of time for the Bhoys to get Brendan’s style of play,should take a big lift from last Sunday, and a couple of guys back training again HH
RH,
Welcome back.
Tam. The Tim /Rab Hawe
Lang may yer lum reek.
TT
Tommy Burns did not think that Ally was a bad guy .
TT
I got pished last night and traduced the reputation of a man I knew very little about. viz. Bernard Ponsonby.
This upset people who know his qualities far better than I do, and for that I apologise to them and to him if he reads these pages.
I was out of order and bevvy is a poor excuse for it.
As I say, my apologies to all, apart from the permanently angry guy, for whom I have no time whatsoever.
for those who might not know – as chewin the fats kelvinside luvvies put it “oh the banter”
It is alleged he was only beaten in the eatin by a colombian called Alfie the Buffalo
and a welcome back
————–
Rab Ha’, or Robert Hall, slept rough on the streets of the city and survived by entering eating competitions and accepting challenges on how much food he could put away.
Known as the Glasgow Glutton, he could put away a stone of potatoes in once sitting or devour an entire calf turned into pies.
One contest pitted him against his English rival – who went by the competition name of the Yorkshire Pudding – at an eating contest at the old Saracen Head pub in the Gallowagate.
Rab emerged victorious much to the delight of his backers, many from the upper classes, who were fond of betting on Rab’s extraordinary powers of consumption.
Rab died in 1843 in a hayloft near the River Clyde following a particularly heavy night.
Today, Rab Ha’s bar and restaurant in the Merchant City, anarea where he would often mingle, is named in tribute to him.
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The outlandish luxury enjoyed by Glasgow’s merchants
Rab originally worked as a farm servant or labourer but abandoned “settled employment” for the “idle roystering life of a vagrant,” according to his obituary in the Glasgow Herald.
“Powerful in frame and of unbounded capacity of stomach, Rab wandered all over the west country and was rarely absent from a horse-race, fox hunt or coursing, for which he had a natural taste.
“He would delight in these meetings more from the unlimited qualities of meat and drink which were supplied to him occasionally by those who… were anxious to see how much the man could devour.”
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His “eccentricity of manners and appearance” made him well known to many, according to obituary. Generally clothed in rags, he would often wear four pairs of trousers and as many jackets.
Rab was a “great favourite” among the noblemen and gentlemen or Glasgow who would often invited him into their homes for food and a spot of gambling.
Once, a wager was placed on a boat trip back from Rothesay on whether he could eat seven pounds of ship’s biscuit.
This was a challenge that was to defeat even the Glasgow Glutton. He was to give up after eating around four pounds of biscuit given the pain in his jaw.
On another occasion, while “lounging about the Broomielaw” Rab went into a house for a drink of water.
As the woman who lived there went to fetch some water from a nearby well, Rab reportedly “demolished a stone of potatoes” which he had prepared for her family.
“On being questioned by the woman, he said he was very dry and he thought the potatoes would quench his drouth,” the newspaper report added.
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Rab Ha’ was last seen heading allow Stockwell Street as he made his way towards Hutchensontown, an area which formed part of the Gorbals where he had been sleeping in a hay loft of a Mr Whitelaw, who had offered him shelter during the winter months.
Rab had been found the next morning face down in the hay.
“It is supposed that he died partly by the drink he had swallowed and partly by suffocation, thus ending the career of poor Rab,” his obituary said.
It added: “He died as he lived in the midst of gluttony and intemperance and we can only lament that the man should have given himself up to such sensual appetite.”
“idle roystering”
BRRB ? Is this were you adopted it from ?
Ray W- no problem, we have all done it ,he is a proper Tim,and not just Big Billy, he has done news on STV with other Legends of ours,and done us proud.HH
Evan Ferguson
The early years
Karl Lambe first encountered Ferguson as a six-year-old at the prestigious St Kevin’s Football Club in Dublin. “He first told me at eight that he wanted to play in the Premier League, and he said it with conviction,” Lambe told Sky Sports News.
“From then, he’d hit every milestone with such focus like he was on this journey to get there, a map he’d drawn in his head.
“They probably seem quite insignificant now when you’re talking about the bigger scheme of scoring and playing in the Premier League or representing Ireland, but for example: when we were U8s he scored five goals to win the league.
“There was a newspaper heading of ‘Evan sent’ and he kept delivering. There was an U11 cup final that was his favourite game where he scored four and set up one. We’d go on tour and face the likes of Barcelona who had players that already had millions of followers on social media and a huge reputation, but he was the standout. He has never been out of place on a football pitch.”
Neil Fox, who worked with Ferguson at St Kevin’s and at youth level for Ireland, chimes in: “I can’t remember how long we were saying ‘he’s something else, he’s something really special’ for.”
When did that feeling reach the outside world? “We played Barcelona home and away plus a bunch of top Europeans so in the school football bubble with academy scouts it was no secret how big the potential was,” Lambe says.
“We played Manchester United at Carrington and he scored twice for the U10s. They hammered us but he scored the two goals and people were starting to fully pay attention to him when we came back to Dublin. A few months later, the scouts from the big English clubs used to regularly attend our games.
“But at 14 when he was still here as a schoolboy, Bohemians called him to represent their first team against Chelsea and that’s when it really took off. He came on and he was so direct, the dribbling, the dummies, brushing off experienced Premier League defenders.
“I’d assume Chelsea didn’t know that he was just 14 when he was coming on and they treated him like any normal player.”
Ferguson had been displaying traits that belie his age long before he was exposed to a greater media glare in that friendly, which was Frank Lampard’s first match in charge of Chelsea.
“I go back to U8s where most kids get a ball and just wanna run to the goal and score,” Lambe says. “And obviously Evan was really good so he could do that, but he had great decision-making, even at a young age. You see it now with Brighton and how he’s running in behind sometimes, sometimes he’s dropping into space. He had that game intelligence and game understanding from as young as I can remember. He wasn’t like a normal kid who’d just run around without purpose with the ball.”
A complete player
One of Ferguson’s great strengths has been the variety in his game, stemming from learning different positions in his formative years with a special focus on midfield.
“We were losing 5-0 to Barca once after 10 minutes and I put him at centre-back to stop the goals and he did,” Lambe says. “We didn’t want to make a habit of that and I would say from around 12 he started to gravitate to being a forward that could also work as a playmaker.
“We played in an all-Ireland final at U14s, and as the teams were walking out to the pitch, one of the lads pulled up. I told Evan, ‘you’re playing midfield’ as he was about to take to the pitch and he was man of the match!”
“I think it’s helped me sort of just be more natural as a modern striker,” the teenager tells Sky Sports News. “You see strikers now, like Harry Kane, the way they drop in… I wouldn’t be surprised if he played midfield as a kid.
“I can understand the kind of run to make or when to delay a pass. It’s helped me be more complete.”
Brighton manager Roberto De Zerbi emphasises Ferguson is “not a normal 18-year-old” given his physical development, but also his technical brilliance.
“He’s already a great player,” the Italian declares. “I think he will become one of the best players, the best strikers in the Premier League.”
De Zerbi has been impressed by how quickly Ferguson absorbs his tactical demands and how efficiently he has been able to implement them.
There is not a goal he cannot score: outpacing and bullying William Saliba before waiting for Aaron Ramsdale to dive and slotting underneath him, the touch, turn and finish against Grimsby in the FA Cup, towering headers and accurate low finishes.
“He’s a footballer,” Lambe says. “He’s quite big, tall and strong but he’s not a flick-it-on type or a traditional target man. There is nothing lacking technically in his game. He can play!”
Despite being physically superior to opponents as a kid, Ferguson opted to use skill over his size. “The Everton game in January he got a yellow card for a foul to halt play. That’s the first time I’ve ever seen Evan get involved in anything like that,” Lambe says.
“So even though he was big, he never got involved in bullying people or using that physicality. We actually used to say to him you ‘could use that a bit more’, but he never did.
“He constantly relied on his game and football ability,” Cox adds. “He was never the type to be flying into tackles and dominating matches physically, he would be the best player on the pitch by reading the game better than everybody else.”
Brighton strike gold
Ferguson had been on trial with Liverpool, Manchester United, Everton and Celtic, but it was Brighton who detailed a clear pathway to the first team. Their academy manager, John Morling, had the inside track on Ferguson, having worked for the FAI with his father Barry prior to joining the Seagulls.
Having followed developments at St Kevin’s and Bohemians, he was convinced the boy could shine among men.
Mark Beard, Brighton’s U18s coach at the time, thought it was silly to chuck a 14-year-old into training with his group, but he said: “Evan quickly was the standout player in every session. The first team would catch glimpses and ask about him.”
Brighton reached a gentleman’s agreement with Ferguson’s family that he would join them when he officially could at 16 – on account of his mother Sarah’s English heritage that sidestepped Brexit rules.
“When you look at the overall picture, when you get invited to go to Liverpool and Man Utd, it’s such a huge thing. Those clubs are as big as you can get in Ireland,” Cox says. “But I think it shows where his head was in that he didn’t care about the status or the headlines or the money that comes from making that kind of move.
“He signed for Brighton because he was looking at his career and saying, ‘I’m going to work my way up here and I’m going be seen and get a chance’. And no disrespect to obviously the bigger clubs, but we’d all agree he’s made the right decision to go to Brighton.
“He’ll achieve everything he is destined do because his head and heart is in the right place over becoming the finest footballer he can be.
“Evan has been exposed to hype, responsibility and expectation before he turned 10 and he takes everything in his stride because he has an amazing support system in his parents. They’ve never pushed or forced him to do anything or got too involved or pressurised his development.
“There are nightmare parents in schoolboy football but they were a dream. He gets that calm sense from them. Evan can go on and become that £100m player being talked about, but it won’t change who and how he is – that’s a credit to him and his family.”
In reality, as can be seen from the clear wording in FIFA’s document, this factor does not stipulate between friendly and competitive games. Taking into account the fact that he has played six games for Ireland, the answer is clear: Evan Ferguson can no longer play for England.
Obviously, my Mam’s English, so that’s where it probably comes in. I’ve seen a few saying, ‘Oh, will he? Will he?’ I can tell you now, it’s a no.
I wouldn’t be allowed back!
SCULLYBHOY on 13TH SEPTEMBER 2023 7:57 PM
Evan Ferguson
The early years
ta for that, great read, surely he will stay with ireland given that upbringing
Ray Winstone
More power to your elbow .
Who is the perma raging guy ?
TT
ghirls 2 – 2 agin the minis – lovely goal by us
St Stivs
My Mother would call me after him on occasion. At least I think that’s what she said. 🤔
Rab- aka the 3Ts – a name from my early days – welcome back. BTW…….are you a …….Oh forget it😀
2-2 at half time.
Celtic sleeping as it went to 0-2 after eight minutes but big improvement after that.
Terrific equaliser
Rab..TTT
Definitely a hun…!!!!
3-2.
Great cross, good header