With three deals done, the pace of transfer activity at Celtic appears to be approaching relentless. The Ivorian link will have been at work again, as news that we are interested in Olympiakos full back, Omar Elabdellaoui, testifies. Celtic coach, Kolo Toure’s brother Yaya, spent half a season at the Greek club before leaving last month.
Signing players is always a risk, so getting a first-hand insight into how a player performs from someone who has worked with him daily for the last six months is a huge advantage. Bear in mind, Elabdellaoui is just one of the right backs Celtic are considering. This one could run a while.
Reports from the US that we have agreed a deal to sign 22-year-old left back Andrew Gutman are amusing, mostly as he was being trailed as a signing elsewhere in the city. Great to see that as well as using our Ivorian links, we have plenty of connections at Scotland’s smaller clubs. If he arrives, hopefully Callum McGregor will not see more action in that position.
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SAINT STIVS on 11TH JANUARY 2019 5:04 PM
You may have left the room now, but just in case …I too learned so much about a man who was always a fine player but a quiet man.
Blogging out the article in full makes perfect sense.
Some real nuggets of info in the article but like you I was appalled at the PT teacher’s petty vindictiveness.
Also pretty wretched that the spat between him & Angry Jim McLean meant he was asked to leave Tannadice years later when he went to see his son playing there.
HH
Stevie Murray was a wonderful, elegant player. I wish he, and Pat Stanton, Billy Stark and a whole load of others, had signed for us earlier than they did.
BANKIEBHOY1 on 11TH JANUARY 2019 6:34 PM
Are we now aiming sleekit Hun at me I wonder ?
FOOL TIME WHISTLE on 11TH JANUARY 2019 7:06 PM
Entirely coincidentally, I was watching Si Ferry’s interview with Michael O’Neill earlier, and I was quite shocked at what he had to say about Jim McLean.
Up the dubs!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ll2Brpg7ruU
Ivehadto: Very funny.
I just followed a link from Phil Mac’s twitter to an SFA Q&A statement.
After reading the statement in full I thought I must be stupid having missed key points.
Read it again twice thoroughly and, based on the statement alone, have concluded that the SFA are either
amateurish
OR
being deliberately opaque and evasive
Hail hail
Gee whizz some people have some amount of time on their hands
Leeds v Derby about to kick-off.
Apparently, Leeds had a guy out at the Derby training ground, spying on their opponents. not sure there’s anything against doing this in the laws/rules, but it will certainly have given Derby some extra motivation.
Typical. not good if you picked Leeds in GG4 :-)
on that subject…if you haven’t made your pick for round 2 yet, you’ll have had an e-mail reminder a little while ago. There will be no more reminders.
http://celticbynumberscom.ipage.com/learning-lessons-from-losses/
Rodgers was unbeaten in Scotland for 16 months. 8 defeats followed in the next 13. What can we learn from those losses as the season end looms?
GreeninBingleyinOslo
I hadn’t watched that Michael O’Neill interview.
I’ve now rectified that.
What a manager Jim McLean was – and yes – an angry man.
Would hated to have been at the tea table in his house when the team played badly.
HH
BATEEN BHOY on 11TH JANUARY 2019 7:49 PM
It’s true. The alleged video spy was huckled by cops, and moved on.
All the Leeds fans I know are up in arms about this tonight.
But all the Leeds fans I know are up in arms about pretty much everything, always, so feck ’em.
Yorkshire Huns.
Fool Time Whistle. 3.47pm & Saint Stivis
Thank you both very much for posting the links concerning Steve Murray. A very talented guy, in many ways, not just on the park.
Southside.
Your “rant” about the way that games are officiated isn’t without justification.
I record the Sportcene highlights every week, and on more than a few occasions there’s been decisions that have a significant impact on a positive Sevco outcome.
The fact that they’ve also dropped points at home to Killie and Aberdeen would indicate that I’m possibly just paranoid. Or biased .
Maybe I need to start making notes about who the referees are in particular games but that might just feed my paranoia.
Nurse ! ;-)))
Sftb,,,
” The billionaires on our Board have supplied stability.”
If they aren’t putting any money in is it the fact they can provides that stability ?
This is in the eyes of the financial sector I assume?
Hope all well Hail Hail
FOOL TIME WHISTLE on 11TH JANUARY 2019 8:04 PM
I’d never seen a full interview with Michael O’Neill, but I thought he came across very well in that.
As for Jim McLean – I have great respect for him as a fitba manager, but dwindling respect for him as a person.
Great isn’t almore. I tink dere’s a cork one but I’ll probably annoy corkcelt putting it on.
GreenBingley, yeah, I really don’t like Leeds, and hope that Derby beat them by the odd goal in 19 tonight :-)
Good evening CQN
Was it a week ago today our custodians asked for a sit down with Maxwell and the Cabal??
Still no word??
D. :)
love these guys
mon the diaspora
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZOGjAkUGIpg
SFTB @ 6:38 PM,
Failure, no, I never said it was a failure. In fact we’ve done very well, in Europe during Lenny’s time you could say exceptionally well.
Let’s go back to where we were when we played the likes of Arsenal…
The PLC Board’s position was we could not afford to spend money speculating on a European run. Yet if we did get a European run and a made a profit on player sales that would be re-invested in the team. Most accepted this as reasonable.
If we go to the demise of Rangers…
We qualified for the UCL qualifiers each year, we had runs in Europe and we made profits on player sales.
My point was this, when we were all but guaranteed a place in the UCL and an easier route to the league stage through the Champions route we missed an opportunity.
So my point is proven with hindsight, our recruitment has been a shambles and still we managed to achieve pretty much the European success I predicted.
That Money was not wholly reinvested in the team in fact, a small percentage actually went on proven first team quality buys. Most of it, like now, was either saved in the Bank, spent on loanees or spent on our failed “moneyball” project.
My point then, my point now is to get quality players in and build a squad, if we had done that I believe we would have done better than I predicted.
The fzct is we didn’t need to spend a fortune, just quality over quantity. If we had 15-18, such players that would be fine.
We could still bring in a few prospects at…
Academy level
Development team level
First team level.
Along with our own bhoys coming through the system, they could augment the first team where necessary and replace first team players who get sold or whose powers are waning.
If there isn’t a replacement to these first team players in our own ranks, do you know what we do? Buy a quality player to replace them.
Is that science for rocketeers..? No, it’s managing the squad. We would be in a much healthier position and the shambles that was Ibrox, 2018, New Year, Old Firm Derby would not have happened.
In fact despite our dysfunctional recruitment policy, going into last summer’s transfer window we had a £100M Squad and some real prospects…
If, even at that stage we consolidated our first team by buying in quality in a few key position and selling our, want aways and squad fillers we would still be in a great position to tinker with the squad this window with an eye on the UCL qualifiers.
We didn’t, we sold some of our first team performers without replacing them, we failed to bring in quality where it was badly needed except for OE and we added not subtracted to our squad fillers.
We have reduced the value of our squad, reduced the quality of our squad, we have increased an already bloated squad.
Yet what are we doing this transfer window? Tinkering!
Not with a view to the UCL Qualifiers, we are in a title race for the first time in six Seasons and the UCL Qualifiers are not a gim’me.
A tragic state of affairs, the team are half way through their Dubai training camp and not a single Celtic first team player has been brought in.
We await with bated breath, but an opportunity has already been lost and we have more loanees and prospects to keep our coaches, physiotherapists, sports scientists, wage clerks etc etc busy…
Hail Hail
SAINT STIVS on 11TH JANUARY 2019 5:04 PM
FTW, That Stevie Murray article was a brilliant read.
TT, who was the jealous PE teacher, no names, but do you feel the same ?
*aye he was a bully, my brother was a pretty good player and he gave him a hard time tae. I had an uncle who was quite a formidable man in Dumbarton, not a thug or a bully but big and took nae prisoners.
When he heard about the abuse he went tae the pub the teacher drank in and warned him tae back off which he did, he then told him about me coming up in a couple of years with the same message, I was left well alone.
Loved the story about Jack Gilroy who by the time I got there was a maths teacher, he was playing in the lower leagues by this time failing to make the break through with us after 5 years on our books without making a first team appearance.
When I went there until I left he played for Montrose, Cowdenbeath, Forfar and Albion Rovers, having previously played for St Johnstone, Stranraer and Stenhousemuir, he always wore a club blazer every day.
At the end of the school year we had the annual monitors v teachers game, we as pupils loved it when Stevie extected the urine fae Jack one day.
Celtic minded have us signed McKenna
Ffs please NOOOOOOOOOO
GREENINBINGLEYINOSLO on 11TH JANUARY 2019 7:19 PM
FOOL TIME WHISTLE on 11TH JANUARY 2019 7:06 PM
Entirely coincidentally, I was watching Si Ferry’s interview with Michael O’Neill earlier, and I was quite shocked at what he had to say about Jim McLean.
*I know someone that played for him, nae time for him, a bully, and called him a bigot, liked naesurname better.
Had an Arab youth team marching in a parade behind a flute band in the Milk Cup in the black north.
Mahe the Madman o@ 8:19 pm
Sftb,,,
” The billionaires on our Board have supplied stability.”
If they aren’t putting any money in is it the fact they can provides that stability ?
This is in the eyes of the financial sector I assume?
I wouldn’t think so but I can’t be sure because
a) The point that our billionaires bring stability was Chairbhoy’s- best ask him- I did not fully understand his point.
b) In my use of it- I was certainly not speaking for any financial sector- I have neither the credentials nor the interest.
I was thinking more of the fact that we have been a pretty stable club- always dominating domestically and managing, just about, to remain semi-relevant in Europe. Not sure I would attribute that as down to them but as billionaire Board members they have done less damage than billionaire Davie Murray, for example, or the guys that took Sunderland, Portsmouth , Leeds etc; down into the lower leagues.
c) I would support, even if it could not be brought about by my support, any move to drastically reduce all Boardroom reward and Bonuses at CP.
I would do so in the, probably forlorn, hope that it would make our support stop moaning about “suits” and “pencil pushers” and “bean counters” and focus on things that matter at Boardroom and executive level, such as defending our support. I would have no expectation that the money saved would alter our stars in any significant way. It would be a good thing, in and of itself, to do but it would not win us one more match domestically or abroad.
David66
I’m sure the SFA statement said that there will be a meeting next week. However, it was arranged prior to our statement at the request of Aberdeen and Hearts.
That noise you can hear is the wagons being circled as we speak!
Billy Bhoy- thanks
D. :)
GO TELL THE SPARTIM on 11TH JANUARY 2019 8:38 PM
A big uncompromising lump of a lad.
Perfect for the domestic comp. and perhaps a move motivated by our gutless performance at Ibrox.
BATEEN BHOY on 11TH JANUARY 2019 7:49 PM
Still waiting on the email for Goals Galore picks Bateen be much obliged if you could send me them
Cheers
MAH
Valencia have announced tickets will be released late next week
MurdochauldandHay on 11th January 2019 8:57 pm
BATEEN BHOY on 11TH JANUARY 2019 7:49 PM
Still waiting on the email for Goals Galore picks Bateen be much obliged if you could send me them
Cheers
MAH
……………………………………………….
God Bless you and your Fighting Spirit MAH.
Still Fighting
saint stivs
thanks for the stevie murray article, great read.
MurdochAuldandHay,
just resent it to you- let me know if you get it.
MURDOCH AULD AND HAY, great to see you posting, lang may your lum reek.hh.
maybe the greatest 9 minutes in music….
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zqNTltOGh5c
GO TELL THE SPARTIM on 11TH JANUARY 2019 8:38 PM
Celtic minded have us signed McKenna
If we sign McKenna , he will have my full backing.
If we sign Mo Bangura , he will have my full backing.
If we sign derk Boerrigter , he will have my full backing.
If we sign Marvin Commper he will have my full backing…………
onlyjokingleezalane CSC
Go tell the Spartim on 11th January 2019 8:38 pm
Celtic minded have us signed McKenna
Ffs please NOOOOOOOOOO
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
I haven’t seen the dude enough to be able to make a judgement.
It is in my opinion a good sign howevaaaaah as he is Scottish and Brendan wants to get as many Scots/Irish as core as possible.
I’d say that more importantly, Brendan, he is here to stay.
We have a Remarkable Manager.
TONTINE TIM on 11TH JANUARY 2019 8:38 PM
Surprised at that, because he told the original huns where to go when they wanted him as manager.
GREENINBINGLEYINOSLO on 11TH JANUARY 2019 9:34 PM
TONTINE TIM on 11TH JANUARY 2019 8:38 PM
Surprised at that, because he told the original huns where to go when they wanted him as manager.
*I know, baffled me