I wrote in May that Jota (23) was more important to retain than Cameron Carter-Vickers on a permanent contract. At that point, the profile of both players was high after a successful term in Glasgow, we would not have been the only potential destination. It is a huge credit to chief exec Michael Nicolson and the club that they have delivered both.
Cameron was our best defender, a potential Celtic captain, but still, I wanted Jota more. Opponents fear him. He can take a ball when marked tightly and the defender will not lunge in to attempt a steal, knowing Jota has the ability to move ball and body before they have formulated a thought.
If an opposition team leave him one-on-one, they better not lose possession. He is Celtic’s most effective out-ball; left with only one defender to beat, he can turn defence into an opportunity to score faster than Usain Bolt could track back.
When Aiden McGeady signed for Hibs this week, my thoughts went back to so many great memories. Prominent among them, was watching him as an 18-year-old, bring his instant control to a 2004 Celtic-Milan Champions League game. No one else in the Celtic team had that ball control.
Jota has the same effortless control.
So what about the Magic Window, where Celtic have seen enough of the player to make their move, before wealthier clubs get involved?
Incredibly, Jota had only played an entire 90 minutes of a game only twice before joining Celtic, both cup games for Benfica against lower league opposition. The season before arriving in Glasgow was mostly spent on the bench, watching his Real Valladolid side fail to ward off relegation. He made 8 starts there and was hooked each time, adding 10 appearances from the bench.
Across his career, before joining Celtic on loan last year, he made 9 starts and 29 sub appearances in senior football. Magic window? More a magic letterbox. He had hardly put studs on grass.
Valladolid was clearly a wrong move. As we have discussed previously about Patrick Roberts, he is a creative talent and needs to be with a team that spends lots of time attacking, sides fighting relegation would be unable to get the ball to him enough to see the benefit of giving him a shirt. It was the classic square peg/round hole problem – one we should be on the lookout for again.
To know the value of the player, Celtic would have to uncover knowledge only visible at Portuguese and Spanish reserve level games. The resources required to cover this much ground is unfathomable through traditional means. You are looking at the result of very effective analytics.
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ONENIGHTINLISBON on 2ND JULY 2022 4:36 PM
Andy Goram – outstanding goalkeeper.
*we knocked back the chance tae sign him when he was with Oldham, big Billy said we were better off with Packie
Not such an outstanding human being.
*as my da once told me after getting lifted again “if you fly with the craws you get shot with them”
TtT @ 4.45
Regarding the passing of AG — my thoughts exactly.
Dignified silence is a huge contrast in that context.
Hopefully it plays straight from the off.
What we loved about LG.
https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x629300
BB- from the new tracks ive heard, a good change of direction, brilliant
Today in Glasgow …
If you are under 40 you have Calvin Harris at Hampden.
If you are 40 or over you have Primal Scream at Queens Park.
However,
If you like the 17th Century there is the Orange Walk.
Bada Bing
Not a bad track on it in my opinion , lots of influences coming to the core well worth a listen
Benfica must be some team, letting go Jota – a diehard Benfica fan – for a relative pittance compared to what they usually sell their players for, a blunder on their behalf I believe – which is our good fortune. Personally I agree with Paul, he is the one that will make the difference between us losing and winning, delighted he’s our man.
Core was fore
ROCK TREE BHOY on 2ND JULY 2022 5:06 PM
Benfica must be some team, letting go Jota – a diehard Benfica fan – for a relative pittance compared to what they usually sell their players for, a blunder on their behalf I believe – which is our good fortune. Personally I a
i watched his academy video, then read some about the benfica youth system, the talent produced is incredible, i too think they made a blunder.
time will tell.
i think he is on his way to becominh a legend of the game.
bognorbhoy on 2nd July 2022 4:49 pm
Paolo
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=gthUy-E31Kc
————-
Cheers.
I’ll be having a drink and a smoke tonight, listening to new Paolo tunes.
https://youtu.be/YUtkE-jdaI4
New Paolo,early Simple Minds influence
London is having a huge Pride march today.
Scotland is having several Overweight Prod marches in contrast
Good evening all from the Orchard Park, Giffnock. I hope you are all hale and hearty.
Seen the word ‘youse’ used a few times on here recently, I always thought that like sheep being the plural of sheep, the plural of you was you, as in ‘you can all go and f*** yourselves’, you don’t say ‘youse’ can all go and f*** yourselves do you – no offence intended to anyone btw :-)
THEORIGINALSADIESBHOY
I think you meant Goethe.
Don’t know why people are against the orange walk – it’s only 1 day a year – isn’t it.
What do you mean it’s only 1 day they don’t walk 😨
SETTING FREE THE BEARS FOR RES. 12 & OSCAR KNOX, 5.29.
Marches for huge, overweight huns with the intelligence quota of their shoe size. Fixed it for you T. 😂😂
TTT
Agreed. Lips sealed.
SAINT STIVS
Is that the same Pat Nevin who embarrassed himself on Celebrity Mastermind recently?
A nauseating tribute to Andy Goram today. He was a horrible human being and I, for one, certainly won’t be pay tribute to such a disgusting person. 🤮
Nevin on mastermind was funny.
Just heard the Odious Walk in Dumbarton.
I’ll never forget bringing Aidan back frae his Celtic Community game and a slob was peeing in the garden area of McDonalds @ ~ midday Saturday rather than going in and using the toilet facilities.
Poisonous scum.
Bring on the new Season as I reckon its gonnae be absolutely mental how good our fitba is gonnae be.
BognorBhoy @ 17:04
Quality. :))
Good evening all from Neesons. A nightcap, carry out from the offy and the Anarkali. And back to the lovely Mrs BRRB. You can never have enough good times.
For Mr&Mrs BRRB
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N4PUCv_waZ0
Its a G-thang.
Ronaldo wants to leave Man U, to play Champions League 🤔🤔😃
Bada – Ronny for the Celts? :)))
Mon the man from Manacor 🎾
Ronaldo is an all time Great fitba player but he isnae what Celtic need right now.
It looks to me like we huv a very strong dressing room in a unified sense.
I think Celtic will surprise many teams in Europe this Season.
I listened to the 67HailHail blog last night, I found it enlightening about how Ange does his work.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WUlmCwDthTo
So basically Ronny is a non starter. :))
Kyrgios on BBC 2,Liam Gallagher with a tennis racket,very entertaining
Many thanks to all of you who posted well wishes and support for me in this stage of my cancer fight. I am overwhelmed by your kindness, but that is the nature of the true Celtic family, even if we have never met. Although I think I may have been to St Pat’s Dumbarton at same time as some of you from 1961 to 1967.
Mrs Bacardi is so impressed with all of you and asks me to send her thanks too.
I know it was tongue in cheek Bada Bing on your wondering about Ronaldinho but a no from me, never a team player and his wages would bankrupt Celtic
*Ronaldo
I despise the Masonic/All Seeing eye (@ 33secs too) feckers who control things, using Everything and Anything. Despite the All Seeing Eye being in the Dressing Room.
An Ange (and he is Genuine) dressing room must be OHMEGA.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f1yWSePMqsk
Mrs Bacardi has decided she should have first name. We have decided on Rhonetta.
MADMITCH on 2ND JULY 2022
I think looking at the footballing estate as a whole is more sensible. The club has already stated the redeveloped barrowfield will be for academy and girls/ woman’s team with an indoor training pitch which can be used by all teams in bad weather. 2 indoor pitches means double the cost to build and maintain and I would expect given lennoxtowns location it would require more spend.
Even now our first team squad heads off to the sun in the winter so their use of indoor pitch is likely to be very little.
We cannot spend 80 million on a training centre but that does not mean we can’t have a very good football estated that gradually improves over time. We already have the land and much of the infustracture in place its just about continuing to infellllllllll
RON BACARDI on 2ND JULY 2022 6:50 PM
Have you been ill ?????
All the very best Sir .hh
Superlative
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QS_pKkOGqLM
AIPPLE on 2ND JULY 2022 3:18 PM
EMERALDBEE \O/ A DOUBLE NINER!!
A noble cause.
AIPPLE, it was fascinating being the company of people who really know their stuff. I was just there helping out and eventually saw my first Large Heath butterfly which only survives in bogland. The Langlands Moss I referred to is over 7000 years old and the peat bog is up to 10m deep in places. Amazing that it is right at the edge of Scotland’s largest town. The purpose of the work party was to establish the existence of rare butterflies, identify the environment they are found and work out how the environment can be protected and even enlarged.
As you say, a ‘noble cause’!