Jozo’s Achilles, McGregor, McGeady, succession for Scott

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You can be sure Peter Lawwell was not working on contract renewals for Scott Brown, Jozo Simunovic and Callum McGregor last month, as the transfer window reached is climax, but 14 days after it closed, all three have signed new long-term deals.

Scott’s keeps him at the club until he turns 34 in two years. Jozo is contracted to 2021, when he will be 27, while Callum this morning also agreed to stay until 2021, when he will be 28.

Callum is a fascinating case study in player development. After making a substantial impact on the right wing, his form faded, but he has been reborn in central mid. More than anyone else at the club, he has an ability to instantly bring a difficult pass under control. This affords him that valuable commodity: vision.

I’m not going to tell you Callum is as good as the PSG players we saw on Tuesday, but he is the only player we have in the mould of their midfielders. They also fire the ball around with precision and control. Aiden McGeady had this ability in abundance (none of his Celtic contemporaries did). I’d like to have seen the Green Garrincha in a central role.

My sense is that we may have struggled to re-sign Jozo if questions didn’t hang over his knee. His ability is comfortably worth an eight-figure transfer fee and far higher wages than Celtic could afford. The player’s proverbial Achilles heel may bestow long-term stability in Celtic’s defence.

Celtic gambled on signing him two years ago – and let’s not forget the comments pages here were full of angst, as a regional Guardian journalist expressed astonishment that we’d gone for what he viewed as such a limited talent. We are in a place where we need to take a few chances. This one paid off.

I fully expect Scott Brown will sign one more Celtic contract to see him through his mid-30s, when thoughts at the club will turn to succession.

Win tickets for Ibrox

Celtic sponsor, Intelligent Car Leasing, have given us two tickets for the visit to Ibrox on 23 September to raffle for Mary’s Meals. You know the script:

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You are improving lives, educating a generation in some of the most deprived locations in the world. School attendance has increased an average of 30%, literacy and numeracy skills improve. Life-long opportunities are enhanced.

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—–

CQN went behind the scenes with BT Sport at Hamilton last Friday evening and this is all covered in the new CQN Podcast which is out now and includes an interview with Chris Sutton…

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  1. Big Jimmy on 14th September 2017 12:13 pm

     

     

    Jimmy you responded to my post this morning when I had said that I thought the guy that punched a ‘boy’ was out of order as the ‘boy’ had his hands held behind his back. I could have used the word guy or bloke. I was not at all concerned what age he was. I said he should quite rightly be punished but people can’t go around punching people and meting out there own brand of justice because they’re pissed off. You seem to have fixated on my use of the term boy, it’s not the age that concerns me, it’s physically assaulting someone who can’t defend themselves. If that’s not the same opinion as you, fair enough.

  2. Nye Bevans' rebel soldier on

    !!BADA BING!!

     

     

    All the little Englanders will be outraged on their way home

     

    from work.

  3. Cosy Corner Bhoy on

    To time Tim: Re my post earlier, dont know where the 17 came from! In 3 more months I would have been 19!!!!!

  4. thomthethim for Oscar OK on

    PARKHEADCUMSALFORD on 14TH SEPTEMBER 2017 5:18 PM

     

    Tontine Tim,

     

     

     

    That replay at Easter Road when John Clark scored was the one and only time I have been denied entry into a ground. My Dad was in the process of lifting me over, when the gateman said something to the effect: ground full. We had gone through on the back of my Uncle John’s lorry. There must have been about 10 of us. I think none of us got in; so, we just travelled back to Glasgow.

     

     

    *****

     

    Was the next round at Shawfield, or was that another year.

     

    Anyway, I suffered the same fate at Shawfield.

  5. parkheadcumsalford/tontine tim .remember a game at parkhead think in the cup.against dunfermline they were beating us 2-0 10 minutes to go. this guy next to us shouts c,mon celtic two five minute goals .alas the game ended 2-0 i think maybe 1968. also think tom callaghan was playing for them. memories.

  6. There can be no clemency for the pitch invader, he has let himself, the Club & the entire Celtic Support down, he must & will be banned for life & deal with whatever punishment the Court hands down.

     

    .

     

    However whilst one part of me would like to give him a kick in the arse another part feel’s sorry for him.

     

    I have no doubt he was/is a Celtic daft lad, who like all of us was looking forward to the game & the trip.

     

    Probably drunk but still agile enough to get over all the barriers & make his way onto the field, what on earth triggered his actions.

     

     

    He must be in a very lonely frightened place this morning as a Boy who once did something similar about 55 years ago, I’m not going to kick him any further. Celtic, The Courts & EUEFA will pass their judgement in due course.

     

     

    I agree with earlier Comments about Security, some of these guys can be obnoxious pricks when they like, then they don’t do their most basic job, Celtic should kick a serious amount of Security ass.

  7. Regarding the invader.

     

    As the big yin would say, hangings to good for ye,

     

    a good boot up the Ars(enal) would do him.HH

     

    Ps, future peaceful boycott, everyone onto the park.

     

    No stewards. Five minutes sit down. Sorted.

  8. At a match sponsored by Heineken, a young man who supports a club that are sponsored by Magners, apparently consumed too much alcohol, and ran onto the field of play during a blackout.

     

     

    Another supporter of the club sponsored by Magners then allegedly assaulted the drunk supporter.

     

     

    Outraged Bloggers then demand that the intoxicated supporter is sued and made homeless. One blogger had previously described online how he was off the drink for two days to make sure he was ‘match fit for Tuesday:))’

     

     

    The club sponsored by Magners will ban the intoxicated supporter.

     

     

    The tournament sponsored by Heineken are set to punish the club sponsored by Magners due to the drunken behaviour of the supporter.

     

     

    It is not known how much Heineken or Magners had been consumed prior to the outrage.

     

     

    Bloggers with no knowledge of the circumstances of the supporter describe him as a ‘Chump’. His assailant is a ‘hero’. No doubt the tabloids and the Sevvies agree.

     

     

    Duty Calls

  9. THOMTHETHIM FOR OSCAR OK on 14TH SEPTEMBER 2017 5:49 PM

     

     

    PARKHEADCUMSALFORD on 14TH SEPTEMBER 2017 5:18 PM

     

     

    Was the next round at Shawfield, or was that another year. Anyway, I suffered the same fate at Shawfield.

     

     

    *Different year, the next round was the semis at hunden against airdrie, Lawrie Leslie and all. Big Yogi ran amok in a 4-0 gubbin.

  10. Nye Bevans' rebel soldier on

    The club wasn’t liquidated…..then pay back what you owe

     

    ya horrible slug of a man.

  11. Atalanta scorer goes into the crowd – no booking – 5 mins later booked for body check – lucky boy.

     

     

    They should be 2 or 3 up

  12. Baba

     

    Superb.

     

    The capitano is so thick he doesn’t know what Liquidated means and the fat controller says they werny liquidated, you could see the fear in the grasses voice, petrified to say anything that might get him spanked, it’s feckin magic, what a feckin shambles :-)

     

    HH

  13. BADA…

     

    He’ll be telling us next that Daze King played a round of golf in 23 shots that included 11 holes-in-one and doesn’t defecate.

  14. BIG PACKY on 14TH SEPTEMBER 2017 5:50 PM

     

     

    parkheadcumsalford/tontine tim .remember a game at parkhead think in the cup.against dunfermline they were beating us 2-0 10 minutes to go. this guy next to us shouts c,mon celtic two five minute goals .alas the game ended 2-0 i think maybe 1968. also think tom callaghan was playing for them. memories.

     

     

    *was at this game, was working on the Ruby Street flats at the time so did the morning shift and wandered up. Both Callaghans played that day as did Celtic supporting Roy Barry.

     

     

    We had dropped a point against deidco on January 2nd and the Big Mhan had told the players no more dropped points if we want tae retain our title, which they did, this was our only defeat which was a shock.

     

     

    The huns crumbled under pressure dropping a point at Cappielow on the run in and a last minute defeat tae the sheep at hades. That day Jock was a hunden cheering on his old team tae a SC win over the calvinists.

     

     

    3 days later we are at East End Park where both trophy winning captains led there players onto the field, big Roy carrying the SC. Dunfermline’s record attendance was 27,000 at East End Park estimates say 30,000 plus in stadium. It was reckoned that 50,000 Celtic fans traveled to Dunfermline and police concluded that up to 25,000 Celtic fans were locked out and missed game.

     

     

    Just like Fir Park 2 years previous there were Tims on the roof and hanging off the floodlights.

  15. 3-0 Atalanta v Everton.

     

    The teams look leagues apart.

     

    I fail to see why Koeman is so highly rated as a coach.

  16. Nye – nett spend probably not a lot compared with others- they would have been in profit if Barkley had gone

  17. £60 million etc CL money…..

     

    why pay for poundshop stewards, instead of polis ?

     

    No outlay in a ch could see the team being skelped up n doon the CL, on the pitch.

     

    Deploying poundshop stewards, off the pitch, could see Celtic Park being fenced in.

     

    If ye don’t want blackballed, don’t respond to this post after reading.

     

    The Green Man’s rebel flag…

     

    fly’s high on the oul JUNGLE roof.

     

    ……oot.

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