Teemu Pukki’s permanent move to Brondby for a reported £500k is good business for a player who never came close to commanding a regular starting place at Celtic. While we did well exiting him from Celtic Park but his arrival two years ago is worthy of review.
He came from Schalke as a 23-year-old, having been at Sevilla as a teenager and scoring slightly better than one in two in Finland. Even his Schalke stats were decent, 8 goals in 7 starts and 30 appearances from the bench, which for a sparingly used young player is around the mark expected. On paper, Teemu looked a good fit for us, so do we have anything to learn?
For a start, being able to score goals in the Bundesliga does not guarantee you will be able to translate this into an even better scoring rate in Scotland. We have made similar mistakes when recruiting strikers from Spain in recent seasons. For all our lack of financial clout, delivering in Scotland is not an easy task.
There is a whole world of potential issues around psychology, motivation and appetite, which I regularly hear cited about players from people in the game. For the most part, I reckon these are excuses to bridge the unexplained gap between expectation and outcome. You get the odd indulgent nutcase, but most players have an overwhelming sense of their need to maximise their commercial value by delivering on the park. I suspect Teemu is no different.
Whatever the reason behind him not fitting at Celtic, the exercise cost us not only the £1.5m net loss on transfer fees, and wages paid, but more importantly the failure to kick on from reaching the last 16 of the Champions League in season 2012-13.
There’s a truth in the game which has stood the test of time: only people who watch a player week-in-week-out know his true value. Schalke fans would have told us things about Teemu which we can tell others about John Guidetti. John will pick up a club keen to exploit his untapped potential. A year from now they will be a little wiser.
Our lesson: scouting is the only important part of recruitment, stats, references and YouTube clips don’t count.
Our friends at Magners have offered us two of the new Celtic away jerseys. It’s another fantastic offer from Celtic’s main sponsor, my thanks to them. In order to win, answer the following question:
Which team won this year’s Premiership Play-off final 6-1 on aggregate? Put the answer in the SUBJECT line of your email to celticquicknews@gmail.com
Competition closes at midnight TONIGHT, so get busy, these are two great prizes and there’s less than a 12 hour window to win them.
And………….. while you’re entering, you might want to kick a pound or two towards our Marys’ Meals Malawi school kitchen appeal. Thank you.
And #2, if you enter, check your inbox for a response over the weekend. There’s a home shirt unclaimed from a similar competition last month!
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MULLET & CO
I have to disagree with your evaluation of Leigh Griffiths.
For starters,his initial burst allows him to play off the shoulder. Additionally his ability to make space for a header annuls his lack of height.
His finishing is phenomenal.
What are you looking for in a striker if the above doesn’t fit your criteria?
12:41 on 19 June, 2015
Celtic Football Club @celticfc · 29m29 minutes ago
Saturdays are back! Great news for all Celtic fans with 15 out of 16 home Premiership fixtures scheduled for Saturday afternoons (SC)
The club is either being naive or misleading and I suspect the latter. How many Saturday kick offs will survive the TV cherry-picking of the next few weeks.
taurangbhoy,
Ronny does not play two strikers so, talking about two up front is a bit outdated, methinks
bobby murdoch’s curled-up winklepickers
Formation suits him hence scoring lots of goals and being one of our better players 2nd hAlf of season
Watching Putin at the conference in St Petersburg being questioned by an American on stage, very unusual and something I doubt the so called free west would never consider doing.
I agree with you bobby m , griff got better as the season went on and scored a heap of goals with his feet and head. Not getting carried away yet but I watched him run around like a headless chicken against Dresden, no faulting his desire, and then again end of the season at tannadice where he was sublime. Bhoys got talent, if he can keep it going this season I will be a happy bhoy.
TAURANGATIM
I saw your post earlier about having the privilege of watching LUBO.
At that time,season tickets were all the rage,those without went without.
I had the privilege maybe a dozen times.
I saw The Lisbon Lions in their prime and pomp. Stoking it about,content in their majesty and mastery of their profession.
I saw it again in that man.
Awesome.
what superstitious nut said this of nuclear war
“The very worst the Bomb can do is to sweep a vast number of People from this world into the next into which they must all go anyway”
My god, season no even started yet and some accusing the club of misleading fans regarding Saturday fixtures.
Canamalar he doesn’t but we need more than one choice up front and either griff or a newbie could play just behind. If we agree on this then talk of exciting wingers is a bit of a red herring as you play two up front if you have wingers in e game plan ?
canamalar
Putin is dead! That’s his double if you didn’t know.
C’mon the koalas
@VisaAU: Focus on the score, not on your pockets! Visa is money you can’t lose #VisaTravellers http://t.co/9zi5akevS3 http://t.co/oIfngqY1xi
HH
Turkeybhoy
Gary Hooper did NOT average 30 goals a season with us.
It was only 27.33333….!
:-)
HH!!
I don’t think the 1 up top that is the fashion at this moment suits the vast majority of strikers in the modern game. Very few can pull it down 30 odd yards from goal and then take on a 4 man defence and stick it in the net consistently. 95% of strikers, in my opinion, are not interested in charging around and spending their time closing defenders down. They do it because they now have to. They would rather play in between the lines of the 18 yard box and be the guy who sticks the ball in the net… not the guy that held it up, linked play and then ran 25 yards to (possibly) get on the end of a cross or pass.
Bring back inside and outside forwards playing with a Centre forward. Limit teams to only being allowed 8 players in their own half at any time (Including the keeper) and any team willingly wearing light blue should start with a 3 goal deficit in every game…. Dark Blue is ok :)
Radicalthinking CSC
bobby mcuwp you are blessed to have seen the hoops in our finest days. I had the season book for two glorious years got to Seville and saw many great games and players in MON s team, before mrs T made me come home. If we got close to Euro glory again I would be back in a Tic. Hail Hail .
Whitedoghunch@1349
Dr Strangelove?
:-)
HH!!
‘talk of exciting wingers is a bit of a red herring’ -is hoopslegend Steve Guppy coming back?
Fixture Release Day!
And it’s a miracle!
https://theclumpany.wordpress.com/2015/06/19/the-miracle-of-fixture-release-day/
Enjoy the rest of the day!
repost from earlier…. any advice would be appreciated. thanks in advance.
looks like we will be in Ireland/Scotland for the last week of September/beginning of October … probably will miss the home game with hearts on September 26, so the only other game while we are there will be away to Hamilton on October 3 …. (or a Euro game if we make it) …. what are the chances of getting a ticket away to Hamilton? Or, would I be better to try rejig the trip to see the Hearts game (although, that could be difficult with flight times, etc)?
Thanks in advance for any input lads.
also, saw that Sevco’s big signing – the Captain of the Ireland Under 21 team no less – was not actually born in Ireland, but was born in England, but chose to play for Ireland….
wondering if he will get the McGeady treatment, every time he steps on the park at I’mbroke …. I suspect not.
dontbrattbakkinanger
Now he could cross a ball!
It’s military day at royal ascot………
DBBIA I liked watching guppy, journeyman but fit and new his trade. He had a couple of decent target men to hit as well. Not as good as thommo or even Agathe who I think was. Superb wing back
TAURANGABHOY
You went to Seville! Bassa!
I had started this job three weeks previously,no chance.
My Dad went though. My Mum was dead against it. We talked her into it.
He had a ball.
Those who denigrate that achievement by referencing who else made a UEFA Cup Final miss the point. IMO.
That day defined everything Celtic. The rise of the club to the top of the tree. The hope,rather than expectation,the knowledge that we had some supreme players.
The fans,oh the fans.
From far and wide they came. In numbers never seen before,simply to have a carnival,an exhibition of everything that Celtic stands for.
Expressed in song…
For we only know that there’s gonna be a show
AND THE GLASGOW CELTIC WILL BE THERE!!!!!!!
TheClumpany
I’m becoming a avid fan,keep up the good work.
Steve Guppy
Port Vale legend
The clumpany
Yer funniest yet, imo.
Enjoy the rest of the day n HH!!
Going to hit the sack a happy man thinking about that BMCUWP. It was days to remember for a lifetime I can only imagine it was a pale shadow of the Lisbon Lions. Night all , have a great one. HAIL HAIL THE CELTS ARE HERE.
MIKEINTORONTO
Are you likely to still be in Glasgow on 10th October?
Planning in place for a Hootenanny that day. International weekend so no football.
Loadsa women turn up nowadays,including ERNIE LYNCH-which was a very funny moment,nae offence to the real ERNIE-so KT won’t be outa place.
And we won’t chat her up either. I hear yer a big bloke.
BMCUWP/taurangabhoy
Roy Croppie and I were literally yards from this in Seville
http://youtu.be/H4uAxKcqXAk
HH
robcfc11
Limiting a team to only 8 players in their own half wouldn’t work.
Opposition have a corner kick in the last minute, they send everyone forward, immediately your 2 or 3 men short in your defence, yes you may clear the ball and score but chances are with fewer men covering the opposition would score.
BMCUWP- Oct 10th? Hootenanny?
-I shall duly note that date in my diary, and make sure I am out of the country ;/)
BMCUW
Ye got me thinking there :))))
Seville
The look of apprehension on the police and locals faces on 1st couple of days when asked to have their photo taken with mad smiling Tims,To them asking to have their photos taken with us in a matter of hours was a joy to behold
1st couple of HOURS:((((
cant even blame spellchecker :)))))
BMCUWP …. re: Oct 10 … sounds like a lot of fun, and will see if we can arrange to join in …but the timing could be a problem with work commitments for both KT and I ….
we were initially looking at Oct 3- 17, but I had to go earlier as a very large appeal has just been scheduled for October 14/15
…. so, the plan was to fly into dublin on September 25 and spend some time there … head over to Glasgow for a few days, see a game, and then back to Ireland for a few more days, and head home from Dublin …
but let me see if we can move some stuff around, as it sounds like a great time!
DONTBRATTBAKKINANGER
Spoilsport…
For a change I will have to be reasonably well-behaved. As will my Dad-which will be a heartbreaker for him as I can get blootered anytime!
That day is my niece’s 17th. She’ll be out wi her pals. But the following day we all have to be on parade for the birthday lunch.
Woe betide those who fail to make it
I’m kinda hoping my niece has a hangover,naw um urnae!
Tallybhoy
13:54 on
19 June, 2015
Turkeybhoy
Gary Hooper did NOT average 30 goals a season with us.
It was only 27.33333….!
:-)
HH!!
You are right.What was I thinking about.A duffer!!!!!!!.LOL.
In saying that he missed 10 games in his 1st season with injury,before Xmas.To me he was the perfect striker for us.5 goals in 10 games against the “Deid team”into the bargain.
Griffiths could be the answer,but if we ARE going to spend some money on a striker,it would be Hooper for me.Wont happen though,just dreaming.
BWCUWP …
forgot to mention … KT said that she might jet off to Paris when I go to Celtic Park, so I told her that I might run into Clare Grogan there (always been one of my favourites), and if I did, all bets are off! ….
she was not nearly as upset/concerned by that as I had hoped/expected!
These oz women are formidable! I’m 6’3″, she’s about 5’8″ … but trust me …she’s the one you lot would have to worry about!
:)