When the players arrived at Lennoxtown for training yesterday morning, Brendan Rodgers had no intention of allowing Moussa Dembele to leave the club. Such was the player’s behaviour over the following two hours, the manager’s view changed to “Get him out of here.”
Yet again, the days ahead of an important game were clouded by distraction, but this time it took the form of insubordination against the manager. Brendan’s view changed from not wanting to be left with only two strikers, to insisting the player was shipped out of the club.
One photographer, there for the press conference ahead of tomorrow’s game, told the manager, “I’ve been doing this for 30 years and never seen behaviour like that.”
You and I have seen many come and go over the years, so losing one is nothing new. Receiving £20m also breaks a barrier in what we can ask for our players in the future, but the manner which this came about is a source of regret. Moussa is a great player, one who delivered for us when it mattered most. His goals and swagger were a joy to watch. Now, the memory of his achievements have been violated by his behaviour. Having a go at the manager on Twitter, where he talked about being lied to (utter rubbish) and ‘Liked’ a comment from Chris Sutton saying he was targeting Brendan, all while playing to “Bhoys and Ghirls” is deplorable. I’ll get over it and applaud politely when you do the Paradise Windfall 15 years from now, but we’re not buying it, Moussa.
Lots to say on the transfer window, but I’ll pick up on it more next week. We have a game tomorrow against an outfit who think they can win the league. This is a day for Brendan and Scott Brown, Dedryck, Kieran, Callum, Tom and the others to do what they do so often against Newco. It’s a day for you and me to lift the team and paint Glasgow green and white.
Last month was traumatic, but it was also cathartic. We are a united club with a bit of an edge right now. Do your thing, Celtic. Spank this lot one more time.
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Looking ahead, these are some of the must-do’s.
Identify a centre back that we can play in (hopefully) next season’s CL qualifiers in March onwards.
A midfielder to provide some guile, goal threat and above all else (please please please) delivery at set pieces.
Feck Dembele he is gone and Celtic will always be here
When he is sitting in the treatment room in Lyon we will be doing a treble treble
Come on the Celtic
D. :)
Lazydynamite
The Huns park the bus tomorrow ?
If Gerrard has any sense they will be at the Celtic from the off, press high and aggressive.
MIT
That is very sad. Celtic are us, the supporters, not the current custodians.
YNWA
Re Dembele:
Anyone know if he had a history of hamstring injuries pre-Celtic ?
So the world’s most expensive goalie screwed up.
Doesn’t make him a bad player as errors happen.
If he does it on a regular basis then it’s different.
Price and hype seemed ridiculous as he really only had one full season and history has shown many go on to claim the tag of one season wonders.
In the modern tech savvy era there will be a large enough film base on him that opponents can study.
The Leicester player seemed to anticipate what he was going to do and won ball easily.
He is a decent shot stopper but i think Liverpool bought him for his possession skills also and if teams study his style enough will that nullify a large part of his game ?
lazydynamite – no chance of them parking the bus tomorrow. They will be snarling in our faces from the off hoping they can capitalise on the apparent unrest.
If the leaked team is correct then they will expect us to be vulnerable at the back, if they press high then they will be confident that we will make mistakes passing square across the back (we did it several times midweek and got away with it). They know Brown is carrying an injury, they know (thanks to the Oz manager) that Rogic is carrying an ankle injury and they will have a suspicion that Edouard is less than 100% fit too.
Looks like Brendan has sacrificed a wide man, Sinclair, in order to have Calmac and Rogic in the midfield which allows Brown to sit deep to protect the CHs and allows Ntcham to run the middle of the park.
Forrest will terrorise them, just hope Edouard has his shooing boots on.
MITO your love of Celtics I’ll never die my friend
It might fade with distance and sometimes with time, but you will always have great memories of the Famous Glasgow Celtic
Hail Hail
D. :)
MIT that last post was meant for
It’s gettng so hard to post with this feckin iPad
D. :)
Some real head in the sand comments. Everything is fine but lets complain about the young team singing a few Reb ditties during the game. As if we haven’t got bigger issues to concern ourselves with as a support.
Shooting boots :)
Deniabhoy agree with your post about thems mañana
What is the leaked team
D. :)
If Benkovic,Bhoyata and Ajer is our new back 3 wi Griff n Eddy up top?
We will run riot tomorrow.
7 goals would be lovely
YNWA
Deniabhoy agree with your post about the filthy, manky, horrible, skanky, smelly in breeds
What is the leaked team
D. :)
Oglach
Let the people sing!
please no ML tomorrow , go with a back 3 of boyata , benovic & ayer , middle 5 with the wide bhoys pushing’ thems’ 2 wing backs ( tav and the croat ) back stopping their high punts into our box, with OE & LG up front. easy peasy.
i would include malumba in the middle 5
DELANEYS DUNKY
Playing a back three would make sense with the aerial bombardment we are going to face.
Also pushing the full backs higher would nullify their strength of crossing early and long.
Hope KT gets back to facing forward and marauding tomorrow as he will tear Tavs a new one.
Rubbish transfer window. But fretting over it now is pointless.
We know who our players are. It’s our job to support them.
Never get too up or too down in Football because it can always get better and it can always get worse.
If the best players with the best manager have their heads focussed and turn up tomorrow there is only one winner. Stevie G and the worlds greatest ever defence won’t be quite so great if we turn up. It really is all about us and what we do.
If Dembele had been sold for £20 mill in the first week of June I would not have batted an eyelid, at least then Celtic would have had time, opportunity and the resources to bring in another forward. As it is we have only got the money, for which as they say in the boardroom, trebles all round!
Tant pis as they say in the land of the Moose.
On the positive side, played well on Thursday, won comfortably, scored good goals and were in positions to score more. We are playing at home tomorrow, can hardly remember the last time they, old or new, beat us there. We win and the team currently in fourth place in the SPL will have five points from four games.
Champions in the making? Not even the most deluded hun would believe that.
David66
Do you remember when the Lincoln Inn Knightswood was run by Shuggy Burns and Irishh rebel bands played there. Avoid. I was in recently. It is a manky hun slop shop, full of inbred huns wi little education.
YNWA
DD yes I do remember.
Ffs some hun drug dealer I presume owns it now
D. :)
don’t play ML tomorrow as he will targeted all day long as our weakest link , hearts and laugh arty did it, so will ‘thems’.
I am pretty certain that Gerrard WILL park the bus tomorrow.
He has been doing that away in Europe so far this season and it has worked for them.
Hang tight defend properly and hit us on the break .
If they come at us toe to toe it will give us a huge advantage.Indeed we have struggled all this calendar year against defensive teams.
One mistake is all it takes and generally it has been happening although I have been encouraged by the last two games and return of Boyata resulting in two clean sheets.
Lets be clear. Brendan decides who leaves. He alone decided to sell Dembele. He did the 180o turn after publically saying he was not for sale.
Brendan publically said Boyata was staying and he has stayed. its down to Brendan
Peter Lawwell doesn’t have any say in this. But seems to be getting the blame
Gordon
Lustig. Ajer. Benkovic
Forrestt. Brown. KT
mulumbu McGregor
Ntcham
Eddie
Subs: Griff. Rogic. Johnston. Christie. Hayes. Bain Hendry if fit
DD. I remember my now wife’s cousin managed the Lincoln innthen Rumours
He was at our school
D. :)
Fanatic
Bain
Benkovic
Boyata
Ajer
Brown
Ntcham
Forrest
Tierney
McGregor
Rogic
Griffiths.
The team of hunskelpers I would pick.
YNWA
David 66 – David 17 posted a “leaked” team which, possibly in my naivety, I took to be correct. Without checking I assumed it probably came from John James site as he got the last one right. If David 17 is at the wind up then he count me in as suckered.
Team leaked
Gordon
Lustig
Boyata
Ajer
Tierney
Brown
Ntcham
Rogic
Forrest
McGregor
Edouard
David66
Lustig a clear weak link up against pace on their left (Kent probably) ..
Boyata our best performing CH missing ?
Mulumbu hasn’t played a match in months..
No Rogic ????
Jesus. You’ve had a mare there :)
Feck I forgot about Boyata
Thanks Deniabhoy
I give up trying to guess teams, I’m crap at it
D. :)
Winning team
Gordon
Benkovic Boyata Ajer
Forrest Brown Ntcham KT
Rogic or Callum
Eddie
Big Wavy your right a total mare
I give up
D. :)
or = and of course or that would be overconfidence :)
Big Wavy now that does look better
D. :)
David66
At least you put 11 out..
I can’t even count :)
Mythmaker’s come in second !!!!!!!
You’d wouldn’t listen !
Paul67
Moussa Dembele clearly threw his toys out the pram, and his rattle landed on Twitter.
Another astonishing record breaking signing within the much maligned ‘Celtic transfer strategy’ that makes us one of the most successful clubs in the Europe still playing in a wee Diddy league, that nobody else can seem to win, not least legitimately.
Great Celt though Moussa was, he’d clearly ended his usefulness as a Hunskelper of tomorrow, and the 33 non starts last season ( posted by Bada Bing) tells Celtic fans that ‘the tough negotiators’ we have , did a a nice bit of business despite the lateness of the hour.
It also sends the message that Brendan Rodgers decides he’ll only have Celtic players that will ignore Gazillions at least until they’ve honoured the contracts that Celtic supporters earned them.