I know what you are thinking, Ewan Henderson looked the part. Even more so than his brother, Liam, who also left Celtic for a loan spell at Hibs, before moving to Italy. That laser-precise pass at Tynecastle which set Celtic on their way to an important victory when Neil Lennon picked up the pieces left by Brendan Rodgers pointed to riches ahead.
Unlike many apparent teenage prodigies, Ewan never disappointed, trouble was, he did not play often enough to disappoint. All we know for sure is that Lennon did not rely on him and after six months at Lennoxtown, Ange Postecoglou has moved him on.
Hibs, managed by Shaun Maloney, who worked with the player as a Celtic youth coach, is a good move. He has a realistic chance of commanding a regular first team place in an aspirational side. Celtic released him permanently for little more than an initial loan agreement that will prevent Ewan from facing them for the remainder of this season.
With two midfielders already signed this month, it is no surprise that Ismaila Soro is set to follow Ewan out the door. For reasons that continue to perplex, MLS clubs continue to swoon around the edges of the Celtic squad, with New York Red Bulls reportedly hoping to add Ismaila to a list of former Celtic misfits that includes Patryk Klimala, Cameron Harper and Lewis Morgan, the latter moving from Inter Miami last month.
Another midfielder on the move is 20-year-old summer recruit from Sheffield Wednesday, Liam Shaw, who will spend the remainder of the season on loan at Motherwell. Liam was one of the success stories in the win over Real Betis in December. The move to Fir Park will hopefully give him an opportunity for first team football, it should also give you and me a better chance to assess his potential.
The Dundee pantomime season officially ends this week (oh yes it does) and Dundee are wondering what use they have for our on-loan panto act, Leigh Griffiths. We are short of striker talent and Ange is still new to Scotland, so may be unfamiliar with how things work. The panto season is also over in Glasgow, Leigh’s time at Celtic must also be over.
10 sleeps ’til Hibs.
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TURKEYBHOY on 7TH JANUARY 2022 1:24 PM
Soro,when playing well,a bit like Kante.Could be a poor mans version in the States.
When do we know the full list for the Japan squad.Anyone know.The Record gleefully reporting all 4.
———-
in the last Japan game, only Kyogo made the squad and came on as a sub. His recent injuries should preclude him from a call up.
I think it highly unlikely that all 4 would be thrown into the Sevco game for their own sake (pardon the pun) and for team shape.
If all fit and available to us, i’d play this team vs them
Hart
Juranovic CCV Starfelt Taylor
Rogic Bitton McGregor
Forrest Furuhashi Maeda
Subs: Barkas, Ideguchi, McCarthy, Ralston, Abada, johnston
Nothing but good wishes for L G.A thorn in their side.Their teams as well.
Oh how they hated him.
BOURNESOUPRECIPE on 7TH JANUARY 2022 1:34 PM
Deal lined up with Greek club to take Vassalis Barkas but he failed to catch the flight
💥 CSC
————
😂😂😂
BOURNESOUPRECIPE 1.34pm
Cruel but very funny! (we’ve got to laugh)
EK — strange one.
£2.8mill for a player with little track record.
Again I wonder what agents were involved?
Best game was against a team he was familiar with.
BR threw him under the bus in 2018 with his inclusion against Hertz away.
Never seemed to click — not sure if BR was not involved in signing him.
So the IS trail is well travelled one — MS being another poor signing in similar circumstances.
Coneybhoy,
Rogic off with Australia.Hatate for him.If Jullien gets game time in,I would have him in for height.
CB @ 1.41
I wish I had your faith in JF.
I fear he is shot for this season.
We need to sign PR to give him a boot up the erse.
I thought Soro looked the part when he first came into the team but he seems to have gone backwards. Shame.
I have a feeling Shaun Maloney may be able to get the best out of the young Henderson. He looks a player.
Shame about Leigh Griffiths. if our manager doesn’t rate him. Maybe we could still use him as a coach on how to take corners and free kicks.
MADMITCH
We literally signed a world cup winner that couldn’t hack it.
It happens, regardless of wages, chairman, agent. Same as any other club in world football. How we have to associate PL with everything bad is bizarre to me.
bad signing, get rid and good luck in future
If the 4 get a call up for Japan (whether they play or not is immaterial) as well as TR ask for game or games to be postponed and see w why they knock us back.
Because they will, but we should be asking none the less.
Coneybhoy regarding team selection I would play 3 at the back CCV, Julienne and Starfelt and play Jura in wide attacking back role, drop Taylor.
D :)
Saint Stivs on 7th January 2022 12:56 pm
bhoy joy
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FIdTuNtXIAUP9Uz?format=jpg&name=900×900
——————————————————————————
The big cop looks like he’s the father of some posters on here.😂😂😂
KEEP THE FAITH
BACK TO BASICS – GLASS HALF FULL on 7TH JANUARY 2022 12:57 PM
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If Abada has been an academy player who’s just broke through this year, we’d be raving about him, rather than moaning about inconsistency and best position. The boy has made a significant contribution already.
I’m surprised that we haven’t seen any photos of the players back at training. Looking likely that we’ll be back to a full house for the Hibs game. If we do end up losing Rogic, Kyogo and maybe Maeda, then I hope we push to get the Sevco game moved. Really want to see the Japanese Bhoys being unleashed on them. Hoping we bring in another couple and one of them is a defender. Might be a considerable time yet before Julien is match fit.
TB
thanks, forgot about Rogic/Oz. I think that is a problem selection point for us. McCarthy could step in but we lose creativity. Ideguchi looks all action on YouTube so maybe he would be ahead of Hatate.
Can’t see Jullien being fit /or risked in that game
Relatively happy with the 3 Japanese signings with strength added in most relevant areas of the pitch. Daizen Maeda played 28 of his 33 starts last season on left of a front three, with the remainder at centre forward. So I assume he’ll provide an alternative to the Mikey Johnston reliance when Jota is unavailable, plus a welcome option up front.
Hatate really is the epitomy of the utility player, splitting his appearances mostly between left back and centre-mid, with a handful at attacking mid. He provides an effective backup at all those positions but I’m not sure he’ll shift any of the regulars when fit. Most commonly I think we’ll see him used in the defensive-mid role for McGregor to move forward when Rogic or Turnbull are injured.
Ideguchi is a central midfielder and probably the most difficult to fit into an obvious gap for us, given other options at the club. A central midfield number 8, he could provide backup across central mid.
I’m relatively comfortable with the right wing, we have good options at right back, with Abada and Forrest options on the wing. I was also encouraged seeing Juranovic play a more advanced wing role in recent games, making him a solid option.
The pressing area for further strengthening remains the attacking mid positions of Rogic and Turnbull, I hope we see at least one further addition before the window closes. The lad Hannes Wolf looks decent, he played well and got an assist against us in the 18/19 season, the one where we had both Red Bull clubs in our Europa grp, his form for B. Munchengladbach has dipped recently in Germany.
The other lad we’ve been linked with, Zinedine Zerhat, has played nearly all of his football on the right wing. I’m not convinced that area is a priority given the above.
One guy I’d love us to sign is the Dante Vanzeir, playing at Union SG in the Belgian Juliper league. 11 goals and 7 assists in 21 starts this season, 19 goals and 8 assists plus POTY last season when they were promoted. He also got his first Belgium cap in November. This guy was valued at 1m last April when I first saw him, now around 5m so we may have missed the boat. Good player though.
Good afternoon all from Shawlands.
Leigh Griffiths: “Shut up son, yer teams deid”, hope he’s remembered for those kinds of quips, por cierto.
Don’t know a manager yet who doesn’t start with the players he bought into the team, por cierto.
Not a lot of mention of Liam Scales on these pages recently, when judging the squad so far this season. To me, he has been an outstanding success coming from Irish football and playing in European games and did not look out of place. He is one who I think will grow to be a truly outstanding player for us and reminds me a lot of Davie Hay, when he first came into the team, por cierto.
Beram Kayal , Nir Bitton, Efe Ambrose, Ismaila Soro, and many others from the Israeli league will sign for Celtic with the same ole varying degrees one fan’s success, or failure.
Dudu Dahan is one of the biggest football agents there is, and he’s our equivalent of supermarket in which we shop mainly down the nothing to £3M isle.
Maybe the switch to J League players, will all be Nakamuras, but I have my doubts there is a reason most Celtic transfers are punts.
You don;t get much guarantee in terms of £2m, in today’s market. Our problem down the years is the amount of £2m-ish signings that have proved not to work. We’ve wasted a fortune.
Now well-run clubs, with a settled philosophy in place, scout well and early, build talent internally too and reduce the obvious margin of error.
We clearly have done that at times but it’s felt more luck than design.
Ange has an identity and the makings of a philosophy. Let’s build on that.
HH
BSR @ 2.31
AP vs J League — my thoughts are that football performance is to the fore.
PL vs Pet agents + Israel / “USSR” punts — my thoughts are that football performance is not to the fore.
BSR,
案ずるより産むが易しい
Translated :
“Beware that for every Shansuke Nalamura, there lies a possible Koki Mizuno……”
Japenese proverb 1842
HH
Morning all – relieved to be back in a chilly Lonestar state after a great time in the UK with family and friends.
By being more distant than usual, we somehow managed to record all negative PCR tests for the family…..so we can enter a country where the virus is spreading faster than the one we left. I don’t suppose I can claim that BS back on my tax return.
Can’t wait for our next game and hopeful the fans get back and take care for their safety if needed.
Personally I’m not looking beyond the Hibs game. They are at the start of a new journey, couple of decent additions to the squad and will have had a month to work on whatever style Maloney wants to implement.
We should be too strong for them but it is by no means a given that we will just turn up and win.
Full focus on getting the three points and then we direct attention to the visit of the dark side. As much as they played to their nonsensical orc gallery, the early break would have suited them too.
MADMITCH
Japanese players signing would suggest AP is now in control and working very well with Michael Nicolson.
It’s been done to death on these pages for years, fact is players are identified and sanctioned by more than one person at every single big football club.
Hopefully in this new era into its second window, there are now fresh eyes at Celtic.
Big Wavy
🈯️ 👍
You can’t spend a billionaires money without asking the billionaires wife first! por cierto
If anyone saw Leigh Griffiths free kick for Dundee against Aberdeen.has to realise there’s no other player in this league who can strike a ball like that.unbeliavable
MADMITCH
What is this bizarre obsession you have with which agents were involved with various signings? We must be the only supporters in the world who welcome new signings then waste breath fussing over the agents involved.
Or is it just another inroad to your pet obsession – Peter Lawwell? Of course it is.
It must be very lonely in your head.
Welsh FM has just announced no changes anticipated to restrictions in Wales for the next 2 weeks as cases continue to rise, hope they are behind or curve and vaccination rat
our curve and vaccination rate
My gut feeling is that Julien will not be seen regularly for us, if ever, again. Something just not adding up in how long he has been out. Over a year now.
So Welsh or Starfelt alongside CCV for 2nd half of season? Neither of them fills me with confidence. Even when playing well, they always seem to make unforced errors. Costly ones at that. If forced to choose, I prefer Welsh as he has shown big improvements this season.
“CELTIC BY NUMBERS on 7TH JANUARY 2022 12:21 PM
Paul67
I can 100% assure you Postecoglou knows how Leigh Griffiths works.
He will never play for Celtic again so long as he is manager.”
Can you say any more on that?
Deniabhoy – I regrettably agree on Jullien. In the full year he’s been out we’ve never found out what the actual injury is, beyond knowing it’s his knee. Normally if a player is out for a year it’s a serious, identifiable and specific injury; a cruciate, a break or a smashed kneecap. With Jullien it’s just been one long “knee injury”.
And that’s without mentioning how many times he’s been “a few weeks” away from a return. The best we might hope for is a reappearance for a run to the end of the season so he can prepare for a move in the summer.
For me, Ismaila Soro is one of those players who is easy to like because of his effort , energy and enthusiasm. Unfortunately, after a promising start, I have not seen anything that suggests he would offer much to Ange`s Celtic.
Also, like others, I find the length of time Jullien has been missing disconcerting. Unlike others, though, I have never rated him all that highly so am not really bothered about whether or not he returns for us.
Mind you, I still hold hope for Mikey Johnston !
sorry but julien makes starfelt look world class ,a strong gust of wind and you will find julien flat out on the deck.
dearie me.
Leigh Griffiths , I assume he’s about 31 years of age and an exceptional goalador on his day should still be on the radar of many clubs in the SPFL. Unfortunately you cannot leglislate for a persons problem with mental issues which have been Leigh’s situation. Brings to mind the problems of the great George best who was finished at Manchester Utd in his mid- twenties due to off-field problems.
Ismal Soro still only 23 years of age looked a a fine prospect to me. Didn’t mind getting stuck in but needed to curb his enthusiasm but possibly did not get enough game time under Lenny. Something went wrong. Perhaps a coaching or personal issue with management? Should have no problem getting a club. Young Henderson should do well at Hibs.