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Our midfield squad shuffle. Leigh, the panto misfit

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By on CQN BLOG & Comments

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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  14. David66 on

    Gooooood morning all from a rainy and wet Garngad, all the snow nearly away now.

     

     

    Regarding big Julienne In my opinion there is a player there but is his hunger and desire to take his game to another level?

     

     

    I hope he can come back from this injury but it is a long, long time to be out, I or we will have to trust our Doctors and physio’s.

     

     

    Let us see what happens again he should have been building up his upper body strength whilst out, feck he should be like a body builder in a year. Well maybe not.

     

     

    Come on big man get yersell back as I think he has real, real potential.

     

     

    HH

     

     

    D :)

  15. David66 on

    I would still like another few 1st team ready players/squad players in the door.

     

     

    But I’m a greedy sod.

     

     

    D :)

  19. st tams on

    DAVID66

     

    I don’t think you’re being greedy. I would say that you’re being realistic , as they are needed.

     

     

    As for Julien, if he’s not going to be back soon and I hope he is . We need another centre half, preferably left sided.

  20. The Blogger Formerly Known As GM on

    This game against Hibs – is Wee Jimmy Krankie going to tell us at 2 o’clock on Monday afternoon if we’re allowed to go?

     

     

    Surely some advanced warning is needed to organise the stadium? 5/6 hours notice to organise police, stewards, catering, ticket sales etc will be too short.

  21. big wavy on

    Ange said yesterday that Chris Julien is back in full training and will get game time in the next few weeks.

     

     

    Appreciate the above will be like a dagger through the heart of those wanting him to fail.

     

     

    For anybody listening to the excellent Celtic by Numbers breakdown of Carl Starfelt’s heading ability, we’ll be immediately upgraded when the big lad’s back. He and CCV should be a terrific partnership.

     

     

    HH

  22. David66 on

    St Tams agreed about left sided Centre back.

     

     

    Although I am a believer in a centre back should be able to play on either side in fact anywhere across the back, but maybe those type if players cost a fortune nowadays. Where’s ma boots.

     

     

    D :)

  23. big wavy on

    And…in more good news….

     

     

    Reo’s arrived. Finally. And looking splendid.

     

     

    Following legends John Kennedy and Darnell Fisher as shirt number 41.

     

     

    HH

  24. dessybhoy on

    Liam Scales is a left sided Centre back , this guy has been very good in my opinion since he has come in and the way he took his goal at Tannadice was controlled and showed excellent skill, he is well up to SPL standard and will develop into a fine player for Celtic, so we already have options at the back.

  25. lets all do the huddle on

    This game against Hibs – is Wee Jimmy Krankie going to tell us at 2 o’clock on Monday afternoon if we’re allowed to go?

     

    —

     

     

    i would love that

     

     

    the 3.30 euro kick off this season has given me a taste for obscure kick off times and the associated obscure pub times

     

     

  26. The Blogger Formerly Known As GM on

    Sorry Huddle, it kicks off at 7.45pm. My point is the government is not scheduled to clarify its rules on what’s allowed until the 17th i.e the day of the game.

  32. Turkeybhoy on

    Some good,if maddeningly vague news from Ange on the injuries.He expects most of them to be available for the restart.

     

    H,mm

  34. Turkeybhoy on

    Unionists just love their wee names for Nicola.”Wee Nippy”,”Wee Kranky”.

     

    What a load of jolly japesters they are,whilst still managing to uphold their Union.

     

    That’s the spirit chaps.

  35. Saint Stivs on

    a forever legacy.

     

     

    god bless martin kane

     

     

    —————————————–

     

     

    The Kano Foundation

     

    @KanoFoundation

     

    ·

     

    40m

     

    On this day 7 years ago, Martin Kane, the man who inspired The Kano Foundation passed away.

     

     

    It’s because of Martin that almost 12,000 kids have been able to visit Celtic Park, week in week out, since 2010.

     

     

    RIP Martin, and our condolences to his family 🍀

     

     

    https://twitter.com/KanoFoundation/status/1479776015010381825/photo/1

  37. leftclicktic on

    R.I.P. Martine Kane

     

    What a joy it is to see the kids preparing to enter the stadium.

     

    Well done and thank you to all the Kano volunteers.

  38. Hot Smoked on

    Just a few days ago, there seemed to be a growing confidence that we would be able to take our seats for the game on the 17th. Do people still feel like that?

     

    It doesn`t seem likely to me but I hope I am wrong.

  41. MadMitch on

    TB @ 11.59

     

     

    Bit behind the times — must be the satellite delay out to deepest / darkest Turkey …

     

     

    NS / our dear hopeless leader not yours — Not-Jacinda is the correct term.

     

     

    The Indy love has gone.

     

    Devo-Max seems to be her desired destination.

     

    Living in the political garage to be close to the Bank of Mum and Dad.

     

     

    I fear the natives will not be happy.

  42. bournesouprecipe on

    ROAR LEGEND BROICH LIFTS LID ON ‘GRUMPY’ POSTECOGLOU

     

     

    Whenever a team has bought into Ange Postecoglou’s demands and style of play, success has followed…

     

    South Melbourne, Brisbane Roar, the Socceroos and Yokohama F.Marinos.

     

    And Postecoglou has already delivered a piece of silverware to Celtic after just six months in Glasgow.

     

     

    But don’t expect Postecoglou to dwell on the Scottish league cup triumph for too long as the Australian strives for perfection and more trophies, according to Brisbane Roar legend Thomas Broich.

     

     

    Former Borussia Monchengladbach and Cologne midfielder Broich was brought over to Brisbane by Postecoglou in 2010 and the rest is history – together the pair won back-to-back A-Leagues championships in 2011 and 2012, including a record 36-match unbeaten run.

     

     

    Ange Postecoglou after guiding Celtic to Scottish league cup success last month.“In year two at Brisbane, we had a lot of injuries, a lot of issues, and we just missed out on winning the league; we finished second,” Broich, who is now head of methodology at Bundesliga outfit Hertha Berlin, told the Daily Mail.

     

     

    “But then we went into the finals, everyone was back and we ended up winning the championship. Back-to-back titles. Before he sent us off on our break, he spoke to the players. And this was just after we won the championship, remember.

     

     

    “He looked us in the eye and said: ‘If you think it’s good enough to come second in this league, think again’.

     

     

    “So it was like: ‘Congrats on winning the championship but…’ He was so upset about us not winning the league to go with the title, like that was a failure to him. That’s his standard. He’s relentless. And only perfection will do.

     

     

    “He can be very, very grumpy, actually. It’s not easy to satisfy him. You really have to play the best football, the hardest way you can — and then he might walk off the pitch with a smile. Might!”

     

     

    Despite Celtic sitting six points adrift of bitter rivals and defending champions Rangers amid the mid-season break in the Scottish Premiership, Postecoglou has transformed the Bhoys.

     

     

    With an unrelenting belief in his philosophy, Postecoglou has turned doubters into believers with his attacking and high-octane brand of football.

     

     

    Postecoglou’s impact at Parkhead has come as a surprise to Broich. Why? Because the 56-year-old did not bring any of his own backroom staff to Celtic.

     

     

    Peter Cklamovski, Arthur Papas, John Hutchinson and Kevin Muscat were all linked with moves alongside Postecoglou but the former Australia manager opted against it.

     

     

    “I’m actually quite surprised it’s working so well already,” Broich said. “And he did it by himself… he didn’t bring anyone with him. I asked him about that, why he didn’t insist on working with people he already knew and trusted.

     

     

    “He told me: ‘My job was to convince the people here to set this club on fire with excitement, create some passion and vision’. He liked that challenge, to win people over to his way of seeing football.

     

    “Who does that nowadays? Normally coaches bring in a team of 10 people! He did it completely by himself. He’s a remarkable man. Incredible.”

     

     

    Ange Postecoglou during his time with Brisbane Roar in the A-Leagues.Broich added: “He’s progressing nicely but I think this is just the beginning. We saw that particularly in the last game against Bayer Leverkusen, which exposed the natural limitations of the squad. His approach was courageous, as always, but there was no way of competing with Leverkusen at that level – at that moment.

     

     

    “When I spoke to him about the Leverkusen game, he said: ‘Look, we can play this game by parking the bus and maybe get lucky with a result. But that doesn’t set us up to be able to beat teams like this in the future’. He believed the only way forward was to take it to Leverkusen, even take the risk of getting hammered – but work on your playing style.

     

     

    “By being disruptive in your approach and just sitting back, you’re not going to get better. I was amazed, once again, by his approach. It’s just what he does. It is about storytelling with Ange. For us, at Brisbane, it was about taking the road less travelled. He told us we could what others had done before and maybe we’d end up in the same place, a good place – and that would be good.

     

     

    “But what if we dared to do something unheard of? Maybe a brand of football that nobody had played in that league? He got us excited and curious. There were no limits. And once you start playing that football, wow, it’s pure joy. You have the football for 70% of the game. You might still lose the odd game but you’re bossing games, dominating. There’s no player in the whole world who doesn’t love that brand of football.

     

     

    “You can play super-ugly destructive football and win but not feel satisfied. Winning by playing Ange’s brand of football is the best thing in the world.”

     

     

    Interviews you don’t get in SMSM CSC

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