Of course, the priority is nine-in-a-row, even more than Champions League lucre, but I see a bit of chat about prioritising the league and player development, at the potential cost of the domestic cups.
I don’t think this will work. Along with Queens Park, Vale of Leven, Rangers and Aberdeen, Celtic have now won the Scottish Cup three successive seasons. None of the other did four-in-a-row. Celtic fans, if nothing else, cherish making history, we cannot just shrug at the opportunity to set a new Scottish Cup record.
The League Cup is the only trophy we do not have a historical precedent to chase or eclipse next season. Jock Stein won his first five League Cups as Celtic manager (although went spectacularly off plan in subsequent finals).
For teams competing in Europe, the League Cup is a four game competition. A home or away match in August and September, a November semi-final and December final. Games take place between European qualifiers or group stage games, when demands on the players will be greatest.
Last season, Brendan Rodgers prioritised the Heats semi-final at Murrayfield over Leipzig away, three days earlier. Had the Leipzig game been at home, it would almost certainly have been the priority. Squad management worked well.
If we do our job right in strengthening the squad, there will be plenty of opportunity to rest players during the league campaign, but I suspect we will feel precious about the domestic cups.
195 Comments- Pages:
- «
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
- 6
- »
Traditionalist88
Of course a bit of skill.
That’s why I mentioned having an identikit to R.Christie. Boy has ability, scores goals. But he works his arse off. And that’s what’s needed, both domestically and in Europe.
We need an athletic, hard-working midfield. Like all the top teams have.
When I watched L’Pool gub Barca 4-0, if we are to learn anything from that, it’s that teams can’t cope with a high energy, aggressive approach. A coordinated high-press, with Forwards, wingers, and midfielders on the front foot, when the opposition have the ball.
RUGGYGMAN on 31ST MAY 2019 9:41 AM
Agree to a point – we have to remember Liverpool have world class players all over the pitch. They win the ball and can retain it and do something with it.
When we go away in Europe our ball retention is fairly shocking, rendering the high press pretty pointless because more often than not they play round us for fun and if we do win the ball we don’t keep it for long anyway. See PSG away when we had 4 or 5 headless chickens naively running after the PSG backline.
And lets not forget despite a good display, Liverpool lost 3-0 in the Nou Camp and Barca had 2 great chances in the last 5 minutes when Liverpool were pushing even higher.
HH
I hear you.
Certainly, away from home in Europe, needs a more pragmatic approach.
However, we need that front foot energy at home. Got to try and emulate that anfield experience.
Celtic Park can be every bit and more intimidating for opposition teams.
The energy of the fans and the players should be inter-twined. Each one feeding the other.
Some thoughts on the MF discussion.
CMcG’s best position would appear to be “Deep lying CM”.
However I don’t think he is good enough to start given where we need to be.
Then comes the formation …
Flat 3 / 2 + 1 / 1 + 2 / AN Other?
Biggest gap at the moment is that we have never properly replaced VW as an out and out DM / Defensive Mid.
And I know they have world class players.
But we have good players. And to me, its about organising them, coordinating them on the pitch so that they carry out instruction to the letter.
Something I believe Stevie Clarke is very good at. Devising a plan, and getting 11 players to carry out the plan, to the absolute letter.
Motherwell CEO on twitter mouthing off about the reported £1.2m move for Turnbull
HH
I have enjoyed the past week so much,giving it laldy to every hun I know. Please believe me I know plenty and to see them squirm gives me so much joy.The smile on my face annoys the fk out of them .I am so so happy.Now the Downside.Would it be possible for this new age Celtic support to just get behind Lenny,the Team.The Management and thank the players who came in on loan deals to aid our cause.We have just won a Treble Treble .Why are we getting so much negativity. I don’t understand.Sorry .HAIL HAIL to all the Real Celtic Supporters out there.AND please don’t give me We are entitled to our opinion PISH. God Bless .Melbourne Mick get yer arse up here and get a round of the Black Stuff In.
RGM @ 9.57
CP experience — CL games.
I would have agreed with you 7 / 11 / 15 years ago.
However in the CL recently both the team and the support have had the “Fear”.
Consequently the old surge of adrenaline of the crowd is now much diminished.
In fact in 2017 the support took the energy from the team.
BR and his CL “L plates” did not help one bit.
RUGGYGMAN on 31ST MAY 2019 9:57 AM
Agreed. Start with the basics…ball retention. Don’t lose the ball so easily, so often.
The rest can fall into place.
HH
Etims also speculating that our belt is about to be tightened. Not looking good. http://etims.net/?p=14307
Early speculation of signing a player from Motherwell, one from Charlton for free and West Brom for a development fee do add credence to the claims.
:)))))))))))))))))))))))))))
DR saying Sevco to be sued over High Five Memorial Wall:
“[Sevco] are being sued for £1.1million after scrapping plans for a memorial wall and garden to honour victims of the Ibrox Disaster and other bereaved fans.
Memorial Walls are taking legal action after the club shelved plans – despite planning permission being given by Glasgow City Council.
[Sevco] insiders claim the memorial – with 2000 boxes for fans’ ashes – could have resulted in supporters having to pay to keep their loved ones’ remains in slots on a wall.
The club also thought it would be ‘inappropriate’ to have a statue of former captain John Greig at street level – with an outstretched hand to let fans give him a ‘high five’.
Memorial Walls claim they have a binding contract to build and run the facility for 125 years.
The firm said: ‘It is with regret that Memorial Walls have had to issue proceedings against [Sevco] for breach of a contract entered into between the football club and Memorial Walls in March 2018 for the design, build and administering of a memorial wall at Ibrox Stadium.
‘Memorial Walls have been advised by their legal team that [Sevco] have no defence to the breach-of-contract claim and have not settled Memorial Walls’ claim for costs incurred and damages prior to proceedings being lodged.’
They claim efforts by [Sevco’s] managing director Stewart Robertson to terminate the contract by telephone was [sic.] invalid.”
I see in one of the rags celtic interested in the lad turnbull , but why is it that any player we are after we get told that we have stiff competition from a n other clubs . He is a cracking player this lad , and gets stuck in , just the type we need along with more like him in our midfield .
So hot on the heels of Phil’s blog yesterday, Etims has now published their latest about Celtic embarking on a period of belt tightening. Deary me!!! If this turns out to be true you can only wonder about those leading our club. The treble treble is fantastic and will never be repeated but we are in a fantastic position to win 10 league titles in a row, if we don’t see it across the line will we ever get another chance?
I’m not advocating spending 10’s of millions but the squad definitely needs an overhaul. I reckon we need 5 players capable of going straight into the first team. We were creaking at the seams towards the end. We can’t do this on the cheap. Peter your legacy won’t be the treble treble it will be the man who cost us the 10.
Two observations on this mornings press
Actually no observation on this one – read and make your own !
https://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/scottish-news/rangers-being-sued-11m-after-16229023.amp
Turnbull- another miserly offer from us. If we want to command fees for our players that reflect their true value we had better offer a proportionate amount to for their replacements.
a gie up………………
MULLET AND CO 2 on 31ST MAY 2019 10:32 AM
Turnbull- another miserly offer from us. If we want to command fees for our players that reflect their true value we had better offer a proportionate amount to for their replacements.
=====
The MSM picked a number out the air, the Motherwell CEO was reacting to that as opposed to any actual offer.
Don’t do the MSM’s job for them!
HH
Jim Tim ?
The hack in question who probably works for one of the titles crazily linked above…….is following a well-worn narrative that Celtic “dither” in transfer and other dealings….and will ultimately ” fail” in any or all commercial attempts. Whether that other club is involved is neither here nor there – the message put ooot is that Celtic folks should be fearful, anxious and divided…….the sub-text is that The Glorious Currants do everything quickly successfully and doubtless with staggering dignity. WATP. etc etc.
HH.
anyhoo, must fly….
Base point from last night — why are we hoarding cash at the moment?
Any ideas, thoughts, gossip, punts, scuttlebutt … gratefully accepted.
MadMitch on 31st May 2019 9:08AM
Each to their own, I don’t think the trend of increasing cash balances in Celtic’s reported numbers is a growing issue.
I see it as a consequence of the Co-operative Bank heading for the hills as far as providing support to a football club. Their £30m mountain of cash has been removed from our gift during the past four or five years and to counterbalance the negative effect of such to the AIM, we’ve replaced the bank’s promised support with our own reserves. All that’s left with the Co-op is a £2m credit card facility and the £6m loan being paid back. Looks like £1m per year now, first instalment included in this season’s interims.
Madmitch
I think Callum is a terrific player. He moves the ball quickly and accurately around the park. His 1st time pass to Edouard leading to Forrest’s winner v Sevco was sublime. Top player. Defo starter in my team.
Just my opinion.
Gary Parker not coming,Jim Goodwin pulls out of Dundee job? 2+2=….
Are Oldham still playing ‘hardball for their much coveted centre half…’?
Motherwell are just playing their usual media trick.
Putting a value of gold on a player they are paying peanuts.
All aimed at us because any interested championship clubs will have their own figures in mind.
I am pretty sure Motherwell played the same game with us last year over a goalkeeper they signed from non league for 10k.
It never worked despite the best help from the Scottish MSM.
likely outcome is that they will piss off their most valuable asset.
@ GUYFAWKESAFOREVERHERO on 31ST MAY 2019 11:16 AM
It’s strange that a business with a turnover of circa £100m for the last couple of years cannot negotiate a facility greater than £2m- we have returned strong financial results that would surely satisfy any lender’s credit checks. Hoarding up to £50m in the bank does not seem prudent if our remit is to grow the business or at least maintain our current level.
G57 @ 11.23
I think CMcG is a good player in the position you describe.
Just a case that he needs a fair bit of work to become a great player.
We should be in the market for great players as starters.
He needs to improve the defensive side of his game.
If he plays with SB he has a bad tendency to drift out of games.
When he plays without SB he is much more involved — less opportunities to hide.
He has developed his game this season — just a case he needs to do the same again next season.
So the huns were trying to claim rental money from ashes of dead supporters? Even by their shameless standards,that is a new low….
It’s called negotiation, opening offer about £1-1.2 million, probably get him for about £2 mil,IF we don’t take our eye off the ball
The hands can’t hit what the eyes can’t see on 31st May 2019 11:28PM
The only conclusion I can draw – the football industry is now toxic to banking institutions.
I reckon our oft repeated independent, stand alone policy mantra is multi-layered. Not only aiming a bullet at our noisy neighbours, but also sending a message to the SFA, banks, AIM. Everyone really. We’re doing it our way.
We churn cash at an amazing rate these days, more than a million per week. I doubt any individual pound hangs around too long in the bank account. I encourage anyone who has ten minutes to read Celtic’s Reports, split it 30 seconds on the p&l, 30 seconds on the balance sheet and the remaining 90% of your tiime on the cash flows.
GFFH @ 11.16
I could understand your explanation if we were a financial basket case like the current incarnation of the TFOD2.1 — economic leper fighting the world.
However we are a substantial business with known revenue streams, fixed assets and a valuable squad so the scenario you describe sounds a bit far fetched. Plus if the Co-op is not wanting to play ball I am sure there are other alternative lenders out there.
Then you have the why now and not then angle.
We have lived on a bank credit facility for quite some time since the 1999 DD inspired splurge.
So for things to change so quickly just as we start to hoard cash looks a bit convenient to me.
Plus we seem to have moved well beyond our day to day requirements.
And now we have CFC Austerity play being signalled by the dog boilers in the boardroom — not good.
new article posted.
Lads,
Sorry … I appreciate that this is not a very ‘timely’ outcome… but a combination of +11hrs time diff, visitors arriving from overseas, Treble Trebles for the hoops, and being severely under the pump at work has meant I couldn’t really keep on top of the Naps competition lately!
I guess at least it’s topical, given that we have the EPSOM DERBY this weekend.
:)
So, onto those outstanding results. I already posted results from Wk 35-39 here:
https://www.celticquicknews.co.uk/need-for-an-innovative-assistant/comment-page-7/#comments
…but will cut+paste them again (below) and then follow up with the final week.
Cheers, fleagle1888
Week 35 (Apr 20th)
WINNERS:
16 roads (Isotope) @7/1
Fastbhoy (Mahlermade) @11/2
green T (Copper West) @5/1
LOSERS:
21-5-79 (Tim Rocco)
BMCUWP (No Selection)
Bull67 (Amomentofmadness)
Cathal (No Selection)
Cosy Corner Bhoy (No Selection)
fleagle1888 (Lucky Deal)
GFTB (Royal Brave)
Graffitionthewall (No Selection)
Gweedore Celt (Line of Reason)
leftclicktic (Perceived)
Nye Bevans RS (Mokaatil)
Onemalloy (Line of Reason)
Rockon (Bumblekite)
Som mes que un club (No Selection)
twists n turns (Graystown)
voguepunter (Riviera Nights)
Zihuatanejo (No Selection)
Hyperlinks to Week 35 selections:
https://www.celticquicknews.co.uk/we-have-moved-on-time-to-join-the-fa/comment-page-5/#comments
Week 36 (Apr 27th)
WINNERS:
NONE !!!
LOSERS:
16 roads (Sinseir)
21-5-79 (Joe Farrell)
BMCUWP (No Selection)
Bull67 (Give Me a Copper)
Cathal (No Selection)
Cosy Corner Bhoy (No Selection)
Fastbhoy (Three Kings)
fleagle1888 (Arecibo)
GFTB (Beware the Bear)
Graffitionthewall (No Selection)
green T (John Clare)
Gweedore Celt (Diego du Charmil)
leftclicktic (Major Blue)
Nye Bevans RS (Nuits St George)
Onemalloy (The Young Master)
Rockon (No Selection)
Som mes que un club (Dance Teacher)
twists n turns (Humble Hero)
voguepunter (Beware the Bear)
Zihuatanejo (No Selection)
Hyperlinks to Week 36 selections:
https://www.celticquicknews.co.uk/cruyff-silenced-in-82-after-dismissive-comment/comment-page-7/#comments
https://www.celticquicknews.co.uk/cruyff-silenced-in-82-after-dismissive-comment/comment-page-8/#comments
https://www.celticquicknews.co.uk/95-years-since-3-in-a-row-league-0-0s/comment-page-6/#comments
Week 37 (May 4th)… be with you…
WINNERS:
NONE !!!
LOSERS:
16 roads (Kings Slipper)
21-5-79 (Great Scot)
BMCUWP (No Selection)
Bull67 (Mildenberger)
Cathal (No Selection)
Cosy Corner Bhoy (No Selection)
Fastbhoy (Spider Web)
fleagle1888 (Miss Sheridan)
GFTB (No Selection)
Graffitionthewall (No Selection)
green T (Fakir D’Oudairies)
Gweedore Celt (Ever So Much)
leftclicktic (Billy Dylan)
Nye Bevans RS (The Daley Express)
Onemalloy (Rocket Lad)
Rockon (No Selection)
Som mes que un club (Gold Stone)
twists n turns (Glorious Boru)
voguepunter (El Astronaute)
Zihuatanejo (No Selection)
Hyperlinks to Week 37 selections:
https://www.celticquicknews.co.uk/sinclair-experience-continuity-attitude-why-contract-was-extended/comment-page-4/#comments
https://www.celticquicknews.co.uk/sinclair-experience-continuity-attitude-why-contract-was-extended/comment-page-5/#comments
Week 38 (May 11th)
WINNERS:
Zihuatanejo (She Believes) @8/1
LOSERS:
16 roads (Remarkable)
21-5-79 (No Selection)
BMCUWP (No Selection)
Bull67 (Qaysar)
Cathal (No Selection)
Cosy Corner Bhoy (No Selection)
Fastbhoy (No Selection)
fleagle1888 (Snappish)
GFTB (No Selection)
Graffitionthewall (No Selection)
green T (Singing the Blues)
Gweedore Celt (Qaysar)
leftclicktic (Cliff)
Nye Bevans RS (Green Power)
Onemalloy (George of Hearts)
Rockon (No Selection)
Som mes que un club (Rock on Rocco)
twists n turns (Thistimenextyear)
voguepunter (Severance)
Hyperlinks to Week 38 selections:
https://www.celticquicknews.co.uk/what-lies-ahead-of-celtic-impossible-in-the-history-of-the-game/comment-page-5/#comments
https://www.celticquicknews.co.uk/what-lies-ahead-of-celtic-impossible-in-the-history-of-the-game/comment-page-6/#comments
Week 39 (May 18th)
WINNERS:
NONE !!!
LOSERS:
16 roads (Petrus)
21-5-79 (Kinks)
BMCUWP (No Selection)
Bull67 (Romanised)
Cathal (No Selection)
Cosy Corner Bhoy (No Selection)
Fastbhoy (No Selection)
fleagle1888 (Mythical Magic)
GFTB (Masham Star)
Graffitionthewall (No Selection)
green T (Holdenhurst)
Gweedore Celt (Sky Defender)
leftclicktic (No Selection)
Nye Bevans RS (Good Birthday)
Onemalloy (No Selection)
Rockon (Boston T Party)
Som mes que un club (Raffle Prize)
twists n turns (May Remain)
voguepunter (Luxor)
Zihuatanejo (Brian the Snail)
Hyperlinks to Week 39 selections:
https://www.celticquicknews.co.uk/ironic-crop-of-creative-unusable-talent-at-lennoxtown/comment-page-7/#comments