After a flurry of transfer activity, it was reassuring to hear Brendan Rodgers say “We will look to do more business, January is important for us.” We have brought in players who will help us with domestic and European challenges this season, but the strategic objective of arriving at the Champions League qualifiers with strong central defensive choices remains.
While the manager is in Dubai, Celtic scouts are busy on this task. The previous two transfer windows saw Marvin Compper and Jack Hendry arrive on permanent contracts but fail to impress. Getting players in is not the problem, but signing players capable of competing in Champions League qualification games is another matter.
Our most reliable method of recruiting central defenders in recent seasons has been loans from English Premier League teams’ younger ranks. We have a reputation there for improving defenders, adding value for Manchester City and Leicester. It would be better to add value to our own playing assets, but squads can have both strategically consistent players (Vakoun Issouf Bayo) and short-term patches (Filip Benkovic).
Would we get a better player through this method than buying on the open market? Probably.
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These player of the month awards are complete guff. Every month the player and manager are from the same team. They obviously just look at who has had a few wins, pick the manager of that team and pick some random player from the same team. You could get a computer to do it!
Typical lack of imagination in Scottish football.
I said it before, spend 25M now and we will dominate Scottish football forever. Sale of Dembelle, Armstrong and 8M for Van Dyk sell on = 35M without even considering CL and Europa money.
I don’t understand why it is so hard, just do it.
GERRYBHOY on 10TH JANUARY 2019 12:40 PM
McKenna is at the upper range of who we can afford to buy, even then if a lower half epl team take a shine to him a la McGinn then we’ll lose out on him too. Benkovic is quality but is out of our reach to buy, hence the loan. That the reality of being their poor neighbours
Paul67
I think we could even say that Marvin Compper failed, to fail to impress.
It is apparent that Boyata will run down his contract, sign a pre-contract and leave on a Bosman at the end of the season. We will not get a fee for him. Bad Planning
It has been apparent that we need a centre Back and last January;s two signings Hendry and Commper are not good enough..
We know that McKenna was a target and I think we can assume that we have went back in for him and have offered again. Aberdeen are maybe themselves looking for a replacement before we accept their offer. They are waiting to the end of the window.
It could be that we are in for someone else and the same silence is operating.
Now we may not be successful in our offers for our first choices and may have to make offers for 2nd and 3rd Targets and we may be in this phase
Surely we will have a t least one CH in by he end of the window
GLASSTWOTHIRDSFULL on 10TH JANUARY 2019 1:16 PM
It’s usually any team who gets a result against us. If we win all our games then we might be in with a shout!
STAIRHEEDRAMMY on 10TH JANUARY 2019 1:16 PM
I cannot change what individual countries dictate. I don’t have to agree or endorse it though.
What I can do is endeavour to achieve a more equal society in our environment.
Is that wrong ?
Just done the Mestalla stadium tour,magical. I envy the Celtic fans that will visit Valencia in a few weeks. Great city, great old style stadium.
Another lead article that leaves me feeling uneasy.
As others have stated we have no long term footballing strategy.
Why bother with a scouting department when we can simply wait till clubs and agents supply us with lists and dvd’s of who’s available on loan at the present window?
Another strange article from Paul67. Seems to advocate downsizing again.
I could support loaning players (to an extent) if we were loaning proven quality who were maybe currently out of favour at their club (like we did with Robbie Keane), with further exceptions to be made if there is a quality young player available (Benkovic).
But continually loaning youth players (even if from a prestigious academy) is not good enough.
If people can’t see by now that the manager is NOT in charge of the transfer dealing there is no hope for you.
Our policy is the same as it’s been for years, projects on the cheap in the hope we develop and sell for wheans of money.
greenpinta, nothing wrong in looking for fairness (where have we heard that before), but sometimes we need to accept that others may choose to live differently. I would have no difficulty in working with the Iranians I have spoken to. I would prefer to try to influence change through cooperation, and not conflict.
MADMITCH on 10TH JANUARY 2019 12:36 PM
So far it has been two loans and a project with promise.
We still haven’t spent the value of PL’s long term bonus.
Be reasonable Mitch surely you don’t want us to spend beyond our reasonable/justified means?
We don’t want what happened to Leeds Utd or the now defunct Rangers with such a reckless approach to spending,
Should Brexit go through, could Boyata leave on a Bosman? Hilarious if his new club had to pay something for him. Just about the only hilarious thing about Brexit though.
“Surely you don’t want our club to go the way of Rangers, do you? Do you? I mean, we could spend decent money on players, sure, and we could give the manager the resources from the Dembele sale, but would it guarantee we’d be better off? Of course not, and then if it ddn’t work out we would be bankrupt in a few short years and completely at the mercy of our enemies … comrades, come on. Surely you don’t want that? Before you know it the White’s and Kelly’s would be in charge again. Comrades, surely you don’t want the White’s and the Kelly’s back, right?”
SquealerthepigCSC
A couple of questions. 1 Is there a limit how many players a club can have on their books. 2 Is there a limit how many loan players a club can have.
BIGBHOY on 10TH JANUARY 2019 1:26 PM
It is apparent that Boyata will run down his contract, sign a pre-contract and leave on a Bosman at the end of the season. We will not get a fee for him. Bad Planning
*Or mibbees that’s the deal we made with him to encourage him tae stay.
F-A-T @ 1.50
Oh no — not that tired old cliches.
The binary world you live in — reality is more complex than that.
Why do we fall for the spending is bad trope so beloved of the Forgers Gazette?
MADMITCH
A just wanted a much loved on here podium by being first to regurgitate such nonsense.
Attention seekers CSC
Someone mentioned Porteous from Hibs, I think he would be a great addition. Why not loan Lewis Morgan and give them Scott Allan in the mix as I think the boy could do a job for us, pace and positionally sound
C’mon Brendan
Hail Hail
and Happy New Year CQN
GSU
It’s total pish bein’ a Cellic supporter so it is.
Breezy if we spend £25m on five players, four year contracts that’s another £30- £40m on wages , then they can leave for nothing. Now I can’t count so might be wrong. We can’t afford it.
What scout at Celtic, recommend Virgil,,and Benovcic for me is ok,but I wouldn’t buy him, looks helava slow at times,and I’m sure he is injury prone, another one Porteous at Hibs,got the run around against Sevco so not for me,and Celtic need to watch freeing some of there young players,take for example,Declin Gallagher at Livingston freed by Celtic, playing his best football with Livingston.
JAMES FORREST
Comparison of our present board to Kelly’s and Whites is unjust.
One board have figured out how to run the club as a business that pays them big bonuses.
The others couldnae dae that but were good at heavy lifting of giant biscuit tins full of cash.Allegedly!
The footballing side being secondary and their disdain for the Celtic support.is where they share the same traits.
Breezy should be Breeny , apologies.
Greempinata,
Your reliance on western propaganda is demonstrated by your ignorance, as I suggested, increase your sources of information and you will become better informed.
There is a considerable Christian minority in Iran who do not nor are they forced to wear mandatory head wear.
Women of Shia Islam in Iran are not any worse off than women of Shia Islam in the UK or anywhere in the western world. However I suspect you are happy in your ignorance based on propaganda, oh and in case you are tempted to provide evidence please ensure it is from a neutral source. Not all sources that call themselves “human rights” are actually interested in human rights.
Will Trapp
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1x65MlQWmBA
BORGO67
You don’t honestly think this board would ever sanction approximately 5 million each on 5 players without factoring in sell on value do you?
Rebel11
I thought Will Trapp was denied already..
Would love to see some deadwood going – Allan, Benyu, Gamboa, Compper & Miller clearly have no future…plus others who could do with a move.
Oh and a quick way to check if you’ve found a neutral source is to search for women’s rights in Israel and Palestine
McKenna and Porteous we should stay well clear of.
The PLC dont want to spend money, they are risk averse and will always be thus
Porteous from Hibs; Potential to be a thoroughbred.
Not McKenna; Strictly point-to-point.
Hibs will take a couple of million and we’ll get a player with heart and bags of potential to sit right at the heart of the defence.
The spine of any Celtic team should have players in it that belong to Celtic.
Not somebody else’s players wearing Celtic shirts for a jolly.
MM
If Jack Hendry has a future at Celtic we may as well print off all P67’s expectation management articles and stick them in a nice big frame for future reference,
HH
Laffatme told to find a new club…
SANDMAN @2-30
The spine of any Celtic team should have players in it that belong to Celtic.
Not somebody else’s players wearing Celtic shirts for a jolly.
IN A NUTSHELL!!!
FAN-A-TIC
No I don’t.
The point I was really making was that there’s no way we would spend that kind of money
Canamalar,
You make a habit of calling posters ignorant. That in itself is ignorance and arrogant. It is also not a good negotiation tactic.
Just why do you think you are better informed than me. ?
Genuine question.
If we resort to only loans for the rest of this window to strengthen obvious weaknesses then what should be the finite number of our cash reserves/mountain before we spend on a player to enhance the team?
Or will our cash reserves ever be enough?