Luis Palma (23) became our latest recruit when he arrived yesterday from Aris Saloniki on a five-year contract. He is an inverted left winger, who has on occasion played through the middle. Aris finished a distant fifth in Greece last season, elevated to this position by a very productive Luis.
He was designated penalty taker at Aris, so in the event ‘these things even themselves out’ in Scottish football, we could come to rely on him from the spot this season. Remarkably, at 23, Luis is the oldest of Celtic’s seven permanent signings this summer. We have a crop of players who it is hoped will mature together in the seasons to come.
He is, of course, the 67th winger we have on the books right now and the third to arrive this window. Suggestions we are over-compensating for the loss of our Portuguese talisman are not something I will even remotely address.
Welcome to Celtic, Luis!
We are going to have a few blogs today, see you again at lunchtime. You can put the antacids away…..!
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Paul67
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A few Blogs today PAUL67?
Like the sound of that!
SIGN EVERYONE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
67th – I thought we’d a million wingers or is that whingers
takesonetoknowoneCSC
I’m enjoying hun displeasure as much as the next man but we’re losing sight that our goal is to be a better European side (choose your own metrics), not just be in front of the punch and judy show locally.
I’ll enjoy it massively if we beat them on Sunday but Champions League will bring us down to earth.
Did we need 7,8 or 9 signings this summer between 5ook to 4.5m?
You know my view. Upgrading 3 or 4 to CCV/Jota spend level would have been my ambition. I’ve dropped from early 10-12m buys as time went by.
I’m still waiting for our breakthrough moment in this trading malarkey, and risk aversion has left us very bloated squad-wise.
Let’s see where we land in the next 30 hours or so.
HH
In a bid to strengthen our defence and at the same time improve stadium facilities we a building a mobile brick shithouse. Can play midfield but prefers the back line.
Good start to the day.
Would be pleased with the long haired loanee from Liverpool also.
Tomorrow’s training session could be interesting!
Palma Nova………..
Someone asked on the last blog how Feyenoord made it into pot 1, I was perplexed by this myself so checked it out.
Pot 1 comprises last year’s CL and ECL winners, plus the winners of the top 6 leagues in Europe (based on country coefficient). As Man City won both CL and EPL a place was made available to the winners of the 7th highest ranked league in Europe, which is the Eredivisie where Feyenoord were champions.
I believe remaining teams placed in pots 2-4 are ordered solely on team coefficient.
Big wavy
We are following the buy low sell high model hoping we turn up a few gems that will improve our European results – that’s a risky strategy.
Back later for more good news from Paul67 🤞
I’ve no doubt we’ll take a few sore ones in the CL. But that will be to a City or PSG, not PSV. No matter how many times PSV are talked up as being a top side, they’re not. This is their first CL outing in 5 years. The huns got hammered by a middleweight last night.
Luis looks promising. Some big decisions for BR to make, it’s all about the wingers on Sunday.
Almost tearful on TNT last night Rory and Sally bemoaning the massive financial advantage the Eredivisie side had over poor wee Sevco. Maybe they should have gone down the Rainjurz (Jimmy two contracts route ) with the new club, and been able to compete in the CL buying players “they couldn’t otherwise afford.”
Oh Wait CSC
Watched the entire game and thought the referee was too lenient, and that did in turn benefit Sevco. One example was where the hod carrier Lumpstrong deliberately stood on the PSV player’s foot. It was as clear as day. The RTE commentators did say that Sevco were running a fine line.
BTW, how West Brit has RTE become?
HH
An inverted left winger?
Hopefully the medical staff will be able to sort that out
bencaseycsc
GENE on 31ST AUGUST 2023 10:25 AM
Big wavy
We are following the buy low sell high model hoping we turn up a few gems that will improve our European results – that’s a risky strategy.
—
We are still a way to go in creating a sustainable mid-level European club approach to this problem. We’ll have breakthroughs but they feel more luck than design (e.g. Jota and Saudi came out of the blue) and we should be replacing some of the talent lost with talent up a tier or two.
The idea that we need to be a trading club selling possibly £80m+ plus and buying £50m+ in a window would leave our suits in endless bedwetting territory. I don’t think they are up for it.
HH
AN DÚN on 31ST AUGUST 2023 10:30 AM
Could you imagine Bakayoko up against Greg Taylor ?
We’d have no answer for their forepower imho.
They weren’t great defensively.
HH
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PLtAUvGgNtM
On this day 1949 The Little Ant made his debut.
https://wikifoundryimages.s3.amazonaws.com/zp0BJiuC_qf219oRh_KPSQ101244
https://wikifoundryimages.s3.amazonaws.com/RAYCAE8s3BefgD07brA6Xw237075
James Pearce
@JamesPearceLFC
Nat Phillips’ loan move to Celtic has been agreed.
He will join the Scottish Premiership champions initially until January when the arrangement will be reassessed by all parties. #LFC
We are going to have a few blogs today, see you again at lunchtime. You can put the antacids away…..!
:-) Ooh butterflies !
Taylor is a decent left back,but for some reason when our team have a bad day at the office him and Ralston are the ones that need replaced,and to a point I agree,but we have to remember they have scored a few important goals for us ,at best they are good squad players,Just my opinion Matt Oriley is another good player but not enough of a dig in his play ,if Celtic get a offer of £12 million I would accept.
Why on earth would we be accepting a £12m bid for Matt O’Riley?
He is a key element of our first choice midfield, a capable deputy when Calmac was out last season and someone Rodgers obviously rates as highly as the previous manager.
How would £12 million in the bank help our CL campaign this season.
Does Palma play on the left or right wing?
Hopefully right as I was looking forward to Yang v Tavpen on Sunday.
If it is left , they can share the tormenting.
Hopefully a robust and battle hardened midfield player will arrive before the windae shuts. For me that is critical. Don’t want us bounced around either at Ibrox or in the CL. The latter sees players of power, technique and athleticism. We can’t afford to be lightweight.
Paul 67,
I welcome our new arrivals, particularly if they are BR signings.
However:-
“Remarkably, at 23, Luis is the oldest of Celtic’s seven permanent signings this summer. We have a crop of players who it is hoped will mature together in the seasons to come.”
I don’t think there is anything remarkable about this. It is our activity pursued business model.
There is an honest conversation to be had. :-
The chances of a homegrown young player from our Academy making it and sustaining a Celtic first team slot is now practically zero.
To reiterate , an honest conversation devoid of sentiment must be had.
HH.
Big Wavy – De Jong, Vertessen, Bakayoko and Saibari look like tremendous players. Power and pace and plenty of skill too. They were a joy to watch from an, ahem, neutral’s standpoint.
SonsofErin …
Re Feyenoord – twas I
… thank you for research and explanation.
It’s an 8-1 shot obviously but wouldn’t it be great to get them?
No offence to any Feyenoord lurkers but they are the weakest team in Pot 1.
That comparative weakness though would not diminish the occasion given our clubs’ joint history
Inverted wingers?
There’s a bus queue of right footers on the left (Palma, Yang, Forrest, Maeda, Vata), and only one on the left (Tillio). Maeda attempting to cut in and shoot with his left last week is now a video howler on the internet…..
Poor squad mangement…
HH
SCULLYBHOY on 31ST AUGUST 2023 10:33 AM
Watched the entire game and thought the referee was too lenient, and that did in turn benefit Sevco. One example was where the hod carrier Lumpstrong deliberately stood on the PSV player’s foot. It was as clear as day. The RTE commentators did say that Sevco were running a fine line.
BTW, how West Brit has RTE become?
HH
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RTÉ didn’t show the Sevco game last night it was Virgin Media. To be fair to the host and the panellists they are Celtic supporters, Tommy Martin, the host, in particular had a right good laugh at the goals, scoreline and Goldson’s OG. He reckoned that the Hun keeper on his backside in the nets after Goldson had scored perfectly summed up Sevco’s Champions League!
Unfortunately here in Ireland, which is reflected in the tv/radio coverage, most are enamoured by the EPL, with a few diehard Celts and LOI supporters the exception.
SLOLEYBHOY
All accumulated money from our hugely flawed continually failing transfer model, is stockpiled for the new main stand, museum, indoor pitch ( full size ) , fan zone , floating pitch, and casino.
We want CSC
Just ferreting around online as one does on deadline day.
Nottingham Forest continuing with a key strategic objective ….
… To get into the Guinness Book of Records for most players bought across three successive transfer windows.
🤦
@Hot Smoked …Any footage i have been able to find seems to show him either wing..
He looks like that rare breed ..A two footer,Takes dead ball hits with The right…Also sweet penalties…
But also footage of him sending in balls from the left ..with his left…
And one particular goal…as the ball drops from high…Booom smashes it into the net ..Left foot..
Looking forward to seeing him in the hoops…..
H.H
The email the club sent us this morn…Anyone know how long it takes to get international clearance???
Big Wavy & Gene
“You know my view. Upgrading 3 or 4 to CCV/Jota spend level would have been my ambition. I’ve dropped from early 10-12m buys as time went by.”
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All strategies are risky and none guarantee success.
We were in the hunt for one such player, apparently, Fabian Raider who was quoted at 13m Euros and who has 4 Swiss caps at age 21. He has just signed for State Rennes today but I cannot see what fee is quoted. Anyone who saw him play last week for Young Boys would not have been impressed whereas £3.5m Luis Palma has a show reel which impresses, though he is 2 years older and has 6 caps for a less stellar national team.
Point is that we are judging players by the fee we pay rather than the worth they bring. Yes, there were a lot of duds in the £1-2m market that brought us forgettable midfielders like Ebboue, N’Guemo and Soro (all of whom will have long and decent careers at a level just below Celtic’s) but there have been spectacular failures too in our £3-£5m purchases too (Ajeti, Boerigter, Gravesen). Our sweet spot so far seems to be the £6m mark that brought us Sutton, Lennon, CCV and Jota. Of course we cannot get the likes of Sutton and Lennon nowadays as they would fetch triple that price but we did recently get CCV and Jota. We don’t have metrics for buying bigger than that. Our one purchase at that level- Edouard was a mixed buy- initially productive but never looked at ease here and stunk the place out in his final season.
So could we ever have got the likes of Eric Dier?- I think not- he was recently a first team starter so he would have required and fetched close to £10m , IMO, and his wages would have swamped our current level. Rob Holding might have been within our reach as he has been a bit part player for 6 of the 7 years he has been with Arsenal. My question there is – is he any better than Lagerbielke or Nawrocki, just because a big club has him in their reserves. Nat Phillips has had even less playing time in his 4 years with Liverpool but did have 2 successful spells with Stuttgart and Bournemouth in their country’s 2nd tier. As a loanee, we aren’t obligated to buy, he is less risky to take on but will probably prove a bonus (Shane Duffy caveat aside).
In a day and age where Leeds have just had a £4m bid for Kenny McLean rejected, we are agreed that some rich markets do not provide value for money- unless you can spot a gem in their unwanted impatient young reserves or you can resurrect the career of a CCV where Spurs fans rejoiced that he did not leave on a free, it is a difficult market to play.
And as for the 4 big money buys rather than 8 smaller punts- what do you do when your 2 strikers or 3 Centre Backs have long-ish term injuries at the same time? Every policy has risks. If you have 4 big money buys in your squad- the wage ceiling increases (as it has this season already as we protect known assets future transfer fees) . You then face the dilemma of cutting a squad to a smaller size and risking being short in different positions at different times of the season or you fill the squad with unready youngsters who have only played at Scottish 5th tier level.
It is easy on the blog to call for big radical gestures, financially but every recent manager, even the returned Brendan, who was touted as being primed to break our mould, has operated with this policy of Sell as high as you can and replace with a younger player who you think has a chance of fetching a similar transfer fee in a year or two’s time.
Of course, there will be failures and churn, just as there is in the academy, but if we can continue to sell at that Tierney/Jota base rather than the VVD/Forster/Wanyama level, then we can safely predict that soon Edouard will not be our incoming transfer record fee. That means, Hatate cannot go, if he goes, for less than £20m and a substantial future transfer cut. Same too for Mike O’Riley.
Got the same email – if it was up to the SFA, Never, Never, Never