Partick Thistle, who are home to Aberdeen on Friday, have lost only once at Firhill since October. We’ve lost three times at Celtic Park in that period. They are 10th in the league, but only a point behind Motherwell and Hamilton. They also have three games in hand over both Lanarkshire clubs. Friday’s home SPFL fixture is a game Thistle are looking forward to with some confidence.
This game is an opportunity for Aberdeen to draw level with Celtic, having played two games more. But it could also propel Thistle from 10th to within two points of fourth placed Ross County, and Thistle will by then have two games in hand on County. Aberdeen will have their hands full.
The questions of our age were answered in this morning’s Celtic View: What ever happened to Saidy Janko? Is he still injured, or, like so many recent recruits, has the decision been made that he’s not cut out for the job? Saidy is injury free for the first time in months and although not ready for a first team return, is back training with that target in mind.
Saidy has been out side before turning 20 in October. He made a handful of appearances in a pretty distressed looking Celtic team in the opening months of the season, including the nightmare in Malmo. None of this was the responsibility of the then teenage defender. He is a few months older than Ryan Christie and has a year on Patrick Roberts. They are part of a group of teenagers and 20-year-olds, recently assembled in the squad, which is set to grow in the coming hours with the addition of one of Norway’s prodigies. All will be hoping to match the emergence of Kieran Tierney. There’s more in the pipeline too, one of whom might make his loan debut for Partick Thistle on Friday night.
Not all of them will make it, there’s not enough space in the team for that, but we’ve never had a strategy to introduce a raft of young players into the squad like this since the Quality Street Gang.
Will it work? Is it a better strategy than signing players we cannot afford?
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Hail hail.
Árd Macha
HH
WEET WEET WEET(GBWO) on 17TH FEBRUARY 2016 11:14 AM
http://buff.ly/1KS1C9q
Wee Jays dad on the trolls
– See more at: http://www.celticquicknews.co.uk/league
It will work if the manager gets a long term chance to make it work, but do we the supporters have the patience to persevere with a youth type policy long term plan and take the knocks along the way? Doubt it.
your 100% correct here paul
a team consisting of
GK
Janko Simunovic Sviatchenko Tierney
Henderson Ajer Christie
Allan
Roberts Nesbitt
would be one id love to see come to fruition
Sack the Board.
On the trolls and Wee Jay? I just don’t get people like that at all, sick, sad individuals who need serious help and education, on that I’ll stay away from the subject as it seriously upsets me no end, and I wouldent give them the oxygen.
Hi Paul67
“…Will it work? Is it a better strategy than signing players we cannot afford.
I’m all for developing these players, we’ve being trying this – with mixed results since TQSG – but we need to do this and we need to get it right… In fact going by the majority of our recent recruits Maybe the question should be… Is it a better strategy than signing players we can afford?
Hail Hail To the young bhoys…
Should headline not be Raft Of Midfield Players.
Brown, Bitton, Johansen, McGregor, Armstrong, Allan, Christie, Rogic, Mulgrew, Commons, GMS, Forrest, Roberts, Boerrigter with Henderson, Nesbitt to return and Ajer to join in the summer.
17 players, five positions and not a decent defensive midfielder amongst them.
Can someone kindly explain to me why none of last nights games were on live? My understanding was that no games were to be shown live when champions league games were on, yet I see the barca game is live on Sky tonight.
Confused csc.
“Saidy has been out side before turning 20 in October”.
he must be cauld get him inside.. now we have circled the horses … ahmeanwagons.. :-)
I am genuinely excited by the young pool of talent that is being gathered but still worry if Ronny is the right man to mould them into a team. The emergence of Tierney came more by good luck then planning. Tierney himself did the rest, once he got the chance he didn’t have a poor game. Very few kids will be as consistent as Tierney, if Tierney had a poor game would Izzy have been immediately reinstated or would Ronny have kept faith with the kid.
TD67 made a valid point in last thread about throwing youngsters under a bus, if you stick them in against hammer throwers but Christie for one has already been under that bus so there is no fear at all on his account.I agree Saturday might not be the day to start Roberts but if we have game won and the pace has dropped, I’d see a home game like that as an ideal opportunity for a 20 minute cameo.
If we can put a bit of daylight between ourselves & Aberdeen every League game should be a rehearsal for the Euros.
masty on 17th February 2016 11:47 am
Barca game is 5.30pm kick off (UK time) so will be finished before CL games begin at 7.45pm.
PAUL67
The modern game seems to demand that a player won’t make it if he isn’t a regular by about 21yo.
Jock Stein was still regularly ‘blooding’ players of that age!
Conversely,Alex Ferguson believed in youth from the start. But he learned from his mistakes at Aberdeen,where he put very good youngsters under more pressure than it turned out they could bear.
Despite having a core of experience around them,few realised their potential.
Different at Man Utd,he brought them through as a team,still with that core of experience,and voila.
Yes,I’d love to see a bunch of kids playing their hearts out,living their dreams-and ours. But impetuosity of youth rarely brings short-term success.
The project deserves support from us. But it needs support from within,a core of experience which we seem,by and large,to be planning to jettison in favour of youth.
It’s a very difficult balancing act. I hope for success.
That might just be my first 1st in over 10 years. I’m not sure as the memory is fading:-)
Anyway, it’s exciting to see these young players but the team needs another old head to take some of the pressure of Brown in my opinion, especially for Europe.
I’m not sure about Fortress Firhill. They’ve already dropped points on Monday, maybe we should be grateful for that and kick on.
In saying that I’d be delighted if they dropped more points.
Árd Macha
ARD MACHA
Good gold,bud!
In the past we have discarded dozens of promising youngsters without anyone really seeing them in a first team match. Hopefully these young guys get a fair crack.
A young talented team would certainly galvinise the support at CP.
If these youngsters can fulfill their potential then this team has a bright future.
Cheers BMCUW.
Gym time.
Árd Macha
Our ‘supporters’ don’t have the patience to grow our own, never have had in my lifespan.
Wee Jimmy used to get dogs abuse from the jungle ‘management’ for beating players more than once.
The internet gives today’s ‘jungle management’ a voice which we really don’t need to hear if we want to progress.
We are building an impressive array of youth, at least give the guys who are mustering it a chance to bring them on, and I mean more than another season.
Keep the Faith and ignore the destructive voices of todays ‘jungle management’
I’m all for our bringing in the young bhoys, as a group. The Lions comprised the bulk of the Kelly Kids; the Quality Street Gang, the core of whom were even better players,imo, were introduced while there was still a solid group of the Lions performing. I would have thought that we needed another experienced player, who is still able to play at a good level, to help Scott Brown nurse the young ones.
No matter how good the lhad Roberts might become, I wouldn’t want him thrown in against the likes of ICT, who have more than their fair share of hammer throwers. I still have nightmares about the lhad McLaughlin being kicked off the park by McVie.
Gie the Manager a break !!!! He is doing what he did in Norway—building the next team. It is the perfect time to do it. Big Jock did the same with the QS Kids, that’s how we won nine in a row. We’ll see these kids coming through, just enjoy it.
Hi,
Everyone that e mailed dublin2016@mail.com advising that they were coming over to Dublin this Easter should now have an e mail with a few updates.
If anyone hasn’t received a mail, please let me know at the above address and I will reply to you later today.
Or if anyone is coming and hasn’t yet mailed could you let me know so that i can add you to the list?
I hope everyone’s well.
HH
Clogher
GARY67 on 17TH FEBRUARY 2016 11:46 AM
Should headline not be Raft Of Midfield Players.
Brown, Bitton, Johansen, McGregor, Armstrong, Allan, Christie, Rogic, Mulgrew, Commons, GMS, Forrest, Roberts, Boerrigter with Henderson, Nesbitt to return and Ajer to join in the summer.
17 players, five positions and not a decent defensive midfielder amongst them.
====================================================================
Indeed, but after analysis:
Mulgrew,Rogic recovering,
Commons missing and appears in a huff,
Boerrigter write off,
Nesbitt,Henderson,Ajer, not here,
Forrest being tolerated with no end product,
Armstrong,GMS McGregor average,
Allan,Christie unproven
Leaving Brown,Biton,and Johansen who play.
Lastly Roberts so good,so much potential,we are supposedly holding till later!!
Big list…………..But.
Gary67
Thank you
Could it be that our talented youngsters in the creative positions can make more of a mark in Europe where they will enjoy protection from Continental refs, and where the pace would suit their game?
Then for the league stick the older heads back on the field who have experience in wrestling with the hammer throwers.
excathedra44 on 17th February 2016 12:23 pm
I’d also suggest that Commons, Forrest, Mulgrew, Boeriggter, Johansen, Bitton are all targets for exit for one reason or the other.
The young players we’ve purchased are mostly competing for only a couple of spots in the team.
Deila seems blind sided by buying youth over building a team. The latter is far more important than the former.
Even if he’s been given a bigger budget for sticking with the former.
weeminger on 17th February 2016 12:26 pm
I’d also suggest that Commons, Forrest, Mulgrew, Boeriggter, Johansen, Bitton are all targets for exit for one reason or the other. –
=======================================
Very possible,leaving us with a Potential lack of seasoned professionals, OR a gold mine of talent should they all prosper.
Oot n ‘ a boot in a sunny ,high teens Sciacca ,
Busy wee bar , lunch time punters watching the Tv news . Up pops the goals from last night’s PSG v Chelsea game . An elderly guy stood up and applauded Cavani’s goal ——–” Beautiful goal – that pass , that fabulous movement , that control, that finish ——-absolutely beautiful “.
It was indeed -beautiful.
Ajer deal signed
Young Ajer signs a 4 year deal.
clogher celt
Email received mate , thanks for all your efforts .
HH
excathedra44 on 17th February 2016 12:31 pm
I’m not sure they’d definitely all go but it does leave GMS and Armstrong as mid-20s players with lots of games behind them and also Brown.
Bob O’Baldy-
If you study Ronny’s successes in Norway you will find that he is not attempting to replicate that formula at Celtic.
Many of his team that won the league in Norway would have been writing their A Levels such was their age.
You can also make a point that Norway enjoys a better standard of football overall, so his success wasn’t down to dumb luck.
The expectations at Celtic are off the charts compared with a provincial team in Norway, and for me, this is the crux of the issue. Can implement his system quick enough to keep everyone happy, while achieving relative instant results?
History would suggest not.
Hopefully none of the group is a striker in £2m or so bracket.
I think I detect a hint of a change in strategy, or maybe just more emphasis and bolder in respect of youth.
Welcome to Paradise Kris. 6’5 at the age of 17 and captain of his team to boot.
No pressure there then.
Quality Street Gang? Whoooa horsey.
There’s no evidence that the current crop are any better than Milan Misun, Tom Rogne, Adam Virgo, Josh Thomson, Cilian Sheridan and so many others who have been unable to transition from youth football to the Celtic first team.
We get one such player every 2 years. If we were world class at youth development, we’d get (at most) one per season.
RealityBitesCSC
Ajer a direct replacement for Brown?
Brown’s 31 this year and is definitely carrying long-term knocks. He’s also now involved in the coaching side of things.
So a year of being brought through and adjusting to the change to being at a massive club then with Brown at 32 we have a ready made replacement.