One of the many mysteries of football is why Anthony Ralston (now 24) was so far out the picture in the latter stages of Neil Lennon’s tenure. Kris Ajer, Moritz Bauer, Jeremie Frimpong and Jonjoe Kenny were all selected at right back ahead of him. When he was brought back into the fold by Ange Postecoglou his talent was clear to see.
He had earlier emerged in the procession of full backs that also contained Kieran Tierney (26) and Calvin Miller (25). I had high hopes for all three early on, although only Kieran went all the way to the top. Calvin is at the peak of his career and playing for Falkirk, while full Scotland international Anthony signed a new four-year contract at Celtic yesterday. When that contract concludes, if he is still with us, 11 years will have passed since his first Celtic league appearance, and he will still be only 29 years old. Perhaps not quite triggering the testimonial bandwagon.
Alongside Callum McGregor and James Forrest, he is a rare breed, someone who the club developed as a youth who went on to compete at Champions League level. He fits one of the four most difficult slots to fill in the Uefa squad list, so is well worth Celtic investing to retain and further develop him. He is also a Bellshill-born Celtic defender, which is quite a tradition to follow.
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Shirley not.
Well done Tony – certainly good enough for the SPFL – hope you kick-on – all the very best HH
Chased in from the garden by forthcoming storm and find a new article up. Whoddathunkit?
Wonder if Tony will ever earn his own statue in Bellshill Paul?
BTW where’s Aipple?
“He is also a Bellshill-born Celtic defender”
Did he play for Mossend as a wee guy?
Emdy know?
“One of the many mysteries of football is why Anthony Ralston (now 24) was so far out the picture in the latter stages of Neil Lennon’s tenure.”
——————–
Yeah, a real head-scratcher that one, particularly given Neil’s renowned eye for a player.
Well done, Anthony. Well deserved and an ideal player to have as part of the squad. Be good to see him getting a bit more game time.
Well done Anthony Ralston.
Am pleased with this news.
Not everyone in the squad can be a rock star.
Every squad needs “John O’Shea” types.
Solid, unspectacular, emotionally committed, happy to be there, won’t rock the boat if not starting.
Hope he stays physically fit and motivated.
If he does, a great asset to the squad.
We have to try and keep as many Scottish-reared players at the club, especially our own crop. Good for future European squads and an example to others trying to break through what can be achieved. Well Done Tony, well deserved, por cierto.
https://cdn.celtsarehere.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/LC_KILLIE_CELTIC_0031.jpg
“My family support is unbelievable,” he said in a Celtic TV interview. “My mum, my granda [who] recently passed away. He was my father figure growing up in my life. Without him, I wouldn’t be where I am. He’s now one of the reasons why I strive forward.
“I’ve got a good friends group too who keep me grounded, not that I need it. I’ve just got such good people around me and I always have.
“I owe all of them back so signing this is a proud moment for all of them. Especially my granda, my wee girl, my mum. I dedicate this one to them because they deserve it all, even more so than me.”
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The Battered BUNNET,
I am Mossend born and bred currently staying in Bellshill but did not know Tony was born in Bellshill. He could have been born in Bellshill Maternity just before it closed.
A retired striker who played for THEM was born in Bellshill but came from East Kilbride is known as such
I do not know what Bellshill has done to deserve such notoriety when you add the comings and goings of a certain referee also from East Kilbride,
On a much more pleasant note, how are you getting on.
It is a long time since we corresponded so it is nice to catch up.
Martin 42.
Great to see you posting, Martin42.
Just back from my day procedure and feeling fine- some aspects of the NHS are still working very well despite the Tories- so I might comment on this issues.
It has been puzzling a lot of people as to why Brendan has not come back to CP acting like Viv Nicholson with a Spend, Spend, Spend mentality.
In attempting to deal with the cognitive dissonance created by the last transfer window, most have reached for the simplistic but comforting view that Peter Lawwell is back to pissing off our manager and he will walk at some unspecified date (Why not now? is never tackled).
I have been puzzled too by the re-appearance of BR and what is at play here. This is a manager, who despite his sacking by Leicester, would have got a better paid gig elsewhere within months, either in the EPL or Saudi. My first view was that he agreed to come here to mentor our current coaches and, after success, move on. I wasn’t convinced by my own explanation either.
The fog is still there but I am willing to attempt an explanation in light of some recent events.
When Brendan came back, a fairly well respected ex-poster, BRTH, said we were embracing a new outlook within CP and we would now have, from my memory of his post, roughly three elements to this new operation.
1) A greater willingness to buy older players and pay larger transfer fees
2) A higher wage base to retain players and/or maximise the fees they attract when sold.
3) A sidelining of Peter Lawwell from the transfer policy.
I beg forgiveness, if I have misrepresented the complexity of what he posted elsewhere, but that is my recollection of it, and I am responsible for what I am saying here, not BRTH.
If it is correct, I think he may have been two-thirds right, which is quite a high rate for speculating on football.
With the new contracts already negotiated with many of the star members of Ange’s squad, and Hatate and O’Riley soon to follow, I hope, we have already committed a lot of money to this leg of the process.
Having seen so many youngsters leaving for little, including possibly Rocco Vata, at the end of this season, we are seeking to monetise our talent in future transfer windows when they receive offers that will be more attractive than even the enhanced money we can pay, but will make the transfer fee they command, sweeten the deal for us.
Everyone can see the value of this when it comes to our stars like Kyogo, CCV, O’Riley, Johnston and Hatate. But, it benefits us too when we have sought after talents that we don’t impress our base that much but other professionals value:- the pressing of Daizen Maeda and the goals of Leil Abada.
It even helps us with our much-derided “journeyman” talent. Remember, Stephen Welsh was subject, allegedly, to a £3m bid but we elected to keep him. Mikey Johnston and Greg Taylor are members of their chosen National squads and will have chances to impress. Remember Leeds paid good money for the less-than-stellar Glen Kamara and His team-mates, Aribo, Bassey, Morelos and Kent attracted decent offers because other teams saw them have a good game in Europe once. Obviously some of the contract offers are just to preserve our proven Scottish core (Forrest, Bain,Ralston and Welsh) for registration in Europe purposes but, even there, a run of games suddenly makes them sought after commodities.
Most of the rest of the squad have to prove they are not further versions of Barkas and Ajeti before they will attract us to the contract renewal table, but there is still time. I would however, attempt the trick with our most promising young players too- Rocco may have rejected this approach but Mitchell frame signed and Daniel Kelly, Kyle Are and Josh Clarke may need a little incentive if the youth coaches think these are ready for the next stage of Celtic development- the sink or swim loan away to a Scottish Championship or English League One club.
So, all that is missing is the bigger spend to prove BRTH right. Seemingly, we were in for Kelleher, the Liverpool back up keeper and Klopp valued him around the £8m mark but was unwilling to let him go, so we may have been bigger spenders than we were lat window, and we may be in future windows.
The plan seems to be to see the Jota trick done more than once before we buy in at half-Jota, half-Hatate or half- O’Riley levels to renew the cycle.
Just my random thoughts, but it might be the lingering anaesthetic talking.
Feyenoord go 4 up
Hey Martin, all good here, trust all’s well at your end.
I resurrected an old external hard drive last week and discovered a decade’s worth of digital photos, some of which included my (then) 7 year old son at the Mossend tournament at Watling St in the 00s. Today’s leader struck a coincident chord.
SFTB – hope you’re back up to snuff in jig time.
EX Auld Club JIM FORREST.
Jim Forrest has passed away aged 79.
He was a ” TOONHEID” lad….I was also born in Glesgas Toonheid.
I saw him play on several occasions, and he was a terrific player and prolific goal scorer.
He is probably the ONLY Ranger player that I have ever liked and admired. I sometimes wished he had played for Celtic when I was a Bhoy.
I think he scored 143 goals in his 163 games for the Old Huns….or thereabouts ?
Jim Forrest and George ” Dandy ” McLean were made the TWO biggest Scapegoats after BERWICK Rangers beat the Huns in the Scottish Cup, as BOTH were soon dropped and transferred very soon after the Berwick defeat.
George McLean was a centre forward who would score Two Goals…but miss THREE Sitters in any game, while Jim Forrest was the MAIN man ( imho).
I was VERY happy when the auld Huns sold Jim Forrest, because he was a real danger man, but I have NEVER understood ” WHY” the Huns sold him, given his excellent goal scoring record with them.
I think he added more goals while playing for Aberdeen and some other clubs.
He was ” Rangers Daft” as a lad, and I can only imagine that there must have been thousands of Hun fans who were very angry that he was made a scapegoat and sold on after the Berwick cup tie ?
R.I.P. Jim.
SETTING FREE THE BEARS FOR RES. 12 & OSCAR KNOX on 27TH SEPTEMBER 2023 1:33 PM
…………..
I hope to see you VERY soon mate, just text me anytime.
HH SFTB .
EX Ranger JIM FORREST scored 145 goals in 163 games for the auld Club.
THAT is some goal scoring record in anyones book.
BIG JIMMY on 27TH SEPTEMBER 2023 1:56 PM
EX Auld Club JIM FORREST.
Jim Forrest has passed away aged 79
………
The Ibrox club shot itself in the foot when they jettisoned Jim Forrest. Was it not the case that they also got rid of Alec Willoughby at the same time?
FRITZSONG on 27TH SEPTEMBER 2023 2:20 PM
…………
I think you may be CORRECT about Willoughby.
I think MANY/MOST Celtic fans were GLAD when Jim Forrest was sold by the Huns.
To this day, I have NEVER understood the way that the Hun Club treated Jim Forrest ?
HH.
https://twitter.com/maartenhopman94/status/1705957714898165886?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1705957714898165886%7Ctwgr%5E5adc8948d7c50b3505160cdb503a8ef86d986ffa%7Ctwcon%5Es1_c10&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.footballscotland.co.uk%2Fspfl%2Fscottish-premiership%2Ffeyenoord-spark-ajax-meltdown-raging-27778978
Mental cases – did real harm to Celtic fans in Glasgow.
NOW YOU KNOW: Prolific scorer Forrest was made scapegoat
22nd November 2012 GLASGOW TIMES
JIM FORREST had a great goalscoring record during his time with Rangers, but was one of the players blamed for their disastrous Scottish Cup defeat to Berwick Rangers in 1967.
Jim Forrest was a schoolboy footballer with the Ibrox side and he also played for Drumchapel Amateurs. He signed professional forms for Rangers on November 30, 1961.
An old fashioned forward, good with both feet and possessing a blistering turn of speed, Forrest was to make 163 appearances for Rangers scoring 145 goals. A superb goals-to-games ratio.
He played twice for Rangers against Morton at Cappielow, scoring on both occasions. Dates were April 7, 1965, 3-1 to Rangers, and April 16, 1966, 5-0 to Rangers.
He also had the distinction of scoring four times against Morton in the Scottish League Cup final in 1963 which finished 5-0 to Rangers.
His Ibrox career came to an end in 1967 after the infamous defeat to Berwick Rangers in the Scottish Cup.
Forrest was wrongly blamed along with another Rangers player, George McLean, for the failure, and left the club within a fortnight.
An incident outside Ibrox stadium sparked a 999 response.
By Glasgow Times reporter
Officers were called to Edmiston Drive on Sunday evening after Rangers hosted Motherwell.
The force revealed that they were responding to a report of a disturbance at around 5.30pm.
Details of the nature of the incident were not given, and no arrests have been made at this time.
A Police Scotland spokesperson said: “Police Scotland responded to a disturbance on Edmiston Drive around 5.30pm on Sunday, September 24, 2023, following the Rangers v Motherwell fixture at Ibrox Stadium.
Famous left footer Celtic players;
Shunsuke Nakamura
John Collins
Bertie Auld
Tommy Burns
Neil Mochan
BIG JIMMY
Thanks for the comments about Jim Forrest. I saw him a few times in the early 60s and he was indeed a terrific penalty box striker.
In the 90s when I moved to Edinburgh one of my neighbours was Ralph Brand who was a goalscoring partner of Forrest’s in the Ibrox front line.
Ralph was a taxi driver in the 90s and was an absolute gentleman. He is now 86 but no longer a neighbour so I haven’t seen him in a while.
That pre-Stein Gers team of the early 60s was a nightmare for a young bhoy starting his Celtic-supporting life.
The wallpaper store in Rutherglen has been broken into three times local cops say they see a pattern emerging
Jim Forrest RIP. Great striker and one of my favourite players of the 60s even though he played for the hun.
And came back to haunt them. Nice.
BIG JIMMY on 27TH SEPTEMBER 2023 2:45 PM
FRITZSONG on 27TH SEPTEMBER 2023 2:20 PM
SCULLYBHOY
My memories of the Jim Forrest days are quite dim. Probably no more of an impression now. But I was at the Rangers v Morton League Cup Final when he scored four. That was a strange event as Morton had comfortably held the Ibrox men at bay for a long period before their central defence disintegrated.
It was a strange time too. Celtic, with some excellent players, were perennial third or even fourth best to Rangers. So our successes from 1965 on came, as much as anything, as a stunning and very welcome surprise
Saltires en Sevilla, Leggy and BRRB. A great afternoon.
https://photos.app.goo.gl/a7UDEmrg7GKyLvuh6
Jim Forrest, a good striker, what made him great was Jim Baxter. The passes he made left Forrest mostly 1on 1 with keepers, aye Baxter would have made most CFs better! por cierto.
BRS
I think big Tam was right footed?
BRS
Sorry, I must have imagined big Tam G was on your list of left footers.
I have 4 Chicago based colleagues visiting Scotland this week.
They have started following the Celtic being coerced by me that supporting an English team is just so boring.
So they have now attended several games at the Chicago CSC pub, and love it.
The other day the took pictures from the Necropolis towards paradise, it looked sensational.
Just now they are posting from Celtic Park itself.
I think I got 4 converts right enough.
Tosh McKinley
GaryGillespie
The best right footed left back the world had ever seen , wasn’t told about potential transfer bidders by Jock Stein allegedly.
!!BADA BING!!
Woah woah