Transfer window business is seldom completed in May, so anticipation based on Neil Lennon’s post-match comments about having bid £3m for a player should be tempered. We have a long close-season ahead, so I’ll avoid giving a name-check to the teenage midfielder Neil watched on international duty in February and who is being touted as a target today.
The most obvious question emerging from this story is why another central midfielder? Celtic have Wanyama, Ki, Brown, Ledley and Kayal all battling for places there, but it’s Kris Commons who is a rare entity. Kris is able to create goals at a rate none of the rest can. He’s also had a disappointing season, much of which was spent watching the action from the side-lines.
The problem for Celtic in central-mid is balance. When Kris Commons is injured, off-form, or playing in a wide position, we’re short of creativity in the middle. For the record, creativity doesn’t mean someone who can turn in a tight space or dribble, Charlie Mulgrew was our most creative player last season (as it now is). This strong area of the squad needs rebalanced.
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TinyTim
Polish media say not much, why this turned to be bad end to the transfer. I said his injury was minor becouse I remembered the news from Slask doctor. He said to the media that injury was not serious and expected the player to be hundred percent fit in up to five week. No operation was needed.
I suspect, Fojut had another scan in London and your doctors decided the results of them were not good and found risks of more injuries to his knee.
That is the only explanation I can find now.
More on Brozek and the revelations in the Daily Record.
Mr. Craig Swan from that newspaper, not for the first time twists the words and does agenda against Celtic.
This time he has stolen Pawel Brozek interview given to the local newspaper “Gazeta Krakowska” on May, 8th , made translation and published it in Daily Record on May, 11th.
Pawel Brozek blamed nobody in his interview given to the Polish newspaper.
Celtic Soul Brother-where was that filmed mate?
Caller Tommy told the truth at the end on Clyde tonight and they listened even though they were running out of time
Tommy called the situation “a carve up”
And so right he was
We know Murray needed out even more than the bank and by demonising the state owned financiers the road was clear for Craigy boy Whytes arrival and Murray/Smiths timely departures
Whytes job then was to pay for nothing and pass the mess on
Tommy was right it’s a carve up
Planned from the start to divert blame and at the end pick up the pieces free of debt
They need hammered the whole rotten lot of them
I expect the authorities to act accordingly
Dies =does bloody iPhone.
Tim Malone Will Tell on 14 May, 2012 at 21:51 said:
———————–
my perception is that Celtic’s target men tended to suffer disproportionately from MIB attention, ‘backing in’ or ‘high arms’. They also spent quite a bit of time receiving treatment for the ‘tackle thru’ the ass’ that’s apparently only legal against players wearing hoops.
Sammi is a big forward playing guy who can hold the ball (sometimes too long) but he certainly can, given a fair shake, create oppurtunitied for those around him.
Evening all. A wee video from before the game yesterday. Made me laught.
Hoopy the hound having a party at paradise.
Dan
That player signed
last week for Hamburg. I think Neil would have known that yesterday.
Glendalys – agree that someone who could head the ball would be an asset.
Crushed Nuts – I don’t see Sammi as a target man – probably closer to an old-fashioned inside left in my opinion – who just happens to be very tall.
TinyTim
I suspect, Fojut has a problem now. His contract with Slask expires in six weeks. He has to find new club or renew contract with Wroclaw. Celtic decision put question marks on Fojut’s future. People (maybe inluding Fojut) do not know if his injury is more serious than it was said, or there are only some risks of the same injuries to that knee?
Has always been the way with big players at Celtic.
Sammi goes for a high ball, foul to them, one of our defenders goes for a high ball, foul to them.
Play football, pass them to death.
!!Bada Bing!! on 14 May, 2012 at 21:59 said:
Celtic Soul Brother-where was that filmed mate?
Sorry don’t know-found it via twitter @VictoriaCFC
Tim Malone et al
I would like to see us sign a striker who is prepared to attack the ball in the box, particularly at the front post.
As someone posted, you don’t need to be a giant to be good in the air – macca and Henrik prove this, but , both aggressively attacked the ball.
Hooper’s goals yesterday were great examples of playing to someone’s strengths, and the 5th was the best of the lot, as hooper used his pace and guile to make a technically very good goal look very easy.
It would be great if we could get in a keeper , centre back and striker for next season.
Get them in early, get them settled , and set ourselves up for success.
Tim Malone Will Tell on 14 May, 2012 at 21:51 said
I agree.
Anyhow, even if we did find a decent target man you are still pairing him off at doing the solitary thing most centre halves we will be playing against can do – head the ball.
Instead of focussing on finding someone who can get on the end of the countless crosses we put into the box, we should be adapting our play so we are putting crosses into the box.
Barcelona took that to the extreme against Chelsea when they seemed incapable of putting a single cross into the box – but the point is there entire game plan is devoid of the ‘crosses into the box’ concept.
Passing and moving your way into the box – thats the benchmark we should be aspiring to.
6ft 4in tall, bruiser centre halves who head balls for breakfast having men run at them would be giving penalties away all day long too
ESPN Classic, starting now, 67 In The Heat Of Lisbon
EyesWideOpen
Have we not been playing a 3-5-2 recently?
Seems to me Neil is already changing things now he has the monkey of a League Title off his back.
Good night and Good luck!
Celtic Soul Brother-cheers.
ASonOfDan
we`ve been trying 3-5-2 for the last few weeks now (apart from the hun game )
i think it suits our players , particularly the wing backs also i think CM and VW are comfortable in that position
Talking of injuries, I would sell Kayal in the summer. Two seasons now he has had long term problems.
Great player, but no good to us if he can only play 3 months out a season.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vRiAQNz1E4g
Tommy Burns Jersey CSC
ASonOfDan on 14 May, 2012 at 22:13 said:
Yeah.
I was ecstatic with the change when he did it against the huns, believing he had picked a team and system based on the oppositions strengths and weaknesses and it worked a treat.
The Dundee Utd game has made me think it was a trial of MO’Ns same system.
Not sure the answer yet, but I definitely think its the way to go for most SPL home games.
If we could just work on a system whereby the players being picked isnt necessarily the central midfielder, or free man in free role or left wing back or centre half etc and merely players who read the game and move into the best available position knowing if needs be a team mate will spot the run and cover for him whilst the player with the ball has an increased amount of options – we would be spanking teams by 4,5, 6 goals most weeks.
Ingredients wise – things are as good as they possibly will get.
Recipe wise – we need to improve on, in my opinion of course
Well, I see we have moved quickly on from celebrating to transfer speculation.
Some are posting that we should sell ours cheaply and buy big from England. Well I think a 23 year old Korean with 45 national caps for a team ranked 31 in the world is worth a whole lot more than the ROI’s 7th choice striker or a Scotland U-21 prospect.
Ki, if we allow him to develop may become the passmaker we are looking for. Certainly Kayal, Wanyama or Brown cannot fulfill that role and Commons is more of an auxiliary attacker than a midfielder.
Now if Ki is set on leaving then that’s a different matter but we should still get top dollar for a player entering his prime years.
But please don’t waste that money in trying to entice jaded EPL veterans who are used to wages in the 30 to 80k bracket and could get bigger wages from relegation strugglers if they can’t get a starting gig with the mid-table team they are at.
From me it’s a no to Kelvin Davies, Kenwynne Jones, Emile Heskey or Leon Best (who has already said no). Remember James Beattie!
Let’s buy hungry young players but I would accept a grizzled central defender if we can source one at a decent price.
Lurking now & then most of the day. Read some early posts. I think judgement by some on Paddy is very harsh. The guy has never REALLY had a chance. Particularly when you think of how long guys like Broony/Sammi/Mulgrew/etc got before they really made it at Paradise- difference being: they all received conserted appearances in team unlike Paddy. Think some of our hun-like fans are very quick to right players off. Like Bangura, Hooiveld, Rasmussen etc with even established guys like Stokes starting to suffer the treatment. I still hear fans say how bad Rafael Scheidt was- did anybody ever see him play? How is he to be judged?
If some players are struggling to adapt culturally to our game why don’t we loan them out to other SPL clubs? If we buy Russel/Stevens from Utd we could keep them there for another year-let them mature.
The basic moan is : we Celtic fans can be a bit kneejerk in our judgements…
zbyszek
What an irony if Celtic draw Slask in the CL R3 Qualifier ! They are one of a few tricky ties we might wish to avoid. Possibly one of the tougher ones.
Paddy Gallagher on 14 May, 2012 at 20:08 said:
Was about to pass this by, boy am I glad I didn’t !
Shared it on Facebook, the amount of “Likes” and Shares is increasing as we speak.
Go raibh maith agat.
Carlos Tevez brought controversy
to the celebrations during
Manchester City’s Premier League
trophy parade on Monday evening
by holding up a banner depicting
what appeared to be a mocked-up
tombstone for Sir Alex Ferguson
and the legend “RIP Fergie”.
The streets of Manchester were
painted blue as thousands of fans
gathered to salute their heroes, 24
hours after they clinched the title.
The occasion was one of joy but
Tevez struck a sour note by
holding up the banner referring to
the Manchester United manager.
The social networking site Twitter
erupted as fans condemned the
Argentinian’s actions, describing
him as a “disgrace to football”.
It is thought Tevez was handed
the placard by someone in the
crowd. He did not have it when he
boarded the open-top bus to begin
the tour of the city centre at
Albert Square.
The meaning behind it could well
be in reference to Ferguson’s
famous response to a 2009
question as to whether or not
United would ever be underdogs
against City. “Not in my lifetime,”
he said.
Pf Ayr,
The 3 at the back we have played in the last few weeks seems much more spread out than under MoN.
Under Mon the three were only 2 / 3 yards apart, which ultimately the opposition wisened up to and started attacking the space in the corners ( behind wing backs and to right / left of the ‘outside ‘ guys in the three)
Lenny’s system has the 3 centre backs standing 7/ 8 metres apart , which narrows space in the corners, but , may allow decent attacking midfield European players to run through us.
Either way, it is good that we have options, and makes us less predictable when you are playing the same opponents 4 / 5 times a season
CRC
Mrs Palacio just rang to tell me that the wee CQN badge was delivered this morning. Thanks.
She also tells me that the SB renewals have arrived also.
No to Newclub
HH
setting free the bears on 14 May, 2012 at 22:27 said:
What about a failed Chris Sutton or an injury prone John Hartson? I think there is a balance between experience at the right price, mixed with the hunger of youth.
BTW, how the heck did we win 5s on Saturday, with you and me being on the same side?
HH
CRC
Clashcitybhoy on 14 May, 2012 at 22:32 said:
Thats a good point – well done.
Drats – bed time again!
Night fellow championees!
p.s. Come on over to my place over the tannoy at the end of the party yesterday was magic!
Burnley78
Is Celtic seeded in in the final round?
If seeded, who knows? Four teams were fighting for the title here and in my opinion Slask was the weakest team. I would not worry much, but last year Wisla Cracow were only three minutes from CL against APOEL.
ernie lynch on 14 May, 2012 at 21:10 said:
Ernie, I prefer to think of it as Celtic covering all eventualities.
WRT the Pauls article, does anyone think Izzy could move inside from his usual LB position? I noticed him doing that on a few times over the last couple of games. Izzys has returned to near his best and is one of my favorite players these days…him and Sammi.
Hail Hail
Burnle78
I meant – seeded in round 3, not final. Now I’m sure seeded.
Best GB X1 in my lifetime
Shilton
McGrain
Charles
Moore
Gemmell
Jinky
Bobby Charlton
Murdoch
Best
Dalglish
Law
crc
“What about a failed Chris Sutton or an injury prone John Hartson? I think there is a balance between experience at the right price, mixed with the hunger of youth.”
I cut out a paragraph from my original post in which I attribute this EPL-worshipping to a Nostalgia for Seville. Those were different times a decade ago. The transfer market has moved on. A Sutton or Hartson now would get a gig from a West Ham, Stoke or WBA at wages we could not sustain
Two trends affect us badly. Firstly, the EPL relegation fighters and newly promoted clubs are willing to waste £6 to £10m on single players rather than risk the Swansea/ Norwich/ Blackpool approach of team building and coaching. Hence we get Southampton bidding £7m for Hooper and Grant Holt will now be worth £10m even though his manager felt he was not good enough to start for Norwich when they came up.
Secondly, Scottish football is imploding. With Rangers either out or severely weakened, and other clubs drawing in their expenditure, we will be affected too. Don’t get me wrong, it’s a price worth paying but their demise comes at a price for Scottish football.
Unless we can change our competitive market place, we will struggle to keep our prospects or attract big players. I hope we can make a splash in Europe as we stroll the SPL but I fear European progress is going to be difficult as even more clubs who are smaller than Celtic but playing in bigger leagues, will get more spending power than us until their over-heated bubble explodes. We are condemned to be a cycle of re-building hungry young teams until things change.
As for your second question, I would guess it was because I covered for you :-)
Paddy Gallagher 20.08
Thanks for link just showed it to my daughter even she was impressed.
HAIL HAIL
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