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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Up over Goal
Sorry you failed the test
setting free the bears on 14 May, 2012 at 22:49 said:
Maybe true, but we got a Ledley and Samaras. Market moving as you say, but there are still some bargains to be had. It is interesting on how a good manager can get the best out of the players, MON was the master, Lennon is the padowan. McLeish proved he is a joke.
Re Q2:I thnk that the fact you restricted your sliding tackles on me to just 5, made a difference :-)
HH
CRC
What is the Stars
Yep.
One moreTry
And anothertry
Sod it.
charles green presser 11:30pm, he’ll br playing ‘liquidizer roullette’ live from the lobby of Ibrokes, six liquidizers, one ‘meat, two veg’ only one liquidizer has a fuse, D’ya feel lucky punk!? Dooya?!!
Anyone else catch Neil Lennon on the Real Radio phone-in tonight?
Good bit of banter with BFDJ, Pedro Martin & Roughie.
BFDJ: Rangers to start next season with a ten point head start!
Lenny: You might need more than that.
Wednesday’s decision will tell us all if the political lobbying / bhun intimidation has failed to triumph over Sporting Integrity…it really is as straightforward as that……EVERYONE knows what rankers have been ‘up to’ for 20 years, and, with the evidence accued to date, there really is only one decision for the appeal tribunal….. I honestly feel they won’t be influenced by external pressure.
I also feel that the only hope for the bhuns was The Blue Knight (singular) even if it meant a Newco ……. This guy green, and his multitude of imaginary investors, have no intention of ‘saving’ rankers……. They will be assessing the potential risk to their investment against possible profit over say 3 years and, like miller, will disappear within a week …… Then it is straight liquidation, sell off ALL assets, and the 4 horses will have done their job……
Certainly looks as though Ticketus have been ‘ tipped a wink’ on liquidation, and they are covering their options…..
Interesting times…
Some on here seem to have short memories
We are celebrating a title win but a few weeks ago we were on the verge of a treble
We came up short for a few reasons
Lenny picked the wrong team against HMFC – while his subs against Killie were not effective
The players have to share part of the blame as on both occasions they did not perform well enough
VW should IMHO always be played in the middle of the park – that where most games are won and lost
His absence was shown up against HMFC – while being moved back to CB effectvely lost us control of the midfield against KFC
Our other weakness has been apparent along – namely that if the pass and move doesn’t work then we become vulnerable
We need a plan B
Even Barca proved that possession on its own is as sterile as Wattenaccio
We need the option of a forward capable of playing with their back to goal to be an effective “wall” for the others
Even better if he can use his head to score the occassional goal
We should stroll the league next season – huns or no huns
Cup games will still be a problem if we do not recruit the right type of forward
Europe – we need a GK and dominant CB
HH
Absolutely Brilliant! HH!
Ta for that . I’ve had a busy day…..restringing guitars and teaching & cooking.
This was just the ticket!
Victoria McKenzie@VictoriaCFC
Just when you think you can’t love Scott Brown anymore you see this! #legend http://i1050.photobucket.com/albums/s413/twoodbhoy/64ff72be.mp4
Retweeted by Laura Brannan
crc
We got Ledley from a Chanpionship club who have never been in the EPL- same with Matthews. Both were promising young players not yet established and, in Matthews case, following a slight dip in early promise.
Sammi is an interesting one. Sold to Man City for £6m we got him for £1m because a) they thought he was a dud and b) they were about to source even bigger superstars from their sheik-down money. So we got a bargain, who did not look a bargain during his first 2 years with us. Sammi was at Man City between the ages of 20 and 23. He would not have been among the EPL top earners but he would be in our top earners group. Until this year, few fans would have said he was worth it. Sammi being allowed to come good at Celtic was, like Waterloo, a damn close run thing.
P.S. I gave you more slide rule passes than slide tackles
Ok. Apologies if this turns out aesthetically unpleasing.
Hours/minutes played (Season 2011/12)
Forster . . . . 70 hrs, 20 mins
Hooper. . . . .65 hrs
Mulgrew . . . 64 hrs
Ledley . . . . .62 hrs, 50 mins
Forrest . . . . 54 hrs, 30 mins
Wanyama. . 53 hrs, 50 mins
Stokes . . . . .51 hrs, 55 mins
Matthews. . .51 hrs, 50 mins
Ki. . . . . . . . .47 hrs, 50 mins
Samaras . . 43 hrs, 50 mins
Brown. . . . . 42 hrs, 45 mins
Kayal. . . . . . 38 hrs, 15 mins
Majstorovic . 33 hrs, 15 mins
K Wilson. . . .31 hrs, 10 mins
Rogne . . . . . 29 hrs, 20 mins
Cha . . . . . . . 26 hrs, 45 mins
Commons. . 26 hrs, 30 mins
Loovens . . . 20 hrs, 50 mins
Izaguirre. . . 15 hrs, 20 mins
M Wilson. . .13 hrs, 25 mins
Zaluska . . . . 9 hrs
McCourt. . . . 8 hrs, 10 mins
Bangura. . . . 7 hrs, 50 mins
Lustig . . . . . .5 hrs
Maloney. . . . 2 hrs, 30 mins
Brozek . . . . .1 hrs, 35 mins
Blackman. . .1 hr, 20 mins
Watt. . . . . . .1 hr, 20 mins
F Twardzik. .0 hrs, 50 mins
R Ibrahim . . 0 hrs, 15 mins
up_over_goal on 14 May, 2012 at 23:07 said:
———————————–
Big Forzie needs the overtime, his wife’s tiling the shunky!
setting free the bears on 14 May, 2012 at 23:06 said:
If I am not mistaken, Sammi scored 15 goals for us in his second year with us (his best goal scoring performance), yet it has only been until his resurrection this year, that I have fully appreciated his worth! I credit Lenny’ s management ability in getting the best out of players for this.
HH
CRC
Charles Green, Craig Whyte plus twenty top secret investors. Has to be Charlie and the Bhoys.
croppybhoy
Don’t think you can pin it down to one thing. Wanyama played CM in the Kilmarnock LC defeat – didn’t stop us getting beat. Lack of Sammi cost us in that match and in the Hearts SC game.
focussing on P67’s post – balancing the midfield
my preferred midfielders are:
Ledley, Vic and Chas for industry
Commons, Forest and Sammi for creativity.
Ki and Brown don’t figure in my preferred group.Both need Commons or Sammi pushed up front and Vic or Charlie to be pushed back to have a chance of featuring..
Just catching up on the blog, i too am glad to see very little talk about them this evening. It was really hurting my head!!! More of the same please (sorry for mentioning ‘them’).
Enjoyed the wee video of Broony in the bar. He’ll not be winning any karaoke competitions thats for sure!
Wee Oscar got a lovely tweet from John Hartson tonight…
“@Wee_Oscar: hi my little mate, Im wishing you all the love and strength i possibly can. Good luck wee man xxxx”
Nice touch from the legend that he is!!!
Knoxy
‘crushed nuts?’ ‘Naw, Layringitis!’
She should get Lukasz to do it – he’s already childproofed wee Jamesie’s playroom.
knoxy2000 eating Jelly and Ice Cream and supporting Neil Lennon on 14 May, 2012 at 23:19 said:
Thats brill from BBJ mate
Card on its way in next few days for Oscar
HH
knoxy2000 eating Jelly and Ice Cream and supporting Neil Lennon on 14 May, 2012 at 23:19
Best wishes to wee Oscar and his mummy and daddy. Really cannot appreciate what your family is going through, but my thoughts and prayers are with you.
HH
CRC
If we hadn’t suffered an inordinate number of injuries early in the season we would have won the treble ….. It was most fortunate that we had such a good squad
IN NEIL I TRUST …… I have never been happier as a Celtic fan, and I do admit that his is partly due to the bhuns have finally been ‘rumbled’, but mostly due the fact that NEIL is our manager……. And the Board have steered us through this recession, when many other teams are ‘really’ struggling …….
The future’s bright…
The future’s GREEN AND WHITE….
As ever, we will ignore the media etc, and continue to KTF…..H H
For those who havent seen it, heres the day John Hartson called in to see Oscar…
http://oscarknox.blogspot.co.uk/2012_01_01_archive.html
What are the chances of a Roman Catholic investor in Rangers?
CultsBhoy
At CM, Brown and Wanyama have played and won 5 games out of 5 together in a 4 man midfield. Our most common two-man CM has been Kayal and Ki (17 games, 67% wins), Ki/Ledley (15 games, 56%), Kayal/Ledley (15 games, 89%).
For me, Ki is a good player but he works best as part of a 3 man midfield.
miki67 on 14 May, 2012 at 23:06 said:
Absolutely Brilliant! HH!
Ta for that . I’ve had a busy day…..restringing guitars and teaching & cooking.
This was just the ticket!
Victoria McKenzie@VictoriaCFC
Just when you think you can’t love Scott Brown anymore you see this! #legend http://i1050.photobucket.com/albums/s413/twoodbhoy/64ff72be.mp4
Retweeted by Laura Brannan
———
Not a dignified Celtic captain IMO.
Finn MacCunaill on 14 May, 2012 at 23:15 said:
Cannae be ……Charlie & the Bhoys are not that daft
Night all…
estorilbhoy on 14 May, 2012 at 23:33 said:
Behave yourself ….. BROONIE is allowed to have a laugh, and ‘let his hair down’, figuratively speaking of course……..LOL
knoxy2000
Posted Oscars card today hope he gets it. mrs j did the writing I scribble.
HaiL HaiL
Clearly, what Celtic need in the middle of the park, if they’re going to hold onto the title next year, is an aggressive, ‘put it about’ sort of chap who’s not afraid to raise his elbows. We also need someone who can kick opposition players up in the air and yet appear to be invisible to the match officials and commentators. Add to that a couple of forwards who go down easier than a paper house in the hurricane belt and I think we’re onto something!
As for a manager, we’re not looking for a ‘coppernuts’ who’s got an opinion of his own, we’re looking for someone who can carry the brogues/cardi combo off, eat his own weight in macaroni pies and develop a dodgy comb-over.
wonkyradar
Eyes Wide Open
Clashcitybhoy when did you last win atitle!
Lennonist on 14 May, 2012 at 22:47 said:
Best GB X1 in my lifetime
croppybhoy on 14 May, 2012 at 23:03 said:
Some on here seem to have short memories
We are celebrating a title win but a few weeks ago we were on the verge of a treble
We came up short for a few reasons
Lenny picked the wrong team against HMFC – while his subs against Killie were not effective
The players have to share part of the blame as on both occasions they did not perform well enough….two MIB decisions didn’t make a difference? Those decisions costs Celtic in excess of 3 million pounds!!!! By the way,! just how many titles have you won!…just remind us!!!
up_over_goal on 14 May, 2012 at 23:07 said:
Ok. Apologies if this turns out aesthetically unpleasing.
Hours/minutes played (Season 2011/12)
Forster . . . . 70 hrs, 20 mins
Hooper. . . . .65 hrs
Mulgrew . . . 64 hrs
Ledley . . . . .62 hrs, 50 mins
Forrest . . . . 54 hrs, 30 mins
Wanyama. . 53 hrs, 50 mins
Stokes . . . . .51 hrs, 55 mins
Matthews. . .51 hrs, 50 mins
Ki. . . . . . . . .47 hrs, 50 mins
Samaras . . 43 hrs, 50 mins
Brown. . . . . 42 hrs, 45 mins
Kayal. . . . . . 38 hrs, 15 mins
Majstorovic . 33 hrs, 15 mins
K Wilson. . . .31 hrs, 10 mins
Rogne . . . . . 29 hrs, 20 mins
Cha . . . . . . . 26 hrs, 45 mins
Commons. . 26 hrs, 30 mins
Loovens . . . 20 hrs, 50 mins
Izaguirre. . . 15 hrs, 20 mins
M Wilson. . .13 hrs, 25 mins
Zaluska . . . . 9 hrs
McCourt. . . . 8 hrs, 10 mins
Bangura. . . . 7 hrs, 50 mins
Lustig . . . . . .5 hrs
Maloney. . . . 2 hrs, 30 mins
Brozek . . . . .1 hrs, 35 mins
Blackman. . .1 hr, 20 mins
Watt. . . . . . .1 hr, 20 mins
F Twardzik. .0 hrs, 50 mins
R Ibrahim . . 0 hrs, 15 mins
Is there a point to this?
Or you?
miki67 – just saw your post from a wee bit earlier. Help required if possible.
My bhoy is ten and wants to learn the guitar. Got the gear and my brother was over from Dublin at the weekend and showed him some basics.
However, brother back in Dublin and bhoy struggling to tune guitar before he practices. (yeh it’s only one day and early doors, i know :-)) I’m at work when he gets the chance to practice so am of no help.
I will get him lessons when he can do a few chords but he is a shy bhoy and would not be comfortable doing lessons with a stranger from scratch.
I have no musical talent whatsoever and wondering if you have any tips?
HH
I wonder if their will be any Villareal players looking for a move now that they’ve been relegated . . .
there
67Heaven … I am Neil Lennon..!!..Truth and Justice will always prevail on 14 May, 2012 at 23:36 said:
estorilbhoy on 14 May, 2012 at 23:33 said:
Behave yourself ….. BROONIE is allowed to have a laugh, and ‘let his hair down’, figuratively speaking of course……..LOL
——-
Not referring to this video specifically. IMO he is not the in the same league of Celtic captains, far more dignified, that have represented our club in the past.
Art of War on 14 May, 2012 at 23:39 said:
——————————-
pawn the geetar! ;)))
‘crushed nuts?’ ‘Naw, Layringitis!’ on 14 May, 2012 at 23:45 said:
Art of War on 14 May, 2012 at 23:39 said:
——————————-
pawn the geetar! ;)))
————–
Haha I thought of that – I blame BGT for his interest!
HH
Cheers guys re the cards.
Im looking forward to seeing your card selection!!! ;-)
I like Broony! He’s a real battler, gets in peoples faces. A bit like Lenny/Keano.
He may not be the most gifted player about but he definitely brings something to the side. And im sure he’s great in the dressing room. I get the feeling that the majority of the squad (particularly the key players) are really good mates and have LOTS of banter together!
Knoxy,
What an amazing wee boy Oscar is. http://www.oscarknox.blogspot.com/