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.
You can buy a hard copy of the new issue of CQN Magazine via Magcloud here.
The graphic below is just for a flick through, to read the magazine go here to it’s dedicated site.
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Tommy Burns: The Supporter Who Got Lucky
By: Paul Cuddihy on 15 May, 2012 07:37
FOUR year ago today, on May 15, 2008, Tommy Burns passed away. He was just 51-years-old. The loss was one felt by the whole Celtic family though, of course, the greatest loss belonged to his wife, Rosemary and his four children, Emma, Jenna, Michael and Jonathan. And on this anniversary, as always, our thoughts and prayers remain with them.
Tommy Burns was a public figure, known and loved by Celtic supporters young and old, but he was a husband and father, and also a grandfather, and his family miss him in ways that we can’t begin to imagine or understand.
In his all-too-short life, Tommy did extraordinary things for our football club. He spent 14 years as a player, making his debut against Dundee in April 1975 and bowing out in a friendly match at Celtic Park against Ajax in December 1989.
The Celtic View interviewed him on many occasions over the years, and at one point he was asked what his greatest achievement had been as a player.
As far as he was concerned, it was staying at the club for such a long time “because bad players don’t play for Celtic for 14 years.”
That has always been the same at the club and it is testament to his ability that Tommy did manage to last so long.
During that time he won six league championships, five Scottish Cups and one League Cup medal. It was an impressive tally for a player who made 503 appearances for his beloved green and white Hoops.
Tommy Burns seemed fated to play for Celtic. The boy from the Calton, born almost in the shadow of Celtic Park, grew up following the club and progressed on to the hallowed turf.
As he always said, he considered himself to be no more than a supporter who got lucky. It was always a way of reminding people, and perhaps himself, that he was one of them, and it offers a perfect illustration of his humility.
Having left the club, he returned in 1994 as manager, and was instrumental in restoring our pride on the pitch. His team always tried to play football ‘the Celtic way’, and everyone who watched the Hoops at that time still speak with great affection and enthusiasm about what they saw.
While he did win the Scottish Cup in 1995 – Celtic’s first trophy in six years – a league title eluded him. It would have been a fitting reward for Tommy and his team but sadly it was not to be and he left in 1997.
Thankfully, however, it wasn’t for long and when he returned, it was like he had come home.
Our Youth Academy, which has produced a whole host of first-team players in recent seasons, is testament to his hard work in setting it up, while the Lennoxtown Training Centre is a great legacy.
And Tommy’s contribution to the club’s success under Gordon Strachan cannot be underestimated. The league triumph at Tannadice in 2008, which made it three-in-a-row, was dedicated to Tommy by a group of players still mourning the loss of an influential figure within their ranks.
Throughout the battle he fought with skin cancer, Tommy showed great courage and fortitude, while taking great solace from the Catholic faith which had been a central tenet of his life.
Supporters always loved Tommy Burns because he was one of us – a Celtic fan who was lucky enough to live the dream that we’ve all harboured at one time in our lives.
And the sea of tributes which were laid outside the front of Celtic Park after Tommy’s passing, was the most visible sign of the unique place he held in the hearts of the entire Celtic family.
So today, May 15, is a sad time for everyone. It’s still hard to believe that Tommy’s no longer with us, and every memory will be tinged with sadness.
But we should also remember the great things he did for our club, the goals he scored, the trophies he lifted, the players he brought to the club and the example he set of what it means to be a good Celtic man.
We believe that Celtic is more than a football club – our roots, our character and our ethos set us apart, and Tommy Burns embodied everything that is good about Celtic.
He was one of the greats who passed through Parkhead’s gates and he will never be forgotten.
Charles Green in an interview the other day said that if rangers had been run properly over the last 10 years his consortium would not have been able to afford the club. I seriously don’t believe there is lots of money behind this group.
SffS
Bobby Murdoch: When he played, Celtic played
By: Paul Cuddihy on 15 May, 2012 07:30
BOBBY MURDOCH was always, first and foremost, a Celtic supporter. He also just happened to be one of the finest players ever to have worn the green and white Hoops.
He had been part of the most successful Celtic squad in the history of the club but more than that, he had been a vital member of the team which brought so much silverware to Celtic Park.
Between 1959 and 1973, Murdoch made 481 appearances for the club, scoring 102 goals in the process.
He won eight league championship medals, four Scottish Cups, five League Cups and, of course, a European Cup winner’s medal.
Born in Bothwell on August 17, 1944, Murdoch joined Celtic in 1959 straight from Our Lady´s High School, Motherwell. He was farmed out to Cambuslang Rangers to gain experience, and made his debut in 1962 in a 3-1 League Cup victory over Hearts at Celtic Park, scoring after just seven minutes.
It was the Hoops’ first competitive fixture of the season and the 17-year-old Murdoch was chosen when it was discovered that John Divers had forgotten his boots.
And it was to be in the League Cup that he made his final appearance for the Hoops – on August 29, 1972, in another 3-1 victory, this time away to Arbroath. This time, however, he was not to be on the scoresheet.
In between then, he helped Celtic to eight of their nine titles in a row, and was part of the team which beat Inter Milan on May 25, 1967. Indeed, it was a Murdoch shot which was knocked in for the winning goal by Stevie Chalmers.
Originally played as an inside right, the arrival of Jock Stein in 1965 saw Murdoch move back to right-half, the decision by the Celtic manager helping to create one of the finest midfielders in the world. The switch had an immediate benefit, and Murdoch helped Celtic win the Scottish Cup in ´65 with a 3-2 victory over Dunfermline.
Inter Milan´s coach at the time of the European Cup final, Hellenio Herrrera, described Murdoch as “my complete footballer” after having watched the Celtic midfielder orchestrate the defeat of the defensive-minded Italian side.
In 1969, that extraordinary ability was recognised when he was given the Scottish Football Writers´ Player of the Year Award.
Like many of his Celtic contemporaries, Murdoch never received the number of Scotland caps commensurate with his ability. He represented Scotland a total of 12 times.
Murdoch left Celtic for Middlesbrough where he quickly established a reputation as one of the best players that club ever had.
Indeed, the man who signed him, Jackie Charlton said: “Bobby Murdoch was the first player I ever signed and he was also my favourite. I played against him for Leeds when he scored to send us out of the Eutropean Cup… but I forgave him for that! Yes, he was a smashing lad and there´s no doubt that he went on to become a major part of my team at Middlesbrough.
“Bobby was an amazing passer of a ball who could drop a ball on a sixpence from any distance and, although I´ve had players who covered more ground, I never worked with anyone who could strike the ball as well as he could.”
And Graeme Souness, a team-mate at Middlesbrough as a young player, said: “He came along at just the right time, not only for me but for the whole team. His experience settled us down as we went for promotion and he also proved to be a big influence on my career.
“Bobby was an excellent passer of the ball and he had an excellent attitude. He would always pull me to one side to pass on advice or to tell me when he thought I was acting wrongly.”
Murdoch finished his playing career with Middlesbrough in 1976, then becoming coach at the club for five years before a brief spell as manager.
On May 15, 2001, Bobby Murdoch died. He was aged 56. And the thoughts and prayers of the Celtic family remain with his wife, Kathleen, and all his family and friends.
Bobby will always be remembered as a great Celt whose love for the club remained undiminished throughout the years. And Jock Stein himself said of Murdoch: “As far as I´m concerned, Bobby Murdoch was just about the best player I had as manager.”
Paul67
I haven’t read back through 11 pages so someone may have made this point but accorrding to the SPL statistics are most creative player after Commons (12 assists) is Stokes (10 assists) , then Hooper & Samaras (8) before you get to Mulgrew.
That isn’t to diminish Mulgrews creative input which is immense for a Left full/Centre Back, but to say he’s our most creative player after Commons is untrue as that has been Stokes for the past two seasons.
roccobhoy on 15 May, 2012 at 08:51 said:
You only decided to catch your flight cause it was your round :)
As I said earlier, tomorrow is a very important ‘integrity’ day……just read the Daily Express and green is saying that they have a war chest waiting for Sally IF THE SFA LIFT THE 12 MONTH SIGNING EMBARGO ….you could not make it up …… How stupid does this guy think the Appeal Panel are ….????
Does he really think they are going to be influenced by his amateurish politics, or does he know the Panel will do the right thing, and he can then blame the SFA for him not having to put his hand in his pocket….
SMELL THE COFFEE, BHUNS……
new article posted.
Loving paul67 cutting comments regarding hector gate He is always right on the mark
But back to football
Yes our midfield must be Commons and 3 others
But surely our main target should be Goalie, center half and targetman/goalscorer De ja vu???
Worrying when we are linked with a center half that is not good enough for leicester city
ST
Kayall33
If Green and his consortium have millions to spend on players then the creditors would surely be mad to accept a pennies in the pound CVA deal knowing that the group has millons more that could be put into the pot.
Is Green trying to ensure a CVA fails by making these statements?