Dundee United’s only win in four games since beating Celtic last month was at Livingston. They also drew with Hibs and Aberdeen and lost at home to Dundee on Saturday. Those wins over Celtic and Livi are their only successes in 12 games, stretching back to October. In all competitions, they won one game in August, one in September, one in October, none in November and two in December. Quite how they escaped such mediocrity to batter the champions for 45 minutes is a lesson for the ages.
They have lost only two away games in the league all season, which is quite a claim for a side that’s been to every ground apart from Celtic Park. They are, however, the league’s draw specialists, with 10 of their 21 games finishing level, more than any other side. You can be confident this outcome will be their target at Celtic Park on Saturday.
In particular, draws at Tynecastle, Ibrox, Pittodrie and Easter Road will be the template they bring to Glasgow. They scored in each of these games (seven in total), so they do more than just shut up shop. We know to expect a challenge to break them down and an accomplished counter-attacking game. It will not be easy.
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I have nothing to say.
HH
If Kyogo is coming back…Callum Wilson would be a perfect foil if Martin is considering his preferred 3-5-2 formation…..Sutton Larsson….Wilson Kyogo…sounds good too me….
Aipple – then say it!
On train to Lisbon and flying back to TX via Amsterdam where we overnight.
Back on time for a nights sleep and the Arabs game – Mon the hoops. Mon the MON.
Only source I can find
And SunSport can reveal the Japanese striker could be on his way back to the club on loan from Birmingham City in time for this weekend’s vital league clash with Dundee United.
It would be just smashing to read that we had signed a striker or two.
We can but dream.
Will Silent Nicholson (strange for a lawyer and former debating champion) survive another disastrous window, or any window for that matter?
According to Sky Callum Wilson has signed a loan deal with German club Bocham i think
HH
Safe travels TexasTim!
Turning electronics off for day or two and taking the dug hiking. .
Good to see INIQUITOUSIV chatting with QUADROPHENIAN and Burnley78 about meet-ups.
HH all.
Of all the games we lost under Wilfried the match at Tannadice was the one that got away the most.
We should have been out of sight by half time
To help augment all that technical, tactical football stuff … I hope for the following
– Martin reminds the squad of players of how good they are … citing that game
– the players remember what the pain of that particular defeat felt like … and, to a man, pledge to get some payback
Talking of “meet ups”, where is CQN Corner?
Every game now has P67 raising red flags. It’s almost like we’ve our worst squad in many, many years. But then not too long ago, no excuses was the battle cry ?
Anyway, sign a Striker Celtic ! We’re 2.5 weeks away from a league defining game at Tynecastle. Get a bloody striker in !!
THE BLOGGER FORMERLY KNOWN AS GM re: CQN Corner?
Old Pools office, right of the store.
TexasTim – safe travels.
Re Lisbon – has the refurb of the Estadio Nacional started?
SHUGGIEBHOY67 on 8TH JANUARY 2026 12:18 PM
According to Sky Callum Wilson has signed a loan deal with German club Bocham i think
Damn…..
Id be happy enough with Kyogo so long as we’re bringing in another striker in addition to him.
It’s certainly a concern that we’re going back to Kyogo. Our recruitment looks to be completely broken.
Idah seems more of a MoN striker than Kyogo imo. We need more, a lot more than Kyogo this window.
Thank you, Aipple👍
BelmontBrian on 8th January 2026 10:46 am
Morning all.
Can I firstly apologise to the blog for my posts last night, as a consequence, I will be withdrawing from the blog.
……………………………………………………
Please don’t withdraw. I always look to your posts for calm, sensible, balanced views, with which I can identify – particularly helpful when there is so much frenzy and nonsense around!
Kyogo? What are the scouts being paid for?
Enjoy Celts
Henryck at the table
https://youtu.be/pQxpL-rNAhE?si=DjpgqTfCIYBes54Z
HH
Kyogo? What are the scouts being paid for?
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was just about to say the same thing!
honestly man, this never ending boomerang of players and managers coming back has to stop.
that itself is a great indication of how disfunctional the club has been recently.
and fans that peddle all this ‘come home’ nonsense every time theres a rumour of an ex-player or manager coming back only feeds that behaviour.
we will never progress if our first move is always to look back.
Could folk,if they have a name or poss target
Name their source ie where they got it from.
If its your own view say.
HH
An interesting article on RTE re toxicity at Man Utd and other businesses-
https://www.rte.ie/brainstorm/2026/0108/1552040-manchester-united-toxic-workplace-research/
The following summary comment is perhaps something Celtic’s custodians need to consider-
“Organisations that rely on fear, insecurity and symbolic punishment rarely get the best out of their people, no matter how talented they are. The real challenge is not finding the next manager or leader; it is building an environment where the next one has a genuine chance to succeed
Seriously, what would likely bring us the most goals for our money… Kyogo (probably costing at least £7M) plus the cost of another striker to complement him, or Bowie and Braga (potential max cost £8-10M)?
Luring Braga from Hearts has the added benefit of weakening them, and I’m sure he’d settle well at Celtic with Jota and Bernardo to sort him in our own little Portuguese community.
And with Kyogo, who is older than when he was with us before (and than those other two), slight of frame and packing in confidence after two failed moves, would he regain the same clinical form as Kyogo Mk1? After all, he’d gone somewhat off the boil well before he left.
Likewise, with the likely cost of some of the overseas players being touted (including Evan Ferguson, with a strike rate of fewer than 1 in 4), and the fact that foreign players often fail to settle, surely it makes more sense to look at established players closer to home.
JustWonderingCSC
Braga is a flash in the pan
Did Kyogo ever get his shoulder sorted? As I recall, it was a matter of when rather than if regarding surgery.
Seen kyogo playing for Birmingham at weekend.
Looked like a wee boy playing with men.
BIGCHIPSUK -Kyogo had indeed “gone off the boil” but if memory serves me correctly that coincided with him being expected by BR to play further back rather than on the shoulder of the last defender. Under Ange he was deadly. Brendan wanted him more involved in the build up play and, with that, his goal scoring dried up.
Big chips
Valid points but I can’t see any circumstances where Hearts would sell one of their star players to us in January.
Maybe in the summer when we’ve pipped them to the league on the last day in a 1986 style..! 😉
I think we can be sure that no players from Brighton (Ferguson) or Hearts (Braga) will be joining Celtic in this window. Tony Bloom will feel he has a real chance of winning this league – why would he do Celtic any favours?
Finding a decent striker at the best of times is really difficult. This window will be all about papering over cracks in the hope that we can do enough to win the league – don’t think we will see any strategic signings unless they are coming from minor leagues i.e. another punt.
Quite how they escaped such mediocrity to batter the champions for 45 minutes is a lesson for the ages.
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Well not really before the second half began we missed a handful of chances, a few in the ‘sitter’ variety! Dundee Utd’s goal came from an offside move, their player was clearly offside ran on to the ball, it had to be cleared from which they got a corner and they scored from it.
As many have saifdbefore not only are decisions, ahem going the way of the Tribute Act which plays out of Ibrox there are also decisions going against us as well, Hearts goal at home another example.
If the team can ‘take the referee out of the game’ as Jock Stein warned his players, then we don’t need to worry too much in our games, we are helpless in games for the other mob unfortunately.
An Dún on 8th January 2026 12:37 pm
“Every game now has P67 raising red flags. It’s almost like we’ve our worst squad in many, many years. But then not too long ago, no excuses was the battle cry ?”
P67 has written such articles for years, always giving context to each game rather than the lazy ‘diddy team’ / should win every game narrative of some.
No excuses iirc related to internal messaging, e.g. plastic pitch, injuries etc, esp from the mgr not a guys opinion on a blog. MON is already talking ‘win regardless of system’ which fits this.
Any context that helps fans and players to not take things for granted for me is no bad thing.
DeniaBhoy on 8th January 2026 1:27 pm
BIGCHIPSUK -Kyogo had indeed “gone off the boil” but if memory serves me correctly that coincided with him being expected by BR to play further back rather than on the shoulder of the last defender. Under Ange he was deadly. Brendan wanted him more involved in the build up play and, with that, his goal scoring dried up.
*that’s about the size of it and its NOT a criticism of the previous but one manager it’s how he sees the game played which differs from the one he replaced, vastly different.
West Ham announced last nights attendance as 62,429 when actually only 34,000 people went through the turnstiles
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im not St Stivs
but i am St.Stiv’s Cockney cousin
😄
The Long Wait Is Over, DeniaBhoy, Bada Bing, whoever we get, we need to vary our attacks more. Rather than constantly trying to go wide and cross the ball into the box where the big physical opposition defenders will clear it 9 tonnes out of 10, we need to commit defenders more by taking them on with the ball on the ground… as Yang did against rangers.
Just vary it to remove that predictability, so the opposing defenders don’t know if it’s going to come in from wide, to be run into the box with the ball at feet, with some quick inter-passing, or a pot shot from outside the area. And our players definitely need to change their all too common pass and stop habit with a more dynamic pass and move to make yourself available to receive a return pass.
Even Cal has a habit of positioning himself with an opponent in a direct line between himself and a teammate in possession, thereby ruling himself out as an option for a pass. He needs to move just a few paces one way or the other to give his teammate a clear line of sight for a direct pass. It’s the basics really, and a professional footballer shouldn’t need to be coached on this!
As for the GK position, I personally would give the gloves to Sinisalo. From what I’ve seen of him to date, he does look like he is going to be a really good keeper, and with youth on his side, he certainly has the potential to be our first choice going forward of given the chance. So perhaps we should be looking for a backup keeper in the current window.
BTB @ 12:38
Thanks – on this trip we only transitioned through Lisbon as we visited Estadio Nacionale 18 months ago.
I haven’t heard from others if it has begun yet but I’m not sure.
From previous article…..
An Tearmann on [8th January 2026 11:47 am](https://www.celticquicknews.co.uk/martins-first-big-decision/comment-page-6/#comment-4051595 “8th January 2026 at 11:47 am”)
……
Answer all posts with this spaghetti junction jargon and all of the cliques that you are in will spit you oot.
You support the same club lie old firm first plc board.
Meaning you are pouring petrol on all plc messes.
You voted against Corbyn’s United Ireland opportunity twice, calling him a Racist/Imperialist/Unionist/Vermin/etc to keep wee degenerate vaccine genocidal krankie in control even whilst she was trying to put Tims in prison for being Tims, sheep like you defending Krankie after every attack, etc.
Celtic FC has ZERO Integrity/Ethics/Morals because people like you are the majority of the supporter base who accept ALL PLC pish.
MON knows that the Best Fans In The World didn’t come back from Seville 2003.
They made that clear to him when they rubber eared his “THE SLOW LANE” tipp off warning of the decline of the clubs stature, when 60,000 season ticket sheep, like you, thanked the board for “THE SLOW LANE PROJECT PLAYER BUNKUM” only TWO YEARS after singing MON’s praises on the streets of SEVILLE, 2 years later, calling him “A LONG BALL DINOSAUR”.
But WGS was about the perfect fit for fans who’d no longer be guided by Uppity JUNGLE-ISM and became PLC BALANCE SHEET erchie kissers instead.
WGS taught you all that snash was normal discourse and you all embraced him gleefully.
It is you who is racist against people who prefer to stand by their race rather than be duped by fake religion and all of its sectarianism and bible baloney not to mention abuse, etc, which was created by those whom you are not allowed to criticize, but are allowed to buy players from lol.
Ireland has gone to the dogs thanks to people like you who vote for the Irish versions of krankieism/Woke/Diversity/Virtue/Signaling were “religious” educators in Ireland are being jailed for refusing to say that a man is a woman.
Take care Teary man.
Celtic play with TWO STRIKERS CSC
HH
oot.
I’m in the ‘Belmont Brian, please don’t go’ camp.
The Long Wait Is Over, DeniaBhoy, Bada Bing
As for the GK position, I personally would give the gloves to Sinisalo. From what I’ve seen of him to date, he does look like he is going to be a really good keeper, and with youth on his side, he certainly has the potential to be our first choice going forward of given the chance. So perhaps we should be looking for a backup keeper in the current window.
*fully concur here, he was signed as the successor to the ghost and in previous games leading up to the disastrous cup final played well, he didnae look as if he has had many games since then so should be arguably rusty, as for a back up to hm, is that NOT why we signed ross doohan