Yang’s call up to the South Korea national team squad is recognition of his current form. The player arrived in Glasgow as a raw 20-year-old in 2023, shortly after compatriot Oh (then aged 21) became a Celtic player. A week later, Kwon (then 22) made it three came in from Korea that year.
Kwon never played a minute for Celtic. He was left to wither on the vine for two years, with short loan spells at St Mirren and Hibs, before Nantes took him to Ligue 1 last summer. He moved to Germany in the winter transfer window and is now a regular in Bundesliga 2 for Karlsruher. Kwon (25) is a 6’ 4” No. 6 who was brought in to shadow Callum McGregor. He joins Yang in the Korea squad this month, and had the profile of recruit we were looking for in 2023. If we’d developed him correctly, he would own the No. 6 role in Callum’s absence.
Oh left Celtic for Genk for £2m in 2024 and has not looked back. A medical denied him a €20m move to Stuttgart a year later, but Besiktas paid €14m for him in January. At 24-years-old, he is a hot talent who is now miles out of our reach. He makes it three players Celtic signed in 2023 who are in the South Korea squad this month. The Koreans rank 22 in the world; Scotland are 38th.
Others who arrived in 2023 were Tomoki Iwata, who starts every week for Birmingham while Kyogo watches from the bench. Gus Lagerbiekle (25), who is ripping it up for Braga in Portugal. Maik Nawrocki (25) came in that summer and is currently on loan at Hannover – he scored against Schalke on Sunday. Hannover will exercise their option to buy if they gain promotion from Bundesliga 2.
Luis Palma got 18 months and more game time than the others before being shipped out. He is a big favourite at Lech Poznan, where he is on loan. Marco Tilio is a player who signed that summer, picked up an injury almost immediately and was then ignored. He rescued his career with a move to Rapid Vienna last summer after a productive loan spell back in Australia.
Alastair Johnston joined from Montreal in January 2023 and despite an injury-hampered season he has been a standout at right back. Illness denied Odin Holm an early chance and he has made little impact since. He is the only permanent signing made in 2023 who has not kicked on in the game.
It is almost vandalism that talent like Oh, Kwon, Lagerbielke, Narwocki and others, recruited in one calendar year, were left to wither on the vine at Celtic, only to prove their worth elsewhere. Why did Honda Civic Man take the job if he didn’t want to do the work? No wonder the squad has a hollowed out feel to it.
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Had all of these players left to go to the same team, and flourished at the same time, this article may have had merit.
As it is, we sold any and all sellable assets, repalcing them with potential, all to be developed concurrently.
A strange policy, the results of which are still being felt. Presume the model was developed by folks with no noticeable successes in the game
(Mind that recent article about kicking up dust…?)
When all else fails – brand protection, exec failings, fan relations, governance, failing to call out refereeing bias – dust off the ole Honda slur and have a long distance kick at the manager whose gone unbeaten in 16 in sunnier climes.
Paul, I really respect you hosting this site for us but, really – see a therapist who specialises in resentment disorders.
CivicDisobedience CSC
Oh jeez is the mark Lawwell love in again.
That article could so easily be picked apart bit by bit but I really can’t be bothered.
Honda Civic Man could be bothered turning raw talents like dembele Boyata Kuhn and O’riley into multi million pound players. None of the players mentioned in the article, now all in their mid 20s are playing for top sides with exception of OH who is 15 points off the Turkish leaders with besiktas, Some are even playing for 2nd division clubs. I doubt we would want any of them back.
Meanwhile the multi trophy winning Honda civic man is unbeaten at his latest club having taken them from the lower reaches to 7 points from the top.
Incoming………………😂
Paul67
What larks – a Kwon article
This time next year a Yamada and Ianmura special – oh wait Mark Lawwell didn’t sign them
And there off………….
The transformation Brendan Rodgers made has been like learning to love something you have loved all your life but in a new way.
File under selective agenda-driven pish.
What is Mark Lawwell doing now BTW? In the ruthlessly competitive world of professional football it would be inexplicable that such a hot talent and money maker hadn’t been gratefully scooped up by a top club. Same applies to Spivdale.
There are writers using various forms of media that try and think of ways to write/speak an article so that it at least results in a discussion. This has done that but like many that are written they hold little substance and can be easily picked apart. Most of these players mentioned are playing at a low level and at clubs with few expectations every summer. Rodgers was too ambitious for a board like us and fans like you don’t deserve better than sitting second to Hearts. It may work out well for us at the end of this season and you and other board friendly fans will celebrate a competitive Scottish league. It has come about because of the dreadful running of our football club, the continued leaderless approach and abysmal appointment of Recruitment men not up to the job. Lawwell and Tisdale specifically.
You are too old to tell to grow up but you need to look at the much bigger picture.
QUADROPHENIAN.
Indeed. A snidey, sneaky, mendacious, un Christian attack on a man who served the club well and deserves better.
P67. You have shown yourself to be the small minded Pharisee you are.
Never mind. I’m sure Lawwell’s shilling is a great comfort to you.
Mark Lawwell was just Paul Tisdale without the bunnet . Or was Paul Tisdale just mark lawwell with a bunnet?
This predates the clarification to Pete the Punt that his remit stopped firmly at the first team door.
Paul 67,
Undoubtedly we have signed many players that have “failed” or not been given correct opportunity with us.
Also undoubtedly. we have top class training facilities with a well resourced academy.
Why are we getting few results from home grown young players ?
As Turkeybhoy mentioned the other day, an under pressure Arsenal and a manager who needs to win something ( I’m discounting the Community Shield) can put on a 16 year old kid.
This kid has proved that if you are good enough then you are old enough.
HH
” and there off ? ”
Oh dear.
PS, the robust Mr Tilio was virtually anonymous on his return to Melb City and has not been in the Rapid Vienna squad in the last 6 games.
Still, more fool me for biting at this recurrent chum. Chapeau, Paulo !
MasterBaiter CSC
Wow. Some sugar coating going on thereKwon: didn’t impress at St Mirren or Hibs. Now playing lower division football
Oh: replaced by Adam Idah, who scored crucial goals in a league winning season
Iwata: Never took the chance when given it. Now playing lower division football
Lagerbielke: couldn’t cope with how football is played in this country
Nawrocki: would get injured getting into his training kit. Now playing lower division football when fit.
Palma: as slow as a week in the jail.
Those players were never good enough for Celtic. The fact that some of them have been replaced by even worse ones should also point to where the issues at the club are.
PS, for any Cinephiles looking in, Mrs Quad and I went to watch ‘Chien 51’ tonight.
Inventive French politico-tech thriller based around AI control of Paris in the nr future.
Manny Feek CSC
I really wish all I needed to play for Celtic was development, it wasn’t I lacked the ability to play for Celtic, gross revisionism of the player punts taking place on this blog.
Dearie me,Ange knew the Asian markets…
Poor poor article.
Hooooooopy Saint Patrick’s day.
Gimme some sows ears . Those silk purses won’t make themselves .
We all have our buttons I guess Pauls is Mr Honda Civic . That said the big question for me is the future of Scottish club football in Europe and the grossly unfair and stacked system .
Two days in a row your article reflects an assessment of players that is entirely different to mine.
There will of course be occasions where a player fails to show at Celtic only to flourish elsewhere, but in the main players find their level and your list of painful regrets above are mostly playing/performing at a lower level than Celtic.
I’ll give Lagerbielke a hat tip for doing very well at Braga and Oh for piecing together a career from unpromising parts, but your assessment of all of them is wildly overestimated.
Mind, Liel Abada was going to become the new Larsson. Jordan Larsson, maybe.
Your enthusiasm over-eggs your judgement of a player, Paul.
Virtually all of these guys have little pace, which means they can’t play in a team predicated on speed in attack and – critically – in defence. Maik turns more slowly than the hour hand on a clock, bless. A high defensive line and a slow central defender is an error in recruitment, and we made lots of those.
Still, keeps us all happy and content.
I should add I laughed when I read the Article someone just getting stuff off his chest and you know what its his ball .
Good to know that players who were brought in to do the business against Real Madrid and Bayern Munich are able to do a shift in the minor leagues of Europe. Perfect for old firmery. I’m guessing our former manager had ambitions beyond that for the club.
Palma is the only one of the above players that looked as though they were good enough to play for us, then his form fell off a cliff. No others looked remotely close to becoming a starter for us….yet we paid out some decent money on them…
greenpinata@12.29
Well, Arteta won the FA Cup with Arsenal in August 2020, beating Chelsea, with one Kieran Tierney making the cross from the left that Aubameyang converted…followed up with that Community Shield later that month…
Then, there are no excuses for not publishing the post split schedule as early as possible.
——————–
wont happen until all pre split fixtures are played and league positions confirmed.
Who identified all these top stars anyway? Must be in an elite job now…..
Creepy crawlies CSC.
Heated driveway v Honda civic.
I wonder if P67 thinks our first 11 improved after the winter window? Nothing about our current state to be concerned about?
Saint Stivs on 17th March 2026 1:03 pm
Then, there are no excuses for not publishing the post split schedule as early as possible.
——————–
wont happen until all pre split fixtures are played and league positions confirmed.
_____
Sevco and Hearts at home for definite. I think we’ve had Hibs, Falkirk and Motherwell at home twice already. I guess it’ll depend on their split of home and away, thus far, to determine who we get at home for a third time. Just concentrating on our own games and it’ll take care of itself.
The Wolfetones – St. Patrick’s Day
https://youtu.be/gPFsoVHb8dk?si=DdP0kYH490GWVqmb
I remember asking a friend with Celtic connections why Lagerbiekle and Nawrocki didn’t get a game.
He said that he was told ‘one is too slow and one can’t pass’.
I could never work out who was what.
The squad has a hollowed feel to it because MON was given a bag of shite at the last transfer window.
Only the Mexican has been a success.
Only one player mentioned has “cost” celtic money – Oh.
Who was supposed to make way for his development ? He was mostly pish.