Two years ago, Tony Watt was putting a light under our fire. The debut goals at Motherwell, the point rescued at Dingwall, then came THAT goal, his future looked secure, but it’s been downhill since.
Tony has the athletic abilities to be a firm favourite, but Neil Lennon shipped him out a year ago, amid comments about the player sorting himself out. His manager at loan club Lierse was soon singing the same song. Now the player is in Liege as Celtic have accepted a bid from Standard for a player, who under different circumstances, would be considered a prodigy.
It is no surprise Ronny Deila has decided to cut him loose; what little we know about our new manager suggests he doesn’t offer too many last chances. For Tony, this is likely to be the last chance to build a memorable career, if he slips up at Standard, next stop will be the likes of Kilmarnock.
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niallo83
Good news. I would still like to see Griffith’s through the middle. I have no idea why he is being pushed wide. I suspect because he is a leftie and Deila wants him to cut in from the right. The Bhoy is possibly our best goal scorer. Ferocious shot on him!
LB
What if THAT shot had flown over Valdes’ crossbar…would we be having this Tony Watt debate?
Sydneytim,
I don’t think any of the players I listed have a future at Celtic.
McGeough is a nice tidy footballer and usually does well in preseason friendlies. However, he always seems a bit off the pace in competitive games. Will probably have a decent career in England League One/Championsip.
Also I have to say you should stop grouping Pukki, Balde and Boerrighter together. Pukki genuinely can make it at Celtic. The other two you are right about
“Celtic Park is the pre-eminent stadium in Scotland. It’s the biggest and the best. I was asked if I’d have bet on it and of course I would because it’s the biggest and it’s the best. If you bet on the biggest and the best then you will always win. There is nothing else to it. If it was impossible to have it here then it should have gone to Ibrox but this would have been first choice, I’d have thought. We can configure it in a way that we can make it a real show.
People have to see things for what they are and have to trust those running the game to do the right thing. It’s totally unhelpful to suggest otherwise. It just fuels the wrong type of speculation. As for the financial figures Neil will have substantial funds to spend in the summer.
What we have a track record of is buying players. It makes no sense to keep the money in the bank and we’d rather invest in the business and that means investing in good footballers that create value for the club. Celtic can buy a £6-8m player if the value is there. We would not buy a 29-year-old at £8m on a four year contract at £40,000 a week because that is dead money. If there is value in signing an £8m player we will look at it. The money is there to be reinvested in the squad. We’re delighted at the results. Primarily this year it’s player trading and Champions League. It gives us a strong foundation to face the challenges ahead. It allows us to go into the transfer window from a strong standing point to strengthen before the Champions League.
Arguably we’re in the best financial state we’ve ever been in. We have no bank debt and have £5.7m in the bank. We wiped the debt out in June. The figures show the value of the Champions League. Our No.1 priority every season is to qualify but there is a base there that wouldn’t make it catastrophic if we didn’t make it. We’ve maintained Celtic as a Champions League club over the last 10 years in everything we do – facilities, players, management, processes.
If you go two or three years without it then that can be a problem but we could cope. We budget for reaching the group stages of the Europa League every season.”
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“We are looking for quality and that’s very hard just now, when a lot of the big clubs in the rest of the world haven’t even started pre-season. You have to beat clubs like Manchester City who can just buy the ones they want when they want. The biggest get their food first – then the rest of us come after. That’s the challenge we have. The longer the window goes, the bigger the opportunities get. There is more pressure on every club and they have to take decisions.
So, for me, quality is the world – that means someone who can go in and do something at once. But there is also quality in those who can be longer-term prospects .Of course, qualifying for the Champions League is very important when it comes to attracting players. That’s a huge thing and it is a big target for us. We work together at Celtic. I talk with Peter and he has the same task as me – to make Celtic as good as possible without putting the club out of order economically. But you know what kind of money there is. It doesn’t compete with the biggest clubs in Europe but it is big in Scottish terms.-It’s hard to do it right away, to go in and get your target in an hour or whatever. You have to take your time and find the right prospect. We are working hard. We have players we have identified and we will see if we can get the ones we want. I’m confident the current squad can get us to the group stage. A lot of them have been there and done it before.”
See England are batting their way into a STRONG position.
BigJoelovesCRICKET
*edit…. 1st leg is Wed 30th July for everyone posting that it is tomorrow.
ST- rumour was McGeouch + cash for GMS, if true could be a good deal for all
ger57
11:23 on 28 July, 2014
Suppose Celtic beat Legia and qualify for the plat off round and we draw Maccabi Tel Aviv. Do we play them?
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Excellent question
Of course we play them
It’s how we would protest at the games is the question
It’s a cert we get them in the draw
Livibhoy,
I think he is just playing there as we have no other wingers at present. He’s a better option out wide than Stokes or Pukki.
We probably need to sign two wingers and one striker!!
Just been told that Ambrose is off to Blackburn. Pure rumour or has anyone else heard this?
cliftonville celt from belfast
12:45 on 28 July, 2014
ger57
11:23 on 28 July, 2014
Suppose Celtic beat Legia and qualify for the plat off round and we draw Maccabi Tel Aviv. Do we play them?
————————————————–
Excellent question
Of course we play them
It’s how we would protest at the games is the question
It’s a cert we get them in the draw
…………………………………….
Since when did Celtic become the conscience of the Western World?
Let’s just bloody well play football and forget the protests.
!!bada bing!!
12:45 on 28 July, 2014
ST- rumour was McGeouch + cash for GMS, if true could be a good deal for all
Is he good enough for Celtic? 10 goals and 10 assists in 41 games last season.
darwinsbeautifulidea at 12.07
“This fanny delia would have got rid of jinky ,murdoch auld and many more of the Lisbon Lions.”
Aye, very good pal. Well seen the schools are off. If you’re going to insult the Celtic manager, at least spell his name correctly. Delia’s the squiffy chef at Norwich. Deila manages Celtic.
livibhoy,
Why buy a player that did his graft, which caught the eye and then play him in a different position?
For me, Griffiths, would be a prolific score for us, if given the chance in his true position.
—-
weebobbycollins
12:42 on 28 July, 2014
What if THAT shot had flown over
Valdes’ crossbar…would we be
having this Tony Watt debate?
~~~~~
Before Tony Scored That Night….
He Broke Through On Goal From A Very Similar Position….
Only To Be Brought Down From Behind Just Outside The Penalty Box….
By The Cynical Mascherano….
Who Should Have ‘Walked’….
Then We’d Have Been Talking About..
MegaWattie’s GLORIOUS HAT-TRICK..!
Pinch Me,Again…Lil’ Audrey..!
———
!!Bada Bing!!
12:45 on 28 July, 2014
ST- rumour was McGeouch + cash for GMS, if true could be a good deal for all
GMS…………………………….?
joedosentKnow
Neganon2
That forehead of yours invites a pummeling from your ability to turn any Celtic story into a negative.
Watt had NO chance of featuring in the team for a very good reason – he is not as good as he thinks he his.
His decision making on the park I can see and it’s not very good.
His decision making off it I cannot see but it would appear to be, according to reports, just as bad.
Getting £1m for a guy with bad decision making is a good decision.
He might grow wiser at Standard and that might be reflected in his play but RD might have decided it best to keep guys who will listen to his advice because that is what makes them better players and that is what RD tries to do.
Even the act of not listening tells us the lad suffers from bad judgement.
He had his world on the penalty spot and slipped in the run up.
Look forward ( should I live so long) to CQN publishing TW’s book in 15 years. Will it be
“Tony Who?”
or
“Tony Watt a Player?
His world is back on the penalty spot.
Careful on the run up this time Tony.
Parkheadcomesalford
Breaking up a defensive partnership that helped a goalie to a shut out record would during CL qualifiers would be a hard sell even for the brassiest necked at CP.
I see there’s a lot of resistance to young Watt making the switch to Liege
He wasn’t the joule in our current striking crown like Henrik was, and though he wasn’t lightning fast, he had enough running power to cause any defence problems, and could certainly produce a spark when required
If RD doesn’t fancy him, then it would just ampere his career to hang about the club
As usual there’s a battery of people with short fuses lining up with speculation about why he was allowed to leave
I for one wish him well at his new ohm, he does have the potential to be a top player if his head is wired properly
Though that leaves us with a gap in the squad that we need to plug – and as usual won’t be in the market for top quality strikers like Thierry Henry
RanOutOfElectricalReferencesCSC
Pardon my ignorance who is G M S
Is John Collins the assistant manager at Celtic and Luvnov the first team coach? I am trying to work out the set up.HH.
gary McKay stevens
Big Joe,
GMS= Gary Mackay-Stevens.
Looks like a railway company though! :-)
Auldheid. In different circumstances selling watt may be sensible. It’s not about watt it’s about the fact we are removing already limited options ahead of a major challenge. Ino other club would do that.
That we do tells us everything….
Steven even.
H.H.
TSD…I think Tony will have a better chance to develop and mature away from the harsher limelight of Glasgow…
If your interested. Here is the invite code to the EPL CQN Championship Fantasy Football League
296638-123206
There are 19 days left to register your team & join the league.
HH
Watt happened to the what money?
sipsini
I agree. I want to see Griffith’s through the middle.
3 at the back and two attacking full backs if we don;t have the wingers in the squad.
Failing that play Mcgeouch on the wing and Commons on the other. No need to play players out of position.
LB
hoopy-do,
Take it you are well charged up…;)
hoopy-do You AC/DC.???:-)
H.H.
Sad to see Tony go. Hope he does a Charlie Mulgrew and returns to Celtic someday!!
ianinascoli
13:05 on 28 July, 2014
Big Joe,
GMS= Gary Mackay-Stevens.
Looks like a railway company though! :-)
Chees mate………………
Or American……………………….
Todd Ryebacker the 3rd
JFH
Hope its Collins!! If not I see problems ahead. Dont see John playing 2nd fiddle to emdae!!
Tony Watt has the raw credentials, to carve out a good career. Decent pace, strong, an eye for goal, direct in his play…. Getting away from Glasgow + his pals will do him good though.
I saw Tony in October Cafe about mid April time this year. He was with 4 or 5 mates. Think he’d had one too many jäger bombs that night.
Hardly crime of the century, but if you want to go places as a professional, then these are the sacrifices he should be making.
So Baldie (wtf do I do with round thing) is a better player than Tony???
Not that I am saying Ambrose will be sold but he is a player I find hard to put a price on.
Can play in 3 different positions, very good at creating from the back but prone to high profile errors. Useful to Celtic in the SPL as a creator from the back but pitch him in as an under the cosh centre half at a low EPL team he might suffer. 4 , 4.5 m at a push?
jude2005. I dont know about you but to me its confusing.I agree with you I cannot see John Collins playing 2nd fiddle. H.H.