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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I’m finding it harder to differentiate between the doom mongers and the huns pretending to be doom mongers, and the huns who are just huns and are being hunnish.
I don’t pretend to know anything about Tony Watt’s private life – but I often wonder with some young guys if they have a problem with their immediate social circle.
Derek Riordan would probably have had a good football career if he had dumped the mates and hangers-on in Edinburgh – but it seemed as though the mates were higher up his list of priorities.
Maybe Tony Watt needs to get away from Glasgow for his own good?
Big Joe
Id rather have Ciftci!!!
Jude2005
I think it’s more a case of a team is willing to buy Tony where none will touch Amido.
Either loan him out to Hibs and watch him flatten a few Sevcoites for a laugh or cut the contract up.
Never a footballer in there. Can’t see anyone after him unless we play Liverpool again in a friendly where he looks a world beater.
I like Gary Mackay-Stevens
However, is he good enough to play in the hoops ????
I also like Dillon, but he’s been unlucky MOTH against Real Madrid a couple of summers back……………..
What happened…………………………..
I think we should continue with our scouting model, and leave the SPL boys to Big money moves to England’s back waters.
IfitAintBroke
I wonder if WGS will pick Tony for Scotland now??
joe filippis haircut,
Agreed, John Collins is too strong minded to answer to anyone.on his appointment I said the same…hopefully I’m wrong.HH
I haven’t seen too many details about Denny Johnstone’s trials at Birmingham City.
I hope, though, Celtic don’t intend to play the Scott Fox card again.
It was a shabby way to behave then and it would be risible for the club to repeat that behaviour.
Sometimes it can be wrong to insist on your rights even when your right.
Re Tony Watt: We teachers try our best to prepare people like Tony for life but sadly they never learn. They think they no better. I feel quite sad about that but oh so predictable.
Repost from late last night. Thanks to some of the boys for their comments during the night
————————–
I know politics can be a divisive subject on here so if the situation in Gaza isn’t your cup of tea scroll on by.
Spent the last few days making an 8 minute video on what is really going on over there. Sourced lots of material not published in the UK media. Wouldn’t mind some feedback before I start putting it out on twitter. Hopefully it’ll inspire someone to make a difference. Be that donating, boycotting or just sharing with others.
Israel’s war on Children. The link is below
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ahd9sWnAVJA
*Warning Graphic Footage* Definitely not suitable for work.
Should we meet the Israelis there is no possibility of playing in Israel.
Hasnt the government there been telling us of the thousands of rocket attack and of how their citizens are under constant threat.
Obviously they could not guarantee the safety of the Celtic players
So a neutral venue at least
bigwavy
Sounds good to me!! Wd elbows be on ur list?? <:0)
Neganon
I do not see Watt as an option.
More deserving guys ahead of him in the selection ladder.
Best move all round.
Big Joe,
Despite sifting through some interesting subjects on todays article, I find myself needing to know the answer to a question re your 1st entry on the blog
“I was distracted by beards and horses”
Now, I get the horses bit…… but beards ? Do you work in a barbers ? Do you have a selection of disguises including numerous beards that you were reviewing ?
I think we deserve to know…. this sort of stuff is important !
HH
GMS would contribute more than McGeouch and Boerrigter combined so a cash + McGeouch deal to sign him is not only a no brainer.
The bonus is that by adding a left winger to the squad Boerrigter could be moved on, providing anyone is silly enough to take him. I see Derk, along with Amido, moving out on Bangura type loan deals until their contract runs down.
If Celtic bought Good Morning Scotland, I’d be delighted – first on the sports headlines every day.
If Celtic bought Growling Mad Scientists, I’d be puzzled, although our pre-match routine could benefit from some radical surgery.
Sitting here at Cork airport waiting on flight back to Edinburgh after a fantastic short break in the Rebel County. Had the very great pleasure of meeting up with Owen and his lovely wife and daughter on Saturday and spending a very pleasant afternoon with them at the Friars Walk Tavern for the St Pauli match. Least said about that. ..! BTW what a great Celtic pub that is – highly recommended to any visiting Tims, the (owner?) Gerard (sp) could not have been more welcoming.
HH
embramike, livibhoy or anyotherl Embra based Tims……
In Embra for the week and looking for any “‘tic friendly” pubs to watch the game.
No idea if it’s actually on tv.. any confirmation and advice appreciated.
As said, in Embra and up for a swally if anyone’s interested.
HH
If Celtic bought Goofy, Micky and Shere Khan, I’d be fearful for the future of Hoopy the Huddle Hound.
Is selling Tony Watt for £1.2m a good idea or a bad idea?
In common with most folk commenting (including the multi-named posters- Hiya Kev!) I have not enough information on all the variables involved in making that call. But, like the others it won’t stop me speculating.
Tony Watt has had a troubled spell at two clubs now. Despite his troubled spell, he continues to be a regular goal scorer. Regular goal scorers are worth a lot of money. Even when they come with a lot of baggage (Suarez, Balotelli) they still go for large amounts.
Celtic, under Neil Lennon, tried to work the oracle on a couple of talented projects who had reported bad attitude problems. Andre Blackman had obvious football talent but he is on his 4th club since leaving Celtic in 2012, playing in the Conference South now but still impressing big clubs like Leeds who have taken him on trial this summer. We did the same with Rabiu Ibrahim who was freed by Killie in January this year. We worked with players like Viduka and Lennon, who were prone to bouts of depression. So how bad does an attitude issue or a Mental health problem have to be before a club says it is not worth the hassle?
It undoubtedly affects the transfer fee. Di Canio would probably have fetched more than just a Regi Blinker if he did not have a history of “leetle problems” (and if you had a better salesman than Jock Brown). But Van Hoojdonk’s threats of going on strike to manufacture a move, probably did not harm his transfer fee because the buying club would see it as a positive that he was prepared to threaten that in order to come to them, rather than see it as the act of a mercenary for whom contracts mean little. Suarez still fetched a hefty fee but may have been willing to accept some punitive clauses in his contract to go to a club where he feels he has a greater chance of success (and I am sure that Ryecatcher will agree with me there).
So, back to Watt. The transfer fee we got is good value if Tony Watt continues his present trend of scoring fairly regularly but alienating his managers, coaches and senior players with his immaturity, as players like this are eventually cut by clubs in order to preserve harmony in a team sport. It will, however be a bad deal if Tony is trying or has tried to screw the nut and a changed attitude has not been noticed or supported by the club. In that case, we would be losing a highly developed talent who was on the brink of turning things around.
Time will tell whether like Berkovic, he was a difficult player for team-mates to get on with in every team they played, or whether it was like the case of Artur Boruc, who was also sold as an irredeemable basket-case on the slide but has managed to very quickly resurrect his career at both Fiorentina and Southampton and was worth much more than the £1.2m we sold him for.
Time will tell.
For Tony Watt, I hope it is not a shame, and that he gets his career back on track and legitimises the complaints of those who put Celtic in the wrong here. However, if they had inside information on how poor Tony’s attitude and effort were, then it is also legitimate to fear the worse and some posters may have apologies to make.
If you have ever tried to run a sports team, at any level, you will know that allowances are made for talent. However, you cannot make EVERY allowance for talent. It takes the ability level of an Ibrahimovic, Suarez or Balotelli to help people ignore the fact that you are a bit of an A-hole. Tony Watt is not at that level.
My Dear Auldheid….
So, Tony Watt Doesn’t Do What He’s Told On The Pitch….
And Doesn’t Take Advice..?
Sure..! But He’s The Best Striker We Have….
And He’s STILL Learning….
We’ve Had Young Talent Before Now..
With ‘Inflated’ Egos….
But We Had COMPETENT Man-Managers…
Who Could Handle The Situations..
And Not Throw The Baby Oot…
Wi’ The Bathwater…..
Like Yon Martinet….Lennon..
Young Tony Could Be An Inspiration
He Has Shown Pace,Flair,Strength..
And Attitude….
He Will Track Back And Challenge Defenders…
Something That Had Been Lacking Until LG Started Doing This Last Season….
To Make Oor Delicate HamiltonHun Eat ‘Humble Pie’…….
Latterly,He Had Been Forced To Play Wide On The Left….
Which Simply Doesn’t Suit His Abilities….
So It Is QUITE Understandable….
That The Lad Has Become Mildly Frustrated…..
Amido & Derk…?
A Pair Of Haddies…
Stokes..?? A Sluggish, Half-Hearted Waster..
Who Deprives Tony Watt Of The Central Striker’s Role….
But Doesn’t Follow INSTRUCTIONS..
And Wanders Off Wide….
And Doesn’t He Have A Court Case Pending Back In Ireland…
Concerning An Incident With The Elvis Impersonator….
Which Could Earn Him A Custodial Sentence…?
Good Grief….!!
‘Heartbreaker’ Tony Watt May Be The Talk Of All The Mums Doon Airdrie CO-OP….
But He Has Never Gotten Himself Into THAT Sort Of Bother…!
~~~~~~~
Lookee..! KOJO Has Saddled Up The Palomino….
Doon On The Ponderosa…..
And Is Headed For….DODGE CITY…
Look Out….Peter Lawwell….!
Oor Hero Is So Cross…..
He Is Chewin’ RATTLESNAKES..!
—————–
I dont think we would have any chance of signing GMS Dundee Utd have already sold two of there young stars for 6 Million pounds and they have no debt.So it would be very unlikley that they would sell any of there players to a club in the same league as themselves. H.H.
Baldie cant have another season like the last one. He was rotten!!!
Calling London Celtic fans
It looks like I will be in London on Wednesday evening. Where is the best place to go to watch the match?
Have Oyster Card, Will Travel.
Wonder what the script will be when Forster and VVD go?
Oooocccchhhh! Silly me. It’ll be profit.
MWD says AYE
JFH
I would be happy to dodge the signing of a player like GMS, who infuriates his own fans and managers with his inconsistency. He has undoubted flair but he is a bit lightweight and often anonymous. He is not trusted to be a Scotland international yet.
When my oldest was playing 12s/14s football there was a wee fella play on the right wing and was nearly in the Jinky mould. Stood out every game then some twat thot he’d be better at left back. Wee guy lost interest and after a year he chucked it!!
Still see the twat and I let him know one night when I had a few to many malts!!
Some of these coaches need protection from themselves!!
deserbhoy,
Malones on Forrest Rd would be your best shout. Great pub with big screens, Does a cracking club sandwich too!
AlbertKiddCSC
BMCUW 11:11
Thanks for message my bhoy!
Tell yer Dad all the best and to enjoy the Good Ship CQN.
Having never seen the great man actually play, I’m a bit of an impostor with the moniker – so tell yer Dad apologies but he’s still no getting it!
Tully was always a hero for me, even since my uncle gave me an old copy of his book “Passed To You”. It was at the time I was reading Ronnie Simpson & Tam Gemmell’s book as a kid in the late 60’s that he gave it to me (the book itself I think was written around 1959). I think he was the only Celt of that era to write a book – it wasn’t really done at the time, so it tells you the draw that Tully had.
I still remember stories from it – including an amazing punch up at training he had with Bobby Evans only a few days before The 7-1.
Charles Patrick also made the pilgrimage to Lisbon, as a supporter, paying his own way naturally and I loved him even more for that. I always wonder if he clocked the big “7-1” banner that was at Lisbon……hope so, he deserved to see it.
All the best,
tully
—
KevJungle – Murdo Macleod is my favorit CELTIC player ever.
09:01 on 28 July, 2014
Auldheid
22:08 on 27 July, 2014
___________________
You can’t provide the ‘books’ from the year before MO’N’s arrival just as well as, I can’t.
But, I base my point on what MO’N said whilst being interviewed by the media which, again I can’t provide the evidence of, so….does that mean then that, I made it up?
If yer calling me a liar….that’s fine – I’ve been called worse by better than you.
But, if yer calling MO’N a liar well, I know who I would believe first.
The ‘bored’ sucked a section of fans ‘in’ with their resolution 12 p#sh.
And that’s what I view it as so, don’t come on and try all yer ‘gobble-de-gook’ selling point stuff cos, I’ll just scroll-on past cos it is designed to decieve and you and yer gang have fallen for it. imho
Sutton in – £6 mill….Viduka out £6 mill
Lennon in – £5 mill….Berkovic out £5 mill
Jos Val in £3 mill…Burley out – £3 mill
Thommo in £2.5 mill….Riseth out £1.5 mill
Agathe in £35k…..Burchill out £1 mill
Douglas in £1.5 mill
Vega in Free transfer
All of the above produced a treble v’s the most expensive ‘EVER’ assembled Rangers squad and at a time when most clubs were flush – cos of the SKY TV deal.
Hardly – bankrupcy material. imho
The season following Seville……The ‘bored’, who dined-out at the top tables in Europe, somewhere that that hadn’t been since the days of Mr Stein, announced that they would be bringing in PL to ‘fix’ the financial running of the club, after our last eight knock-out by Villa Real in the Uefa Cup, and MO’N – who was nobodies puppet – told the fans that they would have to be prepared to go into the ‘slow-lane’ in terms of European ambition.
It was embarrassing to say the least. I mean, the shackles were so tight that, MO’N couldn’t even get James McFadden on loan from Motherwell or, bring in Peter Canero the Kilmarnock right back for the, injured Agathe. The best period in our history since the Mr Stein era was over and, MO’N knew it. Downsizing whilst, charging top dollar to watch a reduced in quality product was not something that MO’N would be part of and, if the unfortunate illness didn’t visit MO’N’s wife, I think he would have left anyway.
When MO’N first took over the reigns of the club, he wasn’t slow in telling DD were to go after, DD questioned the wisdom of signing Chris Sutton for £6 mill as, CS had only scored the one goal all season with him being, in and out of the Chelsea team.
For me, Martin O’Neill’s stewardship of Celtic killed Rangers as, SDM was terrified that MO’N would have won a European trophy with Celtic.
But what do I know?
~~~~~~~~~~
Yet Another SPARKLIN’ Post….
From Oor Man ‘OFF OOT !”
Careful ,Now..!
You Are Making A Certain Verbose,Self-Gratifying Poster…
Fae Darkest Cambuslang…..
GREEN WI’ ENVY….!!
Keep Up The GOOD Work..!
Still….Laughin’
(PS…You Are Alan Whicker….
And I Claim My Five Pounds )
—————-
AK… where is Forrest Rd, am in Gt King St??
Siesta time zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
• Larrybhoy
13:30 on 28 July, 2014
Big Joe,
Despite sifting through some interesting subjects on todays article, I find myself needing to know the answer to a question re your 1st entry on the blog
“I was distracted by beards and horses”
Now, I get the horses bit…… but beards ? Do you work in a barbers ? Do you have a selection of disguises including numerous beards that you were reviewing ?
I think we deserve to know…. this sort of stuff is important !
HH
From the previous article………………….
I had a rant about beards…………………………
And am going to pick 6 winners a Goodwood manana.
Or……………………………………………..
You could be right with your assumption of me…..
BigJoesnotsaying
AH
I think you are being a wee bit hard on TW.
The fact that he is the only forward on our books who could generate a £1.2mill fee.
LG = Has his talents but is limited to the penalty box.
AS = Terrific footballer but lacks concentration and efficient finishing.
TP = Grafter / support striker / runner from deep but no striker.
AB = Should be in Govan playing “7’s” — How big was the favour to his agent?
Add in MB, the Danish DF — just where do we get them?
desertbhoy
Where in the city you based?
Malones is probably the best shout. Can be busy for the bigger games. Mind the festival is on so might be worth checking ahead. Game is on Premier Sports. Not sure if I will make it out to watch the game myself.
LB
desertbhoy
Just past Greyfrairs Bobby statue near the meadows and the Edinburgh University.
LB
Jude,
I know what you mean my bhoy played with St Fillans when they won every tournament they entered.
They played most of their semis and finals at Maryhill juniors, I watched some good players but was always annoyed my bhoy was played out of position to accommodate others…maybe me just being a typical parent.
Anyways, bedtime for me, enjoy the football banter…..