My friends in Celtic, we finish the year top of the league having just schooled our nearest rivals for the second time in two games. A dip in form ended just in time to see the club collect nine points from three games, with an important trip to St Mirren to complete before the winter break. All is right for three-in-a-row.
So why am I so worried? It’s about the strategic direction the club takes going forward. I don’t want to just win the league, or even just qualify for the Champions League. I am 56 years old, I want to see Celtic dive deep into that tournament. I want to see us achieve what Neil Lennon and Gordon Strachan did in Europe, even if the achievements of Jock Stein’s era are nothing more than a fantasy.
If we get everything right, I believe a successful football club can come from our league and achieve what the best in Holland or Portugal have done. To get there, we need to double down on what we are good at, improve where we can and avoid the obvious pitfalls.
Since 2021 we have concentrated development resources into players (largely) under 24 years old. Augmented by the significant contribution of a then-unknown (i.e. risky) Kyogo, this has delivered an enormous haul of trophies. Celtic finished a distant second in 2021 but have dropped only two domestic trophies since, a period in which their main rivals reached significant milestones in European competition.
Finding and developing players of the calibre of Carter-Vickers, Jota, Hatate, Maeda, O’Riley and Abada is so obviously where Celtic are as a club, it defies explanation (but here we are). The aforementioned benefited from arriving at the club during a period of rebuilt. In the squad, goalkeeper, defence, midfield and attack were all overhauled. The new arrivals got gametime and soon flourished.
This summer, our man outlays went on Nawrocki €5m, Palma, €4.75m, Lagerbielke €3.4m, Holm €3m, with an option to buy Bernardo for €6m. Palma was first to get a sustained opportunity and has thrived, scoring in the Champions League and recording assists in important games.
After a run of only three starts, Paulo Bernardo was the toast of Celtic Park. He contributes every inch as much as Matt O’Riley and at €6m is an absolute steal – IF we contribute to develop him correctly, and not allow him to wither on the vine.
Odin Holm (20) has the potential to be every bit as good as Paulo and Matt. He has had a terrible time with illness since arriving in Glasgow, but he will fully recuperate and by his peak years will be performing in a top European league.
For reasons I have not been able to fathom, Gustaf Lagerbielke’s face doesn’t seem to fit. The player has scarcely taken to the field, and when he did, he scored a Champions League winner, but minds have been made up.
On the other hand, great things are expected of Maik Nawrocki. He has endured persistent injuries since August, and was thrown into the deep end yesterday, but the consensus at Lennoxtown is that he will also play his peak years in a top European league.
If Celtic have been exceptional at anything in recent years, it is finding and developing great prospects. We need to do more of this, we need to look for ways to improve it, and we need to lead the club with this exceptional strategy. Convince the footballing world, if you have talent, Celtic will find it and grow it into something great.
Luck plays a part in football. Injuries, illness and opportunity can all determine whether or not a player is successful. But in this respect anyway, luck eventually evens itself out. Can we all agree, let’s have more of Cater-Vickers, Nawrocki, Jota, Palma, Abada, Holm and Hatate.
So with the strategic plan clearly so successful why am I worried? We lose two league games, get our backsides handed to us in Madrid, and we want a quick and lazy fix (which will not work).
This “we need more experienced players” harks back to past successes, like the phenomenal Scott Sinclair. But Scott came 8 years ago and the world has changed since then. “More experience players” means fewer like Nawrocki and more like Nat Phillips. Nat is 26, has experience in the EPL and Champions League with Liverpool and is exactly the player we can expect to sign when we go for “more experience”.
Nat is not the only example. Let me disturb your afternoon with memories of Duffy, Laxalt, Bauer, Marvelous Marvin Compper, Gamboa, Toure and (still on the payroll) James McCarthy! Look across the city. They have gone full pelt with this strategy; Lammers, Dessers, Danilo, Dowell, the wee boy with the tints in his hair, Davies and Lundstrum.
It’s not cheap either. Despite being universally acknowledged as being rubbish, they have a higher payroll than Celtic; Dessers is on £30k per week and that big lump Lundstrum banks £40k a week to traipse around in Callum McGregor’s shadow.
It is a strategy, but it’s a rubbish one. It leads to a development dead end, not just with respect of the players, but for the club as a whole. The chances of bringing a Scott Sinclair-type talent to Scottish football are remote, this is what “more experienced” looks like and it isn’t pretty.
This is where we are: Nawrocki or Phillips, Bernardo or Lammers. There is only one way forward for Celtic, do more of what we are good at, do it ruthlessly, without exception. Even Brendan should have personal developmental goals. This is where Alex Ferguson was so exceptional and others (Martin, even Jock), didn’t adapt. Managers need to be confident enough to disarm and learn.
It’s also worth correcting a commonly held belief that Celtic have a particularly young team. If our preferred starting 11 includes Abada and Hatate instead of Palma and Bernardo in yesterday’s line-up, the average age is 26.6 years. We are a team with a decent range of youth and experience.
Jota, Carter-Vickers et al gave us a reputation as a great place to for a young prospect to come to. If we screw up with the (also very good) most recent crop of recruits, we will not get next season’s crop, they will go elsewhere.
The next two transfer windows are pivotal to the direction of the club. The manner in which we won the game yesterday, with Bernardo and Nawrocki writing the script, adds valuable perspective on where we are and where we should be moving. Double down, be the best and what we are very good at, no reverse gear, no Phillips, Duffys, Comppers in a vain effort to find Sinclair.
Our condolences to the family of Len Murray, Celtic fan, lawyer and twice guest speaker at the CQN Golf Day. Len was a warm man of great intellect and a devastatingly entertaining manner.
Many thanks to those who helped me on CQN this year, Alex Gordon in particular and the two Mods (one on temp vacation) – honestly the worst role in football!
Thanks also for everyone who drops in to give their thoughts or only for a read. I know so many people I respect who read this stuff. Not everyone ‘gets’ this club. You can see the intelletual sneering in some who have left grubby matters like thier football team behind; they have no idea what they have lost. It is a tonic to know my Celtic addition is shared by people I like. This is who we are, it is our link to the generations past and forward, and for some of us, that really matters.
Take care and have a great 2024!
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Big Jimmy
Hope your health improves for the New Year.
All the best
Very good performance yesterday.
Re our transfer strategy, my view is that our best strike rate is when sign players the manager knows eg NL signed some excellent players from the Championship, Ange brought us the Japanese Market, while we also used the try before you buy for Jota and CCV but dumped Abilgaard.
The current model has brought us ORiley, Hatate etc, but for every £1.5m success there are two Balde’s and Benabei, so the real price is nearer £5m.
IMHO if we buy one or two at £4-£6m, we can stay within the model, but increase probability of success.
If we want to be better at the current
Is it safe to watch ‘Saltburn’?
Football aside for a moment please.
i would like to wish all Celts everywhere, a healthy , happy and great New Year.
Love to all and peace to all
KINGLubO
So the current strategy that sees us humped in Europe annually, which is the one we’re continuing with, is the new strategy that will bring us success, in relative terms?
GENE on 31ST DECEMBER 2023 3:51 PM
Big Jimmy
Hope your health improves for the New Year.
All the best
……………
Cheers GENE, and all the best to you and Jackie in the New Year.
Did Port Vale win 3 – 0 yesterday…or did I imagine it ?
LOL
HH
Superbru Round 21 update & Prizewinner announcements
We reached a week where all the “Never Back Rangers” group were able to align with the same result forecast as the “Predict Objectively” group and the “It doesn’t matter if I predict a win for them, I win whatever the outcome” group. Almost everyone backed a Celtic win and were rewarded with a 1 or 1.5 points outcome. 21 predictors got the exact score and 3 points. I lost out on this because of the non-foul awarded by Nick Walsh to let Tav Pen test Joe Hart’s ageing bones. I say almost everyone, but we had 3 pessimists who forecast a score draw (roy crappie, Hot Smoked & Jonny the Tim). All 3 got their prediction wrong but still managed to cure the mood state that led to the pessimism and were happier Bhoys after 2pm. Anyways our top 3 yesterday were:-
1= PaddysMaw & hairlikespaghetti- 7 pts
2= One Malloy, Call Me Gerry & McCaff- 6 pts
Our bottom 3, all on 1 point, were Kolncelt, Bada Bing and Pro Cierto, with the last named getting the last wooden spoon of 2023
So in the overall race, we have our top 3 prize winners as:-
1. BC Milan- 120.5 pts- winning £50
2. Billy Bhoy- 120 pts- winning £30
3. Leggy- 118 pts- winning £20
I will leave my e-mail address at the bottom of this post in the Banter section of QNQS on Superbru. You can contact me with your details so we can transfer the money or you can instruct us on where you want it paid or donated to. As soon as we pay the money we will delete your details so, even if you’re an end-of-season winner too, you will have to supply them again.
At the bottom of the table, unlikely to be in the top 3 by May, but favourites to win a genuine wooden spoon, are:-
1. Friesdorfer- 63.5 pts
2. Cosy Corner Bhoy- 66.5 pts
3. Belmont Brian63- 69.5 pts
However, everyone can still surpass the 14.5 pts best weekly total, set by Big Jimmy in week 2. Big Jimmy can even surpass this himself, so don’t miss your predictions when there are more than 6 fixtures in any game week.
I will announce the prize pot for the end of season Top 3 and top weekly total again in the New Year, once we have dealt with the halfway prize winners but, don’t forget, we still have a set of fixtures before the Winter break and you need to have your first pick in by January 2nd 2024- 3pm.
Also a reminder that we have a poll going in the Banter Section, which closes on January 5th, to decide the destination of a £361 donation to a charity/ charities. 12 people have voted but we have 67 eligible to vote, so we’d like to ensure the money goes to where people want it to go. If you can, please consider voting.
Finally, thanks for your support and May you enjoy good fortune in the games, and life in general, in 2024.
I appreciate Paul’s words on the importance of the blog and connections therein.
I was directed to CQN 17 years ago and have barely missed an article since .
Other than frequent trips to visit family, we’ve spent the 17 years in Asia/Americas and I’ve always found CQN the most consistent connection to the details on Celtic, generally unavailable when outside the UK.
Well done to Paul for an outstanding level of consistency over so many years and happy new year to all Tims contributing and lurking on the site.
Hail hail and the best for 2024.
Big Jimmy
We beat Blackpool 3-0 on Friday night – Karamoke Dembele played for them and to be fair had a decent game playing in a free role.. The score flattered us somewhat – but we’ll take it.
Son was supposed to be at Uttoxeter today but it was called off due to ground conditions.
Just rewatched the game on tv. We were dominant for 80% of it. Most of their threat came from our play when we were in possession and the biased performance of all of the 3 officials who did their best to help them. The number of soft free kicks given to them was unreal. However while BR has a great record against them I think his game management was poor yesterday. AJ was out of sorts the whole game and should have been replaced. The three man substitution weakened us tremendously. We were in cruise control until then. MJ was atrocious and could have cost us the game. DT cannot play in a three with O Riley and Calmac. He is too slow and can’t tackle. JH is not the answer. He made a good save from Cantwell but he was nowhere for their goal. A yard of his line and a yard too far away from the near post. If we don’t find a better keeper for the second half of the season it could cost us. I would let MJ and DTgo now.
It’s the state of the blog which is more of a concern today :) honestly, it’s almost impossible to use these days.
So at the third attempt, I’ll keep this very short.
The strategy of some in the club executive has seen us fail to win a knock out tie in 20 years. We’ve a squad bloated with non contributing players and a top manager employed on a 3 year contract demanding a trimmed squad with resources more targeted towards the experienced players he needs for the next level.
By all means get the O’Rileys but augment them with the Kyogo’s (26), Juranovic (26) and GG (27) to name but a few.
Our gaffer needs backed this window and needs to get what he wants – he’s the gaffer. If there’s people at the club actively working against him then they should have the backbone to step back and stop undermining the manager.
No argument here, of course I want more CCVs, Jota’s and MORs, but I want way fewer Bernabi’s, Kobyashi’s, Yangs, Kwons, MJs and Ohs.
We need to be quicker and more ruthless in cutting those who have no chance of making it at Celtic lest the squad becomes top heavy with mediocrity.
Anyway, lang may your lum reek and all the best to every CQNer.
Strangely when mentioning experienced player signings you use Philips as an example but omit Juranovic, Giakoumakis or Mooy!!
We desperately need a couple of experienced player signings to help develop the youngsters we are buying under Big Peter’s buy them cheap, pile them high transfer policy.
Excellent article Paul.
Very interesting and intelligent views posted.
MICK1888 @ 1:52 PM – agree re having room in the strategy for the occasional old pro.
I notice Paul the summer signings and fees you mention relate to the players we signed from decent leagues in Europe (Poland, Sweden, Greece, Norway, Portugal).
The pedigree of players signed from these “markets” should give us some confidence they can come up to speed relatively quickly.
Less so e.g. Korea and Australia?
No doubt the talent exists but the league pedigree perhaps doesn’t.
As a result they’ll take longer to come up to the required level?
Perhaps our strategy when acquiring players from these markets should be what other clubs do already.
Put them out on loan to an inferior club to start the developmental process until they reach a standard Brendan can then work with.
Otherwise there is a risk they just hang around the first team squad without making
match day list, look unproductive (from the outside).
Ajer to Kilmarnock.
Christie to Aberdeen.
It works.
ffs
queen margrethe II of denmark has abdicated this afternoon.
couldnt have happened at a worse time for us.
could she not have waited until wednesday?
i hope matt o’reilly doesnt take the news too bad and is mentally fit for tuesdays game
🙏
Will someone lock away the crayons at Snake Mountain. The Huns have released another statement 😂
Happy New Year to all Aussie bhoys and anyone else around the globe for whom the bells haveth already rang.
To all “the filthy animals – sevco) Get it round yeez.
D. :)
Happy New Year to Paul67 and all the Bhoys and Ghirls on this excellent site.
Different opinions make us what we are, a club for all.
Paul the spark
They better be careful what they ask for. Hope they get their wish, would set a president for us and the rest to ask for the same🙃
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/67854371
The BBC neglect to mention a rather important detail – that the handball was rendered redundant due to an off side preceding the event.
This is what we’re up against. The hurt is off the scale.
An dun
The media could easily nip the non story in the bud but it plays to their agenda.
An dun ( if you’re still on, and for debating purposes )
Our gaffer will take whatever ‘ the recruitment strategy ’ can secure , so long as he dines on the multi million pound contract, he safely tucked in his back pooch last summer. He has at least ‘ nodded through ‘ / ‘ had the final say’ on nine players.
He did the same at Celtic first time round, he did the same Liverpool and their recruitment team, and the same at Leicester, with theirs. He has acknowledged that Celtic like most other big clubs have a recruitment team.
Seems he gets screwed over with transfers at every club he goes to?
Eats shoots and leaves CSC
The BBC sportscene program was pretty balanced last night on the game. I thought their coverage pretty fair. It is so bad they Richard Wilson (a real bad one) online editor and the radio coverage is so bad.
Any perspective / balance is just not allowed.
If they get their way on this every single VAR decision plus audio will need to be released promptly, they can’t even draw lines in an appropriate time scale up here, Dallas and Aitken will need to get the finger out. I can see a lot of” technical problems have prevented ” excuses being wheeled out.
If Sevco play against Kilmarnock the way the did against us, high balls trying to flick on or get fouls Kilmarnock have the CHs to deal with this. Of course their new super duper CF will be available he will need to cover up his tattoos of Jesus or the Onions will let him know promptly.
BOBBY MADDEN
Penned a piece clearing up the non penalty award, very fair in his assessment.
Ref saw no foul, var saw no foul.
If they did they then would have reviewed the offside incident which he agreed it would have been called offside..
So there you have it folks, a red hot hun bassa even says its a non story.
Happy new year to one and all.
Where would the site be without the acolytes bedwetters, happy clappers, naysayers and… WITS 🤗😂
Enjoy peeps ❤️🍻
BOURNESOUPRECIPE
So it’s about what the strategy is and absolutely BR will be well aware of the constraints.
So do we exclusively focus on young players as we did last summer or do we supplement less youth signings with more experienced players ?
P67 days this has been the strategy since 2021 which is demonstrably inaccurate.
Ange signed Kyogo, Starfelt, JJ, GG & Hart in his first window – all of them were outside the young development profile.
We simply wouldn’t be where we are today without having signed those players because we don’t win the past two league titles.
We’re not Man City. We can afford to stockpile dozens of non contributing players.
Besides, you don’t develop these lads by not playing them so stockpiling is ineffective and costly.
The idea that we double down on our last three transfer windows is a scary thought. We’ll have a first team squad of over 50 players before too soon !
So the North Stand linesman was Callum Spence who apparently was the chap who was needed stitches after being hit in the head by a coin when running the line at Livingston v Rangers a few years back.
The main stand one was just the guy who resigned from the police force after nearly choking a guy in his custody.
PRESTONPANS BHOYS
Yes, I hope they keep up with the Victim FC mantra. The SFA is long overdue a showdown
with Sevco.
Just listened to Graham Spiers podcast about the game yesterday. Guests Michael Grant and Stephen McGowan. Really it’s a Rangers podcast. Mostly talked about how good Rangers were. Any Celtic compliment was backhanded at best or given very little time. No discussion of the Turnbull penalty incident but lots given to the Alistair Johnston incident.
Callum McGregor and Liam Scales DO get praised however and to a lesser degree Kyogo.
Not worth the listen unless you need a good argument.
T
Their pathetic wee statement really is nauseating. The baseline here is exactly as stated by Bobby Madden. The lunatic manager is even worse than the rest of them.
I actually think the have a Jimmy Bell type indoctrinating every one of them when the come in through Murray Park ( lol) gates. Although Gio weirdly seemed bypassed by this and was just too nice a guy.
Nostalgia, eh
A wee while back, when the tV gantry was above the jungle, there was a huge massive bang.
A wise guy shouted out, That;s George Davidson dropped hie wallet.
Made me laugh anyway
KINGLubO
It’s reassuring to see thems are spouting the same aul shipe after another loss – the beeb are reporting on the ‘old firm penalty decision’, ‘sfa transparency’. Clemente, like the rest of them has cottoned on quickly to the lay of the land and to lengthening the time during which he can collect a decent salary.
Again, despite an injury crisis, we have players on the pitch which make us better than thems – I can’t see Tom English’s article on that.
Statement plays to the gallery as usual and will be welcomed as an excuse for not being very good.
MSM media will lap it up again as usual and might as well start with penalty to them in the next derby….
What about transparency re Balogun spitting on Celtic supporters?
AN DÚN on 31ST DECEMBER 2023 5:37 PM
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/67854371
The BBC neglect to mention a rather important detail – that the handball was rendered redundant due to an off side preceding the event.
This is what we’re up against. The hurt is off the scale.
They are all at it. This is from the scotsman & a blatant lie at that. If you watch the game you will clearly see that colum mcgregor takes the freekick.
((((However, play restarted with what appeared to be a goal kick from Celtic goalkeeper Joe Hart rather than a free kick for offside))) and Rangers manager Philippe Clement revealed he was unaware of the reasoning behind the officials’ actions. It has led to Rangers issuing another statement on Sunday, less than 24 hours after their first call for VAR audio to be released, criticising the “unacceptable” timescale for convening and saying their concerns are growing over “the lack of transparency”.
Transparency is it put your club back on the stock market.
TURKEYBHOY
From earlier…
The games he has played for Celtic has nothing to do with it and that’s the point! It’s his games previous to his arrival.
I’m not saying he’s a bad player and clearly you’ve missed the point.
He’s not suited to a Celtic team playing a high line (he’s slow) and a passing team, his short distance distribution is in a low percentile.
somebody mentioned it earlier –
could we not find more celtic minded pros like Hart in the large leagues – or is that not possible with outfield players – I know, I know Graveson etc……
I can’t argue with the money aspect behind paul67’s breakdown of where we are but ‘we need to do it better’ could mean exploring challenging markets aswell as scouring for projects.