My friends in Celtic, last season we enjoyed our fourth consecutive league title, a League Cup win, and a disappointing end to the treble pursuit with a penalty defeat in the Scottish Cup Final. That loss was only the sixth domestic trophy Celtic have failed to win in nine years, and three of those came amid the testing absence protocols Celtic observed impeccably in season 2020-21.
The season just finished also saw our successful participation in the first Champions League, league format, which we progressed from, before ultimately losing to an equaliser in Munich. A repeat in Europe this term will be enormously difficult.
Since then, Nicolas Kuhn, our scorer that night in Munich, has left for Como, Greg Taylor went to PAOK, while a number of fringe players also emptied their Lennoxtown lockers.
Kieran Tierney (28) returns to fill the left back slot vacated by Greg, and we have seen a welcome return to a strategy of investing in young players. I am even happier that we have revived our Japan policy, with the arrival of striker Shin Yamada (25 but not long out of uni.) and left-side defender Hayato Inamura (23).
The arrival of striker Callum Osmand (19), from Fulham echoes the road travelled by Moussa Dembele in 2016. The final notable arrival (so far) is Swedish winger Banjamin Nygren (23). Let’s not burden him with the obvious comparison. Past performance of talent sources does not guarantee anything, but we are entitled to be encouraged.
We are a month away from the transfer window closing and the I read that Chris Sutton thinks we are weaker now than at the end of last season. Chris watched more of Kieran last season than I did, and perhaps he watched a lot of Japanese, Danish (Benji) and Fulham reserve football too. If I can go out on a limb, though, this feels like an extraordinary claim without extraordinary evidence. Doom sells more than “Nothing much to report yet”.
I spent much of last term flagging concerns that Brendan Rodgers had gone off-piste. £26m on Idah, Engels and Trusty (not counting the rest) was an alarming venture into territory I hoped he left behind during his latter days at Leicester. Therefore, I am delighted to see the manager back with what looks like a strategic fit.
Moreover, this looks like someone planning for the future, which was a concern I raised after last season’s business.
The window of course is not over and if we are to see off this season’s version of a domestic challenge with our customary manner (customary treble seems unnecessary), while reaching and performing in the Champions League, work needs to be done.
Past performances might again be useful. Our most transformational transfer window in two decades was surely the summer of 2021. Ange Postecoglou arrived and brought in Kyogo, Starfelt, Carter-Vickers, Abada, Juranovic, Jota, Giakoumakis and Joe Hart.
At the end of July 2021, however, only Kyogo, Abada and Giakoumakis had been signed. Of course, we could have signed another central defender rather than wait for Cameron, and there was no reason to wait for Jota, Josip, Carl or Joe. Alternatives were available well before their signing dates.
Fortunately, Celtic decisionmakers knew their targets and set about getting them. A short-term hit wins today’s headlines, but honestly, do we really need short-term hits? Is it perhaps better to get your plan right and follow it to the end, even if it means signing the likes of CCV and Jota on deadline day again?
I cannot believe you and I have this conversation every year. People I know and like, clever people, forget so quickly how these things work. How “Same old Celtic” actually means what we did previously, not what imaginary thing did not happen before.
We win more than anyone in world football – take this for granted and I don’t want to talk to you. We achieve this while running a sustainable business model which is the envy of clubs everywhere. We will continue to spend and strengthen the squad until the window closes (despite having competitive football before then, sellers often choose to wait until near the end).
Michael Nicholson is almost four years in the CEO job. That period has seen our bank balance climb to levels many of us are uncomfortable with (that includes me!). Michael carries the burden of spending that money on our behalf, which does not mean spending everything at once.
Do you want to look at past performance again? Peter Lawwell spent every penny that came into the club over any multi-year period you care to mention. [Gasp! What did the Romans ever do for us?] My expectation is that Michael will do the same. Anyone who thinks this is easy, or that there is complacency, or that they would boss the football industry, sits on a peak on the Dunning Kruger graph.
These are special years, the inheritance of work done by some of the aforementioned, by Martin, Fergus and the 10,000 who backed him. By Jock and the Lions, who picked the club out of obscurity and taught us to aim high. By those who carried Celtic during the dark decades before that, and by those who cleared the ground, when it was decided, “A football club will be formed…..”.
Enjoy the new season and always enjoy supporting Celtic.
Thank you to everyone who attended the CQN Golf Day at Aberdour in June. Blantyrekev and Taggsybhoy recently dropped by at Spirit Aid to drop off the funds raised. The golfers raised £1019.67 which will go to help the most needy in Scotland. Pictured also is Spirit Aid staff Mary Kavanagh and James Ridley (out of picture the indefatigable Patrick Rolink). Bernard Ponsonby (centre) was our fabulous guest speaker. Spirit Aid are dedicated to improving the lives of young people. They are worth of our support and your attention. Celtic fans are always so inspiring.
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Happy 1st of August gach daoine.
off the bar
Big Pedro….last of the big spenders…..aye ……
Where is gach daoine?
Paul, this constant criticism of Brendan is really strange. It was our incompetent recruitment team/CEO/board who negotiate transfer fees. We had zero back up to Idah or Engels and by all accounts could have secured them for much cheaper earlier in the window but our incompetent recruitment team/CEO/board delayed and got stung. Why no criticism of them?
Still zero criticism of the absolute shambolic 2023 window your pal Lawwell jr oversaw. Still paying the price for that disfunction. It’s fairly embarrassing and the message board has become a laughing stock among the wider support.
PHILCOOL
Never mind that ….whits the goalie daoine Tom?
Philcool
Amuigh Faoin Spéir
We also haven’t won a European knockout tie since 2004 and Lawwell sr took charge. It’s an utter disgrace.
What larks Paul67 – what larks
‘We will continue to spend and strengthen the squad until the window closes (despite having competitive football before then, sellers often choose to wait until near the end).’
The caveat that blows the above approach out of the window this year, is CL qualifiers. The last 2 summer windows we had the luxury of not having to negotiate them, so could bide our time. We have under 2 weeks till the deadline, and the squad is desperately short of capable wingers, a ball winning midfielder and a physical CH (Simpson-Pusey is not the latter).
Aside from that, we’re good to go…..
This constant rubbish that Rodgers had somehow screwed up last summer needs to be called out and called out consistently. So too does this rubbish that he is on board with this deplorable signing policy, which he has rejected time and time again.
People know Rodgers isn’t staying beyond this campaign. He’s not “building for the future” at all unless it’s someone else’s future.
Which part of this is hard for a growing band of dickheads to understand? The manager should be the determining agent on how the budget is spent and on whom. Idah cost us £9 million? His run in on the keeper and that goal which he didn’t get against Young Boys went a considerable way towards repaying that transfer fee, a transfer fee which we ALL know was only so high in the first place because this board dithered, delayed and pissed about allowing Norwich to pay the optimum moment to sell … when Kyogo was injured and we had no fit strikers left.
Engels, we paid the going rate for if you look at how better run clubs than we are have done it across Europe. You want a top rated prospect – he’s STILL the youngest player in the first team squad – with experience in top leagues? That will tend to cost you. And Trusty will prove to be worth every penny in the coming campaign. All this bollocks about a bad window last summer serves someone’s agenda, but it’s certainly not one which benefits Celtic as a whole.
Thanks P67 – imo a pretty fair and realistic appraisal of our healthy and privileged position.
I think it takes gumption to be a fan of unsuccessful wee teams such as the Hibees, the Arabs or the Currants.
But now I’m wondering what generates more activity; a Dunning Kruger Graph or a Van Der Graff ?
There you have it, full blown boardroom bawbaggery and the let’s no let Brendan spend any more money brigade.
The major shareholder wanted Brendan back, but a Celtic PLC that could, but just won’t fix the little things, looks increasingly uncomfortable in the markets where the head coach knows, we should be shopping. The size and untapped Celtic potential is to remain strictly stunted.
We definitely don’t have all the knowledge, no supporter does, but Paul 67’s earlier piece that the real transfer business happens at the end of the window, will be tested and possibly dismissed this month, like it never has before. It’s not happening.
The squad isn’t the way it should be, just before a qualifier, or for difficult opening SPL games, but guess where you’ve seen that movie before?
I think Celtic a lot of supporters are wondering why, not only have we not signed the players clearly needed but we have we even identified them , why are we still scouting positions, that have been vacant since last season. The point of the so called restructuring was so that we “weren’t scrambling about at the end of the market”, big clubs don’t operate that way.
We’ll know by the end of the month whether we’re serious European contenders, or just the same old Celtic, forever to live in a land “ where ‘kwality’ players won’t come” yet we somehow seem manage to swell the PLC coffers, by selling plenty.
The absurdity of the notion, beggars belief.
Enjoy the match CSC
Look forward to next season when we have Maloney or Kennedy in charge.
The days of the “Old Firm” will be well and truly back.
Never mind all that stuff just now Paul.
I’ll read it later.
As a regular consumer of this blog it serves a very important function for me.
Makes me smile or laugh .. particularly when I’m not having a good day.
————
timmy7_noted on 1st August 2025 11:02 am
Hot Smoked @ 8:20
Is their a hierarchy for Celtic supporters? And if so what are the criteria?
———-
Laughed out loud at this one from T7N.
To be fair to Hot Smoked .. I didn’t see his post that prompted this reply.
But as a snappy comeback? Ouch.
🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
Paul ,
There an air of complacency to this article.
Celtic Underground and the Huddle Breakdown have produced some thought provoking analysis on how well we are doing, particularly on player trading, academy productivity and capital infrastructure, and how we might improve.
Years ago there was a piece , written and published on social media , about how profitable Portuguese Clubs were in the transfer market. I think it was Harry Brady who said that piece had gained traction within the club post Seville.
There are other good ideas out there.
Generations of domination are not for everyone .
B78- keep giving money to the huns👍
Mikey Moore to the zombies on loan. He’s young but he’ll do very well up here imo, Big Ange was a fan. Smart signing if your funds are limited.
Some won’t be happy until Lennon is manager, and the top tier will be closed
Aaaaahhh – the annual “let’s celebrate being a bit better than the Three Trophy Titans” piece!
Can’t help but wonder if the upcoming season might just be the one where this operating at 60% of our potential nonsense finally catches up with us.
Will be fine if we can hit the 100 point mark – or even high-90s – which we should be able to do. Another season in the low-90s and we could be opening the door for others.
Hey – could even be a good old old-firm-title-race! Sooooooo much better than an improved Celtic…..
Lawwell quick news again.
Back to the 2m punts it is then, or loans costing fortunes in wages that upsets the dressing room.
“Obscurity”?
Where’s that when it’s at home?
From previous article:
!!Bada Bing!! on 1st August 2025 10:55 am
Green Brigade given 3 match suspended ban,for amongst other things,flying the Palestinian flag, a lot of others will boycott games if this is the case
%
Its amazing how these things only happen once the sly, sleekit, fly men and women on the PLC have troosered all of your season ticket monies.
#1 Get rid of all seating.
#2 Get rid of the all season tickets trap, which is caused by all seating. And you’ll keep the PLC on a short leash, as the great Ernie Lynch said.
#3 Get rid of Tory capitalist easy ride on the gravy train merchants out of the Celtic executive.
#4 Vote the WPB led by the incorruptible, George Galloway, who cant be bought or bullied, unlike Corbyn, Lab, Lib, Con, Ref, Snp, Greens, FF, FG, SF?, the WPB will pull Uk out of always at war Nato bankers scumbaggery, and declare a “One State Palestine” were Jews, Muslims, Christians, etc, etc all live freely and with equal rights, like it was before the Black & Tans were sent to steal the land of Palestine, after the IRA kicked their evil erchies out of Ireland, back in the day.
#5 Knock it into the magnificent Green Brigades heids that no Tifo can ever match Celtic fans singing YNWA. YNWA by Celtic fans is so magnificent that the top managers in football raved about “the spine tingling atmosphere when Celtic fans held aloft their scarves to sing YNWA, was out of this world. It is an absolute fortress.”
Said all of the top managers in the world during the MON, WGS, NFL, etc, eras at the club, even Messi, Xavi, Iniesta, etc, etc, all said they were “blown away by the sight of those scarves and the passionate sound from fans.”
But, nobody notices Celtic Tifos. Why? Because everybody does them, well maybe some media notice when they look for a knife to twist.
Tifos are for ordinary clubs who could not generate the spine tingling YNWA that Celtic fans can, not even the Liverpool fans can touch the Celtic version, Celtic are the club of fairy stories, and unbelievable miracles, well we used to be, YNWA used to be the optical selling point of that, maybe even just put walk on scarves onto seats instead of bits of paper for the Tifos.
Ask the players themselves, all the way back to big Billy McNeill himself, he said: “When we walk out of that tunnel after listening to big Jock, we were already in the mind to run through every brick wall in front of us, but the first thing we see is the sight of the Jungle, with all of their scarves held aloft, singing “Walk on” and immediately every player becomes 10 feet tall, even Jinky.”
In short, Tifos are not bad, but Celtic fans singing YNWA, is another Galaxy away.
The Jungle in 1982.
https://wikifoundryimages.s3.amazonaws.com/kETBgEM8gCfY97zydigUpg672143
The Jungle in 1988 League Trophy day.
https://wikifoundryimages.s3.amazonaws.com/bc6c85e22a9c1b86afeee8a5ddec8bd0
And again.
https://wikifoundryimages.s3.amazonaws.com/15647c5135b18e8fe4c72db6d20f0965
No Tifo could touch this. Imho.
HH
“At the end of July 2021, however, only Kyogo, Abada and Giakoumakis had been signed”
——————–
Trying to cast my mind back to how our CL qualifiers went that year. Anyone remember…….
ONENIGHTINLISBON
……..and Gordon Strachan as DOF.
BSR Great post.
I’m sure the usual witty retort that appears roughly this time each day will be on its way.
Bedwetter.
Quad at 12.39 –
Van der graaf –
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=psODmzyaNp8
mazzy on 1st August 2025 1:36 pm
ONENIGHTINLISBON
……..and Gordon Strachan as DOF.
Would not be in the least bit surprised.
Downsizing is the Celtic way.
Gach duine , aon duine.
Some football clubs motto, I believe
For bendigo and Gds.
CL qualifiers don’t even warrant a mention in Paul’s article. In the summer of 2021 we had to play Ralston, Bain, Soro, Welsh and Dane Murray against Midtjylland and got knocked out…
That was the summer Ange criticised the club for being too slow to bring in players…
AN DUN
Thank God we’re not like that anymore ………..
Well done the gowfers.
On the article , patience , is indeed a virtue.
All plastic seating has created a lot of plastic people who give the PLC blaggards their ticket monies, then they blame everybody else because the blaggards are away lying on a sun kissed beach, on one of Desmond’s private island’s until the same time next year, when the hamster wheel gets another wee run oot!
Fkn lol.
I agree with Sutton that we’re weaker minus Kyogo and Kuhn.
Kuhn in particular was outstanding in the first half of last season, his loss will be acutely felt, and so far, we’ve got Yang to fill those shoes…
Kuhn leaving would have taken nobody by surprise but we’ve yet to get a replacement with trips to Pittodrie, Ibrox and a CL play this month.
Take the summer of 21, are we to believe that we simply could not have signed Juranovic in time for the CL qualifiers and had to wait to secure his £2.5 million services ?
Hart was a free transfer that window. Are we to believe we couldn’t have signed him up earlier ?
PAUL67
Brilliant article. An island of common sense and well constructed analysis in an ocean of rampant and hysterical paranoia that pervades Celtic cyberspace, and I include the execrable Trinity Tims at the summit of that stinking pile of horseshit.
I know he is not universally popular on here and I have definitely disagreed with some of his stuff . However James Forrests blog on the boards actions towards the green brigade today is a belter.
Am I’m not blind to the gb’s issues.