T minus 35 hours as the transfer window reaches its interesting stage, as clubs make consider what their final options will be. Celtic have an already bloated squad and are looking to offload in several areas, while hoping to add a left back, striker and possibly keeper.
The left back requirement was originally for backup to Greg Taylor, while a striker is required as cover (and an in-game sub) for Kyogo. There are short-term concerns at both acquiring positions. Greg’s recent injury means he could be out for games away to Aberdeen, Hibs and St Mirren.
Japan and South Korea’s continued participation in the Asian Cup means we are without Oh, our normal alternate for Kyogo, and Daizen Maeda, who has played through the middle when required.
Celtic are considering various options for both positions. How far down the list to do you go, when the acute need is only for cover, and only then for a few weeks? It is easy to say ‘We’ll not bother with another Nat Phillips-type profile’, but the reality is, there is uncertainty.
Anyone signed right now can ‘have a Kilmarnock’, as Nat did, or we could be left without a recognised striker, pricking memories of playing Lewis Morgan up front in the 2019 League Cup Final. No matter how sure you are, there is no right answer.
Hopefully, Gustaf Lagerbielke will get his move to Serie A. This season’s plan for central defence was that Cameron Carter-Vickers and Maik Nawrocki would be first choice, with Gus next in line and Stephen Welsh fourth choice (and a useful Uefa B List option). Liam Scales was due to be punted to Aberdeen.
Injuries to Carter-Vickers, Nawrocki and Welsh saw Liam thrust into the Ibrox limelight, where he rose to occasion and has since been a confirmed revelation. A naturally left-sided central defender, he did enough to keep his place in the team, never mind the squad, so Gus has dropped from the roster, despite having performed well when asked.
David Turnbull has known a new contract was not on the table since Brendan Rodgers arrived in the summer. He was used on Saturday, but if the proposed move to Cardiff happened it would be a good outcome for the player.
Celtic rejecting an offer from Greece for James McCarthy sounds unusual, but that’s only because we don’t know the detail. If Celtic fold on exit terms for one player, they set a precedent that others know they can follow. James could walk away this afternoon with everyone’s best wishes, if he wanted to. We’ll see if anything happens.
We’re not short of wingers, at least, we won’t be when the Asian Cup ends, so there should be no surprise if Mikey Johnston makes an exit to the English Championship.
I’ve no idea how all the bed-wetters manage to get through the first 30 days of January, poor things.
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Now is the winter of the malcontent.
Richard iii CSC
TBB 12:18
Did you have to mention THAT window? I can’t even bring myself to use the name :-)
Everyone and his dog could see we needed to strengthen from when we started stumbling in the December. Ended up with nine wins from our last 21 games. Not exactly league winning form and so easily avoidable.
Good that we have learned from our mistakes though :-)
J67
Rodgers is gone in the summer. The board clearly aren’t gonna back him and I can’t see him sticking around to watch it unfold. This board are a cancer to our football club.
👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻
GLASSTWOTHIRDSFULL on 30TH JANUARY 2024 1:18 PM
We hear it all the time after European disasters. “we will learn”….not a hope in hell. As long as the board have their fat cat salaries all is well with them.
Right Rev David Hay
Long time no see.
Hope you are well.
It is difficult to remember the precise circumstances surrounding transfer windows 14 and 16 years ago
We needed a first choice striker when Robbie Keane came in – we sold our first pick striker Scott Macdonald earlier that day.
I don’t get the obsession with a keeper and left back. We’re not making enough good chances against Ross County at home for a Celtic striker with an excellent scoring record. Kyogo scored 34 in 44 domestic games last season.
We’ve scored twice in the 6 games we’ve failed to win domestically this season. 2 goals against Killie twice, Motherwell, Hibernian, Hearts and St Johnstone, with one of the best strikers we’ve seen at Celtic for years.
I’ve no idea how all the bed-wetters manage to get through the first 30 days of January, poor things.
so you are either a bed wetter or a happy clapper or maybe a bed clapper or a happy wetter.
where is the quality BR was screaming out for to the media.
If we were losing 4-3 I’d get the need for defensive signings but we’re dropping points because we are t scoring enough goals and that will carry on being the problem
Ignoring the name calling in the last paragraph (surely the lowest form of wit on CQN) it may be necessary to revisit one sentence above:
“This season’s plan for central defence was that Cameron Carter-Vickers and Maik Nawrocki would be first choice, with Gus next in line and Stephen Welsh fourth choice”
Really? Whose plan?
Did anyone tell the manager? The player? Who signed the player and what were the expectations?
Seems to confirm a disconnect between those signing the players and those responsible for managing and coaching them thereafter.
Simple question – why is the player leaving?
What’s Colin Kazim Richards up to these days…….?
The job of a Celtic full back is more than just defending.
If I remember it right we played with 2 strikers when WGS was in charge – Fletcher was coming in as a second striker, playing with Macdonald as JvoH wasn’t that sort of player
I’d be all for signing a player like that if that’s how we were going to play. But signing another striker to come on for or replace Kyogo and play the same way we have up to now doesn’t make sense to me.
If we need like for like signings then they need to be in the creative positions. That’s where we’re failing at the moment.
Or we change formation and sign quality players to play in it
imo we have 8 wingers who continuiously don’t go by their opponents on the outside and can’t cross a decent ball for our tall striker Kyogo .
BOURNESOUPRECIPE on 30TH JANUARY 2024 12:28 PM
How much does a Greek urn?
A Grecian ? £2000.
.
“The acute need is only for cover”
—-
Honestly, where to begin with this utter nonsense.
We knew we needed a Left Back last summer !
We knew the Asian Cup was happening and that there was a chance we would be losing key players. What would we have done had Kyogo been picked ?!
An utter shambles of a transfer strategy.
If we don’t bring in more signings does it mean;
Custodian(s) of the purse are
1)Happy with the present squad.
2) Are quite confident Celtic will win the title.(And the financial benefits to follow)
3)Pray Celtic win the league.
GARYGILLESPIESHAMSTRING
im well my good man (or is it person now, no genderification allowed nowadays) apart from ageing
i generally just lurk as the older i get the less i want to interact
THE BLOGGER FORMERLY KNOWN AS GM on 30TH JANUARY 2024 1:40 PM
Isn’t defending the problem with Greg Taylor though? He’s more useful going forward than AJ but we aren’t looking for a new rb.
Left back isn’t the main reason why we’ve scored so few goals in the 6 games we’ve not won. Any improvements are going to be small
BOURNESOUPRECIPE on 30TH JANUARY 2024 12:28 PM
How much does a Greek urn?
:-))))))
https://twitter.com/LilZe785/status/1751757047031349281?s=19
Georgious was a january signing,29th jan 2008
HH
Glass 2/3 full
We had enough league winning form to go to Easter Road in the 2nd last game knowing a win would see us with a home fixture against a Hearts team with nothing to play for to secure a league.
WGS used the same approach he had used the year before to win the league i.e. he played hte dependable players who had got us back into the position of league favourites after faltering in Jan/Feb of that season. Those “dependables” were knackered but he wouldn’t use reserves- only JVOH and Maloney were brought on in that 0:0 game and poor as they were, they were far superior to Steven Fletcher, the saviour we should have bought, according to many, who was even more hapless for Hibs than our attacking players that day. We had Nakamura, Samaras, McGeady and Scott Mcdonald plus those two subs. We had enough to win that game against a very moderate Hibs team but we didn’t.
That will happen in competitive sport even though we feel it shouldn’t. Expecting the transfer window to sort it and only being happy when you get 6 new players in the summer and 3 to 4 more in January suggests a need for novelty and new bling rather than a sensible way to build teams.
https://www.glasgowtimes.co.uk/sport/24084619.premiership-transfer-round-up-clubs-ins-outs/
There is a lot of cake being eaten if you look at the lack of business being done.
I’d let David’s contract run down rather than sell him.
If he is not in the long term plan fair enough.
If he is not a “Brendan type player” – whatever that is – fair enough.
Can come on as a sub and chip in some goals.
IMHO – there’s short term value in him.
Damage limitation article, Greg Taylor has suddenly morphed into Roberto Carlos……
We’re pleased to give notice that tickets for next month’s cinch Premiership clash v Dundee (Wed, Feb 28 | KO 7:45pm) will go on general sale from 11am this Thursday (Feb 1).
Hi All,
Thanks for the nice comments on my wee story yesterday. many more locked away in the aul noggin. WITS, you have me sussed out. I am an uber hun originally from St. Ignatius parish and now of the Our Lady of Sorrows Celtic supporters Church , here in Homewood Alabama. Mind you, I think we were only one of 12 Catholic families in our Neighborhood of the beautiful Tintae crescent in Wishy.
I don’t mind the bed wetters comment as I pish the bed every summer and January for who we don’t bring in:)))
Batten down the hatches my friends, we are in for a bumpy ride!!!
Sean
Ange might swoop for Super Scout Mark Lawwell…
If guys think that we only need ‘cover’ for Greg Taylor, they need to wake up and smell the coffee
Thanks to P67 for confirming that we are not looking for any improvements on our current squad, just more inadequate squad fillers. Heartening as he trolls those that are more concerned about the football club rather than what a divisive chairman can offer him personally.
Keep up the good work Paul, you serve your master well.
!!BADA BING!! on 30TH JANUARY 2024 2:43 PM
Ange might swoop for Super Scout Mark Lawwell…
If it is Peter (Lidl) lawwell.
Surley it’s got to be ……
Mark ( Aldi nothing ) lawwell.
Anhoo .
Well get in who we deserve .
🤪
Marspapa- touchè
I was surprised and delighted when Brendan came back.
I thought for sure he had been given assurances by DD that he would back him and that there would be no interference, now I’m not so sure.
I know January is a bad transfer window,but we have known what was needed for a while.
BackBrendanCSC
TIMHORTON on 29TH JANUARY 2024 2:54 PM
POR CIERTO
“Their big lumps are doing ok in Europe…..we need some physical players and get the ball down the park quickly”
Hi TimH,
St. Anthonys would have won that group! :)) por cierto
AN TEARMANN on 30TH JANUARY 2024 1:56 PM
BOURNESOUPRECIPE on 30TH JANUARY 2024 12:28 PM
How much does a Greek urn?
https://twitter.com/LilZe785/status/1751757047031349281?s=19
Georgious was a january signing,29th jan 2008
*and how many wanted tae drive him tae the airport themselves until that glorious day at hades
Remove the Lawwell Mafia from the club.
Ps shambles of an article
I still wonder why Rodgers came back in the first place.
Won’t be long before he does another moonlight flit though.
The Celtic board is a disgrace.
Everyone and their dog has known that we need certain positions filled.
The next Champions League champion may be the last automatic qualification for a Scottish club for some time.
The next Champions League structure involves more games and more money
To invest £10-£15 million now is an absolute no brainer
Yet we haven’t and likely won’t