The defence has seen most additions. Jozo Simunovic, Saidy Janko and Dedryck Boyata arrived, with Tyler Blackett on loan from Manchester United. Belgian, Logan Bailly, came in as our backup keeper after a decent career in Belgium, Germany and Switzerland.
Two attacking midfielders were signed: Scott Allan, who has made a couple of cameo appearances, and Ryan Christie, who will further gestate in Inverness until the end of the season.
Nadir Ciftci was the manager’s primary striking target, and although he arrived early in the window, his start has been hampered by a six game domestic ban, while the Champions League qualifiers arrived too early for him. A lot of store is being placed on his and Leigh Griffiths’ shoulders.
Will they be stronger than the Griffiths, Scepovic, Guidetti offering of last season? Will they be good enough for the challenge ahead? Place your bets ladies and gentlemen (and opposed to send me inappropriately emotional messages).
I read lots of comment about Steven Fletcher or and Michu potentially coming to Celtic over the last few days. They were players who Celtic enquired about earlier in the window but neither was interested in coming to Scotland. They are in the league they want to play in, we were not remotely on their radar.
Oh, and the van Dijk deal was for £13m, not the £11.5m reported earlier. Think we might have some Fraser/Victor reflected value in this deal.
That’s all folks!
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Hello new CQN,
Moved to post for the first time in a while because I’m very happy we finally went after a player of Christie’s ilk.
Few and far between are the Scottish born players who can pick a pass, in particular a player who judges the weight of a pass beautifully. If there were only one thing to look for in a player that would be it for me.
We have a few decent players about the club, a large number of whom have a good upside. Nothing’s changed in the last 7 or 8 years though, we have to go after incomplete players. They may have pace, or a good touch, or physical presence, but they always lack at least one key quality required to get to the top.
Our club targets these players, and with reasonable effect. Each are a project, even at £4-5m there will be a glaring hole in the game – usually game intelligence. It’s down to our coaches to fill the gap.
I think it’s quite obvious, from watching EPL games, that even in the £10-15 bracket these days you’re buying incomplete players.
I don’t really read CQN comments these days, just one repetitive argument after another, but I got stuck in yesterday – there’s always one poster who seems to know what’s happening. I did say ‘seems’. So, I’ve seen and participated in many of these debates, but having grown weary of the futility of beating up an SPL club for not being an EPL club I haven’t been around much. I wasn’t surprised by the tone of comments on here yesterday, but it did occur to me that the relentlessness of some of the negative posters on CQN distracts us from talking about the club we are rather than the club some people think we are, i.e. an SPL team with a precarious budget.
That’s a shame, and very different from the early days of CQN when for the most part we could all engage with the reality of our situation – a debate on our welfare could include realistic opinions on both sides of the clapping chasm.
As that situation has changed, i.e. our financial circumstances have deteriorated in real and comparative terms, we’ve also lost a useful debating forum, in CQN, to individuals determined to ignore our reality. Consequently discussion on here is polarised, and led by unrealistic expectations. We’re now unable to discuss the Celtic that does exist, everyone is too busy arguing about the Celtic that used to exist.
After nearly a decade of forced and necessary downsizing the reaction of a chunk of Celtic fans, the failure to accept, it psychologically fascinating.
Would have been nice to get a forward in though… maybe try Forrest up there… I said maybe, ok.
Geordie Munro
Aberdeen dropped 17 points last year – 12 to Celtic.
Two interpretations of that
1. Celtic have the measure of Aberdeen
2. Unless we do likewise this season we may run them close….?
They are stronger than last season we are weaker.
I think we have a proper challenge in SPFL. I also think that given our financial position that that is a disgrace. We have closed the gap more than Aberdeen have.
It’s the Huns who come in here trumpeting Aberdeen to win the league, they’re not Celtic fans, you kidding me?
Ok then, hands up any Tim in here thinks Aberdeen will win the league 05/06 ?
JJHS
There is indeed a divide on CQN.
Between “Good ” Celtic fans like yourself, and “Bad” Celtic fans like me.
Isnt that right?
HH
Oooooh The Sheep are coming, Oooooh The Huns are coming…
Terrified ah um…
Syd
It’s horrifically complex, involving multiple strands of intertwined Law . I’ve asked the same question of a couple of Advocates, and they say the same thing: “Clusterf#@}”
It’s important to separate out the Criminal cases from any possible Civil cases. The Criminal cases might well end with the convictions of the accused, but that in itself doesn’t invalidate the original sale of the assets to Sevco Scotland.
Neither does an Innocent verdict validate the sale. These are two entirely separate areas of Jurisprudence, with different laws, different purposes and different tests.
Irrespective of the outcome of the Criminal cases, as I understand it, a party with standing – title and interest – would need to petition the court to void the original contract of sale on the grounds of Fraud, or seek some other appropriate compensation for any losses suffered. Such a party would most likely be drawn from the list of Rangers plc creditors, or collectively and more probably, BDO acting in their interests.
There are myriad complications, notable amongst them: the variety of properties sold, ranging from heritable to intellectual, each dealt with separately; the subsequent share dealings as between Sevco Scotland and RIFC, and thereafter, RIFC and the public; the granting of securities over the disputed assets to 3rd parties; and lots more besides.
If the original transaction was fraudulent, the subsequent ones are equally fraught.
I’ve used this analogy before, but it remains good: Take a tub of Hundreds & Thousands, spill them on the floor. Now put them all back in the tub in precisely the same position as before the spill.
Two things are becoming clear though: Crown Office has a new celebrity case; Lawyers are not going to be underemployed.
From a football perspective, if the original transaction was fraudulent, then it follows that Sevco Scotland did not legitimately acquire the rights to trade as Rangers FC. Essentially, the team playing in blue shirts at Ibrox for the past 3 years is little more than the Sevco Works XI. Folk working at Hampden Park aren’t sleeping well.
It’ll be years before it has all played out. Beyond the gargantuan scale of the shambles, it’s impossible to predict the assorted outcomes, but much will depend on the decisions taken by BDO and HMRC in the coming months. Given the Criminal cases, it’s a shoo-in that BDO are providing a considerable weight of evidence to support the prosecutions. Whether they elect to pursue recovery for Creditors in the Civil courts with the same diligence remains to be seen.
In parallel, those currently running the Sevco group of companies have a cash shortage to fund in the coming months, and given the recognised uncertainty over what precisely the Sevco group legitimately is and owns, represents something of a challenge to the current Directors in selling the investment proposition. Let’s say the circumstances are somewhat less than ideal and leave it at that for the moment.
That’s about as much as I have gleaned, or certainly, as much as I can write on the topic with any degree of concision. The movie rights for the book series should be worth a few bob though.
TBB
The Dharma Bums.
Schoolboy me borrowed the novel from Partick Library ..A pushing 40 me was working in Seattle and saw a poster for gig by a band called The Dharma Bums..Curiosity saw me going.The venue was a dive. The Dharma Bums were bog standard rehashed American garage punk and the support act were a noisy lot called Nirvana.Not the best of nights but better than watching tv in a hotel room.
BontyBhoy
Good post and we all feel as you describe.
However – I’d say one major dynamic change soince the early days is the fact we have been in a 1 horse race for 3 years. Like many supporters I hoped that we would exploit this opportunity to put clear green watter between Celtic and the rest.
It appears to me that we are in danger of downsizing to facilitate more SPFL horses in to the race. ( I’m flogging a dead metaphor here)
However you look at we have blown CL and transfer window in the space of a month. I always use attendance at Celtic Park as a proxy for fan satisfaction – I confidently predict attendances will further diminish.
I’m not a regular attender due to my own coaching commitments but I usually make a few games, particularly European games over winter or bigger games (Aberdeen)…but I don’t think I’ll bother this year. I won’t be alone.
Tonydonnelly
You’ve missed a decade…we are in 15/16
Owen
Showing a girl a good time in cork ?
Buy her a train ticket to Dublin
Help needed
How do i go about joining the sanctimonious clique, cant do it just now as i have confession to attend for having the temerity to expect better from highly paid professionals to do their job, especially those who’ve had six or seven goes at it.
“im a better supporter than you” bollocks (aimed at some but not all happy clappers)
“Aberdeen dropped 17 points last year – 12 to Celtic.”
Cultsbhoy,
I’m afraid Aberdeen dropped much more points than 17.
As I said earlier, they dropped 33 to 4 of the top six.
Aberdeen presented a braw wee challenge last year. I actually got a wee buzz ahead of a few of the games v them last season. Not had that in a while.
They might well win in the next game, it’s happened before with worse dons teams against better celtic teams.
Let’s see where we all are come May.
Is that what its come to on CQN now….subscriptions to silence dissent.
So that every poster will be in agreement.
Is that really how you want the blog?
Shall we all just go away and leave you to it?
HH
TBB
You seldom disappoint.
This was the bit I liked most.
:-)
“Folk working at Hampden Park aren’t sleeping well. “
The Green Man at 11.11
I think you maybe meant to reply to me.
It’s as plain as the nose on your face that there’s division on this blog. And your repetitive posts , which i think are umreasonable and unrealistic, do quite a bit to help sustain it.
What’s your ideas for what we should be doing instead of what we are doing?
lennon’s passion
RD on holiday aye? not a good sign. We see a dedicated RD and he takes a break. Hope everything is ok.
KLV
weeminger-sory, was at driving range , who quoted that mate?
Anyone who knows me, knows I would be not be advocating to spend, spend, spend.
That said, all of our players purchased are young with potential. In Malmo we had no leaders (I think Brown was injured), but either way, if we don’t address this issue we will face the very same problem in Europe next year.
Players who are both young and have potential need a few old heads on the park, particularly in Europe.
Árd Macha
The Battered Bunnet on 2nd September 2015 11:13 am
Presumably the cloud of doubt is the reason there’s no standard security over Ipox.
I heard he was dead 1103-
I get what youre saying on Aberdeen. There`s none of their players that I`d want us to sign. No superstars there. But, Rosenberg aside, I`d say the same of Malmo, Maribor etc. You don’t need superstars to beat this Celtic side.
Aberdeen also have the benefit of having a fairly stable squad that has been together for a few years now.
Whereas we have made wholesale changes to our defence who will take time to get used to each other`s game.
I also don’t believe there is much of a gap in quality – if any at all – between Rooney, McGinn, Goodwillie and Ciftci, Griffiths and Stokes. Indeed I believe the Aberdeen strikers have actually scored far more goals in Europe and in far fewer games than the Celtic strikers.
Yes Aberdeen failed to beat us in four league matches last season but the games at Pittodrie could have gone either way. Hearts add a new dynamic this season, I think they`ll take points from us and from Aberdeen.
I`m not saying Aberdeen will win the league but its not going to be a cakewalk. I`m told the bookies are now offering 14/1 for Aberdeen to win the SPFL, that must be as low a price as they’ve been in 25-30 years.
Carlton Cole is free
GM-a few ‘sources’ (I know) were quoting Fletcher and Michu, I will say Alex O’Henley , who is accurate when commenting on Celtic.Did we have any intention of signing a striker? Any bids refused? If so, let us know.A bit more honestly would help here.HH
“The Bored” “Blessed Peter” “Happy Clappers” “Board Sheep”
Anybody else find this utterly juvenile?
Londonbhoy apparently we could’nt have got Real if we had qualified – being a seeded team. I share your disappointment, would have loved to go to the Bernebeau despite the threat of a gubbing – just to been there. Anymore enlightened posters agree this was the case?
I don’t grudge Ronny a wee holiday. After the Malmo debacle he looked like he needed a break.
So it seems the former owner of The Rangers may have allegedly committed fraud when he bought the assets of the former Rangers from the former owner of the former Rangers. Or something like that.
So what happens next?
There will be court cases, criminal and civil. A lot of lawyers will make a lot of money over several years trying to work out what the hell actually happened.
But the Scottish football authorities will do nothing. After all this is just some corporate stuff, something between rich men, something that was done to a poor wee unsuspecting football club and its loyal fans. And haven’t they been punished enough?
Dharma Bam
No…none of my posts were directed at you specifically.
I don’t know…if you have noticed, but I’m not the only one complaining.
However….ive been branded as a “bad” Celtic fan, because I say what I feel.
I don’t mind though, I will take on the mantle quite happily….if it makes you feel any better.
HH
By the way, Swansea released Dwight Tiendalli. I’d have a look at him as I think he’s a good player.
Sammy is still a free agent ;)
I heard he was dead on 2nd September 2015 11:03 am
You are arguing that Celtic are man for man a far better/superior team than Aberdeen. Say they keep beating everyone else and we end up with a title race on our hands.
Does that mean that their manager is better than ours?
CultsBhoy on 2nd September 2015 11:06 am Geordie Munro
Aberdeen dropped 17 points last year – 12 to Celtic.
Two interpretations of that
1. Celtic have the measure of Aberdeen
2. Unless we do likewise this season we may run them close….?
They are stronger than last season we are weaker.
I think we have a proper challenge in SPFL. I also think that given our financial position that that is a disgrace. We have closed the gap more than Aberdeen have.
=========================================
If Aberdeen and Hearts for that matter have a bigger budget than most of the other teams then shouldn’t they realistically be expected to win most of their games against them too?
Aren’t we already about 5 points better off than we were at this stage last season?
Aberdeen have made good strides over the last few years, if that culminates in a serious title challenge that lasts
until late April or early May, bring it on. Just because we don’t do the clean sweep over every single side in the league is not in itself an indicator that are are on the slide.
Lets see how we do over the coming months.
HH
Thank you battered bunnet
Of course it would be either you or auldheid who would answer my request
Basically if it found to be proved to be fraudulent , then a creditor could apply to court to put the assets back to the liquidator(bdo) and the assets could be resold to fund the creditors requests
So the history could be sold to the shop in milngavie and they could become the holders of the Scottish cup in eg 1972
Gates shut at Ipox. Please please
Bada,
The quote weeminger posted. Was from the very article you are posting on. ;)
I believe p67 when he said it. Although I do agree that Alex is usually no bad on all things celtic.
Gowf on a weds morning?? Jammy b;)
HH
Think some are missing the point a wee bit and taking our anonymous opinions far too seriously…
it’s a blog, we’re Celtic fans come and share their hopes, dreams, opinions, with fellow Celtic fans and supporters.
Read some comments that “moaners” should stop supporting Celtic….errant nonsense.
Justafan….if you are about? You referenced posts being capitalised earlier and drew some conclusions on that fact??? don’t know if your post was directed at me? But here’s the truth of the matter ( and could provide a salutary lesson for all those who, so frequently jump to the wrong conclusion)……I posted from my phone in the bath and just couldn’t be bothered changing the font….
Ard Macha-i don’t think Brown or Bitton was 100% fit in both Malmo games, I hope Brown retires from the national team after this campaign, and concentrates on Celtic HH
I cant say I’m jumping for joy about the outcomes of the transfer window but neither do I see it as a disaster.
All this name calling is getting really boring.
Both sides.
I think a little perspective needs to be applied here.
The signings that have come in all have considerable potential. Allan and Christie in particular look like the type of players that will excite the few poor buggers that will actually turn up at CP.
It’s early days but Janko also looks great, going forwards at least.
Boyata and Ciftci remain for me a little concerning but surely must be given a chance.
Dunno about Simonovic as I haven’t seen him yet.
Disappointed that we didn’t bring in another striker of course but even more perplexed that our manager stated a few days ago that he wanted to bring in experience and we haven’t added any if you discount the new back up goalie.
Hopefully our new look defence can gel in double quick time and the LG doesn’t get injured.
Please try not to insult people with a different perspective from your own
HH
the glorious balance sheet
In Scottish terms they are a good side. They will be better this year than last but they won’t manage the season. They’ll fade around Easter as they did last year when injuries and suspensions add up.
As I say their record against the Dundee sides and St Johnstone (and Hamilton) was why they didn’t challenge to the death as much as Celtic beating them 4 out of 4 (one of those games Celtic had 10 men).
None of their strikers scored in the Europa league.
The goals came from McGinn, Pawlett and McLean and Considine – all midfielders or defenders.
Griffiths got 3 in Europe and would have had 4 but for Johansen putting him off in the first match.
Now I get it that we are now missing VVD and Denayer but other than them we are basically in good nick for the SPFL.
Rogic has now emerged and is playing his part. Allan is there and we will see what he can do. We can recall Christie and Armstrong and GMS will come back onto a game in a few weeks.
Cifctci gave Aberdeen a lot of problems as a United player as did his two buddies who came to us.
Hearts are the interesting mix but it’s highly likely that them and Abderdeen will hamper one and other as the season goes on. Ross County are also looking rejuvenated so I don’t buy all this Celtic are in trouble stuff.
It may take some time but the team will get things right domestically speaking at least.
Celtic are undefeated at home I would point out and we are already playing better than at this stage last season.
GM-I didnae read the article, as I was podium chasing at the time…… that is up there with our host’s 2 previos articles, in the spurious category for me.A quick hundred at the range, off to the Algarve in the morning, wi a squad of bhoys ;))))
Ernie
No, I wouldn’t jump to that conclusion. The doubt is cast across all of the assets involved in the original acquisition, of which the stadium is but one. All of the other assets are subject to a security.
The reason why the stadium is set apart from the other secured assets is not in the public domain, but is of course subject to much speculation.