Vasilios Barkas returns to Celtic Park on Thursday, four and a half years after his last appearance at the ground. That 1-1 draw with Midtjylland was our first home game in front of fans in 16 months, with 9,000 allowed to attend. It was also Vasilios’ only appearance for Celtic in front of a home crowd. The goal conceded led to a curtailment of further chances for the keeper.
He was awful at Celtic but it would be a mistake to assume that is an accurate assessment of his abilities. His reputation blossomed since moving to Utrecht, where he has remained first choice for over three years. He is better than any of us remember and will do his best to demonstrate this on Thursday.
Barkas arrived at Celtic late July 2020, when unnecessary travel was prohibited, including trips to scout a keeper. Fraser Forster had just completed an incredible season and had returned to parent club Southampton, who agreed in principle to a return to Celtic the next season, when they had secured backfill.
Fraser told the club and his pal Craig Gordon he was also keen on a return. As a consequence, Craig, who was out of contract, rejected a Celtic deal and went to Hearts for less than half the money Celtic offered, in order to play first team football. A week later, Southampton got cover and green-lit the deal for Fraser. Fraser, though, thought he had a bite at Chelsea, so backed out. These events lost Celtic a known keeper and cost Craig a lot of money.
No travel, no fresh scouting, where do we go? Barkas played for the AEK Athens team who eliminated Celtic from Champions League qualification two years earlier. The deal was done.
Vasilios arrived in Scotland alone, unable to speak the language and not permitted to socialise. Players were not even allowed to eat together, they had breakfast and lunch in their cars at Lennoxtown. After training, he went home, and cooked and cleaned for himself. If you anything about young footballers, those tasks are not familiar territory. Barkas was one of millions of desperately isolated people that year.
He was not alone suffering this way at Celtic that season. Others – who travelled up from England – fared even worse personally, but there is no hiding place between the sticks and Vasilios was exposed. Celtic adhered scrupulously to the rules that season. This had a cost which not every club was prepared to pay. Some believe rules are too taxing.
I don’t know if he will suffer some mild form of PTSD when he walks out the tunnel on Thursday evening, or if he will rise to the occasion, fortified by his subsequence successes. Best of luck to him, either way.
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Barkas? We could have bought an equally effective chocolate fire guard for a lot less.
C40me
Ssssh am doin a rare trade in thimbles.
:-)
HH
Barkas …….Barkas…..Barkas…….
Turkeybhoy….Turkeybhoy ….Turkeybhoy
Do you think he will have a belter on Thurs?
:-)
HH
Kenny was injured for Sunday’s game Tomas isn’t available, so Maeda and that’s it at CF on Thursday night.
Will Barkas be busy?
Celtic should walk into any discussions with the SFA over referees accompanied by a proper lawyer. A KC if possible. I’m sure the decisions would show immediate improvement.
On the other hand it gives MON ample opportunity to show how to make a decent player out of, Stephen Welsh, as recent vastly over paid Celtic manager’s have woefully misused SW’s skill set. Imho
TheOriginalSadiesBhoy on 27th January 2026 7:58 pm
Celtic should walk into any discussions with the SFA over referees accompanied by a proper lawyer. A KC if possible. I’m sure the decisions would show immediate improvement.
TOSB,
Sounds good to me.
depends on the opposition – Wesh is small for a center and doesnt command the box. if Falkirk dont pose an areal threat I’m ok with Welsh . I suspect we will go with Dane Murray!
Play a flat back 4.
No stupid assed running all over the pitch getting hamstring injuries.
If the wingers are double marked then we have to be cagey.
Suck in the opposition to 25 yds out from our goals then play long over the top to the uncatchable Maeda and wingers.
Or prove that you are just as pig ignorant conceited as those ego’s who got us into this mess.
Thanks Mr MON.
Was really impressed by Varkas when I 1st saw him. Thought he had a couple of outstanding performances against us, when AEK Athens knocked us out of the Champions League qualifiers many years ago and I made a wee mental note of his name. Was actually happy when we signed him, although I was then even happier when he left!
Hope he returns like the keeper he was for us and not the AEK Athens one.
Brother Walfrid has been utterly betrayed by Tory spivs, Fergus McCann, and his shady pal to whom he handed the keys of Celtic FC, Dermot Desmond, the most shameful kind of Tory, an Irish Tory!
Shame on the 60,000 who have tolerated this for 33 yrs!
https://www.falkirkherald.co.uk/sport/football/falkirk-fc/majority-of-falkirk-fans-plan-to-boycott-celtic-trip-5490693
The Battered Bunnet on 27th January 2026 1:27 pm
Old Chinese proverb…
Before you start a fight with a man, you should walk a mile in his shoes. That way you’ll be a mile away. And you’ll have his shoes.
*Billy Connolly tae
TheOriginalSadiesBhoy on 27th January 2026 7:58 pm
Celtic should walk into any discussions with the SFA over referees accompanied by a proper lawyer. A KC if possible. I’m sure the decisions would show immediate improvement.
*We did with PL but he was chased away by the sfa, smsm and hsm
Sorry, what is “hsm”?
bournesouprecipe@7.24
“Might have been elsewhere…” Might indeed, catching up on ‘Aesop’s Fables’ or such like.
You may well be right that Celtic should approach with cat like tread…or speak softly while carrying a big stick…
The SFA have played their Ace, no more cards to play, well maybe a few reds & yellows, but they need to be told….Beaton Must Go
The triple T pod was up tonight…
https://www.youtube.com/live/9Gjx-1EGXVU?si=FEuAQ_RKwzav_NEs
hunnish stinking media???
£77m in the bank. £50m in receivables.
26th January. 2 loan players signed.
3rd in the League.
The Celtic board are experts in ineptitude.
Celtic Mac,
Wouldn’t it be an idea to have a tifo (is that what they’re called?) in the North Stand, where the cameras couldn’t ignore it stating simply Beaton Must Go?
Latest nonsense is a £15 million bid for Chermiti……Jim Traynor must be back…..
Celtic currently have ZERO strikers in squad that cost any money.
2 frees (Kenny & Iheanacho) and a loan (Cvancara)
Celtic have sold attacking talent worth nearly €40m in the last 12 months.
(Kuhn 19m, Kyogo 12m, Idah 7m)
There’s people who STILL think club has ambition 🤯
Celtic currently have ZERO strikers in squad that cost any money.
2 frees (Kenny & Iheanacho) and a loan (Cvancara)
Celtic have sold attacking talent worth nearly €40m in the last 12 months.
(Kuhn 19m, Kyogo 12m, Idah 7m)
There’s people who STILL think club has ambition 🤯
clunks on 27th January 2026 8:57 pm
hunnish stinking media???
*close lol but actually hun social media
parkheadcumsalford
That is a very good idea. We have a home game against Dundee in the SFA Cup, on TV too 5.30 kick off.
Problem is that while Celtic have been accomodating with GB TIfos in the past, only the Green Brigade are capable of organising something on that scale, and not in that Stand. The softly softly appraoch was Bourne’s idea by the way…..
The best way to ram it right up the SFA, is to make it Club Policy that Celtic players will play for Celtic, NOT Scotland.
Best way to deal with the printed media is to pin a sheet of A4 paper onto an outside door with relevant information that Celtic think the printed media is entitled to.
Players coming in, going out, injuries, and other remedial issues.
Treat the broadcast media to a interviews at the main door where Celtic official stands inside the door answering questions.
Broadcast media stand outside awaiting answers.
Oh and they have to bring their own umbrellas.
If its pissing down then that is an added bonus.
Celtic answers from our officials should be along the lines of:
Aye – Naw – Nane of your Business – Don’t Know – Don’t Care.
After away games Celtic officials will answer questions back at the Parkhead front door.
If that tangles up the broadcast medias schedules then that is another bonus ball for the new Tim short shrift brigade!
Stop playing by they’re rules!
You’ll need to remove the Establishment planted PLC board from Parkhead.
Throwing season book money at them is the LAST thing that will remove them.
Any sense being shown by Mr Chairman Unity Wilson, by allowing the GB back in this week?
Only full-time refs allowed in Scotland and unable to officiate a game where they have allegiance to a team. Most big countries in Europe do it.
PARKHEADCUMSALFORD on 27TH JANUARY 2026 7:32 PM
Never trusted Collum since he awarded that non-penalty to the deid team at Celtic Park. He was looking the other way and never saw it (and it was before VAR). I was right in line with it. Yet another truly ridiculous decision given against us and in favour of the deid lot.
———-
Hands down the worst refereeing decision l’ve seen in Scotland or anywhere else for that matter.
Whatever credibility he might have had was completely stripped by that decision, as should his ticket as a grade 1 ref have been.
IIRC correctly, he later explained it by saying he had “heard” the foul.
This from the man now head of Refereeing Operations at the SFA.
You really couldn’t make it up.
How about we have a manager like Lennon-1 who rattled the utter hell out of the media and SFA’s cages over mibbery cheating etc?
ziggydoc1 on 27th January 2026 9:32 pm
Only full-time refs allowed in Scotland and unable to officiate a game where they have allegiance to a team. Most big countries in Europe do it.
January Transfer window
⬅️ Out
Simpson-Pusey ❌ | Inamura 🇯🇵➡️ FC Tokyo | Summers ➡️ Ayr | Yamada ➡️ Preußen Münster
➡️ In
Araujo 🔁 (loan) | Welsh 🔙 | Čvančara 🔁 (loan)
£0 spent. MN apologised to fans for failures in Summer, but would make good in January.
🤯
I hope that Celtic knew the appeal would fail but went through the process and done so publicly to gaslight John Beaton and put every other referee on notice.
I hope it wasn’t a cynical ploy to deflect from transfer business or lack of.
The Board may be playing 3D chess or are just a bunch of fools grandstanding.
Tony Mowbray was a good and interesting manager until he got lumbered with, Peter Grant, as his assistant manager.
Every manger who was assisted by PG was sacked as a loser.
Every Celtic manger who had a blind spot for PG and picked him every week, was sacked as a loser.
Tony Mowbray Decent big fella CSC
https://www.67hailhail.com/news/tony-mowbray-a-surprise-contender-to-follow-in-celtic-managers-footsteps-at-english-club/
MAESTRO
In fairness, we have spent money in this window – Auston Trusty’s appeal was £650. 👍
the Bada Bing on 27th January 2026 7:11 pm
When Martin gets asked tomorrow about transfers, he should tell the lapdogs to ask thr Board,he shouldn’t be taking and bullets for these clowns
———-
I think that’d be super-detrimental to our season’s football prospects. My view doesn’t come from any wish to protect bungling execs. But someone t’other day suggested MON might be trying to create a siege mentality amid the embattled squad to get them to dig in deep. Mibby if he keeps the squad feeling we are right up against it – with injuries, ref decisions etc – that’d heavy the chip on the players shoulders and keep them focussed. Dunno, I’m just spitballing, but the idea of MON also having a pop at the Board right now is just media manna and even more ammo for the hacks to divide us further and talk us down. I think MON should say ‘it doesnt matter who we sign or play when the refereeing isnt fit and proper on so many levels’
If we play a flat back 4 then the central defenders won’t have to run back half the length of the pitch so often, and if they do then hamstrings everywhere will be the result.
It took MON One calendar year to wake up to the fact that a flat back 4 was the only way to stop being mugged by Alex McLiesh’s diving, cheating, EBT pumped up teams back in the days of the early 2000’s.
David17 on 27th January 2026 10:02 pm
I hope that Celtic knew the appeal would fail but went through the process and done so publicly to gaslight John Beaton and put every other referee on notice.
Our board have no guts, they should be briefing against the sfa and demanding answers. var is not there to be used in way it was and if anything using it showed the ball was travelling away from goal and their was cover in the centre. Regards transfers, again the board show no guts, no desire to be better and a general lack of ability conclude business.
When season ticket renewal time comes round i have decided i will make a counter offer on the price proposed.
quadrophenian on 27th January 2026 10:07 pm
No more than takimg a knife into a gun fight.