Last month I wrote about the highly-effective transfer windows culminating with the capture of Mikael Lustig in January 2012. The list of those who arrived over the next 18 months, culminating in the signature of Teemu Pukki on 31 August 2013, is largely a catalogue of expensive mishap. If only one of of the strikers signed during that period: Miku, Lassad, Balde or Pukki had made the grade, we would have been in better shape for the Champions League qualifiers.
Those mishaps sowed the seeds of where things went wrong recently but we brought in six players this summer, and in order to compete in the Europa League, we pretty much need five of them to command a regular starting place.
Craig Gordon is an excellent piece of business. Fraser Forster overcame almost all those doubters who would rather we bought Stipe Pletikosa in 2012 instead, but we have replaced Fraser with an equivalent, and banked the lion’s share of £10m in the process.
This alchemy is only possible due to doubts over Gordon’s fitness. We’ll find out how well-established his recovery is in the months ahead but the signs are good on this front.
Jo Inge Berget was signed on loan, like Amido Balde a year ago, he early in the transfer window. There is a great misunderstanding that there’s a shortage of players available early in the window. There are lots of players available the moment the window opens. For a reason. Jo wasn’t wanted by Cardiff City, who he made only two appearances for since joining in January.
He was given an unfair burden on his debut, in a highly-dysfunctional performance by Celtic in Warsaw, and, a solid performance against Dundee United apart, has been one of a number of players who have appeared lost in our game-plan since then. He has until Christmas to make his mark before he is due to return to Cardiff, but his chances will be limited by the subsequent signing on Wakaso Mubarak.
Wakaso is here on a year’s loan, with Celtic having an option to make the deal permanent, if he proves his worth. I hear good things about him; he has pace, strength, skill but his most prominent attribute is attitude, which he has in spades. This didn’t sit will in Kazan, where he was somewhat isolated.
Bulgarian midfielder, Aleks Tonev, bounced straight from medical couch to treatment table after his loan move from Aston Villa. He’s now fit and will be available for selection when play resumes after the international break and I hear Ronny Deila is keen on the player.
We now know that Manchester City teenage central defender, Jason Denayer, was brought in to play first team football. The player is highly thought of by City and Ronny, but I wouldn’t expect too much from him in what is his inaugural season of first team football.
Stefan Scepovic has the distinction of contributing 100% of the money spent on players signed by Scottish clubs this summer. He was Celtic’s first choice striker, and, as we discovered late in the day, was wanted by scouts in Spain, so the indicators are reassuring. His experiences over the past week have not without trauma for the player, but he kept focus and his word to join Celtic.
The overwhelming observation from our activity this year is the predominance of loan signings, which is a strategy I suspect was hatched after the ‘No refunds’ deals for Pukki, Balde and Boerrigter last season. We will get more from some of them than others.
Taking Berget for six months was clearly a short-term fix to an immediate gap in the squad. I don’t think we’ll see too much of him from now on. Despite the fact that Jo didn’t make a perceivable difference during our European qualifiers, I don’t have a problem with short-term deals in principle. We could have benefited from one for a target man.
Denayer will almost certainly return to Manchester next year, a more mature player, having pushed Efe and Virgil for a year.
Aleks Tonev and Wakaso Mubarak are here to impress, both are working for a permanent deal. I expect Mubarak to play in his favoured position on the left, with Tonev behind him in a more central role alongside Brown and Johansen.
Ronny has been putting apples in orange crates so far this season but with a central three of Tonev, Johansen and Brown, behind Mubarak, Scepovic and Forrest (or McGregor), he’ll have the personnel to play his favoured 4-3-3.
Two first team regulars left the club, the thoroughly professional Fraser Forster and Georgios Samaras. It was time for both to move on. Fraser, as Southampton was the right club for him, and £10m was the right price for us, Georgios, as he had become increasingly peripheral to team plans under Neil Lennon and would have been even more out of the picture under Ronny. Would Georgios have made a difference in our Champions League qualifiers? There’s a good chance he would have against Maribor but the gap against Legia was bigger than 6’3”.
Pukki and Balde were sent on loan, in the hope they impress and move on. Bon chance. Tony Watt was sold for £1.2m to Standard Liege, who will fancy they can take Tony’s undeniable potential and turn it into an asset their manager wants to work with. It’s been years since we’ve produced as exciting a young player as Tony but he’s now been shipped on or out by three managers.
I would still like to see John Guidette added to this list, even without European football – especially if he is prepared to stay beyond the end of the season. The incumbent strikers, Stokes and Griffiths, will continue to get game-time, but neither is suited to the lone-striker role.
I’m not going to sell a Europa League campaign as anything like the Champions League, but it is very important this squad is ready for Europe. Without much domestic competition (I’m ignoring Inverness and Dundee for a moment) we need to be competitive in the group stage and aim to progress to the latter stages of the competition.
Thumping Dundee United 6-1 taught us nothing, we need to mature as a team against European competition and exorcise the ghosts of Legia and Maribor. No matter how good the new arrivals are, there’s no way they would gel well enough to allow us to do anything more than endure >80 minutes of defending our 18 yard line in Champions League football this season.
We’ll miss the money, prestige and Zadok the Priest, but the Europa League is a better level for us right now.
My thanks to Canajunbhoy, who retires after running the Quick News section for the best part of a decade. Quick News will be back in a different format in the future.
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B2k
So it will be all right on the night and the detail does not matter?
My answer would be to get some guarantee written into the exchange rate to be used in the event of a separate currency.
It’s the absence of that response with the Brigadoon reply instead that bothers me.
That would have been more convincing that we are smart enough to negotiate a deal that serves both parties.
Sipsini,
Just how many pints of German/Belgian lager did you have last night???
Too many
eddieinkirkmichael
19:07 on 3 September, 2014
tonydonnelly67
18:38 on
Why you so interested in “thems”?
Just incase you turn out to be one of thems GIRFUY
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
You neganon2s wing man,
I keep an eye on thems awe the time, it’s called being vigilant, just like you keep an eye on me ;)
Ahmad returns to put Sevco on the brink
Date: 3rd September 2014 at 6:58 pm
Written by: Joe McHugh | Comments (0)
Imran Ahmad is set to plunge Sevco into administration after returning to court today to ring fence £620,000 of the crisis club’s cash.
The former Ibrox commercial guru was sacked in April 2013 after negotiating most of the lucrative deals keeping the club alive.
Ahmad has been to court twice before to get his claim ring fenced but on each occasion his claim has been dismissed on the grounds that there is no financial crisis at the club.
The £620,000 is simply to ensure that if his claim for unfair dismissal is upheld he will be able to receive his money.
After returning to the Court of Session in Edinburgh today Ahmad’s claim will be heard on Friday meaning that the club be pushed into administration by the time of their next match, a League Cup tie against Inverness Caley Thistle on September 16.
After today’s hearing Ahmad’s representative Kenny McBrearty QC said: ” There is a significant hole in the club’s finances for the forthcoming season.”
That hole was revealed last Friday when the club announced that they needed to raise £4m by September 18 otherwise creditors wouldn’t be paid.
Ahmad now looks joining the creditors queue which includes Mr George Letham and former VAT convinct Mr Sandy Easdale who are owed £1.5 from February’s pay day loans.
Alongside notice of the new share issue there was an ominous warning about the state of the club which Easdale described as fragile back in March.
The share issue warning read: “There can be no certainty as to the aggregate level of subscription for New Ordinary Shares. If the aggregate level of subscription is less than 15,000,000 ( out of 19,000,000 shares) New Ordinary Shares the Open Offer will not proceed and subscription monies will be returned to applicants.
“Should this occur, the Company will be unable to pay its creditors as they fall due and the future of the Company will be uncertain; The Directors will immediately have to seek emergency financing which may or may not be available.”
Ahmad was one of the founding investors in the new club snapping up penny shares alongside Charles Green, Ally McCoist and Brian Stockbridge in the summer of 2012 before fans were able to buy shares at 70p each in December 2012.
The former commercial director is likely to call Green as a witness for his claim on £500,000 with the remaining £120,000 to cover his legal fees.
jamesgang. For me it shows the only thing Salmond wants is ultimate power and to be able to hob knob with the top cats.There is no reason to keep the UK Royalty its just another one of the many questions that once upon a time Salmond cannot answer. H.H.
Quonno,
Did Saddam invade Iraq?
She gets her family name and looks from the fish
quonno
19:12 on 3 September, 2014
NatKnow
18:11 on
3 September, 2014
I have often wondered how many Labour MPs whose conscience would not let them vote for Major’s Iraq war when Saddam had clearly invaded iraq, voted for Blair’s war to look for non existent WMDs.
———————-
Not sure conscience comes into it mate. 3 line whip etc. Being generous for a moment – they were presented with false information. They only learnt the facts after the event. Not that I condone it. I’m with the SNP, BNP, National Front etc. on this one.
Ghana international Mubarak Wakaso is eager to contribute to Celtic’s revival this season.
Bhoys boss Ronny Delia signed the Ghanaian winger on a season-long loan deal from Russian club Rubin Kazan last month, but not in time to register him to take part in the club’s Champions League qualifier against NK Maribor, which they lost.
Wakaso insists that he is aware of Celtic’s identity as a big club as he used to watch the Scottish giants play when he was a kid.
“I’ve known about Celtic since I was young because I watched them on television in Ghana”, the 24-year-old told Celtic View.
“I know Celtic is a good team in the world, not only in Scotland.”
The Hoops have failed to qualify for the group stage of the Champions League, but the winger said that he is willing to work hard to aid the club’s revival this season.
He further added that Celtic will fight hard and raise their game for the rest of the campaign.
“I will add my ability and skill and my hard work to the team.
“I know the team has been doing great but over the last two games there was a big loss and, although that’s part of football, what I have for my colleagues is to try and raise their heads and keep on doing what they have been doing.”
zico-maltese falcon
Welcome zico,wit kept yi
HH
GlassTwoThirdsFull
19:12 on
3 September, 2014
TET 18:44
Not at all surprised if that is true. They won’t allow another 2012.
Will do whatever it takes. Get them promoted then let them have their insolvency event, then hit them with a puny points penalty. They WILL be in the premiership next season.
Posted it a hundred times.
Nothing, absolutely nothing will be allowed to prevent THEM returning next season.
Anyone thinking otherwise is seriously delusional.
MAESTRIO GUARD OF HONOUR SPACES OFFER A SPECTACULAR DAY IN PARADISE
By: Newsroom Staff on 03 Sep, 2014 16:56
CELTIC FC Foundation and the Rio Ferdinand Foundation have a fantastic opportunity for 16 youngsters (recommended age 7 -13) to take part in the official Guard of Honour to welcome both the McStay’s Maestros and Rio’s All-Stars on to the park this Sunday for the Maestrio Charity Match.
The Guards will meet prior to kick off and enjoy a few refreshments before changing into their match kit, grabbing their flags and heading down the Celtic tunnel. Once there, they will soak up the atmosphere for a few minutes before heading on to the pitch, ready to welcome both teams.
This unique experience allows the youngsters to step on to the hallowed turf at Celtic Park and witness the spectacle and atmosphere of Paradise just before kick off.
The young Guards and their accompanying adult/parent will also be given the opportunity to sample some of the best match hospitality that Celtic Football Club has to offer by taking their seats in the North Stand.
As well as supporting the work of the Celtic FC Foundation, the Maestrio Guard of Honour promises to create a memorable day in any young Celtic fan’s life.
Places are available to purchase from the Celtic FC Foundation’s official eBay page at the “Buy it now” price of £225. Click HERE for details.
The package includes two premium seats in the North Stand, with access to the lounges, for the Guard and their parent/guardian.
Net proceeds will be split equally between Celtic FC Foundation (Charity Number SC024648) and the Rio Ferdinand Foundation (Charity Number 1151127). Donations will be made to UNICEF (Charity Number 1072612) and War Child (1071659) to assist in their humanitarian work in a number of current Middle East countries.
Guard of Honour Place Price – £225
Note – additional premium tickets can be purchased at £35.
Tickets for the game, sponsored by Flip and Magners, are on general sale, priced at £10 for adults and £5 for concessions (maximum of 10 per person).
They are available to purchase ONLINE, by calling 0871 226 1888*, by visiting the Celtic Ticket Office or the Club’s retail outlets at Argyle Street, Sauchiehall Street, Clydebank, Coatbridge or East Kilbride.
Premium tickets (£35) and corporate packages (£125) are also available by calling 0871 226 1888* (option 4) or emailing matchdayhospitality@celticfc.co.uk
For customer enquiries relating to existing purchases only, please call 0141 551 4493.
* Calls cost up to 10p per minute, telecoms provider dependent. Mobile and other provider charges may vary.
So yes wins it, wee alex sits doon wi the Bank of England and asks for a hand out, aye right brigadooncounty right enough.
How NOT to TREAT CELTIC FANS
It is with huge frustration I post this note, and welcome thoughts.
Today at about 11.20 I went over to the Celtic Ticket Office to purchase my 2 sets of European League packages, for my seat and my daughter.
Wow
Once I gave the assistant my seat numbers, I was immediately informed my seats had been sold.
The full top tier has been closed for these games, and all seats are being sold on a 1st come 1st served basis.
Now where has this been announced, and Fans informed ?
Had I known this, I would have gone over on Monday morning to get my own seats.
So my seats have been taken.
Vast majority of seats around area I sit are gone, I am in North Stand 107, row CC.
I was offered 2 seats in Main Stand
Absolutely Fuming I am, and have walked away without buying tickets, and will NOT now be attending these games
More than that, I am now seriously considering my position, and may now no longer be buying any new season tickets going forward
So Thanks for the great Customer experience Celtic, and you look likely to have lost another 2 season ticket holders
Fuming with you still Celtic, absolute amateurs,in how you are currently treating your own fans
Thoughts ?
I know some of the GB went to hear both George Galloway and Tommy Sheridan for well argued if different perspectives on the vote. Probably better educated then than some on here then
Syd Negakev
A retirement they may have worked long and hard to earn. You bet.
Tony
I shuffle with the CQN crowd rather than running with the GB.
IMHO I would expect among them that there would be a high % of yes voters. Would also suspect that they’ll have reached that conclusion independently of one another.
Or perhaps kettling, OB Act and Police Scotland have alienated them too much from anything with an SNP link.
Why don’t you do a survey and ask them?!?! In person. Let the contrasting wings of the Celtic support meet up and join arms as Tim Brothers n Sisters with a common cause.
;-)
Pure genius. Do it tomorra big yin!
HH jamesgang
Wee Nicola, aka seaweed, even the tide wouldny take her oot.
McGeady: Celtic paying the price for penny-pinching
Daniel McDonnell
Published 03/09/2014 | 15:18
1 Comments
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Aiden McGeady enjoys a relaxed relationship with his former Celtic boss Martin O’Neill. Photo: Piaras O Midheach / SPORTSFILE
Frustrated Celtic fan Aiden McGeady says that his former club paid the price for not spending on players by missing out on a lucrative Champions League place.
McGeady was surprised by the appointment of relatively unknown manager Ronny Deila but, like most Hoops fans, feels that personnel issues and parsimonious behaviour from the club’s hierarchy were the root cause of their failure against Maribor.
“It’s big blow for the club and obviously the people who hold the purse strings at the club but I suppose you get what you pay for in the end if you decide to downsize, cut costs, and don’t pay three, four of five million pounds for players anymore,” said McGeady, “
“Then you can’t really expect to get into the Champions League but that’s just the way it is at the minute I think.”
McGeady, a lifelong Celtic fan who left Scotland for Spartak Moscow in 2010, admitted that he was taken aback by the arrival of Deila to replace Neil Lennon.
“I don’t know the new manager. I’ll be honest, I never heard of him before he came in. I was expecting they would put someone in there who is a bit more well known, someone with a big more pedigree.
“They started off okay I suppose but things just aren’t going right at the minute. Obviously it’s a combination of everything because you’ve got fans venting frustration at the board for not spending money and then it seemed that every player who was coming in was a loan signing.
“I still watch all the games I can and obviously want the team to do well. It’s disappointing to see the team doing poorly but I still think they’ll win the league easily enough.”
Celtic did make a belated move into the market on transfer deadline day to spend in the region of £2.3 million on Serbian striker Stefan Scepovic.
The Glasgow club are waiting to find out if a loan approach for Manchester City attacker John Guidetti has been successful.
PF Ayr
If Imran cant get any money ringfenced this time after their statements to the markets last week about their financial pearl, he and everyone can forget about getting justice in Scotland.
So how did they get a license to participate in Scottish football, the licensing rules are in line with UEFA’s
NatKnow
19:16 on
3 September, 2014
quonno
19:12 on 3 September, 2014
NatKnow
18:11 on
3 September, 2014
I have often wondered how many Labour MPs whose conscience would not let them vote for Major’s Iraq war when Saddam had clearly invaded iraq, voted for Blair’s war to look for non existent WMDs.
———————-
Not sure conscience comes into it mate. 3 line whip etc. Being generous for a moment – they were presented with false information. They only learnt the facts after the event. Not that I condone it. I’m with the SNP, BNP, National Front etc. on this one.
They may have been fed false information.
However, none of them are now demanding that the Chilcott inquiry publish fully Blair’s pre war correspondence with Bush.
Cowiebhoy
That’s poor from Celtic. As a season ticket holder you should have been warned in advance.
B2k what fanciful notions you post. So I am lying when I say I am worried by independence. Or robertressell am I somehow deluded or mentally I’ll for having my view.
It saddens me greatly that no voters are still seeking to bully and dehumanise those who are voting no. It’s a disgraceful tactic and as I said last night it just worries me even more.
Ok I will ask again the question I asked last night. If Scotland is such a socially responsible country why did we freeze council tax and why haven’t we used the tax raising powers we already have?
Cowiebhoy. Write directly to our CEO explaining your disappointment and disgust and ask for a written reply.H.H.
Cowiebhoy
Thoughts?
Calm down princess. :)
Neganon2. Have you ever thought that they keep having a go at you because you keep biting ? Chill out your a No voter and thats your right.H.H.
Joe Filippis Haircut 18:56 on 3 September, 2014
I think there is a genuine question there why if Scotland votes for Independence do we keep the British Royalty ? H.H
…………..
Joe,
Because to do otherwise would alienate the softer yes votes. It makes no sense to vote yes for independence but also yes for a monarch, notwithstanding that there is a lineage from Charles 1 to Prince William. Just fudge/deflect issues that are awkward – the politicians mantra.
HH
Ray what’s in it for Cameron? Scotland leaving weakens the uk enormously. There is also a massive social issue. Apart from the rampant anti English we are a British people. There are enormous implications. Your daft conspiracy theory is just that daft.
Tonydonnelly67 @ 18.21
Didn’t mean to sound so abrupt mate, I forgot to add ma wee :-) at the end.
Hail Hail and let’s get intae this Villareal mob.
Teuchter
The zombies appear to be dying.
Joe Filippis Haircut
19:22 on
3 September, 2014
Cowiebhoy. Write directly to our CEO explaining your disappointment and disgust and ask for a written reply.H.H.
From personal experience you will receive an answer.
Whether or not you will like it is another matter.
Jeeso, even ugly birds need complimented now and again, when they make the effort.
I even had a wee fancy for the gravelly voiced one in still game :))
16 roads – Celtic über alles…
19:26 on
3 September, 2014
The zombies appear to be dying.
Another of the deluded.
Off to bed.
leftclicktic .Justice is for the super-rich in Scotland have you ever seen a poor lawyer.H.H.
Cowiebhoy
The entire top tier is closed?
I’m in the top tier so I’ll have been relocated.
Celtic are too quick to devalue cup games and now they are at it with the EL.
I personally think it’s a big mistake.
Joe Filippis Haircut
19:22 on
3 September, 2014
Cowiebhoy. Write directly to our CEO explaining your disappointment and disgust and ask for a written reply.H.H.
Yes, and I would send it by recorded delivery.