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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esytadio
“Opinions are valuable and important but they should be based on observable behaviour and verifiable fact.”
What aboit Interpretation, ambition , hopes, dreams, personal experience. Pethaps we should all become automatons, stepford fans.
That’s why I said “based on” and not “exclusively made up of”
But i have to go now
emusanorphan
I am not joking. I have sky bb and I can get better coverage on away games on illegal streams than the ones I get from Celtic TV covered live games. I am not going to reveal the streams as Paul67 takes a dim view of these things. KTF.
Weefra HH praying to Wee Oscar.
Doc, that was actually quite good for you.
I will bring the ear plugs, if having to sit next to you though :-)
Hail Hail
estadio
22:00 on 3 September, 2014
I wish I’d met Miss Marple before she started knitting.
Hail hail
Estadio.
___________
Now your getting it….plain and purl ;)
Naw, listened on the tranny, ya…..
Bam:-)
Might pop in for a cuppa tomorrow on the way to or back from Ayr, depending on calls tomorrow first thing.
CowieBhoy, my singing voice can turn milk, so that would be fair!
Professor Green
I never saw game tonight so hard to comment.
Never seen McMullen before but have to say very fast
though small but was very impressed by his back tracking
Against a very big strong Czech team.
He must have stole/intercepted the ball at least
half a dozen times in first half alone.
The glorious balance sheet
I have sat in same seat in UPPER North stand since the day it opened
(actually a lie they moved 443 to Rangers end of NS on opening
Day against Newcastle before anyone smells a rat)
If the day comes I need to be moved because its in Celtic’s interest
I will miss “my” seat but as long as me my kids and friends get allocated
Together and for similar price so be it.
Would you give money to this scheme even a deluded zombie must be sayin “yer hivin a laff”
https://twitter.com/Heavidor/status/507244535521755136
Opinions are based on bias.
Cowiebhoy
22:35 on 3 September, 2014
Did Doc not tell you, that you’ve been relocated to the other stand :-)
HH
CRC
praecepta
No such luck. The wee yins coming on brilliant getting greyer by the day. Thanks for asking buddy. KTF.
Weefra HH praying to Wee Oscar.
CRC
Did you download the illicit stream caller?
SonOfJimmySandersonCSC
PS I’ll join you getting skelves sitting on the peace line in the CQN botanic garden (not mentol enough for a jungle?!!)
HH jamesgang
Disappointed that so many CQN regulars are falling out over politics; but it does seem driven by the hightened tension of the forthcoming referendum.
I think things will settle back to the regular non football fights once this specific non-football issue is over.
Trying to be positive, the broad opinion within the support on this issue reflects well on the values of our club.
Tackle hard but fair folks
WeefratheTim
22:34 on
3 September, 2014
Celtic TV take a live feed into Celtic Park then stream it on CTV.
Try one of the tests for your broadband speed. There are also different settings you can choose on Celtic TV which affects quality.
Natknow
The poets always put it better…..pH what a tangled etc etc. But of course how many yes has life and history taught us that irrespective of how much we know, just how much more we have to learn.
I know little and Daniel Dennet and his ilk seem to know so much more.
If they continue to thrust their certainties around the chattering classes, let the allow me to similarly extol the virtues of not looking for answers but searching for the questions.
With that thinking based upon the language of Stanley Unwin, I bid you goodnight.
Hail hail
Estadio
Cowiebhoy
Please don’t encourage him. :-))). How are you keeping, looking forward to our ole meet a week saturday, hopefully. KTF.
Weefra HH praying to Wee Oscar.
CowieBhoy, I went to book the tickets online, also reallocated.
No idea why, I’ll call the TO tomorrow to find out.
The glorious balance sheet
Good post regarding numbers – a few points I would add
1) From memory in EL our performances were poor, and after 2/3 games, whilst we could technically still qualify, the chances were slim
2) If performances are good, Celtic will open up the upper tiers. If we go into last home game needing a win to qualify, then demand will increase and the upper tier will open
3) There is a view that the ‘natural’ level of attendance at our club over last 25 to 30 years is around the mid 30k level ( with one off exceptions) and the decline in recent years is simply a return to those levels
My own view is that if the entertainment and perceived value is correct, folks will turn out.
We have been very cagey about how many STs we have sold this year, with statements like ‘on track to exceed 40k’ , but no subsequent mention of whether we did.
It will be interesting to see how many turn out for the Maestrio game, as I suspect attendance will exceed our average, as the Petrov game did last year, which backs up my proposition that you can fill the stadium if offering is right.
Cowiebhoy
Just had a thought .. Dangerous I know …..
Are you 100% certain your seat is gone
You didn’t tell the woman you are in 106 did you :))))
Weefra,
Stop downloadin blue movies when the game is on!!!!!!!
:)
Big J
You can carry out embramikes instruction, as peacekeeper :-)
CRC, would rather be there than listen to the tripe he spouts aboot football ( tripe, new word for blog :-) )
Oh
Did I tell ye that you were getting Sammi back at the Aberdeen game, so it’s no just Doc, you as well :-)
Hail Hail
TBJ:-)
Old age and all that!!!!!
TBJ
See that Doc talking aboot sour milk earlier, you not doing your job right :-)
106 was all taken as well
Hail Hail
emusanorphan
My bb speed is fine and I have tried all the different options for Celtic TV. I seem to suffer the same as most other customers, poor service. I will, of course, persevere as it is already paid for. Thanks for you response and advice, i will try other avenues with the service. KTF.
Weefra HH praying to Wee Oscar.
Flying visit tonight, no news of Guidetti then?
Early start, laters fholks.
Doc
Are you covering the photo opportunities on Saturday?
:-)
I hate talkin about the Huns when we have enough problems of our own at Celtic but rumours the nite on the gospel according to twitter is that they have sold the naming rights to ibrox for a £1!..LOL
the glorious balance sheet
22:19 on 3 September, 2014
….and now for the good news …….
Cowiebhoy
I’d have to get a blue bunnet!
Strangely I don’t have such a thing!
Night Timdom.
Peace n love.
HH jamesgang
GM
Lol nearly spilt ma white vino over ma ipad with that response. Brilliant.
Weefra HH praying to Wee Oscar.
doc
Before ye go to bed, how ye doin’. :-)))
Weefra HH praying to Wee Oscar.
jamesgang
Nighty night kiddo. :-))) KTF.
Weefra HH praying to Wee Oscar.
Genuine point
See that chap on BBC2 new night ( not Alexander) , the Yes guy, he was a guest at Tir Connal Harps fundraiser last year.
Hail Hail
zico-maltese bhoy,
Missed your first post as politics tend to get me to drift on and off here, although I do realise it’s important for the future of Scotland that having discussion on the matter, some have an agenda on here.
Anyways, are you a yes or no…:)
Just to add to the disagreements…
Have a read or don’t.
http://moonbeamswd.wordpress.com/2014/09/03/victims-no-more/
MWD says AYE
MWD
Ya auld tart that ye are, I’m still with you wi an AYE. Whoooohoooo. KTF.
Weefra HH praying to Wee Oscar.
Naming rights for for the bigot dome sold for a quid
http://i.imgur.com/UXdTKdP.png
The Singing Detective Demands The Resignation Of Campbell Ogilvie
20:08 on 3 September, 2014
—
Kilbowie Kelt will vote YES
18:38 on 3 September, 2014
darwinsbeautifulidea
12:47 on 3 September, 2014
Scotland will vote no thankfully and then the granny shagger salmond and the black witch sturgeon can bog off to a desert island together and give us all peace
JUST VOTE NO
What sort of freedom is it with the english royal scroungers as heads of state
________________
I have never thought that anybody could post a more objectionable & sub human offering than our Fascist Faction ( Kojo & TSD, etc ), but this attempt puts you right in line for that special award.
——–
Kilbowie Kelt will vote YES
18:45 on 10 June, 2014
I am an uneducated, geriatric Celtic supporter…..
~~~~~~
A Shining Example Of Why This ‘One-Muppet-One-Vote’ Palaver Needs Urgent Overhaul…
Only Ridiculously Handsome Golden Haired MENSA Members Should Be Eligible For This Privilege….
Alphas Lead….Epsilons Follow Follow !
Right..? You Betcha..!!!!
Away Oot An’ Catch Midgies In Yer Gob..!
[Preferably In Donegal,TSD..? Ed ]
———————————————-
Swinging Dick,
You seem to have a weird fixation with my honest description of myself.
What is it that upsets you so much about it that you have now repeated it in at least 3 of your puerile & ineffective jibes ?
What is so strange about It ?
I AM uneducated.. FACT. I left school as soon as I turned 15 & received no further education
I AM geriatric.. FACT. I will be 77 in a few weeks.
I AM a Celtic supporter & have been for more than 60 years… FACT.
What is your problem ?
Are you really so unfamiliar with the truth that it drives you to silly insults.