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.
[calameo code=000390171586f6fbaa2ba lang=en page=122 hidelinks=1 width=100% height=500]
1,444 Comments- Pages:
- «
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
- 6
- 7
- 8
- 9
- 10
- ...
- 38
- »
Been out for my afternoon walk. So its still mibbee aye mibbee naw and I don’t mean this fecking referendum.
The scare stories about Murray Park’s future have rumbled for some considerable time, with the Club’s finances beyond restricted, and one cannot help but wonder if this loaning out of all the young players is a message that Murray Park’s days are numbered.
Expensive to maintain, and it famously recently aided Celtic when their future goalkeeper, Craig Gordon, was able to recently use the facilities free of charge which essentially brought him back to fitness and has now assisted the Parkhead side to the tune of £10M, the fee they got for recently-departed Forster.
The 1st rumblings amongst the huns about the merits of Auchenhowie.Maybe a wee planted story to soften them up.
Liked the wee bit about Craig Gordon though.That should have them slathering even more than normal.
Ernie
are you being deliberatley obtuse.
The fact is that when England has voted Tory and Scotland has voted Labour with those two exceptions we have had Tory Governments in Westminster. That is the democratic deficit.
I have never argued that Labour just want to hold onto the seats…IMHO Jim Murphy, Douglas Alexander and Margaret Curran are desperate to hang onto their jobs.
geordie munro
14:58 on 3 September, 2014
Turkeybhoy,
If we don’t sign JG he will still be a man City player.
If we do sign him he’ll be a Celtic player.
Uefa can stop him playing but they are not stopping his employment.
I think the argument was if he was released from his contract could he sign as a free agent…
Snake Plissken
13:46 on 3 September, 2014
Severin Carrell @severincarrell 2h
Interesting talk that @YesScotland is sitting on @Panelbase poll giving yes vote its first lead; waiting to release it for max bang #indyref
Hmmmm
Lets hope this is true.
—————————————————–
It won’t be the first time Yes has been reported by Panelbase as having a lead. They reported a +1 for Yes on 28/08/13 as can been seen from the UK Polling Report shown in the link below. That survey was commissioned by the SNP. Panelbase have shown consistently high scores for Yes (though only that one positive) over the past couple of years.
http://ukpollingreport.co.uk/scottish-independence-referendum
…shows all the polls that have been conducted since Jan 2012. Panelbase results have fluctuated between -13 and +1 for Yes. Interestingly, thse surverys carried out for SNP/Yes/Wings Over Scotland are generally low minus scores (or +1 in one case) whereas the scores when commissioned by the Sunday Times are generally much less positive (-13 or slightly better). Particularly curious is the Panelbase survery commissioned by SNP on 28/08/13 show Yes at +1 while the Panelbase survey commissioned by the Sunday Times a matter of days later shows Yes at -10.
Makes you wonder, eh?
Panelbase is an online survey rather than feet-on-the-street. So there are certain people it won’t reflect. My wee mammy for one – she doesn’t use computers. She’s a wee genius with a washing machine though…
bigphil47
14:39 on
3 September, 2014
!!Bada Bing!!
not impressed with the sfa as a whole
Haha ha ha,Phil that is priceless.Got to be the most pleasant rebuke ever on here.Only Cads and Bounders missing.
Me Ah am with Ronny…
He Hates a “Hates” a “Part-Timer”…
n… Sodae Ah~
Whit’s a “Part-Timer”?
Well.. There Wuz.. Ledley.. the Maist Examplest o’ a ” Part-Timer” , that Ah
kin Gie Ye.
He wiz the Ultimate.
Right Noo.. Who hiv we goat in the that same Dishpickable Category?
Well..
Fur Starters.. there’s:
COMMONS..n.. then thur’s.. STOKESY…Bitton?…Aye.. Mebbso.. Him Tae..
See , Ronny figgers..n.. rightly so.. That A Player Must Contribute.
Commons.. only Contribution.. in Ma Opinion..is
His Ability tae Score that Smashing.. Spectacular Goals.
Ah like that.. But..
The rest of the Time.. he Spends..
Breaking up Celtic attacks.. because of his wild , Loose .. Passes..
Which don’t go where they ur supposed tae…n they are Dangerous ,tae
Fur.. Suddenly, that Loose Pass.. kin Be Grabbed eagerly by an Gleeful Opponent
n.. Who sets aff in a Rampagin Attack oan Oor Goal..
n..the Table hiv bin.. Soitenly Turned.
Hence.. Like Ah said ..
Commons, Breaks up a Heckava Loat of Celtic Attacks..
n..tae be Frank..
This is Not The IDEA , AY TALL.. AY TALL!
Stokesy,of course, Runs Commons a very Close Second in Breakin Up Celtic’s
Promising Attacks..also.
So He,inturn.. wid be Anither wan of they.. Presona Non Grata..that wan
hears aboot.
See,Folks.. Th Idea is fur Celtic No tae Fluff or Mess up that Final Ba’
Wance , we kin Pit a Stoap tae Always’… Failing tae Make that Last Hurdle, in oor Passing Game..
Then.. We ur Hame Free..
We Wull be a Team that has ,at Last.. Perfected oor TEAM WORK..
n.. TEAM WORK is Whit it is Awe Aboot..
Individualism, such as Commons Displays..(n . Rather Well..Ah must Admit.)
is Fine N Dandy..but..
Team- Work, Team-Work…n.. even Mair Team-Work..
Is WHERE IT’S AT!
Yes, Virginia..
Ah Wid Let Commons run oot his Contract..that is if .. Ah Couldna get some Joe
Muggins, tae Take Him Aff oor Hands fur a Fee.
Stokesy?
The Same Treatment..
Ah wid Turf him, wit Unseeming, Pleasure.. A.S.A.P.
Noo Ye Know.
Kojo
Still,Laughin
The ongoing fight with the BBC over the McLean-Nevin 2011 coverage has hit another dead end.
They have now released this judgement which, I believe, still has holes, particularly the 2nd point (how often do we hear them decry sectarian chanting and singing at Hearts:Hibs, St. Mirren:Morton, Airdrie:Motherwell or any other rivalry) in it but they are so obviously determined not to give ground that I am losing heart on this.
Anyway they State:-
that rather than seeking to precisely define the term “sectarian”, a key consideration in
deciding whether there had been due accuracy was the likely audience expectation and
what the audience would have understood by the reference on Sportscene to “sectarian”
singing;
that the word “sectarian” was commonly used in Scotland to refer to cultural, political,
religious and historical passions which inform rivalry between football teams in Scotland;
that it was likely that the audience would consider that the singing of The Boys of the Old Brigade at the match fell within the range of behaviours and actions which are associated with being “sectarian”;
that the audience would have expected analysis of the game and surrounding issues
during the half-time segment;
that in making comments condemning sectarian singing the presenter and the studio
guest were not making comments that were controversial;
that the decision to devote around a minute of the half-time discussion to the issue of
sectarian singing was justified and was proportionate;
that the exchange between the presenter and studio guest had clearly distinguished
opinion from fact;
that nothing was said in the exchange between the presenter and studio guest which
demonstrated partiality against Celtic
BMCW
Sounds good, c ya in Oct.
Geordie Munro,
I was meaning if City released him,made him a free agent.Someone said,even so,he could not play for Celtic until January.Really cant see this.
SFTB
The second point is completely disingenuous
We all know what sectarian means …..
Their tactic is to obfuscate and delay ……tax funded operation too
Disgraceful
Well done for trying
SANDMAN. 1436
Context. Read the rest of it.
Turkeybhoy
15:09 on
3 September, 2014
lol Im quiet like that :)
TONY
Hope so. Try for a Monday Club.
itsabouttim
14:48 on 3 September, 2014
No, not necessarily …. It could be a maybe, or a perhaps, or a wait and see, or ask yer ma, or stope asking stupit questions, or it could yes or no, depending on whether or not you want independence ………aaaaaaaaaarrrrrrrrgggggghhhhhh…..hahahahahahahaha ….HH
I’m not sure how to vote in September. Any advice anyone?
Yorkbhoy & turkeybhoy,
I suppose it’ll be like a precontract he’ll have to sign with us.
The rules will say he cannot sign full contract outside of transfer window.
He currently has an employer. Uefa will probably claim it’s tufftits if he choses to leave said employer.
All just idle guesswork :)
FFM
Fancy a dayoooooot in Bath instead?
FFM – what you do is get a pencil at the polling station and put an “X” in a box . Couldn’t be easier
Ffm,
What’s happening in September likes?
FFM – I’m the only conspiracy theorist in the village)
15:23 on 3 September, 2014
I’m not sure how to vote in September. Any advice anyone?
————————————————————-
Keep your eyes on the stars and your feet on the ground, Unikitty…. :-))
Bobby @1525
Easy tiger :)
Pukki Takes Shot at SPFL
Teemu Pukki finalised his loan move to Brondby on Monday night after an unsuccessful year at Celtic Park
Celtic fans were patient with the Finnish striker whilst he was at the club, hoping the player would come good but he could never seem to hit his stride.
He is now looking forward to a new challenge in a more “competitive league”.
“The competition is extremely fierce in this league, unlike in Scotland where there is only one good team, Celtic.” said the striker.
Many will agree with that analysis of Scottish football at the moment but some may point out the fact that Pukki failed to cut it in this environment.
However he has told Brondby fans that he’s ready to find the net in a more competitive league.
As a striker, I love to score goals, and I hope I can help the team by scoring some goals here.”
We wish him all the best.
He also stated the SPL was full of big rough men,some tattooed,with stubble on their faces who really,really frightened him.
The twat wont want to ever come back then,will he?.
setting free the bears for Res. 12 & Oscar Knox but saying no to CQN racists
15:12 on 3 September, 2014
————————————————————–
So a Sportscene audience has a different expectation/definition of “sectarian”? To them it basicall means “something we don’t like”?
Fair play to you for trying – perhaps the effort they’ve expended on it will make then think twice about making incorrect accusations in future. But then again, it is the BBC.
Just got in. Any news on Guidetti?
Turkeybhoy
15:14 on
3 September, 2014
It would destroy the notion of the transfer window, as clubs could just terminate contracts at anytime for an ‘admin fee’ then the player could sign on anywhere.
It doesn’t fall foul of EU employment law because there’s nothing to stop a team employing a player even if he’s unable to play in competition. Somebody asked earlier why any team would do this, and the answer is, to stop another team doing it.
BMCUW,
That’s a tempting proposition. I recall some very pleasant-on-the-eye barmaids in that historical town – and 12 hours in the pub, with 10 mins of historic sight seeing.
—
godblesstommyburns
An “X”?? Seriously? That generally means “wrong”. I’ll put a tick instead. Or mibbes an X against both options.
—
Geordie Munro,
Scotland is voting on whether or not to break away from the union. To be honest, I’m a bit surprised it hasn’t been discussed here, given how opinionated this place is.
—
NatKnow,
Eyes on the stars, and feet on the ground. I like that. :)
I think Guidetti would be a great player, however I’m a bit concerned about taking him on loan, particularly if he won’t be allowed to play in the Europa. If he does well we’re unlikely to get him and he’ll be keeping someone else out the team… Unless of course he’ making noises he’d like to sign permanently.
BMCUW
fly out on holiday 10th October so will miss the day/night again. ? 8(
Application for EL tickets posted ….Doooo Dooooo
http://www.oilandgaspeople.com/news/1039/scottish-west-coast-untapped-oil-and-gas-reserves-worth-trillions/
Might be worth consideration by those undecided.
By all accounts, pukki is simply in Brondby to undergo sex-change surgery, in the hope that he can become a man in time for Christmas
Still no news on Guidetti… I’m beginning to think this unseen Fenian hand may just be made up nonsense… Either that or he’s on holiday..
BOBBY MURDOCH’S CURLED-UP WINKLEPICKERS
15:20 on 3 September, 2014
SANDMAN. 1436
Context. Read the rest of it.
=======================
I did.
I cannot agree Viduka had more talent than Larsson. What constitutes talent? No one thing – the whole is greater than the sum of its parts.
You may be able to do 1000 keepie-uppies without breaking sweat, freestyle like a showman, but can’t command a position in a starting 11 becasue you’ve no idea how to play the game; I knew a kid like that. He was labelled ‘talented’ becasue he’d display his skills in the centre-circle ofsenior games at half-time. Never kicked a ball for school or boys’ club; never picked.
Viduka was a big fella gifted with physique and a surprisingly nice touch.
Larsson had less natural skill but more natural talent – his god-given spatial awareness on a football pitch was world-class and the fulcrum by which he flourished, responsible for his goalscoring and game-changing interventions (e.G CL final, Paris).
Character is also a major part of footballing talent and Larsson’s was of steel and incredible fortitude, coming back from crippling injury to succeed his previous achievements.
Viduka had well-documented psychological issues which proved a major handicap.
The KOK’s persona projected from a pitch as a guy who’d die for the jersey and who felt the pain and joy in perfect harmony with the support; his talent made him a superhero in the fans’ mould.
Viduka came across as a frustrating big pussy, capable of lighting up a game but also deserving of intermittent kicks up the arse to remind him of his responsibilities. For a guy of his size his talent for hiding when the going got tough was admirable at times…
I watched him carry the team for a few months and he was in that time denied a place in history as an OF matchwinner by a Billy Dodds goal. That game he seemed to have the Huns in his pocket the whole first half, then his demeanour changed as the boots flew in and he was a passenger the rest of the game. I knew then he wasn’t cut out for the Celtic cape for the true leaders.
All he was was real raw potential sadly foundering against harsh realities.
To compare his talent to Henrik’s is way off the mark imo. He’s trumped in almost every vital category.
That’s not to say I wouldn’t mind Scepovic turning out to be half as good as big Viduka – we were spoiled back then.
No man has the right to fix a boundary to the march of a nation. No man has the right to say, “thus far shalt though go and no further”.
Said by the great Charles Stuart Parnell during a speech in County Cork Ireland in 1885, but they ring just as true in Scotland 2014.
For the first time in history the Scottish people will decide their own future. It will be decided not by royalty nor the Lords and landed gentry, and not by the powers that currently rule over us in London, but by the people of Scotland.
Will you say no and hand that sovereign power back to those that govern us for their own gain.
Or will you say yes and seize the power to govern us for the good of all?
CONSTRUCTIVE SUGGESTION
perhaps posters could put the subject matter of their post at the start, as I have done above this would allow us to scroll by and only read the ones of interest to us.
I will explain further
Canajunbhoy,
Hail Hail
FOOTBALL CELTIC
Has the new number seven been approved yet anyone