A year after trying and failing to sign him from Lech Poznan, Celtic have secured the services of Aleksandar Tonev from Aston Villa. Tonev has blistering pace, a right footer who is usually used on the left, he is an archetypal counter-attacking player.
The player’s profile blossomed during the first six months of 2013, in particular after he scored a hat-trick for Bulgaria against Malta, which brought Villa and Celtic to the table. The step-up to the English Premier League from playing a speciality role for Poznan was, not surprisingly, too much.
Aleksandar plays the same position as Georgios Samaras, albeit he’s a completely different type of player, but we will look to him to do the same job – be an out ball away from home in Europe.
Ronny will have seen him only from DVDs, so he’ll be keen to get him onto the pitch tomorrow morning for a run-out ahead of St Johnstone. Let’s hope the manager likes what he sees…. It’s a worry. The most promising part of deal is that Aleksandar has a point to prove, I’d rather hungry players with a point to prove than those who’ve too much on the clock.
Welcome to Celtic, Aleks.
795 Comments- Pages:
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
- 6
- 7
- ...
- 21
- »
Hi cfc
HH
Hi
Hello
Wow !!
Paul67 – business done for the evening?
weefrathetim
21:59 on 11 August, 2014
doc
Think we need to re plan for tomorrow, massive flooding over here the last 24 hours and more rain to follow tomorrow. No need for wellies, waders or aqualungs would be more suitable. For the kids sakes, better to leave it till a dryer period. Wit ya think?
Weefra HH praying to Wee Oscar.
WeefratheTim
Av seen it awe noo you a Podium chaser.Hope you are dried oot.
Awerabest PJ
hamiltontim
21:59 on 11 August, 2014
marspapa
I’m too slow to do pass and move….I’ll just stick to pass and….slowly move to another position :-)
Welcome Aleksander…..simples
sTICks
Looks like the biscuit tin remains shut
So who signed Tonev
Ronny ? or Pedro
Regarding Alistair
47 Replies
Oh dear this is all very unfortunate.
As was widely trailed across Twitter last night there was a meeting at Ibrox.
The main decision makers at RIFC/TRFC were there either in person or electronically.
There was only one item on the agenda and that was the iconic manager of the two year old club.
The man that the home crowd simply refer to as ‘Super’ was hauled in.
He was asked to explain why team his had failed to beat Hearts and he was also asked to account for his behaviour towards Darren McGregor immediately after the match.
On the first ‘charge’ Mr McCoist stated that it was the first game of the season, very early days and that players were “bedding in”.
This did not go down well at all, especially with one of the Easadle brothers.
The Greenock based businessman pointed out that the team had two highly experienced strikers up front .
Moreover,it was put to Mr McCoist that Kris Boyd and Kenny Miller had hardly received a decent pass due to the (I’m paraphrasing) agricultural football on show.
However the greatest criticism of Mr Super was directed at him by Chairman David Somers for the incident with Darren McGregor.
Managers are, of course, allowed to rant at players for their perceived on- field failings.
However the normal post match rules of engagement are that this happens inside the dressing room.
However Mr McCoist sought to vent at the young substitute outside of that special place.
Moreover it was within earshot of the family of the late Sandy Jardine.
Sandy’s folk had been there to see a stand re-named in honour of the Rangers legend who had tragically passed away after a heroic battle against cancer.
Mr Somers characterised the conduct of McCoist’s al fresco rant against his player yesterday as:
“Totally unprofessional, appalling, totally unbecoming a highly remunerated manager of Rangers football club”.
It would appear that Mr Super seems to think that he is unsackable.
However, Mr Philip Nash would demur on that point and let him know that immediately after the Englishman had intervened to end McCoist’s rant against young McGregor.
Moreover Nash informed Mr Super at Ibrox that “…a lot of eyes will be opened…” when they realise just how well remunerated this club servant actually was, especially when Sevco were cobbling together crisis loans.
Once McCoist was sent away from the boardroom last night the decision on the table was whether or not to sack the Sevco manager, the discussion was rather side-tracked and things got rather heated and personal.
However the temperature was soon lowered when Philip Nash forensically laid out the entire state of affairs in full unexpurgated detail to the less well-informed members of the board.
I understand that one of them looked physically sick as the full financial situation and issues with the Stock Exchange apropos use of IPO funds was laid out on the board room table.
Everyone who was in that room last night now knows, possibly for the first time, the full extent of the shit storm heading their way.
It is enough to make anyone feel a little fragile.
All very unfortunate indeed.
However, the good news is that no terminal decision was taken on Mr McCoist and he remains in post to plan for the next match.
Burnley78:
Your argument about “who would have come who would have signed” is, as I am certain you know, complete cobblers. This is football. Money talks. We just lost our goalkeeper to Southampton. QPR can compete with clubs from La Liga for players cause they will pay exorbitant salaries. The striker from AZ would have signed, if we were willing to meet his wages and pay the transfer fee.
The posts from Follow Follow are laughed at because they are the bitter, angry, deluded ramblings of people out of touch with reality, bigoted individuals who can’t see other than through their prism of hate. Your attempt to blunt reasoned argument with that comparison is further cobblers.
It is those who accept mediocrity without question, the strategy without scrutinising it, the embarrassment of last season’s qualifiers where we went into each round weaker than the last – something that I am stunned to see we’ve managed to repeat this time around, and to a far worse outcome, with further humiliation only a week or so away maybe – as if this was how “big clubs” do their business, who must draw the real laughs.
Blind, subservience. Unquestioning adherence to the party line. Accepting anything the club does “because I love Celtic” … the board gets away with treating us like mugs only because so many of us act like just that.
Live with mediocrity all you want. Hell, that is your privilege if you’re willing to pay for it. I voted with my feet a long time ago because I will not fund days like today.
We go into the Maribor game weaker than we went into the Legia first leg. You know, the one where we lost 4-1.
That might sit well with you and others. Some of us want better.
But to be fair, I stopped expecting it a while ago.
arse troll o ger deserves a squad placement …………….braw
Weefra- hope is all well on the farm – I see sco trail stopping any trains going further north than Perth on Inverness route dueto flooding hh
Burnley78 asked us to provide names as to who we should sign, I would definitely take a closer look at Radovich although we certainly made the guy look good he did tear us a new one and knew the route to goal
https://twitter.com/maleysbhoys/status/498906334008729602
Welcome to the family, hope it’s successful HH
Awe Naw
Just thought of something else. Wayne Rooney threw his toys out of the pram and demanded a transfer and Alex Ferguson caved in and put him on £200,000.00 per week. Rooney enjoyed this so much he did the same thing with David Moyes and got £300,000.00 so contracts are really iron clad.
Looks like a 6 1 gubbing last week still not made any difference .
CL qualifier with a possible extra 20 million on it. One signing and we lose Forster into bargain.
Never learn !!
papa john
Naw, I slipped it in cause I’m still friggin soaking. Hahaha. How ye doin ma mhan? Hope all is well. KTF.
Weefra HH praying to Wee Oscar.
This signing confirms Ronny is first team coach, not manager
HT – from previous:
I know where you’re coming from pal, I personally think we should give Griffith a chance first. I think we need to bring in someone better than both of them and money spent on May would reduce our chances of that. His signing would also probably have ended the search for another striker altogether, leaving us with what we have plus May, which I don’t think would be enough. It was a cheap shot, I accept that, but I feel you seem distraught over the loss of a guy we could & should be aiming higher than.
HH
I thought Alexsander was a meercat
Welcome …. Hope your as good for is as the last Bulgarian we signed
the spirit of arthur lee
22:01 on 11 August, 2014
Looks like the biscuit tin remains shut.
….
Superglued partner.
Paul67
I’m happy we’ve got someone new in. However, I’m ever more concerned than previously as to who is actually signing players at Celtic these days.
Also from Phil
Expert opinion
73 Replies
Yesterday in the City of London a man stood and spoke the truth as he saw it about Rangers International Football Club.
He is a top investment analyst with a leading UK bank.
Moreover, he is the recognised AIM specialist within his organisation and it was this section of the London Stock Exchange that he was speaking to investors about.
This wasn’t a public event, it was by invitation only.
Those listening to him were senior players in the market and for them this man’s advice is gold dust.
The 45-minute presentation was about what’s hot and what’s not at the moment on the AIM.
About half an hour of his spiel was taken up with RIFC.
This man had advised his clients not to take part in the IPO in 2012.
He did advise them to buy in at 25p as he (correctly) thought that there would be a bounce after that and a quick profit could be made.
Smart man, this guy.
One of the people in the carefully selected audience had bought in on his advice and asked what he thought she should do next.
He said she should get out before the interims are published as he believes the accounts will show that RIFC are on the brink of insolvency.
He went further than that when he stated, as an assertion, that in his opinion Rangers were “trading while insolvent as of the 20th February”.
This concurs with my own sources inside the club.
As for the future, he stated to the audience:
“I believe that the current board are seriously considering an insolvency event.”
He said that this was the only way for the company to get costs down quickly.
Moreover, he also stated his belief that after a quick controlled insolvency RIFC would propose a fresh share issue.
He stated to those holding RIFC shares that there continued “to be good demand from trusts” in the AIM listed company.
However, the main thrust of his advice on RIFC was for them to sell.
He stated that, in his opinion, the intervention of Dave King did not bode well for shareholders or the value of their stockholding.
He stated that the market had “responded well to the Laxey loan” and this was because of the reputation of the hedge fund in the City.
Essentially, if Laxey are involved in a company then they will make sure that it is put on a sustainable basis if it is at all saveable.
Laxey Partners usually make money from their investments.
Despite his misgivings about the future role of the South African entrepreneur, he thought Laxey would prevail and protect their investment in RIFC.
This City expert stated that, in his estimation, Dave King wanted to gain control of the stadium and ipso facto the franchise by acquiring Ibrox in a liquidation sale.
Honestly…some greetin going on here.
No criticism allowed.
Your no a good Celtic supporter, if you question the motives of rich plc chancers
Doff yer cap, get tae the back ah the bus…again.
How dare we complain eh.
HH
Martybhoy
Do you reckon legia would do business with us
Maybe at £15m ;)
hamiltontim
22:06 on 11 August, 2014
I share your concern…!! …
New post from Paul and a new signing and here’s me clooging up the blog.
Apologies but I have to express my gratitude before I try and get a sleep:
Joe Filippis Haircut – really kind of you, thanks very much
PFAyrsupport weeoscar & Corkcelt, very grateful to both of you
Setting free the bears – the gratitude is all mine tonight, thanks pal
Marspapa, much appreciated and I am sure my old man will feel the benefit
Skyisalandfill – no problem and thank you very, very much
Cliftonvillceltfrombelfast – thank you and please do
Hamiltontim – that is a tremendous gesture, if you knew my dad you would know how much that would mean to him for so many reasons. Thank you
Tricoloured Ribbon, we’ll probably never meet but your posts to me in last 48 hrs have been uplifting. Godbless.
leftclickcelt – thank you very, very much
martybhoy59 – that is true and thank you.
Doc, he certainly wil -l thanks so much for the kind words
The Glorious Balance Sheet – I really hope so and thanks so much
Godbless CQN
TJ
Cliftonville Celt,
Delighted to hear that.
Davy McDaid will get the goals pal.
Trust me.
tommy joad
HH and prayers to you, your Dad and your family.
Just read through everything posted all the way back.
We are so divided right now.
There’s a huge difference between holding differing – often diametrically opposed – views and acting like too many of us are right now like we’ve got a monopoly of ‘the answer’!
MonTaeGripsLhadsCSC
HH jamesgang
No striker again. No centre half and defensive mid either. Lost Forster.
Commons and Stokes are lazy as strikers . Do not try, not their game. So if RD dies not find a system to get best out of them then looks like we are going to be in same situation as Legia games.
WITS,
I would never bet against Celtic,
but if you are so convinced we will lose on wed,
are you tempted by the 6-1 available on the saints
WeefratheTim
Am daein fine,will try an get round to the CQN corner on Sat.
Onwards and Upwards PJ
Usually when a manager joins a bigger club, there are players he can instantly attempt to sign because he had scouted them previously, only the player wasn’t interested or was looking for too much money.
So I’m surprised Ronny has spent his time watching over existing Celtic scouting DVD’s.
I’m also concerned because the players in those DVD’s were scouted on the basis of the previous regimes preferred style of football.
So Tonev is the guy who closest matches the attributes Ronny is looking for.
This guy is a creative player and couldn’t get a game for the most uncreative team in the EPL last season.
Underwhelmed