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.
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Robert Tressell –
Agreed.
Unbelievably, there are Celtic supporters on here who are constantly telling us, to the point of tedium, that if new Rangers ever make it to the top flight, they are finished with football and Celtic.
Imagine taking that to your grave. I gave up supporting Celtic because of the Huns.
Fearties.
Awe Naw
If Roy Keane had said yes I’d likely have held my judgement. I also doubt Roy Keane if signed would be allowing club to chase down LOAN deals in the current climate with CL qualification pre. Legia and post Legia on the line.
So it likely would be a different read on here.
MWD says AYE
Ernie Lynch,
I’d be interested to know how much gravy there is for Celtic on the new old firm gravy train.
By my reckoning a Champions league campaign where we finish bottom of the group is worth over 20M (UEFA money plus 3 capacity crowds), any other position in the group gives additional ties at a minimum of 2M (EL) or more for CL last 16.
Sevco in Prem gives Celtic 2 capacity home games which is 20K per game above average, so 40K tickets x 40 = 1.6M, additional TV income 1M?, additional other revenue 2M max?
So Celtic are happy to lose 20M+ to gain 4.6M per season with Sevco in top league? I fail to see where the gravy is, please enlighten me.
MJM
ps I agree that the club are failing miserably re signing players and getting value from turnover/outlay on wages etc. but I don’t see how Sevco in top league is the target.
16 roads – correct.
Systems help, and getting it right in terms of shape is huge, however, players shouldn’t just be looking at big gaps in front or behind them and thinking ‘this is a poor formation’ – they should be busting a gut to either close the space or instruct a team mate to do so.
As a very poor standard of Centre half years ago it was my job to identify which lazy sod in the midfield was letting his opposite number get a run on him and get in to the box unmarked and such like. Never mind tactics at that stage – if someone is free in the box someone is at fault.
The players weren’t fit enough or committed enough against Legia.
hun skelper
Whether to back the OF bigotry and condone the blatant cheating and corruption which so far has allowed the team at IPox to claim they are still the same team with all that entails .
Tom McLaughlin
and then there are Celtic supporters on here who are constantly telling us, to the point of tedium, that Celtic are in Eutopia.
Woop! Woop!
MWD says AYE
Tonev has pace and a good shot apparently. Now giving odds , he must be a good player
Surely our chief scout can’t have found another dud forward
In 5 years how many forwards has our scout identified and we have signed 15 or 20?
How many have been a success ? 1 hooper
Think someone should be shown the door. Not saying new guy is good or bad , but just going on JP’s failures, think he should find a job he is good at ., as its no scouting forwards
I think the man city kid…could be a good player.
But…surely pl wont be daft enough to punt vvd…that would be madness.
You cannot continually sell your top players, then replace them all with loan signings.
That is the strategy of a lunatic gambler.
The backlash is coming…you can see it a mile off.
HH
sydneytim
09:48 on 12 August, 2014
Dooooooooohhhhhhh ……….
Is Liam Henderson out of the picture?
MWD says AYE
Robin Williams, RIP, The Dead Poets Society did something few movies do.
It taught me something. I was a kid, well ok, a young adult, when it came out and it taught me a couple of things.
Look at the world from a different perspective every now and again.
Secondly it taught me how powerful a tool language is.
Nanoo Nanoo……..
Neil – “we have not maintained the quality of team Celtic supporters were bred on”
Now I don’t wish to start a fight but the quality I was bred on during my early years was eye wateringly bad. 18 hour round trips on the boat from Ireland to watch us get gubbed by an average mid-table team and having to watch Biggins, Falconer et al in the process.
Getting peed down the back of my leg in the jungle by a young Sydney Tim or Kevjungle was also part of the package :)
Maybe that stuff shapes you but I enjoy being a celtic fan today. That might make me sound crazy to a few on here but that’s the bottom line. This stuff we debate is the just the detail.
RT
I dont think it is to do with self harm or fear but put of disappointment.
That we are Old Firm first and foremost. That we know it but wont say it. That the Scottish game cannot be cleaned up from its inherit bias. That Celtic dont want too. That the bigotry and sectarianism is a necessity.
I truly believe this and have exercised parental control in encouraging my son to no longer embrace Celtic FC as it presently stands.
HH
MWD –
What is Eutopia?
RT
Yeah,like Samaras but with consistency
the green man
09:50 on 12 August, 2014
“The backlash is coming …. You can see it a mile off” …….. You’ve got us ‘shaking in our boots’, Nostradamus ……hahahahahahaha
You can all watch sevco at CP if ye like.
Their sectarian bile makes me sick, I dont want to hear it ever again in paradise.
Feck sevco
No old firm
HH
Ernie
Your two assertions are not mutually inclusive. Neither does one follow the other sequentially.
The consensus is that we’ve lost 4000 season books as a result of the absence of ‘Old Firm’.
Additionally, we’ve reduced season book prices by £100 – around £3M hit – and further lost 2 capacity matches, around £1.2M per season.
We have also sacrificed a chunk of SPL prize money, maybe £500K.
That adds up to a pretty sum, around £6M of revenue.
Despite that, our turnover is at record levels, our gains on player sales have been huge, and we’ve an 8 digit balance cash in the bank.
I could see your logic if we were touching cloth financially, hanging on by the tips of our fingers above a financial abyss, but we’re not.
Equally, I could see the logic in stock piling cash to respond to an emergent Sevco, but were we doing that, we would be seeing preparations this season in terms of squad development, the signs of which I must say are somewhat absent at this point.
We’re in rude health off the pitch, but mediocre on it. Sevco in the top division will not impact either in the near term.
The most likely answer is that we’ve been taken by surprise by Lenny’s decision to walk, and have been making it up as we’ve been going along for the past 3 months.
Rather than planning short term, we’re giving every indication that if there is a plan, it’s unaffected by short term blips.
Canamalar
My Rangers supporting nephew is always complaining to me that the gates at Ibrox ( like Celtic) are often reported as the ticket sales and NOT the actual attendees.
He was at the match on Sunday .
He tells me Aybrokes was nearly a full house.
The 18k gate was for the Hibs match in the midweek.
TT
Grateful thanks again to Sacred Heart and St Jude for prayers answered.
roberttressell
09:31 on 12 August, 2014
Very good post mate and I agree with pretty much all of what you say BUT it doesn’t sit well with me , that mob (with the help of various others ) have cheated Celtic and the rest of Scottish football for years not to mention the taxpayers .
So far they have got away with this con trick of claiming same club / same history crap , this has to be challenged at every opportunity .
Didn’t someone put Rangers abscence at £5m? Clearly the accounts for last year show what can be done without Rangers. A £9m profit before you count the sale of Wanyama at £12m.
That’s with reduced ticket prices
We are stock piling cash though. Maybe Dave King was right or maybe we will eventually build up enough cash to bring the main stand up to the same level as the rest of the ground. Then folk can in the media can say the stadium is about a quarter full as opposed to about half as it will be this season.
Long term what we appear to be doing makes no financial sense.
67Heaven
You can fiddle while rome burns if ye like.
HH
Big wavy. Trust me i went to the toilets in the jungle Remember right beside the pie stall
Think we should employ a former striker as a scout
Ps remembering falconer , he would walk into the team now
Tom
It’s just next to Utopia and Tapioca.
MWD says AYE
Tam McGlaughlin
Have to correct you on Henrik being surplus to requirements at Feyenoord.
Wim had inside information about a release clause figure in his contract.
He head hunted and pinched him for Celtic.
Feyenoord threatened court action to keep Henrik ,and Henrik threatened court action to be released.
Feyenoord very much wanted to keep Henke.
The rest as they say is history.
Hope you are well.
TT
Eutopia is what we Thought we were getting when we joined what used to be the EEC.or not
Battered bunnet. You estimated last week that we had about 10m cash in the bank
Are you saying after watt and foster transfer , it’s closer to 20m now ??? B.
big wavy,
Getting peed down the back of my leg in the jungle by a young Sydney Tim or Kevjungle was also part of the package :)
———————————
Brilliant mate, pmsl.
And of course, metaphorically speaking, they still continue to do so today.
HH
We don’t have anything in the bank. We just have busuits!
MWD says AYE
I know you did Sydney :)
I spent the whole of the St Patricks day massacre against the deid club puking in the jungle toilets and can confirm that when things are going celtic’s way NOBODY else came into those toilets during the match.
Must have been a lot of heavy bladders at full time !
fourgreenfields
09:46 on 12 August, 2014
If they want to kid themselves on that they’re the same club, let them
If the Celtic board want to call them rangers to make a bit of coin out of it, let them
I know YOU know EVERYBODY knows that they died and the Huns certainly know it. So if people want to kid on that’s up to them as long as we know the truth that’s all that matters mate.
Not going to the games is not a option for me and it never will be, cradle to grave HH
Regarding Tonev I actually thinking purchasing him on a try before you buy is absolutely the right thing to do. Guy has talent and we have scouted him for a long time. Considering how he did at Villa if the option was there to take him for a season prior to committing to the purchase it would be folly not to take that option up.
As for the young man City defender, that is a very strange signing. He may come in and turn out to be world class and we will be delighted, but an 18 year old? With no option to buy? I don’t see what sort of strategy this signing falls into at all.
Unless a rabbit is pulled out of the hat for our wildcard we are heading into the next qualifying phase, after being roundly horsed, weaker than the last one. That’s unacceptable.
We still lack a striker. We still lack a player to play in the middle position of the 3 man midfield. I would say our recruitment this window, bearing in mind we have a new manager, has been shambolic.
I will be interested to see what improvement performance wise Ronny gets out of the squad after 2 weeks on the training ground between Legia and Maribor
67Heaven
Its never wise to be complacent…especially in football.
If you treat people like mugs…those people.will do something about it.
You cant just force supporters to except anything…they wont have it.
Watch and see.
HH
—-
O Me Miserum…..!
Doon-Sizin’…….?
PL Will Soon Be Sellin’ Biros….
Oan The Coarner Of Renfield/Argyle Street…..
Tae Raise Funds For Oor New Loan ‘Projects’….
Bring Back ButterMulk Dainties….!
You Know You Want To….
——
I said before the start of the season that the SPL title was all but guaranteed and that the only game in town for Celtic is CL qualification
I stand by that
Ronni not only fell at the first fence, the horse threw him on his ass, an unmitigated embarrassment of a disaster. At this current time i cant understand why folks are saying “I have good feeling about him” or ” he says all the right stuff”
So Far, I dont see anything in terms of youth development or fitter faster pash that was spouted on here all close season.
The UEFA gods have given us a lifeline. If we fail again vs Maribor we don’t deserve to be taken seriously. It would be on the scale of Ally McCoists failures in the season that the huns went bankrupt. I’m not convinced that Ronnis reputation would survive that.
someone needs to tell him that parking the bus is basically our only European tactic and has been for a number of years. but it has brought us the occasional success.
Assuming we do qualify for the group stages, i wont expect much more than 4 points and a EL place would be an unexpected bonus. In the current climate cash is king, (not for sevco or their south african friend right enough)
Again, if we blow it vs Maribor, we dont deserve it. Ronnis season boils down to this tie
TBB
taken surprise by Neil’s decision to walk. Don’t be silly. It only took PR 2 days to come up with something constructive after Neil announce it!
MWD says AYE
fourgreenfields
09:56 on 12 August, 2014
CORRECT …. !!!! ….. Major con by the Scottish football establishment , completely ignored by Legal Eagles and, for the life of me, I cannot understand why.