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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WITS,
as long as the team are up for it on wed I am confident they will
win,only wish we were a better price with the cream cookies
the glorious balance sheet
There’s far too much information in your post, what do think this is…..?
Good work.
Very disappointed in Deila,
He should not be acquiescing to the signing of players who he has not seen in the flesh, and seen them several times.
He should have the backbone to stand up for himself.
He should have faith in his own eye for a player.
He should have the courage to wait until the time is right.
He is just a nodding dug.
Neil Lennon left because he was no longer willing to be a nodding dug.
TT
Craig Bryson would be a great signing for Celtic IMHO……
Can’t see it happening though…..
Just signed a new contract at Derby, probably cost 6 million plus to get him.
No chance of Lawell sanctioning this.
Gordy,
The Cleddans?.
I wouldn’t take free drink in it pal.
the exiled tim
22:31 on 11 August, 2014
It’s the way you tell’em…..!!!!
Billy Sharp £500k from Southampton and Fridjonsson to Hibs on loan.
Allegedly CSC
Weefra
You certainly will mhate. Funny you spend all days with dumb beasties then come on here for some light relief!
Doc
I see you as Einstein’s brain in Van Damme’s body………or wait was it the other way about?!?!
;-)
HH jamesgang
doc
At the mo, friday looks a good bet. We will see. :-)
Weefra HH praying to Wee Oscar.
The Daily Record seem to be suggesting we have “swooped” for a Man City youngster. If its not the soon to be out of contract John Guidetti then I’m not interested.
Rye,
I didn’t know that.
He is an excellent player
Who the hell is Matthias bossaerts!!!
Hearing he’s some 18yr old Defender we have signed on loan.
Of true – GTF Celtic!!!!
Who is other loan deal along with tonev ??
Cant believe we signed this fella, brutal from what i saw last season. May turn good but also fact he picked villa over us doesnt help.
Celtic shop may aswel stop emailing me.. Unless they want to loan me some gear.
Really fed up
Matthias Bossaerts is supposedly the Man City youngster we’re ‘swooping’ for. Not a striker, a Belgian defender. VVDs replacement probably
TCR,
not for me either,just thought it would be nearer,
not like Pat to spend money on bus fares
Hamiltontim
Hopefully im back in for thursday , if selected .
G/night CQN land
G67- by ‘the club’,you mean John Park I take it? Some familiar names in the last 24 hours ,Tonev,Johannsen fae Alkmaar, Billy Sharp, you don’t need a seance with Taggart to join the dots here, getting sick of it and the lead article lifted from The Celtic View.HH
As maistly a lurker now, may I just say… I love the arguments on the blog. My da used to say, put two celtic supporters in a room and before the barman has put the pint to the tap, there’ll be four different arguments being shouted down.
Lang may it rumble… An bless yeez
Night all
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Billy_Sharp
Now this made me chuckle.
JamesGang, my mind is a shrine that lives in a Temple.
Or something like that!
Rye.
6 million for Bryson. Nope. We aren’t loonies.
Rumours it is Mathias Bossaerts on twitter.
Boessarts is an 18 year old central defender. Most likely another project.
There’s two aspects to the signing policy.
One, we have a strategy and it’s only right for the long term success and prosperity of our club that we stick to it. Having a structure in place which identifies and brings in players that is not wholly reliant on the manager is alien to us in the UK but is standard practice elsewhere.
The flip side is that a manager is judged on the signings he (or the club) makes. So bringing in players the manager has had no say in is not right.
The way it should work is there are targets the manager has, players he is aware of, then there are players the scouting network has assessed. The manager should have the final say but should also be willing to accept the view of a team of experts.
If we’ve been tracking this guy for over a year that’s because there are people at the club who think he can add something to the team. If the manager doesn’t agree he has to put his foot down. At the same time if he does agree with their assessment then there is absolutely nothing wrong with this approach.
Just supposing…an alternative scenario
Fraser Foster wanted to go to the EPL after the World Cup, a decision he had made known to Celtic at the end of last season. Celtic, realising that there was little sense in trying to hold onto the player in such circumstances agreed to his move – but only after the CL qualifiers. Southampton had at least one offer for the player rejected by Celtic (who were still in the middle of the qualifiers). It seemed to the world that it all went quiet on the Southampton interest in Fraser…but after the Murrayfield defeat, Fraser threw his shirt into the Celtic crowd and gave all the appearance of someone who was leaving the club.
During the close season meantime, aware that Fraser was leaving at some point early this season, Celtic signed Craig Gordon – after extensive medical and background reports. Gordon played during the pre-season games and acquitted himself well.
After losing the tie to Legia, Fraser and Celtic and Southampton knew that he would be joining the EPL side, hence Fraser’s shirt throwing actions afterwards. The next day, he left for Southampton to complete his transfer and then.. Celtic were notified that Uefa were investigating Legia on suspicion of fielding a suspended player in Edinburgh. By now the Fraser transfer to Southampton had been signed off on and was a done deal, barring medical and personal terms. Unable to stop this transfer, Celtic awaited the outcome of Uefa’s deliberations, as news of Fraser’s transfer leaked to the media.
Uefa awarded the second leg to Celtic 3-0 and thus Celtic advanced to the next CL qualifying round at Legia’s expense. Fraser completed his transfer and Celtic were drawn against Maribor of Slovenia.
An appeal by Legia against the Uefa decision is to be heard on August 13.
Just supposing that Fraser wasn’t lying when he said that he really wanted to move to the EPL, that Celtic did try to persuade him to stay. However, the opportunity that the EPL would give him was too much to compete with anything Celtic had to offer. In these circumstances, and breaking the British record for a goalkeeper, Celtic secured a fee of 10 million for Fraser.
Celtic, by virtue of the Legia elimination, find themselves facing a CL qualifier with Craig Gordon or Lukasz Zaluska in goal, unless Uefa decide to overturn their Disciplinary Committee on appeal.
Just supposing…
Great we have signed a player, no matter that he was an abject failure at his previous club. If things had went to plan he would have been a failure here a year ago along with Derk, Baldie and Pukki. It’s better this way, spreading the crap over a couple of seasons, the fans will never notice, will they?
Welcome aboard hope you ram those sentiments right down my throat but somehow I doubt he will tbh.
HH
Welcome and good luck to Alexsandar Tonev – hope he turns out to be a great Celt.
Last post of the night from me.
For those wondering why I am thanking the majority of the blog tonight I’ll repost a wee tribute to my old man from last night – it’s a wee bit lengthy and there are other debates going on, so obviously, feel free to scroll on by.
CQN, thanks for your support
• Afternoon all, a small favour to ask CQN’rs
First, a bit of context….
There are many paths to Celtic. Some are almost born into hoops, for others it happens later in life. Whenever it happens its a life affirming experience as it has been for me.
I’d suggest that a healthy proportion of fans worship this club because of the influence of their father, the way the traditions, history and passion have been passed down to you through him. Of course for many, it is an uncle, friends, grandfathers, mothers and aunts who transfer their love of the club to impressionable young fans.
For me it was my old man, always.
I remember he called me down in my pyjamas to watch Sportscene in the mid 80′s and introduced me to Celtic – “this is the team to watch” he said. McLair, McGrain, Burns, McStay, Aitken all on show – this is how it started.
He threw me in the air in delight when McAvennie’s goals secured the double and I’ll never forget that moment. Kids are happy when their parents are happy, this is an eternal truth.
Then, when I played myself, he drove me all over Scotland from when I was 8-18, even though I knew he couldn’t afford the petrol and it caused friction in the house – my three siblings occassionally cited my favourable treatment.
He insisted I train with Rangers when they invited me as it would put pressure on other interested clubs, though he was always clear that signing schoolboy forms with them was out of the question.
I often wondered what we would have talked about were it not for football though recently I’ve found out he has a keen and experienced mind in matters of social justice and politics, but Celtic has always been the glue.
I dropped him off at hospital this morning as he prepares for surgery to remove cancerous tumours after a lengthy period of chemo and radium. He looked a bit frail and lost, but his tremendous faith will see him through.
My old man had the last rites four times in his early 50′s and almost left my mother widowed with four kids. He pulled though and we’ve had some incredible times together since, many involving Celtic. He was proud when I had a few articles printed in the CQN magazine over the last few years. I hope my dad pulls through again. He saw Frankfurt v Madrid in 1960 and all the great games under Stein and plenty before in the 50′s when Celtic couldn’t buy a win. When he talks about football, time flies, he has been through a lot with Celtic, but equally importantly he just enjoys the game, played well.
If your religously inclined, I’d appreciate if you offered up a short prayer for my dad Jim. If not, savour the moments with whoever brought you to Celtic and never forget to tell them the part they have played in your life.
Cheers everyone,
TJ
•
I know CQN has lost some great posters and some might suggest it aint quite what it was, but in my experience this community never, never, never lets you down.
Starry Plough, leftclickcelt, aidenbhoy, corkcelt, skyisalandfill, Yogiy (you nearly had me greeting), Joe Fillipis haircut, Delaneys Dunky, (Smoke and Mirrors& Doc – I really appreciate your words), Vogue Punter, Big-Cup-Winners, Nye Bevans Rebel Soldier, Tricoloured Ribbon, Dan, JustanotherTim, Papa John, The OriginalSadiesBhoy, LennysupportingtheDam5 & Philbhoy – thank you all so much.
Last anecdote. The guy who you are kindly offering prayers for once walked out to a phone box on the Barrhead Rd in Paisley in 1968 and dialled the number for Celtic Park. A gruff Irishman by the name of Sean Fallon received his call, which in itself is ridiculous. What follows is beautiful in its absurdity.
My dad asked Sean if the boys guild he coached could perhaps have a tour of Celtic Park in the near future, though as reigning Euro champs, he knew they would be inundated. Jocks assistant asked him to hold the line, he would get back to him in a minute, he assured my dad he would try and make it happen…
Old Jim was running out of coins and feared the line would go dead until Sean returned and with a deep Sligo drawl asked: “Can ye all come in tamorrow ?”
Delighted, my dad put the phone down and toured Paisley in a beat up old car, rounding up the boys guild players who agreed to meet the next day, half believing it was an elaborate wind up.
They spilled out of overfilled cars and were met at the gates of Paradise by Jimmy McGrory, Sean Fallon behind them. For these young wannabees, it was every Christmas rolled into one. They were taken onto the track and introduced to McNeill, Clark, Murdoch and Johnstone who were doing a few laps.
Latterly, Stein made and appearance and chatted with my dad and the kids. All this arose from a simple request from a phone box the previous day.
When I was going through university I worked in a pub in the town and occassionally, men who I never knew in their 40′s and 50′s would ask if I was Jim’s son. They would enquire after him and then talk about the day he facilitated their meeting with McGrory, Stein, Fallon, McNeill and Johnstone when they were only 14.
Magical memories. I thank you all from the bottom of my heart tonight and will keep you up to speed on my dads situation.
TJ
Billy Sharp is 5.9 inches tall.
Another unknown from an unknown universe
Swansea sold Flores and VVD is his replacement seemingly
Tiny Tim
” Neil Lennon left because he was no longer willing to be a nodding dug.”
So Lenny was a nodding dug ??????
Of course he was.
HH
…………………………………………………….
67heaven
As I said, I care not if you believe it or not, I know it to be true, that’s all I care about.
The evidence is staring everyone in the face, yet most just can’t see it, or they don’t want to see it.
Personally I think it’s the right approach by the club, why waste money on new players when a new man comes in, if it doesn’t work out, you have wasted all that money.
What we are doing is the right thing for the club, yet most are denying it’s happening.
Weird so it is
HH
Underwhelmed. Goodnight.
Seriously….there is going to be trouble ahead, if the PLC keep this loan signing policy.
They have really lost the plot, they believe they are untouchable.
Some are going to be in for a rude awakening, and its about time.
Car crash waiting to happen, and you can see it from a long way off.
I really doubt their suitability to run a raffle, never mind Celtic.
Total chancers.
HH
All the best TJ
HH
Malone Bhoy
22:47 on
11 August, 2014
Sensible post.
Bryson had a buyout of 650k up until he signed a new contract a month ago
It looks like Celtic are not adding players to their squad, loan signings are just not cutting it, IMO, last week says that temporary players will be marginalised by the old guard.
Something is very smelly about all of this.
If the plan is to bring through the youngsters, that are desperate to play and willing to learn, then I think Celtic should be honest with the Support – I think 95%+ want the team to be filled with kids brought through our own system, as ever with experienced, quality first team regulars to help them become as good as they can be.
I’ve already spoke about how good the 2000 squad is, I don’t really know anything about the other age groups but witnessing them in action was a joy to behold.
Wednesday will be a very interesting game, hopefully the players realise that Neil Lennon is not their Boss anymore. They certainly made their point at Murrayfield at the Supporters expense. I think the odds on ST J are very long.
I guess it all depends on the team selection.
bournesouprecipe
In his Cuban heels…