The capture of Kolo Toure (35) on a free transfer following his release by Liverpool, goes a long way to addressing one of my key concerns for the coming season. In the last 12 months we’ve spent £6.5m on three central defenders: Dedryck Boyata, Jozo Simunovic and Erik Sviatchenko. They joined Efe Ambrose and Charlie Mulgrew, but the mix was far from right.
Dedryck and Jozo are both long-term injured. Jozo may yet establish himself as a top defender, but Dedryck has already caused performance concerns. Charlie is now out of contract, and with the arrival of Kolo, I don’t expect he’ll re-sign.
Efe put in an excellent performance against Leicester on Saturday (aside from his first 30 seconds) but his consistency and susceptibility to make crucial mistakes in important games, makes him unsuitable for anything more than a backup.
The manager needs someone he knows he can rely upon and who can bring an ocean of experience to help develop what is otherwise a young central defence. Kolo will do that and more, just as soon as he’s match fit.
The Pink Pound.
I’m unfamiliar with fashion blogs but if the debate on the pink shirt is a guide, maybe I’m missing out. Third strips are fashion items, the football strip equivalent of bling. They’ve been so since someone invented the need to invent a third strip every season. It was never in case your first two strips clashed with an opponent.
I remember a similar reaction when we released a third strip with tartan shorts a few years back. Despite some heavy weather on release, the shorts sold out. In it’s online coverage the pink shirt already has a higher profile than most of its predecessors. Bet it sells well.
I had a brief chat with some people at New Balance last year and the colours we use at Celtic cropped up. There’s green, white, yellow, black and silver/grey. Before the 1970s it was pretty much green and white only, then the palette boundaries were pushed. The New Balance people were all from England, so the nuances of orange, which was used as trim on a well-received black away strip, were lost on them.
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A certain friend of mines son who played against the charity robbers last night, asked one of the robbers for a top exchange at the end of the game, and was told “jimmy Bell (the bus driving bigot) doesent allow it” every picture tells a story eh? And I kid you not, that’s a fact.
There Yi go, most know, but some don’t.
http://metro.co.uk/2016/07/26/fc-astana-vs-celtic-champions-league-qualifying-date-kick-off-time-tv-channel-and-odds-6029023/
JAMESGANG on 26TH JULY 2016 7:58 AM
Read back.
Awe ffs he’s off on one again, grumpy man that he is.
http://videocelts.com/2016/07/blogs/latest-news/wailing-warbs-hits-out/
Antipodean red
Hi mate,
To me there is nothing honourable bout Australia refugee policy.
Basically if you ‘have’your in.if you dont concentration camps like Naura island will dehumanize you to such an extent people set themselves on fire rather than put up with good ol Australian racism and hospitality.The germans called them a different name in the 30s..
Anyway hope lifes good with you and yours.the inhumanity shown during the famine is alive and killing in Oz today.
HH
Macjay
Sorry mate don’t have time today.
Is there a podcast?
HH jamesgang
JAMESGANG on 26TH JULY 2016 8:17 AM
In your own time.
Bobby`s comment .
My response.
Amazin`
Big game coming up .
And guys are looking for a stoush .
Any chance of getting a Dutch centre back in?
http://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-36888541
So, we now know who won’t be playing tomorrow:
Sviatchenko, Boyata, Simunovic, Ajer and Toure.
Wee Brendan, faced with a similar problem last week, opted to play the only centre half he had in a back 3.
Perhaps we’ll see further innovation this week, and he’ll go with a back 2?
When we play away from home in Europe, we worry – with Efe in the team, we do more than worry – we pray.
An Tearmann,
Hope you’re well mate, when I met up with Delaneys last year he told me you were a fine fellow. You instinctively know when something is wrong, some wrongs are very difficult to fix as you are well aware but there are things that you cannot stand by and ignore, those concentration camps are one, they are our shame, hidden on an impoverished island, run by thugs, journalist denied access, doctors dismissed for raising concerns, in a ‘democracy’ too!
In Efe I trust.
Everyone deserves a 13th chance.
Why all the mystery around the Sviatchenko injury? I thought the injury he sustained at the weekend was a black eye. Three weeks out suggests another issue (?)
So we could have CM and Efe starting in defence.
Contingency planning of the sharp (shell) suited variety.
HH jamesgang
MacJay,
I’ve got to hand it to you for front, as aburntoutcase says very often, who is MacJay fighting with tonight?
Eric’s injury is a bad blow but if selected it presents a huge opportunity for O’Connell, It will be interesting to see what plan Brendan comes up with but one way or the other we need to dig out a result tomorrow night, maybe attack is the better form of defence, I’d settle for 3 all right now.
Anyhow busy few hours ahead will check in late afternoon; hopefully we will have a couple of our targets signed by then.
Well when needs must I’v no problem playing Efe, it is what it is, as I’v always said what we have we go with, think positive and positive things will happen, at least he’s there and available if needed, it may have been a god send he wasent punted and will step up to the plate and do the business who knows? But that’s just boring old me being positive about my club again, my apologies.
Level 5s little helpers, and lurking Huns GIRFUYs .
Is Sviatchenko injured?
JJ
AN TEARMANN
Re Nauru,
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2016/jul/25/ferrovial-staff-risk-prosecution-for-managing-australian-detention-camps
Disgraceful policy,mate.
To be honest i’ve got no problem with playing Efe either. We may not think much about the big guy but he never hides, always ready to be called upon. Maybe this is the beginning of his redemption…
ANTIPODEAN RED on 26TH JULY 2016 8:42 AM
MacJay,
I’ve got to hand it to you for front, as aburntoutcase says very often, who is MacJay fighting with tonight?
==================================================================
Educating.
With regard to the Australian detention centres, the fact that Serco are involved is a sure fire sign that they are and always will be a disaster.
MACJAY
Not fair,mate. I compared the latest outrage to being like a treadmill from which we cannot get off.
Your replenish was…
Mate.
We just voted for that precise reason.
JJ
http://videocelts.com/2016/07/blogs/latest-news/rodgers-dealt-massive-new-injury-blow/
TD67 –
“at least he’s there and available if needed,”. Which is always the case with Efe. Far from being the perfect defender (despite his Ballon D’Or nomination from your favourites the Green Brigade) he never ever hides. Of steel, as the saying goes.
Macjay
I read the p9 exchange already.
So you’re trying to link what appears to be a lone psychopath in Japan to Isis. And then implicitly to a global refugee crisis that didn’t exist before the dodgy dossier war against Iraq.
You dinnae like yon ‘other types’ do you mate?
1clubManyCulturesCSC
HH jamesgang
Every confidence Efe will step up to the plate.O”Connell will play.I would put Lustig in there as well.5 at the back,4 in the middle to work their socks off.Dembele up front,then G coming onThey all have to put in a mega shift.
Keep it tight.
Unbelievable list of injuries,and I mean,unbelievable.
Replenish? How can predictive text use replenish after yout,there is no sentence ever with those two words next to each other in that order.
Reply,ffs.
I am one of Efe’s fans. After so many vital mistakes, I can’t defend him anymore but, imo, he is a football player who gives his all for the team. If needs must, I would support the manager in playing him tomorrow night given our injury problems.
JAMESGANG
I think MACJAY recognises that some of them wish us great harm.
I cannot disagree,to be fair. But I disagree with his method of dealing with it.
Sitting in Lisbon airport, waiting fer 10am flight to Embra.
Had a great holiday. Took the train from central Lisbon to Sintra yesterday. Very touristy but a lovely place. However I was melting in temperatures of 35c+. Followed medical advice and kept fluid levels topped up.
One thing that was very noticeable on the forty minutes train ride through the Lisbon inner city and burbs, was rather depressing poor quality flats. Thousands and thousands of them. Also Lisbon is my new no.1 town for graffiti, knocking Prague off the number one spot. Endless, endless graffiti. I also learned that Benfica is a Lisbon Suburb.
Highlights of the three week holiday were:
Visiting Stadio Naçional/Stadio Honra in Lisbon.
Ponta Delgada, the capital of São Miguel, Azores.
Cete Citades, a volcanic Caldera on São Miguel. Thee most stunningly beautiful natural wonder I have ever seen.
The Whaling museum on the Ile do Pico
Madalena, on Pico Island
Horta, on Faial Island
Climbing Monte Brasil, overlooking the town and marina of Angra do Heroismo
The Azores as a whole are just fantastic. Cheap food and booze, amazing scenery and friendly people. If ye have ever fancied it, my recommendation is to go……..,,,,,soon.
Myself and Mrs H have put it at joint #1 on our many great holidays together.
Good luck to the Celts tomorrow, and to all who are travelling. Nae flares mind.
Efe has always been there when needed, your right he never hides, and when called upon runs on the pitch with his chest puffed out and head held high, I’v never had a problem with him much to the shrigrin of my mates, mistakes? He does it his way. As many have and will do too.
Bobbio
‘Some of them wish us great harm……’
I wonder if your counterpart on Yemen Quick News says the same about you and I as the saudis drop more uk made munitions on their local school or hospital?
‘Them and us’ is a most dangerous terminology to fall into. It’s the narrative that the isis, trumps and farages of the world use, sadly to great effect.
HH jamesgang
Big billy made a couple of mistakes in his career semi final of the EC , and a EC final, but still went on to be one of the greatest CFC captains ever IMO, sheet happens lads, a fact of life.
I think we will see a back 3 with 2 wing backs tomorrow night.
Gordon in goals.
The back 3 will be either-
Lustig Ambrose Tierney or Lustig Ambrose O’Connell
with Janko and Izzaguire/Tierney as wing backs
A central 3 of Armstrong Brown and McGregor
with Dembele and Griffiths working hard up front.
We can use Roberts, Forrest or Ciftci to replace the hard working front two as impact subs.
I suspect that Tierney will get the back 3 nod over O’Connell But Efe will be there. Without the home support on his back, I think he will do just fine too.
BOBBY MURDOCH’S CURLED-UP WINKLEPICKERS on 26TH JULY 2016 8:49 AM
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No,mate.
This is what you wrote.
“It’s just one incident after another,bud. Like a bloody treadmill and we canny get off it.”
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I wrote:
Mate.
We just voted for that precise reason.
===================================================
We just voted to get off the treadmill of ONE INCIDENT AFTER ANOTHER .
Not specifically the most recent one which would hardly constitute a ” treadmill. ”
Jeez.
JAMESGANG
I’m not excusing our arms export trade,nor our foreign policy. Merely pointing out that not everyone who comes to a new country is intent on bettering the lives of themselves and their families.