For Celtic, summertime business is every bit as important as the more traditional cup finals and league deciders held later in the season. We face qualifers for Champions League or Europa League group stage, which define our financial health and desirability as a potential employer.
The most important achievement was recorded on Wednesday when we qualified for the Champions League, but now we’re there, how prepared will we be?
Seven players left the squad, Daryl Murphy, who had already spent two years out on loan, Thomas Rogne and Paddy McCourt, who rarely saw first team action last season, and Tony Watt, who seems to be less effective than he was in the opening weeks of last season, and is now out on loan.
More importantly, Gary Hooper, Kevlin Wilson and Victor Wanyama all left, three players who were instrumental in our European victories last season.
Hooper is a textbook big game player who scored home and away against Spartak Moscow but he missed the home win over Barcelona and scarcely got a sniff of the ball home and away to Benfica, or in the Camp Nou, where his role as a penalty box poacher was less effective.
Kelvin Wilson had a disappointing first season at Celtic but as last season progressed there was a noticeable rise in appreciation of his talents. He had an exemplary Champions League campaign.
Victor Wanyama was the most effective central midfield player Celtic have had for some considerable time. We saw little of Roy Keane at Celtic but in Wanyama, you could see a player with the potential to go as far in the game. He is young and still has lots to add to his game, concentration, for a start, but we saw him grow from a place on the substitutes’ bench to a £12m player in 18 months.
It surprised a few that Victor (along with Gary) went to a team often found at the wrong end of England’s top flight, but he is still potential. The acclaim he received at Celtic is similar to that bestowed on Liam Miller nine years ago, whose Champions League performances were breath-taking. I still can’t fathom what happened to Miller but I hope Victor continues to improve; if he does, he could appear in the Camp Nou as a home player.
21-year-old Israeli central midfielder Nir Biton looks like a straight replacement for Wanyama. I don’t know enough about any of the new recruits yet to put my name to them but on paper, Nir works. At 6’5” he continues our current tradition of signing players born to shoot hoops, as well as wear them. A trial at Manchester City fell apart amid a diplomatic incident involving his nationality. He was going to make a move to a Champions League team at some point and, for the player, Celtic will look like an excellent option.
There was a moment during THAT game at Fir Park in 2005 when Craig Bellamy tore up the turf with the ball before looking up for someone to accept his cross, only to throw his arms up in frustration that there was no one in the box. Having one fast player is just not effective.
We’ve had pace-merchant James Forrest for a few years but we don’t play a speed-based game to suit his talents. With fellow-sprinter Derk Boerrigter also in the team now one of the things I know Celtic were looking for in a striker was pace, which is what I expect to see from Teemu Pukki.
Much of our Champions League game will be about playing counter-attacking football so we have to recruit for this model.
Teemu has been playing a supporting role for Schalke since they played against him, then signed him, from HJK Helsinki two years ago, but we have not had a striker who could claim a regular starting place in that company in nine years. He is another one who, on paper, works for me.
Amido Balde has been given some protection from too much responsibility and exposure to allow him to settle into the club, city and language, Celtic is a lot different from Vitoria Guimaraes. I heard that, like Wanyama during his first season, he’ll be allowed to settle into life as a Celtic player.
Virgil van Dijk was simply delicious against Dundee United yesterday. He has height, build, speed, can run with the ball and can pass. Build a defence around him. Steven Mouyokolo is one of those gambles managers like to take on players, who were once lauded but have had injury or other blemishes on their record. Most don’t work but we’ll soon find out if Steven has overcome his injury problems.
Derk Boerrigter has skill and pace. He is another one recruited with Champions League football in mind (not to face 10 defenders in the SP), a competition he has already performed well in for Ajax.
The comment was made to me that the players coming in were uninspiring compared to the three key players who left but while I could contest that, there doesn’t seem much point. We recruited Hooper and Wilson from the lower leagues in England, and Wanyama as a teenager from a small Belgian club. It’s not what you know about a player when he signs that counts……..
For years we have been encouraging Celtic to scout better markets and find value. They have been doing this to great effect in recent seasons. The gap between where we were last season and one stage further in the Champions League was enormous. To bridge it will take a while during which time we need to make every pound work.
Enjoy the ride.
Tomorrow we’ll talk money. In short, while I blogged a couple of weeks ago illustrating the circa £17m operational gap we have before Champions League or player trading income (i.e. we are not a rich club), notions that we are anywhere near being a poor club is laughable.
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Istanbulcelt
You seem to be rather uncritically accepting of Barry Fry`s account of the matter.
JJ
67 hooper was the one exception
I am not saying there are bargains out there but our striker policy over last 3 to 4 years has been woefull
Ps I think biton will turn out to be a star :))
STEINREIGNEDSUPREME
Maybe we could use the Rangers method.
Get the MSM to leak our interest at say £300k for a player valued at £2m by his club.
Press then point out that fee is just ridiculous for an inexperienced/veteran/journeyman (delete as applicable) player.
And that the selling club should just be happy to get a (now) unsettled player off their books.
Naturally of course,no Rangers player is valued at less than £10m and if a club want a superstar player,they should pay the going rate.
Blah,blah.
Starry
Just catching up and saw your post about your mum and returning home.
If you need anything once you’re back in Hamilton you know you only have to ask.
Steinreignedsupreme
Not by giving the guy the idea that we had interest in him in Early July. Then waiting till the last day of the window to bid for him.
Is that unsettling the player?
I think so.
Anyway the fact that we didn’t get him doesn’t bother me. Is he the kind of guy that will make a difference to our Champs league group?
I doubt it.
But, the club complaining about how other clubs conduct themselves during this transfer window or any other is, now mute due to the fact that we’re as bad as the rest of them.
Istanbullcelt
Don’t believe every thing you read in the papers about Celtic, unless it is some thing good, and that NEVER gonna happen, so just stick to my first info.
TBB
Yes, I agree that’s important, but will be quickly forgotten and easily dismissed by those who will not accept their former club is now an accounting exercise and move on (to Sevco or whatever else they want). And we know this because they have been denying it since July 2012.
It’s easier and perhaps more fun if anyone mentions the five-way agreement if you ask them who the five parties are. Once, in Leeds, we were offered a four-cheeses pizza on which the four cheeses were cheddar, red Leicester and cheddar.
werribepat are you Summa in disguise or is TSD the only multi poster on this blog
Finally, Yorkbhoy`s claim that Celtic players who leave grow exponentially in ability is being proven already with the comments on how wonderful were Hooper, Wanyama and Wilson.
There must have been an array of posts extolling their virtues whilst with us but I have obviously forgotten them.
JJ
PS One more “finally”. I believe one of the reasons Paul created this site was to counteract the negativity of the MSSM on all things Celtic. That is why I, at least, am against negativity on here. I feel there is evidence that journo`s look on here and use negative posts in their own articles. I keep my negative comments for converstion in the pub etc.
Sorry sydneytim was in the shower there, fact.
Can you prove to me that finnbogason would be an instant success at celtic, assuming he wanted to come to us, I assume you’ll have his answer as fact.
Can you prove to me that pukki will be a failure, as a goal scoring forward at celtic as none of us have even seem him play in a celtic shirt.
Istanbulcelt Oscar’s Green & White Army
10:36 on 2 September, 2013
‘A very poor way of doing buisness. Celtic were up in arms with Benfica over FF. This is not the way to go about things.
http://www.peterboroughtoday.co.uk/sport/football/peterborough-united/fry-says-celtic-chase-for-posh-star-tomlin-sparked-war-1-5446048‘
#####
Alternatively Peter Lawwell refused to be held to ransom.
We’d really need to know how much they would have accepted before deciding who, if anyone, was at fault.
tonydonnelly67
10:52 on 2 September, 2013
Istanbullcelt
Don’t believe every thing you read in the papers about Celtic, unless it is some thing good,
!!!!!!!!!!
Exactly tony people think that everything that comes from the club must be the truth, and if anyone says anything bad about us then they are in the wrong…..
Where thems at one time or maybe still are called Rangers International Football Club?
Celtic try to sign a player on the last day of the transfer window shocker.
His greedy club reject that offer despite the player demanding to go.
Now they are stuck with a player who doesn’t want to play for them and whose value is depreciating by the day.
Peter lawwell and celtic obviously to blame here. Lol.
CRC
predictions done on “dropbox”. Seems to work ok.
tonydonnelly67
10:43 on
2 September, 2013
Barry Fry sounds like a hurting Hun.
Don’t knock Barry Fry. Rather as why with a fair amount of money around Celtic were scrabbling around on the last day of the transfer window.
Here’s a good laugh as well.
Look at the BBC highlights package for Dundee United versus Celtic.
You will see the free-kick crime of the century on 3.56, when Stokesy blatantly adds some centimetres to the distance the ball is from the wall. Ooooh, the cheek of it.
Pause it on 4.00 and you will see the way the wall is lined up when the referee blows his whistle and Stokesy moves to strike the ball. Stokesy’s boot strikes the ball on 4.02. Compare the position of the last Dundee United man in the wall between 4.00 and 4.02.
That’s right. He’s stolen about the same amount of ground as Stokesy, presumably cancelling out the heinous bit of cheating from the Celtic player.
Istanbullcelt
You believe what you want mate NP ;)
Craig white. Of course I can’t say that that
But normally if someone has a good goal scoring record it means they have the nack of scoring goals and they cost more
A striker who doesn’t score goals normally doesn’t have it and is more likely not to score goals and are cheap
Same in any business. You hire someone with a good record and pay more as more if a chance that they will be a success
The odds were finbogason would score goals for us and the odds are pukki will continue doing what he has done in last 7 years. Ie a fast exciting player but alas not a goal scorer
Dontcha just love Craig Whytes laugh in the Charlotte tapes
Yup yup yup :))
Quonno
Ok, you sound like a hurting Barry, that sound better?
Our protracted route to CL qualification meant we were bound to be trying to do deals at the last minute.
I work with some one who moans ALL the time. He can complain about anything, even getting more holidays. The problem is that he sometimes has a valid complaint or an important insight but no-one listens to him because they just hear moan moan moan…
Ernie
Alternatively we could have signed a goal scorer which may have resulted in our route not being as ‘protracted’.
We should be doing our last minute transfer deals today, not on Saturday when teams had games and with 2 days of the transfer window still open in our biggest market to get deals done.
When you run with a corrupt organisation, this is what happens.
Istanbulcelt Oscar’s Green & White Army 10:52 on 2 September, 2013
The issue Celtic had on Forster was Benfica were using the media to try and unsettle our player.
Celtic made an enquiry about the Peterborough striker to his club – something which has to happen in order to make any transfer remotely possible.
That is how every club conducts transfer business. Do you have any better suggestions?
Starry Plough
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UNEW
Sydney – The same way Fraser Forster had a great rep, the same as Adam Matthews, Wilson, izzy, wanyama, kayal, commons and hooper. All these guys came to us with doubts about their ability, we even got a lot of players on free transfers. Nobody knew about them before they arrived with us, after izzy and kayals first season we had epl clubs sniffing around, had they not had horrendous injuries we could have sold them for a large profit by now.
Some very decent players available in the free transfer market and more will become available tonight after the transfer dealings go mental today. Bale will kick off a huge scramble.
I tend to look at what we have rather than what we didn’t get. Russell seems to be the strange one of the window though not the Icelandic boy. Neil Lennon obviously didn’t rate him too highly.
I still think we need another striker in. I reckon we will get at least one on a free.
LB
HT regardless of who we signed we still would not be in the CL until the end of Wednesdays game.
Sydney Tim
The only thing I’d say about Pukki is he can finish and with the chances Celtic create he could vastly improve his goal-scoring record.
In Europe from here on in Celtic are going to be more defensive and play with one up front – something he can do. So in that sense he will be a good addition given which teams we are playing.
It might be that he and Stokes and strike up a good partnership.
I’m excited to see him but like you I’d rather a natural finisher had been acquired with the Hooper money.
tonydonnelly67
10:57 on 2 September, 2013
The team currently playing in Govan are officially called The Rangers International Football Club, I believe.
True mr snake
Mr whyte. Why r u in shower in muddle of day anyway :)
Love to chat but its wee Sydney tims bed time and time for a book, now which Celtic one to read her??
Malden Petric, Asier Del Horno and Vincenzo Iaquinta are all on frees.
Must be worh a punt and give the manager that epxerienced goalscorer he was on about
Syd – day off today, it’s still am here as well, catch up later.
Celtic_1st, TBB,
That’s interesting about the five way agreement.
However the thing that confused me at the time and I’ve never got a difinitive answer for.
Was Ranger’s SFA licence transfered to SevCo? Or were SevCo issued a new licence?
Hail Hail
ST
It won’t be Faithful, Through and Through :-)
Steinreignedsupreme
Yes I do.
lot’s of work being done one the last day, I agree. But if the player was made aware of Celtics interest while in Ireland pre-season…..early in July.
Would it not have been nice for Celtic to contact the players club at some point early in July and say…..we have a protracted route to CL qualification. If we are successful how much is it going to take to sign your player……..easy!!
There was a football agent on ssn this morning. He was saying that although a lot of signings look to be going through on the last day, the clubs involved are usually in contact for a long time prior to the deal going through.