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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Back to Basics – Glass Half Full
I’d rather have Ozil than Bale. Not bad considering the going rates.
Real Madrid fans were chanting “Don’t sell Ozil” the other night
STEINREIGNEDSUPREME
I seriously doubt you were bottom of the class in anything.
You are too modest,what are you doing on this site wi an attitude like that?!
FF planning Ibrox boycott:
“A “boycott” idea.
No idea how it would be executed, but picture the scene:
Every ticket is sold, 50,000 people are expected to show up and cheer on their team. The press love it, “Division 2 and a whole stadium sell out”. More pies are ordered, more programs are printed, extra staff called up to work. More police drafted in. The players are looking forward to a cracking atmosphere are excited all week. The world press want to come and cover the game.
It gets to 2:55pm the times are lined up ready to go, they go up the tunnel, on to the pitch and there is no noise, because not 1 fan has shown up, theres only staff”
——
“Every ticket is sold” – That’s the stuff. Starve the spivs out.
gebhoy
13:55 on
2 September, 2013
The PLC could get rid of them any time they want. They don’t want rid of them.
As to the lateral movement at the previous two homes games. There was a minor amount against Shakhtar, I din’t see them cross the aisles at any point though. Against ICT, I didn’t see any, lots of jumping up and down. Which is fine apparently.
BOBBY MURDOCH’S CURLED-UP WINKLEPICKERS forza Oscar and Mackenzie 13:57 on 2 September, 2013
“I seriously doubt you were bottom of the class in anything.
“You are too modest,what are you doing on this site wi an attitude like that?!”
I got an E-minus in panicking. I was rubbish at that.
Fanadapatriot,
It’s me that doesn’t understand your thinking hence my question, to which you gave an example of a sugar daddy financed team who play in the Murdoch financed EPL who can afford to spend our ten year transfer budget on one player. Not only that but their asset,bale, didn’t feature for them in vital European qualifiers.
Hope that clears it up.
Auldhied,
I can assure you its not personal.
The PLC wants a crippled Zombie club back so they can fill the stadium twice a season and knowing that they are not strong enough to win the SPFL the UCL qualification spot is secured a PLC dream scenario!
If your theory is correct then why are the club doing nothing and saying nothing regarding the Hun/Sevco situation.
Its black and white for me, i don’t want them back and i want them exposed for what they have done.
Maybe its my perception of the situation but the longer the club does and says nothing the stronger that perception becomes.
I am not a board hater, I only say it as i perceive to see it as we never get any quality communication from the club how can i ever change my opinion?
HH
gebhoy
timaloy
“He should be.
If we cannot make use of this generation then we should just stop having youth sides.”
I like the lad. My worry is that he will have to be pitched in too soon and too often because this should be his “blooding year” with 6 to 10 appearances, mostly from the bench while it should have been Tony Watt’s kick-on year where he was genuinely competitive with our older forwards. It’s not as if we are an easy crowd for young players to please, evidence James Forrest.
But I blame Tony’s lack of maturity for that situation arising rather than any mishandling by our management. I hope that Tony recovers as he has the potential to be a top player for us. I hope Belgium is the making of him but I also hope that our club and his family support him there and encourage him to want to return as it is not easy to go abroad so young.
RALPH WALDO ELLISON
It beggars belief that an entire village can disappear,but it did.
It also beggars belief that there are no mines left in Scotland,and few in the UK.
300 years of reserves,cast aside to prove a point.
Having said that,there are still a few “mining” villages in Ayrshire,the mines not replaced as a source of employment.
The poverty there has echoes of “Germinal”.
And it was written in the 19th Century!
Generations just written off.
Ozil…..poor mans Ross Wallace…
Kikinthenakas
The Ozil transfer reminds me of the Andy Carroll one. Both buyers were flush with funds and were under pressure from their supporters to make a “big” signing. The only things big about the signings was the purchase price. I think with Pukki & Bitton added we have enough in our locker to have a successful season, we may from time to time need to call on our Academy players and I see that as a positive rather than a negative.
Oscar Knox is my Hero – RWE
13:53 on
2 September, 2013
Bill Shankly’s birthday. A man I would love to have spoken with about football, Scotland, the mines and sundry other stuff.
“John, you’re immortal now.” Bill to Jock Stein in Lisbon, 1967.
———–
I watched the “Boot Room” chat show on Sky last night, with Spelling , Yeats , St John, and someone else whos name escapes me.
Shanklys teams seem to be very much in the mould of the lions, in as much as they genuinely seem to care about each other , and love to recall their great acheivements.
More than the funny stories, what came across was that Shanks really did build a club, and a great football team.
One of the stories was that when he died , Busby was truelly grief stricken.
Shanks was born in 1913.
I wonder if Jock seen his as a mentor at all, a teacher of some things.
The programme was very good.
Ian St John I thought spoke very very well.
Wonder if Peterborough will get Lee Tomlin sold before the close of the English window, they are so obviously desperately seeking attention.
STEINREIGNEDSUPREME
Similar to mine,which has stood me in good stead as I survey a railway timetable.
LordwillprovideCSC
Bobby Murdoch’s Curled Up
Its good to see supporters starting to use the currently only viable route for getting their points across to Celtic via the AGM.
I think it is not the most efficient of ways and things could be done to make it an avenue of last resort instead of the only avenue there is.
Interestingly the CST have a meeting tonight that I’m going along to and I just found our John Paul Taylor the Support Liaison Officer is attending which is most welcome.
I’ll provide what feedback I can on discussions, one of which will be canalamars resolution.
No takers for David Bentley then?
Guess I’ll have to do the Rolls-Royce of free signings pun myself…
Weeminger,
Cheers for the reply, i still disagree with you, don’t want to keep going on about the situation, wait and see how it pans out over the season, i hope we have heard the last on it, but unfortunately i doubt it, attitudes need to fundamentally need to change at the club regarding the GB.
HH
gebhoy
Geezo, Spurs interested in taking Hulk on loan from Zenit for a year – fee Zenit are looking for £10 million………….crazy stuff
BOBBY MURDOCH’S CURLED-UP WINKLEPICKERS forza Oscar and Mackenzie 14:06 on 2 September, 2013
Why panic when there is time for another pint?
The ole mail train was invented with the likes of you in mind…
new article posted.
AULDHEID
As always,I wish you every success.
There may be a slight problem,bearing in mind your forensic approach to detail,when faced with organisations like the SFA.
They simply listen to your points,shrug shoulders and say “And?”
You will get nowhere as long as they are allowed to apply their own rules selectively.
But constant probing will eventually bring them down. Keep on carrying on,bud.
Book Club —
Sounds Like London : 100 Years of Black Music in The Capital [ Lloyd Bradley ]
Mighty fine . Highly recommended ! .
Off oot ———in the pouring rain !
Tallybhoy-any photos? :)
gebhoy, I have no doubt whatever that you are correct. I believe that all SPFL Clubs including Celtic and even though no one on this blog would dare say it, I believe a large number of Celtic supporters also want a team from Ibrox back in the SPFL.
There is absolutely no doubt if some reincarnation of the Huns are back, Sky will hype it to the Nth degree. There will be huge interest in Scottish Football that year with bigger crowds and better sponsorship etc.
These years are a novelty and we are enjoying a stress free and Hun free environment but it will not last. Some version of the uglies will return and “the war” will kick off again.
timaloy29 – I think corkcelt has nailed it.
I didn’t realise Ozil was so highly regarded at Madrid.
For me he is playing no better and no worse than he did 3 years ago at Bremen.
He was a £12 million pound player then but is now valued at £42 m ?
Madness.
Hail Hail
Kayal33 10:39
Is Vincent Lunny giving Gavin Gunning a call over his cowardly and petulant wee kick at Virgil after the ball had gone? I wouldn’t hold my breath!!
Only if he swore at the time!
gebhoy
What do you want Celtic to do/say about the sevco/hun situation?
gebhoy
13:04 on 2 September, 2013
…well, it’s been successful so far…..some of your comments are “on the hoof” ….LOL
When we didnt sign Fletcher there was a lot of noise on here. I made some of it. Like most I was unhappy we didnt deliver during “Willo Flood Window”
However this time is different.
I would have liked another striker, and another left back. We are a little short in these positions, and injuries could leave us without the option to play in our preferred style in any given game
However this time is different.
Why ?
Well in “Willo Flood Window” we were in competition with Rangers for the SPL title, and the benefits that flowed from this in terms of CL Group stage entry. We now know the extent of David Murrays cheating , which illegally assisted his club, however many of us believed, and still believe we were a decent striker away from significant financial and sporting reward.
However this time is different .
We have the financial reward of CL Group stages already. We will almost certainly win the SPFL title with what we already have. Therefore what justification is there to pay more than we estimate as fair value for any player
I would suggest no justification. Man City ably demonstrated that having a budget many many times our current budget is no guarantee of anything. They were in last seasons group of death, with Real Madrid , Borussia Dortmund and Ajax
They didnt win a single game and ended up bottom with only 3 points. Paying over value is only ever justified if the financial and Sporting reward is significant. In “Willo Flood Window” it was , and thats why its viewed , correctly in my view, as a mistake. In this most recent transfer window, I believe the club has traded well, responsibly and appropriately.
Whether the players turn out to be a bumper crop or not , will play itself out over the next 2 seasons.
However any anger should be directed at an incompetent and conflicted SFA, who in their own words took a decision to disadvantage all Scottish Clubs by refusing to extend the window. Remember the quote from 2008 when they justified extending the window at that time.
“It would seem to make sense to assist our clubs and ensure that they are not disadvantaged in any way when trying to sign players prior to the deadline.”
We have a governing body in Scotland who are utterly incompetent and completely conflicted, and thats the obstacle Celtic and other clubs have to overcome as we aim to progress.
Ogilvie is an embarassment, and in that sense a fitting successor to Peat. Regan is proving as incompetent as his predecessor “Templar” Smith.
They are the “Willo Flood Window” of governing bodies, and patently not fit for purpose
Geboy
I’m as puzzled as you are on that issue.
There are four possibilities.
A) Celtic are resigned to being stuck in a corrupt set up and think nothing can be done about it (the what’s the point school of thought that permeates some of our support’s thinking and so maybe the Board as well) and it will all be forgotten in a year or two and its as you were.
B) They have enough evidence of maladministration to force change behind the scenes and are using it to play elsewhere ie get UEFA onside.
C) As A but are not resigned to living with a corrupt set up and are pushing for change using everything at their disposal including shareholder disatisfaction but its a long game waiting for evidence to become admissable.
D) They are not as squeaky clean in dealings with SFA as we think and omerta suits everybody.
I can understand B not happening but expect C as back up. I could not accept A or D. A because it is self defeating and D because it would undermine the ideal I ( and probably most) think Celtic stands for.
We will have to wait and see how it all pans out.
Ohmni
12:57 on 2 September, 2013
Sandman,
I would be very surprised if the other mobs “masterplan”
involved pressuring us signing into an emerging prolific goalscorer,
who even at an inflated price could later be sold at great profit
after significantly contributing to our on field success…
Not too sure about your critical faculties there…
============================================
Goddamn, where were YOU when Lenny, PL and the board were discussing Finbogasson?
You obviously have specialist knowledge as to the boy’s ability, current and, very importantly, sell-on value!
Don’t stand in the shadows next time – let PL,e tc know who we should be spunking multi-millions over the odds for…
Now can we have a minute’s silence for the slef-respect of many posting on here?
Within the last day or so that mouthy, pumped-up wee cockerny bawbag ‘o wind Barry Fry, has become the bastion of virtue to some as he let rip about PL’s approach for Tomlinson.
You would take, and use, that notoriously bombastic wee clown’s word over and against the CEO of Glasgow Celtic?
You would wring your hand with him over big bad Celtic’s method of ‘unsettling’ his player?
Pathetic. Like a gang of wee school bullies latching onto any method of persecuting your perceived ‘enemy’. Shame on you.
Barry Fry; Jee-sus H…
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