Celtic Banter Archive May 11 2015

11 May 2015 09:12:14
As delighted as I am with winning the league and a cup - after such a dodgy start to the season, I think we still have a bit to go to be the finished article that RD (and the fans) require and expects us to reach, to compete in the CL.

The central defence pairing was majestic again yesterday and many times have made Gordon, all-but a spectator with very little to do.
Assuming one or both will be off in the summer, we will need better than Mulgrew and Ambrose to step in and we will miss the organisation and consistency they give us.

The loan players like Wakaso, Berget, Tonev and even Guidetti made little impact, but their places will need to be filled to bolster the squad and I hope lessons have been learned.
Then there are the guys like Scepovic, Stokes and Forrest who had disappointing seasons and need to shape up or ship out as they say and even Commons was nowhere near the form of last season and looked jaded this past few weeks.

We have two excellent right backs in Matthews and Lustig, but will we ever get a full season out of either? I sincerely hope so.

Bitton is improving but can be dispossessed so easily and hopefully will learn from the excellent Brown and Johansen.
The lads from Dundee Utd will be an asset and have settled in well.
Gordon had a great spell when we were struggling early in the season, but made some big game errors and frankly had very little to do for most of the run-in, but I would like better cover in goal.

Griffiths can be deadly in front of goal - some of the time, but is caught off-side even more times than Stokes and it is a weakness in his game that should be addressed.
He seems to be the best striker on the books, but we could do with at least one more quality finisher.

The manager and squad use a system that plays to their strengths and it has brought two trophies.
If there are to be major changes to the squad, we need to bring in the quality and calibre that can hit the ground running and importantly continue to improve the team.

Finally, I must pay tribute to Scott Brown who, in my opinion, has had his best ever season.
I have previously criticised his lack of goals, rash temperament and occasional stray pass, but I have never doubted his effort, desire, motivation and skill as a captain. This season he showed all these talents - and more, every game.

11 May 2015 09:41:27
Couldnt agree more about brown what a player for us knows and really knows how much of a privelage its is to pull that hoops jersey on every week born leader I liked yesterday when the team where in the trenches he went round them 1 by 1 shoutin and demanding they go harder that's what you wanty say his goal yesterday tapped his season off fully commited challenge wins the ball back drives almost the full park makes a pass then pushes into the six yard box a thing of brilliance in my eyes wee won't know what wheve had untill ita gone in my eyes a club great allready

11 May 2015 10:46:21
Brown has been immense this season and last, a great captain and sound basis for any midfield.

As to the striker situation, it needs sorting. We have one recognised striker at the moment. No other team competing in Europe has such a deficiency: even the substitute strikers ought to be capable of banging them in.

With that, and the central defence conundrum, our season really will be made or unmade in Ronnie's summer business.

11 May 2015 11:53:41
I think think you have summed things up perfectly JJ.
The manager has had a year in the job now, so he should know about the weaknesses in the squad, and hopefully, he will be a good way down the line, in bringing in a bit more quality.
Our problem at the moment, is that we are playing our crunch games very early in the season, so you never quite know how up to speed, new players will be so early in the season.
I don't know what other people think, but do you think it would be better if the Champions league qualifiers were played at the end of the previous season, rather than the start of the season?
I wondered if it would help teams plan better for the season ahead, as players who are either at the club, or are potential signings, would know exactly what competitions they would be playing in the following season.

11 May 2015 16:42:39
Jungle Jim A good post and I agree with most of it . I just wonder if LG caught off side is all down to him , or is it also down to his colleagues not releasing the ball in time . Probably something that needs continuous work on . I would be happy enough for Forrest to stay as he has shown a bit of form recently and Deila said of him in January that it would be next season before we seen the best of him .
Matthews and Lustig are in a strange position . Matthews hasn't played as well since his shoulder injury as he did before. I am not sure if he ever will and if he doesn't he might have to go . Lustig has been injured so much that I am beginning to wonder does he want to play again . I don't think I want rid of Ambrose or Mulgrew but I don't want them as first choice either , having said that maybe Mulgrew will have improve greatly under Deila and may be good at either defensive midfield or centre back.

11 May 2015 18:00:30
Aint a bad point at all gerry. To me it just makes sense that you should qualify for the CL at the end of a season rather than the start of the next. No doubt after a few years if we didn't qualify we'd be complaining about tiredness! I think it would suit more teams though given the majority in Europe don't play summer leagues. Which brings me on to my point.

Really think a summer league would benefit Scottish football as a whole. We'd see better pitches and quality of football as RD pointed out the other week. Not sure where I stand on the idea of artificial surfaces. Then there wouldn't be the projected fixture build up of postponed games due to weather. The fact we've had winter breaks only points to the fact we've had problems. Then there's the cash. I haven't done any surveys but I reckon most fans would prefer to buy a matchday ticket on a sunny afternoon/ fair evening than in the rain and sleet.

To the OP. It's a fair critique. We do need a fair bit added to make it at CL level imo. Despite being incredibly confident in our new approach.

A poacher type striker capable of playing off the shoulder (griffiths offsides/ not being a target or great with his back to goal etc)

goalscoring wing forward

probably two CBs

cover at LB

And I wouldn't mind a tough tackling CDM anchor or a new goalie either.

11 May 2015 18:43:45
In reply to the above post you are totally correct summer football is the way forward, also your view of who we need is again correct. In respect of the other posts I do not think a big club will come in for Van Dijk, yes he looks great in Scotland however we still have the question of Europe. Mulgrew was POY when he played CD and I would love to see him their again with a 6' 7'' centre ( Pontius Jonnsen) and Van Dijk with an older more experienced partner ( Jonathan Mensah) then we could have 2 central pairings fighting for the spot.
It was clear against Aberdeen and Inverness that when the opposition push up on to the centre backs we do not have a plan b. we need to address this and have a plan c as well for Europe a centre forward of the calibre of Stephen Fletcher with Nadir Cifti as a back up, also a left winger like McClean at Wigan and lastly another Wanyama type player a must

11 May 2015 20:22:44
Jonace

Would like to see a bit more experience alongside Virgil seeing as Denayer is 99% off. Somebody no nonsense and tactile that would allow that bit more safety in Virgil going forward. As much as it's nice two ball players in Denayer and Virgil I think a bit more substance over style is what might be needed. Carlos Zambrano on a free would be my first shout. Played well at top level now so would do well to lure him. Aggressive and tactile and likened hom to brown in ways - a wind up, ankle biter and somebody the opposition hates to play against. At 25 he's the perfect age to get in. Obviously if VVD does go we can bring in another youth pedigree. For me, his compatriot Rekik been on loan at PSV and our ties with City could see a deal. Comfortable in posession and an athlete like Virgil but sadly no peach free kicks. A player I've mentioned before I read a few weeks back was the best tackler in Europe this season(?), Niklas Sule from Hoffenheim. Also on that list is a CDM I like, N'Golo Kante. Think Makelele/Essien and that's your boy. That Yacob at WBA wpuld be a good bosman but can see him going elsewhere for more money. Striker - I'd honestly take a punt on another free, Kevin Kuranyi. One of my fave strikers from the Bundesliga and has been playing at a good level in Russia too. Would probably need a drop in wages so it depends if he wants to stay in the CL scene with us, go to Brazil maybes or just to somewhere cash rich like New York, Abu Dhabi or blinkin Guangdong.

12 May 2015 10:38:50
That is a very sensible suggestion gerryc and I would like to see European member clubs pushing for this.
Most European leagues are in tandem with ours (give or take a winter break) and it would take away the 'lottery' risk of good teams falling at the first hurdle, only because they are not yet fully fit or match ready.
OK we may have a few tired players, but it would be an excellent finale for teams to carry their momentum and form into European qualification.
I am sure other teams like Aberdeen and Inverness, would be happy to extend their season slightly and then enjoy a well earned break in the knowledge they had European football.

12 May 2015 18:53:56
I think the main difficulty last season was the relatively short period of time between the end of the World Cup and the start of the European Qualifiers . Having changed our manager, we didn't have time to do any business until we were in the midst of qualifying . The difficulty was increased by players and agents going on holidays after their World Cup campaign was over.
Changing to summer football doesn't seem to work as clubs who play summer football don't qualify in big numbers either .
International football has to be fitted in at some time and that will always impinge on our squad as we have a great number of members of various Int . squads . FIFA are unlikely to give up the end of season slot for European club qualifying . We just have to make sure we have a good solid squad available and ready for these games and when we qualify hopefully we will be able to finish off our squad with a quality player to help us in the Champions League .