Celtic Banter Archive December 12 2014

 

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12 Dec 2014 22:46:12
Hi Ed
I think we are now moving slowly towards a settled eleven (subject to fitness)

Gordon
lustig
izzy
denayer
vvd
biton
brown
johanssen
stokes
forrest
guidetti

the team above would be materially improved by a replacement for

stokes
forrest

the 2 CBs need overhauled, one on loan and the never ending perennial want-a-way VVD makes it difficult to base anything around

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{Ed007's Note - We go to all the bloody bother of creating a team creator app and you send a team in like this!
Just kidding mate, and pointing the app out to people, I'd agree with you that is probably our strongest 11 just now, Forrest being in there speaks volumes about the lack of quality at the the club just now. Biton has to start in there with Brown against St. Mirren, if Mulgrew is fit and back in the starting XI I think I might actually cry, I'm filling up just thinking about it. ;(

Can't believe anyone, especially someone with your knowledge Ed would think Forrest is a poor player. Yes he is injury prone but when fit is class and cause problems to any defence. Compared to Stokes he is world class

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{Ed007's Note - I've never rated him, he's either injured, coming back from injury and his even more inconsistent than McGeady ever was. He hasn't progressed in any way since he broke into the first team squad. Being better than Stokes is no way to measure how good a player someone is, and Stokes doesn't get so much hype as Forrest.
Over 6 seasons Forrest has 24 goals in 134 appearances, for a CFC winger playing in the SPFL is simply not good enough, and that's without even talking about his continual injury problems. As for causing problems for defences he has only had 21 assists over the same period, he's set up 21 goals for Celtic in 6 seasons! Do you really think that's acceptable, for a 23 yr old that is playing as a winger for CFC, if so how can you justify it? Nobody I know who rates Forrest can back it up with anything except mundane meaningless stuff about him being an old fashioned winger, an entertainer, he gets you off your seat or some other sentimental cliche, God alone knows how anyone watching him even came to those conclusions.
I'd give him this season to prove himself and if he can't stay fit and play to a level where he is consistently selected then it's time to cut our losses and take what we can get for him. There's much better players out there than him that would play for less wages and bring more to the squad in ability and availability. That James Forrest is a good player for CFC is a myth, CFC can't afford to be carrying passengers like Kayal and Forrest any longer, if you're not up to the job, physically or by ability, then there's the door. Unless RD can perform a miracle and finally get Forrest fit then his days at CFC surely must be numbered. Would you be disappointed to see him leave for Bolton for £2.5 - £3 million in January or next summer? There can't be too many that would be.}

Personally I like Forrest, a lot of other managers seem to rate him to, I notice they always double up on him which creates space in other areas for other players, I felt some of the best football we played in recent years was when we had Forrest, commons, hooper, and stokes all on the pitch. Tin hat back on. Biton on the other hand I don't rate to highly, he has done ok since coming in for Mulgrew and is problably a better option but he is not of the class of the CM players we have sold, Wanyamma, Ledley, Ki. Or of the class of Broony. Quality CM to play alongside brown is a must. If we don't buy one (Armstrong possibly) then Henderson will prove to be a better bet in there than Biton. I must stress 'in my opinion' . Markie

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I think Forrest is another Jamie Smith - only injury prone with a haut coiffure. A hit and run merchant who has very little trickery and a poor final ball; but he has pace.
The reason supporters get excited about him is simply because we have so few creative/entertaining players, he is the only guy who will run at a defence. Unfortunately I think NL was over dependant on him in his first very good season and it literally burnt him out with injury after injury.
The only other player in the team at the moment with 'wing skills' is Izzy. Obviously we are concerned about the defence and lack of leadership in the back four - but Celtic have a long history of nifty, tricky wingers and we could do with one or two now.

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I think Forest is a good player but has any one noticed the way he runs its like he crouches down to run I think that is part if not a big reason he is injured a lot (not a physiotherapist ) just my opinion if he can get his stance right I think that would solve a lot of his injury problems?

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Thanks for reply ED and as always you always back up your point. I just feel Forrest is the type of player who would cause problems to teams at any level which is what we need. Our team lacks pace and he gives us an extra dimension. I agree though, if he can't get fit and play regularly he will never have a chance to prove this

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{Ed007's Note - I just don't think Forrest has progressed as a player, obviously his injury problems haven't helped, and there comes a time when you need to say enough is enough.}

13 Dec 2014 15:04:12
Why do people not rate Forrest?

Apart from his injury record I think he has been a cracking player for us and would be delighted if we could keep him fit.

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{Ed007's Note - I've explained why I don't rate him so why don't you explain more in-depth why you think the opposite, Rab. Just because you think he is a cracking player doesn't really back up your opinion, does it. That's one of those type of pointless generic answers I mentioned that you get when you ask someone why they rate him. We could say the same about Boeriggter, I think he'd be a cracking player for us if we could keep him fit.
How long do you think we should wait to see if Forrest will ever get fully fit and stay fit, another 2 seasons? 5 seasons, or just keep paying him and extending his contract until he retires in the hope that at some point in the next 5 -10 years he manages to get fit, stay fit and not be constantly in and out of the team with injuries. Should Boeriggter get the same time allowed as Forrest, we would make a substantial loss on getting rid of Boeriggter, punting Forrest is basically just profit. Surely there must be a line somewhere.
If Forrest hadn't came through the youth set-up people wouldn't be so easy to defend him, if we had bought him and had the same return from the player people would have been asking questions years ago.

Agree totally with Ed - he's totally inconsistent, lacks creativity when it matters, looses the ball far too easily, I think his fans like the 'idea' of a young, fast winger but he's had more chances than most, gets a lot more game time than his form merits and despite several different coaches isn't improving - indeed he repeats the same mistakes over and over again. Move him on!

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Rahmac, some fans like Forrest because they rate him as a player . Some people rate and like Forrest because he is home produced . Others can't stand him because he was home produced and prefer players who have been signed . Others hate him because they don't rate him and think he is too injury prone . He is probably the only player we have who with his skill and speed can create or score a goal out of nothing . Unfortunately he doesn't do it often enough .

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14 Dec 2014 23:18:05
@ED007 - You say that you don't rate Forrest because he does not score enough goals. Did you know that his goals per appearance is on a par with the great Jimmy Johnstone?

You also claim that he does not assist enough but I should point out that this is a misleading stat as it does not take into account all the goal scoring opportunities he sets up that get fluffed. A better stat to use is key passes.

I actually looked at the stats from Jesus Navas since 2009 to present (same period Forrest has been playing). He has 236 appearances, 23 goals and 68 assists.
If you add goals + assists and then divide by number of appearances you see that he gets either a goal or an assist around 1 out of every 3 games, which is about the same as Forrest.
Using your logic would suggest Navas is not a good player as he has similar stats to Forrest.

You also state that "There's much better players out there than him that would play for less wages and bring more to the squad in ability and availability", so I would like to ask you who you think has more ability than Forrest, who would play for us, we could afford and for less wages?

You asked me to back up why I rate him as a player and first of all I would point out that I don't have lots of stats to back me up but neither do you. However, I do
think it is a good return to produce either a goal or an assist once every three games and I am sure it would be even higher if we had a better quality of striker to capitalise on his key passes.
All our managers have rated him as have some good managers down south like Redknapp and Martinez and I think they know more about players than either of us do.

To finish off I thought he was excellent today. Got a goal and an assist and had some great runs where he drifted effortlessly past players. Just a shame he had to go off because he had a migraine.

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{Ed007's Note - How many goals per appearance do you think Jimmy Johnstone would have in today's game where tackling is almost banned and against the mediocre players that make up a lot SPFL teams. Jimmy Johnstone would only need half a season to out score James Forrest over a season in today's game so that argument is out the window, I can't believe you're actually trying to compare James Forrest to Jimmy Johnstone.
If my assists stat is misleading then prove it and provide your own stat to counter it, you saying it's misleading doesn't mean it is, a stat is a fact whether you like it or not. So you come back and tell me how many key passes Forrest has made or how many 'goals' he's set-up but the striker fluffed it and prove I'm misleading people.
I'm not reading the rest of your post, wtf has what Jesus Navas ever done got do with anything, look at Ronaldo's stats or Arjen Robbens's and compare them to Forrest for all the sense your Navas stuff makes, for a start he's 5/6 years older, you can't just pull out a bit of someone's career like that, it makes no sense. Is, or has, Jesus Navas been playing against SPFL standard players for 6 years, would his stats be the same if he had been, what kind of figures would Ronaldo hit if he was playing in the SPFL? Ronaldo could play as a full-back in the SPFL and still finish as the top scorer in Scotland and have a chance of breaking modern scoring records.
If you are going to compare anything it's best making sure they are at least comparable in the first place, Rab.}

12 Dec 2014 18:06:58
I went in for a pint on the way home from work and got yakking to the barman about last night's game. Does anybody else think we really missed Scott Brown in there last night?

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Totally. As is the case whenever he doesn't play. The guy is worth about 30 million in my eyes.

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{Ed007's Note - I've been saying on here for years how important Scott Brown is to our team, I really worry that we have nobody else like him at the club and any time he is missing we struggle.}

You're right Ed. Nobody with his fight. I'm not even exaggerating. How much would it cost to buy somebody like him.

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{Ed007's Note - People used to laugh at me when I said he was our very won Roy Keane, simply for what he brings to the team. Everyone knows how I feel about Keane so I can't pay Brown any higher a compliment than that.
I have a long standing bet with my pal that Scott Brown will be CFC manager one day.}

Interesting point Ed, a have grown to be a fully fledged member of the Broonie club, but in modern day times with media commitments etc with a mic to him he ain't the brightest a simply say this because a have thought of a future roll for him too, with his boundless energy he must be kept in some capacity!

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That's an interesting bet. Certainly got the leadership and passion.

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{Ed007's Note - I just had to shut him up from slagging Brown off one night.}

Being honest here I have never been Brown's biggest fan as he picks up too many daft bookings and should score more goals; in saying that however, there is absolutely no denying we are a much better team with Scott Brown in the team and he is a terrific grafter and motivator of the team and fans.

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We are lucky to have him, as well as being a great player and captain his attitude towards football and money is amazing. He could easily double his wages by going to a mid or lower league EPL team but playing in front of celtic fans and winning trophies and playing in Europe mean more to him than money. So refreshing and there aren't many like that. Markie

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Slightly off topic but my Mrs used to work at Yorkhill and said Brown would show in his own time out with the planned visits from football clubs. said he always had time for any of the kids regardless of what team they supported. Also said it made a huge difference to some of the kids spirit considering they had been cooped up in the hospital for 2/3 weeks at a time

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I just want to add my tuppence worth to the praise of Scott Brown. We see the drive and positional sense that he brings to the game . What he brings to the squad off the field is also invaluable
I saw a few years ago when Scotland was having the coldest weather for decades . The foreign players came out to train wearing a couple of sets of track suits, gloves and caps . Brown came out socks down round his ankles, shorts, and short sleeved top . Brown proceeded to grab the player who was shivering the most and rolled him in the snow . He showed them up for shivering and thinking it was too cold to train .

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Scott brown is not the most eye catching player to ever wear the hoops but he is vital to the team. We are much better when he plays. On the subject of money. The wee man drives a Bentley and owns a three million pounds house. Hardly pocket money he gets from Celtic. 28k per week I believe. He wouldn't get much more than that down South!!

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I hope Henderson will be Browns long term replacement he seems to have similar attributes and scores for fun in the development squad let's hope he grows in to a player like Brown

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12 Dec 2014 17:22:39
While enjoying the soap opera down Govan way we Celtic fans must look to address our own problems, especially in europe. What has disappointed me is that both Astra and Zagreb were poor teams, we played both of them in near empty stadiums, so no intimidating atmospheres, yet both took points off us.
Our defence is a shambles, I want to back Delia but he keeps picking these same players, he is quick to condemn them but surely him and Collins should be working harder on improving these players or do not pick them if they cannot or will not learn.
In January, apart from the obvious of signing Guidetti, I hope at least one solid defender will be signed.

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You are right Jock Zagreb was not the best but you have to remember they had there full side out we had I am sure 4 first team regulars not playing more so from the kick off if you include stokes

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Big jock remembered, you hope Celtic sign one solid defender . If you expect Celtic to sign a solid centre defender, I think you will be disappointed. Virgil is going to play every game, because if he is left out, it would affect his sale price, probably summer 2015 . Denayer has to play every game when he is fit, not playing would make his loan meaningless . If we mess up Denayer's loan then it would spoil the chances of further loans from Manchester

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Chris I Think there's still a good possibility of Celtic signing a central defender.I said in a past post that a big sitting centre half who will stay in position is needed to compliment either van dyck or denayer as their too similar and its looking likely Virgil will go in this transfer window so I'm hoping for a big experienced bully no nonsense centre half to come in to work beside denayer for the rest of the season .

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As regards Denayer, I don't think we should pander to Manchester City. If he is playing well, then he should play, but if he's not performing then we should get somebody in who will.
I don't want us to be a training ground for Manchester City's youngsters, we are better than that
If Manchester City don't like it then tough, I would rather we developed our own players rather than develop players for Manchester City who will rake in huge transfer fees on the back of our work.

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I understand the points above about being committed to playing Denayer and Van Dijk but their inexperience and over confidence sometimes will cost us.
I would not have Ambrose anywhere near the centre of defence but what about Mulgrew or Lustig?

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{Ed007's Note - I think Denayer and VvD are far too similar in style to play together, we need a big physical stopper who will do all the 'ugly' work.}

Three league games in a row without losing a goal for the first time this season. Efe back in the side get off his back

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I think Lawwell is proud of his good relations with Manchester City and thinks he can get players on loan from City in future years that will also help Celtic .
Deila wouldn't regard it as pandering to City playing Denayer, he would see it as keeping the good loan arrangement on going for Celtic's benefit .
Celtic may benefit from having a no nonsense centre half but signing him in January may not be ideal as he and the rest of the defence would need time to get use to each other's play and may not help us to get to the last 16 in Europe .

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{Ed007's Note - I'd imagine part of the deal is guaranteed playing time, it's one of the reasons clubs send their youngsters out on loan. It could be anything that Denayer must play in 50% of our league games or it could be he must play when fit, but I'd reckon there will be something in there covering it.}

Yes Ed, that's exactly why I don't think Celtic will buy a centre - half in January
I wonder does Deila like two similar type centre halves playing in the team together . Maybe he wouldn't want a no nonsense centre back on his team.

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12 Dec 2014 16:24:28
Can you help me here please edd?did PL not state that all money's raised from transfers would be ploughed back into the playing squad? If that's true then how much do we have as a transfer kitty in January? Foster must have been a 6 mill profit to start with. Or does it not work that way lol. Markie

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{Ed007's Note - We'll see come January, don't hold your breath though.}

He did. As has Bankier. As did Reid when he was here. Money being spent behind the scenes, lennoxtown, more recently sports science etc is fair enough. However there is plenty transfer fees which have not been reinjected into the side. Wages are being cut, and transfer fees are a fraction of the players that have left, not to mention the amount of loans we bring in.

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It depends how we interpret "ploughing back into the playing squad .
I don't think they meant that it would be spent on transfers, although us fans wanted that to be true and so believed it.

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12 Dec 2014 15:25:02
Celtic Football Club will be supplying free tickets to the home match against Ross County on December 27 to unemployed supporters.

All you have to do is go into the ticket office from Monday 15th with your relevant documents.

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12 Dec 2014 15:09:15
Just to remind you if you want to talk/laugh about the latest pantomime at Ibrokes we have a separate Sevco page.

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12 Dec 2014 14:50:57
I can not believe the attitude of glasgow celtic in the way kris commons is only getting offered a 1 year deal, kris commons is a good player in my opinion, kris commons would score more goals than scott brown, stefan johansen, and any other midfielder that deila plays in the celtic team, kris commons is only 31 years of age, he should be offered a 2 year deal at least with a 1 year option.

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12 Dec 2014 14:01:19
I find it hard to believe that our best player last year Commons has this year found him self to be with out a position and I don't mean just with in our squad.

What do I mean by this? He originally started wide left of midfield for us and with age his legs began to go so was deployed as a 10/attacking mid position. Problem with this is he isn't much of a creative player nor from what I have seen can find that "magical" pass. But that was masked with goals and when you think about it probably 50% of those goals were greed and persistent shooting rather than finding the pass.

With younger fitter players the policy of recent being bought I don't think he can really contribute anything to our team now and sadly I think his time maybe up not just for Celtic but possibly the end of his career.

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Struggled with consistency throughout his career really. Sadly he's in a dip before his deal runs out. Capable of something special and it takes seconds to win a game, but I can only count on one hand the amount of times he's stood up in Europe. And that's my hand missing a thumb. Great servant, on and off the field, but all things come to an end and for me, I wouldn't be devastated to see him move on. Sorry Kris, but thanks for all you've done.

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{Ed007's Note - Have a read at this article.

True. I wrote that Ed ;) Even in his time here he's been hit and miss. I just can't see him being worth a 3 year deal. I know he wants to coach so perhaps there could be a place for him in that side of things/cover. The way I see it though is he doesn't perform in Europe, and we don't exactly need him to win the league. Therefore, do we really need him?

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It is a fair piece, fully accept he never had it in Europe but great goal scoring touch, coaching was being touted as a part of the deal

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That's a good point about not doing it in Europe and not needed to win league Jim, but individually going through the team you could problably use that same argument for 80% of the team. Markie

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You could Markie totally agree.

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12 Dec 2014 13:52:58
Celtic fans singing Last Christmas, last night in Zagreb.

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Ed, any chance of HD wi beats sounds (dr dre )

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{Ed007's Note - I'm sure a better sound quality one will appear.}

12 Dec 2014 12:56:16
Afternoon Ed, A see in today's papers about Commons think most of were under the impression that he was looking for a 3 yr deal and was only being offered a 2 NOW it looks as though he was looking for a 2 yr & only being offered a 1yr

A think that is a bit stingy to be honest, he is the current POTY and only turned 31 about 7 weeks ago I know it is the trend of big clubs to offer players over 30 1 year deals at a time

First to admit he is not the quickest and a spent force after the 70 min mark but he is capable of that piece of magic / quality that we are so sadly lacking, he is saying it is not about money and wants to stay but needs a wee bit of security anyone can understand that surely?

Also just seen Arsene Wegner say Konchelsky? to big a risk to run all season with niggles he has and a wonder if that is why the VVD rumours to there are doing the rounds again?

ATVB JB7

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Totally agree JB but the same principle would apply to let's say a Lubo. Wud we be happy at losin him at 32 for eg. We would be up in arms about it. I know lubo a better class of player but he also stood out in a very good team and could do that little bit of magic that changed a game. Don't remember him doing anything in Europe tho, like KC doesn't have the legs but can you seriously do without the players that bring that type of quality.

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12 Dec 2014 06:00:11
If ever we needed an experienced 28-33 year old cb it's now. There is absolutely no leader across our back 4. Wether it's vvd with denayer or ambrose there is just such a lack of leadership and it's costing us badly. Matthews I posted a few weeks ago I think his injuries have finally caught up with him and after the game it still looks that way he was atrocious, would punt him if any offer came in let another teams medical team deal with it. Mcgregor another who's went backwards and if I was ronny i'd put him into the development squad for a while see if he has the drive 2 get back 2 where he was. Badly missed brown johansen just can't play in that defensive role it doesn't suit him which isn't his fault. I don't know about anyone else but apart from the shoulder goal and hitting the bar for the 2nd goal I thought commons was awful he's as slow as a week in jail, gives the ball away so much in important areas and slows everything down was an example in the 1st half when we broke on the counter attack with about 4/5 players flooding forward and commons was on the ball and turned back and passed it 2 the defence lol that sums him up n europe for me. I'd take johansen in that advanced role over commons now everyday, he's been a great player for us but his time is done that's my honest opinion. Izzy was good going forward but his end product with crossing was abysmal, wakaso I don't rate and wouldn't take up any option 2 buy he does the odd decent thing but not enough. Big man up top had a decent game just lacked any real service, his finish for the 2nd goal was brilliant tho. Felt a bit sorry for griffiths thought he deserved a run out but seems ronny doesn't rate him even though he did say he was the best finisher he had worked with. Really think we are a good cb, lb, another cm and striker away from being a really cracking team it's that defence that's letting us down cause we do look a threat going forward and showed we can get goals away in europe. Really believe if ronny is given money he'll do well with it. He seems a smart man and i'd imagine he knows what needs fixed. Bit of a long post but just my general thoughts on the game and some of the players. #InRonnyWeTrust HH

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Defending seems a lost art in football now across everywhere. It annoys the life out of me!

To many caught up in this 'free flowing attacking football'.

You cannot beat a decent and reliable centre back pairing. Maybe time to start building from the back.

Anyway guys, I'm taking a wee sabbatical for a month or so and want to wish you all a very Merry Christmas and all the best for 2015 xx

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Gunnie, you might be too young to remember but we done that years ago when we got a couple of seasons out of the great pat Stanton who then made roddy McDonald look like a footballer for the only time in his career, and your right its needed now and it could apply to every area of the team

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Needed one for years Gunnie. A free agent or anything would have done! I even miss Majstorovic. How much do we miss an anchor like Wanyama too. I like Biton, but he ain't the same type or class. Hence why he cost a fraction of what we got for Vic. The downgrading pains me. that's said, I stated a firat successful season for RD would be qualification from the group and a leage and cup double. So far, he's on track. I'm past my patience with our board though.

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Can't argue with most of that as I was thinking and saying very similar.
I really don't understand why the manager and coaching team have not latched onto this.
I remember Pat Stanton being brought in by Big Jock to help the young Roddy McDonald learn his trade and we have had senior centre halves before like Paul Elliot, Mick McCarthy and even big Dan - who all added experience and leadership and we really need this now as we panic against any half decent forwards.
Ronnie has to be brave in the next window and offload all the dross - including those injury prone players that will never regain their best and will miss huge chunks of the season.
We have proved that the forward play is creating chances, but we need to tighten up and organise that defence before we implode.

Finally on Kris Commons; I think he has been one of our most skill full players and best goal scorers over the past two seasons, but between the contract situation and the new manager, he has lost his appetite and motivation and looks very unhappy and that is neither good for him or Celtic and he is clearly not a bit-part player and will probably move on. we need to ensure we replace him with similar or better - not inferior as we normally do when we sell quality.

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Ambrose should not get another game for Celtic as far as I'm concerned. He instils no confidence in the back four. I hope Matthews gets back into some form as he was woeful. We badly miss Lustig on the right, even fisher looked better when he came on. Biton should start in front of Mulgrew, I thought he had a teriffic game. Johansson needs to be playing further forward. Commons days are numbered, far too slow and gives the ball away too much. Thanks for the memories Kris. I also thought Stokes really showed his energy when he came on. Also if Van Dijk thinks he's going to a top 4 EPL team just now he's deluded. Scepovic showed some promise but I don't know what griffiths needs to do to get a start. Should have started in front of McGreggor.

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If you think Biton is good you are blind he turned his back to the ball for the 4th goal he should have been throwing his body if front of the shot he cannot tackle or defend not for me

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No doubt Biton needs to work on his defensive game but he was quality going forward.

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Jonace I do rate Biton and I'm not blind. Like most, last night is no good example. He is not a CDM, and like I said, not in the same class or mould as Wanyama. Think he needs a bit more licence because his passing is very good in an attacking sense but between him and Johansen, there is no midfield anchor there, which I for one do not underestimate the importance of.

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Joseph Yobo or Diego lugano are free agents with valuable experience who would do the trick till end of season.

When I saw team line up last night, was expecting leakage at the back with Ambrose.

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DN, Niklas Moisander, Tomas Sivok, Miguel Britos, Carlos Zambrano and even big Chris Samba are all freebie in the summer and would seriously improve our back line. Could really see us signing Moisander. I'd love us to make a statement of intent - sign one of these and Guidetti and push the boat out on the wages for Rasmus Elm, now there's a player who can play as an anchor and is pure class in a creative sense. Moisander, Guidetti and Elm would be a quality Scandinavian contingent. Been looking at Norwegian players and maybes Norwegian Red could tell us a bit more about Elyounoussi, got bags of skill and has a great record from the wing.

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If Biton is not a CDM player who would you leave out too play him Brown or Johansen also you say he is better than Mulgrew then say he is not a defensive midflield player which Mulgrew is and remember what Strachan has got out of Mulgrew for Scotland your arguement is flawed as for frees in the summer what about Jonathan Menseh

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Its not really a new player/defender that always make the difference. Look at Barca for eg they have great players yet consistently lose bad goals which cost them.Its the way they play that costs them because they have little interest in defending.keeping the ball for them is defending, .For me RD has us playing similar as he wants to play this attacking football. That's all fine and well in SPFL, but as we found out in Europe last night that's suicidal for us in Europe.He even said after game maybe we were too offensive and he was naïve thinking you can go away in Europe and win. Certainly not with the players we have just now. MON team cudnt even do this, jings we cudnt even beat Astra away so what makes him think we can beat anyone else. I seriously think he doesn't know his teams capabilities, its all very well playing this system to develop if it works but where is plan B if it doesn't.

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Argument? It's all in your head mate I never mentioned Mulgrew. I'd leave Biton out for Brown all day long! And for arguments sake, I'd leave him out for Mulgrew too actually. Stuck up for Mulgrew on here plenty. He's been hit and miss for club this season though.

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Maybe it's all in my head jonace sorry thought that was at me.

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15 Dec 2014 13:34:43
Tarik Elyounoussi, as you say JimTim has a lot of potential. He has scored some very important goals for the nationalteam, a couple of them as a striker. He is 26 now, so he can't be seen as a talent still, but a good player. Check out his cousin Mohammed Elyounoussi, he's only 20 years, bags and bags of potential, technical, good on the ball, can play lw, rw, striker and a SOM. He plays for Molde who won the tippeliga and the norwegian cup. Think he would be a better buy, cheeper and more talent. But then again, tarik is more experienced and plays in German side Hannover.

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12 Dec 2014 05:14:35
I agree that the defending particularly down Mathews side was awfull. Iv been praising the manager to high heaven of late but I was really disappointed in the team selection last night. We know the game meant nothing, we were led to believe we had a manager who gave youth a chance. Why was Macgregor started before Henderson? Why didn't O'Connel kick a ball, and why did fisher only get 20 mins? We know all about Mcgregor, nothing to learn there and last night as of weeks he never kicked a ball. I can't believe the knowledgeable amoungst you boys don't think that Henderson is better, and did more in the short time he was on. And fisher and O'Connel for Mathews and Ambrose would not have weakened us, Infact if they had started we problably wouldn't have shipped 4 goals. No excuse for giving all 3 a starting slot last night in my opinion. Sorry in advance if O'Connel is injured but Henderson and Fisher obviously weren't. Markie

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Cant argue Gunnie I am sure RD has defenders in mind shame he can't do what big jock used to do get 2 CBs from the same team vvd is away or will be kyal is defo away so we will need replacements and I trust he will get it right as you said In Ronny we Trust

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All four of their goals came from their left side of midfield which was the partnership of Matthews and Ambrose fair play to Zagreb they did their homework its not too hard to know Ambrose is hopeless and Matthews is off the boil since his return from injury roll on the returns of Denayer and Lustig

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{Ed007's Note - Last night Ambrose had a passing accuracy of 92% from 53 passes made, 49 out of his 53 passes found his target, he also made three important tackles, three interceptions and five clearances.}

Ed007 Do you not think these stats just paper over the cracks though? Far too slow in possession and looks like he could make an error any time he has the ball.

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{Ed007's Note - I'm not Amborse biggest fan by a long shot but those stats show he played a good game last night.}

Thanks Ed, the number of posters that keep playing the same old record about Ambrose is unbelievable . No matter how well Ambrose plays someone comes on and berates him as if Ambrose is a complete boofoon with no place on the football pitch . Truth is Ambrose can make the odd slip, but his speed of recovery usually means he covers up and no real harm done .
Mulgrew is by far the best defensive centre midfield player at the club . He actually plays the role, stepping into the gap if either centre half has to help out on the wing . Britton cannot or doesn't do that , he can play a bit but he doesn't form a defensive shield

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I criticise Ambrose quite a bit buthaven't done forlast night. Didn't quite realise he was as good as those stats say though. Where do you get such accute stats from Ed?

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{Ed007's Note - People are paid to study matches and produce the stats, Jim. UEFA produce packs for the press and there are websites that cover it all.}

11 Dec 2014 23:48:46
I have to laugh at the usual January expectations of new players. We won't strengthen the defence in jan. We won't splash out for guidetti and it's looking more and more likely commons will leave. I fear the worst if we draw a top class side in the next round.

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{Ed007's Note - Welcome to the site, Gary, it's nice to see you kick off with a good positive post. :=P

Garybhoy . You are full of optimism .
I hope you are right about Commons, he was fantastic last season but he certainly hasn't played well enough this season to warrant anything longer than a one season contract . You may be right about Guidetti, what we may never know if he doesn't sign for us, is who is to blame . Will the board go all out to sign him, only to be rebuked, or will the board let him slip through their fingers . Hopefully Guidetti makes it hard for the board not to come up with a good deal, by playing a lot better in the next few games than the last few.

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Welcome Gary. Yes it wasn't a positive post to start, but you are problably bang on the money and are as disappointed as the rest of us at the continual downsizing. Markie.

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Yes not the most positive first post. Just a bit concerned about the clubs signing policy as are a lot of us. However we do need to live within our means I accept that and all future posts shall be far more upbeat. Lol

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Only problem is the whole teams in need of strengthening if we go all out to get Guidetti then no doubt that will be all the fund available for RD and as good as he is he can't win us games alone we need improved in all areas to compete in Europe not just ST. I think the quoted 5m is fair and we can afford that but no way will we get more to spend unless VVD is sold

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