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14 Oct 2016 23:26:30
Tomorrow, given players travelling and injuries etc. I'd play the following team:
Gordon
Gamboa Kolo Erik Tierney
Roberts Brown Armstrong Sinclair
Griffiths Dembele
4-4-2 with a diamond midfield or the usual 4-5-1 with Griff just off Moussa.
15 Oct 2016 08:34:01
Mine would be
Gordon
Gamboa jozo Erik Tierney
Forest brown Armstrong sinclair
Dembele Griffiths.
14 Oct 2016 18:48:44
Now that John Parks has left the building we obviously need a replacement.
My preference would be Malcolm Elias from Fulham. He has done a great job at Fulham and also done a great job at Southampton. He has played a hand in bringing some of the best talent in world football to clubs and spots it early. Not only that, one would assume that he has good connections in the game, which always helps.
15 Oct 2016 14:31:51
It would depend what we're after Rab. JP seemed to be head of football development, director of football, technical director and chief scout all rolled into one. I believe Elias' current job is to spot the talent, and is seemingly very good at his job alongside Huw Jennings, who oversees youth development. Will we be after another all encompassing figure? Perhaps more than one person to carry out these roles? Or a total restructure? I'd get in a technical director type figure. Hopefully one of the scouts already there can step up to chief scout. I think BR himself will want to bridge that gap between management and board that a DoF would do. Could Elias be a technical director? I'm not sure but it's as good a shout as any. My shout would be Marc Overmaars, but I couldn't see it happening.
15 Oct 2016 18:56:29
I doubt if Brendan Rodgers would be keen on having a Director of Football. If he nominated a D O F, then I am sure D D wouldn't sanction him because a Manager would only opt for a D O F who would be a lap dog for the Manager . Similarly a manager in place wouldn't want or accept a D O F appointed over him .
B R would probably be glad of a head of Development, or H of Y or H of Scouting but he certainly doesn't want a man between him and CEO.
15 Oct 2016 19:31:34
I actually agree chris. I think BR will want that authority for sure. Aether or not it is right we'll have to see. We certainly need a shake up though with JP and possibly PL leaving. Top and bottom is, between the two of them, I certainly don't feel we've been operating as good as we hace been. Hopefully DD has had a wake up call. A lot of this still seems to be running in line with what Ed007 was saying in wake of the cup defeat to the *$#! too. I'm all aelcome to changes behind the scenes.
{Ed007's Note - There's big changes going on behind the scenes, JT. The club is scouring the globe for new scouts, one based in Spain which is obviously a Rodgers thing, and there's a chap called Olle Sultan who specialises in Scandinavian players that is looking for a UK or German based job.
Remember we've also brought a new Sport Science guy recently as well. All in all it looks like the Club is slowly making changes behind the scenes to bring us up to the level we should have been at 4/5 years ago - all top Clubs have a Sports Science department and RD tried to improve ours but his staff left with him and so need to be replaced.
I'd imagine Rodgers demanded as close to an EPL level as possible behind the scenes and DD has told Lawwell to get it sorted.}
15 Oct 2016 20:11:09
Cheers big man. My thoughts were that we could do with a technical director and scout (s) in the wake of JP leaving. I remember BR saying at one point at Liverpool he wanted to be a proper manager, or along those lines. Obviously we need a recruitment drive/ shake up. I think it's easy to get mixed up in titles and job roles. As long as we've got people qualified covering all the bases i'll be happy.
{Ed007's Note - If we're ever going to make any inroads in Europe we MUST invest in the infrastructure of the Club, not only for the players we have just now but for players in the future.
Players and their agents look at these things too, an agent isn't going to let his star man come to a club where he isn't getting the very best facilities and staff, no matter who the manager is. Rodgers has came in and looked at what he needs to help him improve things and there will have been independent reviews done for certain areas by specialists to see what they come up with.
We should reap the benefit of this type of investment and improvements for years to come although it's really all work that should have been done years ago. The investment in the long term has been shoddy to say the least but we're finally starting to put down the foundations of being a top level club and I'm delighted about it.}
15 Oct 2016 21:57:27
Same here, long overdue as well I feel. Hail Hail.
{Ed007's Note - Let the good times roll, Hail, Hail.}
16 Oct 2016 15:20:01
Hopefully we get the best scientific and medical equipment and personnel . The best scouting set up that is possible both for first team players and academy squads . The best coaches for all levels and the best personnel to look after smooth transmission from academy to first team
With all that set up fully equipped with the latest and best we can then get a Director of Football to sit in an Office at Celtic Park and cause dissension and bad feeling amongst our top highly skilled& successful individuals.
14 Oct 2016 15:01:30
Reading one of the newer posts, the infamous John parks name came up. It got me thinking, does anyone know if he still has the same role as before since br came in? He never really gets mentioned now and the last few signings were obviously Rodgers players and not his usual lists.
14 Oct 2016 16:16:23
John Park is leaving Celtic after 9 years .
Personally I don't know whether he has given us worthwhile service or not, I know some people on here have a very low opinion of him, especially in later years . I suppose it shows that Brendan Rodgers is his own man and has a control in everything football and that cannot be bad .
{Ed007's Note - That's not going to happen, Chris, there isn't a club in the world where the manager has total control of the footballing department. There isn't a manager in the world who could handle the workload of doing it at a top club as well as managing and coaching the first team.
Every club needs to have a longer term strategy than what the present manager wants.}
14 Oct 2016 16:25:50
Not got the same role now he's just left or was he pushed?
{Ed007's Note - It was Park's decision to leave, I'd hazard a guess that it's probably a precursor to Lawwell's exit.}
14 Oct 2016 16:38:02
He's been hit and miss, with more misses than hits. Onwards and upwards!
14 Oct 2016 17:07:41
Of course, you are right, John, it would be a terrible sad day for Celtic if B R or anyone else was given complete control over all football things . However, I think Park was maybe fulfilling a role between manager and CEO, that wasn't needed with a person of Rodgers standing as manager . The inexperience of Lennon and
R D left a role for Park, bur Brendan has the experience and links with people in the know to make decisions .
Park Rodgers and Lawwell involving in a transfer is probably one person too many and a case of two many cooks spoil the broth.
14 Oct 2016 17:23:51
That was a fluke comment by me, just mentioned we haven't heard from parks and he quits a couple of hours later. I personally think he had a few successes but quite a lot of fails, especially in the forward areas. I'm not quite sure if it was all his fault as we started lowering our fees and wages under peters . But it would seem S power went to his head slightly, and I'd have to wonder if his nose was put out of joint by br.
14 Oct 2016 18:22:14
He obviously knew Rodgers wanted his own man in the position sooner or later, and knew Desmond would agree it so jumped before he was pushed.
14 Oct 2016 17:06:52
Can you think of anyone in the frame ed007 to replace park? As for lawell , he has done a great job with keeping us financially sound, sponsorships n stuff, but at times it looked as though celtic belonged to him?
14 Oct 2016 17:44:55
Do you think that's Lawell for the off as well ed?
{Ed007's Note - Yes, I've thought for a while this will be Lawwell's last season with Celtic.}
15 Oct 2016 11:02:08
The proof of his success or lack of. can be seen with listing the players he brought, the money we received for them deducting his cost to us in wages and expenses.
If you get one player who we sell for £5m then he has covered his cost and cobtributed to our bottom line.
Wether he did enough or not cannot be assessed unless we know all the facts, the details of who he was responsible for.
I have yet to see a definitive list of players, good or bad being added up in final gain or loss terms. When I see that I will then and only then, be able to make a judgement based on facts and figures rather than opinion, or feeling.
Does anybody who is castigating him have that information and if so could they out it up for all to be better equipped to make an assessment based on more than just a feeling.
Add up the cost of the failures against any successes and that tells you if and by how much, he succeeded or failed.
14 Oct 2016 17:16:15
More questions than answers that one Ed
1) Where is JP going? That was chushy number he made his own
2) Will BR get a say in the DOF? because that was what JP was (effectively)
It is my gut telling me BR was not happy at his "input/ output" BR is / marking things a bit like MON IMO
3) PL not on record saying he won't go by 60? (y)
{Ed007's Note - I don't know where JP is going to end up mate but I have a hunch he has something lined up. It looks like our scouting department is going to face a major overhaul as we are looking for new scouts throughout Europe, including Spain which is obviously Rodgers' influence as we know how much he loves the Spanish game.
Park's replacement will be decided by the board as Heads of Football development (even head scouts) typically outlast managers, the job is seen as more long term than the manager's, we need someone who does their best for Celtic, not Brendan Rodgers.
John Park's input/output has nothing to do with Rodgers, I think it's more a case of a change in the job description the person in the position will do.}
16 Oct 2016 19:55:37
A complete lack of transparency has existed at Celtic for the last 10- 15 yrs .
It is completely impossible to know who was responsible for signing who . It was interesting to remember fans who didn't Lennon for example, they tend to blame Lennon for every player who came to the club and didn't do well. Those that played well were inevitably signed by John Park or even Peter Lawwell.
Then of course during the time of Internationals when we had little or nothing to fill our time, almost everytime, someone started a rant blaming John Park for all our problems.
14 Oct 2016 13:37:21
Oldbhoy, an interesting article in the paper today, Brendan speaking about young Dembele, think the young lad will be in safe hands with Brendan.
{Ed007's Note - It will be years before Rodgers has any real say in Dembele's career. You're getting mixed up with people's jobs again. It is up to John Park, Tommy Mcintyre and the youth coaches to nurture young players and plan their development.}
14 Oct 2016 13:59:42
He's trained with the first the though. Rogers must have been part of that decision.
{Ed007's Note - So? Rodgers has looked at players at all levels and had young Dembele take part in a light training session and bounce game when he first came in, and Dembele wasn't the only youngster involved. It was something fun to let some youngsters see what it's like being a first team squad member and is a common practice.
Brendan Rodgers has enough on his plate managing the first team without getting involved in other people's jobs. Remember John Park is the Football Development Manager, it's his job to oversee the footballing operations at the Club. McIntyre will speak to Park before he would speak to Rodgers about young players, hence Rodgers not knowing Dembele was going to play for the development squad, why would McIntyre need to ask the first team manager about it when it's not part of his remit?}
14 Oct 2016 14:48:22
What exactly is John Parks job?, just out of a matter of interest.
{Ed007's Note - As the Head of Football Development he is in charge of the footballing operations at the Club and answerable only to the CEO. He'll be involved with teams at every level but his input to the first team will be minimal in conjunction with Rodgers and his team and not really anything to do with training etc. He will help develop the training and coaching methods up to the first-team.
He has overall responsibility for the scouting department and procurement of players and will produce reports for Lawwell and Rodgers before any decision is made on making bids for players.
All staff on the footballing side report to him, the scouting department, coaches, the medical department, player's liaison officer all report to him.
Here's some job descriptions for Head of Football Development at different levels:
http://www.sandbachunitedfc.co.uk/Portals/0/JobDesc/Head%20of%20Football%20Strategy.pdf
http://www.leicestershirefa.com/~/media/countysites/leicestershirefa/documents/news/head-of-football-development-job-profile.ashx
14 Oct 2016 16:09:02
just been announced John Park leaving celtic.
14 Oct 2016
New image uploaded to the
Celtic Player Sightings page entitled, Front page of the daily ranger
14 Oct 2016 17:26:54
now that's funny
you just don't get banter like that during International breaks.
14 Oct 2016 20:18:04
After the other night International Break for me is a permanent break from following the national team. Had enough, it's not as if we ever set the world on fire at tourneys we made, from what I remember anyway. I was 8 during Mexico 86 and haven't really got a recollection of it. In fact the only memorable thing I seem to have kept was Lambert having fat Ronaldo (before he was fat) in his back bun for the whole of that opening 98 game. Not much from 3 decades.
14 Oct 2016 00:14:03
Bit of a change of topic but has anyone kept a tab on nesbitt since his move?
All I could see online after a quick searxh was six appearances (wiki) . It's one of the only times I think I've wanted promising senior youth to stay at the club. I don't know the lad but I doubt his heart is in it being away with what's happening now.
{Ed007's Note - Have a read at this:
http://www.celticfc.net/news/11417?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter
14 Oct 2016 00:47:00
Cheers ed for the link. I'm looking forward to seeing him play for us again.
{Ed007's Note - We've got some fantastic youngsters at the Club just now, the big question is if they can make the step up to the first team. A player like Tierney might turn out to be a once in a blue moon product but we should be consistently producing players capable of performing and dominating at the domestic level, producing players that are good enough for Dundee or St Johnstone helps Scottish football but it doesn't really help Celtic.}
14 Oct 2016 11:37:50
I am sure I read that almost every team in Scotland had someone who had been in celtics youth system at one point?
14 Oct 2016 08:41:38
Well it does in the end Ed as it makes the league more competitive so in the long run it will benefit us Ed. Just my opinion though.
{Ed007's Note - So when's that going to happen, when is the end? Since Lennoxtown opened we've had McGeady and now Tierney come through and every other one has went onto become journeymen players, a season here, a season there then a 'big money' move to an English Champoinship team before flopping down there and coming back up the road with their tail between their legs to get back on the Scottish merry go round. There's very few players left Celtic as a youngster that have went on and proved we made a mistake.
If the player isn't good enough for Celtic he's hardly going to help make Kilmarnock title contenders is he?}
14 Oct 2016 11:58:19
Would you add maloney to the list with mcgeady and Tierney ed?
{Ed007's Note - No.}
14 Oct 2016 12:33:03
Why not ed?
He's had a better career away from celtic than mcgeady I'd say.
{Ed007's Note - Shaun Maloney left Celtic for Aston Villa in January 2007 - that's a whole 10 months before Lennoxtown opened.}
14 Oct 2016 12:46:19
I've seen a good number of youngsters over the years trying to break through via the BP Youths, Reserves and now Development Squad and the amount who have reached their peak at that level beggars belief. Out of the current crop I have hope for are Connor Hazard, Sam Wardrop, Joe Thomson, Mark Hill, Calvin Miller and Aiden Nesbitt. I've got my doubts about Jack Aitchison and Tony Ralston but what do I know about youth development that the club's coaches don't see on a day to day basis.
Stengo.
14 Oct 2016 13:11:32
Andy Robertson was there before moving to queens park. Isam feruz as well but he has not done it yet. But yeah there have not been many.
I think one of the reasons is that managers are under pressure to win games, so don't give many the youngsters a chance. Tierney was lucky as Izzy was making defensive mistakes and mulgrew was injured. This is why I would like to trim squad and only have 2 seniors for each position.
{Ed007's Note - But would Andy Robertson have become the player he is if he had stayed at Celtic? I seriously doubt it, at some point young players need to be given a a shot in the first-team, some of them will surprise us and kick-on and some will surprise us and fail.}
14 Oct 2016 13:34:54
Can't say that mcgeady was a product of Lennoxtown then either ed007.
He made his first team debut 3 years before it opened.
{Ed007's Note - Fair point.}
14 Oct 2016 14:53:11
I think we are making the same point, that players need opportunities in the first team to continue developing and it is hard to get them at Celtic.
I would actually like reserve league brought back as that gives players more chance to play against senior players. Would also help managers keep squad players happy and up to speed.
14 Oct 2016 14:57:30
Jackson Irvine Ed, biggest disappointment for me!
8 weeks after signing for Ross County the Sunday papers were waxing lyrical about him
One season @ County and got a decent move to the championship albeit to the team just promoted but within like Scott Sinclair with us had scored 4 in first five or 5 in 6
In RD's entire tenure we struggled with the CDM position constantly stuck with Efe and there was a boy who could also play CH!
He won't be at Burton long IMHO because he is more defensively minded than forward thinking and still scoring now (y)
14 Oct 2016 16:30:32
I always think there is something wrong as for years now we have been loaning out excellent youngsters and getting ordinary young players back . We have a major problem as our top youngsters probably need the experience of playing week in week out . Too often players go to smaller clubs and halve way through their loan period they are no longer certain of first team starts .
I suppose just as we normally don't take that well to players who are just on loan, I suppose manager and fans may not be over fond of our players loaned out .
The age our players go at is often an age when they leave home first and the women and the beer may play a bigger role in their life than maybe they should.
14 Oct 2016 18:28:40
I am friendly with a Burton lad (Derby is his main team) who raves about Irvine. Been Albions best player and regularly scores.
15 Oct 2016 11:13:28
I watched the youth team against Varceliba and I'm sorry but there was no outstanding talent on show. We produce players for the Dundees, Aberdeenshire and lower level championship teams at best.
Every year we read about this great talent and it never, materialises.
Apart from KT we have produced jack rubbish in over ten years and the current bunch are no better than any I have watched.
The tragic truth is we produce on the whole journeymen for a world dominated by artisans.
The whole project is a shambles. KT the inky player to make a first team position his own in ten years?
Total waste of time and money up until now.
Scotland as a footballing country is now a sad sorry tale of mediocrity and less technical ability than anyone we play against. We might be able to muscle and win but basic skills are woefully absent.
We are good at running about but not much else.
15 Oct 2016 13:32:03
I must say I agree about Irvine every game I have seen him play he is one of the better players on the park.