Celtic Banter Archive August 01 2018

01 Aug 2018 22:07:30
thought gamboa was solid again. maybe a sleeper hit.

01 Aug 2018 22:23:07
If he could play 40-50% with Lusting we'd maybe get the nest of both. Gamboa is an asset on the wing, and with Forrest, a real menace.

{Ed007's Note - I've been saying the same since last week, if we can use Gamboa in games to rest Lustig and keep him fully fit it could work out well for us.}

01 Aug 2018 22:30:29
Sinclair. Put it out there in March or April that he needs to be sold. After tonight, it confirms what I said last season. He had lost it just like he did in previous clubs. Last season Ed and Kev83 slaughtered me for that post. Let me tell you he is not going to improve. Needs to go but who will have him?

{Ed007's Note - He still had a better season than the 'mercurial Rogic.'

01 Aug 2018 22:38:58
Probably got the notion from you ed. Wasn't it Jackie MacNamara that has that role down to a tee?

01 Aug 2018 22:48:13
'that he needs to be sold, ' Johnnymac, I can put down to post traumatic stress. C'mon tho, man, Sinky has embraced us and performed (with goals and serious graft in assistance to KT) at a high standard. Much of his first season was down to that signature inside cut-and-shoot, which a lot of teams have sussed. Can't just punt a player like that, right?

01 Aug 2018 22:51:15
Going to slaughter you again johnnymac. The fact is that Scott Sinclair has been our most dangerous attacking mid for TWO seasons in a row.
More goes in two seasons than rogic in six
More goals and assists last season than any other player
Already has an assist under his belt this season as well.
These are facts johnnymac and they can't be disputed.

01 Aug 2018 23:02:14
Agree with you Kev.

But wasn't it just a year or so back that our commentators decided an 'assist' was a thing, and therefore became a fact as you call it? It does my nut in I must say, and doesn't seem as natural a noun for 'soccer' as for basketball, where they just lay them up sometimes.

But your conclusion is sound. Scotty belongs here, and I hope he knows it.

01 Aug 2018 23:04:05
And ye both he and Forrest weren't great going forward tonight but both worked hard going back the way to cover their full backs.

01 Aug 2018 23:08:19
Sinclair was our worst player first half but best player second half.

01 Aug 2018 23:34:33
Wait and sed how he works out. He has gone!

01 Aug 2018 23:57:05
The assist is a useful stat when it comes to analysing attacking players. However, a more insightful stat is key chances created as this takes into account that the player who got set up missed the chance or the keeper saved their effort.

{Ed007's Note - But where do you stop the argument, Forrest could put over a horrendous cross that Moussa gets his head to but no chance of scoring, who's at fault? A through ball that's to the striker's weaker foot or ends up behind him.... it could go on and on.}

02 Aug 2018 00:58:44
Johnnymac I bet you 20 quid for charity the Sinclair will again out score rogic this season like he has the previous 2.

02 Aug 2018 04:01:56
Hoping Sinclair can start to gain the confidence to go by a player again always looking to come inside or waiting for tierney to overlap like it when he’s more direct And takes defenders on. One thing you can’t fault is his work ethic tonight and most games always helps out defensively. Sure once he gets a few goals will come good 👍🏼.

02 Aug 2018 06:27:07
Granted the key pass stat implies that all key passes are created equal, which clearly is not the case.

To deal with that problem you can add in a new metric called expected goals as this differentiates between a good and bad chance. The website stat bomb gives an in depth view of these metrics.

Being an ex fantasy football nut I can personally vouch for the usefulness of these metrics as it helps in picking the right players, although there are lots of other metrics to consider.

02 Aug 2018 06:55:31
Your forgetting one important thing here. Helen Flanagan is Top eye candy!

His contribution last year was still an amazing returning despite his ‘poor’ season, for me no reason at all to punt him. Let’s show the boy some love rather that ‘get him punted’.

02 Aug 2018 07:27:53
Johnny after a tremendous first season he tailed off but remember spl teams were doubleing up on him which creates space for someone else let's see how this season goes before we write him off.

02 Aug 2018 11:14:04
Kev83. always enjoy your posts pal. You do talk a lot of sense and you know what your talking about however as much as i like Sinclsir he struggled to get a starting slot for last 10 games of the season. Happy to have a cheeky £20.00 on my bhoy Rogic and your bhoy Sinclair. We will keep in touch over the season and pay up one way or other. Good luck pal and i will look out for your posts. Take care.

02 Aug 2018 22:55:46
Sinclair may not have had a great end to last season, but then Rogic is quiet for about 80% of every game he plays . He seems to come to life if he can pick up a loose ball about 30 yds from goals and has room to move . Usually opponents don't allow him this space and you can easily forget he is playing . I want him to impress me over a whole match, but it isn't happening.

01 Aug 2018 21:54:34
Wasn't pretty but got the job done.
Defence done well especially Gamboa and Hendry.

01 Aug 2018 21:57:49
I agree Kev job done and was impressed with Gamboa again. Thought him and Broony played well and also Ntcham.

Job done on now to deal with the Greeks.

01 Aug 2018 22:06:53
Amazing the different opinions. Some of views on Celtic pages are slating both gamboa and Hendry. Have to say l thought they played well in the second half under a lot of pressure.

01 Aug 2018 22:15:07
Gamboa never put a foot wrong all night and when they started just bombarding our box Hendry won nearly every header.

01 Aug 2018 22:18:20
I thought gamboa had a great game and his well timed sliding tackle was brilliant. He is not without silly mistakes but who is. Great result over the two legs. HAIL HAIL.

01 Aug 2018 22:24:19
My assessment exactly Kev.

01 Aug 2018 22:29:50
Thought Gamboa done well, still not a fan of Hendry but I’m hoping he turns out to be the real deal.

01 Aug 2018 23:59:03
If Gerrard's team had put in a performance like ours tonight then the SMSM would be gushing with praise at how great they were to keep a clean sheet away from home.

02 Aug 2018 10:14:00
Feck the MSM, we know where their Loyal ties lie. Let’s keep them spewing over their keyboards. That gives me an unhealthy amount of joy. I can’t wait to play that shower of rubbish and smash them into a jam.

01 Aug 2018 18:56:24
Hi just seen the team news only changes are Hayes and Lusnig on the subs bench does anyone know who has dropped out from the subs Ralston and Allan? And does that mean perhaps on their way out on loan or permenent.

01 Aug 2018 18:59:17
Aye was Ralston and Allan on bench last week if my old memory serves me right.

02 Aug 2018 23:04:45
Why do we always have to try to second guess B Rodgers . First of all Lustig had to take a position on bench as he must be very close to been ready to play a full game, that would take Ralston off bench (wouldn't go with 2 right backs on bench) Hayes would cover at least 3 wing position ( Forrest, Tierney and Sinclair ) So sensible to make changes on bench.

01 Aug 2018 17:59:00
Taking nothing for granted but does anyone know if we get through whether we will be playing next Tuesday or Wednesday- maybe going away but will wait a day if necessary.

01 Aug 2018 18:43:47
I think we are playing AEK Athens next Tuesday at home if we go through tonight.

01 Aug 2018 19:19:49
Next Wednesday at home.

02 Aug 2018 00:07:58
Pretty sure it is Tuesday Stevie.

02 Aug 2018 12:51:17
Wednesday the 8th.

01 Aug 2018 17:34:08
Right lads, I noticed someone talking about it a couple days but didn't read properly. Anyone know if mobdro has premier sport 2? If not, are there any other apps that I can get for my amazon firestick for the game tonight? Don't have virgin so can't use that way. Any help would be appreciated. Cheers bhoys.

01 Aug 2018 17:59:41
Try TVTAP should have it.

01 Aug 2018 18:00:04
Livenettv or tvtap pal has them all.

01 Aug 2018 18:18:00
Can't find Premier sports 2 on tvtap. It's on celtic tv and the stream is usually decent in tvtap for that.

01 Aug 2018 18:25:50
Cheers boys.

01 Aug 2018 18:38:11
Net tv has Celtic tv on.

01 Aug 2018 20:37:06
Livened TV has prem sports 2 tvtap doesn't have it.

{Ed007's Note -www.hesgoal.com/news/31992/Rosenborg_vs_Celtic.html

01 Aug 2018 16:20:26
Ed, Denayer to come back on a loan or permanent?

{Ed007's Note - Or back to Turkey - Denayer wants to go back to Galatasaray - or Southampton, or even Leeds. Including us I think that's everyone he's been linked to this week.}

01 Aug 2018 18:41:56
File under "not happening" then!

{Ed007's Note - After what Denayer said about his time in Scottish football he'd have more egg on his face than Kirk Broadfoot making his supper.}

01 Aug 2018 19:00:48
That half wit scrambled his own legs in our box and got a penalty for it, no yolking man 🤯.

02 Aug 2018 00:34:45
Yeah that's something that instantly came to mind when we were linked, no doubting his ability but would we want him back after that, would he want to come back. All very strange.

01 Aug 2018 12:59:33
I know its from twatter but is Broony injured?

01 Aug 2018 09:42:31
Hi Ed,

I know this will likely be paper nonsense, but given our financial position and Brendan's continued comments on "adding real quality" to the team, is Craig Dawson a realistic signing?

I can't see us forking out £15m - £20m on a single player personally and whilst I think he is a fine player, the over inflation within the premiership means we could likely get a player of similar quality for less money on the continent.

{Ed007's Note - We won't be signing Craig Dawson.}

01 Aug 2018 12:05:06
Tell me this Denayer rumour isn’t true ED? It’s the same old Shoite every bloody transfer window! Do our scouts actually look at any other centre half’s! The guy slated Scottish football when he left, and has done f*uck all since!

{Ed007's Note - I don't believe there's anything in it, the player doesn't rate Scottish football so why would he want to come back IF we did want him?}

01 Aug 2018 12:52:02
Ur probably rite mate, just shoite! Just makes me think if true what our scouts are up to! Surely to god they can narrow down a list of centre backs who wouldn’t cost the earth! Frustrating is an understatement mate. really is like Groundhog Day every transfer window! And u can tell a mile away that it’s pissing the manager off!

{Ed007's Note - I've said for months I don't expect a CB to come in unless one or more leave, how many CBs can one club have? I've really not seen anything to suggest that Rodgers is pissed off except supporters assumptions.

"The club have had a very clear structure of how they work. These last couple of years have been great years for us. I have got no reason not to ever believe that club don’t want that either. They have supported me extremely well since I have been up here. There is not a huge reforming that needs doing.

I can understand the supporters’ perspective.

The modern game now is very much about signings and lots of signings. But I think our supporters will probably be thankful that we have continuity. We’ve got a core that really connect to how we work but we have to bring in quality.

Now that’s then what goes over to the club, and then the club will look to then do their best, which I believe they are, their very best, to get the level of quality that we need in and that’s going to help us improve because that’s what’s important."

So do fans just want signings for signings sake, spending on fees etc, adding more to the wagebill and adding to the EIGHT players in the squad we have who can play as a CB?}

01 Aug 2018 12:59:02
Lh86 since leaving Celtic denayer has played champions league football and won the league and a cup in Turkey. So to say he's done nothing in wrong.
Ye he slated Scottish football but maybe he's grown up a bit since then. A lot of player realise their mistake after leaving Celtic.
I know we tried for him last window late on so could be some truth we are looking again.
Would he make the squad stronger?
For me yes because he'd be a better option than Compper.
Would he make first team better if everyone fit?
Am not so sure.

01 Aug 2018 13:33:08
U say there’s 8 players who can play centre half and how many do a club need. how many out of that lot would u trust in the C.L. groups? I’ve said before, Ajer is the only one that we can truly rely on and he’s the youngest out the lot! If a team continually loses lots of goals in a certain competition, in this case the C. L. then how can u stick with the same defence?

01 Aug 2018 14:57:10
It's unavoidable though. If we have our CBs and Rodgers and board thinks we have enough then fine.

Or when our defence is clearly not up to level, then something needs acted upon.

If we have too many CBs on the wage bill who aren't pulling their weight then that's the boards job to sort this.

We as fans shouldn't be expected to just sit back and be silent if the quality isn't up to standard.

Boyata, Compper, Simunovic, Hendry. Could punt them all and play Biton and the results this season won't change too much. That's how bad it's got.

01 Aug 2018 15:36:54
Lh86 see the teams that are taking goals of us they are also taking serious goals of everyone else including teams that have defences that are meant to be worth 100s of millions.
Twice last year Bayern took 5 off arsenal
Year before that
Barca took 6 off PSG
Psg scored 5 off barca
Real took 4 off juve
We could spent 50million on the defence and these results would still happen.
Or we could have effe ambrose at CB and beat Barca.

02 Aug 2018 09:44:10
All good points kev, and I get where your coming from. i just think us as a club never give ourselves the best opportunity to one try and qualify, and 2 try and give it as good a go as we could when we get there! And what about when a bang average zenit team took 3 off us and Astana put 4 past us? I’m not silly enough to sit and suggest we can compete with the big boys who spend ludicrous amounts of money year after year but I also refuse to believe that we can’t give a better showing when we play these guys! We’ve done it in the past with a back line of telfer McManus Caldwell and naylor for god sake! Lol.

02 Aug 2018 23:13:01
The defensive part of our team is far greater that the individual defenders, we need to buy a very good defender to improve our defence . We may also need to change the positioning of our midfielders.
Moving midfielders back to help defense, destroys our overall play as Celtic are better as an attacking team.

01 Aug 2018 10:37:36
Tricky tie this, do we go for a killer goal or sit and wait for them to open up? Bear in mind the score, at the moment, is really only one nil we should meet in the middle. Pass and move and be patient. I see us scoring, if it's the first we should be through, but an early gift to them causes chaos.

Jamesy looks like the key, he attacks space now like he used to, any gaps and he can exploit them. They also looked terrified of him first leg. However this is us, no doubt be some watching through fingers, but we really should progress.

01 Aug 2018 11:57:15
We just need to go out and play our normal game, I think we can score 2 over there but not if we sit back all game.
I don't think our defence is good enough.

01 Aug 2018 13:25:46
Hard high press from the get go and keep at it. They can't live with that. No need to force our chances, they'll come with the right attitude to shape and the ball. I could see another 3-1 result, something like that.

01 Aug 2018 16:46:17
I fancy a 2-2 over there tonight. Confident we will go through but won't be a cake walk.

{Ed007's Note - Didn't you say we'd lose last week?}

01 Aug 2018 19:23:01
Yes Ed I did. Surprised we beat them but watched the game and thought we did well after going behind. A 2-2 will do tonight but may be a bit close at times.

{Ed007's Note - I'm going for 6-0 tonight ;)

01 Aug 2018 19:59:24
Ed know you ate good but no chance. If its 6-0 i will give £500 to your favourite charity.

{Ed007's Note - Well I'm halfway there, Rosenborg haven't scored and the 2nd half still to come.}

01 Aug 2018 10:06:45
Loved Rodgers wee dig at Rangers when he said he could have added 10 players to his squad if had wanted but he wants to get quality players instead.

01 Aug 2018 10:47:54
I'm glad we're going down this route and not bowing to media and fan pressure of signing anybody for the sake of it. The amount of signings we have made in the past in the 2 million pound bracket and they've not been good enough is frightening. Boerigter, Pukki, Fortune, Hooiveld and that's without thinking. We are at the stage now a 2 or 3 million pound player is not going to improve us in any position unless we are very lucky and find a gem. Would rather one 10 to 15 million pound proven quality than 4 or 5 maybes, probably not good enough players.

01 Aug 2018 12:29:24
Stevie. I can't agree with you about this transfer policy.
Johnnymac put it perfectly when he said that we should be trying to start a season with a stronger playing squad than we finished the previous one.
Last season Sevco scored more goals than us, our winning margin in the league was well down on the season before, and our performances in Europe were an embarassment. To be going into this season with a weaker squad is just stupid in my opinion.
I don't accept the line that the only players that would improve us would cost £20-30m, that is just a cop out. When I look at clubs all over the place, most of them are adding to their squads. They aren't all paying personic prices.
We have qualified for the Champions league for the last 2 seasons, if we refuse to use some of the money we have earned from that to strengthen us, then I would rather we didn't qualify as the heavy defeats are too painful to watch.
Qualifying for the Champions league, building hotels, playing Rugby matches at Celtic park, are all well and good but the most important thing about our club should be the playing squad. We have been spoilt domestically these last 2 years, but that's not a reason to get complacent. The club should always try to get the best players possible within the budget they have. I don't believe they go anywhere near that.

01 Aug 2018 13:38:03
I firmly believe Gerry that we would pay up to possibly 15 million if a quality player becomes available and most importantly is willing to come to Scotland . How many of the many 2 to 3 million pound players we've signed in the last 6 or 7 years have been a success? We did go through a purple patch with Van Diyk, Forster and Wanyama but we've had probably a dozen duds at the same time costing us a lot of money. You say there are many clubs adding to their squads without spending a fortune, You're right but what kind of quality are they adding? Not the quality we need to go to the next level I'm afraid.

01 Aug 2018 14:08:36
Stevie. I believe that that the club has become too focussed on making a profit out of players rather than the main aim of a transfer which is to strengthen the team.
I am all for bringing players on and improving them, but I don't accept that there are no players out there who would improve our squad that would be within our budget.
We must be the unluckiest team in the world if this is the case.

01 Aug 2018 16:58:02
Stevie just to add to gerryc point. We also netted £7mill from VVD to Liverpool
I thought it was £700k, but it was £7mill, so we are about £6mill up on transfers since January. There are some good £5mill players out there that could come into the first team, so if we bought 2 then our net spend since January would be £4mill. Understand wages etc but there are players such as Hayes etc that we should punt and reduce the wage bill. Too many squad players when 2 decent players changes the whole complexion of the playing staff.