Celtic Banter Archive January 28 2014

28 Jan 2014 22:54:31
How come if the bid for Griffiths was rejected yesterday there has been no fresh bid today its not rocket science



Ayrshire Bhoy

Wolves have rejected a second offer from Celtic for £1.25m-rated striker Leigh Griffiths and warn time is running out to agree a deal. (Daily Record)

I'll be livid if we spunk that amount of money up the wall on this cretin. I'd rather the PLC made interest off that £1.25m sitting in the bank for another 6 months!

HB Do you realise the heavy responsbility that comes from being a Celtic fan.
Some would regard your comment as spunkist. Not me of course as I am a live and let live type. Sopotcelt.

28 Jan 2014 21:51:38
With both Johannson and Fridjonnson both starting for the under 20's today a doubt they will be in the squad for tomorrows game. Antony

If we are 3 or 4 up NL will give them or Balde the last 3 mins because nothing can come in the way of our or his unbeaten record . DH

28 Jan 2014 18:48:03
If Leigh Griffiths is the best we can do then I am disappointed to say the least. I feel we are going backwards as a club, Not replacing our best players, not getting players tied down on longer contracts, and now aiming for players who can't even get into the starting line up in a L1 team.

The board do not care about progress all they care about is the balance sheet. There is no ambition at all amongst the board. Yes we have a team capable of winning the league every year because the competition isn't there but we should now be looking to make the last 16 of the CL a regular occurrence and that means investment, not poking about with derogatory offers for L1 players who are no better than what we have.

Ok Griffiths may score goals for us in the SPFL but I am certain he is not the CL quality that we crave.

There is money in the bank and all Lawwell and Co care about is leaving it there.

I'm not convinced the policy we have is something we should be doing all the time, buy young and cheap and hopefully develop and sell for profit. Because for every Hooper and Wanyama we find there is a Bangura, Murphy, Juarez, Miku, Lassad as well.

MikeyBhoy88

The Board have the support and the manager over a barrel as long as we are in a one-horse league. Subsequently. if Sevco survive their latest financial crisis and eventually get into the top flight, it will be another 2-4 seasons before they will see the need to change their plans.
Currently it seems that qualification for the CL is our be all and end all and the cash from 6 ties is budgeted for.
Losing all six games is a painful possibility, but irrelevant for the Board
The domestic prizes are - rightly or wrongly - all but taken for granted.

The repercussions for fans is the level of player has dropped significantly - - -even since Strachan's teams - and the style of football is deteriorating and keeping fans away.
This will not change without either season ticket sales plummeting or a bigger name manager is appointed.
The Board did (and will) not want a strong manager at Celtic.
So where do we go from here?


JJ

28 Jan 2014 16:07:39
Help, I am sure I never dreamt this. Does anyone remember back in the MON days (maybe before then but definitely the McCann era) we had two young boys on the park either before a game or at half time actually signing their contracts? If so who where they?

{Ed007's Note - That's got me stumped.....}

MON days were after the McCann era so off the top of my head the manager must have been Lou Macari (briefly), Tommy Burns, Billy Stark (briefly), Wim Jansen or Jo Venglos. Not sure if this helps or not but might jog someones memory.

Maybe I have my era wrong but I am sure I seen it happen either that or the drugs have stopped working. Next you will say it was strachan and I am 10 years out. lol this is 2014 isn't it!

Did the young new Zealand/scots boy michael mglinchy not do that around 2005,,,, deep river bhoy

Maybe the Icelandic lads we had around then. Sopotcelt.

If it was in MON era, the only 2 I can think of are Finnbogasson and Bjarnasson, wether they signed contracts on the pitch I'm not so sure?
Both decent players, Finbogasson not given a chance after excelling in the youths/reserves

Wasn't it Gary Holt and another guy out the army. don't think any of them made the first team.

Wasn't it the Chuckle Brothers signing autographs when they did the Paradise Windfall DH

Defo michael mcglinchey we pipped man unt to that one. brilliant lol

Was it Petrov and Petkov then Petkov deal fell through?(Barnes era) @8 Mcgeady was signed round the same time as mClinchey and Manchester United were after Mcgeady, ., .kbarry

Beating Manchester United to mcglinchey rings a bell. Cheers for your help glad someone else remembers it happening.

DRB I'm pretty sure McGlinchey was from Castlemilk and currently playing in the Australian top flight. A.S.

28 Jan 2014 14:19:42
Afternoon ED007. I have to say that I am gobsmacked by how far standards have slipped at Celtic as they try to sign Leigh Griffiths. Has the morals at the club really slipped so far that we are considering a player who has

- Been arrested and charged for shoplifting.

- Has 4 kids to 3 different women and told the mother of 2 of his kids "Seriously stop texting me! Now, bye-bye. See you later. Off you pop and f*** off."

- Headbutted Pat Fenlon and punched Billy Brown.

- Arrested and charged for a racist tweet, his "back to your own country" opinion should go down well with Celtic fans who have had years of the Famine Song being sung to them.

- Has had numerous altercations in pubs and clubs in Edinburgh with members of the public.

- Is suspected of leaking stories to the press from the Wolves and Hibs dressing rooms and training grounds.

I have serious reservations that Griffiths will be able to adjust his lifestyle and cope with living with the extra publicity that comes from playing for Celtic. It's another example of the board's penny-pinching and Neil Lennon towing the party line and if this is the level we are shopping at then we can forget CL qualification for a while. And before all the nonsense about Scott McDonald wasn't a CL level striker before he joined Celtic, he wasn't a CL level player even while he was here, 5 goals in 24 European ties over 3 seasons is a very poor record. A lot of fans are looking for any reason they can to justify this ridiculous move but as of now nobody has convinced me of any positive aspect to it. Once again the PLC board has let the fans down with their penny pinching and it wouldn't surprise me if he was given the No.7 jersey just to rub salt into the wound. If signing a Wolves reject is the level of the club's ambition I really fear for our future, he is exactly the type of player I expected Rangers to sign in the past and is on a par with Diouf except Diouf was actually a better player than The Thumb ever will be.

Hear hear, Che!

Well said Che I said to my misses last night he's more suited to her mob

Well said che. The way I see it is if we're not going to bring anyone in with some real quality to make a difference in Europe then stick with what we've got till the summer. I've been impressed with Pukki the last couple of times I've seen him and I think Balde will will score goals if given a chance. If we bring in Griffiths, we're as well sticking a bid in for Joey Barton and Derek Riordon to bring some real trouble to the club. Will be more hassle than he's worth.

Totally agree mate, he just isn't what we need at all. Was gutted when I heard he was joining us. The board just don't care though! Lennons latest interview showed us exactly what he thought about our opinions aswell.

Darrenbhoy

Excellent post and an indication of Lennon's double standards. Watt was shipped out for a fraction of what Griffiths has 'achieved' in notoriety.
The calibre and ability of a player has always got to be balanced with the temperament and moral decency when you play for a club of our standing with the 'distractions' and pressures that go with the territory.

Got to agree, cheap option again

Watt was shipped out because of his lazy attitude in training and that he has an ego the size of the planet and as much as I would love to see a fellow Coatbridge bhoy to well at Celtic, I doubt Watt would get close to 30 goals in a season!

We will just have to sit tight with everything crossed that the signing doesn’t happen.

I’m just really disappointed in the player for football reasons before all the other stuff is mentioned.

I do not know why we need another Stokes!

How many times! We are no longer a big spending club regardless of how much money we have taken in through qualification and players sold . (All thanks to Neil Lennon and the staff may I add ) sevco out of our league has hindered tv money, fans through the gate aswell we can't afford to spend 5-7 million on one player and then pay him 40-60 grand a week we have to look far and wide at all options for bargains, we spent 2 million on bangura and he didn't look comfortable in our team we spent 1.5 million on amido balde and he looks good for the future as he starts to settle, 2 million on teemu pukki a fourth choice after all else was turned down he looks like he is starting to find his feet slowly, these are all risks that the manager took and fair play to him as if he didn't we wouldn't have wanyama izzaguire Forster van djik mulgrew kayal( before injury) hooper, Mathews lustilg, the list goes on all those players have been a success in some form or another in my opinion . The manager has looked at a striker who can score goals in any league he has been in, who is homesick, who won't cost millions and is scottish 23 years old and very talented . The type of player that we don't have ie plays on the shoulder great movement very pacey and direct oh and can finish from inside or outside the box . What is the problem with that? His personal life isn't great but who the hell are we to judge are any of us perfect? If he signs I will embrace it and give him a chance as I have done with all other players! 35 years man and bhoy a hoops fan!

chalky bhoy

28 Jan 2014 17:33:07
What is the answer to all that is wrong at celtic? Board, manager, players, fans acceptance . What do we do?

28 Jan 2014 18:24:38
Che would you say john hartson was a CL level striker??
McDonald 5 in 24 in Europe, hartson got 6 in over 30 in Europe . What's the mark to be called a good European striker for celtic??

Its all a way to get us discussing nonsense and take not other clubs but the celtic fans eye of the ball.
They tear the GB a new one. They don't invest in players. The manager seems to be displaying seriously arrogant behaviour regarding the fans. What else mmmm. They sell our best players. FF will be sold as will Virgil. They won't give homegrown bhoys a chance or if they do its rare. We got humiliated in europe and the PC Brigade have replaced the GB at Celtic. JL and Sammy have been deliberately mismanaged.
Oh and according to our manager Forrest is a great player. So let's all get hot under the collar about LG. Now I am not a fan but he may be decent and just not worth the risk. Anyone can see that. Its all the more silly as we have Stevie May, no baggage, good trainer, potential, doing the biz but what no bid. Is that because it would be non controversial? Also added advantage of money staying in our league and costing less.
Its obvious we are being distracted. No decent signings and feed the mushrooms anything as Celtic fans are the best in the world and some in high places must also think the most gullable. Sopotcelt

Can get better quality for less than 5 mil bangura was never given a chance by Lennon and as for balde and pukki they aren't getting the chances either we bring griffiths in it just pushes them right out the picture and the new Icelandic boy will be left to rot in the reserves for a few years loaned out a couple of times then released

Hear, hear Che.

Sopot you do love a conspiracy theory!

I just want the Centre Forward equivalent of big Virgil, is it too much to ask?

I'm genuinely worried about this signing and what it means, I don't know if I'm reading too much into it though?

Why are we having so much trouble replacing Hooper? Griffiths was available last Summer at a fraction of Pukki and Balde so why is he now the 'answer'. Maybe I'm being a bit dramatic but I am a tad worried about what this signing means?

I'm glad to see most people agree with me that idiots like Griffiths should not be anywhere near a Celtic team. At least there are still some of us that understands what it means to pull on the Hoops and know that people like Griffiths don't deserve the privilege. Monkeybhoy I am not even going to lower myself to enter any discussion with you, you have proven time and time again that you lack the intelligence to hold a conversation or debate like an adult. I stand by my statement that people like you are a prime example of exactly what is all wrong at our great football club.

28 Jan 2014 20:12:11
Who are you the all high and mighty Che! lack the intelligence, adult lol . Returning a question a asked you with insults kinda doesn't go hand in hand with your all superior attitude . Last time a asked you a question you refused to answer over over again.
What makes you better than me or any1 els who holds a different opinion than you av got ma own mind and a think am perfectly entitled to air it.
So anyway Hartson 6 goals ad still say he was a European quality striker for us along with McDonald

Cheers Che

I've stated already that anyone who pulls on the Celtic jersey is a representative of our club, which carries massive responsibility. It wouldn't sit comfortably with me at all if we were represented by someone with Leigh Griffiths' track record.

28 Jan 2014 13:51:00
Hearing we only bid 400,000 for Griffiths. Surely he is worth at least 1 mill. Any news on ledley and samaras as I don't see any point playing people who are leaving.

At least? He's now in to his 8th season as a first team player, only played top level football for two of those seasons - Livi (3x First Div), Dundee (1.5x First Div), Hibs (2x SPL) + Wolves (0.5x Prem Reserve League + 1x L1) and was bought by Wolves for £150k in 2011 - I wouldn't like to think his value is any more than £1m!

28 Jan 2014 07:12:59
At the start of the transfer window Lenny was talking about champions league ready players and possible 6 million pound players if they thought it was good business . He said they had numerous targets for varying positions if we couldn't entice certain players. How far down the list were we until we ended up at a league one player with a cheaper price tag. This is a player who was deemed not good enough last season. As fans we follow the club with prob little money to spare, we will continue to do so but surely now and again we deserve a player that will excite us and bring some other stay away fans back to parkhead. The fact that we haven't attempted to fill our iconic no 7 shirt for quite a few seasons speaks volumes. We understand that we play in a weaker league but we also know that we are a great, famous proud club. We should be striving for the best possible player we could afford not the best value player.

Blah Blah Blah Quinn1888, if we do get Griffiths I for one will give him my backing. He knows the Scottish set up and even you must admit he was a stand out for Hibs when he played for them last seson and his goals were top notch. This will be a great chance for him to establish himself as a Scottish Internationalist and he will give his all for Celtic, Neil Lennon and the Fans. If we get him suppoort him as we do all our players. Hail Hail
TamTimTic

If indeed LG is joining Celtic at the type of money that is being mooted it is in my view a good piece of business .
Not what everyone wanted granted but there is enough firepower at present to waltz through the rest of the season and if LG does get a run out, bangs in a few goals the 300k? will be well spent .Then there's the sell on value .LG might not be the 6million dollar man people are looking but who;s to say he won't be this time next year .
The outlay is small leaving the said "6-8 million" until such times it is required.
The present squad I feel should be confident of reaching the group stages and once again putting the club in an attractive position to lure the illusive "6-8 million "striker some here crave.Whether or not he scores the 30plus goals a season others demand remains to be seen .

Fed up with the clubs signing policy at present. Op mentions stay away fans, times are tough and only real quality will put erses on seats not neds no one else would touch with a barge poll. Will always back the team/club but we need to bring in stay away fans not drive more away. Can only see us being champions league also rans if we manage to get there at all and let's face it luck of of the draw and some good fortune saw us there this term. This isn't good enough for a club and support of our standing
HH Thommyj

One thing springs to mind with the board and some fans complacency

28 Jan 2014 17:51:59
Stay away fans, answer me this if we beat aberdeen and get the rangers in the next round at CP will it be a sell out?
If the answer is YES! Then weather people like to admit it there's the main reason the stay away fans aren't going.

Stay away fans what you talking about no missed a game though year at home been to a few away games will be up tomorrow but get it the gether griffiths isn't the answer if he was why is it only hibs and celtic interested in him riddle me that one

28 Jan 2014 20:15:47
@5 stay away fans in opening post not meant for you

28 Jan 2014 05:01:52
Hi all, Neil Lennon said that we would sign a striker in the January window so that he would 'bed in' and be ready for the CL qualifiers. Griffiths?. really!. our clubs biscuit tin mentality is rearing it's ugly head again and our attendancies are dropping. we need signings to put bums on seats not drive our support away.thoughts.

Thaitimtam your support is appreciated. You must have been going off your rocker when we signed a nobody for £300k from a crap team like Derby, what was his name again, ah yes Kris Commons. Long live the biscuit tin. Hail Hail
TamTimTic