Celtic Banter Archive July 03 2014

03 Jul 2014 22:12:23
If ronny is looking for a winger surely
Gary mckay stevens would be worth a bid?
And is there any truth in hooper wanting
To come back?

Could mgregor not fill that position? he looked good today wide left

03 Jul 2014 22:58:23
Wouldn't touch Mackay Steven he's far to incontistent, think I would like to see Johanson played out wide and Biton given a run in the centre. I would also like to see Lustig in the middle of the defence alongside VVD as long as Matthews is fit.

03 Jul 2014 20:26:09
Good to see a lot of the younger players getting a chance tonight, hoping Deila is finally the manager who will bring players from Lennoxtown through to the first team on a regular basis. Still think Pete will have to dip into his wallet for a winger or 2 though. Anyone know any wingers we should be chasing and could realistically sign? I like the 2 Ecuadorians, Monterro and Ibarra

03 Jul 2014 19:45:07
Jim Tim how do you know what budgets were available to keane and moyes and anyone else who we're interested in they job.reading keane today he said if he took the celtic job he would have to had give up his role with the republic something he didn't, want and that the villa job enabled him to carry on with the republic.i personally didn't, t want keane anywhere near celtic park trouble with a t as far as I'm concerned.killy.

Killy I agree with you, Celtic probably had a lucky escape missing out on Keane .
I don't think its anyone's business how much of a budget Celtic would have available for any new manager . These things need to be confidential.

03 Jul 2014 21:07:41
Strachan is on record saying " you get 5 mill a year to spend @ Celtic" cannot see that having changed especially minus Sevco on the scene atb jb7

If I told you that I'd have to kill you.

"I don't think he was getting the conditions he wanted to make the job happen for him.

"There is not going to be £30m-£40m in the kitty to spend, and there is no guarantee that Rangers will come up next season so Peter Lawell is sitting there thinking, 'why would I spend £30m-£40m this year?' Whether Roy will be offered it again, who knows?"

That's Bonner in todays Irish Independent. He's not the first to echo my sentiments.

RK would have known exactly what it would take to manage Celtic and play a hand with the Eire national side before he sat down with PL. As it happens I didn't want Keane, but we'll just stick to our own reasons as to why he, and others knocked us back. Bet we're one of the few clubs to get turned down by managers in need of work this season.

I doubt very much if Roy Keane and Peter Lawwell ever sat down to discuss the Manager's job . I think Keane wanted to be the sole candidate, so that his ego wouldn't be upset, by been over looked .

OK well maybes not PL himself but he sat down with CFC representatives, and that's according to MO'N.

You're probably right about his ego though yourman. For me, winning the league with Celtic doesn't do a great deal for your reputation as a manager right now. And perhaps Keane knows that and that's another reason. Making in roads in CL though does. Do we have the mentality or the willingness to spend like a CL club though (even one of the poorer ones at best). I don't think we do, otherwise we'd be trying to sign CL standard players before qualifiers. "There are rich teams and there are poor teams, then there's fifty feet of crap, and then there's us", but we can't just accept what seems like a fate.

But as far as mentality of the manager goes at least we've got a man in willing to actually give it a go.

Martin O'Neil spoke about Keane and the Celtic job to suit his own agenda . When Martin speaks, he doesn't expect anyone to believe it as gospel. He needed a topic to keep the Irish media from getting on his back so he built up the Keane/Celtic link .
This kept the Irish media from proping again as to why he only watched Irish qualified players who played close to his home in England . Also why the ROI 's FIFA ratings are at their worse ever .

So the whole Keane link was a smokescreen set up by MO'N?

03 Jul 2014 18:39:46
3-1 calum mgregor,, lots of the youngsters on

Thats for the updates drb

Sorry meant thanks

03 Jul 2014 18:13:30
2-1 johannsson

03 Jul 2014 17:36:15
1-0 stokes

03 Jul 2014 14:26:14
In my opinion I would have took westwood
Over gordon he's just been released by sunderland

03 Jul 2014 17:03:15
Westwoods wages might be a stumbling block. My fear with Gordon is that the board have moved quick to get a nine million pound keeper for free. The fact that the Great Wall didn't play in the World Cup that may put English teams off buying foster, though good qualifying displays could tempt teams but by then Gordon could be proving himself a great keeper again! Forget age van Derek Saar was well into his 30's before Man U snapped him up! Time will tell with Gordon , but if they sell foster for 8-10 million they will just say they got a same priced keeper as a replacement

I would've taken anyone who's actually played in the last 27 mths! In all seriousness but, I'd have enquired about several GK's ahead of CG:

- Victor Valdes (Bosman from Barcelona, Monaco have pulled out due to a niggling knee injury)
- Guillermo Ochoa (Bosman from Ajaccio)
- Kasper Schmeichel (before he signed a new deal w/ Leicester)
- Lukasz Fabianski (before he signed for Swansea)
- Mat Ryan (Club Brugge)
- Julian Speroni (Bosman from Crystal Palace)
- Keiren Westwood (Bosman from Sunderland)
- Jack Butland (Stoke)
- Alex Smithies (Huddersfield)

I know some will be unrealistic in terms of competition and wage demands, but if you don't ask then you don't get?!

The biggest problem with these players is that even if Celtic wanted some of these keepers, they might not want to come to Celtic especially if Forster is still on Celtic books .

I would be very happy with Speroni or Ochoa

As I said, if you don't ask you don't get. This negatively assumptive attitude in the transfer market is what hampers progress!

I think for many transfer windows Lawwell has asked about different players the manager wanted and who were in budget . Only to be strung a long until the agent got an offer from some team in a bigger league and Celtic were left to buy from the bottom of the pile in the last days of window .

Well I think a lot of agreement about this one. However, what's done is done and we move on and hope that (especially for the guys self-esteem and confidence) he comes good and proves us all wrong.

03 Jul 2014 10:12:59
Got to laugh at varying opinions of Celtic fans especially on this site, not in a bad way mind before I get mauled.

Craig Gordon was a good keeper and at 31 is still at an age where if he stays fit can play for another 7 to 8 years. Read what RD says about James Forrest, time to heal from injuries is important. Well if 2 years ain't enough for Gordon then we will find out soon enough.

Now - my concern with this signing is not the player, its what Celtic have been doing for year on year. FF will move on, any player with ambition simply would and he can be a big player at a big club. So here is the Celtic way, sign a keeper for free and sell your No 1 for 8 million plus ( great business, IF CG can stay fit and re-produce the form that he once had but just for once, please make a big money signing )

Now had to laugh yet again that Callum McGregor will be our saving grace. Not a chance in hell. He may well be a decent player at best - he had a good start at the lower leagues of England and then vanished. He was not consistent enough at that level the he certainly is not ready to play for Celtic. Ryan Gauld should have been signed, Sporting Lisbon don't mess around with young players and mark my words, Lisbon will sell in 4 years for a fortune.

Now time will tell if our Academy is any good. But, was it not our Academy that let Robertson the LB at Dundee Utd leave? Now being touted for a 2 million move to the Premiership! Sure someone on here posted before, maybe we do have the talent and its simply the poor coaching that has been the cause of no real stars coming through.

Yeah Fisher, Henderson and Watt have played in the first team, done ok I suppose. But where is our Moravcik type player? Surely there is a Scottish kid out there that has the ability and creativity Celtic need.

So to summarise. I really do hope this is a season to remember. I would be delighted to see CG and even McGregor be successful at Celtic. The more Scottish players in our squad, playing regularly and playing well can also help our national team.

Time will tell fellow Bhoys and Ghirls. let's just sit back and see what happens against the Icelandic team before we make any sort of judgement on manager and players.

Great post, can't fault or disagree with much you've said mate. Be interesting to here what kind of responses you get?!

03 Jul 2014 13:11:03
good post mate disagre about gauld though good player but don't think he's as good as everybody thinks thoughts?

Cheers HB, I always enjoy the reply's.

You just know that someone will get wound up by it and disagree

People want Callum mcgregor to get a chance not be a saving grace. I think Callum's season was better than Ryan Gauld who didn't appear in big games when needed that said good luck to the kid at sporting.

Good post Kev, I'll disagree with you on the Gauld signing though. Although a cracking player I think we should be looking at trying to bring our own youth through instead of buying a guy that's played 30 odd games for 3 million.

I think Ryan Gauld's move to Sporting CP is a good one for him and Scotland's national team, in 5 yrs time he'll fall into the "there's the one that got away" category along with James McCarthy.

There's more chance of him getting playing time and progressing his game at a team with a history of developing youth players (Ronaldo, Nani, Moutinho, Ilori, Dier, etc) than he would in the EPL or Championship!

Also, keeps him out the media spotlight and means he can focus purely on his football.

Haha, true Kev. You'll upset people posting like that!

Kev T, correct in many ways. Love Rd's analysis of Forest. Great to see a manager update the fans on team and player issues instead of the usual soundbites that mean SFA. Happy about the CG signing, as long as we sign another keeper if FF goes. I am sure we will. On the whole excited by the prospect of the season ahead. And on your point about the coaching of kids, I expect there will be a root and branch reform of the system, now that we have a new and progressive management team.

Btw, some of the players I missed out from Sporting CP's academy were Figo, Simao, Quaresma and current players William Carvalho + Carlos Mane!

03 Jul 2014 17:57:50
Agreed in general Kev a think CG is a great bit of business

Never said CMcG was to be the saviour but a goal scoring midfielder will always be welcome

as for Gauld it is some money for someone who has played bout 25 FULL games , having said that he looks a talent , atb jb7

03 Jul 2014 20:22:25
I'd be shocked if Gordon started the season as our number 1. Its only a year from Moukola and look how that turned out. As for the Lubo type player It costs a lot of money to buy a readymade player like that. I've got a feeling Rogic could be a success this season.

Kev T, you are not a very positive Celtic fan are you .
None of us can know for certain whether Gauld will be sold for a wee fortune in the future . Who is to say Henderson or some of the other young lads won't come through and become real stars. There is nothing wrong with a bit of optimism especially at this time of year .

Well HB we did say there would be one.

Welcome Yourman, out of all the reply's your the negative comment.

Irony!

@ 4 & 9

Saviour is maybe a tad too far, wasn't a punt at anyone in particular on the site.

So many people seem to think a decent run at Notts County will make him ready for the top team at Celtic. Its all about opinions and mine would say that he needs to play at a higher level consistently before we play him.

From the crappy online stream I watched, he did seem to play well tonight.

Kev T, I am sure every club let's a player go once in a while who goes on to better things . Didn't the great Ferguson let Pogba go and he has done rightly . No club can get it right all the time and that means that supporters shouldn't ram it down the throats of the club when it does .
I rather take the optimistic view and look at our good first team squad, our good younger players and the fact that we now have our own reasonable transfer kitty should those that matter think its needed .
Its a long time since things looked so good and if Ronnie does his job we should be in for good times .

{Ed007's Note - Pogba leaving Man Utd was a very similar situation to Feruz leaving CFC, the player's ego was out of control and he had his head turned by people more interested in themselves than the player.
AF never let him go, Utd made him an offer which would have made him the highest paid teenager in Utd's history but he had 'allegedly' already agreed to move to Juventus. Pogba (and his family/agent) never had any intention of signing a new deal at Old Trafford, that's why he was never given a chance in their first team, playing him would have done nothing for Man Utd. Pogba had previously done the same to Le Havre when he joined Utd and when the player did leave AF said:

'It is disappointing. I don't think he showed us any respect at all, to be honest. I'm quite happy that if they (footballers) carry on that way, they're probably better doing it away from us'.}

@jamiebhoy7 Gauld's had 32 starts, 18 sub apps and 9 goals since his debut in May 2012. How many mins has our latest signing played in that same period? That's right, none. Gordon's last game was a month before that!

04 Jul 2014 12:39:32
HB think a was more in agreement with you when you highlighted James McCarthy escaping from us and becoming better and of more value , would not have paid £2.8 mill for Gauld oh sorry its "mini messi" now! how unfortunate a mantle is that? bit like stevie fulton / baggio me thinks

We ALL know CG is a punt , time will tell atb hb jb7

03 Jul 2014 06:55:50
So RD came to Celtic, he's unveiled as "a young, progressive coach and a developer of players"

1st signing is a GK, 31, not played since 2012

31 is not old for a keeper and you can't deny Gordon was a very good GK. Doubt he's going to be our no1 and really needs to prove himself but if it's a pay as you play deal why the hell not?

The fact it says 2 yr deal makes me doubt it's a pay-per-play deal, otherwise it would say so. If he's been signed on a straight forward 2 yr deal then it's a terrible peice of business!

It can still be a 2yr contract and a pay as you play hb. I would hope that Celtic wouldn't be as naive not to insert some sort of clause. If it's not then I agree it's a bad piece of business.

03 Jul 2014 13:54:10
I can't imagine for one minute PL had forked out big money on GK, and as for the manager saying he wants youth in sure he does but he's got to be pragmatic as well. He seems a straight shooter to me who isn't going to look at what we have with fresh impartial eyes - ala JF , have we not been crying out for that for ages?

That's the CG deal official. It's a 2 yr contract with the club having the option of a 3rd year. No mention of it being a pay-per-play contract?

HB we'll never know the full ins and outs of the contract. We could be paying him 2k a week with bonuses for playing.

What age was Ronnie Simpson when he came to celtic?, 34 or 35, .

I think Craig Gordon will be surplus to requirements . Fasan showed today a great determination to keep a clean sheet. He really was impressive and should be able to build on it .

{Ed003's Note - you're not going to be surplus to requirements on the day you signed lol. then again funny old game}

03 Jul 2014 00:44:57

6 June 2014 - Celtic appoint Ronny Deila as their new manager:

Chairman Ian Bankier said: "We are delighted to have secured Ronny as Celtic Manager. He is a highly-regarded individual and a man who we are confident will bring great success to Celtic. He is a forward-thinking coach and manager with a progressive approach. The Celtic Board will support Ronny fully and in every way and we look forward to working with him."

2 July 2014 - Celtic sign Craig Gordon, a 31 year old GK who has not played since 2012, has only played ONE single match since 2011 and a total of 16 matches in the last FOUR years.

Since the last World Cup Gordon has played 16 games of football.

This is going to be a disaster. Just can't see Gordon reconnecting with form that earned him £9m move to sunderland.

Its a lawell signing. Makes me wonder who is responsible for duds such as boerighter, pukki and balde

I think this reaffirms the belief that RD is head coach, nothing more or nothing less. Him n JC train the players, pick the squad / tactics n make the board aware what positions need strengthened. JP watches players in said position then passes a list to PL who decides which one is most suitable.

I have had real concerns about our transfer strategy (or lack of it) for ages. We constantly 'miss the boat'.
NL seemed to have ongoing problems with the Board and it would be very interesting to hear his thoughts now.
It's hard enough being a selling club and constantly losing our better players; but they have to be replaced with similar or better quality/potential or the games a bogie with mediocrity on the pitch, lack of success and fans frustration and backlash.
The current squad needs additions and improvement in quality and RD must have seen this by now.

JJ

Listen to yourselves, cup always half empty. Say Gordon does regain his form. He must have impressed in training to earn a contract and PL will have conditions typed into the contract. What if this, What if that, my heid is sore reading this crap. Gordon is a Celtic Player now so what about giving him a chance. Ronny has only taken a couple of training sessions and youz lot are questioning why he has not bought a multi million pound footballer yet. We are Celtic Supporters, Faithfull.
Hail Hail

Yeah, I've said for ages that Peter Lawwell is becoming more a director of football by the second, with John Park his assistant. What knowledge does Lawwell have to be doing this job? Nowhere near enough in my opinion - if he wants to run the club this way, cool, but get in someone qualified. From the U21's right through the development squad, to the first team, we have players who are simply not good enough. We have far too many numbers, and not 1 player who could go to a top top club and be a first pick. All these wages could be going towards a smaller/tighter squad of quality. From the youth up, hopefully our new manager can start to work his way through all the mediocrity, and as I said Lawwell should know his limits, or move on.

This is the reason the gap between us (and the league the media always compare us too) and the EPL keeps getting bigger.

We bring through and/or buy youngsters, develop then sell them like we have with Wanyama, McGeady, Ki and Hooper. All went for fees between £5.5m and £12.5m, but we can't keep doing that on the cheap side of the scale.

Once we've done it with several players, we should then push the fees we spend and demand from others for our players up.

That way we develop on and off the field, as well as moving with the rest and not getting left behind like the rest of Scottish football.

The way I see it is the board will sell Fraser Forster for £9m (as well as punting or releasing Zaluska) and say we've replaced him with a £9m player already. Albeit our new £9m player hasn't kicked a ball since April 2012 and has a long history of knee problems that he visited specialists in America and Spain regarding!

It's that kind of nonsense (over and over / faithful through and through, etc) that's allowed the board to call our bluff time and time again in recent years.

No one's questioning why RD's not bought anyone yet, because he's kept us in the know by saying he wants to run the rule over what he's got first.

People are disgruntled that we've brought a manager in from Norway, with little to no knowledge of the Scottish game, and are expected to believe he went "Aye, give me that Gordon fella who hasn't played football for over 2 yrs!"

@4. A club competing in champions league group stages 2 years running, should not be taking a gamble on a goalkeeper who has been out the game for over 2 years, is injury prone and barely kicked a ball since last world cup. There is no viable argument in his favour.

DN30 you do not lose all that talent jist cause yir knees been a bit sore for 2 years. He must have impressed in his trial and he must have been medically tested to see if his knee will stand up to the pressures that come with being a Goalkeeper. I reakon its a great signing for us and for him, he will be back in the Scotland Team in no time. Hail Hail

{Ed007's Note - The problems with his knees was a lot worse than them being 'a bit sore', Tam. We'll find out how strong his knees (plural), arms and his confidence are when he gets his first clatter during a game. Gordon is one bad landing or bump away from crippling himself, and he won't be truly tested until he plays in a competitive match.
Right away any opposition team will target him as a weak link in the team, players like Chris Sutton and Hartson would have relished the chance to play against a crock GK, why won't physical players like Jason Scotland and John Sutton feel the same?
Would you be so happy if we signed a new CB or RW who hadn't played a single match in the last 2 years? If Bobby Petta could prove his fitness should we sign him as well, he's played more football than Gordon in the last couple of years.
If any other SPFL team had signed Gordon we'd have been pi$$ing ourselves laughing, especially if it was Sevco. They're taking pelters from all directions, including their own fans, for signing Miller and Boyd, us signing Gordon is x10 worse than that.}

Ed, its not a case of if you are happy or not. We will not know until he is tested but I say again the medical and training he has done to earn the contract must have been severe. I am willing to give him the benefit of the doubt and we will just have to wait and see. Best case scenario would be for Big FF to stay 1 more season and ease CG in slowly. he has my full backing, a cracking keeper in his time and a steal if he gets back to being half as good as he once was. Hail Hail

{Ed007's Note - And the deal's been all done and dusted with the very minimum, if any, input of the manager.}

TamTimTic are you serious? Knee injuries are possibly one of the worst a footballer can get. I know this first hand cause I had to give up playing cause my left is f*cked. Its even worse for a goalkeeper.

Picture the scenario. its clear one of the goalkeepers on our books is away, say zaluska (outside bet). Forster gets injured and Gordon replaces him. Gets injured as well. We are in the sh@t. I know who I will be blaming- lawell