Celtic Banter Archive May 07 2014

07 May 2014 22:33:16
Looks like some of the fringe players just aren't good enough. The scouting gets so much credit for finding these gems of players like wanyama, vvd etc but how many duds is that we have signed now since lennon took over. 3m for boeriggter? what a waste of money he is it was well documented he was injury prone before we bought him and he's lived upto his reputation. Balde a just don't know what 2 make of him tbh his 1st touch is like an elephants yet he scores goals like the 1 against trabzonspor. Pukki is another a can't make my mind up about he does look like a player at times. Kayal is finshed he's half the player he was before that injury and if we get an offer for him then take it. The youth team would have looked better than half they players the night

I agree with most on the list that is going but why Stokes, and why Balde for a loan, as it doesn't look that he is any good and we are as well rid now . I would like Snodgrass in plus another couple like Johanson Virgil Biton etc .

07 May 2014 14:55:15
Well that's the rumour mill in spin linking hooper with a move back to celtic.

I have a lot of respect for hooper, he was a good player for us and scored a lot of crucial goals. However, I personally do not want to see him back.

Lets no be under any illusion here, norwich WILL want to recoup £5m for any transfer involving hooper and if they do sell, I believe they will get that money back.

My point is, signing hooper goes against everything lawell says regarding signings i.e finding players that have a profit potential for the future. can't see much profit over £5m in the future.

Also, as much as I am against griffiths being signed, he will score goals for fun in SPL. Europe he is untested, but time will tell.

Theres no need to waste more £m on players we don't need

Agreed. If he came back he probably wouldn't get another move to the EPL so any fee we paid would not be recouped in future years. He has taken his chance and even though he has been playing for a poor team he hasn't exactly set the league on fire.
What is it they say about players finding their level? lol

Hail Hail

I do think we need a decent striker and its still a priority, our top goalscorer is a 30 year old midfielder.

I would not pay over £5m for Gary Hooper, did he not want away for over a year?

Since we made the last 16 of the Champions League we've also lost Wanyama and Ledley from midfield. Not sure how Biton or Johansen will be in Europe or how they will be over the course of a full season. Definitely going into an uncertainty period for me this Summer.

Well we're witnessing right now that our second string are nowhere near SPFL top tier level, never mind Europe!

I'm always wary about commenting at half-time on the Internet as it can come back to bite but!

Think it's time to call a spade a spade, Lennon plays our best team. I know we don't like to face that harsh reality or that Mulgrew is one of our dependable players but this is where we are.

There are no hidden gems he isn't playing unfortunately Balde, Pukki, Derk etc are all his signings.

If you are buying players at the bottom of the market, then it is not unreasonable that some will very poor .
Once again Pukki showed there is a bit of a player (maybe well hidden ) . Balde definitely is not a player and will never be a player. Dirk, I think is probably the biggest disappointment as although he may have a bit of an injury history, most people would have thought he could play a bit . He hasn't done it for us and should also go.

@Mrs E I was of the opinion when I started this thread, that we didn't need a striker cause balde and pukki have never really had chance. After tonights game my opinion has changed, its not just a striker but an overhaul on and off the pitch.

Makes you wonder though, how much more money is going to be wasted on duds

{Ed007's Note - Do you mean duds on or off the park though?}

@ed007 both players and management staff mate

{Ed007's Note - Be careful there, you'll be accused of not being a 'real' supporter or told that you're missing Rangers. Remember the customer, not supporter, is always right.}

@ed007 its murder mate. The ones who come away with that nonsense are deploying classic deflection tactics cause they don't want to face the harsh reality a shake up is required. I can't believe how it seems to be acceptable in the boardroom that £7m has been wasted on dud signings, with realistically no hope of getting that cash back.

{Ed007's Note - Far too many people see NL's background as a suitable qualification to be CFC manager whilst ignoring the glaringly obvious fact, and the evidence, that he isn't up to the job.
I keep saying it, if we continually act like a small club and the fans accept it we can't complain when others treat us like a small club. Clubs like Basel have more CL swagger than we have where too many people see qualifying as a success and anything extra from the group stages is seen as a bonus.
European football after Christmas, whether CL or EL, should be a minimum stipulation for any current CFC manager.}

@ed007 lawell has a lot to answer for and i'm beginning to question what good he actually does for the club.

{Ed007's Note - Lawwell is the man responsible for ripping the heart out of the club, he has no sense of what suporters really want and has badly let them down on numerous occassions, most notably over the Rangers/Sevco fiasco.
I've long felt he was using CFC as his own personal vehicle to further his own career. Remember I questioned if his silence in condemning or making any definite statement about Rangers/Sevco had been bought by an assurance of backing when it came to a job higher up the tree, now he is on the Executive Board of the ECA, which is a very tasty appointment to have on your CV when it comes to a position in UEFA, I won't be surprised to see him at UEFA in some capacity in the future.}

@DN, a Striker has always been a priority for me. Maybe Griffiths will be a joy to watch next season but I'd still like to this 'quality' man brought in.

I'm a bit worried about the midfield as well with Ledley gone, he was always your 7/10 every week man and experienced at all levels - European and International.

Good luck Peter at UEFA, I'm actually not bothered if he does end up here and the issues with a statement about Rangers is fans would want not just one statement but one every other week. Where does it end - I don't need Celtic to tell me Rangers are or where a financial basket case.

{Ed007's Note - It's ridiculous that after 3 years the fans don't know the club's official stance on it. You would think they would have a comment on their Old Firm business partner going bust but that would mean listening to what supporters want and that ain't going to happen any time soon.
Supporters disillusionment with the entire club will have an effect on ST sales, all I hear is people who are not renewing theirs, I've not spoke to one single person who is planning to buy their first ST for next year or even start going to matches again after stopping in recent times.
So far there is nothing to entice people in, the board are relying on blind loyalty to fill the stadium and this season shows their overall plan has failed miserably, without major changes on and off the field, next season won't be much better. If anything it'll be worse}

Hooper back, never. He wanted away and let him fry

Ed, what are you doing up at this time lol

I just don't think a statement about Rangers will make fans part with £400, I'm a definite firm believer it's always going to be the 'product' on the park.

If it was a one-off statement then fine but you know what some are like and would be shouting at Celtic every other week to say something. Maybe they will wait until the new mob at Ibrox win promotion to the Premier League, I don't know.

What I do know is this transfer window has to get a player who will get bums on seats and the shocking complacency has to be knocked out of the current players and management.

{Ed007's Note - I had a funeral this morning, that's two in two days :( Yesterday Hamilton buried one of it's favourite sons, God bless Kev McEneany and this morning it was an old aunt of my mam's.
I'm not holding my breath on getting in a signing to catch fans imagination, we've been waiting for 2/3 years now.}

Sorry to hear that Ed, two in such a short time is really tough going. Hope you are okay.

I’m not getting involved in all the stuff with the Board etc, totally respect everyone else’s opinion but its not for me. I’ve never had much interest in that side of things and would much rather concentrate with on field goings-on. I’m also quite cynical about this transfer window to but I live in hope!

{Ed007's Note - I'm fine thanks. I don't think anyone is holding out much hope for this window, I think it will be viewed as a success if we manage to hold onto Forster and van Dijk.}

Despite all the gloom and doom and the bloody awful signings, we have in all the recent Lennon transfer windows signed very good players. It should be a reasonable expectation to talk about the good and the bad signings we are making. I am sure we don't go out to purposely buy useless players.

{Ed007's Note - The duds far, far outweigh the good though. What did/have players like Cha Du-Ri, Murphy, Juarez, Ljungberg, Bangura, El Kaddouiri, Lassad, Rogic, Balde, Boerrigter, Biton and Pukki offer? Are any of them, or would any of them be, missed?}

Nobody says that any of them would ever be missed but it's only fair to say that Forster Lustig Matthews Virgil Mulgrew Kayal Wilson Griffiths Stokes Hooper big Victor! Ledley Johanson
Biton have either given Celtic good value or are likely to give good value .
Things would have a lot worse if Celtic had given £6 or £8 m for a player who couldn't make it at Celtic . Hope we get two or three from my list in the coming window

{Ed007's Note - And Paddy McCourt is on a free...}