Celtic Banter Archive February 08 2015

08 Feb 2015 19:15:28
This is Celtic's time and RD's time. The feel good factor is most definitely back and I imagine that crowds could be up (in terms of physical attendance) but a good 10%. There is lots to be positive about at this precise moment.

Big Gordon has worked out marvellously
Our CB's look solid and whilst it could all unravel at season'e end, we can at least enjoy them for a good few months without a hint of a "pending bid"

our full backs look very comfortable; Izzy doing the defensive bit better than he has done for the past 18 months. when Matthews came out yesterday for Lustig you hardly noticed, it was SEAMLESS

Then we have the irrepressible / irresistible Johanssen. The lad that used to charge around without rhyme nor reason now looks like the model midfield dynamo. He even has a bit of poise on the ball and can actually pass it. He is actually making Brown look bad! Joke. Brown now a deserving Celtic captain and the doubters c=have been snuffed out.

What a great few months for Biton. Looks like a player that knows how to play his position; never over extends and knows his limitations and excels where he is supposed to

I still think we are a little fragile up top but with Commons an Griffiths looking settled and hungry and with Armostrong and GMS, Forrest, Stokes and Scepovic and Guidetti, we certainly have options.

I would almost be tempted to find room for Armstrong (perhaps for Stokes) and then push Johanssen out left and go with GMS for Forrest and rotate Griffiths and Guidetti and Stokes as required; just an idea

and then we've got Chuck to cover for the centre halves when needed

I think RD will get his season after all and he may (MAY) go down in history after all for positive reasons

This is our time and with a little bit of luck, a domestic treble and a win over Internazionale could be doable; that should put a smile on our faces .

Without getting carried away you might be on to something. My pet hate is the fact so many don't go to games, if it is a financial thing then fair enough, but we are starting to play nice controlled football so I hope our crowds are up as well. lots to look forward to.

Agree with your sentiments paradise. let's enjoy the time. We need to get the CB's sorted out before the CL qualifiers and a striker would be nice also. I am hoping for at least a double now, with a good chance of a treble. To progress beyond Inter may just be a wee bit too much too soon, however, it will be interesting to see how much we have progressed - and we have progressed - since the group stages of the EL. Like GJ, I would like to see a few more in the ground on matchday as the football over the past month or so has been very enjoyable. Could do with a few more goals though!

There is no doubt Deila has bought a new emphasis on fitness as one of his key attributes to having a successful Celtic . Great credit goes to the very many Celtic players who have bought into the hard work and the idea of althetes 24 hours a day . Of course some have decided they know better and have decided hard work and fitness is not necessary for them. Paul George is hawking himself around lower division leagues in Scotland . I think it was the Dunfirmline manager who said George isn't fit . I have always thought that you can bring a horse to water but you cannot make him drink . The same applies to footballers, you can provide all the equipment and trainers that is needed but if a player isn't prepared to put everything into it, he won't get fit .
Deila seems to have the answer .

We'll see how good the team actually is when we play Inter Milan.

I'm not getting carried away too soon.

How far we have come will not (nor should it come down to two matches against Inter. I am in no way getting carried away either. Can we agree that we have improved and that we are finding out a lot more about RD's thinking. We look hungry. We look organised. We look disciplined. We look motivated. We look fit. And we appear to have guys on the fringes working just as hard to get a starting slot. All of this bodes well…. In terms of not getting carried away and considering Inter …I predict a 4-2 aggregate win with two wins in both matches home and away ….we are a different team to the one that was humbled by Salzburg (who I predict will make at least the quarters)…

Inter first and then we can get around to destroying Legia…now wouldn't that be fun!

This whole season someone always puts out a test for Deila and he has passed most of them so far . Inter will be a fair test or will it?
Inter spend how many millions per season? The Inter wage bill is how many times bigger than Celtic's? The Inter manager Manchini is earning how much more than Deila?
Although the odds are stacked vastly on Inter's side, I still hope and think we can get through . I won't be reserving judgement on Deila if we don't .

{Ed007's Note - I think the performance against Inter will be a better indication of where we are than the score. I'm delighted that we're still in the EL and as long as we don't get hammered by the Italians we'll be able to hold our head up. I'll keep up my cheery disposition and say we'll go out by the odd goal or away goals.}

On the inter game guys, we're asking how far we have come on from start of season , so I put it to you in another twist, should we go at inter in the same manner as we have against All the other teams we've played ie high pressing game or take a cautious approach? My own view s are we should keep playing the way we have been or what's the point in trying to get team playing rds way in the first place!

Falkirkbhoy, decent comments. Raised the same sort of question myself lately. The system will stay the same. The intensity of the pressure will vary though game by game and, against Inter, should be more 'cautious'. Despite their form they will pose more of a threat than we have been facing so we won't see us holding posession so much in the opponents half. I'd love it if we do and goes without saying we should give it a go. The way we play in the league should be to prepare ourselves for these ties. Like you say, pointless playing one system all season to change it all for a particular tie. I am pleasingly confident, yes confident, we can go through.

We have not won anything yet and it would be sheer folly to count our chickens, as many previous (and better) Celtic teams have come a cropper in finals and run-ins.
The positives are there to see; as the team do have a winning mentality and a consistency that has brought back an expectancy of victory for supporters that was missing for ages.
We dominate every single domestic game - even though we are expected to - and often pass them off the park but I would still like to see more goals to capitalise on our superiority.

The manager is enjoying a rapport with the fans and this will have helped his confidence as he is a far cry from the bag of nerves earlier in the season when we were struggling.
The players are focussed and settled on the job in hand and our captain - who has done it all before - looks well up for the task and is playing well.

Aberdeen are providing a solid challenge and congratulations to them and Dundee Utd will be tough opponents in the LC Final so nothing is in the bag; but we are in much better shape than we have been for a long time thanks to RD.
I look forward to the Europa as a yardstick of progress and although I don't expect anything in football, I hope we perform much better than in earlier rounds and give them a game.
The squad is better, fitter and more confident now and the games can't come quickly enough - COYBIG.

I too, hope we play mostly the same way against Inter Milan as we have recently . We must pressurise them at the back with the like of Griffiths and Johannson doing the work of two men each . I think Deila deserves to be judged on our domestic form and victories . Against Inter, I will look at performance rather than results, if we show we can perform against a team that are always good and from a very strong league .

I think the system we are playing the now is DESIGNED for Europe more than it is domestically

Milan's defence like most Italian defences is aging and a tad slow, so anything high tempo will give us our best chance, but don't expect it

08 Feb 2015 17:40:56
Afternoon Ed, bit of guidance here please if you don't mind this SPFL Championship play off how exactly does it work again?

I have looked it up and it doesn't seem right even fair what I am reading the team that finishes 3rd & 4th play each other then they that winner play the team that finishes 2nd then the winner of that game plays the team that finishes 11th in the premier league for the right to play in the SPL!

But surely that cannot be right?

The fairest way I thought it was, was the 11th team play the team that finishes 4th in the SPFL and the 2nd and 3rd play each other then the 2 winners meet

Seems a lot of football to be played the other way just to play the team that finishes 11th?

{Ed007's Note - You're right about the system they use, Jamie and I agree it's stupid.}

As ever thanks Ed, no wonder these "beaks" @ Hampden are subject to so much ridicule mate

To come up with that permutation when there only FOUR! teams involved is farcical

That's the whole point Jamie. Ever since the formation of the spl in 1998 it's been about self preservation. that's why the original play offs were scraped and it went to one up one down. when the structure was changed at the start of last season the play offs that fans were demanding were only ever going to be allowed if it done as much as possible to preserve the existing premier league teams. Which back fired when accies relegated hibs. There is so much wrong with the way the game is run is this country mate.

08 Feb 2015 15:45:18
Hi Ed, have you got any idea on how much the club gets per season in basic and percentage of retail sales from Nike with our current deal and how it would compare against the possible New Balance deal?

{Ed007's Note - There's no accurate information or figures available about any new kit deal. The money from shirt (kit) sales goes to the manufacturer, the distributor and the retailer, who can make extra adding numbers and names to the shirts. If the club are the retailer (club shop, club website etc.) then they get the retailers cut. The manufacturer (Adidas, Umbro, Nike etc.) pay the club an amount each year which allows them to manufacture and sell the shirts using the correct logos etc.. That is how they justify the money given to the club. So if you walk in to a high street store and buy a Liverpool or Arsenal shirt - nothing goes to the club. There are a few clubs that have negotiated different deals with manufacturers (Real Madrid with Adidas and Barcelona with Nike are the two obvious examples) based upon joint reselling ventures. So the income from shirts is fixed to the £xM or whatever Adidas, Nike etc. pay the club plus a small amount for reselling through the club retail outlets (shop, web).
If a sports shop chain sell a million CFC strips the club gets nothing extra.}

So I'm guessing the rumours about it being a big deal are nothing more than rumours? We get about £6m a season with Nike just now is that right?

{Ed007's Note - The current 5 year deal with Nike was for £25 million + £4/5 million in bonuses.}

Nice info. Even more reason to not go to Cashley's shop but the club instead. Hopefully worth paying that bit more for. Always assumed clubs got a percentage off manufacturers based on sales, no matter where. Therefore the clubs that sell more, get more. If the club manages to get a better deal, wicjed. I'm already glad as I think NB will make some simple classy stuff.

{Ed007's Note - I'd always recommend buying your stuff direct from the club, Jim, simply because more money goes to the club. I'm delighted that it looks like we're parting ways with Nike, they made some nice tracky tops but the strips were like cheap tat. I'm hoping that NB will make it easier for fans in the US to get merchandise as well, Nike refused to pay the tax on importing strips etc and it was difficult to find strips even in the official Nike shops. NB are based in Boston so I'm guessing they are well aware of the potential market over there. There's around 40 million people in the US claim Irish heritage with about 5 million who claim Irish/Scots heritage, it's about time CFC started to break into that market and selling them the story of the club, Americans love a good underdog success story.}

Ed

Why don't the club fight the retailers at their own game when it comes to selling strips? I haven't bought a celtic top for a few years and can't quote current prices but the club always ask for RRP when you can get the strip elsewhere for £10 cheaper. If Celtic went toe to toe with JJB and those other crooks then the club would sell a lot more as it would be a no brainier to buy direct.

I have to say, finding a nice Warrior kit is a bit of a struggle but hopefully they'll keep the NB ones a bit more simple and classy but somehow I can't see it lol. The wait for a glimpse of the new strips will be just as exciting as the transfer window.

08 Feb 2015 13:14:50
Afternoon Ed & all, anyone having a lazy Sunday or even better a football Sunday should bear in mind the final of the African Cup tonight @ half 6 on Eurosport

Myself, JimTim & a few others have been keeping an eye on Mubarak during the tourney and have to say IMO he was man of the match in the SF

He plays in an entirely different position to the where he plays for us he plays in the Biton/Brown role with license to get forward his energy levels have been superb and he took his goal in the semi superbly!

It is funny the only real position that IMO a think is available to be "made there own" the now is the left of the front 3 everyone else is starting to look as though they are dare I say "first picks" in there respective positions so I thought obviously the 2 new signings plus Mubarak would be in/back to make that there's it is a bit of an alien position to Stokes and Forrest yesterday never did much again yesterday to stake a claim for it!

Mubarak will be up against Ya Ya Toure in the centre of midfield so be interesting to see how he does!

ATVB JB7

Football day indeed. Aye I'll be watching it bud. Hoping for an entertaining game after sitting watching Newcastle in the cold. Wakaso has been one of the stand outs i'd say. Very impressed with how he's played, his work rate covering every blade and its nice to know he's that bit more versatile too. He has been playing from a more central position but really does get everywhere. Hopefully he gets himself straight back in the side fluently. I think he was picked early on in the season even in Europe because of the energy and balance he brings. All focus is on Inter for me now and I'd like to see both Brown and Wakaso in midfield. Those two harrying and Bitton sitting should allow a striker and two AM a bit of freedom to test them. If come the summer our midfield options were Brown, Johansen, Bitton, Henderson, Commons, Armstrong, Wakaso, GMS and a new goalscoring wide man i'd be canny chuffed.

08 Feb 2015 11:02:12
Still going on all fronts and team look to be more settled with everything. As for manager I was one of those unsure about him at start of the season, but he too has settled more into his role. What I now like about him is he is honest enough to admit he made mistakes in his first two months, dropping Commons, playing Bergot (who was in Cardiff's reserves) in important CL qualifiers. This was one of the factors that caused our exit from CL. I also posted he seemed distant from the fans and did not acknowledge the supporters, well that has certainly changed also. I am still not totally convinced but on his midterm report card I give him 70% "big improvement, with room to improve even more"

Well, said Timalloy, just about sums it up.The work in progress is showing positive signs, but with some Gaps still to be worked on

I think your totally right tim. As I have said recently I defo warming to RD, my gripe at the time about the CL exit was that I thought it a bad idea to change things straight away.It was always going to take time so why gamble with the CL? Why not keep team the same way till we had qualified then process his ideas.It was too big a risk in my opinion.But he is defo learning and engaging with the fans now.

Ray there was more than just you asking questions. I wanted to see him succeed as he was an extremely likeable guy. But some of his on field decisions and media bites were as strange as I've seen or heard so questions had to be asked. He has now turned the team around quite a bit although footie is fickle. And he seems even more likeable now. I was a lenny fan and I'm an rd fan. I don't think it has to be one or the other. Let's keep this feel good factor on and off the park and keep it on here as well.

Rayman, it takes a bigger man to admit he got it wrong. In saying that RD has won nothing yet, although I really like the guy he still must win a few trophies this year

08 Feb 2015 05:54:19
Can anyone tell me how to switch off the videos at the top of the page in windows 8

{Ed001's Note - sadly we have to have them set to auto start to get any money mate. The best thing to do is to mute them, then you don't even notice them. If you leave your cookies in the browser, it will remember you muted them next time you come back and you will never hear them again unless you choose to switch the sound back on.}