The Offical Glasgow Celtic thread

[tyroneman]

I'd be very worried about 9iar, never mind 10iar at this stage.

Bar Julilen, there has been no-one of any proven quality bought who will make others look over thier shoulder - and he is near nailed on to start anyway.

Mbombo has zero competition for LB, whoever comes in (eventually) at RB will have no real competition either.

The MF has had no additions bar a decent youth project and up front we are same as before.

All in all there is nothing to create a sense of urgency or competition for places.

[illdecide]

I'd be very worried about 9iar, never mind 10iar at this stage.

Bar Julilen, there has been no-one of any proven quality bought who will make others look over thier shoulder - and he is near nailed on to start anyway.

Mbombo has zero competition for LB, whoever comes in (eventually) at RB will have no real competition either.

The MF has had no additions bar a decent youth project and up front we are same as before.

All in all there is nothing to create a sense of urgency or competition for places.

If things end they way there right now then yes we'll be disappointed...I disagree with your upfront options...Griff is back and Bayo is an option too (i know he untried but i've a good feeling about this lad).
I do agree with you regarding LB & RB though and we def need reinforcement as it's not if tierney goes but when and RB has been a problem for a few seasons now and is worse now

[bogball88]

Celtic will play Israeli side Maccabi Tel-Aviv or Cluj of Romania in the Champions League third qualifying round should they overcome Nomme Kalju.

The Scottish champions host the Estonians in the first leg on Wednesday while Cluj host Maccabi.

Cluj won Liga 1 for the fifth time last season - and second season in a row - and have Dan Petrescu as head coach.

Maccabi topped the Israeli Premier League for a 22nd time, but it was their first title since 2015.

May as well hand out the fine now if its going to be Maccabi Tel-Aviv

[marty34]

I'd be very worried about 9iar, never mind 10iar at this stage.

Bar Julilen, there has been no-one of any proven quality bought who will make others look over thier shoulder - and he is near nailed on to start anyway.

Mbombo has zero competition for LB, whoever comes in (eventually) at RB will have no real competition either.

The MF has had no additions bar a decent youth project and up front we are same as before.

All in all there is nothing to create a sense of urgency or competition for places.

I agree. So far another summer of stagnation, seeing if we can qualify after 4 rounds before spending the cash.

As I said before, too many average players on the wage bill.  Clear 5 or 6 out and get a bit of quality in and supplement panel with youth players.

[Imposerous]

I would have high hopes for the young lad Henderson.  Seems to have a great eye for a creative pass.

[Main Street]

Celtic starlet Barry Coffey who scored Ireland's winner last night v Czech Rep had good words to say about Neil Lennon in a post match interview,
"The gaffer [Neil Lennon], he's unreal. He's tough, he's passionate, he's hard-working. He's a top-quality manager and that's a credit to him. He's been great to work under and hopefully I can keep getting better and keep improving my game."

https://tinyurl.com/y5sdum3k

[illdecide]

Twelve months ago I was moved to write the following article on this very website.

http://celticunderground.net/complacency-is-the-fear/

As the title suggests I was concerned over Celtic's lack of activity in the transfer market and the frustrating thing is that, one year on, the exact same concerns are still relevant now.

It's not that Celtic haven't made signings. Christopher Jullien, Boli Mbombo and the impending arrival Hatem Abd Elhamed, mean that the club have been active in the market. However these guys are effectively the respective replacements for Dedryck Boyata, Mikael Lustig and Kieran Tierney (should Arsenal come up with the required £25m fee). So we are not really any better off than we were last season. Arguably, we will be worse off, especially if Tierney departs the scene.

There is growing disenchantment amongst the supporters regarding the ambition of the Celtic board. Each year when we take part in the CL qualifiers we are totally unprepared for these games. For the first two years of Brendan Rodgers' reign we qualified narrowly. In 2016 we relied on Eoghan O'Connell and Mikael Lustig in centre defence. In 2017, in Astana, we relied on the raw centre back partnership of Kris Ajer and Nir Biton and in 2018 we finally ran out of luck with the untried pairing of Ajer and Jack Hendry, who floundered against AEK Athens.

Rather than learn the required lessons from previous experiences, Celtic have not invested in improving the defence. We are now faced with the prospect of playing Biton at centre half yet again, a position he isn't remotely suited for. This is the fourth year in a row that a Celtic manager has gone into the CL qualifiers with the backside hanging out of his pants. It doesn't have to be like this. The unseeded sides should be fearing playing us in the qualifiers but you can just imagine them before the draws saying 'give us Celtic' as they realise they have a better chance against us. A reasonable amount of investment would almost guarantee qualification and access to the financial riches that await. One would have thought the board would have speculated a little to accumulate a lot. But this Celtic board is highly conservative and will never do that. I see from the draw today that Rumania or Israel awaits us. There can be no great confidence going into these games and there is still another round after that tie, yet to come.

Investment in the team is also desirable for the domestic campaign. There will come a time when Rangers will provide a stern challenge and we must be ready for it. There is a tendency amongst Celtic supporters to believe that Rangers have not improved much and that there is not a great deal to worry about. That is to miss the point. They don't have to come up to our level, we could easily descend to their level, particularly, if like last season with Dembele, we sell players and don't replace them with those of a similar quality. Anyone who overlooks Rangers after the two defeats at Ibrox last season clearly hasn't been paying attention.

As usual the board seem keen to spend the bare minimum to stay ahead of the rest. They would rather risk a bad season than spend a considerable amount (money that we have already banked) in order to win the magical 9th and 10th championships. We can all laugh at newco Rangers current financial predicament and the fact that the old Rangers are currently in the process of liquidation. However, one thing should be borne in mind and that is the difference in psyche between the Celtic board and their Ibrox counterparts. They would do anything in order to better us. If the shoe were on the other foot they would spend millions to get 9 and 10. I am certainly not advocating breaking the bank and going into debt but I do expect the Celtic board to spend every penny available to us and that is something which has not happened for some time now. Boasting of a great balance sheet and a big bank balance will ring hollow if Celtic don't win the next two league titles.

It was good to see Lennon trim the squad during the summer as it was excessively high in quantity and not so great on quality. But it would have been good to see him go further. One lesson has to be learned – no more mediocre signings from Scottish clubs. Jonny Hayes, Jack Hendry and Lewis Morgan are not of the calibre that we require. Moving them on and bringing in better quality should be a priority. It seems crazy to criticise Celtic given the fact that we have won a treble treble. However, if you compare the squad of 2017 to the current squad of 2019, then there has been a considerable drop in class. This has to be acknowledged and the aim should be to get back to that 2017 levels.

I hate to end on a negative note but I have no faith in the Celtic board to spend the required sums to bring in a better class of player. I also appreciate that it's highly difficult to persuade quality players to come to this country to a league which is not regarded as one of Europe's major competitions. Bit as the old adage goes you get what you pay for and it is possible to attract good players if you pay the market rate.

Let me finish with the following quote from last year's article.

I hope that complacency will not be allowed to creep in at Parkhead. The only thing we have to fear is ourselves by not doing things right. I know from talking to fellow Celts that there is an attitude out there amongst the fans that no matter who leaves, we will still be good enough to beat Rangers. That's a dangerous mindset to have. Nothing should ever be taken for granted.

The exact same thing still applies at this moment in time.

[JimStynes]

Glass half empty but I am really worried for 9 in a row. Rangers are getting their act together and Gerrard seems to have a buzz about Castle Greyskull. Lots of negativity from Parkhead and uninspiring signings. But at least the club will be fine financially 

[illdecide]

Glass half empty but I am really worried for 9 in a row. Rangers are getting their act together and Gerrard seems to have a buzz about Castle Greyskull. Lots of negativity from Parkhead and uninspiring signings. But at least the club will be fine financially 

Well that's the thing...and i've been saying this for a year or two but i think they'll go tits up again. They're throwing all their eggs into stop the 9iar or 10inar campaign and it is a very high possibility that it can backfire and they'll blow up for a second time.
My biggest concern is why Celtic can't see this and invest heavily for this year and next and we'll finally see them fold for good...just don't give them a sniff and slippy G will be off to the first guy to lose his job in Premiership after Christmas when he realises he'll be trophyless (is that a word)

[MoChara]

Good Post I'll Decide think it sums up how a lot of us are feeling, we seem to like to gamble the money that we would get in the Champs League rather than gamble before hand on a few players that would increase our chances.

Reports that Arsenal are dropping interest in Tierney cause we wouldn't budge on their shite offer. Perhaps this was the plan get the Tierney money in and then spend, but in theory we should still have Dembele cash to reinvest in the squad, or maybe I'm a bit deluded that we will spend big again after the Julian buy.

[illdecide]

Good Post I'll Decide think it sums up how a lot of us are feeling, we seem to like to gamble the money that we would get in the Champs League rather than gamble before hand on a few players that would increase our chances.

Reports that Arsenal are dropping interest in Tierney cause we wouldn't budge on their shite offer. Perhaps this was the plan get the Tierney money in and then spend, but in theory we should still have Dembele cash to reinvest in the squad, or maybe I'm a bit deluded that we will spend big again after the Julian buy.

Well to be fair it's the first time that i'm happy that Celtic didn't bow down and take the money offered, I agree every player has their price and KT has his and Arsenal didn't meet Celtic's valuation so they knocked it back and rightly so. If Arsenal want KT that bad they have to pay up or move on and it looks that way. However, I do expect Arsenal to some back with what Celtic are looking as they're clearly testing the waters and have known Celtic usually take the money but this time they've grew a set and stood firm...Bravo

[tyroneman]

Celtic do not need to worry about CL money to buy players.

They are on an excellent financial footing with the Dembele money and I firmly believe KT will go for somewhere between 20-25 upfront, so we can afford to buy quality.

Unless there was a major red flag we don't know about ie the knee issue being much much worse than reported, then I think they should have paid the money for Turnbull, given the 2-3 mill at a time we have spent on mediocrity over the LC years without blinking. I fear another McGinn style missed opportunity looms on the horizon.

Part of me thinks the board are banking on another financial collapse across the way paving the way to an easy 2 x titles, which is just a pitiful approach to 9 and 10iar.

[under the bar]

On whar basis would Sevco collapse financially again? Hardly busting the bank signing superstars?

[ned]

On whar basis would Sevco collapse financially again? Hardly busting the bank signing superstars?

Busting the bank? They can't get credit at a bank ffs!
They have signed something like 20 players since Gerrard has arrived. Transfer fees or not that is a lot of monthly outlay on top of what they had.
Just to stay afloat last year they had to borrow money from directors and from Close Brothers at exorbitant rates. And that was with Europa League revenue as well. Add in several court case losses to Mike Ashley and other possible litigation from others for breach of contracts.They are probably not close to collapse but are walking a precarious line, added to the fact their main "investor", King, is only in it for his own gain.
There is either something very shady going on, quelle suprise, or they have not learned from old lessons.
But otherwise all is hunky dory!

[illdecide]

On whar basis would Sevco collapse financially again? Hardly busting the bank signing superstars?

Key Figures:

Turnover £32.6m (2017 – £29.2m)
Earnings before Interest Tax and Depreciation (EBITDA) (£4.2m) (2017 – (£0.1m))
Loss for the year £14.3m (2017 – £6.7m)
Operating expenses £38.9m (2017 – £31.3m)
Average SPFL Home Attendance 49,173 (2017 – 48,893)
Season Tickets 44,658 (2017 – 43,253)

Sevco have continued to have a loss every year from the formed in 2012...this can't keep happening and now losing their latest court case with Ashley/Sports Direct they are walking a tight rope and i've said this many times they're close to becoming dead (again)