The Scottish PL discussion thread

eirebhoy

I'd be pretty certain what his lawyer is talking about is the FIFA rule which allows a player over 28 to be bought out of his contract after 2 years. Naka turned 29 on Sunday. He earns around £1m a year. He signed a new deal last summer anyway. There's absolutely zero chance of Naka selling Strachan and the Celtic fans short either. His lawyer wants money, simple as that.

Erin Go Brath

I sure hope you're right. Don't think we can afford to lose naka, plus I don't think I'd be able to take the pain. Anyone have the samaritans number handy just in case this happens???

Pure Cork

I'll be in Edinburgh for a few days. Anyone know if it's possible to get a stadium tour of Easter Road?

Cheers

Eirebear

Pure Cork wrote:

I'll be in Edinburgh for a few days. Anyone know if it's possible to get a stadium tour of Easter Road?

Cheers

Dunnlo mate, probably the hibs website will tell you.
only time ive been there ive been running away quite quickly afterwards

Pure Cork

Rangers have just signed DaMarcus Beasley:

http://home.skysports.com/list.aspx?hlid=474080&CPID=14&clid=67&lid=&title=Beasley+agrees+Gers+move

Eirebear

Pure Cork wrote:

Rangers have just signed DaMarcus Beasley:

http://home.skysports.com/list.aspx?hlid=474080&CPID=14&clid=67&lid=&title=Beasley+agrees+Gers+move

yep, im quite happy with this.
hopefully we can bring in faubert and cuellar and weve got a fairly strong squad.

Svenssons off to SC Caen for 700,000 supposedly.
Good luck to him, hope he manages to pick his game up again

Badabing

Eirebear wrote:

yep, im quite happy with this.
hopefully we can bring in faubert and cuellar and weve got a fairly strong squad.

Svenssons off to SC Caen for 700,000 supposedly.
Good luck to him, hope he manages to pick his game up again

Wasn't Beasley at Man City last year?

odonnell

aye he was there on loan....

Badabing

odonnell wrote:

aye he was there on loan....

Is he any good?

Mr Alan

he looked good anytime i saw him play last year

Eirebear

Celtic after Danny ****tu according to UK tabloids
http://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/football/2007/06/28/dan-s-the-man-for-strachan-89520-19368343/

The Backline could be a commentators dream

****tu Balde Fanni

odonnell

and thats before you put Naylor in there.

Eirebear

"Naylor Balde Fanni!"
Man i never even noticed that one...fan-bloody-tastic!

eirebhoy

Celtic have agreed a price for Maceo Rigters and he has been given permission to talk to the club.

odonnell

And Rangers have apparently topped Celtics offer, and he has been given permission to talk to them

Eirebear

Gers to play either Zeta (montenegro) or hearts reserves (FC Kaunas) in the CL 2nd qualifier.
Another chance to get one up abramovic!

Edit: as pointed out below, im a tit

odonnell

its because of you people here are moaning about this becoming a rangers thread. and its romanov you tit.

Eirebear

odonnell wrote:

its because of you people here are moaning about this becoming a rangers thread. and its romanov you tit.

yes it is and no im not a tit, bawbag, easy mistake to make.
And whos moaning? In fact if you look at my last few posts its all been news about celtic.. nakamura, beattie etc etc, and to be honest i havnt seen anyone moaning so unless theyre PMing all theyre moans to you whats your problem?

As far as i see a gers thread would be completely pointless on here as it seems that only you and me....and the celtic fans here, that want to talk about scottish football in any way shape or form.

grouchy much today mate?

odonnell

you know me man.... im always a happy camper.

Eirebear

odonnell wrote:

you know me man.... im always a happy camper.

You be in tonight? I'll gie you a shout after work.
Anyway better shush theyll be talking about us again.

This close season things doing my nut in.....im thinking of starting a campaign for all year round football...whos with me?

Mr Alan

me, as long as its not just the SPL

Eirebear

millersangel wrote:

me, as long as its not just the SPL

ok we have 2 names down....all we need is another 9,998 and Monsieur Platini will have to listen to us

PauloMN

Eirebear wrote:

This close season things doing my nut in.....im thinking of starting a campaign for all year round football...whos with me?

I think you huns would be better having a whip around to collect a few bob for Murray if Rangers are to sign anyone this summer.

Eirebear

PauloMN wrote:

I think you huns would be better having a whip around to collect a few bob for Murray if Rangers are to sign anyone this summer.

Ouch!

true though, too true...

Blackjack

Eirebear wrote:

true though, too true...

3rd offer for Naismith rejected - you'd think Murray would be getting an idea of their asking price at this stage.

eirebhoy

CELTIC manager Gordon Strachan dropped his interest in Dutch under-21 starlet Maceo Rigters last night - hours before he led his team - under tight security - to their Swiss training camp.

The Scottish champions had expressed an interest in NAC Breda youngster Rigters but have now decided that they need a more experienced blue chip striker for the Champions League - with Swiss star Alexander Frei still on the radar despite Borussia Dortmund claiming he is not for sale.

Rigters had come to the Hoops attention, via director of football John Park, after he had finished top scorer at last month’s under-21 European Championships but Strachan does not see the player as any better than any of his current striking options - including Maciej Zurawski, Chris Killen, Scott McDonald, Kenny Miller, Derek Riordan and Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink.

The Dutchman is now likely to move to England where Norwich and Blackburn are both keen to secure his services. Meanwhile, Celtic continued their pre-season when they flew out to Switzerland, after switching to Prestwick from Glasgow airport after the weekend terrorist attacks.

Strachan is still planning for the new season and is prepared to bide his time to get the top targets he wants. Strachan still wants to add more firepower to his squad but before he can do that he must try to move on some of his top earners - including Thomas Gravesen, Jiri Jarosik and Bobo Balde.

He is still looking to add to his squad with another goalkeeper to replace Norwich-bound David Marshall a priority, along with another full back to replace Jean Perrier Doumbe, who has pulled out of contract talks and is set to return to France with St Etienne, although there is also interest from England.

The Hoops are also looking for another midfielder and after pulling out of a move for Stephen Appiah and they have left their £3 million bid on the table for Guiranne N’Daw - even though Sochaux are adamant they won’t sell.

N’Daw’s UK representative, David Baldwin, said: “Celtic have made an offer for the player but at this time Sochaux have said they don’t want to do business.

“Celtic have offered what is a fair price for Guiranne, who I am in no doubt will go on to become a really top player.

“Sochaux have turned down that offer and said they aren’t going to sell and so it looks like the deal has reached some of an impasse.

“Guiranne knows that an opportunity like this doesn’t come along too often and he has told Sochaux he wants to go but he is still under contract and there is nothing he can do.

“It is just a case of waiting to see if Sochaux will have a change of heart, because Celtic have made it clear they are willing to leave their offer on the table.”

PauloMN

I've mixed feelings about the Rigters thing falling through. At first I was disappointed having read about his recent international form, and given the fact he's young with obvious potential. Having another Dutch strike partner for him in the shape of big Jan also would have helped bring out the best in him I would imagine.

However, his goal stats for his club made me have second thoughts, and I must admit to thinking along the same lines as Strachan when he says he's probably no better than what he have in Miller, Zurawski etc.. Probably the right move to drop interest in him at the end of the day.

Who do we get is the big question. I'm still hopeful about Bellamy. I had thought it a no-go when Liverpool were talking about £10m, but that price seems to have dropped substiantially of late. Could still be an option, and one that would be a good option in my opinion.

EDIT: Oh, on Doumbe - I'd be sorry to see him go. Was impressed with what I saw of him, pity a deal wasn't offered/agreed upon. I reckon he'll be a biggish name over the coming seasons.

By the way, for those feeling the footie hunger, F.C. Basle vs. Cetic pre-season friendly is on live tomorrow night (Thurs) from 7.30pm on Setanta Sports 1. Should be interesting if only to see the new bhoys in action.

eirebhoy

Strachan said today it was his decision not to sign Rigters.
http://www.dailyexpress.co.uk/posts/view/12350

Does anyone know who this guy is with the number 24 on his shorts:
http://img262.imageshack.us/img262/7752/51622180ko8.jpg

Apparantly it's not a youth or reserve player.

Dempsey

Looks like Finnbogasson, he's currently out of contract though

eirebhoy

Nah, definitely not Finnbogasson.

eirebhoy

Strachan said that Donati cost less than the reported £3m fee. Let's say £2m. He said in his book that Naka cost less than half the reported £2.5m. There really is bargains to be had in Italy. I downloaded an Atalanta match to have a look at Donati and he's as 2 footed as they come. He's also a really intelligent player. There's absolutely no way you'd get him for cheap in England.

Badabing

eirebhoy wrote:

Strachan said today it was his decision not to sign Rigters.
http://www.dailyexpress.co.uk/posts/view/12350

Does anyone know who this guy is with the number 24 on his shorts:
http://img262.imageshack.us/img262/7752/51622180ko8.jpg

Apparantly it's not a youth or reserve player.

I think it's Bjarnason,Doumbe was 24

eirebhoy

Not Bjarnasson either. I've seen most of the reserve players and I don't recognise him.

Some reckon it's this guy:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tomislav_Pavlov

Badabing

eirebhoy wrote:

Not Bjarnasson either. I've seen most of the reserve players and I don't recognise him.

Some reckon it's this guy:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tomislav_Pavlov

Are you sure it's not him the celtic website have a article about him with pictures and they look very similar?

eirebhoy

Badabing wrote:

Are you sure it's not him the celtic website have a article about him with pictures and they look very similar?

This is Bjarnason:
http://img118.imageshack.us/img118/2057/91104353np7.jpg

The other guy is behind him.

Badabing

Celtic 1 Basle 0, not a bad game for a friendly Miller got the goal in the first half, Scott Brown looked very impressive in the second half strong presence in midfield and made some great runs forward, we have a very good squad for the season ahead, there was no caldwell hartley nakamura boruc or killen aswell tonite.

eirebhoy

1st half:

---

Brown

---

Wilson----Pressley----Kennedy----Naylor
Bjarnason---Donati---Gravesen---McGeady

---

Zurawski--Miller

---

2nd half:

---

Brown

---

Virgo----Pressley----Balde----McManus
Wilson----Jarosik----Brown----Riordan

---

McDonald--Vennegoor

---

Mark Brown in goal made a good few saves. Looked good.
Wilson was back to the player hewas when he first joined Celtic. The player that Strachan called the best defender in Scotland. He'll be a star.
Scott Brown was terrific. Excellent runs with the ball. This guy is class.

The rest of the team was ok. Donati looked composed. McGeady is obviously learning from Strachan. As soon as he gets the ball the first thing he thinks of is the pass.

PauloMN

Was it just me or was that pitch dreadful? Seemed very rough in places. Not helped by the poor camera work either.

Not a bad game all the same, Basle were pretty organised and hard to break down, so the result was a good one. I really wish Zurawski had sent his effort in rather than hitting the bar, for his sake.

Brown was very good in goal, and the other Brown was class. Even seeing his runs and clever play showed he's worth the money paid for him.

Riordan looked a bit sloppy, hope he improves during pre-season. I thought he was one of the weakest players out there tonight.

McDonald put in a decent effort as well, he'll score us goals in the SPL no bother.

Dempsey

Nice to see alot of players getting a run out despite leaving some back in Scotland, we have a strong squad for this season, hopefully we dont get dogged with injuries like last season

Raskolnikov

How did Brown look? A lot of 'gers fans were raging they lost out on him.

Eirebear

been awfy quiet on here since the Young Boys game.
pre season jitters anyone

eirebhoy

Raskolnikov wrote:

How did Brown look? A lot of 'gers fans were raging they lost out on him.

He was fantastic against Basel. I don't think there's any question that he'll be worth every penny of the money paid for him, and more.

Celtic have taken Italian midfielder Andrea Capone on trial and they could sign him on a Bosman free transfer. (Daily Record)

Celtic are lining up a bid for 17-year-old Real Salt Lake midfielder Freddy Adu. (The Sun)

PauloMN

Eirebear wrote:

been awfy quiet on here since the Young Boys game.
pre season jitters anyone

Nah. We're well used to pre-season results like that, and we still win the SPL at a canter.

Eirebear

jeez i dont know paul.
Our squad seems to be building up niceley, with most of our signing targets coming in (faubert and brown being the obvious exceptions) and i think this season could be another last day nailbiter.

PauloMN

Eirebear wrote:

jeez i dont know paul.
Our squad seems to be building up niceley, with most of our signing targets coming in (faubert and brown being the obvious exceptions) and i think this season could be another last day nailbiter.

Answer honestly, how many of these seriously excite you?

ROY CARROLL (Goalkeeper; free from West Ham United)
GRAEME SMITH (Goalkeeper; free from Kilmarnock)
KIRK BROADFOOT (Defender; free from St Mirren)
CARLOS CUELLAR (Defender; £2m from Osasuna)
DAMARCUS BEASLEY (Winger; £700,000 from PSV Eindhoven)
JEAN-CLAUDE DARCHEVILLE(Forward; free from Bordeaux)
LEE MCCULLOCH(Forward; £2m from Wigan Athletic)
ALAN GOW(Forward; free from Falkirk)

Enough quality to guarantee 2nd (or 3rd ), but, while I think it'll be tighter, I still think Celtic will win the title.

odonnell

Id have to say mate - most of those signings excite me far more than the likes of Telfer, Riordan, MgGeady, and all the other seasoned mainstays from last year. As for this seasons signings - Donati id take, Brown im not bothered about as in my opinion - hes a classic case of media sensationalism and whilst he may well be a good player - hes no davie cooper and not a single celtic fan i know from back home reckons in this being so! Everyone i know reckons hes been built up to a 4.4m player instead of actually being one.

Good player - but im not gutted.

So if anyone wants to slag off our signings, why dont we wait until halfway through the season then post the list of players from both teams and compare them then.....because for every alan gow we have, or every McCulloch - Celtic have one too, and NOT necessarily a better version! You guys won the league on mainstay players, and thats exactly what Smith is addressing with these signings.

Im excited about the signing of Gow, McCulloch, Cuellar, Beasley and Darcheville - no joke.

eirebhoy

odonnell wrote:

Brown im not bothered about as in my opinion - hes a classic case of media sensationalism

He is in his arse. Even when it looked certain Brown would be joining Rangers I always said he's a great young player. I was probably the only member of KDS that thought we should pay £3-4m for him when that was the reported fee Hibs were looking for. I don't need the media to make a judgment for me and I think Brown could easily become a £10m player within a couple of years. He has everything needed in a central midfielder.

The Celtic midfield is a class above Rangers. The rest of the team is probably about on par and needs to be strengthened.

Anyway, Celtic will talk to Freddy Adu's agent when they go over to America.

"Freddy has always said he wants to go Europe and any player would have a lot of respect for a club like Celtic."

odonnell

thompson, ferguson, hemdani (who couldnt lose the ball last season and hardlystuck a foot wrong) and beasley in midfield - whos in the celtic midfield that is a class apart?

i think its close, but absolutely NOT a class apart mate... you must have been watching a different celtic

Brown - stillcant see the 4m mate....sorry. Good player, hopefully becomes a great player... BUT - as has happened in the past with young scottish players, media can build them up and it soon becomes a bit of a skewed valuation or view of a player - like for instance... Naismith. The rangers support is in absolute uproar in the event of us not signing Naismith - the a degree that youd wonder what we EVER would have done without him in the past, and rangers may well go down the pan without signing him in the future! Such is the media circus. I reckon browns a better player (but not on paper), but i just cant get round believing theres been a bit of daily record showmanship in that transfer.

now...go drag up my old posts regarding brown ya bugger!

Eirebear

PauloMN wrote:

Answer honestly, how many of these seriously excite you?

ROY CARROLL (Goalkeeper; free from West Ham United)
GRAEME SMITH (Goalkeeper; free from Kilmarnock)
KIRK BROADFOOT (Defender; free from St Mirren)
CARLOS CUELLAR (Defender; £2m from Osasuna)
DAMARCUS BEASLEY (Winger; £700,000 from PSV Eindhoven)
JEAN-CLAUDE DARCHEVILLE(Forward; free from Bordeaux)
LEE MCCULLOCH(Forward; £2m from Wigan Athletic)
ALAN GOW(Forward; free from Falkirk)

Enough quality to guarantee 2nd (or 3rd ), but, while I think it'll be tighter, I still think Celtic will win the title.

Cuellar excites me as hes just the kind of defender we have been crying out for, for years. he has played in the best league in the world and is highly rated.
Beasley is a good player with a proffesional attitude and the pace to beat most defenders in the SPL
Darcheville looks a good signing, will give us some power and pace up front.
Gow is one of the best young players in the country and will show a lot of people what he is worth over the next year or two.
So i'm excited about them
broadfoot i dont really know much about, ive only seen him a couple of times, but he's young, cheap and bulks up our squad.
Carroll and Smith are back up for McGregor, Carroll on his day can be a good solid keeper (and yes i remember the one against spurs!) and smith is just a wee boy, give him a chance you never know!

So im fairly excited to be honest

Now what about celtics signings, do Killen and McDonald do it for you?
Brown is a decent signing of course he is, but at the same time, the way our team is shaping up, i dont think we'll regret not having him next year.
As for Donati, I honestly dont know anything about him apart from the fact he has played in the reserves at the san siro for most of his career, he may be a good player, but im not worried about him right now.

Wheres your blue chip striker?
Surely not Adu? Do you really think the "one time wonder kid" the guys 18 FFS! is going to do the job?

Off Topic,O'Donnell! you no got anything better to do on yer hols than sit and read what sad moany buggers at home have to say?!

eirebhoy

odonnell wrote:

thompson, ferguson, hemdani (who couldnt lose the ball last season and hardlystuck a foot wrong) and beasley in midfield - whos in the celtic midfield that is a class apart?

i think its close, but absolutely NOT a class apart mate... you must have been watching a different celtic

It's all about opinions. If Hartley was signed by Rangers in January he'd be a first teamer imo. As it is I very much doubt he'll start the first match of the season for Celtic.

I can't predict how Donati will do in the SPL but I'm pretty certain Brown will be a success. What I do know is Donati is a playmaker who can play a great pass with either foot. He obviously has an excellent football brain if he has been playing the holding role in Serie A since he's 20. As I said a few times, Naka will only get better with better players. Playing with Lennon, McGeady and Hartley he's on his own wavelength. He literally had to tell players where to run and what to do. Now he'll have a couple of players who will be a lot closer to his wavelength. We'll no doubt be playing attractive football next season imo.

We can't really debate it as a lot of it is guesswork but I think Celtic's midfield looks as good as it has been in years. Jarosik, Sno, Hartley and Gravesen would form a decent midfield even.

Anyway, Celtic won tonight against Peterborough. 4 goals in 3 games in pre-season, shock horror.

CELTIC… 2
(McDonald 19, O’Brien 53)
WEBSITE MAN OF THE MATCH: Jim O’Brien
(1st half)

CELTIC (4-4-2) Brown; Wilson, Pressley, McManus, Naylor; O’Brien, Brown (Hartley 68), Donati (Jarosik 68), Capone (Bjarnason 75); Vennegoor of Hesselink (Killen 68), McDonald.