Celtic FC Team Talk/Gossip/Rumours Thread 2011/2012

blahfckingblah

stokes doesnt deserve to be on the pitch today,, hes probably gonna go and score now to make me look silly

the realpigiron

There's a lot of them coasting, bound to happen with the title nearly in the bag. He should give an opportunity to McGeogh. Is Paddy McCourt still around?

the realpigiron

He's bringing on Ki, that wont help.

Jelle1880

Eirebear wrote: »

Come on, give him credit where it's due - not a semi-colon in sight!

And the silence is deafening.

blahfckingblah

Jelle1880 wrote: »

And the silence is deafening.

silence from other celtic fans? i dont think the average celtic fan is represented here


SAMMMMYYY

the realpigiron

Nice 1, handy goal for Sammy there. Stokes went off in a bit of a huff.

Jelle1880

Silence from the club.

As for Stokes: I read that he came out against Lennon regarding his comments on the refs, but that could have been an April 1st joke

blahfckingblah

yeah stokes needs a few words in his ear i think

A Dub in Glasgo

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2wCu8phuXmo

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=usW7En76vW4

Thanks to alanmac from the HB

lubo_moravcik

the realpigiron wrote: »

He's bringing on Ki, that wont help.

Nah he never made much of a difference

Jelle1880

Wonder if Lennon will have a go at this ref, for denying St. Johnstone a penalty

A Dub in Glasgo

Another step to the title which should come next week against Kilmarnock. Celtic fans will swell Rugby Park with the game live on ESPN as well. Looked like Stokes was throwing his toys out of the pram when he was hooked.

Nice touch for Stan

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tEXEI0SOBkM

Loved this bit of banter from Lennon on twitter

ColeTrain

Nice reply from Lennon

Great to see the crowd get behind Stan.

Jelle1880

He really should wait with that kind of stuff until his team actually are able to qualify for Europe

Is it really him btw, or someone who does it for him ?
Because, funny as it may be, I still think managers (no matter the team) should be above stuff like that.

ColeTrain

Jelle1880 wrote: »

He really should wait with that kind of stuff until his team actually are able to qualify for Europe

Is it really him btw, or someone who does it for him ?
Because, funny as it may be, I still think managers (no matter the team) should be above stuff like that.

Fact is Celtic will be in the qualifying rounds and Rangers won't.

It is him btw. I suppose there's no dignity being on Twitter :rolleyes:

Madam

Jelle1880 wrote: »

He really should wait with that kind of stuff until his team actually are able to qualify for Europe

Is it really him btw, or someone who does it for him ?
Because, funny as it may be, I still think managers (no matter the team) should be above stuff like that.

Fecks sake, he's a football manager not the pope:rolleyes::)

PauloMN

Missed the game today - I see Lustig started, how did he get on? First half sounds to have been a bit flat. Delighted for Samaras with his goal and assist (is an assist an assist when it's an OG? ). Hopefully after this season the doubters will finally have seen enough decent performances from Sammy to quit giving him stick.

1 point away from the title lads, it'll be worth the wait.

As for Lenny - personally I don't think he should entertain WUMs on his Twitter account. I follow Lenny'd tweets and he's great on it actually, so I think he should just ignore the WUMs. That said, I don't see any issue with his reply - my only concern would be if some clown sees him replying and keeps at him, and starts the whole sectarian crap off again.

Loved the Petrov shirts on Lenny and the others, nice touch for the man.

Dempsey

Jelle1880 wrote: »

He really should wait with that kind of stuff until his team actually are able to qualify for Europe

Is it really him btw, or someone who does it for him ?
Because, funny as it may be, I still think managers (no matter the team) should be above stuff like that.

LOL, your club doesnt even have a licence for Europe.

Jelle1880

Dempsey wrote: »

LOL, your club doesnt even have a licence for Europe.

Really ? Gee, I must have missed that, thanks for explaining that to me.

Enjoy 'Europe', I know who my money will be on during your away games :cool:

Dempsey

Jelle1880 wrote: »

Really ? Gee, I must have missed that, thanks for explaining that to me.

Enjoy 'Europe', I know who my money will be on during your away games :cool:

Put those bets on and show us the betting slips when the time comes

Lawrence1895

Dempsey wrote: »

Put those bets on and show us the betting slips when the time comes

And share the money with us, we are always nice to you

blahfckingblah

Jelle1880 wrote: »

Really ? Gee, I must have missed that, thanks for explaining that to me.

Enjoy 'Europe', I know who my money will be on during your away games :cool:

now now love thy neighbour and all that

Soups123

Jelle1880 wrote: »

Dempsey wrote: »

LOL, your club doesnt even have a licence for Europe.

Really ? Gee, I must have missed that, thanks for explaining that to me.

Enjoy 'Europe', I know who my money will be on during your away games :cool:

Don't waste ur money on bets, donate to ur club there going to need it next year! That €10 will cover one of ur new star players weekly wage

Jelle1880

But that's the good part, bet on any of Celtic's away games for the home team to win, and I can donate more money

KeithAFC

ColeTrain wrote: »

Fact is Celtic will be in the qualifying rounds and Rangers won't.

It is him btw. I suppose there's no dignity being on Twitter :rolleyes:

The real money only comes about if you get into the proper group games. I doubt Celtic will manage to do that to be honest. Although we will see in time I suppose. A few signings would be required.

Soups123

Jelle1880 wrote: »

But that's the good part, bet on any of Celtic's away games for the home team to win, and I can donate more money

All the same 9 home pts should see em through

blahfckingblah

KeithAFC wrote: »

The real money only comes about if you get into the proper group games. I doubt Celtic will manage to do that to be honest. Although we will see in time I suppose. A few signings would be required.

you see you doubt that where as I KNOW rangers wont be in the group games. Theres still hope for the impending champions of scotland. < also love how this smilie is green

Ladjacket

bloated squad, three right backs, 4/5 players that can play left back, new centre half coming in, over loaded in midfield... hopefully Lenny can sort this out in the off season.

Ideally work with 3 GKS (Forster, Zaluska, Cervi), RB (Matthews and Mark Wilson - would place him above Lustig) LB (Izzy - can play Mulgrew or Ledley here also, scrap Blackman) CB - Rogne, Mulgrew, Fozut, plus I would buy another centre half.

Midfield is where the problems are though I think, the likes of McCourt, Juarez, McGinn etc will probably need to be offloaded. As for Samaras, it is hard to know whether to play him on the left or up front. I would like to see the purchase of a new striker as well, someone who brings something different.

Any opinions?

RoryMac

Ladjacket wrote: »

bloated squad, three right backs, 4/5 players that can play left back, new centre half coming in, over loaded in midfield... hopefully Lenny can sort this out in the off season.

Ideally work with 3 GKS (Forster, Zaluska, Cervi), RB (Matthews and Mark Wilson - would place him above Lustig) LB (Izzy - can play Mulgrew or Ledley here also, scrap Blackman) CB - Rogne, Mulgrew, Fozut, plus I would buy another centre half.

Midfield is where the problems are though I think, the likes of McCourt, Juarez, McGinn etc will probably need to be offloaded. As for Samaras, it is hard to know whether to play him on the left or up front. I would like to see the purchase of a new striker as well, someone who brings something different.

Any opinions?

First priority for me should be to sign Forster up permanently then a striker, Hooper and Stokes have done quite well this season but I think we need someone better if we are to make inroads in Europe.

At RB I think Wilson's contract is up in the summer so I expect him to leave along with Cha. Lustig as backup to Matthews is fine by me.

At LB we need to give Izzy some game time till the end of the season and as you said we've plenty of players to fill in there.

CB you left Kelvin Wilson out not sure if that was meant but I haven't been overly impressed with him, can't see him leaving either. Rogne & Mulgrew are the best partnership at the moment but I'd like to see a more experienced CB signed if possible.

At CM I'm happy with the players we have and don't see any changes unless someone is sold, I'd like to see a wide player signed as noone seems to be able to push Samaras and Forrest for a starting place, Brown may play out there more when Kayal is back but unless Commons can find some form soon he should be out. As much as I don't like saying it McCourt is never going to make the required impact on a regular basis and should be gone.

As above I think we need more quality up front but our budget may not stretch to that. We have Bangura & Brozek at the moment but not convinced they're the quality required

Players Out
Majstorovic
Cha
M. Wilson
Loovens
J. Thompson
O'Dea
Juarez
McCourt
Commons - possibily
McGinn
Daryl Murphy
Rasmussen

Ladjacket

RoryMac wrote: »

First priority for me should be to sign Forster up permanently then a striker, Hooper and Stokes have done quite well this season but I think we need someone better if we are to make inroads in Europe.

At RB I think Wilson's contract is up in the summer so I expect him to leave along with Cha. Lustig as backup to Matthews is fine by me.

At LB we need to give Izzy some game time till the end of the season and as you said we've plenty of players to fill in there.

CB you left Kelvin Wilson out not sure if that was meant but I haven't been overly impressed with him, can't see him leaving either. Rogne & Mulgrew are the best partnership at the moment but I'd like to see a more experienced CB signed if possible.

At CM I'm happy with the players we have and don't see any changes unless someone is sold, I'd like to see a wide player signed as noone seems to be able to push Samaras and Forrest for a starting place, Brown may play out there more when Kayal is back but unless Commons can find some form soon he should be out. As much as I don't like saying it McCourt is never going to make the required impact on a regular basis and should be gone.

As above I think we need more quality up front but our budget may not stretch to that. We have Bangura & Brozek at the moment but not convinced they're the quality required

Players Out
Majstorovic
Cha
M. Wilson
Loovens
J. Thompson
O'Dea
Juarez
McCourt
Commons - possibily
McGinn
Daryl Murphy
Rasmussen

Forgot all about K.Wilson, maybe subconsciously I am thinking that if I forget him he will be gone! When you look at the amount of players that you mention as getting rid of, it shows how bloated our squad is, which a lot of which is to do with Mowbray, but then again Lenny has signed a lot of them too, Juarez, Murphy etc.

Agree about the striker for Europe although to be fair, Sammy was very good in the Europa League. We have a chance now to dominate in the league for a few years and this would mean we would make a bit of inroads in Europe, by which I mean make the group stages of the Champions League, given our dreadful run in Europe recently.

RoryMac

I think quite a few of the players I listed are out of contract in the summer so hopefully free up a chunk of our wage budget.

Lenny has spoken quite a bit about trying to get a better presence up front and I'm sure he'll be looking again for a Hartson/Sutton type player but we just won't have £5-6M to spend on one player so it'll probably be another £2M gamble. I'd like to see us get player like this that can hold his own up front physically, good at keeping the ball and providing for the rest of the team.

As much as I like Samaras I don't think he's suited to that, I prefer Samaras out wide where he has decent pace and can run at defences causing all sorts of problems, also takes the pressure off our defence which is vital in Europe.

It will be interesting to see what kind of money Lenny has to spend in the summer, I can't see the Rangers situation having any impact on us this soon but can't see the board wanting to sign players for decent money either($4-5m on one player), we have plenty of youth in the squad at present and I'd love to see them a bit of experience added.

Ladjacket

RoryMac wrote: »

I think quite a few of the players I listed are out of contract in the summer so hopefully free up a chunk of our wage budget.

Lenny has spoken quite a bit about trying to get a better presence up front and I'm sure he'll be looking again for a Hartson/Sutton type player but we just won't have £5-6M to spend on one player so it'll probably be another £2M gamble. I'd like to see us get player like this that can hold his own up front physically, good at keeping the ball and providing for the rest of the team.

As much as I like Samaras I don't think he's suited to that, I prefer Samaras out wide where he has decent pace and can run at defences causing all sorts of problems, also takes the pressure off our defence which is vital in Europe.

It will be interesting to see what kind of money Lenny has to spend in the summer, I can't see the Rangers situation having any impact on us this soon but can't see the board wanting to sign players for decent money either($4-5m on one player), we have plenty of youth in the squad at present and I'd love to see them a bit of experience added.

bang on, especially regarding the youth players, constantly hear about how good the youth team is so will be good when the league is won to get them a few games. Remember the O'Neill days when Jamie Smith, Maloney, Crainey etc were all brought through. Hopefully see some of this again.

Interesting to hear David Moyes on Goals on Sunday there at the weekend saying he would be in favour of getting Celtic and Rangers down to England, and also mentioned that he would like the Celtic job at some stage before he retires. Top man.

PauloMN

RoryMac wrote: »

I think quite a few of the players I listed are out of contract in the summer so hopefully free up a chunk of our wage budget.

Lenny has spoken quite a bit about trying to get a better presence up front and I'm sure he'll be looking again for a Hartson/Sutton type player but we just won't have £5-6M to spend on one player so it'll probably be another £2M gamble. I'd like to see us get player like this that can hold his own up front physically, good at keeping the ball and providing for the rest of the team.

As much as I like Samaras I don't think he's suited to that, I prefer Samaras out wide where he has decent pace and can run at defences causing all sorts of problems, also takes the pressure off our defence which is vital in Europe.

It will be interesting to see what kind of money Lenny has to spend in the summer, I can't see the Rangers situation having any impact on us this soon but can't see the board wanting to sign players for decent money either($4-5m on one player), we have plenty of youth in the squad at present and I'd love to see them a bit of experience added.

Agree with all that.

I see nobody mentioned Bangura.....

RoryMac

PauloMN wrote: »

Agree with all that.

I see nobody mentioned Bangura.....

He got a mention earlier but it's better to keep quiet about quality players like him, don't want to be attracting the EPL scouts!

blahfckingblah

RoryMac wrote: »

He got a mention earlier but it's better to keep quiet about quality players like him, don't want to be attracting the EPL scouts!

"If possible, I could make the next step in one year - if everything goes well and the club is willing, why not?"

He should have kept his mouth shut I think, not only is his move to the EPL extremely unlikely but he managed to piss off the celtic fanbase before the ink was even dry on his contract

the realpigiron

RoryMac wrote: »

First priority for me should be to sign Forster up permanently then a striker, Hooper and Stokes have done quite well this season but I think we need someone better if we are to make inroads in Europe.

At RB I think Wilson's contract is up in the summer so I expect him to leave along with Cha. Lustig as backup to Matthews is fine by me.

At LB we need to give Izzy some game time till the end of the season and as you said we've plenty of players to fill in there.

CB you left Kelvin Wilson out not sure if that was meant but I haven't been overly impressed with him, can't see him leaving either. Rogne & Mulgrew are the best partnership at the moment but I'd like to see a more experienced CB signed if possible.

At CM I'm happy with the players we have and don't see any changes unless someone is sold, I'd like to see a wide player signed as noone seems to be able to push Samaras and Forrest for a starting place, Brown may play out there more when Kayal is back but unless Commons can find some form soon he should be out. As much as I don't like saying it McCourt is never going to make the required impact on a regular basis and should be gone.

As above I think we need more quality up front but our budget may not stretch to that. We have Bangura & Brozek at the moment but not convinced they're the quality required

Players Out
Majstorovic
Cha
M. Wilson
Loovens
J. Thompson
O'Dea
Juarez
McCourt
Commons - possibily
McGinn
Daryl Murphy
Rasmussen

I'd go along with that and add Bangura to the list.

I'd also add Ki to the list, particularly if we can get a decent price for him. I read somewhere Ki will not be available for the CL qualifiers because he'll be playing in the Olympics. He'd be no loss in my view.

Ki has a market value because he's Korean and his style is probably more suited to another league. I would cash in on him - especially if offered decent money - and spend it on a top striker.

Dempsey

A sizeable amount of our budget is tied up in this development squad project aswell. I think it was a mistake to end the reserve league but we need to adapt to the changes.

We should flog all the players nowhere near the first team, we should get the players that need first team football out on loan, bounce games behind closed doors only help players so much, and get the u19 players that have 'outgrown' u19 football out on loan aswell. We've far too many players stagnating because they arent being challenged in the u19 league or in bounce games with the development squad.

RoryMac

the realpigiron wrote: »

I'd go along with that and add Bangura to the list.

I'd also add Ki to the list, particularly if we can get a decent price for him. I read somewhere Ki will not be available for the CL qualifiers because he'll be playing in the Olympics. He'd be no loss in my view.

Ki has a market value because he's Korean and his style is probably more suited to another league. I would cash in on him - especially if offered decent money - and spend it on a top striker.

I like Ki, think he has a quality on the ball that we lack in other players but I'd agree he is not critical to the team so if a decent bid came in I wouldn't be too disappointed to see him leave.

Dempsey wrote: »

A sizeable amount of our budget is tied up in this development squad project aswell. I think it was a mistake to end the reserve league but we need to adapt to the changes.

We should flog all the players nowhere near the first team, we should get the players that need first team football out on loan, bounce games behind closed doors only help players so much, and get the u19 players that have 'outgrown' u19 football out on loan aswell. We've far too many players stagnating because they arent being challenged in the u19 league or in bounce games with the development squad.

I think the u19's involvement in the Next-Gen series is a step in the right direction, I'm not sure why Celtic haven't pushed harder to have a Celtic B team included in the scottish leagues, to me that is the best way of blooding the young players without the expectation levels around the first team squad. Also better for putting players like Rasmussen etc in the shop window even at first division standard.

lubo_moravcik

RoryMac wrote: »

I think quite a few of the players I listed are out of contract in the summer so hopefully free up a chunk of our wage budget.

Lenny has spoken quite a bit about trying to get a better presence up front and I'm sure he'll be looking again for a Hartson/Sutton type player but we just won't have £5-6M to spend on one player so it'll probably be another £2M gamble. I'd like to see us get player like this that can hold his own up front physically, good at keeping the ball and providing for the rest of the team.

As much as I like Samaras I don't think he's suited to that, I prefer Samaras out wide where he has decent pace and can run at defences causing all sorts of problems, also takes the pressure off our defence which is vital in Europe.

It will be interesting to see what kind of money Lenny has to spend in the summer, I can't see the Rangers situation having any impact on us this soon but can't see the board wanting to sign players for decent money either($4-5m on one player), we have plenty of youth in the squad at present and I'd love to see them a bit of experience added.

When Ki came on on Sunday, Samaras was put up front through the middle and this is where the difference came I feel (as did Matthews coming on). He is great out wide and does the job from that position, but up front he can put the shift in, I just wish he done it more often.

I'd keep
Forster, Mulgrew, Izzy, Matthews, Rogne, Broony, Joseph Patrick Aloysius Ledley, Hooper, Stokes, Sammy, Forrest, Big Vic for sure. I'd consider Ki, Commons, think Lustig could come good, have some belief in K Wilson and Andre Blackman. I always wanna see Paddy McCourt do well.

Looking forward to seeing some of the younger lads come through, such as McGeouch, Michael Miller, John Herron, Callum McGregor and Paul George. One I'd really have high hopes for is Curtis Jones, this lad is a belter.

PauloMN

lubo_moravcik wrote: »

Joseph Patrick Aloysius Ledley

RoryMac

lubo_moravcik wrote: »

When Ki came on on Sunday, Samaras was put up front through the middle and this is where the difference came I feel (as did Matthews coming on). He is great out wide and does the job from that position, but up front he can put the shift in, I just wish he done it more often.

Agreed he can do a job up there but this season he has looked happier and got more involved playing out wide, his confidence is growing and I think if he sticks out wide he can become a big player for us in the next few seasons.

the realpigiron

RoryMac wrote: »

I like Ki, think he has a quality on the ball that we lack in other players but I'd agree he is not critical to the team so if a decent bid came in I wouldn't be too disappointed to see him leave.

I'd sell him to Liverpool for 35 million:D.

Seriously, there was speculation that he could go for as much as 10 million at one time, due to his marketing value. If we got 6 million for him, and then spent the 6 million on a striker, that would be good business I reckon.

ColeTrain

the realpigiron wrote: »

I'd sell him to Liverpool for 35 million:D.

Seriously, there was speculation that he could go for as much as 10 million at one time, due to his marketing value. If we got 6 million for him, and then spent the 6 million on a striker, that would be good business I reckon.

No chance of us spending that amount on one player for a long time. It's not the way the club operates.

I'd be inclined to hold onto Ki but realistically if a anything over 6 million comes in then he is off.

RoryMac

the realpigiron wrote: »

I'd sell him to Liverpool for 35 million.

Seriously, there was speculation that he could go for as much as 10 million at one time, due to his marketing value. If we got 6 million for him, and then spent the 6 million on a striker, that would be good business I reckon.

I'd even consider selling them Bangura for that kind of money!

RoryMac

Fixtures for after the split announced
Motherwell (A) 22/04
Rangers (H) 29/04
St Johnstone (H) 1945 03/05
D/Utd (A) 1245 06/05
Hearts (H) 1230 13/05

lubo_moravcik

Just to throw in kick off times too

Sunday, April 22
Motherwell v Celtic
Fir Park
KO: 2pm

Sunday, April 29
Celtic v Rangers
Celtic Park
KO: 12.45pm

Thursday, May 3
Celtic v St Johnstone
Celtic Park
KO: 7.45pm

Sunday, May 6
Dundee United v Celtic
Tannadice
KO: 12.45pm

Sunday, May 13
Celtic v Hearts
Celtic Park
KO: 12.30pm

Dempsey

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/17604881

Scottish Premier League chairman Ralph Topping has claimed that two potential sponsors have pulled out because of recent events and bad publicity.

And he has urged the 10 non-Old Firm clubs to withdraw their attempt to change the voting structure, suggesting it is damaging its commercial future.

Three club chairmen have told BBC Scotland they have been angered by Topping's letter to the 10 clubs.

And they question whether the SPL's board can now be viewed as impartial.

This 'power struggle' looks like it will end in tears for everyone. I cant see Celtic or Rangers agreeing to changing the 11:1 voting system when you see the tactics that the other clubs are using.

PauloMN

Possible friendly between Villa and Celtic:
http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/football/spl/celtic/2012/04/04/aston-villa-eye-tribute-match-with-celtic-for-stricken-star-stilian-petrov-86908-23812735/

Great idea, funds to go to a leukaemia charity. Full house guaranteed, and would be a decent pre-season preparation game.

Lawrence1895

PauloMN wrote: »

Possible friendly between Villa and Celtic:
http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/football/spl/celtic/2012/04/04/aston-villa-eye-tribute-match-with-celtic-for-stricken-star-stilian-petrov-86908-23812735/

Great idea, funds to go to a leukaemia charity. Full house guaranteed, and would be a decent pre-season preparation game.

Brilliant idea indeed. Stan will certainly appreciate it

lubo_moravcik

Aberdeen v Celtic -Neil Simpsons testimonial supposedly confirmed !!!

24th May Pittodrie 7..45