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

lubo_moravcik

Great news about big Lurch

Savage Tyrant

Dempsey wrote: »

http://www.celticfc.net/newsstory?item=2751

Celtic PLC/Alan Thompson joint statement



Glad its settled in an amicable way.

I'm guessing, and I stress only GUESSING, that both parties reached a financial settlement and have agreed not to badmouth each other in the media.
Best for all concerned.

Dempsey

Savage Tyrant wrote: »

I'm guessing, and I stress only GUESSING, that both parties reached a financial settlement and have agreed not to badmouth each other in the media.
Best for all concerned.

Probably part of the agreement. Last thing either party needs is a mud slinging match in the media.

Anthony Stokes ‏@stoksey10

So any1 heading to the citywest for the Celtic function 2nite?? Hopefully will be a bit of craic... Btr b since it's my las nite in dub lol

€5 that he'll wake up in Wales :pac:

eire4

Glad to see that Celtic and Alan Thompson reached a settlement. Thompson was a great player for us and now has added more trophies as part of Lennon's coaching team the past couple of years so it is good to see that he can now move on and so can Celtic with no dirty laundry being aired in public.

A Dub in Glasgo

Whenever you feel detached from Celtic because of their performances, signing policy, crap league or anything else. Point your mouse to this page, it will give you the inspiration to continue supporting Celtic

http://www.thecelticwiki.com/page/Quotes+-+About+Celtic

the realpigiron

Great news on Forster. When do we find out who we play in the CL qualifying round?

Savage Tyrant

the realpigiron wrote: »

Great news on Forster. When do we find out who we play in the CL qualifying round?

We are seeded in the 3rd qualifying round.
The draw is on July 20th and the first leg will be 31st July or 1st August.

eire4

A Dub in Glasgo wrote: »

Whenever you feel detached from Celtic because of their performances, signing policy, crap league or anything else. Point your mouse to this page, it will give you the inspiration to continue supporting Celtic

http://www.thecelticwiki.com/page/Quotes+-+About+Celtic[/QUOTE]

Great page of quotes there mate. Some very happy memories too of some great nights in our clubs history.

Dempsey

It may not be official yet but apparently Forster was at preseason training today at Lennoxtown.

http://www.thescottishsun.co.uk/scotsol/homepage/sport/spl/4405175/Boss-cares-about-me-thats-why-I-knew-Id-be-staying-put-at-Celts.html

Reading comments from Forster, its a 4 year contract. Absolutely delighted that we've kept him

eire4

This is great news to hear today that Forster has signed a 4 year deal. Now we can focus on trying to find a quality center back and a target man up front which are the 2 main areas to address in the team for me.

cruiserweight

Niall McGinn has signed a two year deal with Aberdeen

Dempsey

Johnny Hayes and Niall McGinn will torture most SPL fullbacks

cruiserweight

Dempsey wrote: »

Johnny Hayes and Niall McGinn will torture most SPL fullbacks

I think the plan is to play McGinn as a striker rather than winger

Dempsey

cruiserweight wrote: »

I think the plan is to play McGinn as a striker rather than winger

Ya, just after reading that there now. He could play McGinn up front and Hayes behind him in the hole or out wide. Or have Fallon as the focal point with these two either side making the runs. It will be interesting to see what Brown does

eire4

cruiserweight wrote: »

Niall McGinn has signed a two year deal with Aberdeen

He should do well up there. Never quite good enough to establish himself at Celtic sadly but good luck to him at Aberdeen. Scoring goals was a major problem for Aberdeen last season so the addition of McGinn and fellow Irishman Johnny Hayes should certainly help them in that department.

TheBuilder

Let me be the first to congratulate you lads on being SPL champions 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017.

We might rise to stop a 10 in a row.

Dempsey

TheBuilder wrote: »

Let me be the first to congratulate you lads on being SPL champions 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017.

We might rise to stop a 10 in a row.

Rangers could be stripped of all titles won since the inception of the SPL, we could be going for 20 in a row by the time ye get your act together

Scottish Football fans deserve alot better than this, its been taken advantage by a minority with alot of power and conflicts of interest. Hopefully fans dont stop once Sevco are in Div3, there is alot of things that need to be done to prevent this ever happening again and creating an environment where Scottish clubs can grow properly, not fluctuate/crippled because everything is based on two clubs.

PauloMN

Where's Brewster? I miss him today. :pac:

ColeTrain

PauloMN wrote: »

Where's Brewster? I miss him today. :pac:

Probably down the pub with his rugby mates discussing how Neil Lennon is to blame for all of this.

eire4

Dempsey wrote: »

Rangers could be stripped of all titles won since the inception of the SPL, we could be going for 20 in a row by the time ye get your act together

Scottish Football fans deserve alot better than this, its been taken advantage by a minority with alot of power and conflicts of interest. Hopefully fans dont stop once Sevco are in Div3, there is alot of things that need to be done to prevent this ever happening again and creating an environment where Scottish clubs can grow properly, not fluctuate/crippled because everything is based on two clubs.

Scottish football also deserves a lot better then Neil Doncaster being in charge of the spl. The guy is beyond a joke. At best and this is me being very generous he is incompetent. He should resign before he causes any more damage.

ColeTrain

Forster officially signed. Great piece of business.

Delight as Celtic sign Fraser Forster on permanent deal

By: Laura Brannan on 05 Jul, 2012 09:04

CELTIC Football Club is delighted to confirm the signing of Fraser Forster on a four-year contract. The goalkeeper, who has been on loan from Newcastle United for the last two seasons, has made his move to the Scottish champions a permanent one.

Forster, along with Lukasz Zaluska, claimed a new SPL clean sheet record last season, with 25 shut-outs between them. And in only conceding six league goals at Celtic Park, it was also the Hoops’ best defensive record at home for 90 years.

Forster spoke exclusively to the official website and expressed his delight at the new deal. "This is a massive club and I feel like this is a step forward in my career," he said. "I want to win things as a team and improve as an individual and I think I will be able to do that at Celtic.

"It also gives me a great opportunity to play in the Champions League if we get through the qualifiers. I really enjoyed my time in Europe last season so I will be looking forward to it if it happens again.

"I enjoyed last season as a whole and we have a great young squad here. The players and the coaches make it an enjoyable place to be and I like being a part of this team."

Manager, Neil Lennon, is also pleased about securing the keeper´s signature. "We are delighted that Fraser has committed his future to the club and we believe he will be a magnificent addition to the squad," he said.

"He gives us that continuity so this is something we are really pleased about. He is a top-class keeper."

Dempsey

http://www.celticfc.net/newsstory?item=2762

CELTIC Football Club is delighted to announce that it is to play Inter Milan in a high-profile glamour match at Celtic Park, kicking-off Celtic´s 125th anniversary celebrations in style.

That will be a good game to watch, even if its a friendly

the realpigiron

Rumours that QPR are interested in Ki. Hope we get a good price for him and invest it wisely in a striker for the CL campaign. With all that's been happening with Rangers, it's vital that in these strange times that Celtic remain focused on pushing on and creating a regular space for themselves in the CL group set up.

Dempsey

the realpigiron wrote: »

Rumours that QPR are interested in Ki. Hope we get a good price for him and invest it wisely in a striker for the CL campaign. With all that's been happening with Rangers, it's vital that in these strange times that Celtic remain focused on pushing on and creating a regular space for themselves in the CL group set up.

Ki passed a comment about a preference to play in La Liga, certainly more suited to his languid style. I think he knows that Celtic arent actively trying to sell him but are listening to offers. Would really like to see Celtic get their signings done in the next 2 weeks so that the squad can be better prepared for european qualifiers than they have been in recent years.

Dempsey

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/18728312

Stiliyan Petrov says hardest part of leukaemia fight is behind him

Petrov wrote:

"I am just not going to stop fighting. I have always been a fighter and I will just keep fighting,"

"I've been a strong character since the start of my career,"

"I always believed that you need to be patient and you need to believe in things, and I believe I will get better.

"I know I've got a few more months of chemotherapy and I need to go through it, but I think that the hardest bit is over and from now on I just need to wait for the result to be positive."

"It is great to see the boys. I'm OK," he said.

"I had a tough three months but I'm over the hurdle at the moment.

"It is a good day and I hope I will keep receiving these messages for a few more years - a good 50 years!"

"It is great what they are doing for the leukaemia research and for me as well," he said. "It is going to be tough for them but they have been working really hard.

"I said to them if I go in remission and I can do a bit of training I can do one of the stages with them."

Just pulled what Petrov said from the article, inspirational character and I hope the good news keeping coming for him.

Lawrence1895

Dempsey wrote: »

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/18728312

Stiliyan Petrov says hardest part of leukaemia fight is behind him



Just pulled what Petrov said from the article, inspirational character and I hope the good news keeping coming for him.

I only can wish him all the best and all the strength he needs. Get well soon, Stiliyan

Jelle1880

Any truth in the rumour that Joe McBride has fallen ill, very badly it seems ?

If so, hope he pulls through.

Dempsey

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/18741748

Rangers' absence won't affect Celtic budget, says Neil Lennon

"It will bite us a bit but the club has its own financial structure and strategy in place and we'll move ahead regardless," Lennon said.

"We always try and maintain a level ground on the spending going out and the money that we bring in.

"That hasn't changed and that was the plan going into the season anyway, regardless of the outcome."

With no Old Firm derbies due to take place in the coming season, Lennon feels the Scottish game is losing one of its main attractions. :pac:

"There's that competitiveness, that rivalry, you are obviously going to miss the games," said Lennon.

"It's a great selling point for Scottish football but they are not here and there's nothing I can do about that.

"What I will say is we need our supporters to back the team now more than ever, to come and support us and invest in the club because we are going to be hit financially by the loss of Rangers in the SPL.

"We have a lot to look forward to. We are the champions and the most important thing is to retain the championship.

"Europe is something that we would like to progress in and take this team forward with."

Lennon, who expects to make "one or two" signings this summer, says it is difficult to predict the wider impact of Rangers' absence from the SPL.

"I don't know what sort of ripple effect there will be," he said.

"It may make the league more competitive. We may see a renaissance in some clubs. I expect some of the clubs to improve.

"Everyone's talking about this league being a foregone conclusion. We don't see it that way. There's probably extra pressure on us now.

"People will say with Rangers out of the way it should be comfortable but it never is."

1 or 2 more signings.....

I'm happy with Mulgrew, Wilson & Rogne. Wanyama can cover if we are short and if desperate, we could blood Stuart Findlay who didnt look of place against Norwich in a really poor Celtic team.

We could do with a quality striker to partner Hooper and if we sold Ki to finance Henriksen and another signing or two, I'd be happy with the squad going forward.

Pompey Magnus

Jelle1880 wrote: »

Any truth in the rumour that Joe McBride has fallen ill, very badly it seems ?

If so, hope he pulls through.

Had a stroke apparently, not sure if anything has been confirmed though.

Dempsey

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/18749192

Celtic goalkeeper Fraser Forster had few concerns about the absence of high-profile Old Firm games when he considered his future this summer.

"Obviously the Old Firm games were big games, but every game is a challenge in its own way," said Forster.

"That, combined with Europe, should make for a good season.

"They were a big part of the SPL. But you have just got to look at the positives and move on."

"Celtic, as a football club, speaks for itself," said the 24-year-old, who signed a four-year contract.

"We have got the chance to play in Europe again, which I'm delighted about.

"With the size of the club and the European chance, it was too good to turn down.

"Not many keepers get the chance to play in Europe.

"We did well last season as a squad, so there was a bit of interest elsewhere, but I always knew I would be back here.

"I think this is the right move at this point.

"I've progressed a lot in the last few years. It's important I keep doing that and keep playing first-team football."

Looks like European Football was the big carrot for Forster

the realpigiron

http://www.celticfc.net/team_first_fixtures

Here's a list of upcoming fixtures from the official Celtic.net site. We play FC Augsburg from the Bundsliga tomorrow evening at 6 pm.

The_Kew_Tour

The fact that ye will be running away with the league for at least one season, does that put more pressure on Lennon now to make something happen in Europe do you think?

Not that he under any pressure after the good start to his manager career, but performances in Europe have been below par the last few seasons.

CSF

The_Kew_Tour wrote: »

The fact that ye will be running away with the league for at least one season, does that put more pressure on Lennon now to make something happen in Europe do you think?

Not that he under any pressure after the good start to his manager career, but performances in Europe have been below par the last few seasons.

Its all he can be judged on now at this stage. The SPL is a given for the short-term future.

Dempsey

They are a good enough squad to beat anyone that they could meet in the UCL qualifiers, the champions route is alot easier than the national qualifiers route. I suppose not progressing through to the group stages of either competition would be a big blow. The biggest problem is their preparation for high profile matches. Lennon doesnt seem to have that mastered yet. Another problem is that he is looking for players and it seems that Celtic are waiting on a decent bid on Ki before anything else will happen. I can see this tactic backfiring badly.

Dempsey

Seems that Celtic TV wont be broadcasting tonights match, they only have a highlights package which will be on tomorrow. Any find out what German channel (if any is broadcasting the game) let me know!

Coillte_Bhoy

Cha's comment on the derby games being a big factor in enticing players to Celtic. It's one thing i fear in our attempts to attract quality players.

And he claims he couldn’t get out of Scotland quickly enough, insisting the Old Firm derby was the ONLY thing that kept him sane during his two seasons in Glasgow.
Cha said: “In Scotland, football is a completely different thing from what it is in Germany.
“When we played at home or against Rangers, everything was wonderful.
“But when we played away, it was a real shock. The stadia, dressing rooms and dismal atmosphere all shocked me.
“At Celtic, we were expected to win every game — and most of the time we managed it.”

Dempsey

The subs bench at certain away grounds werent up to his high standards, must have caught a few splinters, poor Cha!

Coillte_Bhoy

Dempsey wrote: »

Seems that Celtic TV wont be broadcasting tonights match, they only have a highlights package which will be on tomorrow. Any find out what German channel (if any is broadcasting the game) let me know!

pm sent

eire4

The_Kew_Tour wrote: »

The fact that ye will be running away with the league for at least one season, does that put more pressure on Lennon now to make something happen in Europe do you think?

Not that he under any pressure after the good start to his manager career, but performances in Europe have been below par the last few seasons.

While we didn't qualify in the end I thought we did ok and held our own in a tough Europa League group last season. So hopefully the experience we gained from those games and the fact now that this team while still very young will now be in its third season together willstand us in good stead to put in a decent effort in the Champions League this season.

Dempsey

Celtic: Forster, K. Wilson, Mulgrew, F. Twardzik, Kayal, Ledley, McGeouch, Forrest (c), Blackman, Stokes, Hooper Subs: Zaluska, Murphy, Toshney, Watt, McCourt

Strange that Commons isnt involved considering he's suppose to be fitter on the 1st day of preseason than he was at the end of last season!

the realpigiron

Was a 0-0 draw after. Play Stuttgart Kickers next which will be televised in Germany. Might get a stream somewhere for that.

Dempsey

Ya, streams should be easy enough to get for that one. Tonight was just impossible.

Heard Forster had a good game, kept us in it when they had us overrun. They were further along the line with their preseason, I dunno how many players they had missing but we had several.

PauloMN

Clean sheet away in Europe, good enough for me!

Bit quiet on the transfer front, I take the point about waiting for offers for Ki, but I hate the way it's always a scramble just before the window closes. I think we're in a better place with the squad than this time last season, and I think the Europa League last year will have given a lot of players some vital experience that will hopefully shine through this season.

We're going to need a centre-back and a striker though, so I hope Lenny and the scouting team are scouring for them.

Dempsey

http://www1.skysports.com/football/news/12691/7888479/Lennon-confirms-Kim-interest

Celtic manager Neil Lennon has admitted his interest in bringing South Korea international Kim Bo-Kyung to Parkhead this summer.

Suppose to be highly rated, dunno much about him.

ColeTrain

Dempsey wrote: »

http://www1.skysports.com/football/news/12691/7888479/Lennon-confirms-Kim-interest

Celtic manager Neil Lennon has admitted his interest in bringing South Korea international Kim Bo-Kyung to Parkhead this summer.

Suppose to be highly rated, dunno much about him.

I read that there was a five million bid knocked back for him, if that's true then he is out of our reach.

I can't see the board spending more than three million on a player

eire4

ColeTrain wrote: »

I read that there was a five million bid knocked back for him, if that's true then he is out of our reach.

I can't see the board spending more than three million on a player

Maybe not if we sell Ki for 6 or 7 million.

ColeTrain

eire4 wrote: »

Maybe not if we sell Ki for 6 or 7 million.

It's been a while since that kind of money was spent on a player, can't see that changing this season.

Dempsey

I read that Kym's agency turned down a €6m offer for him which would suggest that figure is actually the total value of the contract, not the transfer fee. I doubt Lawwell would waste his time if he wasnt within our price range. I reckon Cardiff will outbid us because they are desperate to justify their image re-branding fiasco.

Jelle1880

Pompey Magnus wrote: »

Had a stroke apparently, not sure if anything has been confirmed though.

Just read that he passed away.

RIP Mr. McBride, a true gentleman from what I gathered.

the realpigiron

http://www.heraldscotland.com/sport/football/celtics-ki-sung-yueng-closes-in-on-qpr-switch.18131420

Hope this story is accurate. 7 million for Ki would be a good money to go in search of a striker and maybe a couple of other signings.