The following takes place between midnight on the 30th of August 2010 and midnight on the 31st of August 2010. Events occur in unrealistic times…
As Neil Lennon sits patiently by the Keano phone in the bhoy cave in walks his commanding officer. Peter Lawwell cuts an impressive figure as he approaches the Irishman, his Armani suit fits perfectly and the only creases in view are on his tanned brow. His bejeweled outstretched hand takes the envelope marked ‘Top Secret names’ from Lennon’s desk. Lawwell looks at his young agent sternly and reminds him “this is for Dermot Desmond’s eyes only”. We cut for the intro sequence then…the entire show stumbles on in a predictable fashion until…
The envelope was returned to sender at around 10pm, marked ‘January 2011’
See you were all excited for some fancy blogging there eh, I was too then just like the PLC I downsized…
The shape and intent of our entire season could well have been played out in the those 24 hours, the plot has been laid bare to all involved, the cast has been handed their script, there can now be no more failures. It is time to go to war (with what we have).
I’ve written at length recently about how I would feel let down by the club if we don’t strengthen significantly in this transfer window. I’ve softened my point of view from that stance slightly. With European involvement now confined to the archives for another year did we really need that big name signing the support were crying out for?
I’m no longer sure that we did from a footballing sense but if the message-boards represent the mood of a large section of the support it could be a critical mistake for public relations.
Lets look at the football side of things first.
So far in the Neil Lennon revolution we have been unbeaten in the SPL, humiliated by Ross County & embarrassed on our travels in Europe. The axe has fallen on some already with McManus, Naylor and Fortuné relieved of their duties, hopefully more of the deadwood will follow in January. Boruc and McGeady left for business reasons and with them out walked the door arguably our two best players. Some fringe players have also gone for monitory gains, Caddis, Ferry & Sheridan. While McGowan, O’Dea and Thompson have all gone on loan as their chances at Celtic Park would now appear to be limited. Lets not forget Hinkel is already a loss for the season after suffering a bad injury, I suspect though this is more a loss to the money men than the manager.
So we needed to completely rebuild the hoops, players of a certain quality and temperament would be acquired, we were told so at the Lennon & Lawwell roadshows. So who did we bring in?
Fraser Forster – Norwich’s player of the year and the English Championships ‘Golden Glove’ winner, without Europe he has stepped down a level to the SPL lets not kid ourselves about that. Cha Du Ri has looked good and he’s looked bad, alarm bells are ringing with me slightly but only in the distance. Charlie Mulgrew came in to be back up to another left back in the shape of Honduran international Izaguirre. Charlie was poor and was slaughtered by some, ridiculously & shamefully so. Izaguirre looks promising but its still far to early to tell if he has solved Celtic’s Achilles heel. The imposing figure of Danny Majstorovic has been added to the centre of defence to bring some much needed steel and experience.
All good at the back? Maybe, although I’d still have liked to have seen another defender brought in. Curtis Davies & Kelvin Wilson were the names being floated on deadline day. We of course got neither.
In the middle of the park out with the Utrecht debacle, Juarez & Kayal have been impressive with the latter being the only player that came close to pass marks in Holland. While Juarez has already scored as many as our midfield combined last season and is heading for cult status with the fans. In Joe Ledley we have another player in the engine room who looks very assured and I’m positive will blossom into a top bhoyo in the months ahead. Captain Brown is hanging in there by the skin of his teeth, but for how much longer. Rumours were Birmingham wanted to do business involving a swap deal for James ‘some players are born to play for Celtic’ McFadden (quote Neil Lennon). Alex McLeish sobered up and this deal didn’t happen.
Without Robbie Keane the onus for the fans in this window was always going to be on the strikers. We had to strengthen this department. Daryl Murphy arrived and duly scored on his first start from the penalty spot at the weekend. I don’t see the Irishman as anything other than back up or as the player that gives us the long ball option. Number 88 (I love this) Hooper has found himself out injured after a promising pre season but he looks like a natural goalscorer of the poacher variety. He’s a starter no doubt but who will he partner?
Welcome to Paradise Anthony Stokes! The Dubliner completed his £1.2m switch yesterday from Hibs after completing our only bit of business on deadline day. I need to comment on some of the comments that have been made about last seasons 22 goal hit-man. I’ve read he has done nothing at a higher level, thats OK we’re not playing anywhere other than the SPL this season, box ticked. He cost half the money we received for MAF and scores twice as many goals, box ticked. He’s Irish, box ticked for some. The biggest gripe seems to be “he turned us down before and doesn’t deserve a second chance” why? What loyalty did Anthony Stokes owe us as an Arsenal player on loan at Falkirk? We offered him a deal, Sunderland gave him a better one. We offered him SPL (which nobody tires of putting down) and Sunderland provided EPL. We had Gordon Strachan in charge, Sunderland had Roy Keane and don’t underestimate how much of a draw that would have been to a young Irishman alone. If somebody offered you a job with possibly double or even triple the wages you were being offered elsewhere, bearing in mind you owe these companies nothing. What would you do? Aye don’t lie to yourself, move on people.
So there you have it, 11 new players brought in and you could argue that 8 or 9 of them will be regular faces in the first eleven.
We’re still not happy though are we and the board and their promises of spending is the cause. They said we would invest all the McGeady money, all the transfer money received would be made available to Lennon (£17m in we spent £8.5m give or take minimal amounts on both figures, these figures also don’t take into account wage reductions). They ignited the hopes and dreams of the fans with our public pursuits of Bellamy and to a lesser extent James, Campbell & Bullard. We have never denied publicly we could get Robbie Keane and this along with those other names have the fans in no mood for excuses this time around.
Robbie Keane was the big prize though whether we really needed him to win the SPL or not. Keano is the man the support see as being in touching distance and would have reinvigorated the masses after last weeks disaster. The captain of Ireland would be the captain of Celtic. That in itself is poetic.
Even the supporter who on the outside was telling everyone that there is no chance Keane will come, that the finances are all wrong and could have damaging consequences. The same fan was saying we should be good enough to romp home with what we have. Yes he’s saying all of this on the outside…but…on the inside like every single one of us he was hoping for another night of drama in the Celtic Park car park as our ‘special player’ stepped through the glass doors at 5 minutes to midnight, whether it was to be Robbie Keane or an other. We got nothing. Even right up until around 11pm I was still hoping we would pull something out the bag, a loan signing that would give us the edge this season in both quality and psychological.
In summary all the rumours, all the deadline day fantasy, all the empty promises and green moonbeams are confined to the past. We MUST now get behind Neil Lennon and his hoops no matter if we feel injustices and hard done by, by the PLC. Thats not to say I’m not bitterly disappointed, I am. It’s not so much we didn’t get what we wanted or even what we needed to battle for the SPL title (and it will be a tough fight). We didn’t get what we were promised and hence expected. They don’t care how we feel, they never have and they never will. I’ve accepted the fact now that we are nothing more than an SPL side and I suggest you do the same. I am happy with the team we have but still feel let down at the same time. It could have been better. I for one will never believe another word uttered from the lips of Peter Lawwell.
On the other hand its only 16 weeks until Robbie Keane arrives in January…every good show deserves a good cliffhanger after all…
Harper
I’m away to my bed to dream off non footballing matters…hopefully
Thank god for that. A 24 inspired blog would be something I wouldn’t get because I didn’t get the Tv series.
I just saw it as an excuse for a Tv producer to kill loads of people in interesting ways.
Anyway, I was that Bhoy on the outside. I said for weeks Lawwell and Lennon made it clear to me that Keane was out of our league. Bellamy was close because Man City were being shifty, that was the only reason.
Rumour is Keane is not interested in coming back. Footballing backwater is his take.
The figures say it all. Profit made, replaced the players that have left with cheaper options.
The question we need to ask is who is next years McGeady. That cult Mexican looks the best bet.
How long had we been banging on about Stokes ended up on here? Fecking weeks…..
I remember I wanted to see us getting Stokes when he was banging them in at Falkirk. Didn’t happen then.
He’s obviously been round the block since then and hopefully he’s improved as a player.
So could be coming to us at the right time.
Throw him in against the Tarts in the next game, and see what happens
🙂
@sixtaeseven
We were playing Dumbarton in the Scottish Cup when Stokes was at CP for signing talks. I remember Radio Hootsmon going ape that he hadn’t signed for us despite what they saw as an open goal signing. I hated the money grabbing wee chunt at that point.
Well, he never burnt his bridges fully.
Good analysis + McCourt and Maloney and Forrest are also potentially play and goal makers with the above mix -they could work well with Hooper and Stokes
Still think reading comments that reality checks needed. Disappointment? We made loss last year. McGs receipt will cover this and the fact there is no Europe bounty. 11 Players signed is impressive – a few good ones in there from what i have seen. How many have the darkside signed? Lawell is keeping us solvent in a very very difficult economic climate. We need to get behind team and the board as we are all in it together.
@elchappy
It is impressive but it was needed after a botched last few transfer windows and the need to rebuild at great pace, which gives the club that unstable feel and look. The loss was made due to the mistakes Mr Lawwell and his cronies made. The loss this year is due to the mistakes Mr Lawwell and his cronies make. The football budget is dwindling because of their mistakes.
The darkside have been kept afloat because of the mistakes we have made. They haven’t needed to sign players because we have been buffons on and off the park. In the words od Shania, “That don’t impress me much”
Im staring to think that the huns are quietly shiting themselves when they look at the quality of players we have brought in.
Look at the facts, they have scraped through their first couple of fixtures, arguements could be made that so have we but we are unbeaten in the league as they are but we have uncovered a few jewels (not in the crown obviously) with Juarez and Kayal (So far…not saying that the other lads we have brought in are not good enough or anything I’m just thinking that time will tell on the few others)
I personally think Stokes will do a great job for us, he proven mustard in our league and he can score great goals (Against our arch nemesis’ in particular):-
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2QaWKSz1_dA&feature=related
@sean
I reckon that was true until they saw us in Europe. Now they have the comfort blanket of a settled team and a manager who has the hex over us.
We never expected MON and the lads to hump the huns 6-2 did we??
With football you just never know what will happen…thats the beauty.
Most new signings look good and we can see many have been bought with a view to the sell on potential.
Slight (OK big) worry is that the defence has always been our biggest problem and we spent roughly 500k on it – Forster on loan, Cha, Mulgrew, Big Dan all frees, only Izaguirre cost money. Still 3 clean sheets so far n all that…
Got options in midfield and up front but Lenny has to decide on a formation and handle that correctly. Kayal, Ledley, Juarez all want to play centre mid – as does Brown who doesn’t look like being dropped.
In most games so far we’ve gone with one up front – Hooper, Murphy and Stokes all want to be the main striker. Basically his captain and 6 players he actually spent money on looking for 4 places.
Cautiously optimistic but still wary of the darkside. Giving their cousins a good skelping a week on Saturday would be ideal.
@cheifinkorea
For an important part of the team we seem loathed to spend any readies on it. When was the last time we spent serious dosh on the defence?
The windae has slammed shut, and we seem to be all set for domestic domination:
one team for the SPL, another one for the diddy cups.
Bring it on
😉
@sixtaeseven
No cup is a diddy cup this year. Must Win Cups.
@LOTW Rest assured PL painted a very different picture of what we could spend on players at Dub Q&A, he must have been scared of the Irish!!!
@Elchappy Yeah still disappointed. Lets not get away from the fact that when PL made the statements about spending all transfer money coming into the club he was already well aware of last years loss. I doubt they expected CL football so this years European loss would be £5m tops. This is the only loss that couldn’t have been budgeted for. Anything over and above that should have been made available to the manager whether as transfer fee’s or players wages. Lets also not forget the wage bill will have been reduced considerably in this transfer window.
At the end of the day I accept going out of Europe would have seriously hampered us in some of our dealings. The lad at Macabi for example has CL football, we could only offer SPL. I am still happy with the business we did I just feel it could have been more.
Worrying also is the news on SSN today that when Newcastle announced a 23man squad they left places open for being able to recall Forster if the need arises. I hope we made the same provisions to recall O’Dea & Thompson if needed if the run of injuries last season at CB was anything to go by.
@LOTW @Sean I am delighted in the signing of Anthony Stokes, I will be placing a wager on him being the SPL top scorer just as soon as my wages land in the bank this Friday.
@ harper
That’s worrying about Forster, makes me question the whole point of the deal.
My money is going on Hooperman when fit to win the top scorer charts.
Thinking on the defence actually I was quite impressed with Misun what I seen of him pre-season. MAybe he will be able to step up this year if he can steer clear of injuries.
The clean sheets are probably more attributed to the setup of the midfield and the fact that we don’t give SPL teams as much space to play as we have in previous seasons. The midfield look more in charge. The defence still has the deer in the headlights look about it when asked to deal with the ball. Still worries me greatly.
@wildrover
It’s having the extra body in the middle. Most have been saying it for seasons. Strachan done it once in the 2009 Must Win Cup Final. It worked so he didn’t try it again.
It’s mainly to baby sit Scott Brown.
When they announced how much the club lost due to last year’s disaster which was quickly followed by this year’s European humiliations it was obvious that Keane was never going to be asked to sign and where the McGeady-dosh was going (straight into the savings account at the post office). The finances are in a mess. Don’t believe a word of what Reid says Celtic are in for a really difficult few years. We just have to get on with supporting the team. Most of us are happy that we have no choice in this! But being brutally honest the only way we will win the league is if the other lot are stricken with injuries (well suspensions it won’t be). They have a better starting 11 with more settled and SPL savvy players. Ours are still unproven. We could have done with seeing the back of Bougherra, Davies and even Miller and McGregor. Losing two of them would have given us the advantage. Holding on to them means that they must be favourites. It is nothing short of miraculous that they have managed to keep them to be honest. Obviously no offers at all came in.
Our board are also saving some dosh just in case they have to get rid of Neil, which would be a huge mistake, but if we are being honest that is on their minds. But where would we go from there? Best not to think about it. Stokes is the kind of player who should be considered as back-up. Scoring goals at Hibs is not the same as doing it for Celtic, a cliche but true. Most teams are more defence minded against Celtic and it takes that wee bit more to get 20 odd goals. Sorry but I don’t really see it in Stokes. He will get no time from the stands either. If he is not on fire within four or five games he will get booed and harangued which will do his confidence no good. I really hope I am wrong and we are 7 points ahead at Christmas and we don’t have to sit through the whole of January hoping that Robbie is rejected by all suitors before declaring his undying love for all things green and white on the 31st. But being 7 points ahead is no guaratee of anything! Again, I am very willing to be wrong and pray I am but we live, for the time being, more in hope than expectation. Hail!Hail!
I think the Hun could suffer due to the six CL matches they play in the run up to Christmas.
They will be obliged to play their strongest team in these matches to keep the scorelines respectable. Fatigue and injuries will take their toll, as I don’t think they are equipped to handle it.
That is one big thing that could work in our favour – as long as we keep the eye on the prize ourselves.
Blogroll links aint that great 😛 but i am not the admin… 😛 … Just Telling 😛 😀