Celtic FC Team Talk/Gossip/Rumours Thread 2014/15 Mod Warning post #6011

RoryMac

Lennonist wrote: »

Balde should start now. Forget about Griffiths. Play Balde.

Yeah I'd agree, Griffiths is an unnecessary stop-gap signing, we need to get a striker in that can hold their own at CL level and if there is no-one available now we should hold fire till the summer

Dempsey

Neil Lennon speaking to media: "I'm very pleased. The football we played in 1st half was exhilarating, a lot of it came through James

NL: "It's no coincidence that him coming back into the team and we are scoring goals at a very high rate at the minute." (MH)

NL: "Thought Brown and Ledley were outstanding in midfield so a really good all-round team performance. Couldn't be happier with them." (MH)

NL on @FraseForster equaling clean-sheet record: "He made a terrific save at 2-0 and he's done that in the last 2 or 3 games." (MH)

NL: "Another player in superb form & deserves all the accolades coming his way. It's a fantastic achievement & want to keep run going. (MH)

NL on Leigh Griffiths latest: "As we were yesterday. No movement." (MH)

NL: "The phone is non stop and it will be fraught for the next 48 hours. I expect a bit of toing and froing on both sides." (MH)

NL: "We've had no phone calls at all regarding any of our players at the minute. Don't want to sell anybody." (MH)

Bit of a standoff at the moment!

blahfckingblah

so whos he sharing the clean sheet record with?

Dempsey

blahfckingblah wrote: »

so whos he sharing the clean sheet record with?

Charlie Shaw set it back in the 1921-22 season and 8 years before that aswell. He must of been unreal!

This article puts Forsters achievements at Celtic into perspective

http://www.eveningtimes.co.uk/celtic/long-arm-of-the-law-shows-forsters-authority-at-celtic-149854n.23284096

If the giant keeper can defy Kilmarnock until 10 minutes into the second half of their SPFL game at Parkhead tomorrow, he will extend his clean sheet record in domestic matches to an astonishing 1000 minutes.

Since Nial McGinn scored on the stroke of half-time when Aberdeen played at Celtic Park on November 23, the giant shot-stopper has not allowed the ball to enter his net in nine league games and one William Hill Scottish Cup tie.

That's a total of 945 minutes, or 15 hours and 45 minutes without conceding.

There is still some way to go before Forster can match the all-time shut-out mark of 1287 minutes, set by Charlie Shaw, the defiant keeper in Willie Maley's side in season 1913-14.

But another unbeaten shift tomorrow night would allow Forster and Co. to equal the club's record for consecutive clean sheets in the league, 10, set exactly 100 years ago and emulated eight years later.

Of course, Forster is no stranger to writing his name in record books.

When he was a rookie on loan from Newcastle to Norwich, he equalled a club best by keeping clean sheets in 18 of their 38 League One matches, form which first brought the raw youngster to the attention of Celtic.

Lennon made it his mission to bring him north, initially for two loan spells, then, eventually, in a £2million transfer.

The keeper has repaid his faith in him in spades with 89 clean sheets in 177 appearances for the Hoops.

And, while his performances in Europe have done most to win him recognition across the globe - and from the England national team coach, Roy Hodgson - it is the consistency shown in domestic games which has marked Forster as one of Celtic's all-time greats.

Three years ago, while still a loanee, he was responsible for 21 of the 23 shut-outs the club recorded - Lukasz Zaluska was in goal for the other two matches - the best the Hoops have ever achieved in an SPL campaign.

Forster would have to rack up another 11 clean sheets in the remaining 16 SPFL games if that was to be matched because early-season form gave no indication records would now be coming into range.

Indeed, in their opening 12 league games, they conceded 12 goals - an average which did not sit well with the keeper or his defenders.

But since former Celt McGinn scored in the 3-1 defeat of Aberdeen, the shutters have been firmly down.

Incredible stuff

RoryMac

Worst transfer rumour of the Jan window goes to

Celtic manager Neil Lennon has made it no secret that he’s after a top striker in the January transfer window and acquiring the services of Wigan forward and former Parkhead star Marc-Antoine Fortuné could make perfect sense.

http://news.ladbrokes.com/en-gb/football/premier-league/wigan-striker-could-find-lure-of-final-european-hurrah-too-hard-to-ignore_185561.html

Dempsey

RoryMac wrote: »

Worst transfer rumour of the Jan window goes to

http://news.ladbrokes.com/en-gb/football/premier-league/wigan-striker-could-find-lure-of-final-european-hurrah-too-hard-to-ignore_185561.html

Thats up there with the Kayal to Wolves one

Given the French hitman’s age it’s unlikely that Celtic would have to part with anything close to that fee to recapture Fortuné, a targetman who could help fill the void left by Gary Hooper’s summer departure to Norwich.

We dont need a targetman because we have Balde, Pukki & even Samaras who can link midfield to attack, we need a goal poacher, a proper penalty box player.

Lennon said if he cant get Griffiths, he'll go bidding on other players and they'd be for other positions in the squad.

http://www.bbc.com/sport/0/football/25956557

"We did put a bid in today for a player," he told BBC Scotland after his side swept aside Kilmarnock 4-0.

"It's a different player and we're waiting on confirmation of that being accepted."

"It is still very, very delicate and we'll wait and see what tomorrow brings on that," he said.

"I am not saying the Griffiths deal is dead by any means, but we do have other people in mind, not for that particular position but also for other positions."

Lennon is look to make Wolves & Griffiths sweat over a deal. Wolves are bluffing over the fee, glad Celtic are calling them out over it.

Dempsey

Celtic Football Club ‏@celticfc 5m

London Road School building, which opened in 1907, will soon be gone too, as the transformation continues #Celtic2014 pic.twitter.com/n4hhCkWExd

I wonder if this picture will come with the season ticket renewal letters! Big Business 1 History & Heritage 0

EDIT

More pictures

It’s the end of an era as the janitor's house at London Road School is knocked down today. (PC)

Work on the area outside the stadium is well underway & will continue over the next few months. (PC) #Celtic2014

EDIT

http://www.celticfc.net/newsstory?item=5340

Celtic open new facilities for disabled supporters

Gleamed through it and something caught my eye

Of course, we also look ahead to the major redevelopment of the main entrance and approach to Celtic Park with work currently progressing very well.

All these initiatives have been received extremely well by our fans and with so many exciting developments around the Club in 2014, the Club is very keen to maintain this momentum and ensure that we continue to provide our supporters with a great Celtic experience.

The Club is also continuing to investigate a number of proposals for safe standing at Celtic Park. This is something which Celtic has taken the lead on. We have been liaising with the City Council on this matter and we hope to be able to update supporters on this issue in the very near future.

That will be interesting!

eire4

Excellent performance last night. Great performances all over the park. Was a real joy to watch at times. Really could easily have been 6-0 or more if we had of been a bit more clinical in front of goal.

blahfckingblah

pity about the school it would have been lovely if it was done up...

A Dub in Glasgo

Dempsey wrote: »

I wonder if this picture will come with the season ticket renewal letters! Big Business 1 History & Heritage 0

EDIT

More pictures

It is not nice to see historic buildings go. Who was going to pump money in to maintain and fix the school? Certainly not the council as they have allowed it go into such disrepair and have not maintained it. With the council making cuts in areas that are having a real effect on people, I doubt they would be happy for more cuts to save the school. It turned into an eyesore. Celtic should not be in the business of maintaining buildings that fall to local or central Government to maintain.

Dempsey

A Dub in Glasgo wrote: »

It is not nice to see historic buildings go. Who was going to pump money in to maintain and fix the school? Certainly not the council as they have allowed it go into such disrepair and have not maintained it. With the council making cuts in areas that are having a real effect on people, I doubt they would be happy for more cuts to save the school. It turned into an eyesore. Celtic should not be in the business of maintaining buildings that fall to local or central Government to maintain.

It all boils down to money, I'm well aware of that.

Werent they listed buildings and one of the reasons we weren't allowed to redevelop that area or the south stand for years?

Dempsey

http://www.scotsman.com/sport/football/spfl/scott-brown-hails-best-celtic-team-in-long-time-1-3288335

SCOTT BROWN believes he is currently leading one of the best Celtic sides in the club’s modern history as they home in on a third successive championship success.

“With this run of results and the added achievement of the clean sheets, I think this is one of the best Celtic teams in a long time,” insisted Brown.

“So, hopefully, we can keep going for as long as possible. It’s a great achievement. Looking around our dressing room and seeing what it means to the players, it shows that we have so much to play for this season.

“It was a great result against Kilmarnock. The lads played well from start to finish and I think it was played at a good tempo as well.

“We were playing one and two-touch on the pitch and we looked really good.”

IMO, In terms of modern sides, I think this Lennons is currently equal or better to any of the teams assembled by Strachan. Still think a team with Larsson, Sutton & Hartson would be the trump card but in almost every other area of the field, Lennons Celtic either matches MON's best side or betters it.

Lennons teams certainly have far more potential waiting to be tapped (reflected in the potential resale values within the squad), cost less in wages and transfer fee's and thats down to Lennon buying fully into the policy the club wanted to implement, a policy that Strachan & Mowbray resisted & never entertained under MON. Lennons tenure in charge has gone from near disaster to a resounding success in many aspects of how the club is run.

http://www.scotsman.com/sport/football/spfl/paul-o-connell-thrilled-at-cousin-s-celtic-chance-1-3288381

PAUL O’Connell’s focus may be on leading Ireland’s rugby team to victory over Scotland in Dublin on Sunday, but the former British and Irish Lions captain has been paying close attention to the progress of Celtic recently.

He admits he is not a big fan of the Glasgow football club but, since his young cousin Eoghan made his debut in Celtic’s 3-1 win over Trabzonspor earlier this month, the famous Ireland lock has started to take a keen interest. The name O’Connell is well known in Gaelic sporting circles, but the big red-haired forward is one of few to have made a name for himself in the international sporting arena. He spoke to The Scotsman at the start of the week about the forthcoming Six Nations and his hopes of leading Ireland back to the top of the tree but, in a break from preparations, he admitted that Scottish football was also now on his radar.

“I was delighted, absolutely delighted, when he made his debut in Turkey,” he said. “I didn’t see the game but I have a recording at home because it was on Eurosport. He’s from a GAA [Gaelic Athletic Association] family so he would have grown up playing hurling, Gaelic football and soccer. His dad Damien, my first cousin, played for Cork City and Cobh Ramblers, the team that Nottingham Forest signed Roy Keane from. Eoghan would have grown up watching his dad playing for them so it was hurling, gaelic football and soccer all his life. I don’t know if it’s in the genes, but it’s certainly a sporting family. The good thing about it is Irish kids play so many different sports it probably all helps. I’m delighted to see him develop his career at Celtic.

“It’s going to be a tough journey for him at Celtic, but we’re hoping he makes it through because I’ll be retiring in about two years and I’ll be able to get over to Parkhead every second weekend to watch him play and bring a gang of the family over.

“I’m not a Celtic fan. I’ve never been to a game. I’m actually an Everton supporter but whenever we [Munster] play Glasgow over there Eoghan always comes over to watch our games and I meet up with him. He’s a great lad and it will be nice to go and watch him play.”

As for the support he expects this weekend, there will be a big contingent heading across the country from Limerick and up from Cork and O’Connell remains a legendary figure to many in Irish rugby. He recently signed a new deal that will keep him in Ireland until he retires, turning down a multi-million pound offer from French club Toulon, that only cements his hero status. He acknowledged the Aviva Stadium support on international day is not always as feverish and voluble as Munster’s red army and called on the Ireland support to find their voice a bit earlier than usual on Sunday.

“I think with the provinces the crowd understand the role they can play for the team by being there early, by being vocal, by showing how much they are up for it,” he said.

“In the Aviva, I suppose it’s such a fantastic stadium, it’s so luxurious and so comfortable, people take time getting to their seats. Certainly, we have to give the crowd something to cheer about, but I do think, at this stage, we need the crowd to realise they have a big role to play for the team as well in terms of supporting us.”

Never knew they were related!

RoryMac

Ledleys off to Palace according to SSN, have to say I'm pretty disappointed with that. I had hoped we could convince him to sign a new deal

Dempsey

RoryMac wrote: »

Ledleys off to Palace according to SSN, have to say I'm pretty disappointed with that. I had hoped we could convince him to sign a new deal

Sickened over this tbh, integral player on & off the field for Celtic. Showed a great level of consistency over 3 & 1/2 years. He's going to be missed badly. Nir Biton & Stefan Johansen have big shoes to fill.

"Celtic have accepted an offer from Crystal Palace for their Welsh international midfielder Joe Ledley and are hopeful of completing the signing of Leigh Griffiths from Wolves.

"Ledley had been offered a new deal at Celtic, with his current contract running out this summer, but so far hasn't signed.

"Celtic would prefer to sell now than allow him to run down his contract. The Scottish champions have submitted a third offer for Griffiths and, all going well, the striker will be in Glasgow for a medical today.

"Celtic have been frustrated in a number of other attempts to sign players this month, with clubs reluctant to sell at this time."

Griffiths bid has been accepted according to reports. Wont be a terrible signing i think but he's a player that has alot of growing up and proving to do. No better man than Lennon to get that out of him imo

Tim Nash ‏@TimNash_star 9m

#Celtic are set to complete the signing in the next few hrs of #Wolves striker Leigh Griffiths,who is understood to be travelling to Glasgow

Celtic to sign off the transfer window on a low

Lennonist

I think it was obvious Joe Ledley was not going to renew his contract. Better to get something for him than let him leave for nothing. I've read that we'll get 800k for him, which more or less covers Leigh Griffiths signing. Hope Griffiths makes the most of his opportunity. Not convinced he's any better than what we already have in that department, but hope he does well all the same. Looks like Samaras will run down his contract, unless something happens today.

Lennonist

SSN mentioned Ambrose to Fulham is near completion. Not good if that happens, he has struck up a good partnership with Van Dijk. They said nothing about how big the fee was.

RoryMac

Jaysus if that's true about Ambrose we have to be still in the market for signings today. I'm probably on my own here but I like Ambrose and think he's better than he's given credit for. Had a rocky spell after the African Nations cup & Juve game but a big loss if he leaves

Dempsey

RE: Ambrose

Thats a strange one, considering that Celtic have no reason to sell players other than the likes of Samaras & Ledley because of their contract situations. Has to be a spectacular offer because he only signed a new contract 4 months ago otherwise the club will rightly get serious flak. I think Ambrose is a fine player, slight chink in his amour with high balls & concentration but he's improving on that aspect of his game.

Lennonist wrote: »

I think it was obvious Joe Ledley was not going to renew his contract. Better to get something for him than let him leave for nothing. I've read that we'll get 800k for him, which more or less covers Leigh Griffiths signing. Hope Griffiths makes the most of his opportunity. Not convinced he's any better than what we already have in that department, but hope he does well all the same. Looks like Samaras will run down his contract, unless something happens today.

If it was unlikely then it was wrong of Celtic to say that Ledley was more likely to sign a new contract than Samaras. Maybe it was mind games with other clubs to keep the fee & contract offer high but I dont think Lennon will ever admit that in public because its a high risk strategy and it has a tendency to piss off fans.

EDIT

http://sport.stv.tv/football/clubs/celtic/262393-mohamed-bangura-set-to-be-released-early-from-celtic-contract/

Celtic are set to release Mohamed Bangura from his contract ahead of Friday's transfer deadline.

STV understands the striker has verbally agreed to terminate his contact, which has 18 months left to run.

The 24-year-old failed to make an impact at Celtic, making 16 appearances but failing to score a single goal.

He also incurred the wrath of manager Neil Lennon when he lined up against his parent club in a UEFA Champions League qualifier this season while on loan with Elfsborg.

Bangura's agent, Patrick Mork, told STV: "It isn't done yet but it is verbally agreed that he will be released today.

"Mo needs to find a solution. He likes Celtic, he likes the city, everything has been good except he doesn't seem to be in the manager's plans.

"He is disappointed but it is not a new thing. He played really well against Celtic in the Champions League qualifiers and he hoped that would get him a chance."

If Bangura is released prior to the close of the January deadline, he will be able to sign for any club as a free agent outside of the window.

Never really got going then injured his knee then out on the fringes then loaned and loaned some more. Expensive mistake by the club.

ColeTrain

Bangura was a terrible signing alright. I was hoping he'd get another chance to turn it around because he did score a few goals in Sweden but it wasn't meant to be.

Surprised to see Ambrose being linked with a move away. It would be disappointing to see his partnership with VVD broken up so soon. We will probably sign another Loovens to replace him..

Dempsey

Sky Sports News ‏@SkySportsNews 2m

News on Joe Ledley's future coming up. We believe he's speaking to Celtic Manager Neil Lennon right now. #SkyDeadlineDay

Last chance Saloon! Not getting my hopes up

EDIT

Jim Spence ‏@bbcjimspence 4m

If Celtic have paid 1.2 million that Wolves were looking for in Leigh Griffiths deal, Dundee are due around 150k from sell on agreement.

£1.2m? :eek: Celtic paid abit over the odds me thinks! €1m would been the most I'd pay for him

Dempsey

Peter Martin ‏@PeterMsport 32s

The @celticfc manager Neil Lennon confirms Leigh Griffiths deal agreed.

We have Griffiths!!! :pac:

EDIT

Celtic Football Club ‏@celticfc 9s

NL on Leigh Griffiths: 'He's here, the deal's agreed & subject to a medical, he'll hopefully be a Celtic player by the time window closes

NL: He knows the environment, he's a prolific goalscorer and I think that we can make him better. He'll be a good asset to the club.

NL: He seems like a very focused player & is delighted to be here. He represents good value for money & he will score goals for us.

NL on other transfer news: A bid from Crystal Palace for Joe Ledley has been accepted & it's now down to Joe & his representatives.

NL: Our contract offer was there for a long time. We made Joe an offer but they weren't forthcoming & now the ball's in their court.

NL: Not surprised about speculation on Efe Ambrose because of his quality but there's been no contact from any club & he's not for sale.

NL: No direct contact from any club about Georgios, so it looks like he'll be here until end of season. Mo Bangura will be leaving the club.

NL: We did put a bid in earlier this week for a Turkish player but he couldn't agree with his club so the deal couldn't get done.

NL: All the players want to be part of the records we're setting. The unbeaten run & clean sheets are a real credit to the whole team.

NL: We know there's an incentive for every team to try to be the one to break these records, so we'll be focused for St Mirren on Sunday.

NL: Manager confirmed Anthony Stokes is back in squad after suspension & subject to deal being completed, Leigh Griffiths will be in squad.

Up to Joe now...

Efe isnt going anywhere, knew that one was off

I wonder who the Turkish player was

EDIT

Celtic Football Club ‏@celticfc 40s

Anthony Stokes: Always competition for places here so it's good for the team. Leigh's scored lots of goals for Hibs & looks a great finisher

AS: Joe Ledley's a great lad & I have a lot of time for him. Playing alongside him, you appreciate what he does for the team.

AS: The unbeaten run is outstanding and the boys at the back deserve great credit for the clean sheets. We're all proud of the records.

AS: We've got a lot to play for. We want to keep unbeaten run going, keep adding to the clean sheets & we'll also got Scottish Cup as well.

Doesnt look like Samaras is going anywhere for the moment

Dempsey

SSN still running the Efe Ambrose rumour?

Lennon quashed that at his press conference.

EDIT

Celtic Football Club ‏@celticfc 3m

Celtic can confirm that young defender Joe Chalmers has joined Championship side @falkirkbairns on loan until the end of the season. (MH)

Good to see Celtic clearing out the development players, they need gametime!

EDIT

Mikey Miller has joined Dumbarton on loan until the end of the season.

blahfckingblah

No word on this other fella celtic were meant to be in for on wednesday?? Probably never existed just something to put the pressure on the griffiths dealand keep the fans at bay

Dempsey

blahfckingblah wrote: »

No word on this other fella celtic were meant to be in for on wednesday?? Probably never existed just something to put the pressure on the griffiths dealand keep the fans at bay

Marc Janko?

Joe Ledley is flying into London as we speak. Should be official in a few hours.

blahfckingblah

http://www.bbc.com/sport/0/football/25956557 this? was that janko?

Lennonist

blahfckingblah wrote: »

No word on this other fella celtic were meant to be in for on wednesday?? Probably never existed just something to put the pressure on the griffiths dealand keep the fans at bay

It was a cod. As long as they keep qualifying for the CL Group Stages, they might get away with it. Not sure they can expect the fans to keep turning up though if they keep up the cod, they could end up codding themselves. It's clear to me that they aren't spending the resources at their disposal from CL and transfer funds over the last couple of years. There doesn't appear to be a departure from the policy of spending max 1 to 3 million on required players, even when it's clear the funds are there. So where's the money going?

Dempsey

blahfckingblah wrote: »

http://www.bbc.com/sport/0/football/25956557 this? was that janko?

Said in another interview something along the line of a turkish player, not sure if that meant turkish nationality or a player in that league. He's a player we've been linked constantly to.

Lennonist

Mind, it appears Stoke have offered 5 million for Lee Cattermole:eek:. Lee Cattermole:pac:.

Rafael Scheidt was the last time we wasted that kind of money, .........on one player.

Dempsey

Lennonist wrote: »

Mind, it appears Stoke have offered 5 million for Lee Cattermole:eek:. Lee Cattermole:pac:.

Rafael Scheidt was the last time we wasted that kind of money, .........on one player.

Lee fcukin' Clattermole! :pac:

More money than sense in that league

EDIT

Tony Watt ‏@AnthonyWatt32 4m

One of best feelings in my football career tonight beating anderlecht and scoring! Boys r on fire, and my dad got to see it ���� #LIERSE

I think Tony Watt could be turning the corner....

Dempsey

http://www.celticfc.net/newsstory?item=5355

New Bhoy: This is the chance of a lifetime

Leigh Griffiths wrote:

"I´m just delighted it´s finally done now. It´s been a long day and I just can´t wait to get started tomorrow in training.

"It was in the middle of December that I first found out there was interest and as soon as the window opened I was just praying for it to be done.

"It has gone to the last day but it´s finally done now, and I´m delighted. The chance to come to Celtic is once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and you have to grab it with both hands. You can´t turn it down.

"I have left a very good club down at Wolves but now I am coming to the biggest club in Scotland and you can´t turn a chance like that down.

"I am coming to the biggest club in Scotland to win things, hopefully play in the Champions League and just get better as a player.

"Everybody is entitled to their own opinions but it´s the manager who has brought me in and it´s up to me to show the fans what I can do," said the striker.

"It´s down to me to get my head down, work hard and go out there and show everyone I can score goals and win everybody over. I have 13 so far this season and hopefully if I can break into the team and can add to that."

"The gaffer has been very supportive to me in the press so far and he knows what I can do," he said. "That´s why he has brought me to the squad and hopefully I can add goals and help the team win trophies.

"The first time I spoke to Neil was this morning at the training ground and he was very easy to talk to - he said what he wanted from me and I told him what I would bring to the team. He´s happy that he has brought me in and I can´t wait to get going.

"We have good strikers here, but the manager sees me as a good player and hopefully I can force my way into the team and stay there.

All positive stuff! The Celtic PR machine already doing wonders for his image! :pac:

Can we sneak in Ryan Gauld & Armstrong on the deadline.

EDIT

Alex O'Henley ‏@OHenleyAlex 2m

#Celtic m/f Joe Ledley having medical at Crystal Palace, so looks like that will go through after they made an improved offer to the player

An offer he couldnt refuse no doubt.