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

PauloMN · 09-05-2014 08:39AM

rosskind wrote: »

He was grand but I'm a fan so I might be biased. Think he's solid enough, we've gone through a fair few heart-attack CBs (even considering the nature of their position) before the last few years and with Virgil possibly going, I think it'd be best the upheaval is avoided.

Good point. I don't think he's awful, but he has some real panicky moments at times and gives me "the Caldwells".

Some big decisions coming up for Lenny, the board and the scouts because we'll need a solid CB to replace VVD, and - let's be honest - we never really replaced Hooper - plus we'll have Samaras and a couple of others at least to replace. All in a WC season and with CL qualifiers around the corner!!

The fun never ends....

bobmalooka · 09-05-2014 09:01AM

OSCAR Knox, the brave little Bhoy from Belfast whose courageous fight against cancer touched the hearts of the Celtic Family, has passed away at the age of five.

Incredibly sad news, I'm sure all of us who were aware of Oscar's illness were moved by how brave and positive he remained. A real battler.

Life can be terribly cruel, and hopefully Oscar's legacy is that we all appreciate what we have. His inspirational short journey deserves some purpose.

RIP Oscar Knox

PauloMN · 09-05-2014 09:07AM

RIP wee Oscar, sad news.

At least he's free of that awful illness now.

eire4 · 10-05-2014 03:40AM

Lennonist wrote: »

Boerrigter in particular has been a huge disappointment. He cost 3 million I think. He looked good when he first arrived but has been injured and/or very poor most of the time. He looks like a write off like Bangura who cost around 2 million and Pukki who cost another around 2 million. Balde cost 1.2 million. Bit of a pattern of wasting money forming there.

A bit glass half empty there. First with Bangura although he was a flop we actually made most of the transfer fee back with all the loan deals we sent him out on so we rerally didn't get burned with him. The 3 summer signings though I agree all bad. Pukki the only one who looks at all like he might be able to turn it around if kept for next season. But we did sign Van Dijk, Johansen and Griffiths who all have looked good plus we made big profits on the sales of Wilson, Hooper and Wanyama so to be fair your being a bit over critical there.

eire4 · 10-05-2014 03:46AM

PauloMN wrote: »

I agree, I think he could be good for us as a second or third striker. I'd certainly not put him in the same category as Balde anyway.

Am most disappointed with Boerrigter of all of them. He was made out to be the real deal when we signed him. Obviously last night was being used as a last chance for some of these bhoys, but it sounds like himself and Balde were poor. Didn't see the game though so I can't judge.

How did Ambrose do? I'd personally be as happy to see him out the door as anyone else tbh.

Have to disagree with you on Ambrose. Sure he has had his moments but this season he has come on tremendously and I think he is vital for us. Alongside Van Dijk he gives us a rock solid foundation at the back.

Boerrigter I totally agree. He has been a major disppointment. Looked totally uninterested last night as well. Hope we can sell him this summer and bring in Snodgrass instead. Pukki I think still has potential. But if we got a decent offer this summer I would happily sell Pukki and Balde and try and get Hooper back up the road alongside Snodgrass.

Broxi_Bear_Eire · 10-05-2014 10:10AM

bobmalooka wrote: »

OSCAR Knox, the brave little Bhoy from Belfast whose courageous fight against cancer touched the hearts of the Celtic Family, has passed away at the age of five.

Incredibly sad news, I'm sure all of us who were aware of Oscar's illness were moved by how brave and positive he remained. A real battler.

Life can be terribly cruel, and hopefully Oscar's legacy is that we all appreciate what we have. His inspirational short journey deserves some purpose.

RIP Oscar Knox

Terrible news

RIP wee man

Lennonist · 10-05-2014 11:25AM

eire4 wrote: »

A bit glass half empty there. First with Bangura although he was a flop we actually made most of the transfer fee back with all the loan deals we sent him out on so we rerally didn't get burned with him. The 3 summer signings though I agree all bad. Pukki the only one who looks at all like he might be able to turn it around if kept for next season. But we did sign Van Dijk, Johansen and Griffiths who all have looked good plus we made big profits on the sales of Wilson, Hooper and Wanyama so to be fair your being a bit over critical there.

We didn't get burned with Bangura? I find that hard to believe.

Yes we've made signings that have worked really well. As always some signings work and some don't and that can happen regardless of the price bracket they come in. Would like to see a little bit of flexibility to our financial model from time to time if the right player becomes available and is willing to sign on reasonable wages.

Snodgrass for example if he was willing to come to Celtic, I'd push the boat out on him and match any other other offers transfer fee wise. Barring being unlucky with injuries or something he'd be a sure fire success I reckon. If he was willing to come and say it takes 5 million to get him, then he'd be worth the punt. There would be others worth that kind of outlay as well. We should be prepared to bid that kind of money for the right player and then see if they are willing to come or not.

weldoninhio · 10-05-2014 01:32PM

Lennonist wrote: »

Boerrigter in particular has been a huge disappointment. He cost 3 million I think. He looked good when he first arrived but has been injured and/or very poor most of the time. He looks like a write off like Bangura who cost around 2 million and Pukki who cost another around 2 million. Balde cost 1.2 million. Bit of a pattern of wasting money forming there.

Boerrigter cost 1m. Lenny said as much during the week.

bobbysands81 · 10-05-2014 08:00PM

PauloMN wrote: »

RIP wee Oscar, sad news.

At least he's free of that awful illness now.

He said a few things a few weeks ago stuck in my head and are still with me.

"I don't want to be me."

"I don't want to be a little boy anymore."

What a heartbreaking story.

What an amazing little boy he was.

What incredible parents he has, inspiring people.

Lennonist · 10-05-2014 09:39PM

weldoninhio wrote: »

Boerrigter cost 1m. Lenny said as much during the week.

Good, it's better he cost 1 million than 3. You'd wonder about the reports on the cost of these transfers. How come Celtic didn't make an official comment on his transfer cost to the papers before now? Seems odd that it was widely reported that Boerrigter cost around 3 million up 'till now.

rosskind · 10-05-2014 10:39PM

I think the fees for Pukki and Boerrigter were with add-ons included, so if he was sold this summer I don't think he'd trigger any.

eire4 · 10-05-2014 10:48PM

Lennonist wrote: »

We didn't get burned with Bangura? I find that hard to believe.

Don't get me wrong. I think Bangura was a terrible signing a total flop. But financialy we didn't get burned. He cost 2.2m when we bought him from AIK in Sweden in August 2011 on a 4 year deal. We loaned him back to AIK a year later followed by a 1 year loan to Elfsborg for which we recouped a bit over half of the original transfer fee. Then we mutually agreed to cancel the final 1.5 years of his contract last January allowing him to move on a free. So in the end transfer wise we only lost about 1m or so which is not good but hardly what I would called getting burned.

RoryMac · 11-05-2014 01:09PM

Nice win to wrap up the season, great to see Samaras get a goal to finish off his time at Celtic.

shanered · 11-05-2014 01:40PM

Yeah it was some nice skill off sammy to get the penalty, and he took it well.
Unfortunate OG off Twardzik.

RoryMac · 11-05-2014 01:51PM

Interesting to hear that Samaras is leaving as he couldn't agree terms with the club on a new deal, not necessarily a bad move but will probably pit a bit more pressure on the club to get quality replacements in.

A Dub in Glasgo · 11-05-2014 02:47PM

The DU goalkeeper could easily have been sent off for the peno

Good 2nd half

PauloMN · 11-05-2014 08:58PM

RoryMac wrote: »

Interesting to hear that Samaras is leaving as he couldn't agree terms with the club on a new deal, not necessarily a bad move but will probably pit a bit more pressure on the club to get quality replacements in.

Will miss having Samara's around, good to see him score in his final game. Had a couple of very good seasons in Europe, but probably the right time for him to go. Lovely to see him carry the young lad around during the celebrations, very decent guy.

I liked the option he gave us even if he wasn't always as effective as he should have been.

bobmalooka · 11-05-2014 09:09PM

PauloMN wrote: »

Will miss having Samara's around, good to see him score in his final game. Had a couple of very good seasons in Europe, but probably the right time for him to go. Lovely to see him carry the young lad around during the celebrations, very decent guy.

I liked the option he gave us even if he wasn't always as effective as he should have been.

I think Lennon summed up his contribution perfectly, he was frustratingly inconsistent but regurally produced the goods for us in the bigger games.

Sammy is a force of nature, despite only scoring his first home league goal today (for the runaway champions) he will be very very hard to replace. It's mental the more you think about it really.

I was a bit emotional seeing him crying after scoring, it's fantastic that our club means as much to some of the players as us in a cynical time when everyone views players as mercenaries.

Anyway best of luck to Sammy wherever he ends up next, I hope they get to see the best of him and he performs like he's capable of.

rosskind · 11-05-2014 11:56PM

Strange that he says he wasn't offered a new contract, pretty sure Lennon has said as much before. It's probably a good time for both sides either way. As you say, frustratingly inconsistent but quality on his day. Some great performances in Europe last year especially. Oh, and 2-0 at Ibrox on New Year's Day a few years back! I think that was my favourite. Thought his goal today was typical of his time here; kinda awkward and yet strangely beautiful. All the best, Sammy!

Dempsey · 12-05-2014 03:31AM

The situation is very strange. You have a manager saying on no uncertain terms how good Samaras is for what he wants, yet the player feels abandoned. Samaras maybe inconsistent but he deserves and earned a better response from the club. I'm quite disappointed by the way things have gone. Imo, Lennon needs to bark at Lawwell over what hes said already, easier said than done suppose!

bobmalooka · 12-05-2014 09:41AM

Dempsey wrote: »

The situation is very strange. You have a manager saying on no uncertain terms how good Samaras is for what he wants, yet the player feels abandoned. Samaras maybe inconsistent but he deserves and earned a better response from the club. I'm quite disappointed by the way things have gone. Imo, Lennon needs to bark at Lawwell over what hes said already, easier said than done suppose!

Sammy was clearly disappointed, Lennon hinted that he wanted to keep him so I guess it's natural to fill in the blanks and assume the club are the reason he wasn't kept.

In reality we haven't a clue what samaras was looking for or how reasonable his demands were, or if Lennon is posturing to get a player he really wants in without upsetting the dressing room.

We will have to see how the club do in the transfer market to really judge if it was the right call but it's hard to see where we can get players who'll perform for us in Europe where we are likely to be under pressure which is what Sammy seemed to exclusively do for us

Lennonist · 12-05-2014 10:53AM

I think if Lennon really wanted Samaras to stay a deal would've been struck between Samaras and the club. I reckon Lenny is just being conciliatory towards him as he leaves and genuinely does appreciate some of what Samaras did for his teams in his time at Celtic. I'll miss Samaras for those European nights from last season. He wrecked havoc at times when he ran at opposing defences and he also brought guile and intelligence which made it possible to operate at CL level and get results. We were heading out of the CL last season when he "won" this penalty against Spartak. On the youtube clip its referred to as a fake penalty. It was a penalty. He drew the challenge from the defender and won the penalty.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LsN57F_rmAE

It'll be hard to replace that sort of football intelligence which can make all the difference at CL level. Saying all that he didn't repeat those performances in the CL this season, the other sides maybe figured out a way to stop him. I think we've got the best out of Samaras and it was time to move on for him and the club. I'd be worried about who we can get to replace him for the CL though.

bobmalooka · 12-05-2014 03:33PM

Forster getting into english squad is great news for him and the club.

It demonstrates the clubs ability to give players a platform to prove themselves, vital if we are to continue successfully targeting young ambitious players who want the chance to raise their profile

PauloMN · 12-05-2014 03:37PM

bobmalooka wrote: »

Forster getting into english squad is great news for him and the club.

It demonstrates the clubs ability to give players a platform to prove themselves, vital if we are to continue successfully targeting young ambitious players who want the chance to raise their profile

I agree, but only possible when we are in the CL groups imo. I think had we not been in the CL proper the last two seasons, he'd not have made it. It's nothing to do with the Scottish league/cups.

We need to have a better stab at the CL than we did last season. The previous season was fantastic.

googled eyes · 13-05-2014 06:42PM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gzzs_aTCQ9w

eire4 · 14-05-2014 05:29PM

Great way to wrap up the season. The game itself had a real end of season feel to it but we had enough quality in the second half to deserve the win. The atmospshere was brilliant and some really classy gestures from Sammy and Lenny.

Jelle1880 · 15-05-2014 02:32PM

I just read that Danny McGrain suffered a heart attack ?

Hope it's nothing too serious and he pulls through, a real legend.

Broxi_Bear_Eire · 15-05-2014 05:37PM

Jelle1880 wrote: »

I just read that Danny McGrain suffered a heart attack ?

Hope it's nothing too serious and he pulls through, a real legend.

Fortunately it seems to have been a minor one. Get well soon Danny

http://www.bbc.com/sport/0/football/27428491

eire4 · 15-05-2014 06:30PM

Get well soon Danny. A great Celt and a true gentleman whom I am honoured to have met.

buckfasterer · 21-05-2014 09:57PM

Word coming out of Glasgow tonight is Lennon is at Norwich for talks and Larsson is being lined up as his replacement. Odds are being battered all evening aswell.

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

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