Celtic Banter Archive December 13 2013

13 Dec 2013 22:27:39
I have said all along that the young German striker Pierre-michel lassoga from hertha Berlin is one that Lennon should be looking at! Really wish he read half of these posts! Heis a rapid goal scorer and is loaned out to Hamburg at the moment and scored 6 in 7 games! In this loan spell. His loan spell is due to end and hertha are believed to be looking at options. Big holding player like big Hartson and Sutton and I think if we managed to get finboggasson to play off him along with commons, we would be deadly! Izzy I think is becoming stagnant and should move on. Forrest should be cashed in along with Ambrose there is no fear factor in our defence, van djik is growing on me like kev Wilson did, think with the right partner would do well. Thoughts?

13 Dec 2013 19:47:39
I heard the new saviour easdale on bumbling his way way through his interview? We have a short term plan and investment in place . by who? We have a short to mid term plan which is of short term investment? Lol I will shaft the zombie fans basically season tickets will go back upto probably spl prices there's yer short term investment? When back in spl and the killer line competing again? In europe? You have never played in europe? Lol we will look for previous investers ie another share issue to raise funds to get the playing squad upto spec? Admin one for the newbies haha

S(evco)TV never ask the real questions that need answered and clarified.
If they are still pretending to be the same club then Ibrox and Murray Park should be sold off to pay their debts.
The new board/old board crap is also full of anomalies and jiggery pokery - but they do and say what they like with SFA and SPFL approval don't they?

JJ

13 Dec 2013 17:25:09
When the team was announced on Wednesday night I thought to myself that Lennon was up to something, it was obviously no where near his strongest team and after watching the game and seeing the formation and the more attacking tactics applied confirmed to me Lennon was clearly up to something, in our previous games against Barca home and away we defended from the front and when we broke we kept a back 5 firmly in place, that was definitely not the case on Wednesday, in my opinion and I honestly believe this Lennon intentionally showed our vulnerabilities to the whole world and showing the board he needs to be backed and more investment in the team is needed, let’s not kid ourselves the Celtic board have got away with murder over the years, Martin O’Neil being the only Manager to be fully supported with a strong transfer budget,

I have said this before I want to see a strong team on the park and the board are using the Rangers situation to their advantage and the fans are falling for it, saying things like “we don’t want to end up like Rangers” no one in their right mind wants that but let's be honest when was the last time we signed a player that exited us or we even had heard of.

Maestro08

@Maestro08 I love a good conspiracy theory, and I would buzz off this one if true. Unfortunately, you're miles off, if you seen Lennon's press conference from earlier you'd know this. He used the words "unable" rather than "unwilling" in terms of budget:

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Celtic manager Neil Lennon says stabilising the club financially will mean remaining European "lightweights" within the Champions League.

He insisted that the club is "unable" rather than "unwilling" to make expensive signings.

"We are the lightweights when we go in to the Champions League, but we knew that going in, " said Lennon.

"We have to stabilise the club and look after it. Not just me but the board think that way."

Celtic's midweek 6-1 defeat by Barcelona in their final Champions League group match left the Glasgow club bottom of the Group H table with just three points from six games.

It also equalled the club's record margin of defeat in Europe and called into question the policy of selling on valuable players.

Lennon insisted the issue is not with buying players but with the uncertainty of reaching the lucrative Champions League group stages.

"We're in a difficult position because of where we play our football domestically, " said Lennon.

"You have three qualifiers then you have no guarantee that you'll get to the Champions League and, when you eventually do, you've got a two-week window to try and attract players, but that's a difficult thing to do.

"Even if we had spent £7m on the striker, would that have guaranteed us getting into the last 16?

"It might have made us a little bit better but weaker in other areas of the pitch."

Celtic's performance in Europe this season was a stark comparison to last season's outing, where they defeated Barcelona at home and progressed to the last 16 for only the third time in the club's history.

Lennon maintained that Celtic are simply unable to keep up with the high spending of their Champions League opponents but would continue to seek out potential talent and profit further down the road.

"It's not hard, it's impossible, " said Lennon. "Barcelona's wage bill is £210m. Ours isn't a fraction of that. It's impossible.

"I think we over-achieved last year. We finished fourth in the group [this year] and we were seeded fourth this year - it is what it is.

"We will always look to invest in the team when we can - and we'll look to do that in January.

"It can't always be the perfect scenario we all want.

"Last year was great, we performed really well. This year, we were up against it for varying reasons - the main one being that it was the toughest group of the lot with the quality of the sides we had to face.

"The strategy is to find these younger players, develop them and hopefully they'll have a resalable value.

"In the meantime, try and win the domestic title and be a consistent a Champions League team - that's where we are and it's the best we can do at the minute.

"It's not perfect, but it's where we are. It's the best we can do."

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Lennon's a PLC yes man. He's doing as he's told, a total puppet + Liewell is the master of the puppet. Express dissatisfaction at Republicanism, express dissatisfaction at the GB, express satisfaction at finances, express satisfaction at board backing. The club seems rotten to the core, Desmond's a billionaire majority shareholder to a football club ranked in the top 50 of Brand Finance's 2012 annual valuation of the world's biggest football clubs. Since then they've raked in massive amounts of profit, continued to refuse living wage + invested very little. I'm not buying this "unwilling" rubbish, he's merely insulting our intelligience with comments like that!

Celtic openly and honestly publish their certified accounts. Go pick through them and show me a spare £30m to spend on players. Plus wages and bonuses budget. Instead of spouting conspiracy nonsense. Both Lennon and the board love our club. There's no puppets just your wild imagination. And anyone from section 111 should be digging deep to come up with the £42k bill they're responsible for.

13 Dec 2013 20:12:16
What would you have him do? How long do managers last in jobs where they don't do as there told? Would you rather have 4 different managers a season all arguing with the board not being yes men. Can't see how that will help the team.
Am afraid we are where we are and can't compete due to that. If we beat a Barca it's a 1 off just like a Morton besting us.

Hamiltonbhoy the political comments are getting tiresome. Its a football site. I am sure there's a political banter.co.uk site some where.

HamiltonBhoy, totally agree with you about Lennon being a yes man, I've posted before about how WGS lost a lot of fans and ultimately his job for the same reason. I know Neil is Celtic to the core and has put up with stuff nobody should ever have to put up with away from Celtic Park, I just wish he would have the same strength to stand up to the board.

@2 So you deny Celtic didn't come top 50 in world footballing brands? Desmond isn't a billionaire? We do pay our staff fairly through living wage? We didn't sell our best players and fail to replace them? No one is asking for £30m, just one or two finished articles a season and lifting the wage cap by £5-10k per week.

@MonkeyBhoy I'd rather he told us this at the start of the season, before fans started forking out thousands to see Celtic play all over Europe. At least we know we have no chance next year in Europe before a ball is kicked, therefore saving me and others a fortune on meaningless games.

@MarkyBhoy I think you're door on about WGS, but I imagine behind closed doors he was outspoken and the board probably didn't like that either, hence why we'll never see another big name or proven manager. Celtic are all about cheapest option nowadays!

Hamiltonbhoy Let's get something straight Celtic did not display any banner's, the GB did, BUT Celtic got fined, Where's the honesty and integrity from GB, who should now hold their hand's up and pay the fine.Aye right. You call Me Lawell, liewell that my friend come's from the sevco page, is that how far you are going to berate him. If you are not happy about the way Mr Lawell is doing business for Celtic, don't go to the game's. Many Celtic supporter's are happy with the way he is running thing's.
Tambhoy

13 Dec 2013 15:21:41
You never know what was lost until it's gone. I for one thought it was the negative vibes Gordon Strachan got which made him leave. And to be honest look what he has achieved so far as Scotland manager. A lot of so called fans should hang their heads in shame when people like Strachan are made to feel unwanted and leave. I'd have him back in a heart beat over Lennon this season. As for his back room staff they have been inept for a while and seem to offer him no options. Someone posted earlier Harry Rednapp pulling that off would be massive coup but he liked to spend cash so the board won't go there. Owen Coyle and his massive teeth from the donkey on shrek isn't the answer. Roy Keene would kick sum ass but his managerial record isn't good. People always give people from non celtic backgrounds a hard time. Cake and eat it springs to mind

{Ed007's Note - I thought WGS done a great job for us. He came in and cleared up the mess O'Neill had left by reducing the wage bill and still winning trophies. I totally agree with you about the fans only really take to manager's from a Celtic connected background, and it's a poor show that success on the park takes a back seat to whether the manager grew up supporting us or not.
I'll say this, I don't think Rangers wouldn have died if they had given Paul Le Guen more time rather than listen to bigots in the changing room and stands.
Fans in Scotland love nothing more than some fancy name foreigner signing for the team but it's a different matter when it comes to the manager.
I would love to see CFC push the boat out to bring in a successful foreign coach whose remit is to completely overhaul the playing side of things and bring in a more continental and cultured approach to the game, from youth level all the way up. Back him with money, within reason, whether it is to sign a player or change something at Lennoxtown. Just look at the difference Wim Jansen made within months of arriving.}

13 Dec 2013 18:02:47
What did strachan do any better than Lennon has done in his time? How many trebles did he win? He had his favourites Caldwell in midfield, telfer was he not his bro inlaw lol, he had his defeats to minnows Clyde, he had his .shocking signings du Wei, graveson, aleadiere, he lost most if not all champ league away games, he had his embarrassments in CL Copenhagen, Bratislava

{Ed007's Note - To the same end then what has NL done any better than Strachan?}

Strachan did a fantastic job and has forgotten more about tactics and motivation than NL will ever know.
He brought us Boruc, Nakamura and JVH among other top internationals and got the very best out of Hartley and Robson in a solid midfield as well as a treble and a last 16 in his short successful spell.
As stated he had his low points, but they were mostly at the start and then the tail end of his career.

JJ

13 Dec 2013 20:23:29
"You never no what you've got till it's lost" that's why I say what has starchan done anymore than Lennon. We've not lost much if Lennon is matching him in his first 2 seasons as a manager.
To say GS failure were at beginning and end what does that matter lennons beginning he was beating Barca and making last 16. Dnt no how much JVH, graveson and jarosik were on but am guessing a good few quid . Did he not also get 4.4m to spend on brown

Ed if you don't mind me asking if NL did leave who would you like to see come in? personally I would like to see Morten Wieghorst but not because of his connection to CFC I just think he would bring a new style to the way we play and I think that's what we need right now that and I also think he would give some of our youth a chance.Macca

{Ed007's Note - I've said it before that I would love to see Marcelo Biesla brought in and then maybe in a few years he could become a Director of Football type figure with a younger head coach (someone like Malky MacKay, McNamara or possibly Viktor Goncharenko, although he could probably tackle the job alone just now) learning from him and continuing the same kind of work.
There is people out there like Laurent Blanc and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer who would maybe fancy the chance of proving themselves at CL level with one of the underdogs as well.}

13 Dec 2013 10:50:44
Celtic are paying the price in Europe for Rangers' exit from Scotland's top flight, according to former Barcelona and Chelsea defender Albert Ferrer.

The former Vitesse manager was reacting to Celtic's 6-1 Champions League hammering by Barcelona in Spain.

"Because they compete in the Scottish league without Rangers lately, probably the level has dropped a little bit, " Ferrer told tv Scotland.

"The domestic league is not at the level of Europe."

Celtic eased to another title last season while Rangers, who suffered liquidation, were winning Division Three.

Ferrer said that it was therefore difficult for Celtic to bridge the gap once they play in the Champions League.

"When you go to Europe, there is a big step up and I think they're paying for that, " said the Spaniard, who played more than 200 times for Barcelona from 1990 to 1998 before spending five seasons at Chelsea.

"With the problems they caused Barcelona at Celtic Park, even beating them last season, you maybe expect a bit more in terms of opposition and intensity in challenges.

"They defended and put two lines together, but they didn't really get into the fight in 50-50 balls, so it was more like a zone thing.

"If you do that and Barcelona have a good day, they can score six or seven."

However, Ferrer stressed that there were few teams who could have coped with Barcelona in the form they showed at the Nou Camp on Wednesday.

"When Barcelona are on top form, as they were, it is almost impossible to beat them, " he said.

"Most of the top players were there. Iniesta and Messi were not there, but most of the best players were playing.

"They put on a great performance in, with some of the things they were missing in the last few weeks. A few things came together - Barcelona playing a fantastic game and Celtic suffering from not doing enough with the ball when they had it and ending up running after the ball for 90 minutes, which is very demanding.

"But again, it is probably not the best day to judge Celtic, going to Barcelona and losing 6-1, because many teams have done that."

There have been calls for Celtic to spend more on players, but Ferrer thought it would be difficult for any Scottish club to challenge the top sides in Europe in the present climate.

"I don't think many teams can compete with Barcelona financially - probably only three or four teams can compete with them - Man City, Real Madrid, Manchester United or Bayern Munich, " he suggested.

"If you spend a lot of money on players, what is the thinking on that? In the domestic league, you're normally going to win it anyway.

"So, if you're spending money on big players, you are thinking more of competing in Europe.

"Will the investment be enough to compete with these four or five monsters? I don't think so.

"So I don't think it's worth it to spend a big amount of money on players because probably you can't get to the semi-finals while these teams are there with this amount of money to spend."

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Wtf does this eedjit know?! No, Celtic are paying for selling their best players + not replacing them. Simple as. R*ngers died, no one cared. Sevco were born, still no one cares. It was a year and a half ago, get over it and stop giving it this "Celtic need R*ngers/Sevco/Old Firm" crap!

13 Dec 2013 11:35:36
Pretty sure he isn't interested in the did they or did they not die stuff, he's simply giving an opinion and to me do army sound far off being write, Celtic are suffering in Europe because of the lack of competition in Scotlandand even if we spend £5m on a striker a defender and a midfielder we more than likely wouldn't be able to match the teams spending more than double that.
Celtic need competition in Scotland doesn't have to be rangers

No MonkeyBhoy, Desmond needs to put his hand in his pocket once in a while. There's no getting away from where the PLC's priorities lie. Profit/loss sheets. Apparently Liewell is picking up £20k per week as well as his big bonuses? Yet we cap wages at £25-30k p/w for players?! An outrage if you ask me!

13 Dec 2013 12:31:29
Sorry m8 can't agree more than £30,000 for someone playing in Scotland is to high for me.

The Board became very complacent after Rangers died as the SPL title is all but guaranteed meaning CL quals and hopefully group stages. The exceptional CL run last season fuelled this complacency even though we were lucky in some games and obviously still gaining experience at that level, but still they sold our best players without replacing the quality.
The absence of Rangers is a factor in some ways and without OF games we need European football to make money and attract better players.
Our European reputation has taken a severe kicking and we need to repair it asap. I see Peter Houston has been taken on as a scout and if he was involved in any of the decent talent that Dundee Utd have produced then hopefully we can get better players.
It seems pretty obvious to me that there are a couple at the club at the moment who are stalling on contracts and maybe do not want to be there and there are certainly a few that are clearly nowhere good enough to wear the Hoops in the first place.
So roll on the January window.

JJ

13 Dec 2013 14:53:23
We can only tell that utd's youth are good talents because they get game time, ad bet ma house on it that if Celtics youth got to play we would be talking about them rather than utd's.

{Ed007's Note - Hear, hear MB but as I have said before, a lot of supporters would accuse the board of being stingy or not backing the manager if some of our youth were given a chance. Produce some decent youth players and stop spending money on mediocre players would free up more money to spend on quality. Surely McGeouch, Atajic, Chalmers, Fraser and the Twardziks (when Filip is fit) deserve to be given the chance to show what they can do. I used to watch a lot of the youth teams but haven't for a while so I'd imagine there are a few others who could/should be given a run in the team.}

13 Dec 2013 15:38:15
Can't believe 5 months into season and after every poor result we're having same discussions.
Nothing to do with what's happened elsewhere and no rangers/sevco to play.
Bottom line is as earlier poster said, complacency on boards part and failure to replace like with like for first team.
As for the wages cap, if in short term strategy it's necessary to entice the quality of player we need is simply £s then so be it.
The plan should have been for 2 high end signings in summer with the squad supplemented by our own highly rated youngsters.
Stevo dundee

Got to agree with that MB. I'd be interested to know how much it costs to keep Lennoxtown running, on top of the £10m or so it cost to build? What's the point if we're just churning up players to a certain age then releasing them with little (or no) first team experience to have successful careers elsewhere?!

13 Dec 2013 18:10:17
While the zombies weren't here it was the ideal time to do it, going by this site Edd fans will moan regardless so f*ck it we can't have it all wsys