Celtic Banter Archive February 01 2020

01 Feb 2020 22:14:42
I often wondered how the big lad Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink got his surname, or at least the origin of it. A quick googly came up with this:
Way back in the 17th century, two farming families in the Enschede area of Holland intermarried. Both the Vennegoor and Hesselink names carried equal social weight, and so – rather than choose between them – they chose to use both. 'Of' in Dutch actually translates to 'or', which would mean that a strict translation of his name would read Jan Vennegoor or Hesselink.
I liked him as a Celtic player, good goal scorer and he was a great team player. HH.

{Ed007's Note - So the wee guy was really King William OR Orange? 😂😂😂😂

02 Feb 2020 10:10:17
Well played Bob, interesting stuff👏👏.

01 Feb 2020 18:39:06
Ed, what's the story with Elhamed? I thought he looked decent when he was fit. Is there a serious underlying injury problem that makes you say we have been sold a pup?

{Ed007's Note - Elhamed has a history of injuries and carrying knocks - he missed 16 matches for Hapoel Be'er Sheva last season through injury. When Neil Lennon spoke about watching videos of him he said that he was always wondering what the catch was at the price he was available for - I think we've found out what the catch was.}

01 Feb 2020 21:09:36
I think he's looked very calm and composed with bags of talent but if he is consistently injured then we just have another Rogic.

{Ed007's Note - Simunovic is a better example for me, if we could get a fully fit Jozo he'd be a fantastic player imo. Rogic never consistently delivers and is a a bit meh for me even when he is fit and playing regularly.
I remember reading an article years ago - and for the life of me I can't find it now - and it was someone (maybe a coach) from Australia who said that Rogic would never be a top level footballer but his Futsal background would ensure teams took a chance on him. I honestly think it's partly down to an attitude problem with him, he was only what 19/20 when we brought him over at first and that's plenty of time grab your chance to put the graft and hard work needed to realise your potential.}

01 Feb 2020 21:53:24
A squad can get away with a couple of injury-prone players, but at present we have Simunoxic, Rogic and El Hamed, while MJ has been out of action more often than not this season and Mo Ely has only managed 13 games all season. Fortunately Griff seems to be on the way back; but we have an amount of lengthy absenteeism that's a big concern, as it puts pressure on certain positions and cuts down rest periods.

{Ed007's Note - If Lennon hadn't selected Elyounoussi at Hampden and allowed him to properly recuperate he would have played more games. In saying that it's probably the players fault for saying he was fit or was it another risk Lennon took on a player's fitness? Somebody must know what Elyounoussi told the medical team as that seems to be what they judge it on. 😂😂
Did Lennon tell the Norwegian to "F**k off" at Hampden?}

01 Feb 2020 23:27:09
Spot on ED007.

{Ed007's Note - 😁

02 Feb 2020 10:16:49
Jozo is another good example ed, just a shame he's made of glass.

{Ed007's Note - I still think Simunovic is a good back-up player, he's not going to start every week but he is more than capable of coming in and playing 1 or 2 games to cover.}

01 Feb 2020 14:59:13
It's the lack of bottle (or whatever it is) to speculate to accumulate that I don't understand. Over the past 2 seasons only twice have we spent decent sums of money. 9 mill on Eddie and 7 on Julian. And the result? Our best defender who I'm pretty sure will have doubled and possibly trebled his value and the best striker in Scottish football who has also probably trebled his value. Around 30 to 40 million profit if those two were sold tomorrow, but also crucially adding to the quality of our team in a big way. Win, win. That is not risking us going bust that is a great footballing and business model! But our man in charge of the purse strings would rather gamble with 2/ 3 million pound signings. Doesn't make sense to me when I see the success of Julian and Eddie!

01 Feb 2020 15:30:04
Then there's the other side of the coin; where we spend 'wisely' on Allen, Morgan, Hendry, Gamboa, Compper, Eboue, Benyu and Bayo etc, etc, etc and get stuck with a 'team' of wage-leaches who either cannot make the grade or struggle with fitness and form - then end up being disposed of at a loss or loaned out-of-sight-out-of-mind.
Signings like FF (first time raround) Dembele, VVD, Wanyama and Ki were well-scouted, made a real impact while here and earned a significant profit, when they were sold (with sell-on value) .
Therefor, we need more of that sort of class/ caliber as well as developing our own young talent; instead of, as in recent seasons where we have went down the road of quantity instead of the real quality needed to play for Celtic. As Markie says 'common sense'.

01 Feb 2020 18:03:11
Not bad but they also gave pay rises to these Celtic players and also extended there contract did you forget about that. These are like new signing as well contracts etc also a few off the books which is great. Two players signed,
Lol gd for me they have been bigged up I hope they get a proper chance not 19 mins hear and there.

01 Feb 2020 18:45:58
I am not bothered about how much a player costs us you can spend 12 million on a dud like you can spend 1 million on a class player or better than what we have But we did need a couple of extra players in on this window for me a CB and a winger sad that didn't happen but have to move on now. Look at it at the end of the season see who was correct.

02 Feb 2020 00:05:16
It's the lack of bottle (or whatever it is) , has got a name, it's called financial prudence, if you look back at how Rangers turned into The rangers, it was because Rangers lacked financial prudence, think on that.

02 Feb 2020 09:43:08
We can't be spending £7-9m on a player every window otherwise we would end up having to make do with Kamberi on loan dear god 😂😂😂.

01 Feb 2020 13:00:25
Ed - what is your estimate of how much have we removed from the weekly wage bill in the January transfer window - versus the wages for the two boys we have brought in?
Sinclair; Morgan; Kouassi; Hendry out, must be around 60k per week = 3m per year.

{Ed007's Note - Remember Kouassi & Hendry are only out on loan and we'll probably still be paying a percentage of their wages so it won't be as much as that, I'd say it'll be nearer £50k off the bill then we have to figure in Klimala & Soro's wages.

01 Feb 2020 10:44:08
ed do you think we are stronger after the window closing yesterday mate?

{Ed007's Note - If we had everyone fit I'd say yes as we've added another striker (also LG is getting back on track) and Soro should add some steel to the midfield but with Jozo out again (although it's not meant to be serious) and Elhamed looking like we've been sold a pig in a poke we badly needed a CB brought in, especially if NL is going to continue playing 3 at the back, Scott Brown playing at CB is never going to work out.
All the players that left were offering nothing for one reason or another so I don't see how them going - or the lack of signings for that matter - has weakened us, it's injuries that are weakening us.
If/when everyone is fit we still have the best squad of players in Scotland by a country mile.}

01 Feb 2020 11:25:00
100% agree. The only area I was praying we brought someone in on deadline day was centre half. Wasn’t bothered about a winger or striker. I really like the way we’ve played in the 3-5-2 formation however with the injury records of Jozo, Elhamed and Biton we might be limited to use this formation that why I was desperate for another Centre Half to be brought in.

{Ed007's Note - If we're playing 3-5-2 then Taylor (who deserves a run in the team after the other night) Bolingoli or even Hayes are more suited there than Elyounoussi who can also play the CAM/No.10 role or play on the left n front of Taylor if we go for a 4-2-3-1. It gives us more options to change things even during games.}

01 Feb 2020 11:27:22
I'd agree there Ed in the current set up we could have done with a CB but when some attacking players are back, Christie, Mo for example - I wouldn't be surprised if we went back to four at the back anyway. Would you? We got another striker in which was towards the top of most peoples list. He's a 'wait and see' so, let's just wait and see. Soro looks like the 'type' of centre mid that could come good. I have to say though our first XI doesn't look any better yet but as you say, injuries are weakening us. I'm sure that's what everybody would have really liked to see but if that cheque book is being saved for the likes of Forster and Mo (if he can get back on track) in the summer then I'm surprisingly OK with this window. Not thrilled by any means but we didn't sell any key players and that's always a plus.

{Ed007's Note - We need to have a Plan A and Plan B, choose the best depending on the opposition and change things accordingly during the game. I think (hope?) that's what Lennon's going to do so some games we'll start 4 at the back and sometimes it'll be the 3.
During Rodgers last 18 months or so and under Lennon our 4-2-3-1 is far too predictable, slow and lethargic, I put that down to allowing Brown to dictate the way we play and that needs to change. In a 4-2-3-1 it should be McGregor and the CAM that dictate our play and in a 3-5-2 it should be McGregor & Ntcham that do it. Even in the footage of Soro he looks as if he offers more in that role than Brown does.
And before anyone starts I'm not having a pop at Brown, he is excellent as a CDM covering the back 4 and that's what he should stick to but he offers very little in offence and building attacks.}

01 Feb 2020 13:02:49
Agree with everything there Ed. Always good to hear your take on things. I'd really actually like to see a midfield three of Soro, McGregor and Ntcham. It'll take a bit if ruthlessness to phase Brown out but we've all seen how good the football can be when he's not dictating the game.

{Ed007's Note - I'd like to see young Scott Robertson getting some gametime against lower league opposition. I was really impressed with him against Cluj and don't see why he can't come off the bench against the like of Accies & St Mirren if we have the points wrapped up.}

01 Feb 2020 15:42:58
Ed, any idea how as a squad we are injury wise compared to other teams in the SPL? Assuming our pre-signing medicals are rigorous and catching issues (David Turnbull) , is it training methods? the type of pitch we play on? Opposition hammer throwers trying to weaken the team? Are we complacent in buying players based on their previous injuries and getting "quality" at cut prices due to that? We knew that, as an example, Derk Boerrigter had a dodgy knee? (and others like him) before he joined us, so is there an any underlying reason we've so many injured?

{Ed007's Note - I've no idea how we compare to other teams injury wise mate and I think it's just a culmination of a lot of those factors where we are regarding them. Youngsters are more prone to injury as well as they're body is still developing and that needs to be managed, KT's still not fully recovered from the workload we put on him as a young lad.
There's also been some rumours that a lot of the players still aren't happy with the Celtic Park surface but guys like Jozo, Rogic and Elhamed just seem to be injury prone.
The manager playing players carrying a knock isn't helping either, he was lucky with Edouard against Ross County but then it didn't work out with Simunovic the other night.}

02 Feb 2020 10:08:40
Thanks Ed. I'm always of the opinion that if a hammer thrower severely injures an opponent and if that opponent is out for weeks then the offender should be banned for the same length of time as the victim. 2 or 3 game ban for dangerous play is bang out of order when the victim is out for weeks.

{Ed007's Note - It would be hard to prove if the offender deliberately injured a player though, look at the debate over Power's tackle on Frimpong the other week.}

01 Feb 2020 08:01:25
Echoing what most have posted. Dreadful window. We have 3 centre backs and one is made of chocolate. We need all 3 on the park with the managers new prefered formation. We have 6 months of the season left. And before the apologists come on saying Bitton and Hamed. square pegs. One is a right back who is also made of chocolate and one is a CM. Absolutely agree we are gambling with history big style! Raging.

01 Feb 2020 08:28:59
I was a fan of Lawwell, but I would be happy if he left his position today. If reports are correct he gets about £70k a week including bonuses. It’s the biggest wage coming out of the club and it’s far too much for Scottish football in his position. Like most fans I’m raging with the transfer window and still can’t believe how it’s turned out.

I am not expecting anything from our 2 signings this season but time will tell how good they are for the future. I will not forget Lawwell for taking this chance and leaving the club short in our quest for another title. I would rather we let someone else take the reins in future and even if Celtic do win another title, I still want Lawwell OUT because I have lost all trust in the man.

01 Feb 2020 09:22:07
We are a huge club with a long, unbroken, illustrious history, run by short-sighted, complacent, greedy wee control-freaks.
Failing to strengthen from a position of power is a repeated habit, but failing to add quality to key, deficient areas is absolute crud.
While many other clubs managed to do slick business right up until the deadline, we were panicking here, there and everywhere, getting more knock-backs than the clatty kid at the school disco.
Not only has Lawell let us down, he made his manager look a prize plonker time and time again, with his inaccurate press interviews.

01 Feb 2020 12:22:56
what players that we can afford that were available and that wanted to come and would be better than we have are out there,

01 Feb 2020 12:26:28
He was the second highest paid in the uk, only behind Woodward at Man U. 2/ 3rds of his wages were made up of bonuses. Does he deserve it? I don’t know but can’t deny he’s good at his job. And for a club who plays in Scotland our income is amazing.

02 Feb 2020 09:20:36
celticmad one of the best posts I've seen on here for a long time mate.

01 Feb 2020 07:39:02
{Ed's Note - Ed001 has posted a new article entitled, Review Of The Day 1st February 2020

31 Jan 2020 02:21:37
Just for bit of fun who would you prefer?

Dave or Vic?

01 Feb 2020 00:28:44
Utter disgrace, our Manager clearly felt we needed something, a bit of experience and yet again our board failed to deliver.

01 Feb 2020 01:10:39
totally. we should have bought anyone available, never mind all this me the team stronger pish.

31 Jan 2020 23:36:57
well guys i feel we have yet again been led down the garden path. lenny spouting what and when we will be recruiting. it is clear now he is only a puppet to lawell. our scouting team must have had a quiet january. if this set up blows the 9iar the lot of them should walk. i am one very disapointed celtic fan tonight.

31 Jan 2020 02:27:21
That's how he got the job, he's a yes man.