Celtic Banter Archive September 01 2017

01 Sep 2017 22:24:28
I'm liking the new bhoy Edouard in his interviews, sounds humble and confident. I hope the bhoy gets himself some game time and flourishes. So much talent stock piled in these rich clubs they're wasting good players giving them no chance to progress.

02 Sep 2017 13:52:27
Ed have we got a option to get him on a contract at the end of the year?

{Ed007's Note - Yes mate for 10 million Euros according to most reports but I heard it would only be that if PSG want to buy Dembele, if we pay cash it's 8.2 million Euros - which is about £7.5 million.}

02 Sep 2017 17:49:28
I have a gut feeling that he is going to be even better than Dembele.

02 Sep 2017 17:42:56
When is MD due back ed? Surely the bhoy will get some playing time until that point.

{Ed007's Note - Dembele's pencilled in to be back at before the month finishes mate.}

02 Sep 2017 20:52:46
Thanks for that Ed I hope he is worth it.

{Ed007's Note - I think the lad's been brought in as a potential Dembele replacement next summer whether his destination is PSG or not.}

01 Sep 2017
New image uploaded to the
Celtic Player Sightings page entitled, Celtic v Lithuanian

01 Sep 2017 20:42:56
Celtic a mean Scotland playing really well tonight and young mcgrain a mean tierney outstanding.

01 Sep 2017 21:52:50
Some of the play was very tidy Mally reckon the Tims will keep Strachan in a job. Should be 7 playing though McGregor is a better player than McArthur.

01 Sep 2017 22:01:19
Was thinking that myself Mally about KT, what a talent this bhoy is He's a clone of Danny even to the extent that he plays on the other flank to accommodate Robertson like McGrain used to do to accommodate Jardine.

01 Sep 2017 23:00:15
Yep bhoys we have a genuine star and to be fair to wgs he could see him playin rb so coudos to him.

01 Sep 2017 19:12:16
Ed just wanted to say thanks again for your superb input over the transfer window. As always good for a wee exclusive which I always steal as my own as a man in the know. Now looking forward to the season ahead. Great times ahead. Until Jan 1st 😩.

{Ed007's Note - You're welcome mate (yes)

02 Sep 2017 09:57:29
the starey dude and the guy jumping thru the wall were ace.

{Ed007's Note - :-D

01 Sep 2017 16:09:34
Was talking to a friend of mine who is quite clued up on French football but he is a Hamilton accies fan in a big way. Anyway he said yo me that we were really lucky yo get this guy from psg he was telling me that there were loads of clubs trying to get him. So all in all a good but if business by the board. Have you heard anything about other clubs wanting him ed.

{Ed007's Note - I didn't mate, sorry.}

01 Sep 2017 16:48:59
Ok cheers ed.

{Ed007's Note - (yes)

01 Sep 2017 16:59:43
Marco I read that Liverpool and Manchester United were keeping tabs on him.

01 Sep 2017 17:07:58
Think this bhoys the real deal seen scott gemmill saying he ripped scotland and Germany a new arse at the the last tourney.

02 Sep 2017 01:28:36
Eds being coy he's the big accies fan that was biggin him up, j'mapelle eduardo.

{Ed007's Note - Hahaha Pi$$ off you!}

02 Aug 2017 21:57:21
Too many moaning about not bringing in a CH not splashing the cash. We have lots of young gifted players who will develop and thrive under BR. Armstrong extended his stay, PR is back 2 centre Half's and Dembele returning from injury. Ncham Edouard Kouassi Benyu all have great potential. The future's looking as good as it's ever been and were only at the start of Rodgers second season!

01 Sep 2017 16:26:13
On tonight's Scotland game.
Am I the only one who can't be bothered with it?
Scotland are expected to win but you can guarantee if we don't, it's the fault of the Celtic players. The media will have a field day. Brown this, Griffiths that. My main concern is that none of our guys get injured.
Roll on next Friday.

{Ed007's Note - It's no secret I hate international football and have no interest in Scotland so I'll be giving tonight's game a wide berth.}

01 Sep 2017 18:01:36
I used to enjoy following Scotland but can no longer be bothered since Strachan took over. The man should be sacked for saying tonight is not a must win. What a defeatist attitude. As for McGhee he's been sacked more times than a Red Rooster what a sidekick to have.

01 Sep 2017 18:28:10
That's what I thought when I read that in the paper this morning, WGS comes out with so much rubbish, and this stuff he says about being loyal to players, is ridiculous, he should pick the best players available, and manage them, like he is getting paid to do.

01 Sep 2017 19:20:00
Exactly how i see it Aindoh.

01 Sep 2017 22:24:18
happy to see Scotland winning tonight especially with all our bhoys in the team (changed times) . supported scotland as a boy because it was either them or N. Ireland. couldn't have supported the North as that would have been unforgiveable so until the republics fortunes changed supported Scotland.

02 Sep 2017 00:15:14
I've supported Celtic and Scotland since birth and will till death. I will never understand how if you are scots that it can mean nothing to you. Obviously it's your own peroogative, but **** me, it's a ****ing weird outlook.

{Ed007's Note -

via GIPHY

02 Sep 2017 13:10:21
Andy were u born in 69 or is that your favourite position? If u were born then, I cannot see how u don't understand celtic fans Outlook on Scotland, anti celtic for so many years, it's good to see the tide turning but I won't ever forgive the way the Scotland fans abused celtic players that they should've been grateful for. **** them.

01 Sep 2017 13:34:06
Only slightly disappointed we never signed a CB last night but on the whole it's a pretty decent window. Really feel good about the Edourda signing Ntcham looks the part and we kept ALL our big hitters. Come mid September we will be back to full strength with decent back up . other teams will have there injury woes but will they cope like we have. Yes there may be a couple of hidings coming our way in the CL and there's no CB we could have signed to stop that if PSG and Bayern turn up. Let's enjoy the ride bhoys as we keep the best squad in Govan under the soles of our boots. HWGTIAR☘.

01 Sep 2017 22:12:54
In total agreement as I'm sure we could have signed a CB yesterday but what's the point in spending money just for the sake of it and in recent years we have had quite a few bombscares playing there and last year we had 2 recognized CBs plus Lustig in the centre and still conceded 7. We have kept the invincibles together for another year and I believe strengthened the squad so I'm happy.

01 Sep 2017 12:29:40
First of all well done to ED007 for all his efforts on deadline day, your work is greatly appreciated (now ED007 can I PLEASE get those photos back lol)
Also your tip about Dembele to Chelsea last month I put £100 on at 2/ 1 but covered bet with same bet with Moussa to stay at 3/ 1 waiting on the european deadline tonight but looks like I will make a profit when he stays.

{Ed007's Note - Thanks mate but that's craziness betting that kind of money on what I say, Timbo and you know I'm not comfortable with but it's your money.
The pictures will be going up soon though if you don't share your winnings lol And don't be handing it over to any begging bloggers ffs - treat the girls with it.}

01 Sep 2017 13:18:56
Wish I'd had a ton on Edouard coming in when you first posted it last Monday or Tuesday lol 😭😭.

01 Sep 2017 14:50:41
ha ha ED007 first any winnings I make Mrs T and the girls know all about it, I have been lucky to fund a few nice wee treats thanks to Mr Hill, Mr Power, Mr Fred and Mr/ Miss Sky lol (but when I lose Mrs T insists it comes out of MY money)
Also ED007 I am a punter so am always looking for info but I have learned over the years to be more careful but if it had not been your tip I would have looked elsewhere for info.
As for "begging bloggers" I am in the bad books as I dared to question some of his non football posts, so he put me on the "naughty step"

{Ed007's Note - I've just had a look there, £23 a month!! You're aff yer nut auld yin! I bet Mrs T doesn't know about that eh? ;)

01 Sep 2017 17:26:43
Not anymore ED007 I enjoy reading about all the cheating that goes on and his "insider" stuff but like today his posts can be what he has a bee in his bonnet about. A football blog is not for this kind of conspiracy theories although I do agree this particular couple are odious people. So I have £23 going a begging any takers lol.

{Ed007's Note - Are you backdating that? £23 per month x 12 x 7(?) years on here..... That's someway to talk to people that you're trying to wangle money out of though, are you seriously not allowed to disagree with the nutcase about anything?}

01 Sep 2017 09:44:45
I'm overall very happy with our transfer business: £4.5M for Ntcham looks an excellent buy, Paddy coming back is what we all wanted and it's been reported that we even offered £8M to make that one permanent so there was a willingness to spend. CB is the frustration because even though we had a deal in place for Coetzee, most of us wanted a player with a bit of calibre. BR has already stated that Boyata is our main CB and this is one of the rare occasions where probably the majority of our fans disagree with him. He's the manager and he'll live and die by his team selection so we'll just need to wait and see if Boyata has what it takes for European football. If Erik can get back to the level of performance he showed when he arrived then we'll be in a good position defensively.

01 Sep 2017 07:44:16
Well Ed what excuse will Celtic come up with that we didn't get a CB in. Great window though but we really need another CB in the only downside.

{Ed007's Note - Their excuse will be he failed a medical or would you rather the Club ignore their own highly paid medical staff's findings and advice?}

01 Sep 2017 12:23:51
I honestly think that - when fit - we have the best defenders in the country to choose from. There was a bit of panic when Biton was slotted in there, but It seems Simunovic and Boyata are close to resuming their partnership soon?
Obviously we will be up against it against the top European forwards but in Ntcham, Brown and Biton, we have extra defensive help in midfield if required.
My biggest concern was (is) goalkeeper and really hoped we would have addressed that by now, however we go with what we have and we will all get behind the Bhoys.
One last point, is Broonie's return to international duty and I really hope it doesn't detract from his fitness and energy levels with the demands of performing to his best for Celtic.

01 Sep 2017 09:25:38
First time poster troops so be gentle.

Seen a lot of people complaining that the transfer window was a failure however this is now the strongest squad we've had since the magic days of O'Neill.

Gordon, De Vries

Lustig, Ralston, Gamboa

Jozo, Erik, Boyata, Ajer

KT, Miller

Brown, Ntcham, Armstrong, Rogic, McGregor, Biton

Roberts, Sinclair, Hayes, Forrest

Dembele, Griff, Edouard

That's some serious strength in depth which I feel that we've lacked in years gone by.

We're never going to be able to compete with the likes of PSG and Bayern so to chase big name players for silly money is a waste of time and finances.

Buzzing for the season ahead, HH🍀.

01 Sep 2017 09:52:08
That's far too sensible that post. 👍.

01 Sep 2017 09:59:07
Fair point - and there's also Henderson and Eboue to add in. I agree that the squad is as strong as it has been for a long long time. I felt that if we kept our main players - especially Armstrong and Dembele, and brought back Roberts, I would be more than happy. That's happened (although I wish Armstrong had signed a longer deal and PR was permanent) and we have added quality and potential, so it's great.
With injuries though, I am worried about the centre half position with Europe coming up and hope Sviachenko is fit soon! (Ed - any idea when he should be fit again? )

{Ed007's Note - Sviatchenko is estimated at around 3/4 weeks away from fitness.}

01 Sep 2017 10:10:27
Good post Paddy but you better watch sensible posts get pounced on by the fantasists on here. You're right the strength and depth is the best it's been in years, I wouldn't have much of a complaint with any of those players in the starting XI each week. We haven't lost a big player for a while now and that's down to the board quite rightly putting EPL price tags to our players. I've said before we could spend 30 million but that's not going to make a lot of difference when trying to compete with sides that spend that on a squad player.

01 Sep 2017 10:11:35
Just need to add a quality keeper and centre half and that's some squad .

01 Sep 2017 10:25:29
Well said Paddy.

01 Sep 2017 10:52:16
Nice one paddy.

01 Sep 2017 12:33:13
Spot on paddy, keep the sensible posts up and you will be a welcome addition.

01 Sep 2017 13:09:39
Quite right Stevie. Even if we had a bottomless pit of money, who would/ could we buy that would nullify Neymar and Mbappe together? I quite liked the sound of Benkovic, but even spending an absolute fortune on a centre half would still make keeping them out a tall order to say the least! And money doesn't guarantee quality - I was having a drink watching sky sports last night and thought someone has sneaked in and spiked it when I saw Arsenal turned down £20M for Chambers. Insane. So I'm please that we are going for young guys with something to prove rather players who have already shown themselves to be inadequate or are past it (like we used to! )
Thanks Ed for answering about Sviachenko - I think if he can reproduce his form of a 12-18 months ago, we are fine.
We kept our main players which is brilliant. Fingers crossed, we can get Roberts on a permanent deal and Armstrong tied to a longer contract at a later stage.
I also think the arsenal fan saying that their defence is MUCH better than ours is being a bit presumptuous - Tierney and Simunovic would walk into their team, IMO.

01 Sep 2017 17:43:50
Came on expecting a bit of criticism re the CB position. unjustified in the main imo. BUT found all these sensible posts. Agree with the posts above. are we stronger now than before the window. most definitely!

Also big thanks to Ed.
Best to all and HH🍀🍀.

{Ed007's Note - You're welcome mate.}

02 Aug 2017 21:55:51
Sensible? Ajax got to Europa final last year. If we had decent defenders we could do better in Europe.

01 Sep 2017 07:05:58
Lot of good business done (Ntcham, Roberts, Eduardo, will leave it at that) but that said, who is going to line up next to Jozo (praying that he's fit! ) against PSG and Bayern?

01 Sep 2017 07:08:46
Boyata hopefully he'll be ready.

01 Sep 2017 07:25:56
Boyata should be ready if not then lustig.

01 Sep 2017 00:31:06
Not want to sound harsh but another window goes by feeling disappointed, Cb was a must, just gave celtic another £200 yesterday for champs league tickets, along with kits for kids and season tickets.2/ 3 million cb wouldn't have put us under! I'll always be 100% behind team And BR, but not 100% behind board.

{Ed007's Note - We've brought 5 players in, we've had over 20 players leave on loan or permanently and the squad overall is stronger and better than last year. Did we concede a goal in Scotland last year with Boyata playing? And the best CB in the country outside Celtic came back after his loan at Kilmarnock. With Coetzee being our main CB target it looks like Rodgers first choice CB pairing was always going to be Simunovic and Boyata.
If we had brought in a CB people would have just fixating and moaning that we needed a 'keeper and we can't play PSG and Bayern with Gordon in goals.}

01 Sep 2017 01:06:52
Ed, c'mon. I think we all understand that money is not a problem at the minute. Simunovic and Boyata (if they're both fit) MIGHT be a good enough partnership to get us third place in the group. Just think a little more could have been done. and MAYBE WOULD HAVE, had there been movement on VVD. Overall, personally very pleased with the window. Just not ecstatic.

{Ed007's Note - What I'm saying is I don't think Rodgers was looking for a CB to play with Simunovic, he sees him and Boyata as his first choice pairing in there, he has said Boyata's the best defender at the Club.}

01 Sep 2017 07:03:47
So that's it, time to actually assess the window. Could we have done a bit more? Yes. But I think most football fans will feel like that, especially us lot. That said, I'm still pretty pleased. All I ask is that we come out of each window stronger, and to be fair, we have. Firstly, we haven't lost any members of this young squad that will get better as BR tries to develop and build a side. PR was my main target, and we got him. OK, on loan again, but there's chance for a permanent deal yet. Ntcham looks like a quality addition. We got a third choice striker in who fits the model. Personally, and I know I'm in a minority, I want to see Boyata and Jozo developed together so I am happy enough with the whole CB 'issue'. I think all I would have really wanted was a quality keeper, and somebody other than Hayes.

01 Sep 2017 07:09:42
*key members.

01 Sep 2017 07:28:12
Got to agree jimtim. But I think Hayes will be fine for spfl when we need to rest sinclaire.

01 Sep 2017 07:50:59
He should be kev you're right. Being picky, I would have went for a promising youngster over Hayes for domestic cover. Would probably prefer to see Miller get games there over him to be honest.

01 Sep 2017 08:31:25
I think everybody is happy with the players we brought in and holding on to our players. That doesn't alter the fact that our weak link is our defence.

If Rogers thinks either Boyata or Shev are good enough then I'm afraid the majority of Celtic fans don't. I was dissapinted that Young Rivaldo is injured as I was genuinely excited by getting him.

We need to move on and hope the defence is strong enough to edge out the Belgians. Middle to front I have no doubt we can, it's the defence that worries me.

01 Sep 2017 09:39:29
Don't see how he would be any better than Jozo or Boyata for me MP.

01 Sep 2017 01:22:51
Fair doo's. Thanks again Ed007 for the great work you do on here. And also for treating posters with respek! (mostly :) ) Not all eds do. The game's all about opinions. HAIL HAIL! GB.

{Ed007's Note - Thanks buddy.}

01 Sep 2017 06:20:00
Morning ED, I think we've had a great window and I do get what your saying regarding the partnership of siminovic and boyata, I just hope boyata and svitchenko aren't to far away from being available to play. I just hope by the time the PSG game comes around we're not facing them with bitton at centre half. That's not me being critical of bitton but the guys not a natural centre half and its ok saying ajer is there, if the PSG game comes around and both svitchenko and boyata aren't fit I think Brendan would play bitton in there before ajer purely for experience and that could be a big mistake. I get that it seems the south African was his No 1 target but with that falling through, there must have been more centre Half's identiqfied? Again ED I'm not having a big st.

{Ed007's Note - Boyata will be fit to play next Friday night at Accies but whether he'll be risked on their plastic pitch is another question. I doubt Simunovic will play because of their plastic pitch. Next Friday Ajer will definitely start because of his experience playing on plastic at Kilmarnock with either Boyata or Bitton as his partner.}

02 Aug 2017 21:46:12
everyone saw how poor a centre back boyata was in the cup final.

02 Aug 2017 21:50:05
I agree with Ed. And tbh i would have had a better keeper before anther CB. But i didn't expect either to materialise. Glad we have picked up this young striker tho.

02 Aug 2017 21:51:31
Still no reason to better the team by buying a third Ed, what's the worst that would have happened? The one nit getting the game as the other 2 were plying well left in January?