27 Apr 2025 10:46:04
With the league wrapped up, it is time to start planning for next season.
I think the positions we need to target are left back if Taylor does not sign, centre back and sell nawrocki, winger as Forrest is begining to wain and can be injury prone, striker, central midfielder and sell holm.
Ideally I would like to keep the squad together but strengthen those positions I mentioned. Realistically I think we have about 20-30m to splash out based on a revenue of 140 million and wage bill of 65 million.
What areas of the team would you like to see strengthened and what players would you like to see move on?
27 Apr 2025 11:52:02
We shouldn't be 'splashing out 20-30 million', we should be looking at young players with potential to sell on at a profit, we should be looking to improve our youth set up, if there is money to be splashed out, our youth set up and other young Scottish players is where it should be spent, as well as the African continent, where there is an abundance of young talent.
27 Apr 2025 11:34:33
Palma and lagerb will also be away.
27 Apr 2025 11:40:54
Me personally Trusty just not strong enough and Nawrocki only as BR doesn’t seem to rate to highly. CB for me is our weakest Position. am a fan of Idah so ad like mb a Vardy type experience to help him now n again. Ndidi and if any wingers leave a fast dynamic 1 to replace.
27 Apr 2025 12:35:59
I would not be unhappy to see both cbs upgraded. Happy with scales and ralston as cover. Rocky hasn't done anything to justify being so so far from picture. Is Welsh a loan out just now.
27 Apr 2025 12:42:29
I'd like to see the youth system overhauled and bring in a director of youth who has total control of the setup and is answerable to the like of Rogers - someone like Ronnie Deila. There has to be a more potent pathway showing progressive movement and the position each player plays in should mirror the first team - so if a central defender is out for a poeriod of time then the replacement should be able to step in seamlessly. If we could get that sorted then we could eand up saving a substantial amount of money on transfer fees.
Refer to the Ajax system when the youth coach was Louis van Gaal and Manchester United under Nobby Stles, Brian Kidd and Jim Ryan. We should be capable of doing this and if we can increase the wages of the more promising players to prevent them being snapped up by other clubs who pay a helluva lot more than we do.
{Ed007's Note - You can't polish a jobby though Stengo. The young players simply aren't good enough to make their way through our youth system to the first team, for a start playing in that Lowland League isn't doing them any good what so ever - we need to get back to a competitive reserve league - and if you throw them in at the deep end in the first team they aren't allowed to make mistakes by the fans, fans would demand he be replaced by a multi-million £ player, the board are being stingy etc etc
If we brought a youth player through this season who at 20-year-old came in and contributed 10 goals & 12 assists, played 50 games, broke into a top international team, won 6/7 MOTM awards, impressed everyone during our successful Euro campaign & being an integral part of us winning hopefully a treble, we’d all be raving about him and saying how he was worth £25/30 million.... Yet some Celtic fans moan about the Engels fee, imagine how louder that moaning would be if he was our own product?
On the subject of the B/youth teams playing the same as the first team, we done that with Ange and from the moment he left what was the point of doing that? Ajax youngsters are taught to play in every outfield position to improve their understanding of the overall game.
Scouting Africa would be a major waste of time & money, players can't move country until they are 18 and since Brexit - even though it's easier up here than England - work permits are a pain in the bum & not many young Africans would qualify.}
27 Apr 2025 12:55:01
Troy Frank mcavennie is only 65 we could bring him back.
27 Apr 2025 13:19:37
Guys I think at least 3/ 4 players will move on including at least one big name, that is what our Board do to partly fund new players, Hatate is the name being mentioned this year. Say we get £15m ish
for him, then there is talk of us getting £5m from sell on clause of Frimpong, let's imagine 5 new players come in, we would probably have to add at least another £10m so a budget of £30m for 5 players is reasonable, as they will not all be £10m players.
A mixture of up and coming players and experienced players.
27 Apr 2025 14:22:20
Spot on Ed about Engels. Under Brendan he will develop into a top player. I've a feeling Hatate Khun and CCV might go.
27 Apr 2025 15:32:45
I think as fans we should at least take 4/ 5 days or a week to enjoy our regular
SPL success . To savour what the club has done well and to improve areas we have to improve . It seems to be at least 4/ 5 seasons since many felt Forrest was too injury prone, but he is still a danger and working hard for team . I think this season has gone the full circle from who is best to partner CCV, to finding out it is Scales who was his partner most of previous season.
At centre back the most surprising thing was how many of our fans have become experts and decided that Nawrocki was outstanding in just 2 games . Left back many moaned before rejoicing about Schlupp as answer to their prayer, that lasted for about 6-8 games and Celtic team returned to its own fast passing good running team and winning at ease with Taylor back in team/
We need quality players in over summer transfer window whilst holding on to everyone, if we can . Another front three player who is equally adept at least 2 front positions.
27 Apr 2025 17:22:36
That was exactly my point - Ed007 - we're going nowhere with the youth setup where we could overhaul it or disband it and spend the money on buying in some extremely promising players and either have them in training with the first team squad or loaning them out to get play time. Where's the logic of spending money on bringing no-one through?
{Ed007's Note - I honestly don't think Celtic alone can do anything to improve our youth set-up, it needs to be all the clubs coming together with the SFA, SPFL and the Scottish government to instigate changes to improve things across the board at that level. Celtic investing millions in our own youth set-up is just throwing good money after bad imo, young players simply aren't going to learn anything or improve while playing against guys that have just finished their shift in the local factory or garage.
That is the missing step at Celtic, the bridge between youth & senior squads but the B team is frozen in a wasteland. Just look how players improve out on loan, playing every week against a decent/normal standard of opponent will help out more than all the coaching & tactics in the world at that age.
We need to get back to a proper reserve league that is compulsory for Premier League teams, youngsters, back-up players & players returning from injury etc playing in a proper competitive league, you just can't coach that playing experience into youngsters.}
27 Apr 2025 21:32:32
100% Ed007. Steven McManus and Darren O'Dea aren't exactly Louis van Gaal or any of the Man Utd trio.
{Ed007's Note - There's guys on here could coach our B team to play in that lowland league, any youth coach worth his salt isn't going to come here to coach at that level, we're offering them nothing so it's guys like McManus who are happy to be involved in coaching with Celtic, his other options would be the same job at another SPFL team for less wages and the same problems. JAW's laddie was being chased by most clubs in Scotland including Celtic but they chose St Mirren, I'll give him a shout for his input on this ????
28 Apr 2025 13:42:53
The mindset of youngsters 16 yrs old and their parents is making it very difficult for Celtic to bring players through to first team .
IMO agents are far more active in encouraging youngsters to leave the club who they have at that time spent 6/ 8 or maybe even more years to move to England, Germany and other top five leagues.
The media highlights these players leaving Scotland to seek their fortune .
However we hear very little of players returning to Scotland m lower division teams with their tail between their legs . The percentage of players at 18 yrs of age who finish part timers or amateurs in UEFA clubs is alarmingly high.
28 Apr 2025 17:29:39
I would quote Manchester United in 2025 as an example that any club should strive to try to match . Manchester United over the last. 6-8 years have spent a fortune on players, only to reject many of those bought in 3-4 yrs and sell at a big lost . They couldn’t wait to get rid of Anthony and Rashford who were said to be world class . Managers are changed almost as often as the new club in Scotland, who unlike United have no history to rely on .
There is no easy method of getting success from academy, certainly not trying to copy others . Clubs must decide what suits them and do their best, remembering that youth players at 16 yrs of age, less than 2% are professional footballers at 24 . I am fairly certain no group at Celtic, from Board, through manager and coaches, nor supporters are happy with results of Celtic youth set-up but one thing is certain, we are far and away above average.