Thursday 3 September 2015

Celtic's Summer of Buying Potential Stars



As the transfer window slammed shut, Celtic fans were left with the taste of disappointment in their mouths- a flavour which we are all becoming quite accustomed to.

There is only one question that needs to be answered once a transfer window has concluded and that is: Is your team stronger than it was before the window opened? The answer for the Hoops has to be “No”- until further notice

The deadline day departure of Virgil Van Dijk to Southampton, for an expected fee of £11.5 million, came as no surprise to anyone. What did grab attention, however, was the fact Ronny Deila was allowed to spend in excess of £4 million (reportedly) on his replacement; 21-year-old Jozo Simunovic from Dinamo Zagreb. 
Celtic's new Croatian defender



Such is the nature of business at Celtic Football Club nowadays that a fee of £4 million plus raises eyebrows- directly after one of the finest talents at the club was sold for just under three times that amount. 

There have been very few, if any, occasions over the last few years in which September has seen a Celtic side visibly stronger than it was before the transfer window opened. The constant stream of young potential means that the fans rarely know exactly what they are getting.

Could this current Celtic squad be better than it was last year? Yes, possibly. But, is the squad stronger now than it was before the departures of Virgil Van Dijk, Adam Matthews, etc? No. Not until proven otherwise.

It is perhaps unrealistic to expect Celtic to have a stronger squad after losing players which are deemed worthy of playing in the highest echelons of English football. It isn’t unrealistic, however, to expect Celtic to buy talent which isn’t just potential. 

Naturally, buying any player is a risk for any team. An already established player could move to a team and fail to impress for a number of reasons. Similarly, a totally unknown player, like Virgil Van Dijk once was, could come and make a name quickly for himself.


 Celtic’s manner of conducting transfers now, however, sometimes feels more like following Wall Street than it does a football team. Young players are bought at cheap rates, with the hope that they will one day show enough to command a high transfer fee.
This summer has seen Celtic bring in Dedryck Boyata (24), Saidy Janko (19), Logan Bailly (29), Scott Allan (23), Nadir Ciftci (23), Jozo Simunovic (21), Ryan Christie (20) and Tyler Blackett (21). Despite some of the varying ages (and Logan Bailly who is backup to Gordon), all the players Celtic brought in during this recent window have one thing in common- they potentially have bright futures in the game.
The possibility of young talent coming good is an exciting prospect. However, when you know that player, should they show enough, will leave for a bigger pay-cheque and finer footballing scenes than the SPFL, it becomes difficult to think positively of your team’s future.
Another of The Hoops' talents heads South of the boarder
The £4 million plus spent on Jozo Simunovic feels like nothing more than an investment, despite the ambitious fee. And the investment doesn’t feel like a long-term footballing one either- because, should the young centre-back emulate Dutch his predecessor’s success, he will undoubtedly be heading in the same direction. There seems to be little other reason why this amount of money was spent on such a young player, as opposed to one who had enough experience to make Celtic fans feel at ease with their back-line.
Since the 2013/14 season, the transfer fees received by Celtic have exceeded £40 million. In turn, since 2013/14, they have spent around £16.4 million on bringing in players. This coupled with the Hoops’ record-breaking New Balance kit deal surely means there is a fair amount of money around the club. Surely, as a result, this business model doesn’t have to make up 90% of the transfer activities. Surely Celtic can afford to bring in players which strengthen the squad; not just potentially strengthen it.

Monday 17 February 2014

Trouble in Paradise



As one of the Founding Fathers of the United States of America, Benjamin Franklin once said "In this world there is nothing that is certain except death and taxes.” Franklin passed away approximately 224 years shy of adding Celtic’s 2013/14 SPL title to that list. 

Despite this piece of silverware that’s had Celtic’s name on it before the season began, all is not well around Parkhead. Many fans may now be left wondering if Neil Lennon is becoming one of the Founding Fathers of mediocrity at this once great footballing club, as by far the best team in Scotland was dumped out of yet another Cup competition this season. 

Although the Hoops’ blushes won’t shine as brightly as those left by Morton in the 1-0 defeat in the League Cup, they are still as red as the hair that adorns the head of their manager, who claims they’ve had a “brilliant season”, despite being defeated 2-1 by Aberdeen in the Scottish Cup. Things have gone from bad to worse for Lennon and his Bhoys on the domestic front this season. Fans have little to slake their interest barring an unbeaten League run and Fraser Forster’s clean sheet record. 

This is a far cry from how the Green and White faithful were gearing themselves up in early February last season, as Celtic prepared to face Juventus in the last 16 of the Champions League. Heroic victories against Barcelona and Spartak Moscow were a redemptive message of renewed ambition- a lift for a club who were supposed to be left in dire straits following Rangers’ liquidation.

Despite reaching the Champions League this season, one reason behind Lennon's “brilliant season” boast, Celtic went out with a whimper. Inadequate replacements for Gary Hooper and Victor Wanyama meant the Hoops never stood a chance among the Big Boys in Europe. His team's under-performance in the Champions League provided ammo for those who don’t think Lennon is the right man for the job. His inability to lead his team to victory against Morton in the League Cup cocked the gun, and his side’s defeat to Aberdeen in the Scottish Cup placed a finger firmly on the trigger. 


In his proclaimed “brilliant season” Lennon saw his team’s few admirable performances in the Champions League go to waste; arguably because of a lack of serious business in the summer transfer window. His talk of being in a position to spend £6 million on just one player in the January transfer window was met with actions of only two players being bought, in the form of midfielder Stefan Johansen for £2 million and striker Leigh Griffiths for an undisclosed fee, believed to be in the region of £1 million. Fan favourite Joe Ledley also departed south of the border to ply his trade with Crystal Palace.  And now his team’s failure to reach the quarter finals of both cup competitions for the first time in 32 years, can cap off what many fans will agree is an anything-but-brilliant season.

It is not a divine right of Celtic’s to claim the domestic treble in any season, but without the threat of Rangers in the SPL it is expected that they should come close, a lot closer than they have this season. Nor is it expected that a relatively inexperienced manager, in his first job, can work miracles. However, time and time again Lennon has displayed an inability to gear his players up for the ‘important’ games against the less able opponents in Scotland. The blame cannot lie completely with the Northern Irishman, but it has become such a trend that he can’t be exempt from it either. A Celtic manager should expect nothing less.

Like our friend Benjamin Franklin, Lennon also had a thing or two to say with regards to storms. In front of an electrifying crowd, who had just witnessed their club lose out on the title race, he vowed to bring the thunder back to Parkhead. His words struck hope in the hearts of the Celtic faithful and a surge of expectation flowed. The defeat to Aberdeen has well and truly defused this. Unfortunately, this term, Benjamin would be left flying his kite for a long time in Celtic Park. 

Monday 3 December 2012

Celtic'c European Journey Comes to Decider


Celtic’s remarkably indifferent form on the domestic front must be put to one side as they prepare to take on Spartak Moscow in a make-or-break clash for their Champions League campaign.

The Hoops’ destiny will be partially out of their own hands however, as they must better Benfica’s result on Wednesday night to progress to the knockout stages. Although Celtic aren’t in control of their own fate, they do leave a part of it in the well capable hands of Barcelona at the Nou Camp, which isn’t a bad option to have.

Unai Emery wasn't in charge for half a
season before being sacked by Spartak
The general consensus for the last match of the group stage is that Celtic must avoid defeat to Spartak Moscow in Glasgow, with a victory not being crucial, and all the while remain optimistic that Barcelona can do what they do best.

Spartak Moscow travel to Celtic Park having endured somewhat of a crisis in the past month. Unai Emery, who had only taken charge of Spartak on the 13th of May, was sacked on November 25th after a poor run of form for the Moscow club.

Valery Karpin, the man who led Spartak to a runners up position in the Russian Premier League last year, is now temporarily back at the helm. He first took charge of Spartak Moscow in April 2009 after succeeding Michael Laudrup. Although Karpin declared his resignation from the managerial post on the 18th of April 2011, after leading the club to one of the worst starts to a season in their history, he maintained the position as coach until his successor could be found.

In Spartak’s last four matches they have drawn once, against Volga, and been defeated three times; 3-0 against Barcelona, 5-1 in a local derby against Dinamo Moscow (Emery’s final game in charge) and 4-2 to Zenit St. Petersburg, with each defeat occurring on home soil.

Valery Karpin managed Spartak for 3 years from 2009-12
Barcelona’s thrashing of Spartak meant they were eliminated from European competition altogether, but Celtic players and fans alike must remain cautious. The pain of Celtic’s victory at the Luzhniki Stadium will still be fresh in the memory for the men from Moscow, and the possibility of denying Celtic a place in the last 16 will seem a sweet assertion of revenge.

There is only so long that the undeniably talented team that is Spartak Moscow can be left licking their wounds, before picking themselves up and getting back to winning ways.

The tie will surely be too close to call, for even the most optimistic Celtic fan. The Hoops maintain a fantastic home record in the Champions League, and defeating (arguably) the greatest team in the world at Park Head proved this. However, recent results for Celtic are probably leaving the fans scratching their heads.

Since Celtic battled for a famous victory against Barcelona, they’ve drawn 1-1 at home to St. Johnstone, defeated Aberdeen 2-0 away, lost 2-1 away at Benfica, been beaten at home 1-0 by Inverness, defeated Hearts 4-0 away and drew 1-1 with Arbroath at home.

This mixed bag of results gives us absolutely no indication as to which Celtic side will turn up to face Spartak Moscow in the decisive game of  the group.

Celtic fans will be hopful for at least two more
Champions league games after Wednesday
Lennon will most likely stick with the same line-up that he sent out to play Benfica, although Celtic’s star player Victor Wanyama will be banned from the tie after picking up a booking in that tie and Scott Brown may remain doubtful for a starting place after his recent injury woes.

The Celtic manager will also be hopeful that James Forrest can win his race to fitness and at least make an impact from the bench, as he did in Russia to devastating effect.

No matter what team Neil Lennon sends out, the Celtic faithful will be right behind them and Celtic Park will undoubtedly be rocking once again. If ever Celtic needed their 12th man, it will be then.

The Europa League beckons for either Celtic or Benfica, but neither will want to settle for it. 

Wednesday 31 October 2012

Is Hooper Good Enough for England?


England manager Roy Hodgson looks set be attending Celtic’s Champions League tie against Barcelona to run the rule over Gary Hooper.

This leads to the question that many fans have been asking for a while now- is Gary Hooper really good enough for England?

In 2006 Hooper was playing semi-professional football for Grays Athletic in the Conference National, where he was eventually released, and six years on he is playing in the Champions League with Celtic.

The Celtic fans are used to seeing Hooper celebrate 
Celtic’s number 88 has been no stranger to the score sheet since joining the Hoops in 2010 and this has perhaps forced Hodgson to consider him for the England squad.

In Hooper’s first season with Celtic he found the net 22 times in 36 appearances, with one European goal against S.C. Braga (Champions League qualifier). He finished the second highest scorer in the SPL and picked up three yellow cards.

During his first season with Celtic he had the best strike rate of any player in Britain, scoring 20 goals in 26 games.

His second season saw him score 29 times in 49 appearances, this time scoring two European goals against Stade Rennais and Udinese respectively (Europa League).  He finished as top scorer in the SPL and picked up three yellow cards.

After not scoring in his first five games of the current season, Hooper has regained his scoring form and netted 10 times in 18 appearances. He has scored two European goals thus far, one against Helsingborgs (Champions League qualifier) and the opener in Celtic’s famous away victory at Spartak Moscow (Champions League group stages).  

Hooper doing what he does best in the Champions League
Hooper has scored 61 goals in 96 appearances for Celtic, averaging around 0.63 goals per game.

Celtic goalkeeper Fraser Forster has already had a call up to the England squad after some fine European performances, but it’s fair to say that as long as Joe Hart is fit and able Forster will find his time on the pitch for England very limited.

Hooper will also have to outshine the likes of Daniel Sturridge, Danny Welbeck, Andy Carroll and maybe even Jermain Defoe if he is ever going to make the grade for his national team.

In England’s last three games Sturridge, Welbeck, Carroll and Defoe have all featured on the team sheet, and if Hooper was to force his way into the England squad one of these players would probably have to make way.

Daniel Sturridge has made eight appearances so far this season for club and country. In his seven appearances for Chelsea he has found the net once and he failed to score for England against Ukraine.  

Manchester United forward Danny Welbeck has made 15 appearances for United and England, scoring twice in England’s 5-0 victory over San Marino and once in United’s 4-2 win against Stoke.

Andy Carroll began the season with Liverpool, playing in a 3-0 defeat at West Brom and a 2-2 draw with Manchester City, before being sent on loan to West Ham. He has failed to score for Liverpool, West Ham or England in 8 appearances so far this season.

Jermain Defoe has played 12 times for Tottenham and three for England this season.  He has scored once for England, in their 5-0 win against Moldova and five times for Tottenham in the Premier League.

Hooper’s scoring statistics come from a league which is a world away in terms of quality compared to that of the Premier League, but he has managed to score in European compeition this season- something which Welbeck, Sturridge and Defoe have not.

It's unlikely Forster will take Joe Hart's place
 in the England set up any time soon. 
The Hoops' forward has fallen subject to some criticism this season for looking lacklustre at times, but his scoring statistics for Celtic make for impressive reading and he has seemingly turned his season around after a slow start.

There is more to Hooper's game than just being a goal-scoring poacher; he can fall deep, hold up the ball well and is more than capable of picking out a pass.

However none of this ability was displayed against Barcelona when Celtic played them at the Nou Camp, with Hooper stuck in uncharted territory up the field in Barcelona’s half.

My initial feeling is that Hooper is not good enough to play for England. Although, if he was surrounded by a squad of a far higher standard than he already is, who knows what he is capable of.

Perhaps there is only one way to find out.

If  Roy Hodgson does take a trip to Celtic Park next Wednesday night, it will at least not be in vain should Hooper fail to shine; Fraser Forster will have numerous chances to show the England manager what he’s made of. 

Friday 26 October 2012

Anti-football or Intelligent Tactics?


Former Barcelona player Bernd Schuster has lashed out at Celtic for their style of play at the Nou Camp, branding it ‘anti-football’.

The comments come three days after Celtic lost out narrowly on taking home a point from Spain in the Champions League.

Schuster, according to the Scottish Sun, stated that Celtic “do not merit their place [in the Champions League] if they are going to play in this style” and “You see Celtic defending with 10 ten men and almost snatching a point- that is not fair.”

In 2007 Rangers held Barcelona to a 0-0 draw at Ibrox, and it wasn’t long before the performance was branded ‘anti-football’- by none other than Lionel Messi.

If Celtic had indeed taken away a point from a scored draw, or if Rangers had snatched a 1-0 win in 2007, would these remarks about ‘anti-football’ still be voiced? Or would it be hailed as tactical genius?

Rubin Kazan successfully overcame the Catalan Giants
Rubin Kazan are also one of few relatively average teams in the past few years to successfully deploy the defensive and counter-attacking styles of play against Barcelona in the Champions League, however they managed to defeat Barcelona 1-0 at the Nou Camp and draw 0-0 at home.

I can’t seem to remember the ‘anti-football’ argument being used on this occasion, although it wouldn’t surprise me if it was.

Bernd Schuster blamed Chelsea for generating a “school for teams like Celtic to study”, after putting Barcelona out of the Champions League semi-final last year with an incredibly defensive display.

There is no doubt that watching a match in which one team has 10 men behind the ball at most times isn’t what we like to see when watching football. Neutrals like to see high scoring games that are end-to-end.

However, with Chelsea aside, I fail to understand why people like Bernd Schuster cannot see the need for these tactics, which he brands ‘anti-football’, to be used when playing against teams such as Barcelona.

Chelsea FC have a seemingly unlimited amount of money at their disposal, which they use to attract top quality players- Rangers, Rubin Kazan and Celtic do not.

The cost of the Celtic team to take on Barcelona is as follows:

6.7 million pounds worth of players in this photo
Frazer Forster: £2 million; Mikael Lustig: Free; Kelvin Wilson: Free; Efe Ambrose: £400K; Emilio Izaguirre: £700K; Georgios Samaras: £2.2 million; Scott Brown: £4 million; Victor Wanyama: £900K; Joe Ledley: Free; Charlie Mulgrew: Free; Gary Hooper: £2.5 million; Lukasz Zaluska: Free; Adam Matthews: £200K; Miku: Loan; Kris Commons: £300K; Thomas Rogne: £300K; Beram Kayal: £1.5 Million; James Forrest: Free.

The total cost of the squad Celtic brought to Spain is approximately £14,920,000.

This figure is somewhat shy of what Barcelona’s squad to face the Hoops cost. Excluding players from their youth system the Barcelona team is as follows:

Adriano: £8.3 million; Javier Mascherano: £17.6 million; Jordi Alba: £12 million; Alex Song:  £16.7 million; Alexis Sanchez: £22 million; Cesc Fabregas: £30 million; Jose Manuel Pinto: £500,000; David Villa: £35 million.

Apart from highlighting just how successful Barcelona’s youth academy is, this shows the total cost of Barcelona’s squad to be approximately £142,120,000, for just 8 players.

Over 54 million pounds worth of players in this photo

We all know that money doesn’t always buy success in football, but it does buy the best players.

With this in mind, how can anyone expect a team like Celtic, costing just under ten times that of Barca, to go out and try to play attractive, attacking football against the best in the world?

If you attempt to play attacking football against Barcelona or any team that can afford such talent, with a relatively cheap squad in comparison, there can only be one outcome- defeat.

Neil Lennon has all the resources and financial backing to easily handle the SPL, but when it comes to Europe these resources appear incredibly limited.

As a result Lennon, much like Walter Smith with Rangers in 2007-08, has to use any means possible to win in Europe against teams that eclipse Celtic’s spending capabilities.

Thankfully it was a past player from Barcelona who made these comments, as it is often a current one. Tito Vilanova and his players were fair in their comments after the match, stating they deserved victory and crediting Celtic for their efforts.

Lennon has since dismissed Bernd Schuster’s comments, saying he wouldn't listen to the ramblings of a failed coach.


http://www.thescottishsun.co.uk/scotsol/homepage/sport/spl/4610480/Kick-Celts-bores-out-of-Champs-League.html

Wednesday 24 October 2012

Celtic Suffer Heartbreak in Barca


Celtic’s late defeat at the hands of the mighty Barcelona will be a hard pill to swallow for the players and fans alike.

With the final play of the game Barcelona’s Adriano whipped in a teasing cross which only needed a slight touch from full-back Jordi Alba to clinch all three points, diminishing the Hoops' valiant efforts at the greatest footballing theatre in the world.  

Even the most ardent Celtic fan can’t deny Barcelona deserved their last second victory and if there was ever an acceptable way to lose a football game, losing in the dying moments against the greatest team on earth is the way to do it.

Regardless of this, Celtic can leave Spain with their heads held high. They caused Barcelona trouble with their resilient defending and excellent discipline in the midfield. The counter-attacking style Celtic attempted to deploy was often a cause for concern to the home side. 

The opening minutes of the game set the tone for the rest of the match, with Barcelona, as is natural to them, completely dominating possession.

Samaras heads the Hoops into the lead
However, on the 18th minute, a quick counter attack from Celtic and a nice bit of skill from Scott Brown drew a Jordi Alba foul on the right-hand flank, which Charlie Mulgrew drove in beautifully to meet the head of Samaras and, after a deflection off Mascherano, ended up in the back of the net.

This was Georgios Samaras’s fourth consecutive goal in as many away European games for Celtic, which all ended in victories, and the Green and White faithful dared to dream.

Samaras was holding up the ball well, making brilliant forward runs and winning everything he possibly could in the air. The kind of ability he was displaying would make you wonder why he was the whipping boy for Celtic some time ago.

The big Greek’s fortunes were to turn on the 40th minute however, when a dual with Adriano in the air caused him to land awkwardly on his ankle and subsequently Celtic lost their best attacking player. James Forrest was the replacement for Samaras; with the tricky winger being over eight inches smaller Celtic lost their aerial threat up front.

Five minutes later, on the stroke of half time, Barcelona’s dominance finally paid off when Victor Wanyama was caught unawares to allow a pass to Andres Iniesta to be threaded through by Messi, and a quick one-two with footballing guru Xavi was finished off by Iniesta tucking the ball into the bottom corner.

The second half resumed in the same manner that the first half did, with Barcelona completely dominating possession and getting multiple chances but, with Fraser Forster in inspired form, the Catalonian side struggled to take the lead.

Messi was kept at bay by the Celtic midfield 
Effe Ambrose appears to be another gem that Lennon has unearthed, and with a great display against Spartak Moscow in Celtic’s last Champions League clash, he carried on that form against the finest the competition had to offer, intercepting Barcelona’s attackers on numerous occasions and distributing the ball well.

Praises can also be sung of Victor Wanyama, who Celtic will undoubtedly struggle to hold onto once the January transfer window commences. Apart from his error for the Barca leveller he was fantastic in the midfield. Joe Ledley, Scott Brown and Charlie Mulgrew’s performances also cannot go unaccredited.

Celtic’s defensive efforts mean they are now the only team in 2012 to prevent Lionel Messi from assisting or scoring a goal.

Perhaps the only player to not shine on the night was Gary Hooper. He found himself stranded at the forefront of Celtic’s attack and found it difficult to hold the ball up when it was passed to him, often passing the ball straight to a Barcelona attacker. His inability to maintain possession would eventually lead to the 94th minute heartbreak Celtic suffered.

Jordi Alba meets Adriano's cross to deny Celtic a point
When substitute David Villa hit the Celtic post on the 90th minute it appeared luck was on the Hoops’ side to clinch a famous draw, however Barcelona continued to attack and on the 4th and final minute of added time Jordi Alba crept inside James Forrest to meet Adriano’s fantastic cross at the back post.

The result cannot be argued, Barcelona had 72% of possession and completely dominated the game in every aspect besides goals, but Celtic’s determination, discipline and effort left much to admire.

Neil Lennon, his management team, the players and the fans can all hold their heads high yet again after another European away performance that won’t soon be forgotten. The home-leg now looks set to be another fantastic game.

Celtic may not have left Barcelona with any points, but they did leave with their pride.