Not Actually that Crucial a Summer as of August 2023...beginning to now think everything isnt fine!

that's a possibility, but some sort of creative play would help us.

 

Surely it would’ve been fairly easy to do what we have been doing last 2 years? The side to side passing between the centre backs is a chore to watch especially in the 90th minute 1 nil down.

 

why so we can creativly pass it sideways and backwards, unless its some massive * of a striker to punt the ball to or some * who can take a corner/free kick it will be a waste . im shocked at how poor we have been so far

 

It should come as no surprise, especially seeing as we havnt replaced the quality we have sold.

Its only on a performance like today that people really appreciate the quality, intensity, invention and cutting edge that Jota brought.

15 goals and 12 assists last season. He had quality off both feet, from set pieces and could beat his man. Even when he didnt score and assist, he could split a defence open.

He had technical quality that is unmatched by anyone else in the squad.

Even the solid, despite sometimes wobbly, presence that starfelt brought has now been replaced with players who are yet to prove themselves at our level.

for me, we didnt have enough games in pre season and a few of our players are not yet up to the speed and match sharpness required.

Out transfer policy has been scattergun and it doesnt seem like we have real exciting targets lined up. We have regressed in our recruitment this season.

Qualifying for the champions league, we should be consolidating on the quality already in the squad. Not selling the quality and replacing with inferior.

This result will be a blessing in disguise as better now than further into the season.

It doesnt matter whats going on with the other lot in Govan if we are getting it right ourselves.

 

We have had all the excuses under the sun from bigger deals take longer, to new manager in and need to see EPL squads.

See under Ange this all disappeared to a large degree, yes there was CCV, Jota and GG the first summer but that was a nonsense created by the Eddie Howe fiasco and how late Ange came in. CCV is probably the only player that really fitted that bill. Last summer we got Abildgaard late as we got shafted by Vinni Souza, but the bulk of business was done early or certainly so we had a functioning first team come the start of the season.

I know it doesn’t matter as he did go but say Ange had stayed and we had the squad from last year. The week after the Scottish cup final we would have all said, nows the time to replace Hart, get completion in for Taylor at left back, we need a starter at right wing so Jota can go back to starting on the left and depth at centre back. There were also some shouts for a box to box midfielder to replace Turnbull’s minutes at centre midfield and cover Hatate and some asking for a third striker.

So for all those positions mentioned we have done predominantly nothing for, except centre back where we have punted Starfelt as well now. But we have brought in two, time will tell if that means we are now stronger at centre back or not.

We bought Yang I believe to replace Abada as it looked like he was off but not as a marked player to start and Tilio to me feels like a cheap punt that we hope comes off. Neither were the quality right winger that let Jota go back to the left.

Then to make matters worse we sell Jota and have not replaced him. So now we have a starting left winger Maeda, that we wanted to downgrade to back up to Jota, and a starting right winger that we wanted to upgrade on sell and replace with Yang as back up in Abada.

In Centre mid we signed Holm who looks to have potential but I would say he’s more a McGregor understudy than anything. We also bought Kwon as a cheap punt having just signed the J league player of the year 2022 to be our midfield enforcer both for under £1m each. None of the three look like the box to box type that could cover Hatate and the only other centre midfielder who offered a lot of creativity, Aaron Mooy also had to retire. Hatate’s injury hasn’t helped but he wasn’t even being picked and now there’s a chance he wants off.

We saw towards the end of the season pre-split that take Jota, Mooy and Hatate out this team and it badly lacks creativity. We have not signed anyone to try sort that, and currently are without all three.

Bernabei is a liability and we have not signed a left back. Taylor has fallen off a cliff form wise but has to play as he is our only option.

Not signed a goalkeeper despite Joe Harts alarming drop in levels.

So before even considering those players moving on, we haven’t actually addressed any of the real primary concerns with the squad at the end of last season, other than centre back depth. That’s before considering replacements for Jota and Mooy.

This transfer window to date is genuinely about a 2/10 rating. The season also has shades of Rodgers last and even the 2020/21 season where we waited and relied on EPL and other big league rejects and kept players who fancied a move. Possibly also Delia’s when taking over from Lennon and getting landed with a bunch of players he didn’t sign.

Eleven days left to at least sort some of this carnage.

 

Put

Put ur dummy back in

 

It's been flogged to death already but we really need to get the finger out, even removing the Champions League games from the argument - in our next 8 League games we're away to Huns, Livingston, Motherwell, Hibs and Hearts.

Every one of those is a possibility to drop points, particularly if we're at the performance levels of today.

LB, CM, ST needed pronto

We've had a poor start to the season with injuries which hasn't helped but we need to suck it up and do the groundwork for a successful season. The squad is missing depth & quality.

 

Need winger badly as well. Ideally a couple for either side but desperately need one of top quality who can change a game..

Keeper needs addressing. Hart looked slack again a couple of times and really slow across the ground..

Put us right on the back foot first half with a terrible clearance..

 

Yeah, could really be doing with someone with quality for RW still. I've got high hopes for Yang, he looks like he has the potential.

Would also love an improvement on Hart but I just don't see it happening now. First time round De Vries was one of Rodgers first signings when he came in - I don't think he would have left it this late if he was thinking about a new no.1

We need next week to be a busy one - really thought the squad would be in a much better place than we find ourselves in. Granted the injuries to AJ,.CCV, Hatate and Oh aren't helping.

 

Agreed on Yang mate but we should still have someone more established considering what we've just made on Jota. I think he'll do damage though..

I'm hoping we do. We need someone capable of finding a man when going long or having the composure to play sweeper keeper and be dominant to take the pressure off of us..

Yep. Some big injuries at an important time. Our right side of defence awol just now..

All 4 have dig, are pretty mobile and just make us a far better side/squad..

 

The board really need to communicate and reassure fans that the signings are coming and will be of the required quality. I've been defending how long it is taking, but with their silence, I really feel that the board is hanging Rodgers out to dry here.

 

This window has been * catastrophic.

 

Speaking to Viaplay Sports, he added: "This is a team that's got a lot of new players in. People will maybe look at it and say 'this is the same squad'.

"It's not the same squad. It's a different squad of players, but still we should have more quality than what we showed today.

"I think it's always been about quality, I've said that before that the team needs match-winners and it needs quality, so that's hopefully something we can do in the next ten, 11 days."

 

I've gone from total certainly that the signings were coming a few weeks ago to some slight doubts a week ago to genuine uncertainty now. But as Michael Stewart said before the game (seemingly quoting the Prof!), you have to believe that they wouldn't have brought Rodgers back to not back him.

Unless it's all a fiendishly machiavellian plan by DD and PL to get revenge on him.

 

BRENDAN Rodgers tonight admitted he needs to add experience and quality to his Celtic squad before the summer transfer window closes after the Parkhead club were knocked out of the Viaplay Cup by Kilmarnock.


The defending champions lost their second round match against their cinch Premiership rivals 1-0 at Rugby Park this afternoon after conceding a second-half goal to Marley Watkins.

Rodgers was missing centre half Cameron Carter-Vickers and central midfielder Reo Hatate to injury in Ayrshire and named summer acquisitions Gustaf Lagerbielke, Maik Nawrocki and Odin Thiago Holm in his starting line-up.



The Northern Irishman, whose team take on Rangers at Ibrox in the league on Sunday week, has signed no fewer than six players since being appointed back in June, but he confessed he would like to add more new recruits before September 1.

We want good players, whatever age they are,” he said. “We need quality, that’s for sure. Hopefully between now and the end of the window we can improve the squad.

“Clearly the model of the club is to bring the players in at a younger age and develop them and improve them. But we are not against bringing in someone at 26 or 27 if they can improve the squad.

“When I look at the team, it’s that match-winning ability that we maybe need to have more of within the squad.”

 

We're still winning a treble, mate. We're just swapping the Viaplay cup in Glasgow in December for the Europa League in Dublin in May. I can live with that.

 

It's not that likely, but it's also not impossible. I honestly think we are, or at least were and will be again soon, a better team than the Hun team that reached a final very recently. It's not a ridiculous impossibility like the CL.