Brendan Fraudgers!

Hopefully not like last summer's deadline day. Sheer disappointment :smiley-laughing002:

 

BR: "Any of the teams would have been tough, but we will accept the change and * willing we can perform well & get through.


BR on if he knows much about Hapoel Be'er Sheva: "Not really to be honest. In all fairness, my full concentration is on the next game.


BR: "Our next game against Hearts which will be a tough game. Will give it some thought nearer the time.


BR: "You certainly have to plan forward. We have a 6-hour flight and a couple of hours time difference.


BR on if he's asked Nir Bitton about Hapoel Be'er Sheva and what the midfielder said: "Yes. None of your business.


BR on possible new signings and players back from injury for the #UCL play-off: "I would think the squad will be stronger and better.


BR on Charlie Mulgrew training with the club: "Don't know Charlie that well but what I do know is he was a good servant to the club.

BR on Charlie Mulgrew: "His contract was up, he was looking to negotiate with the club and unfortunately those negotiations stalled.


BR: "Without a club & he asked if he could come in and train for a few weeks until something happened further down the line.





BR on if @Gary__11 is going out on loan: "Not that I'm aware of. Still injured. Nothing in that.

BR on Scott Allan going out on loan: "Playing time. Since coming to the club last year, he hasn't played a 90-min game in about a yr.


BR: "Opportunity came up for him to go to Rotherham for a manger he knows. We will * it when he comes back.


BR on new signings before Monday's #UCL play-off deadline: "Would really hope we could do something between now and the weekend.


BR: "To get at least one player in for the deadline.


BR on @patrick7roberts "Could miss next 2 to 3 wks. Disappointed for him as at really good level of fitness, operating at high level.


BR on if @patrick7roberts will miss the play-offs: "We will see but if you ask me now he would probably be a risk.


BR on start of league campaign: "Really looking forward to it. It feels like we have played half a season already.



BR on Hearts: "A tough start. Robbie is an outstanding coach and manager. Spent some time with him at Liverpool when he came down.


BR: "My only attraction was Celtic, why I came here. I came to Scotland because of Celtic, one of the great clubs of the world.


BR on @Leighgriff09 "He's fine, trained this morning.


BR on other injury news: "Bitton is responding well to treatment, not available for wkend. Sviatchenko likewise, out running.


BR: "Boyata will train next week with a view to getting game-time in Inter Milan game. Simunovic not as close, getting there.

 

Love his answer to the Nir Bitton question. :smiley-laughing002:

I can see Brendan becoming quickly exasperated with Scottish hacks.

 

today's press conference
part 1
https://streamable.com/7skd

part 2

https://streamable.com/y6tc

[ame]http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=5jjTxEmhl6k[/ame]

 

Possible new starting XI's:

Gordon

Lustig, Sviatchenko, Touré, Tierney

Brown

Roberts, Rogic, Sinclair

Dembele, Griffiths.



Gordon

Janko, Sviatchenko, Touré, Tierney

Brown, Bitton

Roberts, Rogic, Sinclair

Griffiths.



Gordon

Sviatchenko, Touré, Šimunović

Roberts, Brown, Rogic, Bitton, Tierney

Dembele, Griffiths.



Gordon

Lustig, Sviatchenko, Touré, Tierney

Roberts, Brown, Bitton, Sinclair

Dembele, Griffiths.​

 

Squad is definitely starting to take shape. I can see us blowing teams away on a regular basis in Scotland again this season. No reason why we can't be competitive in Europe as well.

 

Im going to say it.......league by 20 points this year.

 

My thoughts also

I know its only been a few games but im liking how we are shaping up, i feel we have been progressing as each game goes on, and i think we are in for a special season

 

You must be a glass is half empty kinda guy....30 points

 

i think all of these injuries would suggest that Brendan is pushing them hard for fitness which is priority for getting us through qualifiers. Also i like how hes not gunna sign any old pish just for the sake of it. Hes made a few great signings so far but overall i think its been a tough transfer window. Still a month left and we are doing business alot better these days, under the radar so i wont be surprised if we sign some more class, hopefully a keeper.So lets get that Champs league money and build for the future!!! In brendan we trust

 

Can anyone remember who Deilas first signings were? I know the first one was Gordon one but not fair to include him as he was practically signed before Deila had arrived.

I'm thinking scepovic, wukaso, Berget & tonev?

Compared with Dembele, kolo toure and Sinclair the difference in class between this two in the transfer market is unreal.

 

Possible Champions League Starting 11. Obviously could easily swap out Dembele for Griffiths but don't think he's a lone striker.

Gordon

Sviatchenko Toure Simunovic

Lustig.................................Tierney
Brown Rogic

Roberts.....................Sinclair

Dembele​

 

Some difference, night and day. You can see that the transfer strategy has completely changed.

 

nah...aberdeen will be closer than 30.

 

which makes me think the club has been waiting for the new dead club being in the same league as us to increase spending.

 

Brendan Rodgers admits he needs the pressure of being the Celtic manager when he could be spending his Liverpool pay-off and playing golf

BRENDAN Rodgers thought he knew what being the Celtic manager was all about until he actually

met one. It was at Dublin’s Aviva Stadium three summers ago when the-then Liverpool boss – and it’s important to note that at that time he was very much The Man at Anfield – held a joint press conference with Neil Lennon before a friendly between the two clubs.

Rodgers is far from naïve and yet he could not believe the intensity of the questions levelled at Lennon on that day. This was in early August and yet it was as if Celtic were days away from the biggest game of their lives. The thing is, they sort of were.

Rodgers now finds himself in the middle of the same maelstrom he got a peek of back in 2013, which for him was a time when bedding in new players and fitness was his biggest concern. He could not believe Lennon had to talk about season-defining games quite so early. He believes it now. The current Celtic manager was discussing how some of the demands on his players – making it into the Champions League group stage, producing entertaining football and also winning games right from the off in the league – were unrealistic.

Then he cast his thoughts back to his first experience of the madness of Planet Celtic and it reminded him he should have known what he was waking into. “It’s the expectancy up here that is huge, not just for Celtic, but the other teams,” Rodgers said. “I witnessed that when I took part in a press conference with Neil Lennon.

“The level of intensity that was aimed at him at that period of the season was something I found remarkable. I was taken aback. I couldn’t believe it.

“I understand the rewards at the end of it are Champions League and all that, but I think there needs to be perspective as well.

“However, that’s the pressure you want. If I wanted to be comfortable,

I could have sat and stayed out of work for another couple of years. With my pay-off, it was fine and life was good, and I travelled and golfed but ... you know when you come to Celtic, when you come to the big clubs, that

that pressure is there and some of us need it in a funny way.”

Rodgers might be new in these parts but he knows what the supporters want: everything right away. Even the more sensible ones will demand the Champions League group stage – the eminently beatable

Israeli club Hapoel Beer-Sheeva stand in their way in the play-off – the league title by 10 points plus at least one cup.

The 43-year-old received a lot of pats on the back for almost winning the league with Liverpool. Yet second is nothing at Celtic Park.

“We are going to lose games,” said Rodgers, a sentiment that might not go down well with some. “They won the title last year, that was five years on the spin, but there were times when they could have been better.

“Is there too much expectancy on them? They go into European football and my experience of being up here is that what they are having to do in this period isn’t realistic. I have got to say that.

“We are being judged as if we were midway through a season. We played Astana who are 22 games into their season; they are a team that perhaps the punters might not have heard of, but they have had millions and

millions of pounds ploughed into them. But because they are from Kazakhstan away out of the way, people think we should roll over them.

“There are lot of things which are difficult for the players but for me, coming into it, I have been really impressed by the level of their work, and they are going to get better.”

For the moment, Rodgers has a smile on his face. He seems to be enjoying himself even if in the past July and early August were usually a lot less stressful.

“Europe and the domestic scene are difficult to juggle,” he said. “It’s unique, really, that in this period of the season you get asked questions about people scoring goals – when is he going to score his first goal? – questions like that get asked when it is a period of getting fit.

“The magnitude of the games, obviously has a huge impact on your preparation. You are trying to gain fitness, to find a way of working that is never going to be anywhere near complete because you have to try to find a way to win because the games are so important. I have enjoyed it. It has been totally different to what I’ve done before. The key over the course of pre-season, the first objective, was to make sure our working mentality was at a level that we could affect the players in relation to mental fitness.

“I have seen big strides there in terms of calmness. They have shown this when they have gone behind or when they physical fitness has allowed them to keep going and ensure they are never beaten [until the game is over]. There was no greater example than the other night against Astana.

“The fluency and performance, the idea of the football, will get better. It is an interesting pre-season but I’ve enjoyed every minute of it.”

It all begins in a domestic sense at Tynecastle this afternoon.Rodgers has some experience of playing down Gorgie way as his Liverpool side were drawn against in Europe a few seasons ago in Europe.

“I am really looking forward to the start of the Premier League season,” Rodgers said. “It’s a such a passionate crowd at Tynecastle, I saw that for myself during my own experience there with Liverpool.

“I remember asking someone how many were in the crowd that night. It seemed a lot. They support their team, they back their team, which is good. We respect the opening game will be very tough.

“They’re probably a bit disappointed because of their European exit, but they have some players who can give you a problem.

 

The calibre of players he's bringing in already, the buzz around the place he's creating is unbelievable.

 

agree,with rangers not being here it would have affected spending hugely.

look at the jump from ronny diela to brendan.think were giving rodgers something like 2.4 million per year.also scott sinclair must be the most expensive signing since scott brown.the simunovic transfer is debatable though nobody really knows much we paid.transfermarket says 6 million.