Brendan Fraudgers!

500k is the equivalent of £50 to Dermot Desmond and would be a joke figure to offer ,we are sitting on enough money to not need support from dd, only reason he would come is to resolve any disputes, issues , if the club needed real money then I'm sure it would be provided and paid back in time .
This has been blown out of sense by everyone , a bit of a story of discontent with our actions or inaction has gave the media a story to cover where they have struggled to find any for a few years ,mainly through good management ,everything kept in-house.
Wot I don't get is why brendan was happy to do the interview knowing full well it would have a negative affect before 2 very important games ,if he is unhappy about transfers or lack of, he can seek council with dd any time he wishes ,same with any board member .
It feels as though he is now frustrated by the terms he accepted about our limitations and maybe knows more about how this is gonna go , he is pushing for more support because he knows already they will come up well short of where it has to go and wont take the blame for lack of progress and movement .
Maybe the stresses of going into these qualifiers knowing how tight it can be has caused his reaction ,preparation before any failure to qualify and showing where the finger needs to point .
This season can go 2 ways ,the interview can spur movement and further investment,or it will be a very tense exciting season for fans ,and media ,if truth be told its been missing for a few years ,when I cast my mind back to one of my favourite league winning years under Strachan, on the last game against Dundee Utd, but don't get me wrong,I love running away with the league and dedestroying others and be making progress in europe ,but it seems like we are choosing to stick rather than twist ,This team have needed 2 more players with age and experience like broony ,commper has not worked out , and it more telling in cl games ., to many prospects against teams with the finished article .

 

9 million is a lot of money to splash out. Whether we needed OE is more of a debate than losing out to McGinn who I thought would have been a great signing moving forward. Griffiths and Dembele battling for one position would be enough with perhaps another 3rd striker coming in! The defence has been a mess since he could over and if anything looks worse now!

We should still win the league comfortably but frustrating none the less.

 

Not when we've made more than that in transfers and there's next to know risk involved it's not. Are you seriously suggesting that you would have taken McGinn over Edouard if you were forced to choose between the two?

 

BR: We respect the challenge tomorrow, but we’re obviously excited by the opportunity of getting into the very final qualification play-offs, so that’s a big motivation for us.”

BR on @MDembele_10 travelling with the team: "A big boost for us. He started the season fantastically in terms of his work & preparation, so it was unfortunate for him to pick up his injury. He’s worked very hard to come back & he’ll take his place in the squad.

BR: "He’ll (Moussa) take his place on the bench. He’s looked very fit and strong in his rehabilitation, and the beauty with Moussa is he wants to play & be involved. It’s too much of a risk for him to start but I’m sure at some point in the game, he’ll play a part."

BR on the stadium in Athens not being full tomorrow: “Whether it was going to be half full or not, it was always going to be a tough game for us. But this is a team collectively over the past couple of years that have worked tirelessly."

BR: “Of course, this is a good opportunity for us. We respect this Athens team is a good team – we saw that last week – but I’m sure they’ll respect us as well and see we’re a good side."


BR: “We know it’ll be a tough game, but that’s what we expect in this competition, especially at this stage against a good side. But we believe we can get a result, whatever the crowd or support is.


BR: “Qualification in this competition is very important for us. We’ve done that over the last couple of seasons & the main reason, from a football perspective, is to compete & challenge at the very highest level, & the @ChampionsLeague is that in European football."

BR: "We’ve enjoyed our experiences in it & want it to continue. Of course, there’s always the threat of not qualifying but we can’t think of that. We’re not planning on going out, we’re planning on playing well enough to get a result, and last week we showed that."

BR: "We played well enough and made one mistake in the game, which we got punished for and have to learn from. This team and group have shown over the last couple of years, in lots of big moments, that they can come through it."


BR: "We respect the challenge tomorrow, but we’re obviously excited by the opportunity of getting into the very final qualification play-offs, so that’s a big motivation for us."



BR on whether this game was #CelticFC's biggest challenge under him in the #UCL qualifiers: "We’ve had a few of those, but no doubt, arguably at this stage, this is the biggest challenge, but it’s something we relish."

BR on Dedryck Boyata: "It would have been great to have had him here, but he’s not and we have to put our faith in the squad of players who want to be here and fight for the result. And that’s my focus, on the players that we have.

BR: "Of course, some of the comments are disappointing, but we’ll deal with it internally. My concentration and focus is preparing the team for what is a big game and a fantastic game for us, and that’s my only consideration at the moment.

BR: "We want to show our true face, in terms of the quality in which we can play but also the mentality we have, so we’ll look forward to hopefully showing that tomorrow."

 

BR on whether this game was #CelticFC's biggest challenge under him in the #UCL qualifiers: "We’ve had a few of those, but no doubt, arguably at this stage, this is the biggest challenge, but it’s something we relish."

BR on Dedryck Boyata: "It would have been great to have had him here, but he’s not and we have to put our faith in the squad of players who want to be here and fight for the result. And that’s my focus, on the players that we have.

BR: "Of course, some of the comments are disappointing, but we’ll deal with it internally. My concentration and focus is preparing the team for what is a big game and a fantastic game for us, and that’s my only consideration at the moment.

BR: "We want to show our true face, in terms of the quality in which we can play but also the mentality we have, so we’ll look forward to hopefully showing that tomorrow."

Boom , right in the bawz Boyata !!


Notorious, 59 minutes ago Report

 

The media say 9 million it would not surprise me if we spent less and with add ins it could go to 9 million.

We needed another forward cause Moussa is always out for periods of times with * injuries same with the Thumb.

We have zero net spend even with the reported record fee on Eddy.

I wanted ya to sign McGinn I thought he would have made a massive difference against Hearts.

We have been made to look a shambles with the transfer and then at the weekend cause we have not spent a penny on a quality centre half

 

BRENDAN RODGERS has explained himself to his Celtic players.

Now he hopes they make their intentions loud and clear in Athens.

The Hoops manager was left bemused by some of the headlines last week which claimed he had given an ultimatum to the club’s board.

It prompted him to sit his squad down before jetting here to Greece to state his position.

Rodgers is still frustrated with the transfer targets he’s missed out on, that much is true.

But crucially he’s NOT thrown down the gauntlet to his Parkhead paymasters with any quit threat before this huge Champions League clash.

Rodgers is fully focused on the job he faces here and is convinced his squad are as determined as ever to win through to the next stage.

He said: “I spoke to the players just to stabilise them a little bit. I think that despite the noise it’s important the players understand the real story.

“There was never once that I said that I was quitting Celtic.

“And there was never once that I said that I’d given an ultimatum to the board.

“How it gets twisted and wrapped up to make a headline, that’s obviously up to some of you guys. But it was never once said.

“What I said was we wanted the squad to be stronger so collectively, in terms of spirit, we’re fine. It’s just something that happens at this stage of the season of course. Like I say, we know we want to strengthen the squad.

“The bar we have set over the past few years — we want to continue that improvement.

“Listen, there’s no effect really. It’s always a difficult period of the season — juggling your league campaign along with your Champions League qualification.

“We recognise for this one that we need our attacking players to be as fresh as they possibly can be.

“So going into the game at the weekend, it was always going to be taxing and this was always a game we felt could go to extra-time and even to penalties.

“It’s something we have to manage and navigate through whether it’s on or off the park.”

Asked if his chat with his squad had helped galvanise them, Rodgers added: “It’s private. I don’t need to go on any more about it.

“Stability is always important especially for football players. Every now and again, as a coach and a manager you do it.

“I never normally bother with headlines because it’s noise that can be created for any number of reasons. But it’s always important to stabilise the emotions of players.

“I’ve done that a number of times and, like I say, what is said at Celtic will always stay within. It’s nothing major.

“Just a stabilising effect that ensures we continue on the same direction.”

What Rodgers wants now more than anything is for them to give everything for the shirt here in Athens.

He added: “We have to go out and fight like *. We have to run harder and then show our quality. That’s something that we’ve done numerous times and we’ll need to do it here again.

“As a footballer, this is the type of game that you relish.

“One where you really have to show your face, show your true qualities and come out and fight. That’s something we are determined to do.

“They have shown it often enough. There have been lots of times over my course of time at Celtic where questions have been asked of the team.

“Our job is to always find a solution and we’re excited about the challenge.

“It’s a wonderful city to come to and it’s also a real historical stadium, so it’s a fantastic opportunity.”

Win and they’re within 180 minutes of the group stages of the Champions League. And a staggering £40million windfall, no less.

Yet asked if he ever thought about the money that’s up for grabs, Rodgers added: “I never do. It’s about football.

“Obviously, the margins are always very close and tight.

“The consequences are huge but I never afford myself to think about that.

“I know where we want to be from a football perspective and the consequence of that is fantastic financial gain for the club, so we always want to do both. But we have to play well to qualify.”

What Celtic need is a huge performance, arguably their biggest since Rodgers took charge of the team.

He added: “We have had a few of those but no doubt I think this is arguably at this stage, this is now the biggest challenge. But it is something we relish, something that we’ve always done.
These big games, we’ve had a number of these.

“We want to show our true face in terms of the quality we can play but also the mentality and we look forward to showing that.

“I just see it as a great opportunity. Last week we played well enough to win the game.

“We saw their threats, they are a good side, that’s why they have entered the competition at the level they have.

“But I’ve great confidence in the squad and the team and, if we play to our level, we are in with a great chance. We know we have to score, so whether they score first, it doesn’t really matter.

“We know we have to.”

 

hes an impressive talker brendan feeling pumped and confident now after listening to him Hail Hail !!!

 

Media and Huns are all lapping this up, they believe King saying Celtic will fold like a pack of cards if we fail to qualify, just ignore the £40m in the bank, the £24m ST sales, the £10m a season Dafabet sponsorship and the potential £12m EL money - we're DOOMED!

Ridiculous Brendan has had to tell the players he isn't leaving he has merely fired a salvo to the board and all he level 5 goons are rubbing their hands at the thought of them leaving.

As said before I have a feeling regardless of tonight we will go into the season with what we have in terms of players and as for them claiming no celtic players would get in their team, there is the motivation our manager and players need to put on a show all season!

 

Right there is a statement of intent ,its saying "the champions are dead ,long live the new champions " that there should be enough to make sure every player gives 150% especially against them to make sure the champions are not in fact dead like their team .

 

its a frenzy again with them Joe.

When the gaffer does go it will be on his terms!

 

“There was never once that I said that I was quitting Celtic.

“And there was never once that I said that I’d given an ultimatum to the board.

“How it gets twisted and wrapped up to make a headline, that’s obviously up to some of you guys. But it was never once said.

so there you have it , hes here for the 10 huns and hun puppets read it and weep.

 

Agree with him improving should never stop, a little dig with the Liverpool bit.

As for the defence he has had plenty of windows to fix it, so must shoulder most of the blame for our current position.

 

He is partly to blame for this result. I'm not absolving him of that, even tho it's gonna sound like that. He's obviously naive in how he picks his team, specifically with his defenders. Jack Hendry is not Celtic quality and if he pushed for his signing, that is brutal.

However, this man delivered us UCL group stage football, a double treble, and an invisible season in his first two years at this club. And we haven't gotten him a single player to continue to build his team this window. A single player. We resigned a guy who we had on loan for a season. We identified a player he wanted and waited until the last possible moment to even match a * offer for him, never mind sign him.

The board have behaved * shockingly in my opinion, and it was the same last summer and we still didn't learn, because it didn't hurt us securing a $30M payday with qualification.

 

We all knew that going there and going for it was our best chance. Goals to get us through..

He, the team...a combination of both were negative and scared from the off. The slightest bit of pressure and we crumble..

Only went all out positive for it when we were 2 down and out and it nearly but nearly never won nothing..

Shat it. Plain and simple..

No doubt it will be dressed up but if we went for it, that side were 100% there for the taking..

 

BR In the main, there weren’t too many opportunities against us but you can’t concede that easily and unfortunately it’s cost us.”

BR: “We’re very, very disappointed. I think in general we played very well but we conceded two soft goals.”

BR: “First of all, we have to get through that final playoff game and ensure that we have European football. At this moment in time we’re disappointed with the result of the game and the way we went out.

BR: “We were obviously missing our two best centre-halves this evening but my concentration until I get back is only with the player who were here but Dedryck was fit to play.

BR: “Of course, he’s been with us on the journey for a couple of years and helped us get to this position and someone of his quality, a World Cup semi-finalist in our team would certainly have helped.

BR: “We’re not getting opened up and having fantastic goals scored against us. It’s concentration and basic defending.”

BR: “It’s hard to get your head around but we have to go away and work with the players we have and try and improve and make them better.”

BR: “You shouldn’t have to lose to learn but when you do lose, you have to learn. That’s our message. We get back onto the training field again on Thursday and try to improve.”

 

That's that, then.