Can we keep this squad?

Honestly..no..our board NEVER builds on success...as long as we are just in front of a flat broke rangers we'll be fine.

 

To be fair to the *. Thats what they have been doing.

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The issue is succession planning.

Which us virtually non existent. How long have we waited for a LB?
Where is Kyogos replacement?
* would we do if we lost CCV?

Naturally we are a selling club, and thats all fine and dandy. But the scouting and recruitment is in a state of severe need. A complete overhaul is needed imo.

Big Ange saved us, quite literally, from having to endure YEARS of faffing and * about in the market. He knew exactly who he wanted and where to get them.
This "football doctor" doesnt seem to know his * from his Burberry hat.

The likes of Kuhn, AJ, et al will be poached.
The likes of Hatate,Taylor etc probably already have their agents hard at work.

As a club we need to get the finger out, start implementing a REAL system of identifying at least 4 targets for each of the assets we hold.

 

Not really bothered too much about losing Hatate, I think we need an upgrade there anyway and we could fetch a good fee for him. I’d be absolutely gutted to lose Maeda or CCV and think/hope they’ll both stay. Kuhn I’m half expecting to lose which would be rough but I think we would cope.

 

If we want to progress, we need a Cal replacement now. Showed he’s not good enough at this level last night, so I think we need two proper powerful runners in midfield, last night showed the quality that’s required.

Now granted we aren’t buying a £50m midfielder, but we need to be looking for a young up and comer like Engles who will come here for a couple of years of development.

 

This.

We were INCREDIBLY fortunate that Broonys successor was waiting in the wings.

 

Tierney is waiting in the left back for the job now.

 

If he didn't have such a chequered injury record he would already be away.

 

I don’t think we will I think Hatate will be off this summer for definite. I also wouldn’t be surprised to see Kuhn go, his form has slowed down but even though it got ruled out he showed again last night he can carry a threat at the top level and his pace is unreal.

I worry about a bid for CCV, despite his injuries I could easily see him end up in the Bundesliga, Serie A or a middling EPL team like an Everton under Moyes, Palace, Fulham or the likes where he would likely only have league football to contend with.

Maeda and Johnston, I am a little less concerned but their form this season could easily see there being interest for them. Particularly Maeda just now.

All in we still need to try and improve across the pitch in all the areas discussed previously.

 

This is why, now going forward, if we want to continue at this level and beyond, when players leave - we need to be paying that bit more to get them in and ready.
Or have the adequate depth required in an area that allows the rotation.

So take left back, GT is on the way out by KT is coming in. There is no drop off - an improvement actually.

Take the midfield options.
The 5 we have just now are really good and guys like Engels and Bernardo have had their season to settle. So if Hatate does leave, then one of them steps up and we can bring in someone else next season he can have the time to settle

Gotta plan this better and in advance.

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Absolutely. Outside of Hatate, we don’t have a lot of creativity in our midfield. Nobody else sees, completes or even attempts that risky pass in the first minute last night which opened things up for Kuhn’s disallowed goal. McCowan maybe, but he’s untested at that level.

Over the past few seasons we’ve gone from a midfield of creative players surrounding McGregor like Hatate, O’Riley, Rogic and Mooy to one’s with a bit more physicality and running power like Engels and Bernardo, which is what Brendan said we needed when he returned.

But if Hatate leaves we’d really be lacking creativity in that midfield and it’d need to be replaced.

 

Think like most Taylor and Hatate are stick on to leave.

You would hope to keep the rest and I mean hope.

For me your then looking at getting either schlupp on a 1 or 2 year deal if he shows up well to back up KT.

A striker is a certainty and I think another winger.

2 centre mids also 1 to replace hatate and we need a 6th option also.

Hopefully come summer we get our business done early for a striker and at least 1 centre mid the rest can wait towards end window. We have at least 1 UCL playoff match which could be a toughy but could also easily be a bratislava or team of that ilk

 

I think in today's market, we will be pretty lucky to keep any player for more than a couple of years who is shooting the lights out. As good as we have been this season, I think only CCV has the immediate potential to step up to another level if he moves on. Feels like he is good enough to go straight into a top half EPL team and not look out of place so if that opportunity arises he will probably take it.

That aside, I think everyone else will be looking at Kyogo level transfers and really it will be up to them as to the pros and cons of moving. I'd like to think Maeda, Hatate, Kuhn, or Johnston may value what celtic offers compared to a Rennes/Union Berlin/Atlanta United level team that we've lost players to in the last few years. Of them, we have good cover in midfielder so I wouldn't stress about Hatate but the others would be harder to replace.

 

We are a selling club, everyone outside of the top leagues is, and even the lower half teams in those leagues get their good players cherrypicked by the top few, if a player stands out here especially in the CL we're not getting more than 2/3 seasons out of them in most cases, that's just the reality of modern football.

 

Of course we will lose players. We lose these players but every cloud has a silver lining, we are losing them because they have done a great job for us.

We won't let them all go at once though, and we don't have to. They have their contracts and we can always say, listen 1 more season.

CCV 2029
AJ 2029
Engels 2028
Hatate 2028
Maeda 2027
Kuhn 2029

I'm not for keeping players who want to leave, but many of these players signed extended contracts recently which tells me they aren't pushing for the move right now. I'd be surprised if more than 2 of the above left this summer.

 

Out of that list....maeda new contract priority

 

I’m happy for anyone to go that wants to go, as long as we get fair offers.

We shouldn’t be scared of letting anyone go. We should embrace it and use the money to get good players in.

Keeping players that don’t want to be here is a bad idea.

 

CCV and to a lesser extent Khun know and appreciate what it’s like to be at a big club and be passed around like a commodity. I think both are enjoying their time here I don’t see them wanting to move immediately, especially if we qualify again for the CL.

AJ seems happy here, I honestly don’t think he’d leave unless an EPL club came in for him.

Engels will go around again for another season.

Maeda needs a contract! Think he’d stay because he seems deeply in love with the club. However you never really know.

Hatate will definitely be for the off. I don’t want him to go but I also don’t want him to stay if he doesn’t want to be here.

KT really strengthens up our backline and I think this type of signing, along with Jota returning will excite players to go around again. We really are just a couple of powerful midfielders short of a great squad at CL level.

 

We definitely won't keep Maeda he'll be gone for big bucks.