The History Bhoys - From the Lisbon Lions to ____?

[mjaferrie]

4 minutes ago, argento said:

really enjoying this, great result in the Europa League.  Unbelievable scenes.  Long may it continue

I'm just hoping for a Final victory over Mourinho's Man Utd (or whichever team, by that point) to really get revenge for 2003!  Haha!  Unfortunately we crashed to a 5-3 defeat against them in the European Super Cup this year.  

Now there's an interesting side story!  Mourinho's Manchester United team beat Pep Guardiola's City 2-1 in the Champions League Final of 2017/18, resulting in Pep's resignation and subsequent replacement by Frank de Boer... Guardiola has since taken over the Spain job.  It seems no one can bare Mourinho earning more success to fuel his self-obsessed tirades in the pressroom, as even consecutive Premier League title successes for Wenger and Arsenal aren't enough for him to stick around - he flees England, Jose, takes the France job and narrowly loses the 2018 World Cup Final to... Columbia...?

[deltablue]

Shame it's a bit too early for it to have been with a more local side.

[mjaferrie]

22 minutes ago, deltablue said:

Shame it's a bit too early for it to have been with a more local side.

The time will come!  I can see it now... Celtic line up against José Mourinho's Rangers at the 121,000 seater Ally McCoist Stadium...

[mjaferrie]

Scottish League Cup, Glasgow Cup and Champions League Round Up

Well, well, well.  It seems like we have a bit of a hangover following last seasons incredible over-achievement.  This is much more what I'd expect from a Celtic youth only save!  Our descent into becoming Scotland's Arsenal - where I take a leaf out of YP2e's book and am just Lala'ing, rocking myself in a corner, forever talking about the future while we watch Rangers, Aberdeen, Hearts or Hibs wrestle for the title as we settle for 4th place - could well have begun.

Leverkusen 2 - 1 Celtic.  Celtic 3 - 4 SLB.  Celtic 0 - 1 Leverkusen.  SLB 2 - 1 Celtic.  We are well and truly becoming an also ran.  Some light at the end of the tunnel though as 2-1 and 1-0 victories over Fenerbahçe give us 6 points in the group, but it isn't enough as we fall behind them and SLB on 7 points, and Leverkusen on 15.  For the first time in this save, we won't have European Football after Christmas.  



We numb the pain of our European exit with a penalty victory, after a 1-1 draw, over Partick Thistle in the Glasgow Cup Final.  We beat Rangers 3-1 in the semis, while Partick Thistle eliminated Queen's Park.  Meanwhile, in the League Cup, a penalty victory was again needed in the final as we drew with Hearts 0-0.  Victories against Dundee and Queen of the South took us to the Final.  We're into the January window with 2 trophies under our belts.

What is looking especially good so far this season though is the amount of gametime afforded our young stars.  Persistent injuries to Craig Gordon (it's a miracle he wasn't out for longer or the CL Groups could have been oh so much worse) mean that young Connor Bell has had to make the step up rather more often than expected.  I had planned to use him in the cups this year with a view to develop and break him in to a starting role, but so far he has made just over 50% of league appearances as well.  While his stats have taken an incredible leap with the amount of first team action he's getting, he is not quite good enough for this level, never mind European football.  We still need someone in this area. 

Connor Bell


Other young Bhoys making an impact are Tony Ralston, who has wrestled the starting berth from Saidy Janko; Jai Quitongo who leads our scoring and assist charts; and Stephen Easton who has knocked Griffiths back to 2nd place.

Stephen Easton


Just look at some of those stats!  Can't believe this guy cost us a mere £40,000!

[mjaferrie]

January Transfer Window 18/19

We start off in January by bidding farewell to arguably a Celtic legend.  35 year old Kris Commons announced his intention to retire at the end of the season, and I managed to get him to sign a coaching contract, effective immediately, so the man who had such phenomenal goal threat during Neil Lennon's tenure has finally hung up his boots.  With only 4 starts and 10 substitute appearances in the 2 and a half seasons so far, he definitely won't be missed on the pitch, and is much more use in the backroom team.  

OUT
Michael Duffy - £375k to Hibernian
Stuart Armstrong - £2.4m to Aston Villa
Gary Mackay Steven - released

Total Income - £2.8m

IN
Jim Maclean (19), born in Carluke - £3.5m from Rangers

Total Spend - £3.5m

Loans Out
Calvin Miller - Fulham
Callum McGregor - Dinamo

Stuart Armstrong's departure has seemed inevitable from the off, with his in game stats not really reflecting his importance to the squad in real life.  He's behind Bitton, Ajer, Henderson, McGinn and McGregor in the middle of the park, with Rogic and Christie also better options in that area, so he moves on.  Callum McGregor has been allowed to leave on loan, for £110k per month and 100% of his wages.  A permanent move might follow, but with interest in Bitton, Ajer and Henderson it may be that the academy product stays at Celtic Park.

In our 6th transfer window attempt, I have finally convinced incredible young goalkeeper Jim Maclean to join us from Glasgow rivals Rangers.  In the first summer window, Rangers accepted an offer of just £200,000 for him, but owing to the club rivalry he refused to sign.  I noticed however on his profile screen that Rangers weren't actually listed as his favourite club, so I was persistent.  I declared him to be our Number One target in the media, I made enquiries to Rangers about a fee which were rejected, I made a lot of noise.  Finally, I had to seriously overpay at £3.5m to get Rangers to agree, and Maclean was willing to talk!  £3.5m is too much for an unproven 19 yr old with just 17 cup appearances in 3 seasons at Rangers, but given the club rivalry and our desperate need for a quality player for when Craig Gordon departs, it was a price necessary to pay.
 

Due to injuries to Daniel Church and Greg Taylor, I have recalled Jon McNeil YP1a from Hibs, along with Darren Duncan who takes the spot of Stuart Armstrong and Callum McGregor in the squad.

[mjaferrie]

Youth Intake Day! 

We're not really seeing the rewards of increasing our Junior Coaching to an Excellent level yet, as this is another 'meh' intake.  Again a couple of Northern Irish lads, no Germans this time, and some less than desirable personalities.  Sacking Chris McCart was maybe not my best decision.  Jack Farquhar could develop nicely with a lot of tutoring - determination of 9 and an unambitious personality doesn't fill me with too much confidence though!

 

[mjaferrie]

Season Review 2018/19

With no European football to play after crashing out of the Champions League bottom of our group, the rest of the season has flown by.  With no distractions we have been in formidable form in the league, 1-1 draws to Partick Thistle and Hearts at Celtic Park our only dropped points since the 1st of December.



Despite our worrying inability to secure a clean sheet (only 8 all season?!) for the first time in this save the league is wrapped up well before the final day.  We finish up a comfortable 12 points ahead of Rangers, Hibernian, Hearts and Aberdeen who incredibly all finish the season on 48 points - Aberdeen just missing out on a European place on goal difference in the league but gain a spot in the Europa League by virtue of winning the Scottish Cup.  Here's how everything looked in the leagues at the end of the year:



After coming 4th and 3rd over the last couple of years Hamilton finally win promotion to the top flight, while Airdrie return at the first time of asking.  Meanwhile Ayr United, who have danced in the relegation battle over the last two seasons, face the drop along with St. Mirren, surprise under-performers of the year.

End of Season Departures

Players
As with the last couple of years several Youth Intake players move on, 'cause they're mince. 
Shaun Bowers and Stephen Welsh come to the end of their contracts and move on for free.

Staff - no departures at the end of this year

Top 5 Young Players of the Season (Players 21 and under at the beginning of the season)
Jon McNeil YP1a - Age 19, Appearances: 9; Goals: 0; Assists: 2; Av. Rating: 7.59 - so excited to have one of our own at the top of this list!  Only 9 appearances in the Hoops this season, but also made 24 out on loan at the Hibees. 
Daniel Church - Age 18, Appearances: 34(8); Goals: 1; Assists: 10; Av. Rating: 7.37
Jai Quitongo - Age 21, Appearances: 38(13); Goals: 23; Assists: 15; Av. Rating: 7.35
Darren Duncan - Age 17, Appearances: 7(1); Goals: 1; Assists: 3; Av. Rating: 7.33
Elvis Lala YP2e - Age 18, Appearances: 7; Goals: 5; Assists: 1; Av. Rating: 7.30 - the German prospect makes his debut in the Hoops this year and has the whole crowd singing
Jamie McCart - Age 21, Appearances: 24(9); Goals: 1; Assists: 1; Av. Rating: 7.30 - on account of McNeil, Duncan and Lala making just a handful of appearances and a tie on average rating with Lala, McCart also makes this list.  Improved a lot in the second half of the season after only managing a 6.93 before Christmas. 

Notable Mentions
Tony Ralston
Stephen Easton
Kristoffer Ajer
Jack Aitchison
Jim Maclean

In a new addition for this season, here are some screenshots of the top 5:













In the Scottish Cup this season, wins over Hamilton, Rangers, Dunfermline and Hibernian set up a final clash with Derek McInnes' Aberdeen.  A terrible display in our only loss of the second half of the season sees us concede the trophy to the Dons, with McInnes picking up the Manager of the Year award for his troubles.

[ManUtd1]

Great work so far. Looking forward to seeing how your progress with the local lads!

[mjaferrie]

It's time for the Season Awards!

For the 3rd year in a row, when he runs down the wing, he's as fast as lightning, it's frightening!  Picking up the Football Writers' and Players' Player of the Year Awards, it's Scotty Sinclair!





It's no surprise that Sinclair has been our best performer across the whole season as well, with 23 goals and 20 assists, and an average rating of 7.62.

Meanwhile Stephen Easton picks up 20 goals in the league, and the top scorer award!



And it's a clean sweep for Jai Quitongo in the Young Player of the year awards:

[mjaferrie]

9 minutes ago, ManUtd1 said:

Great work so far. Looking forward to seeing how your progress with the local lads!

Cheers mate!  I have to say your Nearly Men save had me thinking about the loss to Mourinho in 2003 and gave me some extra motivation to start this thread.  We may have won the Champions League in '67, so we don't qualify for your mental storylines! but I can't wait to get the opportunity to defeat the smug bastard...

[mjaferrie]

Well... technically speaking I've had that opportunity in the CL groups and the Euro Super Cup already... 

[ManUtd1]

24 minutes ago, mjaferrie said:

Cheers mate!  I have to say your Nearly Men save had me thinking about the loss to Mourinho in 2003 and gave me some extra motivation to start this thread.  We may have won the Champions League in '67, so we don't qualify for your mental storylines! but I can't wait to get the opportunity to defeat the smug bastard...

Haha...yeah, it's amusing to me how my feelings about a manager affect me in-game, and vice-versa! You'll get him next time 

[mjaferrie]

[mjaferrie]

Thought long and hard on this one.  Kieran Tierney has fallen behind Luke Shaw in the pecking order at Manchester United, and it would require someone to stump up almost £47m to sign him for us to receive close to this amount of the sell on profit.  Due to his lack of appearances, I'm taking a gamble and assuming he will be sent out either on loan or for a much lower fee.  

Only time will tell...

[mjaferrie]

You Whhahaaaaaaaaaaaaatttttt!!!???!?!  £46.5 MILLION for 5000 extra seats?!!?!?!  What the flying duck?!

 

[mjaferrie]

Season 2019/20 Preview: Scottish League Cup Group Stage and The Return of the Champions League

Champions League nights are back at Celtic Park and we've been drawn against Brøndby IF in the 3rd Qualifying Round.  Despite crashing out of the Champions League last year, our coefficient didn't take too big a hit and Scotland is still in 15th place, meaning that we'll enter this round next year as well depending on League success.

The Danes make a short journey to Celtic Park, where Stephen Easton and Jai Quitongo light up the East End of Glasgow and the game finishes 3-0.  Pretty comfortable for the Glasgow side!  The return leg is a much tighter affair, Ariel Nuñez' goal cancelled out by Griffiths; Nosa Igiebor's strike matched by that man Griffiths again.  It took until the 64th minute for the decisive goal with Ryan Christie winning the tie for the Hoops, 6-2 on aggregate, and we're through to the Playoffs where a trip to Austria is in store!  A Leigh Griffiths hat trick and a Christopher Dibon own goal give us a comfortable 4-0 win over SK Rapid Wien in Glasgow allowing us to field a youthful line up in the second leg, with new signing Craig Malin (read all about it down below!) making his debut in the Hoops and Jack Aitchison moving from the bench to the starting line up.  An early goal from the Austrians showed they still had a bit of fight, but a goal just before half time from Jai Quitongo sealed our place in the Champions League Group stage!



Meanwhile, on the domestic front in August we had much less glamorous local trips to Airdrie, Clydebank and Hamilton to contend with in the Scottish League Cup Group Stage - and our arrogance got the better of us.  A home draw and an away loss to Hamilton sees them take the top spot, and our run of 3 League Cup wins in a row will not be added to.  



The hawk-eyes among you will notice we conceded a late goal to former Celt Aidan McIlduff against Airdrie, and indeed it was another former Bhoy Jamie Lindsay who's goal against us for Hamilton was enough to put us out of the competition.  

[argento]

right call on cashing in on the tierney clause, can't see you getting much more than that anyway.  The keeper from Rangers looks alright a bit more game time and he should be good.  How are you searching for players you're bringing in?

[mjaferrie]

Squad Assessment

Transfers

IN
Stuart Thomson (17), born in Clydebank - £130k from Morton
Craig Malin (19), born in Cumbernauld - £1.2m from Rangers



Total Spend: £1.3m

OUT
Nir Bitton - £10m to Norwich
Saidy Janko - £3.8m to Club Brugge
Ross Doohan - £170k to Dumbarton
Aidan Nesbitt - £110k to Morton
Joe Thomson - £36k to Raith

Total Income: £14.2m

Young Malin signed for Rangers from Clyde a couple of seasons ago despite being an Celtic supporter.  After a couple of years of development across the city we've picked him up as a long term replacement for Scott Brown and Nir Bitton, a solid defensive midfielder who can offer us something in CM as well.
Nir Bitton was out of contract next summer, and wanted us to absolutely smash our wage structure to keep him on.  I am absolutely jumping at getting £10m for him in his last year!  Saidy Janko meanwhile leaves for a reasonable fee after being displaced last season by Tony Ralston.

The biggest loss of the transfer window?  Well, considering he made only 2 appearances last season, we won't miss him on the park, but the unsung legend that is Scott Brown has finally hung up his boots.



An unmistakeable legend in the Green and White Hoops, divided the fans but was a fighter in so many key games.  Scott Brown now moves into our coaching department, where he is teaching our youngsters how to shave.



#letsalldothebroony

Staff Ins
Martin Christie - Scout, from Hibernian
Paul Winstanley - Scout, from Brighton
John Calvert-Toulmin - Scout, free
George Adams - Scout, free

Loans Out
P.J. Crossan - Raith
James Forrest - Aberdeen
Keith Miller - initially moved on loan to Sky Bet Championship side Watford, where he made 5 appearances before being recalled at the end of the transfer window due to the departure of Saidy Janko.
Ian Robertson YP2a - Morton
Lewis Bell - St. Johnstone
Adam Frizzell - Aberdeen
Shaun Lindsay YP1b - St. Johnstone
Scott Smith - Motherwell
Will Johnston YP2c - Motherwell
Graeme Leitch - Hearts
Ryan Allan YP1c - Ipswich
David McIntyre YP2d - St. Mirren
Elvis Lala YP2e - Morton
Jonathan Gallacher - Airdrie
Scott McKay YP2b - Dumbarton
Greg Taylor - Hearts
Stuart Thomson - Arbroath
Brian Wilson - Stranraer

Like last year, we have too many out on loan, but some of these are guys I just couldn't get rid of permanently.  End of contract releases for a lot of them, and I'm kind of giving up hope on Greg Taylor.  He's not improving, and with continuous tutoring over the last couple of years his determination has increased to a sky high 6!....  With Jon McNeil YP1a and Daniel Church playing so well there I'm not sure he's needed.  I'm excited to see how Lala, Frizzell and Leitch develop though.

FIRST TEAM SQUAD

Goalkeepers

Craig Gordon SCO (aged 36) - Is still our first choice 'keeper but frequently has to be wheelchaired onto the pitch by Bell and Maclean.  He's also moved into our backroom team and won't be in the squad for much longer.
Jim Maclean SCO (aged 19) - the understudy who's got himself a nice green lightsaber after leaving the Dark Side..... Sorry, what?! Green shirt, oh... Maclean is rotating with Gordon in the first team spot.  5PA.
Connor Bell SCO (20) - Cleans boots.  4PA.
The verdict:  With all 3 of our 'keepers having 2.5 CA, and the young lads having plenty of potential, this is the first time I've felt completely relaxed about our goalie situation.

Right Back

Tony Ralston SCO (20) - 3 CA, 4PA.  Wrestled the starting berth from Janko last season and has since been capped 4 times for Scotland.  Gid lad. 
Keith Miller SCO (18) - 2.5 CA, 5PA.  After signing from Falkirk Miller made no appearances in his first season with the Bhoys, but loan spells at Hibs and Watford have seen his stats soar and the youngster has finally made his debut at Celtic Park.
The verdict: Two young guys with plenty of potential, happy days.

Left Back

Daniel Church (19) - 3 CA, 5 PA.  No stat change over the last year despite phenomenal performances in 42 games would suggest to me he's most likely at his potential, contrary to what the AssMan's report suggests.  
Jon McNeil YP1a (19) - 2.5 CA, 5 PA.  Our first game generated academy product to take a First Team spot, with 10 appearances already this season this looks to be his year. 
The verdict:  There's still only one Kieran Tierney.  Time heals though, eh?

Centre Back

Erik Sviatchenko DEN (27) - 3 CA/PA, our 2nd choice after Jamie McCart's strong development in the second half of last season.
Jozo Simunovic CRO (25) - 3 CA/PA, unhappy at the club after losing his starting spot to McCart.
Eoghan O'Connell IRE (24) - 2.5 CA, 3 PA - made only 16 appearances last year, so 34 in 2 seasons, and is not much more than a backup.  He'll be allowed to move on if he can be replaced, I need someone to challenge the others for a starting spot rather than just sit on the bench happily.
Jamie McCart SCO (22) - 3 CA, 3.5 PA, Mr. Reliable, and now our first choice CB.  
The verdict:  Still no change, nothing like consistency eh.  Going to need some young blood coming through soon to prepare for future departures, with Simunovic unhappy and Eoghan O'Connell just being *****.  

Right Midfielders/Wingers

Jai Quitongo SCO (21) - 3.5 CA, 5 PA.  No real change here, solid young first choice winger who can also play on the left or up front.
Calvin Miller SCO (21) - 2.5 CA, 3.5 PA.  Returns from a loan spell at Fulham in the 2nd half of last season with a point to prove, I'm just not convinced he's going to do that here.
Jack Aitchison SCO (19) - 2.5 CA, 4 PA.  Coming along nicely and challenging for games on the wing and up front.
Verdict:  Forrest and Frizzell both spend the season on loan at Aberdeen, with Forrest likely to move on and Frizzell a like for like swap with Quitongo in the likelihood he leaves.

Left Midfielders/Wingers

Scott Sinclair ENG (30) - 3.5 CA/PA.  Out of nowhere our hero on the left wing is on the decline after 2 months out over the summer with a hip injury.  
Verdict:  Finally got rid of the deadwood in this area but we are now seriously thin on the ground.  Jai Quitongo, Leigh Griffiths and Ryan Christie cover for the injured Scott Sinclair while Regan Hendry is being furiously retrained. 

Defensive and Central Midfield

Kristofer Ajer NOR (21) - No change - our first choice in the heart of midfield, and in Norway's with 10 caps.  4 CA, 5 PA.
Josh McGinn SCO (24) - Goes through phases of being a pain in the arse, betraying a lack of professionalism perhaps.  He did make less impact last season than we've come to expect from our Europa League hero, but with the departure of Bitton he should be getting the game time he craves.
Liam Henderson SCO (23) - From supersub to super starter, Liam Henderson is out 1st choice alongside Ajer in the centre of midfield.
Craig Malin SCO (19) - The youngster comes in to replace the departing stalwarts and fight for a starting place.
Verdict:  All change here after the retirement of Scott Brown and the sales of Bitton and Armstrong.  Confident in the not-so-youngsters making the step up.

Attacking Midfielders

Tom Rogic AUS (26) - is a quality playmaker but made only 22 appearances last season and is a backup option.  
Ryan Christie SCO (24) - Still our quality first choice, with 18 Scotland caps.
Callum McGregor SCO (26) - Mr Utility Man, can play any midfield role badly.  
Darren Duncan SCO (17) - Our future first choice here, could be a potential future captain as well if he can up his Leadership stat with Determination of 19.

Regan Hendry SCO (21) - After several loan spells Hendry returns to Celtic Park and the first team this year, offering us a backup option in any midfield position.
Verdict:  McGregor will leave as Duncan develops, his stats are already comparable and he has plenty more to offer in terms of years of service and potential.

Strikers

Leigh Griffiths SCO (29) - Spends more time on the right wing these days with Easton up front and Quitongo filling in for the injured Sinclair on the left.  Can rely on him to come up with the goods.
Stephen Easton SCO (20) - The phenomenal youngster just keeps getting better.  3 goals in 11 caps for Scotland so far, he has a bright future.  Tottenham bid £11.75m for him this summer but it's going to take a lot more than that to prize him off our hands, hopefully he will be around for a while.
Verdict:  No worries here with quality backup and quality deputies in other areas of the field.

[mjaferrie]

8 minutes ago, argento said:

right call on cashing in on the tierney clause, can't see you getting much more than that anyway.  The keeper from Rangers looks alright a bit more game time and he should be good.  How are you searching for players you're bringing in?

It looks like we might need the money sooner rather than later as well with the cost of that stadium expansion!

The scouting is a laborious part of the process mate.  I got Stranraer and East Kilbride in the affiliates and I'm trying to sign as many Scottish, or Scotland based, scouts as possible, who I've got watching the U20s games in Scotland, and the leagues.  Then I've got the filters in the Scouted Players set to players born in Scotland, with a max age of 21.  I've got the same in the All Known Players tab, and I'll send individual scouts to watch anyone in there who hasn't cropped up already in the Scouted Players.  After that it becomes a bit of a weeding out process, getting rid of personalities I can't be bothered working with, or looking for players with stats I'm interested in like Determination (Greg Taylor slipped under the radar on this one, with hindsight I might not have signed him, although he has been called upon in case of injury to Daniel Church).  I spend most of the time looking at players between Youth Intake day and the summer.

The slowest part is going through all the available players who look good and checking out where they were born.  If they qualify for my 30 miles rule, I'll add them to the shortlist and then scout them further.  I actually tried to sign a 16 year old Raith player on loan who wouldn't sign for us permanently (despite Raith accepting a bid) as he had just joined the club, but he wouldn't sign on loan yet either.  I've got him in the shortlist and hopefully at some point before he's 21 he'll agree to sign for us!

[mjaferrie]

It's hard to say yet if it's having a benefit, but having such strict rules on who I'm allowed to sign means I'm spending much more time, and much less money, looking at players to try and find the right guys.  Stephen Easton has been a phenomenal signing for us, Greg Taylor has been gash, so there's always going to be ups and downs, but this method is definitely helping me find players I'm more certain about rather than just taking a gamble.  Edit: at least more certain I can develop them and sell them on, if they'll never play here.

[mjaferrie]

Hope that helps mate!

I'm also going to start keeping note of players I've signed in the same format as Youth Intake players, to give better distinction between who I've signed, who has come through the Youth Ranks, and who was already here.  So:

YP1a = Youth Prospect, 1st Season, 1st player

SP1a = Signed Player, 1st Season, 1st signing

[mjaferrie]

Glasgow Cup and the Champions League

Goals galore - 4 from Scott Sinclair, 2 from Stephen Easton SP1d, and 1 each from big Jozo, Ryan Christie and John McGinn SP1a - sees us pick up the first silverware of the season with a 4-1 derby win over Rangers in the Final.



Meanwhile, on the European front it wasn't looking too healthy.  We had been drawn in Group E alongside AS Monaco, and familiar faces SLB and José Mourinho's Manchester United.



A narrow 1-0 home defeat to AS Monaco at Celtic Park followed by a 2-1 defeat in Portugal, despite a first minute Stephen Easton goal, meant that we headed to Old Trafford for the 3rd game of the Group knowing that a loss would leave us in a pretty bleak position.

In typical José fashion, he's in a windup mood before the game and I turn the tables with some petty nonsense of my own:



2 minutes into the game and Jai Quitongo SP1b is brought down in the box, for Scott Sinclair to slot home the resulting penalty.  We were 1-0 up in Manchester!  A 58th minute equaliser from Anthony Martial means we share the spoils, but a point on the board is a point on the board and we're finally up and running in Europe this year!

Two weeks later and 3,020 fans make the short journey from Manchester to Glasgow for a sell-out return leg between the Scottish Champions Celtic and current holders Manchester United.  Within 30 minutes those 3000 fans were wishing they hadn't bothered, as strikes from Kristoffer Ajer and Ryan Christie gave us an unexpected 2-0 lead over Mourinho's men!  Paul Pogba's 55th minute strike was merely a consolation as we take the 3 points, 4 points from the double header and we are back on track!

A 2-1 loss to Monaco means we go into the final game against SLB at Celtic Park with it all to play for.  Celtic can't qualify to the Knockout Stage and lie bottom of the group on 4 points.  SLB are in 3rd with 5, knowing that a win over Celtic and a loss for Monaco in Manchester would take them to the Knockout stages of the Champions League.  A win for Celtic in this tie would guarantee European football after Christmas.  Meanwhile, Manchester Utd have already qualified for the knockout stages and look to secure 1st place with a win over Monaco...  The stage is set.

It's emphatic, it's beautiful, it's kamikaze, it's nonsense, it's beautiful again!  A 4-1 victory in Glasgow leaves SLB in the dust and we claim the Europa League spot!



Back on the domestic side of things life's looking pretty rosey too, we've now gone more than a year without tasting defeat in the league.

[mjaferrie]

Now how's this for a glamour tie!  Two clubs with a huge history.



Ajax came through the Group Stages of the Europa League, after putting out Hibs and Hearts in the qualifying rounds and Rangers in the groups.  Rangers are the first of the other Scottish clubs to navigate the qualifying rounds and make it to the Group Stage of European competition.  We'll be seeking some redemption in the First Knockout Round.
 

[mjaferrie]

@argento Just hit the January window and managed to get the Raith player I mentioned for £100k.  Here's a screenshot and I'll go through the things I was looking for:



After narrowing down the age, nationality, and then making sure he fits into our 30 mile radius, I have a look at the stats.

So first off he's an Ambitious personality with Determination of 14 - me likey.  His Technical stats are horrific, but there are some nice physical and mentals there for a 17 year old kid, and with his personality we'll be able to work on a lot before he gets to his mid 20s.
On joining the club I find out he's got 3 PA, which isn't great.  I could have done a bit more scouting, as I'd been getting 4s and 4.5s earlier, but I need someone in for cover for Scott Sinclair anyway, so he'll likely get some game time this season.  This means that if he develops well, he'll be around for a bit, and if nothing happens then he'll be worth a bit more anyway so I'll sell him on!  £100k outlay leaves plenty of room for profit!
Crucially, like Scott Sinclair, he's a right footed left winger, so he's perfect for the Inside Forward role I needed.  

My verdict was that, with a bit of work on his technicals, he could be a perfectly serviceable backup option for us.  If he develops into anything more than that, I'll be very happy!

[mjaferrie]

January Transfer Window 2019/20

OUT
Eoghan O'Connell - £2m to Nottingham Forrest
Callum McGregor - £3m to Huddersfield

Total Income - £5m

IN
Brian Kane SP4c (17), born in Carluke - £100k from Raith

Total Spend - £100k

Loans Out
Regan Hendry - Leeds
Adam Mooney YP3e - Stranraer
Jim Bannigan SP2c - Dunfermline

So I've gone through Brian Kane's craic earlier already so I won't delve into that.  The departures of O'Connell and McGregor are a bit of a shame, with both coming through the Celtic academy, but they just haven't been playing games so there's no point paying them a wage.  £5m for 2 players with a grand total of 11 appearances between them this season is decent!

The big story of this transfer window though was a long, drawn out battle between Tottenham and Arsenal for the signature of Stephen Easton YP1d.  Tottenham had made a series of bids in the summer, culminating in a £11.75m bid on deadline day which was rejected.  They started off the January mayhem with a bit more fire in their belly, and an £18m bid.  No thanks!  Arsenal join in the fun and it goes back and forth before a massive £42.5m bid from Tottenham is accepted.  £23.5m up front, £7.75m over 12 months and after 50 league appearances, £3.2m after 10 caps and 40% of sell on profit.  

Wow.

This is a player I bought for just £40,000 from Stenhousemuir, and Tottenham are going to offer me megabucks for him.  I take a deep breath, start planning on where the hell are my goals going to come from, and accept.

10 days later, nothings happened.

It gets to deadline day, and I wake up to this:

You ****ing beauty!  He's on £13,500 a week here, hasn't asked for a penny more, and is happy to stay at Celtic Park.  What an absolute legend.

[argento]

Wow what a man!  Hopefully when he does decide to move you will make even more profit.  Looking forward to watching Kane's progress.  Got to admit I love the concept and its not a youth only from your academy but that scouting process sounds like torture.  Hope you manage to unearth more gems!

[mjaferrie]

3 hours ago, argento said:

Wow what a man!  Hopefully when he does decide to move you will make even more profit.  Looking forward to watching Kane's progress.  Got to admit I love the concept and its not a youth only from your academy but that scouting process sounds like torture.  Hope you manage to unearth more gems!

Glad to hear it!  Trying to get him to sign a new contract before the summer, Manchester City and West Ham have joined the hunt...

[mjaferrie]

Youth Intake Day! 

We start to see some fruits of our labours!



Mo McLaren looks to be a great prospect, but wow that's aggressive...





It is said that following his years as AssMan at Celtic Park, John Collins went into hiding to work on his abs and a new time machine he'd been developing while he was supposed to be running Ronny Deila's errands...

[mjaferrie]

Season Review 2019/20

European Football returns to Celtic Park for the second half of the season in the form of a tantalising draw against Ajax.  First up though was an away draw to Hamilton in the Scottish Cup.  Steven Pressley's men fair took advantage of our distractions and strikes from former Bhoy Calum Waters and Andy Irving knocked us out of the Cup in just the First Round.  This competition is turning into a bit of a hoodoo for us, with our only success coming in my first season in charge.



Our hot league form continued until 23rd February 2020 when a 1-0 defeat to Falkirk saw us beaten for the first time since 8th December 2018.  This set us off on a run of poor domestic form, with draws against Raith, Hibernian, Dundee, Aberdeen and losses to Rangers and Hearts turning up the heat in the title race.  It wasn't enough to overturn us, and we finish the season 5 points clear of Rangers.  Heartbreak for Airdrie and Kilmarnock at the bottom end means St. Mirren will be joining us back in the top flight at the first time of asking along with Dunfermline.



For an incredible 4th year in a row, Scotty Sinclair has claimed the FW and Players' Player of the Year awards, setting a new record along the way.







Stephen Easton SP1d, our superhero up front, takes the Young Player of the Season awards - and more importantly signs a new contract!  He's here to stay! For now...





In Europe, we are having a phenomenal season after last year's disappointment.  A hat trick from wanted man Stephen Easton SP1d gives us a 3-0 win over Ajax at Celtic Park, before a thriller return leg in Amsterdam put's us through to the 2nd round versus familiar faces Bilbao.  Goals from Scott Sinclair, Stephen Easton SP1d and Ryan Christie give us a narrow 4-3 victory on aggregate and we're heading to face Belgian champions Anderlecht.  A 16 minute red card for Jamie McCart sets the tone for the first leg and we fall to a 1st Leg 3-1 defeat.  In the return leg in Glasgow, Stephen Easton's early goal is cancelled out by Arach in the 13th minute.  With Anderlecht currently beating us 4-2, and taking an away goal themselves, it looks like we're heading for the exit door.  Amazingly, our midfield maestros fire 2 quick goals and bring us back into the tie.  At half time, we're at 3-1 and 4-4 on aggregate.  No goals means we head for extra time, and eventually we nick the tie on penalties!



Into the Semi Finals!

Celtic, Shakhtar, Chelsea, and RB Leipzig... Sound familiar?   2 years ago when we won the trophy, we faced a Chelsea side in the Final who had just eliminated Shakhtar in the semis.  On the other side of the tree, we'd eliminated RBL at an earlier stage in the competition.  Could we be heading for a familiar sequence of events...?



An important away goal from Stephen Easton SP1d means that we head into the Home Leg with a bit of a cushion!



And we don't even need it, what a victory!  We're through to the Final!!!  In the other leg, RBL have eliminated Chelsea 5-4 on aggregate so we're heading to the home of PSG, Parc des Princes, to face RBL.  

Unfortunately, Karma has well and truly struck.  Our goals hero from 2 years ago pops up to give us a 30 minute lead, which is cancelled out by Naby Keita in the 58th minute.  It all sounds a bit too déjà-vu...  In literally the last kick of the game, Alexander Ebert scores for RBL and it's all over.  We finish runners up in a 2-1 defeat.



End of Season Departures

Players
Craig Gordon - a 5 month injury leaves him considering retirement, which he doesn't take.  However, after a return from injury he immediately gets struck with another 7-9 weeks out, and I offer him a coaching contract which he duly accepts.  

Staff - no departures at the end of this year

Top 5 Young Players of the Season (Players 21 and under at the beginning of the season)
Stephen Easton SP1d - Age 21, Appearances: 49(5); Goals: 32; Assists: 20; Av. Rating: 7.40 - no surprise that this man's at the top of our list!
Daniel Church - Age 19, Appearances: 37(6); Goals: 1; Assists: 7; Av. Rating: 7.35
Tony Ralston - Age 21, Appearances: 43(2); Goals: 0; Assists: 7; Av. Rating: 7.34
Jon McNeil YP1a - Age 20, Appearances: 31(14); Goals: 0; Assists: 8; Av. Rating: 7.23
Keith Miller SP2a - Age 19, Appearances: 20(1); Goals: 0; Assists: 2; Av. Rating: 7.20

Notable Mentions
Kristoffer Ajer
Darren Duncan SP3a
Craig Malin SP4b
Jim Maclean SP3e
Calvin Miller

And last but not least, here's some screenshots of the top 5:

[mjaferrie]

After a year of planning, work on a £46.5m 5,000-seat expansion to Celtic Park has begun and we will spend the coming year at Hampden.

[mjaferrie]

Bollocks.  This beauty of a newgen almost signed for us 3 years ago for £120k, before I realised that he was born in Edinburgh so I wasn't able to sign him.  A £3.4m move to Man City beckoned and this guy looks like a star for the future.  Where the hell are all these beast Scottish youth players coming from!?

[mjaferrie]

This is interesting on 2 accounts - I've never seen such an increase during a Celtic save, usually it's a slow and steady rise in the 100s.  Secondly, our home for the season Hampden is going to be jumping with season tickets making up almost the whole 51,886 capacity!

Edit: Bloody hell!  After looking on our profile screen to double check Hampden's capacity, I've just noticed that we're actually expanding the stadium by 14,589 seats as opposed to the 5,000 earlier stated.  1 year to go until we move into a 75,000 seater Celtic Park!!!

Edit2: Aside from this upgrade to our stadium, we also completed an upgrade to our stadium last season, but our Ground Maintenance costs for last year?  An eye-watering £100,824,738  Where the flying duck has that money gone?!?!

[mjaferrie]

Season 2020/21 Preview: League Cup Groups, Champions League Qualifiers and a Squad Assessment

It's all too easy in the Champions League qualifiers this year, as 15 goals in 4 games against Maribor and Zilina see us qualify for the Group Stage for the 5 time in a row.  



I'm finding that having the League Cup group stage as effectively a preseason competition is great for giving the guys that bit extra match fitness.  This year, we're back where we belong after crashing out at this stage last year, with a clean sweep over Dunfermline, Third Lanark and Motherwell.

Squad Assessment

Transfers

IN
Richard Main SP5a (18), born in Whitburn - £300k from Hibernian
Richard Donnelly SP5b (16), born in Glasgow - Free from Queen's Park
Graham Barron SP5c (16), born in Greenock - £35k from Morton
James Duncan SP5d (18), born in Falkirk - £89k from Falkirk

Total Spend: £425k

OUT
Leigh Griffiths - £4.5m to PSV
James Forrest - £500k to Bolton
Lewis Bell - £45k to Inverness CT

Leigh Griffiths wanted us to more than double his salary to £40,000 a week to sign a new contract, and for a 30 year old player who over the last few seasons has played second fiddle to first Moussa Dembélé and Patrick Roberts, and now Stephen Easton and Jai Quitongo in the Forward and Right Wing positions, that's miles over the odds.  £4.5m is a great deal for this guy in the last year of his contract - but the cheeky bastard has signed a £13,250 deal at PSV!  James Forrest and Lewis Bell leave after not making the mark here.

Total Income: £5m

Staff Ins / Outs
None

Loans Out
P.J. Crossan - Morton
Ian Robertson YP2a - Partick Thistle
Scott Smith - Millwall
Will Johnston YP2c - St. Johnstone
Ryan Allan YP1c - Ipswich
David McIntyre YP2d - Dunfermline
Jonathan Gallacher SP3d - Ayr
Scott McKay YP2b - Dundee United
Stuart Thomson SP4a - QotS
Brian Wilson SP2b - Motherwell
Jim Bannigan SP2c - Hamilton
Mo McLaren YP4a - Dumbarton
Will Docherty YP3d - Dumbarton
Stevie McLaughlin YP4f - QotS
Darren Duncan SP3a - Middlesbrough
Regan Hendry - Hearts

Loan deals for most of these guys are with a view to a permanent move.  A £100k deal for P.J. Crossan to move didn't work out this summer, so he'll likely leave at the end of the season.  Darren Duncan joined Neil Lennon at Hibs on loan a couple of seasons ago, and follows the Northern Irish manager to Middlesbrough this season.  He made around 20 appearances for us last year, and has a mass of potential, so with a year as a Key Player in the Championship I can see him coming back to a starting position here.

We have a slightly bigger squad than in previous years, owing to it being now or never time for lads such as first season signings Greg Taylor and Adam Frizzell who haven't made quite the same impact as Stephen Easton, John McGinn and Jai Quitongo who came in the same year.  Let's have a look:

FIRST TEAM SQUAD

Goalkeepers

Jim Maclean SP3e SCO (aged 20) - with Craig Gordon spending the majority of last season out injured, Maclean has come on leaps and bounds and is now our first choice 'keeper.  3CA, 5PA. 
Connor Bell SP2d SCO (21) - Our cup man, a good back up.  2.5CA, 4 PA.
The verdict:  Both of these guys have developed a Professional personality under the tutorage of Craig Gordon, and are an able new generation.

Right Back

Tony Ralston SCO (21) - 3 CA, 4PA.  No change in his stats makes me think he's actually at his peak.  
Keith Miller SP2a SCO (19) - 3 CA, 4.5PA.  Has stolen the starting place from Ralston over the course of last season, and is
The verdict: Two young guys with plenty of potential, happy days.

Left Back

Daniel Church (20) - 3 CA, 5 PA.  No change in 2 years now.  Our first choice, but lacks a bit of quality.  
Greg Taylor SP1c (22) - 2CA, 3PA.  Doesn't seem to be much more than a backup option, as despite having excellent potential earlier in the save he hasn't progressed well - I suspect due to his ****-poor Determination stat.

The verdict:  We're doing fine here - while fellow left back Jon McNeil YP1a is getting more game time at CB at the moment, he is likely to move back into his favoured position in time.

Centre Back

Erik Sviatchenko DEN (28) - 3.5 CA/PA, a bit injury prone these days but is our quality Captain.
Jozo Simunovic CRO (26) - 3 CA/PA, unpredictable and frequently unhappy at the club.  He's out of contract at the end of the season, and wants far too much money to resign.  If I can get him to lower his demands, I'll be happy, but I need him for this season which may result in him leaving on a free unfortunately.
Jon McNeil YP1a (20) - 3.5 CA, 5 PA.  The first Youth Intake player to claim a first choice role, both at LB and CB.
Jamie McCart SCO (23) - 3 CA/PA, Mr. Reliable, our first choice CB is now at his peak in terms of ability.  Should see his performances continue to mature with age.
The verdict:  Solid here, with the most consistency from the start of the save.

Right Midfielders/Wingers

Jai Quitongo SP1b SCO (22) - 3 CA, 3.5 PA.  A sharp loss of PA, so this guy has definitely reached his potential - not a surprise with the amount of games he's played and the quality performances he's turning in.  First choice.
Calvin Miller SCO (22) - 2.5 CA, 3 PA.  Now or never for this lad too.  Might move him on at the end of the season with plenty of interest in him.
Jack Aitchison SCO (20) - 2.5 CA, 4 PA.  Is after a loan move away to get game time, but has played almost every game in the qualifiers and league cup and is developing nicely, so he's not going anywhere.
Adam Frizzell SP1e SCO (22) - 2.5 CA, 3 PA.  Likely to move on, not our best signing.
Verdict:  No change here with Frizzell coming in with a point to prove.

Left Midfielders/Wingers

Scott Sinclair ENG (31) - 2.5 CA/PA.  On the decline despite picking up all the awards for the 4th year in a row.  
Brian McKane SP4c (18) - 1.5 CA / 3.5 PA.  A small increase in PA since signing due to an improvement from a few games in the League Cup.  Several lower English Premier League and upper Championship teams were fighting over him in the summer despite just signing here 6 months ago.  

Verdict:  Happy to have Kane in as back up this season as Sinclair won't be around for much more than the next couple of years.

Defensive and Central Midfield

Kristofer Ajer NOR (22) -  4 CA/PA, First choice.
Josh McGinn SCO (25) - 4 CA/PA, has developed fantastically following the departure of Bitton and the resulting increase in game time.
Liam Henderson SCO (24) - 3.5 CA/PA, has fallen behind the other two but plays regularly.
Craig Malin SCO (20) - Our cup game youngster, pushing for a place.
Shaun Lindsay YP1b SCO (20) - Another youngster to come into the First Team, he's made only 2 appearances so far in the Hoops but impressive loan spells at Airdrie and St. Johnstone showed he has some potential.
Verdict:  Just the addition of Lindsay here, no real change.

Attacking Midfielders

Tom Rogic AUS (27) - has signed a new contract on the same terms to see him likely to finish his career here.
Ryan Christie SCO (25) - 30 caps for Scotland, and a key player here too.

Graeme Leitch SP3c SCO (20) - 2CA, 3.5PA, comes in to take advantage of the space left by the on-loan Duncan.
Verdict:  Nae bother.  

Strikers

Stephen Easton SCO (21) - Since signing a new contract there were no bids made over the summer.  I expect that to change in January unfortunately.
Elvis Lala YP2e (19) - I am so happy this guy is making the step up
Verdict:  Well, if Easton leaves, at least we'll be entertained.

[mjaferrie]

Scottish League Cup, Glasgow Cup and Champions League Groups

Wahey!  We've been drawn in party group.  Celtic, Olympiakos and Dortmund = incredible atmospheres.  The other team joining us in Group A are oil-rich PSG.  Before we get to that though, let's have a look at the domestic competitions.

A 3-2 derby win in the Glasgow Cup, with goals from Tom Rogic and Stephen Easton SP1d, see's us lift the trophy for the 4th time in 5 attempts.



A 6-2 aggregate win over St. Johnstone, followed by a storming 5-2 victory in an Old Firm Semi-Final, sets up a Final clash with Alan Archibald's Hibernian in the Scottish League Cup Final.  Joe Lolley opens the scoring for Hibs with a 19th minute penalty; Elvis Lala YP2e grabs an equaliser in the 33rd minute; Che Adams fires in a second for Hibs but Lala pops up again to level the scores.  Matt Gillan puts Hibs ahead for the 3rd time with Adam Frizzell SP1e bringing us back into the tie 5 minutes later...  We have a thriller on our hands at Hampden Park!  Extra time beckons and for the first time we take the lead as Elvis Lala completes his hat trick in the 94th minute.  With 9 minutes remaining, Che Adams fires in for Hibs and the tie goes to penalties after a thrilling 4-4 draw.  Unfortunately, our spot kicks are poor and we fall to a 4-2 defeat to the Edinburgh men.



We open the Champions League Group with a trip to Greece, and a phenomenal result with goals from Ryan Christie and Jack Aitchison give us a 3-0 win over the Greek champions.  After such a great result away from home, we got a bit carried away with ourselves and went with a far too attacking set up in a home game against PSG - and we were punished for it.  A 4-0 win for the French side brings us crashing down to earth as we head in to the double header against German heavy metal Dortmund, a fantastic proposition in terms of atmosphere.  Goals from Liam Henderson, Scott Sinclair and Kristoffer Ajer sees us claim 4 points against the German giants, with a 3-0 victory at Celtic park and a 1-1 draw away from home.  With 2 games to play we're sitting in 2nd place in the group with 7 points, and for the first time in 5 years qualification from the Groups seems less of an ambitious dream and more like something to really fight for.  Fortunately the next game in the group is a home tie against Olympiakos, who we had destroyed away from home, rather than the daunting proposition of a trip to Paris.  An early strike from Ryan Christie is enough to give us a 1-0 win and guarantee ourselves a place in the KNOCKOUT STAGES!  For the first time in this save, we will have Champions League football after Christmas!  We head into the last game against PSG on 10 points with the French team on 15 - even a win won't be enough to grab us 1st place, which makes the resulting 4-1 hammering that bit easier to swallow.  It might have been 8-1 on aggregate to the French side but we don't care, we're through to the Knockout round!!!

[argento]

great results against Dortmund!

[mjaferrie]

A January Transfer Special - Season 2020-21

With a grand total of zero ins and outs for this January transfer window - apart from loans for Graeme Leitch SP3c, Jack Farquhar YP3a and Shaun Lindsay YP1b to Barnsley, St. Mirren and Dundee respectively - there's very little to talk about.  Surprisingly there was absolutely no interest in Stephen Easton SP1d and very few bids made for our players - apart from a couple of £10m bids for Kristoffer Ajer, which is far below our valuation of the player, and several bids around the £1m mark for Brian Kane SP4d.  

So. As this is now the end of 5 years of Summer and January transfer windows I thought it would be interesting to have a Where Are They Now? post. 

First up, we have the Golden Oldies.

Craig Gordon, Scott Brown and Kris Commons have all retired while playing in the Hoops and have moved into our backroom team.  Dorus de Vries, while having retired whilst one of ours, spent a while as an unemployed Goalkeeping Coach but couldn't find a contract and has now retired from football; Kolo Touré, who left us in the 1st season in a £500k move to OM, is currently an unemployed Manager after his retirement from playing; and Logan Bailly is an unemployed Scout after 3 seasons as Roda JC's first choice 'keeper.

Onto players who moved on for a fee:

Kieran Tierney - still at Manchester United following what has increased to a £30m move.
Moussa Dembélé - still at West Ham United following what has increased to a £29.5m move.
Dedryck Boyata - still at Bursaspor following his £650k move.
Michael Duffy - still at Hibernian following his £250k move.
Joe Thomson - Still at Raith following a £36k move.
Aidan Nesbitt - Still at Morton following a £100k move.
Saidy Janko - Still at Club Brugge following a £3.3m move, but hasn't made a single appearance this season which would suggest a move beckons.
Ross Doohan - Still at Dumbarton following a £100k move.
Callum McGregor - Still at Huddersfield following a £3m move. 
Leigh Griffiths - Still at PSV following a £4.5m move. 
Lewis Bell - Still at Inverness CT following a £45k move.
James Forrest - Still at Bolton following a £500k move.
Efe Ambrose - after 3 seasons at Bursaspor, a free transfer to Adanaspor followed.  After impressing (seriously?!) in the 2nd level of Turkish football, he's now back in the top flight with Konyaspor aged 32.
Nadir Çiftçi - a bit of a journeyman.  An £800k move to Maccabi-Tel-Aviv lasted only 1 season, when Girondins de Bordeaux picked him up for £3.3m.  2 pretty poor seasons in the south of France later, he moved to Stade Rennais FC where he is their no. 1 striker.
Mikael Lustig - after 4 seasons, Lustig now turns out for Palermo after a £400k move from Lazio.  
Emilio Izaguirre - After 2 seasons at SC Heerenveen, Izzy is now in his 3rd year at ADO Den Haag. 
Stuart Armstrong - is now at Preston North End after 2 years in Birmingham with Aston Villa.
Nir Bitton - A year after a £10m move to Norwich, Stoke paid £17.25m for the Israeli. 
Scott Allan - Spent 2 seasons in the Championship with Millwall before a free transfer back to Scotland with Kilmarnock.
Cristian Gamboa - after only 3 appearances in 3 years at Wolves, Gamboa moved on a free to Bristol City.
Leo Fasan - 2 years at Ross County as their Number 1 earned him a move to Serie A and Spezia.
Eoghan O'Connell - After just over a year with Nottingham Forrest, a £6m move sees him join Neil Lennon's Middlesbrough side.

Interestingly, no Youth or Signed Players have moved on yet for a transfer fee, although several Youth Intake players have been released and subsequently retired.  During 5 years at Celtic Park I have signed a total of 22 players, an average of 2.2 per transfer window or 4.4 per year, for a total outlay of £11.5m.  When you take out Jim Maclean SP3e, who took up £3.5m of that £11.5m, that's an average price tag of £381k per player which leaves serious room for profit margin - pretty much sticking to Celtic transfer policy IRL here too  Being able to give young guys a chance at a big club with great facilities and coaches means that they are developing far faster than in other youth saves I've attempted - case in point being Stephen Easton who in 3 years turned from a £40k to a £40m man.

At the other end of the spectrum, 25 players have been sold during my tenure at a total income of £91m.  That's £3.64m per player - so when we compare the £381k with the £3.64m, that's almost a tenfold increase.  I'll take that!

[mjaferrie]

5 hours ago, argento said:

great results against Dortmund!

Couldn't believe the second leg man, so close to grabbing 3 points in Germany as well!

[mjaferrie]

Youth Intake Day!

[mjaferrie]

Champions League Knockout Stages! + Scottish Cup and Season Round Up

After last years 2-1 defeat to RBL in the Europa League final, we have the opportunity for some revenge in the First Knockout Round as we face off against the Red Bull team for the 3rd time in European competition, and oh how revenge is sweet!  Two 2-1 victories, home and away, gives us a 4-2 win on aggregate - and we are the first Celtic team to reach the Quarter Final of the Champions League (in it's current format) ever! 



We followed up our victories over RBL with a draw against Leverkusen...  This is starting to have a familiar ring to it.  A European campaign just wouldn't be the same without being drawn against a German team in every round, right?  We suffered two defeats against Leverkusen in the Group Stage last season, so we don't go into this round with much confidence.  It all hinges on getting a good result at home in the First Leg....



And it took until 10 minutes from time to get that positive result... Two Ryan Christie goals giving us a narrow 2-1 lead going into the second leg.  To be honest even a confident victory over Jurgen Klopp's Leverkusen side wouldn't have been enough, as we're taught a lesson in the 2nd leg and fall to a resounding 5-0 butchering.



The positives?  2 sell out Home games, a lot of money in the bank, and Champions League knockout stages for the first time in this save.  I'm delighted!

Onto domestic competition and our hoodoo in the Scottish Cup continues as, despite finally managing to string some results together, a 4th minute goal from Stephen Easton SP1d is our only taking in a 3-1 Semi Final loss to Hearts.



Fortunately our dominance in the league is as consistent as our failings in the cup - and we storm to a 1st placed finish, 10 points clear of runners up Hibernian.  The other teams claiming a European place for next season are Hearts, Rangers and eventual Scottish Cup winners Falkirk.  This season, after almost 40 years in the top flight, Motherwell face relegation along with Dumbarton.  Meanwhile, in Division 2, it's familiar faces as Airdrie and Ayr win promotion back to the top table.



It seemed like Scott Sinclair couldn't have the Player awards wrestled from his grasp in the last few years but this season, picking up an incredible 4 award haul of FW Player of the Year, Players' Player of the Year, FW Young Player of the Year and the Top Goalscorer award, it's Stephen Easton YP1d! 











The Players' Young Player of the Year award this season goes to Jon McNeil YP1a!  It's maybe not the quintuple we were aiming for, but it's the quintuple we have!

[mjaferrie]

In other news, we've just moved back into Celtic Park - now with 75,000 seats!  Looking forward to some sell out crowds and amazing imaginary atmospheres!...

Now we're at the end of 5 years at Celtic Park, let's have a look at our trophy haul over the period.

Scottish Division One: Champions 2016/17; 17/18; 18/19; 19/20; 20/21
Scottish Cup: Champions 2016/17; Runners Up 18/19
Scottish League Cup: Champions 2016/17; 17/18; 18/19; Runners Up 20/21
Glasgow Cup: Champions 2016/17; 18/19; 19/20; 20/21; Runners Up 17/18
Europa League: Champions 2017/18; Runners Up 19/20
Euro Super Cup: Runners Up 2018/19

A total trophy haul of 5 leagues, 8 domestic cups and one Europa League.  Not bad at all for 5 seasons!  Our performances in the Scottish Cup have been atrocious though, we have to secure that trophy this season and end our drought.

As our performances in Europe get better and better, our coefficient gets better too which brings with it advancements in European competition for the other teams in our League.  So far, Rangers are the only other team to have made it to the Group Stages of European competition, with an appearance in the Europa League of 2019/20.  Progression in Europe means more money coming in, so let's have a look at the total Transfer Income/Spend of the other teams who have played in the top flight.

Aberdeen - Total Spend £2.8m; Total Income £379k
Airdrie - Spend £450k; Income £1.5m
Ayr - Spend £60k; Income £220k
Celtic - Spend £11.5m; Income £91m
Clyde - Spend £230k; Income £228k
Dumbarton - Spend £275k; Income £92k
Dundee - Spend £1.1m; Income £4.7m
Dundee Utd - Spend £270k; Income £130k
Dunfermline - Spend £955k; Income £1.4m
Falkirk - Spend £2.1m; Income £2.4m
Hamilton - Spend £1.4m; Income £1.2m
Hearts - Spend £3.5m; Income £6.7m
Hibs - Spend £6.2m; Income £6.1m
Kilmarnock - Spend £820k; Income £7.4m
Motherwell - Spend £350k; Income £2.8m
Morton - Spend Spend £1.3m; Income £1.1m
Partick Thistle - Spend £1.1m; Income £1.3m
Queen of the South - Spend £150k; Income £180k
Raith - Spend £497k; Income £815k
Rangers - Spend £15.6m; Income £13.5m
Stirling - Spend £24k; Income £23k
St. Johnstone - Spend £56k; Income £940k
St. Mirren - Spend £417k; Income £1.3m

Looking at the Incomes, it's no surprise that we're on top with £91m in.  What is a surprise though is Kilmarnock's relegation to Division 2 despite £7.4m coming in to the club in player sales.  Given that Clyde and Stirling were relegated in Season 1 and haven't been back in the top flight, it's no surprise that they're among the lowest spenders, but St. Johnstone's lack of outlay is incredible - that's an average of £10k per season!  7th, 14th, 15th, 4th, and 15th places show that they have been dancing with relegation in 3 seasons, but an amazing 4th placed finish shows that you can get results without spending money.

No surprise that Rangers are spending big to attract players, but it is surprising that they've spent more than us.  There's a long way to go though before we're seeing multimillion signings across the board though, with our £3.5m move for Rangers' Jim Maclean SP3e still the most expensive transfer made by a Scottish club in these 5 years.

[mjaferrie]

Season 2021/22 Preview: League Cup Groups, Champions League Qualifiers and a Squad Assessment

I completely forgot to have a look at the best Young Players from last season - but there's no real surprise in who came out on top of the pile.  Stephen Easton SP1d equalled the record set by Jimmy McGrory and Moussa Dembélé by scoring 53 goals in all competitions.  He assisted a further 16 and had an average rating of 7.58.  There were also some exceptional performances by Keith Miller SP2a, Daniel Church, Jack Aitchison, Jim Maclean SP3e and Jon McNeil YP1a.  The Young players of the Year will return at the end of this season!

In the Champions League this year, it's a similar story as last year - a 13-1 aggregate victory over Malmö FF followed by a 6-1 aggregate win over Ludogorets puts us through easily to the Group Stages.  We can well and truly call ourselves a 'regular' in the competition now, as this is our 6th time in a row qualifying for the competition.  We're now in 13th position in the coefficient rankings as well, which means that any increase will see Scotland gain an automatic Group Stage place in the future, which would be an incredible achievement.  



Here's a look at how the coefficients are looking as we seek to grab a Group Stage place for Scotland:



In the League Cup Groups, Dunfermline looked to be running away with the 1st place spot after a defeat and a draw against Kilmarnock saw us drop 5 points.  2 wins over the Pars and Clydebank though means we just scrape the top spot.

Squad Assessment

Transfers

IN
Paul Park SP6a (16), born in Stenhousemuir - £20k from Stenhousemuir
Andy Donaldson SP6b (17), born in Irvine - £100k from St. Mirren
Grant Hamilton SP6c (17), born in Paisley - £95k from Dundee
Alan Purdue SP6d (16), born in Greenock - £250k from Morton
Adam Preston SP6e (17), born in Whitburn - £275k from St. Johnstone

Total Spend: £740k

OUT
Tom Rogic - £6.25m to Basel
Richard Main SP5a - £1.5m to Crystal Palace
Calvin Miller - £1m to Fulham
Regan Hendry - £600k to Falkirk
P.J. Crossan - £160k to Clyde

Yep, we really signed a player called Alan Purdue... Sad to see Aussie Tom Rogic leave us after 9 seasons at Celtic Park, but after Season 1 he's only been a rotation option and with Darren Duncan SP3a returning from a loan spell at Middlesbrough I felt his time was up.  Richard Main also leaves us after only 1 season in the Hoops.

Total Income: £9.5m

Staff Ins

Mark Taylor - Physio, from Sunderland
Giacomo Bindi - U20s Goalkeeping Coach, free
Tony Carss - U20s Coach, from Huddersfield
André-Pierre Gignac - U20s Coach, free
Richard Naylor - Coach, from Hull
Paul Catterson - U20s Sports Scientist, free
Ben Rome - U20s Fitness Coach, free
Davide Cei - U20s Coach, free
Jonas - U20s Coach, free
Steve Cottrell - U20s Physio, from Reading
David Friio - Scout, from Brighton
James Rowland - U20s Physio, from Port Vale
Luke Bussey - U20s Physio, from Fleetwood
Christian Möckel - Scout, from Hannover

Loans Out
Ian Robertson YP2a - Falkirk
Scott Smith - Hearts
Will Johnston YP2c - Preston
Ryan Allan YP1c - Fulham
Scott McKay YP2b - Ipswich
Stuart Thomson SP4a - St. Johnstone
Jim Bannigan SP2c - Wigan
Mo McLaren YP4a - Falkirk
Will Docherty YP3d - Partick Thistle
Stevie McLaughlin YP4f - Ipswich
Jack Farquhar YP3a - St. Johnstone
Alan Purdue SP6d - Cowdenbeath
Christopher Norris YP6a - Dunfermline
Richard Donnelly SP5b - Airdrie
James Duncan SP5d - Ayr
Jozo Simunovic - Girondins de Bordeaux

GdB stumped up £1.3m to take big Jozo on loan for the season, and since he's been playing second fiddle to Sviatchenko and McCart in recent years I'm happy to let him get some game time.  Let's have a look at where the Squad stands.

FIRST TEAM SQUAD

Goalkeepers

Jim Maclean SP3e SCO (aged 21) - lots of clubs looking at him, and a few multi million pound bids made in the summer.  Not for sale! 3CA, 5PA.
Connor Bell SP2d SCO (22) - Our cup man, a good back up.  2.5CA, 4 PA.
The verdict:  No changes here.  Hopefully these guys will be with us for the next 10 years or so. 

Right Back

Tony Ralston SCO (22) - 3 CA/PA.  Yep, reached his peak.  Rotates with Miller in the DR role.
Keith Miller SP2a SCO (20) - 3.5 CA, 4.5PA.  Gets better all the time but is complaining about a lack of regular games.  These two basically play 50% of matches each, so he's gonna have to lump it for now.  

Left Back

Daniel Church SCO (21) - 3 CA, 4 PA.  Feels like he's been with us forever but is still only 21.  Has now been our first choice LB for almost 4 years.
Greg Taylor SP1c SCO (23) - 2CA, 2.5PA.  We have an increase in determination!!!  All the way to a sky high 7!... He actually played surprisingly well in his appearances last season, so the lad is here to stay for now.
The verdict:  No change here.

Centre Back

Erik Sviatchenko DEN (29) - 3.5 CA/PA, Captain.
Jon McNeil YP1a SCO (21) - 4CA/PA.  Solid both at LB and CB.
Jamie McCart SCO (24) - 3 CA/PA, is fighting to keep his place after the progression of McNeil.
Brian Wilson SP2b SCO (20) - 2CA, 3PA.  In for cover after Jozo left on loan.
The verdict:  Just the big decision to let Jozo Simunovic out on loan.  Hopefully Wilson can step up.

Right Midfielders/Wingers

Jack Aitchison SCO (21) - 3.5 CA, 4.5 PA.  Has come on leaps and bounds and is now our first choice on the Right Wing.
Adam Frizzell SP1e SCO (23) - 2.5 CA, 3 PA.  Has developed with plenty game time last year.  A good back up option here or as a number 10. 
Verdict:  With Quitongo able to play here too, we're doing alright.

Left Midfielders/Wingers

Jai Quitongo SP1b SCO (23) - 3.5 CA/PA.  Is now first choice on the left hand side as Sinclair declines with age.
Scott Sinclair ENG (32) - 2 CA/PA.  Past it, and declining rapidly.  Likely to stay at Celtic Park due to his legend status.
Brian McKane SP4c SCO (19) - 2 CA / 3.5 PA.  Subject to multiple bids in the summer, but signed a new contract and will get more game time as Sinclair heads towards retirement.  

Verdict:  Stuart Thomson SP4a also returns early from his loan spell due to injury, so we will have additional cover here in a couple of months time. 

Defensive and Central Midfield

Kristofer Ajer NOR (23) -  4 CA/PA, First choice and a future captain of the team. 
Josh McGinn SCO (26) - 3.5 CA/PA, our Box to Box workhorse. 
Liam Henderson SCO (25) - 2.5 CA/PA, is back to featuring as a substitute. 
Craig Malin SCO (21) - One of our best young performers last year, is slowly overtaking Hendo in terms of game time and will no doubt push him out of the team.
Shaun Lindsay YP1b SCO (21) - 1.5CA, 3.5PA.  Needs to get his finger out and start developing quickly if he wants to stay at Celtic Park.
Verdict:  No change here.

Attacking Midfielders

Ryan Christie SCO (26) - is a key man for us and for the national team.
Darren Duncan SCO (19) - Capped 8 times for Scotland and is a real threat to Ryan Christie for the starting role. 

Graeme Leitch SP3c SCO (21) - 2CA, 3PA, a backup option.
Verdict:  Strongest area of the park with Christie and Duncan both phenomenal options.

Strikers

Stephen Easton SCO (22) - A £17.5m bid had us laughing Newcastle out the door.  No chance.
Elvis Lala YP2e GER (20) - 2CA, 4PA, developing nicely and plays the cup games.
Verdict:  Easton attracts interest, for good reason.  We'll do well to hold onto him but he's now a Celtic legend and the fans love him.  His current deal expires in 4 years... Can I keep him?

[mjaferrie]

Champions League Groups and Domestic Cups

In the Champions League Group Stage this season we have a glamour draw with English champions Arsenal, who have won the title 4 times in 5 seasons, Barcelona, and 4th seeds Olympiakos.  A Battle of Britain and a familiar foe in the Catalan giants makes for an exciting group!

In the first couple of games, however, we make things difficult for ourselves with an away draw in Greece and a 3-2 home loss to Barcelona.  We go into the double header against Arsenal with only 1 point on the board and a bleak proposition.  Amazingly 2 goals each from Stephen Easton SP1d, Jack Aitchison and Jai Quitongo SP1b gave us a thrilling 6-3 win in Glasgow before a 2-1 loss in London.  88th and 92nd minute goals against Olympiakos give us a late, late win over the Greek champions and we go into the last game in Barcelona with it all to play for.  Barcelona sit in 2nd place, knowing a draw against us will be enough for them to qualify to the knockout stages at our expense.  We sit in 3rd and trail Barca by 2 points, so a win in Catalonia will see them drop into the Europa League.  Olympiakos are bottom of the pile with only 1 point, so we know that we've secured European football in the New Year, but which competition will we end up in?  A 76th minute Luis Suarez equaliser sees the game end 2-2 (which in all truth is an incredible result) and we drop into the Europa League.



In the Glasgow Cup we win the trophy with a 2-0 derby win over Rangers, who in turn get their revenge in the League Cup Semis on penalties after 2-2 and 4-4 draws.

[mjaferrie]

January 2022 Transfer Window

The big story of this transfer window is that after Tottenham's massive bid 2 years ago, Stephen Easton SP1d finally leaves us in a whopping £43m, rising to £64m, move to Tottenham's rivals Arsenal.  The £40k kid from Stenhousemuir, who is still only 22 years old, has increased his value 1600 times in 5.5 seasons with us.  Amazing! The fans are understandably pissed off as their hero, and Celtic legend, leaves us - and the transfer confidence is at 0% but every man has his price.

OUT
Stephen Easton SP1d - £43m, rising to £64m, to Arsenal

IN
None

Loans Out
Grant Hamilton SP3c - Brechin
Graeme Leitch SP3c - Fulham
Jonathan Gallacher SP3d - Kilmarnock

Christopher Norris YP5a has his loan spell at Dunfermline cut short due to the departure of Easton.  It's up to him and Elvis Lala to fill the void of a legendary striker who scored an incredible 171 goals for us, including 41 already this season, with a finishing stat of only 11.

[mjaferrie]

This is what the squad looks like for the 2nd half of the season.



Only 4 non-Scots, which I'm pretty proud of!  Unfortunately there is 12 signed players to only 4 from our own academy, I'd like to see these increase.

[Keano16]

Buy low sell high at its finest! Incredible win over Arsenal too.

[mjaferrie]

9 minutes ago, Keano16 said:

Buy low sell high at its finest! Incredible win over Arsenal too.

I think it probably increased their opinion of Easton as well which was good!  He's been ***** for them so far though, 6.63 from 3 sub appearances...

[mjaferrie]

Youth Intake Day!

Not too bad, I like the look of YP6b.

 

[mjaferrie]

It's tight at the top with only 3 games to play...

 

[mjaferrie]

A 1-0 defeat to Dundee means that, going into the last game of the season, we could be about to concede the title for the first time - to our rivals Rangers.  Our last game of the season?  At home... against Rangers.  It literally is all to play for - with our GD advantage, all we need is a victory...

[mjaferrie]

Here are the lineups at a sold out Celtic Park:



The teams are out......