Shaun Maloney rejoins Celtic

[Dannybhoyira]

nd everyone of those defenders rought in r sh*t, no offense

i wud love to see the wee man back here, but i dont reckon he will be is trickey self as last time, he has gone and rotted on the side lines at villa, it will take one hell of a plyer to regain his old status

[Commander Gree]

Originally Posted by marco1888

Why does he continue with hinkle when the guy is not good enough, maybe he has not settled yet i dont know but something needs to be done cos him and caldwell are liabilities

I'm afraid i'm not a psychologist, how hinkle gets a game in front of caddis is one of the worlds great mysteries. The workings of GS mind is an enigma I'm afraid.

[boogy]

Originally Posted by Commander Gree

I'm afraid i'm not a psychologist, how hinkle gets a game in front of caddis is one of the worlds great mysteries. The workings of GS mind is an enigma I'm afraid.

I agree, probably because he had to actually spend some money to bring hinkel to celtic but to have a player that cost nothing.... can't be true can it

[Ry The Bhoy]

think its because hes more experienced...but the only way Caddis will get experience is if he plays...i see Caddis more of a winger anyways and so does Strachan

x

[Skydiver]

Originally Posted by kevtun1888

And how has the defence been left behind?

Im not sure I understand this. If you check WGS signings I bet there is a fair few defenders in it.

I will try and compile a list anyone who wants to add can.

Caldwell
Camara
Virgo
Doumbe
Naylor
Loovens
Telfer
Hinkel


That added too

Wilson
O'Dea
Kennedy
McManus
Balde
Caddis
So how is it that he has left the defence behind? The reason we sign more players in midfield and up front is the fact that once you get a steady backline it will very rarely change.

Ok so lets look at those signings,

Camara - Less said the better, liability from day one

Virgo - I believe WGS had little to do with this and was a deal engineered by O'Neil before WGS arrived.

Doumbe - Not bad, been injured.

Naylor - gone off the boil

Loovens - Only JUST signed

Telfer - ................

Hinkel - jury is out

If you look at who they added to;

Wilson - good player but needs time and played in correct position

O'Dea - only just started featuring last season so hardly a squad regular.

Kennedy - was out until last season then out again, good player etc but can't be seen as a mainstay of a squad

McManus - I really rate the guy, young but good

Balde - Has been out of the plan for a long time

Caddis - This is really his first season getting any attention.

I think the point I am trying to make and the general feeling that can be observed on forums etc is that when the defense needs bolstered we never get it. It always comes 2nd. I mean look at the money spent since WGS arrived and see how much of that is on defense and how much elsewhere. I am not talking about quantity of players either, its about quality. See my point?

Look at the list of who we had and who we added and my comments. It is clear to see that at times the defense has been an after thought. I mean its not like we had the players you mentioned all in the first team or even on the fringes and then added the other players. They have come into the club in drips and drabs. He seems content to run with sub standard players in defense.

You make the point about signing more players up front once you have a steady back line. So you really think we have a steady back line ?????

If that is your ideology then surely we need some quality at the back with the sort of money spent on them that we have seen spent on other areas.

[kevtun1888]

Originally Posted by Skydiver

Ok so lets look at those signings,

Camara - Less said the better, liability from day one

Virgo - I believe WGS had little to do with this and was a deal engineered by O'Neil before WGS arrived.

Doumbe - Not bad, been injured.

Naylor - gone off the boil

Loovens - Only JUST signed

Telfer - ................

Hinkel - jury is out

If you look at who they added to;

Wilson - good player but needs time and played in correct position

O'Dea - only just started featuring last season so hardly a squad regular.

Kennedy - was out until last season then out again, good player etc but can't be seen as a mainstay of a squad

McManus - I really rate the guy, young but good

Balde - Has been out of the plan for a long time

Caddis - This is really his first season getting any attention.

I think the point I am trying to make and the general feeling that can be observed on forums etc is that when the defense needs bolstered we never get it. It always comes 2nd. I mean look at the money spent since WGS arrived and see how much of that is on defense and how much elsewhere. I am not talking about quantity of players either, its about quality. See my point?

Look at the list of who we had and who we added and my comments. It is clear to see that at times the defense has been an after thought. I mean its not like we had the players you mentioned all in the first team or even on the fringes and then added the other players. They have come into the club in drips and drabs. He seems content to run with sub standard players in defense.

You make the point about signing more players up front once you have a steady back line. So you really think we have a steady back line ?????

If that is your ideology then surely we need some quality at the back with the sort of money spent on them that we have seen spent on other areas.

So what is wrong with the DEFENCE then? you are writing a really big spool here about how we need new defenders yet you cant even spell DEFENCE.

The fact is we had the best DEFENCE in the SPL last year and the fact that our 2 CB's are gonna be the backline for Their national team speaks volumes.

As for Wilson I thought he played well on Sunday.

Naylor came on a game towards the end of the season. It seems he wants to go home to be near is child

Hinkel is a German international who will probably come good but like you said the Jury is out.

Caddis as for this being his first season I seem to remember him doing very well against Barca last year.

Telfer was a good player for us. Always bombed down the right to support Naka something which Hinkel for me does not do enough.

Our DEFENCE is fine now. With Loovens as a back up we will be fine maybe just a LB but with Wilson there it is not priority.

Priorty for me is a Striker. Someone to give the sulky McDonald a kick up the arse

[Skydiver]

The reason I am spelling defence in that way is the fact I am using a Mac and it has an American dictionary setting when using Safari internet browser. It is not through ignorance or lack of education so there is no need to type it in upper case I am fully aware of my misgivings.

You do make some good points about individual players though I would disagree about Telfer. I thought he was terrible defensively.

Caddis was very much on the fringes last season and that was my point, this season will be the make or break.

The point I was making about Wilson is that he is a good player, young but with a future. As WGS has stated he is the future for us in his position although you would be forgiven for not knowing where that is! The problem is that I believe it is unfair to play him and others out of position. Remember what WGS did to Ross Wallace......

As for having the best defence in the SPL last season, with what evidence are you using for that claim? Just because they have both had call ups for Scotland doesn't mean all that much. I make that statement purely on the grounds of being the best in a pool of Scottish talent is one thing but when we are supposedly vying for a place beyond the last sixteen of the Champions League then having a call up for Scotland means very little really. We are up against the cream of the crop and WGS, Lawell and the board all know it. If I was them I would not make such bold statements of intent without making sure we have the infrastructure, players and funds to see them through.

Celtic are one of the greatest teams ever and we have a way of far exceeding expectations when the odds are against us but how long can we ride our luck. Bottom line is that going beyond the last sixteen = cash

I think we do need a striker also. As you say McDonald is a sulky player and sometimes lacks the killer finish. If you could get some of McDonalds runs and energy into big Jan that would be one hell of a player, not to say he is bad, not at all. Just a different type of player and lets face it he dug us out of the muck a couple of times towards the end of last season.

[vennagourlay]

Originally Posted by Skydiver

The reason I am spelling defence in that way is the fact I am using a Mac and it has an American dictionary setting when using Safari internet browser. It is not through ignorance or lack of education so there is no need to type it in upper case I am fully aware of my misgivings.

You do make some good points about individual players though I would disagree about Telfer. I thought he was terrible defensively.

Caddis was very much on the fringes last season and that was my point, this season will be the make or break.

The point I was making about Wilson is that he is a good player, young but with a future. As WGS has stated he is the future for us in his position although you would be forgiven for not knowing where that is! The problem is that I believe it is unfair to play him and others out of position. Remember what WGS did to Ross Wallace......

As for having the best defence in the SPL last season, with what evidence are you using for that claim? Just because they have both had call ups for Scotland doesn't mean all that much. I make that statement purely on the grounds of being the best in a pool of Scottish talent is one thing but when we are supposedly vying for a place beyond the last sixteen of the Champions League then having a call up for Scotland means very little really. We are up against the cream of the crop and WGS, Lawell and the board all know it. If I was them I would not make such bold statements of intent without making sure we have the infrastructure, players and funds to see them through.

Celtic are one of the greatest teams ever and we have a way of far exceeding expectations when the odds are against us but how long can we ride our luck. Bottom line is that going beyond the last sixteen = cash

I think we do need a striker also. As you say McDonald is a sulky player and sometimes lacks the killer finish. If you could get some of McDonalds runs and energy into big Jan that would be one hell of a player, not to say he is bad, not at all. Just a different type of player and lets face it he dug us out of the muck a couple of times towards the end of last season.

Why do you need evidence to prove that we have the best defensive record last season??? look at the league table at the end of the season..notice that we have the least amount of goals conceded,notice how we have the (C) beside our name!! Surely this is enough evidence of us havin the best defensive record no??

CMON THE HOOPS

[Sweeney]

Originally Posted by kevtun1888

What a stupid comment this is. So from the performance yesterday you would say that we don need a creative midfielder who can also play behind the striker.

So what positions is it we need to fix then?

hhhmm left back? the defence in general? before the transfer window even started Strachan's midfield was the strongest aspect of the team, the midfield is far from perfect but defence or even a pacey striker is more required. "A creative midfielder who can also play behind a striker" - what a stupid comment this is kevtun, as i said we need a striker with pace. What's the point in making a creative midfielder who can work well behind a striker a transfer priority when we don't have a quality, pacey striker to take advantage of it?

[Skydiver]

Originally Posted by sween_67

hhhmm left back? the defence in general? before the transfer window even started Strachan's midfield was the strongest aspect of the team, the midfield is far from perfect but defence or even a pacey striker is more required. "A creative midfielder who can also play behind a striker" - what a stupid comment this is kevtun, as i said we need a striker with pace. What's the point in making a creative midfielder who can work well behind a striker a transfer priority when we don't have a quality, pacey striker to take advantage of it?

I am glad somebody else notices what the real issues are.

[Skydiver]

Originally Posted by vennagourlay

Why do you need evidence to prove that we have the best defensive record last season??? look at the league table at the end of the season..notice that we have the least amount of goals conceded,notice how we have the (C) beside our name!! Surely this is enough evidence of us havin the best defensive record no??

CMON THE HOOPS

The figures do speak volumes about goals conceded etc. What they do not allude to however is the actual quality of our defence. If football was about another team playing against a back four and a goalie and we had the goal difference we had last season fair enough.

That is not the case however, there are loads of variables that make or break goals conceded and remember the table figures don't show how we did in the Champions League.

I guess what I am trying to say is there are many reasons, luck, skill etc etc as to why we won the league and had the best goal difference. That does not mean we had the out and out best defence.

[me.CelticBhoy88]

Originally Posted by kevtun1888

So what is wrong with the DEFENCE then? you are writing a really big spool here about how we need new defenders yet you cant even spell DEFENCE.

The fact is we had the best DEFENCE in the SPL last year and the fact that our 2 CB's are gonna be the backline for Their national team speaks volumes.

As for Wilson I thought he played well on Sunday.

Naylor came on a game towards the end of the season. It seems he wants to go home to be near is child

Hinkel is a German international who will probably come good but like you said the Jury is out.

Caddis as for this being his first season I seem to remember him doing very well against Barca last year.

Telfer was a good player for us. Always bombed down the right to support Naka something which Hinkel for me does not do enough.

Our DEFENCE is fine now. With Loovens as a back up we will be fine maybe just a LB but with Wilson there it is not priority.

Priorty for me is a Striker. Someone to give the sulky McDonald a kick up the arse

Why do people have to be so picky and put people down over spelling ect... notice you keep pointing out DEFENCE ok fair enough

yours "It seems he wants to go home to be near is child" should be "HIS" child

At end of day people come on to put there views across and TBH I dont think an English lesson is needed as long as people know what is meant .. Could be worse .. could be text chat

Not getting at you presonally m8 ..have noticed this on this forum and many others.. just seems to put people off posting if they are going to get slated about spelling as much as whether others agree to their reply

[woodlandsbhoy86]

feck off spelling police! as long as people manage to get their point across, then who cares?

[ell stiffy]

so is he signing

[kevtun1888]

Originally Posted by Skydiver

The figures do speak volumes about goals conceded etc. What they do not allude to however is the actual quality of our defence. If football was about another team playing against a back four and a goalie and we had the goal difference we had last season fair enough.

That is not the case however, there are loads of variables that make or break goals conceded and remember the table figures don't show how we did in the Champions League.

I guess what I am trying to say is there are many reasons, luck, skill etc etc as to why we won the league and had the best goal difference. That does not mean we had the out and out best defence.

Ok so we didnt have the best out and out defence then who did?

Aaaah Us!

As for the champions league. We did well in the CL. Yes we conceded goals but the fact is that we try to win the game. We do well at home for winning. I expect us to push on this season and get a vital away result while maintaining our home performances.

We do need a couple of players and a Creative spark behind the striker is exactly what we need in the CL.