TalkCeltic - The Ultimate Celtic FC Forum

Well, it's nearly that time of year again. The season is all over and every domestic trophy available is safely tucked away within the Parkhead trophy room where it belongs. For the invincible playing squad, a few weeks of rest now begins in Dubai, Marbella, Monaco or wherever it is footballer's enjoy jetting off to nowadays. In addition, Brendan Rodgers will also enjoy some well earned time off, after a staggering opening campaign in Scotland. However, his mind will still be firmly focused upon now improving a team in the upcoming months which has no doubt surpassed all expectations he had at the outset of last season, with the Summer Transfer window just days away from officially opening.

The transformation of this Hoops squad over the past 12 months has been nothing short of remarkable, and, going into next season, the current crop would still of course remain heavy favourites for the league title and even another treble. At a club like Celtic though, there is very rarely any time to stand still and admire your success, with the pressure always on to continually improve and deliver more trophies. Luckily though, there is only minor 'tweaking' needed in terms of players who are likely to come in, with Rodgers stating numerous times that he will only look to add players who can make an instant improvement to the side as a whole, which suggests that Celts fans can look forward to perhaps 2 or 3 real quality additions this summer.

As a result, the heaviest amount of activity is likely to involve the squad members who are no longer required at Lennoxtown, with many suggesting - including Rodgers himself - that the squad is still somewhat...

WHEN Scott Brown signed for Celtic in May 2007 as a cocky 21 year old with an abundance of raw talent, few could have envisaged what he would go on to achieve as a player in the green and white hoops over the next decade. His £4.4m transfer from Hibs is still to this day the biggest transfer exchange between two Scottish clubs, and, it is fair to say he has been worth every single penny of that fee, despite having some bumps along the road. 415 appearances, 37 goals, 76 European games and 12 trophies later, he is still going strong as the driving force within the Champions' midfield. Yesterday marked the skipper's 10 year anniversary with the club, so I feel it is only fitting that in the week where he is celebrating such a tremendous milestone, we take a look back at the career (so far) of a modern day Celtic legend, with a look at the gaffer's who helped him along the way..

Gordon Strachan was entering his third successive term as Celtic manager in the summer of 2007. His squad were coming off the back of an impressive campaign both at home and abroad, where they had wrapped up not only a league and Scottish Cup double, but also a Last 16 Champions League place, falling only to eventual winners AC Milan in the San Siro during extra time. Strachan, or 'WGS' as he was often referred to, had assembled a squad with a varied mix of talent, from hardened players such as Stephen McManus and Paul Hartley, to those who could change the tide of a game in an instant, like Aiden McGeady and, of course, Shunsuke Nakamura. One thing that...

CELTIC and Brendan Rodgers continued their imperious march towards potential immortality with a pulsating 3-1 victory over Aberdeen at Pittodrie last night. The 3 points not only saw the Hoops hit the 100 point mark in the league but also put them a mere 2 games away from becoming invincibles in the SPFL Premiership, an achievement which, if managed, will write each and every member of this current squad into the Parkhead history books. The 'invincibles' tag has been hanging over Rodgers and the players for months, however it is only now that it really seems within touching distance, and there is sure to be no let up.

With a Scottish Cup Final to come at the end of the month, you would be forgiven for thinking that Brendan Rodgers may have chosen to field a slightly weakened side in these remaining games. However, once again, the strongest possible XI (minus Scott Brown) was sent out onto the Pittodrie pitch in order to try and quash any hopes of the Dons springing a surprise and handing Celtic their first defeat of the domestic campaign. Sinclair, Tierney, Lustig, Armstrong and Roberts were all given starts and could not have hoped for a better start to the match.

An away trip to a venue such as Pittodrie can always cause problems to any Celtic side, no matter the form they find themselves in. Neil Lennon can testify to that, as he watched his Celtic side...

Five Star Celtic in Derby Demolition

Scottish Premiership
Ibrox stadium, Glasgow
Saturday 29th April

Rangers - 1 (Miller, 81)
Celtic - 5 (Sinclair 7, Griffiths 17, McGregor 51, Boyata 64, Lustig 86)

Celtic piled on the misery against their Glasgow rivals at Ibrox today with a stunning performance and 1-5 victory with goals from Sinclair, Griffiths, McGregor, Boyata and Lustig. In what was a five star performance, Brendan Rodgers men were relentless in possession of the ball and gave the hapless Rangers defence a torrid time. Pedro Caixinha was quoted as saying that he believed he was taking over the greatest squad in Scotland when he took the Rangers job. If his ignorance to the extent of the task that lay ahead wasn’t obvious then, the two showdowns with a vastly superior Celtic team in the last week will have been a firm wake-up call for the former stopper.

Brendan Rodgers said prior to the game that his only disappointment about the semi-final encounter last Sunday was that the hoops hadn’t won by more goals in what was a dominating 2-0 victory. Since his arrival at Ibrox, Caixinha has come out with some bizarre statements regarding his team and tactics and formations, and in his interview with Sky Sports before the game today he revealed that he would be deploying a diamond formation with the aim of preventing Scott Brown from dominating his Rangers midfield once more. For the second time in a week Pedro attempted to utilise a plan to nullify the Scotland captain, and for the second time in a week Pedro failed.

In the opening few minutes, Rangers appeared to be showing the type of aggression and energy that had been lacking at Hampden a week previous. However they found themselves up against it after only 7 minutes thanks to a moment of lunacy from left back Myles Beerman. The Maltese defender showed his inexperience with a needless lunge to win the ball in the penalty area,...