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TalkCeltic - The Ultimate Celtic FC Forum

TalkCeltic is an unofficial Celtic FC website and forum. A place to discuss all things Celtic Football Club related with other like-minded supporters.

CELTIC manager Gordon Strachan has hailed European hero Shunsuke Nakamura as one of football's greatest bargain buys.​

Nakamura sent Celtic Park wild last week when he curled home a stunning free-kick to sink Sir Alex Ferguson's side and seal a place in the Champions League last 16.

It was his finest moment since arriving from Reggina in summer 2005 and Strachan insists Naka didn't cost him anywhere near the £2.7million fee quoted at the time.​

The Hoops gaffer said: "It was nowhere near it. And if you take into account buying the image rights it still doesn't come close. Shunsuke has been value for money but even if we paid £5m I would still think that. If he didn't do well it would have given people ammunition to blow him to pieces but he has been great for us."​

However, Strachan admits a player like Nakamura wouldn't have stood a chance in the Scottish game if he had played at the same time as his gaffer in the ruthless...​
HIBERNIAN… 2
(Sproule 11, Thomson 64)
CELTIC… 2
(Sno 70, McGeady 73)

TWO inspired substitutions from Celtic manager Gordon Strachan allowed his side to come from two goals behind to * a point on their return to SPL action at Easter Road this afternoon.

With the Celtic players going in to this match straight off the back of their draining, midweek UEFA Champions League victory over Manchester United, many expected a stern test of their championship credentials away in Edinburgh this afternoon.

And during the 90 minutes, John Collins’ in-form Hibs did not disappoint, dominating for long periods in this dramatic encounter and setting a ferocious pace from the outset.

And after an early opener from Ivan Sproule and an outstanding individual effort from captain, Kevin Thomson in the second half, Hibs looked to be on course for their fourth consecutive win under new manager and former Celt, Collins.

But much in the way that Strachan’s substitutions in the Champions...
CELTIC veteran Billy McNeill says he's "shattered" by claims the Lisbon Lions have been duped over a memorial fund for Jimmy Johnstone.

The team's European Cup-winning captain and his team-mates toured the country with a roadshow for the Jimmy Johnstone Motor Neurone Disease Tribute Fund.

But now organiser John Clifford has been accused of not banking the proceeds.

Jinky, who died of MND in March, spent his final years campaigning for more research into the incurable disease.

But apart from an initial £3000 payment to his widow Agnes the fund have since traced no donations from Clifford.

Last night McNeill, who appeared at a roadshow just two weeks ago, said: "I'm shattered. Jimmy was exceptional. We wouldn't have toured the country if we hadn't thought all the money went to his family.

"My belief was John Clifford made regular donations to the fund."

Twice-bankrupt Clifford, 47, of Newmains in Lanarkshire, befriended Jinky in 2001.

A fund spokesman said: "I...
IT IS a meeting between the Scottish Premierleague’s in-form sides and with both us and Hibernian committed to an attacking gameplan, Aiden McGeady believes that the stage is set for a thriller at Easter Road this Sunday.

Meetings between us and Edinburgh clubs are generally regarded as competitive and entertaining fixtures and this season’s earlier encounter, a dramatic 2-1 home victory for Celtic, was decided in the dying minutes by a goal from debut Bhoy Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink.

And with former tic midfielder John Collins having recently taken over as manager and continued his former Parkhead team-mate, Tony Mowbray’s passing philosophy, McGeady is ready for more of the same.

“The games against Hibs are always entertaining,” he commented, “and they have good side with some good young Scottish players coming through.

“This weekend I am sure that they will be on a high, as well as us, because they demolished Motherwell last week 6-1.

“I think they could mount a...
Celtic's sensational win over Manchester United and subsequent qualification from the group stages of the Champions League has lifted the club both on and off the park.

The immediate effect of the win has been to boost Celtic's share price by 15 per cent but the result could be worth millions of pounds in prize money, gate receipts, television and sponsorship deals.

The rise in the share price added about £4 million to the value of Celtic. Qualification for the knock-out stage of the Champions League has been achieved against a backdrop of salary cutbacks and Strachan could now be rewarded for this ability to cut cloth so painlessly.

David Glen of PricewaterhouseCoopers revealed that Celtic could expect to make an amount similar to the £15.5 million Rangers claimed when they became the first Scottish club to reach the last 16 last season.
"We do have a comparator with Rangers," he said. "They actually published in their accounts last year the impact of reaching the last 16....