Left back!

For us to go deep in this Europa we need to get this position sorted. Copenhagen targeted us there the whole game tonight. I hope Taylor can make the step up, and do the job in the big games. We have no other option!!

 

Probs the only one , but think Boli Boli is perfect for a 3-5-2 ?

 

Thought Hayes was excellent in the 1st half tonight.. When they changed shape he really struggled to adapt tho.. Like most of the team.

Taylor looks like the most solid.

 

I like Taylor and considering he is still young he will only improve with us I think.

The whole left side is a lot weaker compared with 2-3 years ago. Sinclair and Tierney were unreal for so long, it was always going to be hard to replace that but I think it's easily the weakest area of our team just now.

 

No problem with Hayes but a good side will tear him apart. He is not a natural defender. I'm not even discussing boli as an option.

 

Bolingoli is an option though and has done well at times. Would be ideal in a 3-5-2

 

It was noticeable in the second half how much they targeted that area.

Big switch was on constantly and Hayes didn’t know where to go.

 

I have seen nothing from Bolingoli at all. One of the worst signings ive seen in my lifetime supporting Celtic.

 

Taylor will step up, Boli has played well in Europe though to be fair to him but Taylor is the better player overall.

 

His positioning is worse than schoolboy level. If he goes for a 50 v 50 he never wins them. Going forward he is not bad, but anyone playing left back for Celtic should at least be that. When he is defending it's like Saturday night fever he just spins around like *. I don't dislike the guy but he is not a footballer.

 

Hayes was pretty good yesterday.

 

I feel like we'll definitely need a new LB come the summer, don't think Bolingoli will want to stay as back-up.

 

You can't play 3 5 2 football with a back four. If you're going to employ attacking full backs you need 3 CBs.

Luckily for us it took Copenhagen untill the 2nd half to exploit this.

 

You a 1 year old?

I could give you a far worse signing for almost every season in the last 15 years.

Boli has shown he can play at times. He’s been injured and we’ve been on form so he’s not getting back in the team just now.

 

In the first half.

 

Aye ok

 

A few notable exceptions aside, you pay peanuts you get monkeys. Especially in the modern transfer market. We need to pay Julien or Eddy money in every position to get the quality required for Champions League, which should always be our aim.

We wasted money on three left backs last summer yet use none in the biggest games, instead persisting with an ex Aberdeen winger out of place in a key defensive position. Anyone would have been a step down from Tierney, but the sheer drop in quality is poor.

 

Unrealistic and demonstrably false.

Red Star Belgrade made the Champions League this season and their record transfer fee is less than £3 million, as did Dinamo Zagreb and their record is £4.5 million.

Guys like Edouard and Julien have more than proved their worth but we simply can't afford to spend 9 x £9 million in transfer fees = £81 million and 9 x £25k per week in wages = £11.7 million per annum.

We will always need to supplement the squad with lower cost players but that doesn't necessarily have to mean a drop in quality if we are astute. Elhamed at £1.6 million has looked every bit a European-level full back, it's just a shame he's had a poor time with injuries. Frimpong at £300k will get there with game-time.

We could certainly loosen the purse strings more and be less risk-averse but expecting £7-9 million in every position is unrealistic and just allows Lawwell place-men to spin the mantra that we as fans are too demanding. There's a balance between what we're doing and what you're suggesting.