Moussa Dembele

He's not moving in January, at the soonest it will be this summer. If he does end up leaving, * knows he's not going to leave Celtic for Red Bull Leipzig. I understand they are the Bundesliga leaders and they are on a definite rise, but I think even Moussa would look at that as a bit of a side step rather than a step up. He'll be moving to a much higher profile team imo.

 

He's looked a bit subdued lately. I would like us to give him a rest tomorrow night with the busy schedule ahead in mind. Of course he will want to play seeing as it is a Champions League match and it is being played in England. It's a perfect chance for him to put himself in the shop window so I expect he'll be out there from the beginning.

 

Tomorrow isn't a nothing game, we can still make money from a win/draw, not to mention the experience for our team, and if you are insinuating that Dembele will up his game because of it, or the board trying to push a sale, then it's still a positive, regardless. Obviously we all want Dembele to stay, but realistically, if mental money offer came in - which it won't - then we would have to weigh up options. Would go against the grain to sell so soon.

I may have picked up your post wrong, but that's how I interpreted it.

 

Agreed, plus I don't want to wind him up by dropping him for a Champions' League game!

 

I don't know about "upping his game" as that would insinuate he hasn't been trying in our domestic matches and I don't believe that to be the case. But a player who is only using Celtic as a stepping stone, which we all know is what Dembele is doing, is going to want to play in all the Champions League matches because that is his biggest shop window. If he performs well in those fixtures his move out of Parkhead will come that much quicker.

He may have input into whether he plays or not. Hypothetically, Brendan Rodgers could go to him and say 'Moussa, we're out of this competition already and we have a lot of important domestic fixtures coming up so, I was thinking about putting you on the bench in Manchester. How would you feel about that?'. If Dembele says he feels fine and absolutely wants to play then Rodgers would probably take that into account.

I don't think there's much to be learned from tomorrow night's game. Man City won't be playing a full strength team and we are already out. I just want to get it over and done with.

 

You'll find that Dembele will probably have more chances tomorrow than he did at Fir Park..

City's backline is expose-able, and they will be playing very high as they do under Pep..

We'll definitely score I think, and he's the standout..

Brilliant that we've got goals throughout the whole team at the minute though..

 

Well we don't know who will be in the team. They just lost 3-1 at home to Chelsea, this is ample opportunity for Pep to experiment with team, and last time I checked, city's bench was quite strong, plus players wanting to make impression.

If we can take a victory, draw, or even a good match, it gets Celtic more exposure globally. Teams interested in our players, but also players interested in us as (how you put it) a stepping stone.

Unfortunately, for various reasons, this is just the market we operate in, along with the vast majority of teams on the continent. We all accept that as reality, but if we can play our part in developing a player who goes on to great things, then we will have succeeded.

Our goal is the same; to be remembered as European great. How we get there in this era, is just a bit different.

 

Media are doing a good job of buttering Moussa up for a big money move.

 

If you're that easily embarrassed, life must be a real struggle for you.

We're out the competition and we're not going to win tonight. If that's something you feel is worth looking forward to then batter in.

 

Are you for real?

 

This isn't a meaningless game in my opinion. Even though it's our last European game, exposure to as much football as possible, at this level, can only benefit the squad, the management team and the club.

Playing against better sides gives great playing experience and a higher level to aim for. The management team learn lessons against a top side whether we win, lose or draw. The club can benefit financially, along with getting vital exposure on the biggest stage. A desire to want it over and done with, is baffling to me.

I'm buzzing for the match, sitting in work clock watching. There's nothing like seeing Celtic in Europe.

 

More power to your elbow then.

Personally I can't get excited by a game that is a dead rubber. I will watch out of interest of course because I am a Celtic fan but excited? Nope. Tonight's match is essentially a glorified friendly and I hate friendlies. As for the outcome, I am a Celtic fan but I am also a realist. We won't win tonight. If people don't want to hear that then I'm sorry but that's my opinion.

 

With all due respect, you think that adding a few SPFL titles and some Scottish cups to his name will add value to him? Down south?

Daniel Sturridge can be the best player in the world for all it's worth right now, but he doesn't stay fit enough to make it matter.

Do I think Dembele is better than Sturridge? It's honestly hard to say at the moment. If I saw him play in that Liverpool side for a run of games I could certainly see him get goals.

He's definitely as good as Origi, don't you think?

We both know that's not how football works though. I'll be very * surprised if he's still here in two years let alone four.

If it were a Southampton, Everton or Sunderland who were to come calling I'd be the first to say that staying here is the better option, but Liverpool? As they are at the moment? That's the chance to be part of something far bigger than we can offer him (only because we're stuck in Scottish football though, if we weren't it would be a much different story).

I hope that we don't see anything concrete come of this rumour, as he's going to be some player for us, but I wouldn't blame him for going to Liverpool.

If it were me and I was a foreign lad with no real connection to Celtic I'd be off like a shot as soon as Liverpool made an acceptable offer to the club.

 

Tonights his for the taking.

EDIT: Daibhi if it was you as a promising young player you'd be in China or something on a * packet I'd suspect.

 

Woeful miss there.