[Link] Rafik Halliche

How many have been trials?

I think a lot of us are being negative because i can't think of one successful trialist that made their mark in the hoops.

furthermore, defence is not an area where we can gamble on. If Halliche is successful the newspapers are saying he will be offered a loan deal. that shows Lennon isn't confident enough to offer him something more solid as he knows it's a risk and he cannot jump the gun in finding a defender. he may be great but not getting a game for Fulham and only playing 80 games in 5yrs and having to go on trial to find a new club shows that it's a huge risk.

If we do decide to get him in, have no doubt he'll recieve my backing and i trust Lennon but at the moment i'm not going to lie, i'm worried about his negatives.

 

know who he is now! looked good in the world cup there and seems to attack all balls strong in a challenge and good in the air. for free? * aye

 

He must be better than Loovens, Majstorovic,etc

 

I'd take him. I think he looks the part. Supposedly very similar to Bougherra in the way he plays, which can be pretty bombscare at times though.

 

For free why not! Surely hes better than what weve got

 

Another injury prone centre half? no thanks for me

 

Think by getting a loan deal is the best option, if there is a deal in place for the end of the season then it isn't a big gamble, if it doesnt work out he can go back to fulham if he does well then we have him in. Doesnt mean lennon has no faith in him

 

Just read an article in the record saying he was signed as back-up, and only decent.
I'm sorry but words like that don't fill me with confidence. He's no kicked a ball in a year, could be injury prone and is now less than back-up for a not so good Fulham side.
Maybe a short term deal, see how he copes.
I just don't like the fact that when someone from a PL side thinks, "aw didn't make it here, but he'll rip up the SPL". Might be a * league, but it's tough.

 

After reading this interview (below) from Mark Bowen I am not immpressed, It seems to me he has similar qualities to the guys we already have......We need someone who is commanding, quick and who instills confidence in those around them.

From today's Daily Record:


MARK BOWEN reckons there will never be a dull moment if Celtic sign Rafik Halliche.
But the former Fulham No.2 swears the Algerian will be a hit in the SPL.
Neil Lennon has taken central defender Halliche on trial and the 25-year-old yesterday featured in a bounce game, helping to keep a clean sheet in a 3-0 win over Hibs at Lennoxtown.

Few in British football know Halliche as well as Bowen who was assistant to Mark Hughes at Craven Cottage when Fulham signed him from Benfica at the start of last season.

The stopper arrived in London fresh from a World Cup campaign in which he made headlines for snuffing out the threat of Wayne Rooney in Algeria's draw with England.

That experience so frustrated Rooney he charged up to a TV camera and blurted a four-letter rant at England's fans for giving him a rough time.
Bowen is adamant Fulham could have turned Halliche into a star if injuries hadn't wrecked his dream. But the Welshman - who was linked with a move to Parkhead as Hughes' No. 2 before Neil Lennon got the job - reckons that will make the African hungry to succeed in Scotland.
Rangers fans had scary moments when Halliche's countryman, Madjid Bougherra, burst from defence or tried audacious passes and Bowen warned Halliche is cut from the same cloth.

He said: "He wouldn't think twice about chipping the ball over a striker's head into the full-back's path. You'd be saying to yourself, 'Ouch, Rafik, what are you doing?'
"But fans love it. At times, he'll give it away in a silly position but often they'll appreciate the fact he's trying to play. If Celtic sign him, he certainly wouldn't let anyone down.
"He wants to defend and that's the good thing about him. Sometimes you get players who don't want to put their head into things and would rather drop off first but he wants to step in front."

After Hughes left Fulham and was succeeded by Dutchman Martin Jol, Halliche's chances became limited and Bowen is disappointed he didn't get more time to work with a player who arrived in England's top flight at a relatively young age.

He said: "He's an old-fashioned centre-half. He likes the physical side, he thrives on it. He likes challenging for balls. He's decent in the air. He's a hungry lad and wants to succeed.
"He's sort of barrel-chested almost like Dave McKay - although not in the same league - and he's got an upright, straight back which is obvious when he runs. If I had one slight doubt about it him it's that he's not the quickest.
"At times, a quick striker will spin and get away from him but the fans will take to him.
"He had injury problems after signing for Fulham. He had an issue with his groin and had to undergo a hernia operation.
"He was very unlucky because we had Philip Senderos at the club but he got injured early in pre-season so we had no cover for Brede Hangerland or Aaron Hughes.

"We signed Halliche for that reason as he'd done well in the World Cup for Algeria. He was man of the match against England for his marking job on Rooney. We brought him and he looked decent in training but just kept picking up injuries.

"Then Aaron Hughes was either playing badly or had a little injury and I'm sure Rafik would have ended up playing maybe a dozen games. But he was out injured and we ended up putting others in there.

"His chance had gone. Otherwise we could now be talking about a Premier League regular. He had a problem in terms of injuries but I hope it's rectified. To bring someone such as that in for nothing would be a shrewd acquisition for Celtic. But you've got to keep on top of him to keep him lean. He'd train for 10 days or two weeks and we'd ask where he was and the physios would say he was stiff in his groin or lower back.

"His agent is Rob Moore, a South African I've known since I was a kid. When we were at Blackburn he brought us Benni McCarthy and Aaron Mokoena.

"We respected Rob's opinion. He thought we'd like Rafik and said he needed a chance. He was at Nacional on loan from Benfica and we took him on a two-week training period and instantly thought he would be a decent squad player.

"He's a ball-playing centre-half, he likes to get it out from the back and play. He attacks everything. He will challenge for balls in the air.
"Sometimes he was a bit rash. He'd jump into things and a striker could maybe roll him and he'd give away free-kick. We were trying to get to be more patient at times because he always wanted to win the ball front. But that's not always a thing - in fact it's quite good."

Yesterday Halliche was alongside Celtic comeback striker Bangura who scored a double against the Hibees. Skipper Scott Brown was also on target and Kelvin Wilson, Thomas Rogne and James Keatings had run-outs on their way back from spells on the sidelines.
Paddy McCourt and Charlie Mulgrew also played and Lennon said: "It was a really worthwhile exercise. Bangura was excellent and scored two great goals. I delighted with his performance it will have done him good. He really needed that game time and it stand him in good stead."

 

Reading his ex-coaches view of him I definitely don't want him. Slow, tries to play out of defence and sometimes makes mistakes.

Sounds like a slow version of Bougherra.

Do not want.

Give me a dominant in the air brick shithouse please.

 

i would much rather a loan deal than to sign him immediately. however, at this moment in time though, we cannot gamble with an area that is our weakest department. we need better than a 'we'll see how it goes' approach. we need to ensure we get the right man for the job.

i have many fears with this lad.

 

Got a mate who's a Fulham fan and I asked him about this guy. He came back with "He's a centre back. Never seen him play for us, he's average at best but its pretty hard to beat hangaland, hughes or senderos so he may be ok. Just not fulham first team standard."
Doesn't sound too promising tbh, but if he impresses on his trial then we've really got nothing to lose.

 

if they see enough in him he will sign but be fair he is an international cb so he cant be bad and hopefully will do a job for us

 

How do you follow up "never seen him play" with "average at best"? Gues she's just going by the fact that Jol isn't playing him.

 

again chris sutton couldnt get a game at chelsea so managers come in and players dont suit them and move on look at the guy we just sold to southampton

 

Wo Wo Wo............ !!!!!!
Easy mate !!

You don't know this World's Greatest CB, who's the star of Fulham Reserves from Jack Adam & you are comparing him to Chris Sutton !!

Sutton had proven himself at Blackburn, before his Chelsea nightmare. So we knew we had signed quality when he walked into Celtic Park !!

This guy hasn't got a game in 2 years !! So, he's either injury prone or pure Pish !!

Hail Hail

 

Would be typical of Celtic to sign this guy insead of a proven, quality centre-half.

Nothing wrong with looking at him though.

 

This...

The guy does not seem to be any better than we already have and we don't exactly need another average defender

 

Rivaldo, and Ronnie Djebbour who has been immense for Olympiacos in the champions league this season