It's the beginning for Neil Lennon- but who is it the end for?
Here is my thoughts on our squad for this season. Who deserves to stay and who should go. When I say deserves to stay, for any player they should realise it is an honour to play for our club and to represent us as supporters and they have to earn that right to do so and stay at Parkhead.
KEEPERS
Fraser Forster – Overall, I’d say that the big guy has done well for us but would he be worth breaking the bank to get him back ? No. Personally, I’d spend about £2 million maximum on him. My main concern is do we have anyone else capable of coming in and being a first choice keeper – I don’t think so.
Lucasz Zaluska – worth holding on to ? Probably as back up but what about Dominic Cervi? He’s been around for a while with almost no first team opportunities so if he’s not been good enough over the past few years, what is there to suggest that he can step up this year ?
On that basis, I think a new keeper has to be the top priority.
DEFENDERS
‘If it isn’t broken, don’t fix it’ is the phrase that springs to mind. But, is the defence broken? Not yet, but that could well change against a better quality of opposition.
WIth two new defenders due to arrive in the summer, I’d hope the defence would be ok. I have to assume that the new players have been signed on the basis that they can walk into the first team so I will be interested to see who our new centre half pairing will be.
Would you put Glenn or Danny in alongside Kelvin Wilson ? I’m still not convinced by big Danny – he was lucky to stay on the pitch at the cup final (foul with a straight leg could easily have been a card plus his handball).
This season, Glenn has performed ok when called upon but I still feel we should be looking at somone more reliable.
Is Thomas Rogne the answer, he looked good when he first signed but has had a few games where he has looked a bit lost. Do we keep him as one for the future or move him and free up some wages, I’d keep him for another season and give him another chance.
MIDFIELD
Another phrase springs to mind- ‘too many cooks spoil the broth’ and I think we have too many who can play in the middle of the park so time to decide who to get rid of.
To start with the obvious, it’s time to say cheerio to Freddie – for those of you who don’t know, he’s the guy who sometimes warms up with the other subs. Shaun Maloney- too injury prone for me and shouldn’t have been allowed to come back either – when a player leaves that should be it for them (of course there will be exceptions to that, but I don’t think Shaun brings enough to the team to merit being one of those exceptions).
Next up is Paddy ‘the Derry Pele’ McCourt, as much as I love to watch his goals, I just don’t think he produces it often enough to deserve to keep his place at Celtic. Nial McGinn is another who doesn’t really get into the starting eleven often enough so I feel we should let them move on and get on with their careers at teams where he will play more often.
For me, the one major disappointment was Efrain Juarez, I missed the first few games of the season from being on holiday but was told he looked good. Pretty much after we got knocked out of European competition, he’s done nothing so if we can, get rid of him.
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Apart from Gary Hooper and Anthony Stokes do we actually have any strikers? I refuse to call someone who only scores three SPL goals per season a striker – if anyone is daft enough to attempt to sign Georgios Samaras, I would take it.
Another one in with a similar goal scoring record is Daryl Murphy, the difference being that he is in his first season so maybe we have to give him more time to settle in, although, like Sami, if someone was to put a bid in for him during the summer I would be happy enough to see him go.
Stokes is one who concerns me, with the rumours being that he’s fell out with Neil Lennon, I wonder if he will be off next season. After Saturdays final, he also handed his boots to someone in the stand, does that mean he knows he will be away ? I hope not, as replacing the number of goals he scores isn’t going to be easy. Plus, Hooper seems to be at his most effective when playing alongside Stokes.
LOAN BHOYS
The main two that I held high hopes for are Jos Hooiveld and Morten Rasmussen. Jos, surely, can be sold for a reasonable amount if we dont need him, although I don’t see him as being any worse than Danny or Glenn.
Rasmussen, a guy who has scored goals at most clubs that he has played at and I think he should be given a full pre season with us and maybe review his situation in January.
Of course, there are some that I’ve left out, mainly some of the younger guys. This is meant to be a short summary based on what I have saw of our team this season.
I hope to hear your thoughts on this and go easy as this is my first piece for this site.
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