Midnight on Tuesday passed, predictably with no new signings at Celtic, the club’s media team enjoyed an early night with no social media videos created followed by a ‘#announce’.
Tuesday wasn’t the most significant deadline, it was self imposed by Neil Lennon but simply represented another breakdown in the club’s transfer policy. The one that saw one new signing start the Champions League qualifying campaign away to FK Sarajevo, Boli Bolingoli with one more, Christopher Jullien sitting on the bench.
For at least a year it was know that Celtic were badly in need of defenders, that was recognised when Filip Benkovic was signed on loan from Leicester. His central defensive partnership with Dedryck Boyata got the club through their Europa League group but neither was going to be around for the most important matches of this season.
Lennon took most of the media flak for losing to Cluj but he had no new players on the pre-season trip to Austria and Switzerland with Bolingoli, Jullien and Hatem Abd Elhamed adapting to a new country and new team during Champions League qualifiers.
This windows been a disaster since the minute David Turnbull was cuttin aboot the trophy room in a Celtic tap
— Kenny (@_67ONeill) August 27, 2019
The breakdown in transfer activity falls firmly on the table of Peter Lawwell. Players departing and European qualifiers were known about at least a year in advance. Either no plans were made for those events or the plans failed to be carried out. Whatever the reasons the manager has been caught out again.
After beating Hearts on Sunday Sky Sports reported:
We need players in two or three positions. Hopefully we can get some quality bodies in on Monday or Tuesday. If we do, I would like to take them to Sweden with us to integrate them with the group if they have an opportunity to play next weekend.
There is one more deadline of this horrendous summer, at midnight on Monday with a trip to Ibrox coming on the back of the return from Stockholm.
A year ago Youssouf Mulumbu and Benkovic were brought in on short term deals at the end of the transfer window, it’s not a very high water-mark but after letting the manager down again the omens are looking grim with just five days of transfer ‘business’ left.