Brendan Rodgers is giving absolutely nothing away about his transfer plans other than hoping to do some business.
Over the last three weeks recruitment has been stepped up with Maik Nawrocki and Gustaf Lagerbilke arriving as Carl Starfelt was sold to Celta Vigo.
The numbers are up but in terms of the Starting XI there are gaps around with the loss of Aaron Mooy and Jota not replaced on a like for like basis.
With less than a fortnight to go until the transfer window closes time is starting to run out but Rodgers insists that the club is active with plans to bring in more new faces.
The Celtic boss told the Daily Record:
There’s obviously names that will get thrown out there but there’s nothing to say on them. There’s nothing imminent.
I still think we need to improve the squad in certain key positions. There’s still a way to go. It’s never straight forward, especially when you are looking to get really talented players. But I would hope by the end of the window we would have done some more business.
Rodgers has kept things very low key since returning, pushed on signings he is eager to point towards the influence of Mark Lawwell.
In season one Ange Postecoglou successfully brought in seven or eight first team starters that transformed the club from a sorry mess to SPFL champions.
Last season the Australian identified and replaced Josip Juranovic and Giorgos Giakoumakis without any impact on results while generating a healthy transfer profit.
Building on that is the task facing Rodgers and the Celtic Recruitment Team over the next 12 days.
As I have said previously don’t expect any serious money to be spent on players Peter LIEWELL McVittie is back in charge of the biscuit tin,hence that’s why Roy won’t see the season out as manager,just look at how the heels are being dragged trying to bring in big money replacements.
We got £25 million quid for Jota and £12 million quid is being quoted as the price for the player to replace him and we are told he is out of our price bracket.
We are being shafted here again and took for MUGS and Mr McVittie is the guy behind it calling all the shots.
I will say one thing about sevco call them tramps at being SKINTO FC but as soon as there is a sniff of spare cash floating about they spend it, lol we have the spare cash but we won’t part with it.
Lol 3 juror versions of sevco’s chances against PSV in the daily sevco today and they all have sevco going through to the group stages, the 3 chancers are Michael Gannon,Craig Swan and the BIG HAIRY FUD that wrote the article the other day on Sillyman making a mistake choosing PSV over sevco Scott Burns.
I agree with you, something is seriously wrong with Celtic recruitment this year and it bodes ill for the season ahead.
When Rodgers was first appointed, he said in press conferences that he had the cash for players that would take Celtic to a better level in Europe. The number being quoted at the time was £30 million. Then they added the sell price for Jota, another £25 million. That’s £55 million and yet all they’ve spent is around £12 million on young development projects. Now Rodgers has changed his tune, saying he’ll work with whatever the club gives him and repeating over and over again that they work within “a certain model”, meaning cheap development projects whose talents they can hone over a number of years before selling on for a profit.
Chris Sutton has just said himself that despite these young players they’ve brought in, Celtic are now weaker than they were last season. We’ve lost Starfelt, Jota and Mooy and haven’t replaced them with similar quality and experience, although I think the ball boys could probably do better than Starfelt. Anyway, I think the fans are being taken for a ride. Lawwell’s prints are all over this mess and Rodgers is beginning to look like a Board puppet. There’s no way Ange Postecoglu would have sat back waiting for the Board to provide players. He was proactive, picking his own players and insisting on quick negotiations to get them into the team. Something is definitely not right!
Guys, have a bit of patience, the season has only just begun and these ‘development’ players could turn out to be first team stars in their own right, whilst we all want a £15m top player they’re hard to come by for our league and there’s no guarantee he’d improve us that much.
Give Rodgers a chance to work with these guys and bring them on, I’ve a feeling this season’s champ league will be another tough one but it’s a 3 year plan with the new boss.
As long as we keep winning the league we’ll be just fine.
Editor: How do you propose that development players develop? There is no where to play below First XI.
I was horrified at Rodgers quote that his job was to improve the players given to him by the club. That means he is a coach, not a manager. I agree this has Peter Lawell’s influence all over it. The Champions league games could be a major embarrassment. Maybe the fans should show more discontent at games aimed at the board. We always seem to be hesitant to use our financial advantage to pull far ahead from the club from Govan
I expect Dan – given the financial disparity to Europe’s ‘elite’ clubs – The ‘Champions’ League could well be a major embarrassment, but as I say I can half accept that given that this is such an openly rigged competition…
Given that we are Champions and world record treble winners, I don’t think we are at the discontent at the board at matches stage just yet –
But if as with the big banner by The Green Brigade of ‘Don’t fall asleep at the wheel Peter ‘ – There will be anarchy like never before if Sevco Win The League this season…
And they’ll be every right for that potential anarchy to explode given our financial advantage over Sevco !
Lawwell would never survive it – But obviously I’d still rather him hanging around as chairman like a bad smell and Celtic prevailing as Champions – If that’s the price to pay to be Champions in this vital season then I guess I’ll take it…
You don’t know who is going to win the League until there’s maybe six games to go.
That is a long time for a bad smell to be hanging around.
Whereas Air-Fresheners are available!
He needs to start signing first team player that can hit the ground running ASAP
Never heard a reason why we appointed Rodgers and not Strachan.
Strachan has a very much better record in Europe – and he won the League as well!
But that’d be Lawwell’s decision I guess.
Some Celtic supporters hate Strachan but there is no reason for it.
Rodgers and his supporters want the Club to spend big money. But
“Really Talented Players”
cost a lot of money because of what they are and everybody wants them!
The finest art of management is to be successful – on a shoestring budget. You also have to get the best out of what you have inherited.
Rodgers doesn’t seem to fit either of these criteria.
Postecogolu was an expert in both these areas though. He could have brought in ten players at £1.5 M each for a £15 M Rodgers signing which some fans are calling for.
He wasn’t that familiar with the UCL but his record was better than Rodgers.
The simple truth is that we have to tighten our defence for Europe. Strachan said as much. He knew that all the while, while Rodgers got us hammered home and away by lesser teams than Barcelona.
Again it comes back to Executive decisions. Lawwell and Rodgers are the two common factors which stick out like a sore thumb.
The Green Brigade are right to voice their concerns. But is anybody listening?!
Clachnacuddin and the hoops – I totally see your point about protesting after the domestic success we have enjoyed, but I must say Celtic can be a strangely run club. You have to strengthen to go forward and with the Jota fee and guaranteed CL money the signings so far do reek of a huge restraint. Since Rangers came back and post 5 way agreement it looks as if we deliberately won’t pull too far ahead and look to concern ourselves with having a close ish rivalry with Rangers. We blew them away first half last season 3:0 and then came out and put on a training session in the second half. I do wonder sometimes
Aye it does seem to be a bit conservative with The Celtic Board aye being cautious Dan…
They probably seen the empty Lisbon Lions stand while Sevco were filling Liebrox week in, week out in Division 4 v Annan Athletic and Co. and as you say have a close (ish) rivalry –
The problem is – Look what happened in Covid Season and The men that blew the ten…
There’s cautious and there’s stingy. Right now the Board are back to being stingy in the transfer market because the shareholders come first. That’s Peter Lawwell’s doctrine and it seems it’s back in fashion. Hope I’m wrong, but do not expect any serious additions to the team this window. BR should be nervous though, sinc going along with it could cost him his job if results start to fall off, especially against Rangers.
Just watched Celtic being knocked out of the League Cup by Kilmarnock. What has Rodgers done to that team? He seems to have completely destroyed the shape and momentum that existed under Ange. He has the players playing so high up the pitch that when the ball enters the opposition box, there’s no one to get on the end of it. Having now watched Celtic’s first three domestic games, I would say the Board should cut there losses now and sack Rodgers before it gets any worse. If they don’t, I guarantee he’ll do to Celtic this season what he did to the high-flying Leicester when he took over – he’ll destroy the team spirit and style of play.