Brendan Rodgers is still hopeful of adding quality to his squad before the transfer window closes on Thursday night.
Back in November the Celtic boss had highlighted his original squad assessment of needing four additions but after four weeks of the January transfer window only Nicolas Kuhn has been signed.
Against Ross County on Saturday Alexandro Bernabei was drafted in for his first start of the season, highlighting the lack of options to play at left-back.
Greg Taylor is expected to be out injured for another couple of matches with difficult trips to Aberdeen, Hibs and St Mirren coming up to test the squad.
There has been an expectation among supporters that new faces will be arriving, speaking to the Daily Mail Rodgers said:
There are areas we are looking to improve on. Hopefully there’s movement, that’s the plan, getting that player in who can help our level and let us develop.
Apart from claims that Bologna striker Sydney van Hooijdonk could be joining Celtic on loan there is hardly any speculation about new signings before the transfer window closes.
? LISTEN: “I felt when I came in the summer that we probably needed four quality players.”
? Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers says the club are working hard to add top level players to their squad. pic.twitter.com/1xwfCY5Zab
— Clyde 1 Superscoreboard (@ClydeSSB) December 1, 2023
Blah blah…waffle waffle…Heard it all before…Our transfer situation is a joke…and I’ve no idea what BR is going on about…Either he’s in charge of this…or he’s not….And if not…He should shut up and let whoever is in charge…explain the latest mess.
Celtic are on the verge of throwing away the title. We could be looking at a summer of discontent and a search for a new manager.
The board, and perhaps the manager, have a lot to answer for. It was blatantly obvious at the end of last season Celtic needed to strengthen the first team squad and at the same time have a clear out! A change of transfer strategy is and was in need of change. What is required is first team ready players not “project players” – penny pinching does not help the cause! Celtic need to act now before it’s too late, I fear it is too late!
I’m going to ask this question as I feel it has to be asked ! Why for the most part can’t Celtic FC not attract decent priced players ,these days ? What is it that happens behind closed doors when any contact is made to any prospect player that gives the average guy cold feet to join the club ? Yes Celtic are notoriously slow when bringing in new players ,but this window is an absolute disgrace ! This can’t be allowed to continue ..can it ? There is way too much at stake here ,including financially and reputation wise .
Contrary to popular belief there is not a queue of “first team ready” players waiting around to come play for Celtic!! Afraid it is England, Spain, Italy etc. is the preference!! Certainly not Scotland!
Mr. McSherry….I totally agree with your comment… and having been saying the same thing for a long time…However…looking at the bigger picture…The whole “transfer ” business is baffling….First up , we are told that mini Lawwell is in charge of signings….Then we’re told…Aw naw he’s no…It’s BR…Then we’re told by BR that 4
” quality ” signings are a priority…Then we are led to believe that Siegrist / Lagerbielke and others are no longer wanted …Then we go and sign another winger !!….What the hell is going on ??
The whole ” transfer ” thing is a shambles…and not for the first time.
Oh and BR would do well to keep his mouth shut regarding criticism of the supporters…And I also wonder if he’ll walk before he’s pushed.
You’ll be fed up being reminded that I gave up my Season Ticket in protest at the way the Board behaved in certain matters…I can confirm it wasn’t easy to do…but it needed done…I wonder if anyone else is considering it ?
IF the title comes down to the last game of the season,
or even down to the last 2 or 3 games of the season…
there could very well be even more penalties for sevco and dubious
VAR decisions favouring sevco – and going against CFC.
Bringing in some quality players in January – as expected –
‘should’ have helped give the team a psychological boost,
and help to avoid a close finish to the title?
Don’t know why BR is staying so calm / quiet…?
Sorry Joe but how much longer are you really going to push this 4 quality summer signing lie for?
Going to disect it for yourself to maybe make life a bit easier for yourself.
Let’s presume Rodgers took over with trying to form a 25man squad, that had enough within it to be able to compete at CL level. A requirement for where our club has to be?
Yet Ange only really depended upon 16 players, had no time for Turnbull and Welsh as players, but we still needed them for the 8 homegrown rule in play, so ran away from that challenge our club faces.
And don’t forget what a mess we looked at the end of last season in the CB positions when CCV and Starfelt weren’t available, only thankful there injury issues didn’t effect us far earlier in the season as fail to see how a historical 8th treble would have been achieved?
So not in as strong of a position with squad depth as we would like, and not helped by signings under Ange that haven’t worked out for ourselves either imo.
But since the arrival of Rodgers, has scales proved to be a worthy replacement for Starfelt, especially when the majority of our support thought he was heading to the sheep?
Plus adding rocki along with Welsh has tidy-up that mess in the CB position imo?
Abada stepping up as the jota replacement isnt a bad call either as certainly the money wasn’t going to be paid out for the replacement, especially when the wage structure was nowhere near in place at the time, yet moves have been made to combat that with key players since?
So is Palma an improvement upon hako, who Rodgers outed quickly enough?
Kuhn should be the backup option for Abada now, and this without yang who I still believe has plenty of potential within him imo?
Has Oreily showed with his improvement that overtook mooy in terms of quality now?
Yet has Paulo showed enough in his first half of the season to say he’s worthy of becoming a permanent signing for ourselves, along with already providing more than what mooy gave us in the 1st half of the season also imo?
And this with Holm showing potential also, yet a reluctance from Rodgers in giving him game time moreso with a preference for Turnbull on more occasions than not presently, which I’m struggling to understand?
So overall by my reckoning Rodgers has had already added 5 in squad depth along with 2 with potential imo?
This without addressing the keeper position which won’t get addressed until the summer as still believe Hart has earnt that respect within the club, even if his time is up now imo?
Yet can’t believe that there still doesn’t seem to be a Scottish keeper in the making to challenge Bain for the no2 role either?
Yet the most baffling remains as to why the LB position remains untouched still?
Can understand keeping Taylor as a 1st choice, but seen nothing within bernie to suggest that he will ever make it as a Celtic player?
Quite an involved position now and even more so with Rodgers imo?
Taylor is never going to be a TAA Liverpool player that is becoming more normal for a full back to help overload the midfield areas, especially if calmac is being man marked, along with helping out in the wider areas and also expected to be able to defend all at the same time within a game?
So believe we need to spend decent money within that area within the team imo.
Taylor is OK imo but the backup options aren’t available within the squad and will take some time to develop such a player, and not convinced that our coaching staff is up to the task of developing such a player from within the club where monty and frame could be those potential prospects for the future?
All for getting in another striker possibly on loan, and make that decision at the end of the season as to whether OH or this potential new striker is worthy of keeping a place in the 25 man squad for next season?
So overall I don’t believe that the quality within the squad is anywhere near as poor as to many are trying to make out either imo?
Certainly already enough within it to secure this title imo.
What is annoying me more than anything currently this season is how Rodgers with his playing style isn’t getting the best out of his players on a consistent basis?
So here’s the real question Joe, who is actually responsible for that?
Certainly not buying into Rodgers hasn’t got the tools to get the job done, because he has imo, and if he doesn’t get the 2 players still required within this window, then that’s upon him, especially when these 2 positions were very evident before this window even opened imo?
Editor: The quality in the squad is very very very thin.
Ange trusted 13 players, they were in the February 2023 LCF- Hart, Johnston, CCV, Starfelt, Taylor, McGregor, Mooy, Hatate, Jota, Kyogo, Maeda. Subs Abada and O’Riley. Ange started from virtually nowt unless you think Shaw and Urhoghide are future stars. His first two windows were exceptional.
From July 2022, after two Ange windows, Lawwell Mini took charge, the down turn in quality is stark since then.
Rodgers wanted to add four to add to the 13, he got none in the summer and lost three. Scales emerged as a replacement for Starfelt to provide 10 capable players, Rodgers wanted to take that number to 17 and hope that Oh, Iwata and one or two others could give him 22 good players that he could rely on.
With Hart and Taylor declining this season, Hatate and Abada missing most of the season Rodgers has been left with about five or six good players and tried to work something out of Palma and the third midfielder. Palma/Holm/Bernardo/Iwata wouldn’t get near a game last season.
We now have over 30 first team wages, 10 could go tomorrow and not be missed and that is 100% down to Mark Lawwell buying half a dozen projects at a time in the hope that after 18 months Southampton will buy one and everyone forgets the rest. Overall it worked for Daddy.
The squad is at chronic levels in terms of quantity and terrifying levels of quality. That’s why McGregor is running around fire fighting, last season he was complimenting Hatate, O’Riley and Mooy.
Rodgers is weak in nodding through the projects identified by Mini but the source of the issues is without doubt the former Information and Content Manager at the City Football Group website.
Touché
It’s getting close to the witching hour in The Transfer Window and still absolutely fcuk all is done !