Celtic FC 2012/13 Season Thread

Well, no idea where we are at right now regarding the mess that is the SPL but thought we may as well start a thread for the new season.

No season ticket for me this year. It's getting harder and harder to get back up the road for matches.

Transfers we can deal with as and when they are confirmed (such as Ki to QPR) but I thought I'd start with our forthcoming friendly fixtures -

15th July - Stuttgart Kickers (A)
17th July - Vfr Aalen (A)
21st July - Ajax (A)
24th July - Norwich City (H)
27th July - Internazionale (H)
11th August - Real Madrid (A, Philidelphia)

That's a pretty decent pre-season line-up.

And of course we find out on Friday 20th July who our CL qualifying opponents will be.

 

Stuttgart Kickers 1

Celtic 0

Still looking for our first pre-season victory. Nice to see Kayal back in action again in the hoops. Not sure I can say the same about Darryl Murphy.

Line-up:

Zaluska

Toshney (McGeough 64)
Rogne
Mulgrew (K.Wilson 46)
Blackman (Kayal 46)

McCourt (Watt 71)
Brown
F.Twardzik
Commons (Ibrahim 76)

Hooper (Forrest 46)
Murphy

​

(Kayal 46); McCourt (Watt 71); Brown, F. Twardzik; Commons (Ibrahim 76); Hooper (Forrest 46), Murphy​

Subs not used: Forster​

 

Vfr Allen 1
(Hubner 4)

Celtic 2
(Hooper 64)
(Stokes 77)



Line-Up:

Forster

Lustig (McGeough 62)
K.Wilson
Wanyama (McCourt 63)
Mulgrew

Forrest
Ledley
Kayal (Brown 46)
Commons (Bangura 65)

Stokes
Hooper (Murphy 73)

 

In other news the whole Wanyama moving to the Premiership still seems to be rumbling on.

I would be in no rush to sell him ordinarily but, with the forthcoming financial climate in Scotland looking as bleak as it can be short term it makes sense to cash in, especially if a Premiership club are going to offer big cash (£4-5mill+).

Wanyama is young, versatile and obviously talented. But he still has a lot of developing to do. He does get caught out of position at times when playing CB. He still has a tendency to wander when he is playing as a DM which removes the shield from our back 4.

If we sell Wanyama and Ki (QPR likely destination) for a combined total of £10mill+ then it would give Neil Lennon plenty of room to maneuver in the transfer market, so long as the deals could be concluded fairly quickly.

A new CB would be high on the list and an AM with the ability to open up defences from a central position would also be of benefit.

The midfield would be losing 2 players but with Kayal returning from injury we still have him, Scott Brown and Joe Ledley for the central area. Forrest, Commons, McCourt and potentially Samaras would cover most of the wide duties but an attacking playmaker would add an extra element to the side.

Centre of defense we have Mulgrew, Rogne and Wilson. But I would still prefer a new CB with a decent turn of pace.

 

The socks on the home kit look awful. I hate black football socks.

 

It will give us a small idea of how we may shape up in Europe this season. It's fair to say we performed reasonably well in a tough Europa league group last season (Atletico Madrid, Udinese, Rennes) and took it down to the last game before losing out on qualification.

There is a suspicion that this current side is a better footballing team than the side Gordon Strachan led through the group stages of the Champions League on 2 occasions.

Neil has to climb the first hard hurdle of actually qualifying for the group stages but maybe more people would start to give a little bit more respect to just how well GS did for us during his time as manager of Celtic FC by realising what a terrific achievement it was to make it to the knockout stages not once, but twice, with the players he had at his disposal.

 

You never know, you might finish in the top 8 this season (with a bit of luck obviously)...

 

It's an interesting comparison.

GS - Goalkeeper - Artur Boruc
NL - Goalkeeper - Fraser Forster

Ok. Gordon wins this one hands down. Forster has, and is, improving but he's nowhere near the level Boruc was at, when he was at his best for the club.


GS - Left Back - Lee Naylor
NL - Left Back - Emilio Izzaguire

This one goes to Neil. Lee had a good first season but in subsequent years could never get anywhere near that level again which made it look more and more like a one-off. Now Izzi has only had 1, albeit exceptional season as well due to injury, but he did show flashes again last season suggesting that he will be more than a 1 season wonder. He's certainly far more comfortable on the ball than Lee was/is.


GS - Right Back - Andreas Hinkel
NL - Right Back - Adam Matthews

Personally I think Matthews has the potential to be better than Hinkel but I always liked Hinkel. He was another of those players who left seemingly under appreciated by the support, to an extent. Hinkel had an excellent cross on him and an excellent engine and was an intelligent footballer and good on the ball. Matthews has the same sort of engine. Is decent enough in possession as well but not as good at delivering the ball into the box at this minute in time.


GS - Centre Backs - Gary Caldwell/Stephen McManus
NL - Centre Backs - Charlie Mulgrew/Thomas Rogne

Big Mick and Caldenbauer were an excellent combo. Mick was the muscle and Gary was the brains. Didn't always quite work out that way but they were fun to watch! Neither Mulgrew or Rogne have the same kind of appetite for a tackle as Mick did but the both of them combined are probably more comfortable with the ball at their feet but not as effective as a CB pairing.


GS - Wide Mids - Shunsuke Nakamura/Aiden McGeady
NL - Wide Mids - James Forrest/Paddy McCourt/Kris Commons

Naka wins, hands down. Aiden was great, in flashes. But suffered from consistency issues. I reckon I'd have James Forrest before Aiden if given the choice now. He's more direct and consistently more dangerous to the opposition. But overall GS's twin wide players were better and more effective.


GS - Central Mids - Paul Hartley/Barry Robson/Scott Brown
NL - Central Mids - Scott Brown/Beram Kayal/Joe Ledley

No problem with the amount of dig in GS's central area but I feel Neil's three offer the same level of commitment but can also control the game more effectively when in possession of the football.


GS - Forwards - Scott McDonald/Jan Venegoor of Hesselink
NL - Forwards - Gary Hooper/Anthony Stokes

Both managers front two formed a healthy bond, even though Skippy was never quite forgiven by some sections of the support for his last day heroics with Motherwell previously before joining Celtic. Personally I prefer the tandem of Stokes and Hooper over the other two. They're definitely better footballers than the other two and link better with the ball on the deck.

Looking above I'd say Gordon's team is still better but Neil's team could play the better football of the two. But Neil's team may look different before the season starts.

I haven't included Ki or Wanyama as they may (potentially) be on their way. And if that happens the money recouped would need to be used on a good CB, an attacking AM (no.10) and maybe a different wide option, if the cash would stretch that far.

 

Celtic defeated by Ajax in Amsterdam

So the headline went in the clubs website. Hadn't seen the game nor the result so I wasn't expecting the following scoreline as I scrolled down the page.

Ajax 4-0 Celtic

Defeated? Yes. But probably better described as hammered, thrashed or for a dose of Scottish(ness) ... pumped.

I watched the highlights and it was 4-0 going on 7 or 8.

Not a lot you could do about the first goal, apart from maybe close the player down a little quicker, as it was one heck of a strike that sailed into the top corner from about 25-30yds out.

The second goal was sloppy defensively and the third was transported straight out of Rogne's nightmares and straight into the Amsterdam Arena. And the 4th was a stonewall pen after a blatant handball from Mulgrew on the line which earned him an instant dismissal.

So it's still clearly evident we need a top quality CB and very quickly. I would also suggest Johann Mjallby is not the coach that will make this defensive unit any stronger.

NL has come out and said he takes the responsibilty for this defeat as he tried using 3 at the back and we were 3-0 down before he changed it around but that can't gloss over the fact that we need a strong CB with leadership skills.

The SPL is as good as over before a ball is kicked so the need to progress and remain active in European football is greater this year and defensively, this team looks like it will need a miracle to keep the net from bulging too much.

But with the SPL already in the bag and the current financial climate in meltdown will Peter Lawwell allow NL the money he needs to sign the players required...?

Time will tell, but in the meantime lets look on the bright side. At least it was only a friendly...

 

Another friendly - another defeat - with no goals scored.

Looks like we'll have a good season ahead.

Celtic 0

Norwich 1
(Holt 89)

 

Latest friendly -

Celtic 1
(Commons 41)

Internazionale 1
(Palacio 88)

By all accounts we seem to have performed a little better today, which is heartening for the UEFA champions league qualifier this week. Although losing both Commons and Stokes to injury today is far from ideal. Both have suffered ankle twists with Commons causing most concern.

Scott Brown was rested today as was James Forrest after taking a knock in training.

Friendlies out the window this week as the real stuff starts. And I'll be cruising the med on Tuesday for 17 days so I'm not sure if I'll be able to see either leg.