Andreas' off-season

[Talkaldinho]

The big man has returned to Cyprus and Greece to procure some new football conspiracies to share with us. And then he's off to Moscow to procure some whores of dubious repute. (And, no, I'm not making this up.) He'll be back in a month. In the meantime, I suggest we find some non-Barcelona summer transfer goodness to discuss.

[Talkaldinho]

My favourite transfer thus far is Kenny Miller. That in itself says much for Celtic's own lack of transfer activity of any real quality.

[GrantG ()]

An absolute nonsensical piece of business that by Rangers, and one which will pull the rug right out from under the Smith/McCoist regime should the title not be delivered 12 months hence.

TBH our business this summer has been uninspiring to say the least. On the bright side it's looks like we'll hold onto our 2 most valuable assets (MacGregor and Cuellar), but some of the names linked with moves in just dont inspire.

I dont really see where Smith is going with the Miller, Lafferty, Velicka triumverate, though the latter 2 show some promise. As i said on another thread he appears to be building a stock of non-scoring forwards and we still have not one creative midfield player in the squad.

Very worrying that he may look to offload Boyd, who he obviously just doesn't fancy given his reluctance to use him last term. Boyd may be a lazy player but he is the most gifted natural goalscorer we've had since a certain Mr McCoist and he is sold at our peril. The problem is Boyd presents Smith with a dilemma. Smith has shown in his last 3 jobs he is a naturally cautious manager who relies on physical strength as his primary tactic. For various reasons at Everton, Scotland and now in his second spell at Rangers he's ended up deploying a 4-5-1 formation that relies on a muscular defence and a sole forward who runs about a lot. At the same time everyone knows that Kris Boyd, when played with a partner up front, is worth 30 goals a season. If Smith is to use Boyd he needs to bin his preferred tactical model.

Also worrying that he apparently chose to turn down a £1.5m offer from Stoke for Lee McCulloch who is total baggage at Rangers - but who perversely enough Smith seems to rate?!?

As things currently stand im glad i wont be seeing much football next season, as it doesn't bode well for the Queen's 11.

[Talkaldinho]

Well, Celtic aren't much more inspired, my friend:

Celtic target summer signings
Lawwell confirms club are keen to strengthen

Celtic chief executive Peter Lawwell insists the club are working hard to bring in more new players this summer.

Gordon Strachan has funds at his disposal to strengthen his squad as the Parkhead outfit chase a fourth successive Scottish Premier League crown.

Strachan has been working as a pundit at Euro 2008, giving him the opportunity to cast his eye over the best players on the continent.

But Derry City midfielder Pat McCourt is the only new arrival to date, although Lawwell insists more are in the pipeline.

Working hard

He told the club's official website: "I can assure Celtic supporters that we are working hard once again to strengthen the squad for the coming season.

"Clearly, we have a squad of high-quality, talented players at the club and we were delighted that this team worked so hard to lift the club's third championship in a row.

"However, it is always important to look to the future and therefore we will be doing all we can to support Gordon in his plans and try to ensure that we maintain our position at the top of Scottish football.

"Celtic supporters can rest assured that the Celtic board, as it has done in recent seasons, will continue to support the manager as we try to retain our championship and once again aim to make an impact in the Champions League."

Celtic have been linked with several players and Lawwell said the club were working hard behind the scenes to secure their targets.

Real targets

He added: "We have only made two bids for players, one of which was accepted for Patrick McCourt.

"Any other claims that we have made bids for other players are nonsense.

"Clearly, we do have our own real targets and we are working to secure these."

[Talkaldinho]

Translation: We'll make one or two mediocre signings in an attempt to placate the punters for the new season.

Two I've read about recently: Roma full-back Vitorino Gabriel Antunes and Hamburg full-back Thimothee Atouba, formerly of Spurs.

And Nakamura and Samaras might be offski ...

[GrantG ()]

I would happily welcome the Yahoos signing Atouba as he is even worse at HSV than he was at Spurs - and he was worse than a man short at Spurs.

And Pat McCourt looks like he needs a good bath.

Apart from that i dont think ive been less enthused about an approaching season in my 30 years of follow-following. The club's attempts to convince the assembled masses of the value of Kenny Miller reek of desperation, none moreso than McCoist's laughable nonsense in yesterdays rags claiming Miller to be a better Scotland forward than Boyd or McFadden by virtue of the fact he runs about a lot more.  I wonder how Super would've reacted to any attempt in the early 90s to claim Kevin Gallagher was a better Scotland forward than either him or MoJo for the same reason?? I can guess.

And as for the contract extensions to Weir and Dailly?? I really do despair. With each passing week at the moment Smith is reminding me exactly why i didn't want him back at Ibrox in the first place.

The current executive regime at Rangers is a boil that's been in need of lancing for some years. The lack of any vision within the club coupled with the unprecedented hostility towards the club from the Scottish footballing fraternity as a whole makes it difficult to keep fighting the good fight.

[Talkaldinho]

Advocaat advocates Miller move shocker!

http://www.skysports.com/story/0,19528,11787_3790008,00.html

Even so, it's better than the dreck and dross we've signed -- and have yet to sign!

[Talkaldinho]

By the way, I rate McFadden more highly than Boyd ... and quite liked Gallagher. But I'd never have rated Gallagher more highly than McCoist or Mo -- even to wind you up!

Looks like Dundee United for the league this year!

[GrantG ()]

McFadden is a better player than Boyd no doubt, but McFadden's problem is his club game is too hot and cold. Hence the fact Everton decided £6m was too good to refuse for a player who had spent most of his career at Goodison as a substitute. That said i thought he was a good signing for Birmingham, and he almost managed to achieve the impossible and keep them up. Certainly in the games i saw he and Zarate were the only players Eck had there who looked like they could do something in what was a dreadful squad.

Boyd's game is all about sticking the ball in the net from 6 yards out or less, he's not a goal maker which frustrates a lot of people and is the primary reason Smith doesn't fancy him. I'd like to see Boyd/Velicka, Boyd/Cousin or Boyd/Naismith up front for Rangers next season, though the Miller signing and the rhetoric that's attempting to justify it leads me to believe it's going to be Miller up front on his own with another forward out wide - and i'd stake my mortgage on that being someone played out of position. Smith will use Boyd as a sub coming off the bench in the final 10 minutes - and Boyd will still end the season with more goals than Miller. That's if he hangs around of course.

Perhaps most perturbing is the worrying drift of the Smith/McCoist pairing towards what i would term McLeishism. It would appear every player is now defined in terms of his worth as a super/smashing/great bloke, as if said qualities entitle one to run out in the red,white and blue irrespective of one's playing abilities. And being a super/smashing/great bloke seemingly justifies persisting with numpties played out of position way after said super/smashing/great bloke has established his dumpling credentials to all and sundry. Like i say, one of Eck McLeish's worst and most irritating traits.

I dont care if Kirk Broadfoot is great on a night out down the town, he is worse than baggage as a right-back for Rangers, which is a funny old thing with him being a centre half and all - and a mediocre Dundee Hibernian level centre-half at that.

As for Dundee Hibernian - relegation is too good for that lot.

[GrantG]

McCoist/Johnston was the best striking partnership Scotland has had in my lifetime, and id hazard one of the best Scotland has ever had. The other forwards floating around the scene at the time weren't fit to lace the boots of either, Alan Macinally springing immediately to mind.

The decision to break that partnership up for Scotland in Italia 90 ranks as one of the biggest examples of managerial ineptitude i've ever seen, and sums up in a oner why that cretin Andy Roxburgh should never have been anywhere near the national job, just as his equally incapable successor Craig Brown shouldn't have been.

[dave lamport]

well i for one think that motherwell have a shout this year. they seem capable of beating the big two, and it would be great to see a different team win the title for once. when was the last time a non-OF team won the SPL?? i'm thinking it must be 15-20 years ago.

[GrantG ()]

It was Alex Ferguson's Aberdeen side in the 84/85 season - one of the biggest collections of footballing scum ever assembled. A proper crew of cheats, thugs and hatchet men.

Hearts were 10 minutes away from winning it in 1986 before fckuing it up royally (and hilariously).

As for Motherwell - they have about as much chance of being SPL champions as Inter Milan do. Motherwell are like Dundee Hibernian. I would liken them both to small chiuhaha dogs who think they can fight above their weight, are capable of being an irritation but, if you are of a mind to, you can drop kick them into the middle of next year. Small beer.

Motherwell's strong first 11 can do some damage. That's the one they fielded against Rangers in the final month of the season. Not the reserve 11 made up of under 19s they fielded against Celtic 3 weeks previous.

Did you know Motherwell manager and ex-Celt Mark Mcghee is a good pal of Gordon Strachan's? As well as being former teammates they also lived together for a while (all purely platonic im sure).

[Talkaldinho]

Hey now! Motherwell did beat us 1-0 in March, I think. (It was that match, in fact, that made me think it just wasn't our season.) They redeemed themselves against TFOD, mind, so all is forgiven. I've always had a lot of time for 'Well. In fact, it was a Celtic-Motherwell match that was my very first match at Parkhead. (1-1, with Lambert scoring a header for the away side.) That said, a dour 0-0 performance I had the great misfortune to watch in the Sheep's pen was one of the worst matches I've seen this side of an England international. It's good to see someone giving the Old Firm a go, though, so good on them!

[Talkaldinho]

You should tell Dave about the great Hearts collapse of 1986, Grant. I'm not sure that Big John's ever gotten over it, you know.

[Talkaldinho]

Was 84-85 the season that Durrant got hurt, by the way?

[GrantG]

No Durrant got injured in 1988 at a time when he was easily the best young midfielder in the UK.

As for the Hearts collapse of season 1985/1986, it unfolded thus:

Hearts had been the team of the season, topping the table throughout and reaching the Scottish Cup Final whilst notching up a 31 match unbeaten run.

The final round of matches saw Hearts away to Dundee and their only challengers - Integrity FC - entertaining St Mirren at home. A 7 goal turnaround was needed for Hearts to lose the title.

Celtic were drubbing St Mirren 5-0 but Hearts were holding Dundee 0-0 with 10 minutes to go. All was good in the Hearts world. Then Dundee hit 2 in the final 7 minutes (both from Albert Kidd) and quicker than you could say "thats a bit dodgy" the title was heading to the urban wasteland of Glasgow's East End.

A week later they blew the Scottish Cup Final by losing 3-0 to Aberdeen.

A shocker of a season for yer average Hearts fan.

That summer Souness arrived at Rangers and the sleeping giant was awoken from 'the dark years'.

[dave lamport]

now that's a bummer. talk about blowing it.