January Transfer Window Thread

I think the squad has huge holes which is not helping matters in the slightest. The whole system has to be torn up and started afresh! In the last three seasons we have spent £42.8m just on fees, not taking into account wages. Not sure if Transfermarkt factor in signing on fees and agent bonuses too? I completely agree with the Celtic Star article saying we have spent big.

In those three years though, we have recouped £53.6m so we must be doing something well... but that £11m profit was nearly accounted for the year before when we signed Ntcham and a few with next to no income, but then the year before was a £3.7m profit with the sale of VVD. Actually, the majority of our income the last five years is from four players: Dembele(£19.8m), Tierney (£24.3m), VVD (£14m) and Armstrong (£7.1m)! Considering the turnover of players that's horrendous! So many failures I can't possibly count them all.

Let's look at the squad because I'm just so fed up of our recruitment team.

GK: Barkas, Bain, Hazard
Jury still out on Barkas. Bain, I like him but somehow isn't up to the task. Hazard I would like to see given more chances.

CB: Ajer, Julien, Duffy, Bitton, Welsh.
Staggering that these players are looking mediocre in the SPFL. Should be good enough but somehow aren't! Time and opportunities will tell for Welsh but right now screams another Findlay, Fraser, Thompson, O'Connell, McCart... all of which were fairly decent prospects but never really made the breakthrough.

RB: Elhamed, Frimpong, Ralston
Hinkel or Lustig they are not! Interestingly, Hinkel is the Assitant Manager of Spartak Moscow. Can we slide Ajer over and make do for now? I wouldn't be happy. Probably need a new RB (see CS article).

LB: Laxalt, Taylor
Another downsize, really missing Tierney. I think these are a steady two, like the look of Laxalt and Taylor has proved at Killie that he's a good SPFL level player. Laxalt is another reliance on the loan market and a headache for the summer.

CM: Brown, McGregor, Christie, Rogic, Ntcham, Turnbull, Soro, Henderson, Connell?
Nine players!! Stocked full of either underplayed talent or underperforming talent. Needs a brutal recruitment (decruitment?) team to strip it down and decide on a playing style! It's tough because current overplayed players are clouding my judgement but if I go with neutral form and try go by quality then personally I keep Brown, McGregor, Christie, Rogic, Turnbull and Soro with Henderson and Connell snapping at their heels stepping in when current form/ injuries hit. The only player leaving would be Ntcham. Worringly I think this is our best position, excluding current tactics/ form/ fitness of course.

Wings: Ely, Forrest, MJ...... anyone else?????
Compare three players for two roles with the CM... and MJ and Forrest are injured and have been for months yet Harper and Dembele have been nowhere near the squad... that is honking.

Striker: Eddy, Griffiths, Ajeti, Klimala
Bags of talent but underperforming. Eddy is a shadow post Corona, Griffiths I have no idea, Ajeti started well but seems unfit, overweight, slow andvoid of any confidence (same as Eddy and Griff?) then there's Klimala, looked good against Lille that's all I can say. £19m was spent there albeit Eddy is an absolute weapon when on form and fit and working in a shape that fits him.
 
PopeTimothyIII said:
I think the squad has huge holes which is not helping matters in the slightest. The whole system has to be torn up and started afresh! In the last three seasons we have spent £42.8m just on fees, not taking into account wages. Not sure if Transfermarkt factor in signing on fees and agent bonuses too? I completely agree with the Celtic Star article saying we have spent big.

In those three years though, we have recouped £53.6m so we must be doing something well... but that £11m profit was nearly accounted for the year before when we signed Ntcham and a few with next to no income, but then the year before was a £3.7m profit with the sale of VVD. Actually, the majority of our income the last five years is from four players: Dembele(£19.8m), Tierney (£24.3m), VVD (£14m) and Armstrong (£7.1m)! Considering the turnover of players that's horrendous! So many failures I can't possibly count them all.

Let's look at the squad because I'm just so fed up of our recruitment team.

GK: Barkas, Bain, Hazard
Jury still out on Barkas. Bain, I like him but somehow isn't up to the task. Hazard I would like to see given more chances.

CB: Ajer, Julien, Duffy, Bitton, Welsh.
Staggering that these players are looking mediocre in the SPFL. Should be good enough but somehow aren't! Time and opportunities will tell for Welsh but right now screams another Findlay, Fraser, Thompson, O'Connell, McCart... all of which were fairly decent prospects but never really made the breakthrough.

RB: Elhamed, Frimpong, Ralston
Hinkel or Lustig they are not! Interestingly, Hinkel is the Assitant Manager of Spartak Moscow. Can we slide Ajer over and make do for now? I wouldn't be happy. Probably need a new RB (see CS article).

LB: Laxalt, Taylor
Another downsize, really missing Tierney. I think these are a steady two, like the look of Laxalt and Taylor has proved at Killie that he's a good SPFL level player. Laxalt is another reliance on the loan market and a headache for the summer.

CM: Brown, McGregor, Christie, Rogic, Ntcham, Turnbull, Soro, Henderson, Connell?
Nine players!! Stocked full of either underplayed talent or underperforming talent. Needs a brutal recruitment (decruitment?) team to strip it down and decide on a playing style! It's tough because current overplayed players are clouding my judgement but if I go with neutral form and try go by quality then personally I keep Brown, McGregor, Christie, Rogic, Turnbull and Soro with Henderson and Connell snapping at their heels stepping in when current form/ injuries hit. The only player leaving would be Ntcham. Worringly I think this is our best position, excluding current tactics/ form/ fitness of course.

Wings: Ely, Forrest, MJ...... anyone else?????
Compare three players for two roles with the CM... and MJ and Forrest are injured and have been for months yet Harper and Dembele have been nowhere near the squad... that is honking.

Striker: Eddy, Griffiths, Ajeti, Klimala
Bags of talent but underperforming. Eddy is a shadow post Corona, Griffiths I have no idea, Ajeti started well but seems unfit, overweight, slow andvoid of any confidence (same as Eddy and Griff?) then there's Klimala, looked good against Lille that's all I can say. £19m was spent there albeit Eddy is an absolute weapon when on form and fit and working in a shape that fits him.
Click to expand...
An excellent summary. When you lay it out like this it is shocking how many CMs we have and how lacking in other important positions we are.
 
Good to see us linked with a right winger. It's a glaring hole in our squad and good to see the recruitment team aren't completely blinkered! I can't say I know much about Bright Osayi-Samuel, would have to hope that the team have done their due dilgence on him!

Time to get reading!
eflanalysis.com

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thepfsa.co.uk

Exciting Osayi-Samuel making waves in the Championship with QPR

With Queens Park Rangers’ director of football, Les Ferdinand, recently stating the club may be forced to sell some of its prized assets in the summer transfer window to raise funds to help get them back on track financially, the first names that spring to mind are Eberechi Eze and Bright...
thepfsa.co.uk thepfsa.co.uk
 
Here we go with the usual dozens of players supposedly on our radar. I just hope we don't go cheap and hope mode. What we need will depend upon not only gaps in the current squad, but who leaves and needs replaced. I can't see Forster coming but having.said that, I couldn't see him not coming here in the summer, so you never know.

We need a winger no matter what happens with our want away players.. As usual, until they are standing holding up a scarf I won't believe anything.
 
Winning Captains said:
Suppose we really should start a thread for the transfer window. First up is the imminent departure of Elhamed...

Family Matters the reason for Elhamed’s Poor Celtic Form as January Exit beckons...​


thecelticstar.com

Family Matters the reason for Elhamed's Poor Celtic Form as January Exit beckons | The Celtic Star

From The Celtic Star on 4 December, we wrote this, highlighting the off-the field personal issues that were being experienced by Celtic's defender Hatem Elhamed: "Celtic have another signifi
thecelticstar.com thecelticstar.com
Click to expand...
Hopefully it`ll be a new manager strengthening the squad in January, starting with the defence, we need at least 1 right back and a CB, we need 2 wingers 1 on either side, and a couple of hard tackling centre mids, because we`re powder puff at the minute. We really need to unload the unhappy, want away players, bringing in cash to enable us to fund the players we want. It should be a busy month.
 
Tam said:
Hopefully it`ll be a new manager strengthening the squad in January, starting with the defence, we need at least 1 right back and a CB, we need 2 wingers 1 on either side, and a couple of hard tackling centre mids, because we`re powder puff at the minute. We really need to unload the unhappy, want away players, bringing in cash to enable us to fund the players we want. It should be a busy month.
Click to expand...
Welcome Tam. I'd be prepared to be disappointed if you are hoping for 6 new players. I agree with needing some of these new players but I'm not sure we'll be spending huge amounts of cash.
 
Bridie Bhoy said:
Welcome Tam. I'd be prepared to be disappointed if you are hoping for 6 new players. I agree with needing some of these new players but I'm not sure we'll be spending huge amounts of cash.
Click to expand...
Tbh Michael I don`t expect much with this board, probably end up with a couple of projects and a loan or 2, as they chase the O** F*** pot of tarnished gold.
 
Tam said:
Apologies Bridie, got you mixed up there :)
Click to expand...
No worroes Tam. You can always click on the 3 dots and edit your post. I think Lawwell now hopes he is off the hook as we've looked much better since Lennon finally played the younger players the fans have been pleading to see. If we win the cup final and again at the crumbledome then he will be locking the cheque book up again.
 
Bridie Bhoy said:
No worroes Tam. You can always click on the 3 dots and edit your post. I think Lawwell now hopes he is off the hook as we've looked much better since Lennon finally played the younger players the fans have been pleading to see. If we win the cup final and again at the crumbledome then he will be locking the cheque book up again.
Click to expand...
Thanks BB. I wasn't aware that it was possible to edit a post. Living and learning. Much appreciated.👍👍
 
I think it would be waste of time getting anybody in unless Lennon leaves ,I don't think Neil will be here at end off this season so it's no use letting him buy players he wants when there's a big chance he won't be here,if he loses to the huns on the 2cnd January he will be gone I hope the plans for the new manager are already set for this scenario,hopefully Neil will manage to beat the huns and stay till the end off the season but I think it's a bridge to far,so what do we do let him get players in ,then he ends up not here and the new man has more players he may want to offload ,before he gets his own choice players in I honestly think there will be lots off players leave at the end off this season and if we lose the huns game on the 2cnd anybody who is for sale and any teams make A bid will be sold,it's a strange situation this January cos normally you would want 2 or 3 new players in but everything is riding on us winning every league game up to the huns game,then the huns game itself,one thing about January window is I expect more out than in,and that may include a manager which is more likely than not
 
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