SPL Discussion Thread

[JoeSemi]

One of the best games of the year in any league, anywhere. On entertainment value alone it merits all the praise it generates and can only be a great advert for the SPL. As I'm only a recent subscriber to Setanta I've not really seen what Hearts were all about until now and they impressed me no end first half. Young Elliot up front has the makings of a top player and will most likely be snapped up at some stage. Thought Rix was a bit naive leaving him on so long and not shoring things up in midfield or at the back. 3 points thrown away and a harsh lesson learned. Can't see the Jambos recovering that lead, but for the sake of the SPL let's hope so.

[NeilMcD]

Former Republic of Ireland coach Brian Kerr has reassured Celtic that the serious injuries Roy Keane has suffered during his career will not affect the combative style of play the midfielder is renowned for.

The 34-year-old has endured knee and hip injuries as a player - and has only just recovered from breaking a bone in his foot in September.

Kerr was the coach who persuaded Keane to end his two-year exile from international football following the former Manchester United captain's row with ex-Republic boss Mick McCarthy just before the 2002 World Cup.

And Kerr told BBC Sport: "I don't think - either in training or playing - there was any compromise in Roy's style of play.

"He was still as hard-tackling and he was not inhibited mentally."

According to Kerr, since undergoing a hip operation in September 2002, Keane has been careful in the way he recovers and prepares for games and now practises yoga to help that process.

He understands the key to winning matches is in the preparation
Former Republic of Ireland coach Brian Kerr

"I think he has begun to understand his own body in a much better way," said Kerr.

"He has a fantastic reputation for being a hard trainer and driving himself to the limits in training but he has learnt how to balance preparing for and playing in matches and recovering from them.

"He saw doing yoga as crucial to the recovery process and after playing he had particular exercises that were vital to him.



"The day or two after playing a game were definitely more important to him than other players.

"Having had the hip operation I think he has played more games than he thought he would.

"To my knowledge he hasn't put a limit on how many games he can play each season."

Keane, who agreed an 18-month contract with the Scottish Premier League leaders in December, is expected to make his debut against Clyde in the Scottish Cup on Sunday.

And from watching Keane playing for the Republic, Kerr is confident the veteran has plenty to offer Celtic after joining them from Manchester United.

"He still brought a great presence and a great drive to the team," added Kerr.

"You couldn't help but admire his ability to get to the ball and his anticipation in games.

"In training the tempo was better, the passing was quicker and the momentum was better when he was around."

Keane has frequently talked about his desire to go into management when he finally retires as a player and Kerr is convinced the former Nottingham Forest star has all the attributes to make a good manager.

"I could certainly see him as a coach and as a manager - he is very intense about the game and thinks a lot about it," said Kerr.

"He loves the competitive nature of the game and he likes the idea of winning matches.

"He understands the key to winning matches is in the preparation. He has talked about how important it is in the way you prepare for games - that gives him a great start.

"To be a manager you have to give time, energy and dedication to the job.

"He has the strength of personality, communication and intelligence to go into it if he wants to do it."

[OwlsFan]

Kerr says the key to winning games is the preparation!! Then why didn't we win our games and be in Germany since apparently we couldn't have had better preparation.

[eirebhoy]

Birmingham have signed Chris Sutton on a free.

[Junior]

He's been fantastic in his 5 seasons here. Scored some very crucial goals and always gave 110%. I loved his committed attitiude and was absolutely crucial to the MON era.

This season he has been injured alot and not really figured, Strachan is building his own team and perhaps now is the best time fro him to move on. I for one wish him well.

A decent saving to the Celtic wage bill as well. He was reported to be on £25k a week.

[OwlsFan]

Do you think Sutton had to go to make way for Keane's wages ?

[Poor Student]

I don't think Sutton liked Strachan and his training methods. Sutton is a notoriously stroppy moody fellow. Sutton has always had injury problems and it's best Celtic got him off the wage bill. Rather than making way for Keane's wages I think his wages are being made way for new players. Celtic are being heavily linked with Mark Wilson off Dundee United for right back.

[eirebhoy]

Do you think Sutton had to go to make way for Keane's wages ?
Nah, Sutton and Strachan had a bit of a bust up. It seems Sutton felt he should be a first team regular.

[Junior]

Nah, Sutton and Strachan had a bit of a bust up. It seems Sutton felt he should be a first team regular.

I haven't seen any proof of this. Sutton is known to be a bit of a moody character+out of first team = fallout with manager. Im not so sure, he's largely been out of the team because he has been injured. Celtic (and Strachan) said publicly they wanted to keep him. I suppose the fact he has gone for 'free' and not a nominal fee and also by 'mutual consent' does suggest that maybe it was for the good of both parties.

I don't think the wages saving was for Keane, though it would be naive to think that Celtic had not identifed possible players leaving in January that would help fund the deal (this one alone does it, with the remainder of Keanes wages paid by DD). There are a number of other probable/possible leavers including Agathe, Varga, Thompson, Pearson. I suppose the proof will be if we bring anyone in during January.

[eirebhoy]

I haven't seen any proof of this. Sutton is known to be a bit of a moody character+out of first team = fallout with manager. Im not so sure, he's largely been out of the team because he has been injured. Celtic (and Strachan) said publicly they wanted to keep him. I suppose the fact he has gone for 'free' and not a nominal fee and also by 'mutual consent' does suggest that maybe it was for the good of both parties.
Its pretty much definite that they had a bust up, what it was over is speculative. This is a post I made on boards.ie to save me typing it out again: :)

I remember about 2 weeks ago Sutton hadn't trained on the Friday because of a virus but told Strachan he felt fit enough for the bench so Strachan trusted him and stuck him on the bench the following day. Then last week Strachan said on radio that Sutton had "declared himself injured" for the next match, he seemed surprised as he had been great in training all week.

After this I knew Strachan had to say something to Sutton but Sutton would be one of the worst players I can think of to approach over something like this. Looking at these quotes from a few days ago it seems Sutton felt he deserved to be guaranteed a place in the team:

"All I'm saying is that if you look at Chris Sutton's record under me, then any time he is fit, he plays.
"You can't do any more than that. Without playing a reserve game, he will go straight back in [to the side]. The only time he has been subbed was at Inverness, when he had a virus.
"Chris knows exactly what I think of him. If he wants to speak to me and have a private conversation, it is entirely up to him. My actions say that he is a man I would rather have here than not."

[drinkfeckarse]

A bit ****ed off that Pearson looks as if he is on his way out, always rated him and he turned the game on Sunday when he came on.

[Poor Student]

I think Pearson is staying. Strachan does not want to sell him.

[geysir]

I don't think Sutton liked Strachan and his training methods. Sutton is a notoriously stroppy moody fellow. Sutton has always had injury problems and it's best Celtic got him off the wage bill. Rather than making way for Keane's wages I think his wages are being made way for new players. Celtic are being heavily linked with Mark Wilson off Dundee United for right back.
Here is a link to an article from Nov 10, full of Sutton quotes like
"There are only so many ways you can train and there are goalposts at both ends of our training ground. We just go down there and kick the ball about as always."I think you can overstate the effect of change.

http://icscotland.icnetwork.co.uk/spl/celtic/tm_objectid=16354305&method=full&siteid=50141&headline=sutton-gives-chris-of-life-name_page.html
It a pity that Celtic have received no transfer fee. But on a games played ratio I suppose it is a load of their wage bill.

[eirebhoy]

Breaking News on Radio Clyde is that Petrov talks have broken down and he'll leave at the end of his contract. :(

[Poor Student]

Breaking News on Radio Clyde is that Petrov talks have broken down and he'll leave at the end of his contract. :(

A Hugh Keevins exclusive with no sources. I'd be tempted to say it isn't true but it's no secret Celtic are slashing the wages.

[Plastic Paddy]

Celtic got what Celtic deserved from this game - nothing. Second best in all departments. And someone needs to tell Roy Keane that he's not a right winger or a centre forward. Good luck Gordon on that one.

It should have been four-one to Clyde as they were most unlucky to have two goals chalked off for non-offences and Artur Boruc saved a penalty from Stephen O'Donnell (in any case Clyde scored from the resulting corner). I couldn't tell which was the SPL leader and which was the second-tier side for large periods of the match. And this after the Herculean fightback of Celtic last week against Hearts.

Isn't football a funny old game sometimes?

:ball: PP

[jorge]

Well at least your honest.

Not having a pop btw.

[Maz]

Celtic were absolutely awful today. Clyde deserved to win the game and were unlucky not to win it by a larger margin.

[sligoman]

McManus and Du Wei(sp?) were a liability in defence from start to finish for Celtic today. Great performance by Clyde, I hope they go far in the competition now.

[Plastic Paddy]

Well at least your honest.

Not having a pop btw.

I know jorge, thanks for the empathy. :)

I'd expect most, if not all, of the eircom League clubs would have had a result today had they been playing against Celtic which shows just how close these things can be. It was a lesson, that's for sure.

:ball: PP

[Plastic Paddy]

McManus and Du Wei(sp?) were a liability in defence from start to finish for Celtic today. Great performance by Clyde, I hope they go far in the competition now.

Agreed and agreed.

I owe you an apology, by the way, and thought you deserved it in public. You are entitled to your views and I respect your right to them, even if I don't agree with them. I hope you come to moderate them in time, that's all, but that's entirely your prerogative and - unless our paths should ever cross in some strange way in the future - none of my business.

:ball: PP

[sligoman]

Agreed and agreedAt least we finally agree on something:D.


I owe you an apology, by the way, and thought you deserved it in public. You are entitled to your views and I respect your right to them, even if I don't agree with them. I hope you come to moderate them in time, that's all, but that's entirely your prerogative and - unless our paths should ever cross in some strange way in the future - none of my business.Apology accepted and I'm sorry about the way I brought it up in that thread:o.

[Karlos]

Apology accepted and I'm sorry about the way I brought it up in that thread

I knew that foot.ie love potion would work it's magic eventually! ;)

love is in the air! :)

Didn't see the game today. I'm assuming Keane didn't sit in front of the back four judging by some of the comments above. Did he play in a more attack minded midfield position - did Lennon play along side him?

[geysir]

Did he play in a more attack minded midfield position - did Lennon play along side him?
You may be assuming that there was a method to Celtic's performance.
Roy was neither attack minded nor defence minded, very neutral, no real impact, outplayed by the Clyde midfield. Roy is no Petrov replacement.
Lennon was hanging around in front of the back 4 and did ok.
There were so many missing links all around in the team it did not matter who Roy passed to, Telfer, Nakamura etc. were just not connected to the next passage of play. Clyde were dominating every area.
Roy had a few rants at a hapless Du Wei, he should really have grabbed him by the throat. I wondered if Rafael Schidt could have been so bad. Even a Schidt would have outshined Du Wei :)
Strachan could and maybe should have made his 3 subs. after 15 minutes for Du Wei, Wallace and Hartson.

[Junior]

Awful performance from Celtic & A great one from Clyde 2-1 going on 6-1.

Boruc - Pen Save.
Keane - Usual tidy play - nothing to write home about.
Maloney - Kept trying.
Virgo - did ok at at the back when he came on.
Zurawski - well taken goal.

They are the only 'slim picking' positives I can take from that game. Well done to Clyde, fully deserved.

A couple of tasty draws in the next round

Huns v Hibs
Hearts v Aberdeen

and Clyde have a much tougher obstacle to overcome at home to Gretna.

[Hibs4Ever]

Tough one for Hibs alright, but we've nothing to be afraid of. Already done the double over Rangers this season (including 3-0 at Ibrox) Will most likely be televised on Sky Sports too

[Junior]

The draw has been quite good to the lower league teams. At the quarter final stages (i.e after the next round). The maximum number of SPL teams in there can be 4 and could be as low as 2 (depending on how a few replays go in the next 10 days).

A good money spinner for these clubs if they can get as far as the SF's.......

[Poor Student]

Sounded diabolical on the radio. I think Strachan made a mistake playing Keane and Lennon together. Du Wei sounded awful. Fair play to Clyde though, they took it to Celtic and kept going despite two disallowed goals and a missed penalty. I do enjoy a good cup upset and as painful as it was this is what makes football great. Still, questions must be asked about why this happened. I wish non-league Spartans the best of luck. They got a tough fourth round draw against 1st Division table toppers St. Mirren. At least it's at home for them.

[eirebhoy]

I think a lot of the players were nervous playing with Roy Keane. :) Maloney is not a player that really suffers from confidence and he was the best player on the pitch. Nakamura made more misplaced passes in that match than he did in all the previous matches put together. Lennon finds it hard to act as leader when Keane is beside him. Pearson was anonymous for most of the game. The defence was its usual crap self.

[geysir]

Maloney has a lot of confidence, I thought in that game he too often tried too hard to do it all by himself, he could be forgiven though.
Pearson did better when moved to LB.
Wallace looks a lot better at LM but very very shaky at LB. I guess he is just filling in.

[Junior]

I think a lot of the players were nervous playing with Roy Keane. :) Maloney is not a player that really suffers from confidence and he was the best player on the pitch. Nakamura made more misplaced passes in that match than he did in all the previous matches put together. Lennon finds it hard to act as leader when Keane is beside him. Pearson was anonymous for most of the game. The defence was its usual crap self.

Possibly - no excuse though.

Not sure about your comment regarding Lennon and Keane - that was their first match together? Lennon is not a very vocal captain full stop.

[geysir]

It was the big 64k$ Q, can Keane play in the same team as Lennon?

[Hibs4Ever]

Hibs away to Rangers in the cup is live on Sky Sports on Sat. Feb. 4th at 12.15


Got my flight last night for 47 euro GOD BLESS RYANAIR:D

[Hibs4Ever]

Hearts owner Vladimir Romanov has called for the New Year's Day game against Celtic at Tynecastle to be replayed after defender Takis Fyssas had the red card he received in that match rescinded.

And the Lithuanian businessman is also looking for his side's Bank of Scotland Premier League matches against Hibernian and Rangers to be staged again after claiming his team were "beaten up" during the games, both of which ended in defeat.

An angry Romanov told the Daily Record: "If we're after a fair game in Scotland I insist on a replay of the match against Celtic."

He added: "But it is not the only game that should be replayed again.

"The authorities should look at two others where I believe my team has not been treated fairly. My players have been beaten up.

"I didn't expect this kind of thing in Scotland. I have been through it in Lithuania but in Scotland you expect fair and proper football. Instead things are even more primitive in Scotland."




This muppet is priceless, you could'nt make it up. He's demanding the 3 games they lost this season be replayed :D :D

[Plastic Paddy]

An angry Romanov told the Daily Record: "My players have been beaten up.

"I didn't expect this kind of thing in Scotland. I have been through it in Lithuania but in Scotland you expect fair and proper football. Instead things are even more primitive in Scotland."

This from the man whose team have Andy Webster and Steven "Elvis" "Braveheart" Pressley at the centre of their defence. Knobsack.

:ball: PP

[Poor Student]

Romanov put some bizarre message in the programme for the Celtic game around New Year's saying the journalists were walking with the devil on the road to hell. Total fruitcake.

[Aberdonian Stu]

It was strange to see a very un Mark O'Neill-Cummins like remark complimenting Romanov (or more precisely the Lithuanians who bought Hearts is how he put it) on what he has done with the club in his EL focus on Aertel. He was comparing the work they've done to the impact foreign investment could have in the EL. I normally have a lot of time for his column but this was a bit of a surprise.

[OwlsFan]

Celtic legend Billy McNeill has launched a
scathing critique of the team's performance
in Sunday's Scottish Cup defeat at the hands
of minnows Clyde with Roy Keane failing to
escape the tongue-lashing from the former
Bhoys captain and manager.

McNeill was suitably unimpressed by the
display, labelling it a "circus act" and
insisting the majority of the players,
including Keane, should be ashamed of
themselves.

He told the Scottish Sun: "It should have
been a carnival for the Celtic supporters.
But it was like watching a circus act.
Embarrassing, unacceptable, shameful,
pathetic. Just a few choice words that sum up
Celtic's Scottish Cup exit.

"Roy Keane? Roy Who more like. The Irishman
was given a sensational build-up and a
sensational welcome from the fans.

"But, once the game started, you never heard
from him. Apart from one pinpoint second-half
pass, I never noticed him. So he doesn't get
pass marks in my book.

"In fact, the only two who do are Artur Boruc
and Shaun Maloney. The rest, including Keane,
should be ashamed of themselves."

[Junior]

McNeill openely criticised the signing of Roy, before he played a game. He hasn't said anything there that almost all who saw the game would agree with.

[OwlsFan]

Don't see why he would criticise the signing. Why would any team not want Keane and I mean that. I am not a fan of his as a person but as a player, there are few to compare.

[Junior]

Don't see why he would criticise the signing. Why would any team not want Keane and I mean that. I am not a fan of his as a person but as a player, there are few to compare.

It was just for similar reasons that a significant number of Celtic fans were also anti-keane. "Why now", "Couldn't the money be spent on securing Petrov", "Will it disrupt the dressing room", "is he past his best" etc.....

All valid arguments - but not mine.

[Junior]

looks like Caldwell will be heading to Celtic from Hibs.

[eirebhoy]

looks like Caldwell will be heading to Celtic from Hibs.
The Mark Wilson rumour is even stronger.

[Hibs4Ever]

looks like Caldwell will be heading to Celtic from Hibs.


Thank God. The sooner the better. He's been the cause of our defensive problems.

[drinkfeckarse]

Thank God. The sooner the better. He's been the cause of our defensive problems.

I agree that he's woefull but I seem to remember you implying the opposite not so long ago....

[geysir]

I remember him hoping that Celtic would sign Caldwell some time ago.
I find my own opinions on some Celtic players fluctuate from muck to gold.

[Hibs4Ever]

I agree that he's woefull but I seem to remember you implying the opposite not so long ago....


Please show me where I said this??? and I will gladly stand corrected

[Hibs4Ever]

I remember him hoping that Celtic would sign Caldwell some time ago. I find my own opinions on some Celtic players fluctuate from muck to gold.



Correct

[drinkfeckarse]

Please show me where I said this??? and I will gladly stand corrected


Quote:
Originally Posted by drinkfeckarse
No I've seen worse to be fair, Gary Caldwell for one.......


Yeah right
__________________

3 big grin smilies before the "yeah right". That was your reply to my post in a thread where you said Balde was the worst defender you've seen...

That is obviously implying that you think Caldwell is a good player.

[Stevo Da Gull]

Hibs 1-2 Aberdeen today. WTF is happening to Hibs, barring last weeks cup game things have been really patchy lately.Aberdeen picking up after a dodgy spell themselves.

Hopefully Hibs can stun Rangers in the Cup though, twould be brill to have the old-firm out of the cup before the latter stages IMO, especially when you consider that, barring a big slip, the title will be staying in Glasgow.... And I aint talkin about Partick Thistle folks