The History Bhoys - From the Lisbon Lions to ____?

[mjaferrie]

Welcome to my take on the British & Irish Steel Challenge!  I'm not going to strictly follow all of the rules but I've added a couple of my own that I'll adhere to throughout the save.  This started out as a Lisbon Lions save, where I was attempting to pursue the success of the 1966-67 Celtic side that won the domestic quadruple and the European Cup.  My rules were:
a) I could only use players from the Youth System, or;
b) I could sign players, if they are 21 years of age or under, and only if they were born within 30 miles of Celtic Park.

So, in the spirit of where this journey all began - I'm going to continue with these philosophies.  I will attempt to win all competitions in Scotland, England, Ireland, Northern Ireland and Wales using only youth team players, or players born within 30 miles of the stadium.  I will also attempt to win as many of these trophies as possible by taking over teams with a bit of history in European competition - Linfield/Glenavon in the Quarter Finals in Europe; Shamrock Rovers going so close against Bayern Munich; Cwmbran Town, the first Welsh team to compete in European competition for some examples - or teams who competed in European competition in 1966-67 (Waterford, Liverpool, Celtic, Linfield, Drumcondra, Dunfermline, Burnley, Kilmarnock, Leeds, West Brom, Dundee United, Shamrock Rovers, Swansea, Glentoran, Everton, Rangers).  

Disclaimer: As this save started life as an attempt to replicate the success of Scottish clubs from 1966-67, I'm using a custom 1966-67 league set-up which you can read more about HERE (I'm using the 1st version).  It means I'm missing Leagues 1, 2, and the Challenge Cup, but in their place I have 6 regional cups to compete for which will require me to take over a minimum of 5 Scottish teams (Alloa compete in EoS and Stirlingshire).

So, what am I trying to win?

England

Leagues
English Premier League; Sky Bet Championship; League 1; League 2; Vanarama National League; National League North; National League South
Cups
English FA Cup; EFL Cup; Checkatrade Trophy; Community Shield; FA Trophy

Scotland

Leagues
Scottish Division One; Scottish Division Two
Cups
Scottish Cup; League Cup; Aberdeenshire, Ayrshire, Forfarshire, Glasgow and Stirlingshire Cups; East of Scotland Shield

Ireland

Leagues
Irish Premier Division; First Division
Cups
Irish Senior Challenge Cup; League Cup; Munster Senior Cup; Leinster Senior Cup; President's Cup

Northern Ireland

Leagues
Danske Bank Premiership; NIFL Championship; NIFL Premier Intermediate League
Cups
Northern Irish Cup; League Cup; County Antrim Shield; Steel & Sons Cup; Intermediate Cup; Mid Ulster Cup

Wales

Leagues
Dafabet Welsh Premier League
Cups
JD Welsh Cup; Nathaniel MG Cup

Bonus

Club
Champions League; Europa League; Club World Championship; European Super Cup
Country
World Cup; European Championship; European International League; Confederations Cup

Part One
If You Know the History - A Lisbon Lions Save

'We did it by playing football; pure, beautiful, inventive football.' - Jock Stein

In 1966-67, Celtic defied the odds by beating Inter Milan 2-1 in the European Cup final in Lisbon, completing a quintuple of trophies for the season, and ensured legend status for the 'Lisbon Lions' among the Celtic faithful.  The team scored a world record 196 goals along the way, with the European Cup winning team all being born within 10 miles of Glasgow (with the exception of Bobby Lennox, born 30 miles away) - the first British, and indeed Northern European, team to win the coveted trophy.  In the 7th minute of the match, my dad's dentist Jim Craig brought down Cappellini in the box, and Mazzola converted the resulting penalty to open the scoring for the Italian giants.  For the rest of the match Inter parked the bus, forcing the Celtic 'keeper Ronnie Simpson to make only 2 saves, and winning only 2 corners.  Celtic's attacking display was a beautiful contrast, and in the 63rd minute Craig made amends by setting up Tommy Gemmell for the equaliser.  With 7 minutes remaining, Bobby Murdoch's shot was deflected by Stevie Chalmers into the net and Celtic took the lead.  Back in Glasgow my great-grandfather, watching the game at my grandparents' house with the whole close on the only television in the street, jumped out of his seat and smashed his cup of tea against the ceiling!  The tea stain stayed there for 30 odd years before my grandmother finally convinced my grandpa to paint over that bit of family history!



In this save I'm going to attempt to replicate a bit of the same success, using youth products from Celtic's Academy.  In line with the squad of 1966-67, I will allow myself to sign U21 players born within 30 miles of Celtic Park only.


 

[mjaferrie]

Leagues Loaded

I feel like this is a bit excessive, and there isn't a great deal of reasoning behind it, so I might cut a few out later on.
Edit: Germany's gone and the full set-ups in England, Ireland Wales and N.Ireland added.  Here we go!

The Manager

[mjaferrie]

Assessing The Club and First Team Squad



I come into a club with a fantastic history, but more importantly with great resources and facilities to work with.  As this is a youth save I'll be looking to increase our levels in junior coaching, youth recruitment and our youth facilities, but this is a great place to start!

The squad, however, is a bit of a different story.  It's big, it's bloated, and there isn't a great deal of strength in its depth.  I have 29 players in the first team squad and 30 in the U20s, and that doesn't include players out on loan!

Goalkeepers

Craig Gordon SCO (aged 33) - Our undoubted first choice 'keeper with 3.5 stars CA and PA.
Dorus de Vries NED (35) - 3 stars CA/PA.  The new Bhoy at Celtic Park, a decent back up but not likely to get much gametime.  A bit of an unnecessary signing in my view, especially at his age.
Logan Bailly BEL (30) -  2 stars CA/PA - our last resort. 
Leo Fasan ITA (22) - 2 stars CA, 2.5 PA.
Colin McCabe IRE (19) - 1 star CA, 2 PA.  On loan at Stenhousemuir.
The verdict:  Apart from Fasan, this is an ageing department with very little quality.  Gordon is probably serviceable for a couple of seasons, but I seriously doubt the other 4 have a future here.

Right Back

Mikael Lustig SWE (29) - 3.5 CA and PA, a solid first choice albeit a bit injury prone.
Cristian Gamboa CRC (26) - 2.5 CA+PA, another Rodgers signing at Celtic Park.  Decent back up, lightning fast and a bit more attack minded than Lustig.
The verdict: Lustig definitely has a couple of seasons in him but given his susceptibility to injuries and his decent value (£2.1m) if I can get a replacement in I'd be tempted to sell.

Left Back

Kieran Tierney SCO (18) - One of Scottish football's bright young hopes for the future and a fan favourite.  3 stars CA, 5 PA.  He's going to be difficult to keep ahold of, but if I can he's a definite first choice and one for the future. 
Emilio Izaguirre HON (30) - 2.5 CA/PA.  Not much more than a back up option these days.
The verdict: This is a difficult area.  Izzy has only a year left on his contract, so I'm tempted to cash in but losing Tierney would leave me with no options in this position.  The sensible option may be to get Izzy tied to a new deal despite his lack of quality.

Centre Back

Kolo Toure CIV (35) - 3.5 CA/PA, a quality first choice but at his age, not for long.
Erik Sviatchenko DEN (24) - 3 CA, 3.5 PA a good first choice with room to develop.
Efe Ambrose NGA (27) - 2 CA/PA.  Whilst entertaining, the error prone Nigerian won't be around for long.  4 for concentration and 3 for decisions... can't have that anywhere near CB!
Jozo Simunovic CRO (22) - 2.5 CA, 3.5 PA. A definite 3rd choice after Kolo and Erik with room for improvement!
Dedryck Boyata BEL (25) - 2.5 CA/PA.  Same situation as Efe.
Fiacre Kelleher IRE (20) - 1 star CA, 2.5 PA, on loan at Peterhead.  Contract expiring at the end of the season and barring a mental injury crisis, I won't be renewing.
Eoghan O'Connell IRE (20) - 2.5 CA, 4 PA.  A bit of a forgotten man at Parkhead, but he's an excellent back up option.
The verdict:  Efe and Boyata are going to be sent packing, but injuries to Simunovic and Sviatchenko mean we'd be a bit thin in this area, with only Kolo and Eoghan available for selection.  Might be an area to think about. 

Right Midfielders/Wingers

James Forrest SCO (24) - 3 CA/PA, likely rotation option with Roberts, but highly injury prone and inconsistent.
Saidy Janko SUI (20) - 2.5 CA, 3.5 PA.  A good back up option, frustratingly on loan at Barnsley until the end of the season.
Patrick Roberts ENG (19) - 3 CA, 5PA.  Quality option on loan from Manchester City.
Paul McMullan SCO (20) - 1.5 CA, 3 PA, on loan at Dunfermline.  If he fulfils his potential he could be a good backup option.
Verdict:  With Roberts leaving at the end of the season and Forrest/Janko only having backup quality this is an area we need to strengthen, but can wait until January / next summer.

Left Midfielders/Wingers

Scott Sinclair ENG (27) - 3.5 CA/PA, a quality first choice.
Gary Mackay-Steven SCO (25) 2.5 CA/PA, good back up, but injured for 3 months.
Michael Duffy NIR (21) - On loan at Dundee, not likely to have a future here.
Aidan Nesbitt SCO (19) - On loan at Morton, not likely to have a future here.
Verdict:  With Mackay-Steven out injured, we're going to have to rely on Commons and Christie to deputise here as both can fill in on the left.

Defensive and Central Midfield

Joe Thomson SCO (19) - On loan at Dumbarton.  3.5 PA so could be one for the future.
Scott Brown SCO (30) - Captain Fantastic, his determination (19), work rate (20), bravery (18), teamwork (17) and stamina (18) are incredible.  Not going to be around for much longer though.
Nir Bitton ISR (24) - 3CA, 4 PA.  Along with Broony, probably our first choice in the centre of the park.
Kristofer Ajer NOR (18) - One for the future, but like Tierney probably going to be difficult to keep ahold of.  Fantastic prospect with 4.5 PA.
Scott Allan SCO (24) - On loan at Rotherham and unlikely to have a future.
Callum McGregor SCO (22) - Quality back up in the centre of the park with room to develop (3.5 PA)
Jamie Lindsay SCO (21) - On loan at Morton and unlikely to have a future here.
Luke Donnelly SCO (20) - On loan at Alloa and unlikely to have a future here.
Verdict:  Bloated, and doesn't really give me space to bring young players through.  The guys out on loan are likely to move on at the end of the season with contracts ending.

Attacking Midfielders

Kris Commons SCO (32) - Ageing and only 2.5 CA/PA.  Only likely to be a last resort option in midfield or up front.
Tom Rogic AUS (23) - 3.5 CA, 4 PA, a quality first choice.
Stuart Armstrong SCO (24) - 2.5 CA, 3 PA.  Not really reflective of his importance to the squad IRL this season, only likely to play 2nd fiddle here.
Ryan Christie SCO (21) - Quality option for the future with 4 PA.  Need to give him cup games in order to develop.
Verdict:  This is probably our strongest area in terms of strength in depth.  No need to invest here soon.

Strikers

Nadir Ciftci TUR (24) - 3 PA, but I only play with 1 striker so will be allowed to move on and give space to young players.
Leigh Griffiths SCO (25) - Quality rotation option with Moussa.  3.5 CA/PA.
Moussa Dembélé FRA (19) - 4 CA, 5 PA.  Best player at the club, stolen for £500k from Fulham in the summer and now quoted at anywhere between £20-40m depending on who you ask.  We're unlikely to get anywhere near that for him in game due to the settings regarding Scottish football, but I can't see us managing more than 2 years out of him.
Verdict:  No need to improve, Ciftci can move on.

Overall squad verdict
We have some quality players at the club, and I'm confident of replicating the real life achievement of qualifying for the Champions League group stage.  Centre back is probably the weakest area of the squad and will need some reinforcements, and players moving on.  Left back and Left midfield is also a concern, with a lack of depth and uncertainty regarding player futures.

[mjaferrie]

Best Youth Prospects

The Youth Squad is seriously saturated and I'm going to cull a lot of deadwood here, so I won't go into too much detail, but rather I will give some screenshots of the most exciting prospects - we certainly have some talent here!


Church eases fears about our lack of depth at LB.


Ciftci Out, AitchisIn. Terrible, sorry about that.


More of a reason not to strengthen in this area, quality rotation option.


Lots of clubs after him on loan, he'll be staying put and getting cup games to develop.


A relief to have a good option at CB, but I think we still need strengthening.


Another great option for the future, especially with Lustig nearing his 30s.

 

[mjaferrie]

Tactics

As in real life, I'm looking for overlapping on the wings, a high press and fluid football.  I've gone with this as our main tactic.  It gives us a bit of room to manoeuvre in terms of tweaking things according to the opposition and isn't too complicated.



For the games when teams are defending in numbers and are hard to break down, I'm going to try and draw them out a bit and crowd the midfield with this tactic I've used extensively in Scottish saves:



And for those games when you just want some entertainment, a 5-4 victory say, against lower league opposition, this is my kamikaze tactic:



Training

With a focus on attacking football in the tactical training side of things, I tend to focus on our defensive positioning and set pieces in the match preparation side of things with high intensity fitness training during off season and average tactical training during the season.

[mjaferrie]

2016-17 Summer Transfer Window

So on to transfers!  As I mentioned, I will be limiting myself to signing only players aged 21 and under, born within a 30 mile radius of Celtic Park.  First up, are the departures:

OUT
Nadir Ciftci - £800k to Maccabi Tel-Aviv
Dedryck Boyata - £650k to Bursaspor
Efe Ambrose - £450k to Bursaspor
Emilio Izaguirre - £250k to SC Heerenveen
Logan Bailly - £160k to Roda JC
Connor McManus, Mark Hill, Ewan Henderson, Robbie Deas, Wallace Duffy, Aidan McAdams, Sam Wardrop, Brandon Payne, Daniel Higgins, Conor Hazard, Theo Archibald, Kristi Marku, Ross McLaughlin - Released

Total Income: £2.3m

IN
John McGinn (21, born in Glasgow) - £1m from Hibernian (loaned back for rest of season)
Jai Quitongo (18, born in Wishaw) - £350k from Morton
Greg Taylor (18, born in Greenock) - £1.3m from Kilmarnock (loaned back for rest of season)
Stephen Easton (17, newgen, born in Stenhousemuir) - £40k from Stenhousemuir
Adam Frizzell (18, born in Irvine) - £1m from Kilmarnock (loaned back for rest of season)

Total Spend: £3.7m

Really happy with these signings.  Unfortunately I didn't pick up a CB but Greg Taylor will give us cover at LB from next season and has the potential to be retrained at CB.

Loans Out
John McGinn - loaned back to Hibs
Ross Doohan - Ayr United
Lewis Bell - Clyde
Broque Watson - Airdrie
Aidan McIlduff - Airdrie
Jai Quitongo - St. Johnstone
Greg Taylor - loaned back to Kilmarnock
Josh Kerr - East Stirlingshire
Michael Johnston - Stenhousemuir
Adam Frizell - loaned back to Kilmarnock
Shaun Bowers - Forfar
Calvin Miller - Queen of the South

STAFF INs / OUTs

OUT
Chris McCart - HOYD, free transfer

IN
Derek Langley - HOYD, free transfer
Bobby Dickson - Scout, from Queen's Park
Ian Campbell - Scout, from Falkirk
Mick Halsall - Scout, from Notts County
Vic Bettinelli - Goalkeeping Coach, from Fulham
Steven Laing - Scout, from Falkirk
Dave Carolan - Sports Scientist, from Birmingham
Carsten Rump - U20s AssMan, from Bielefeld
Gavin Crowe - Sports Scientist, from Cheltenham
Ben Clarkson - Physio, from Southend
Jeff Clarke - Physio, from Dundee Utd

Some Scottish scouts and a few required staff.  Only big call here was to axe Chris McCart, which was a bit unnecessary really as he's also a great HOYD.  I just preferred Langley's stats and personality.  I'm still on the lookout for a couple of coaches and data analysts.

[mjaferrie]

Pre Season Friendlies, Champions League Qualifiers and League Cup Group Stage

Pre Season for Celtic is always about playing some good quality sides for a fitness test, alongside some glamour ties in the International Champions Cup for instance.  Unfortunately results weren't quite as glamorous, with 5-1 and 6-1 hammerings from Arsenal and Atletico Madrid respectively.  Still, 3 wins, 3 draws and 4 losses isn't too bad for a time of year when we're really just looking to get match fitness in time for the Champions League Qualifiers. 



Our first competitive game of the season was the Champions League Qualifying Round 2, and we were drawn against Danske Bank Premiership side Crusaders.  We had just sold Emilio Izaguirre when I was greeted with the message that Kieran Tierney would be out with strained knee ligaments for 6-8 weeks (Classic FM...  ), so I went with our 2nd tactic of choice and was rewarded with a 5-0 victory.  2 goals from Moussa Dembélé and 1 apiece from Callum McGregor, Tom Rogic and Ryan Christie was surely enough to see us through to the next round.  I went into the next game reasonably confident of progress, and started young players Leo Fasan (GK), Eoghan O'Connell, Jamie McCart, Tony Ralston (CB), Kristofer Ajer (DM, Liam Henderson, Ryan Christie (CM), Patrick Roberts (RM), Daniel Church (LM), Regan Hendry (AMC) and Jack Aitchison (ST).  Despite our squad having an average age of 18.8, we still managed a 3-1 victory away from home against the Belfast side.

The 3rd round draw saw us come up against Montenegrin side FK Mladnost Podgorica.  Goals from Patrick Roberts, Nir Bitton and Tom Rogic gave us a 3-0 victory at home, before a 2-1 loss away (in our first game of the season with a back 4) put us through 4-2 on aggregate and set up a tricky tie against Bulgarian side Ludogorets.  For the 3rd round in a row, we were drawn at home in the 1st leg.  A Dembélé brace, and goals from Roberts and Mikael Lustig gave us a 4-2 win, with the away goals giving us an interesting prospect for the 2nd leg.  How many times in recent years have Celtic capitulated at the final hurdle against teams they should really be able to dispatch with ease?!  At half time, a Dembéle strike had been cancelled out by Marcelinho, before Svetoslav Dyakov put the Bulgarians in front.  The tie sat at 5-4 on aggregate, with 45 minutes still to play.  In the 48th minute, Scott Sinclair coolly slotted away a penalty and the tie looked put to bed at 6-4, before 54th and 70th minute goals from Kiril Matanski and Wanderson levelled the tie.  A goalless extra time was followed by penalties.  Sinclair SCORES!  Ludogorets MISS! Dembélé SCORES, they score.  Bitton SCORES... they score. McGregor SCORES!  It's almost all over!  If Ludogorets don't put it in the back of the net, Celtic are through to the Group Stage for the first time in 3 years... But that man Dyakov smashes it right down the middle and it's all down to the 19 year old man on loan from Manchester City... Patrick Roberts steps up.... AND PUTS CELTIC INTO THE CHAMPIONS LEAGUE!  5-4 on penalties!



The rest of our competitive action in August was taken up with the League Cup, where we were drawn in Group 8 against Ayr United, Albion Rovers and Brechin City.  A fairly comfortable draw, with the only hiccough coming against Albion Rovers, where an inexperienced backline of Fasan (GK), Ralston (RB), O'Connell, McCart (CB) and Church (LB) shipped 3 goals.



Season Expectations
Well, £10m+ for qualifying to the group stage, plus any payments for results and the excellent gate receipts mean I am able to upgrade our Youth and Training Facilities at first time of asking.


I have already managed to give a significant amount of game time to the young prospects already at the club, through the Champions League qualifiers and the League Cup group stage where they performed very well.  But now the real slog starts with the League season starting and European Football a must for next year.  With the 2 points for a win awarded in this league edit, and Hibernian and Dundee United back at the top table, the Scottish First Division is far more competitive with everyone able to take points from the rest.  I can see game time for the youth prospects being cut back, and probably kept to just cup football, but hopefully a run in the league will give me the opportunity to give some more game time to players.  At Celtic, expectations are high, and it wouldn't be too much to suggest that we are expected to win the League, both Domestic cups and the Glasgow Cup.  Failure to win the cups probably won't cost me my job, given our success so far in Europe, but conceding the League as well would definitely be a step too far - winning the league is an absolute must.  Craig Gordon and Scott Brown join the injury list, but fortunately we have cover in their positions and the initial injury crisis at the beginning of the season is definitely over (touch wood...) so we should have plenty strength in depth for our title challenge.

[mjaferrie]

Glasgow Cup Round Up

On the 26th October 2016, Glasgow rivals Celtic and Rangers meet in the Glasgow Cup final at Hampden Park.  The tie is a fired up affair, finishing 2-2 after a last gasp equaliser from Moussa Dembélé.  In extra time, Scott Brown is sent off, but that isn't enough to stop Dembélé grabbing his hat trick in a thrilling finalé!  Celtic claim the first silverware of the season!

[mjaferrie]

Scottish League Cup Round Up

After a clean sweep of victories in the Group Stage, we were drawn with Kilmarnock in the Quarter Final, who fell to a 5-0 aggregate victory.



In the semi final, we were drawn against rivals Rangers, in the first Old Firm game of the season.  Goals from Christie and Bitton see us progress to the final against Hamilton, at a sold out Hampden Park.  The Accies can't get ahold of the ball for the entire game, and succumb to a 5-0 defeat thanks to a Scott Sinclair hat trick and Dembélé brace.  We have won the League Cup without conceding a single goal in the knockout stages!

[mjaferrie]

Champions League Round Up

After scraping through to the Group Stage by the skin of our teeth thanks to a Patrick Roberts winner in a penalty shootout, we were rewarded with a difficult draw against Juventus, Shakhtar Donetsk, and Porto.  We kicked off the group stage with a bore draw at home to Porto before a 1-0 loss away meant we headed into the double header against Juventus with only 1 point on the board.  A brace from Moussa Dembélé was the highlight of one of the most memorable nights at Parkhead, as we overcame the Italian giants 4-2. 



A 3-0 loss in the reverse fixture, followed by a 2-1 away loss to Porto brought us back down to earth though, and going into the last game against Shakhtar the table looked like this:



Shakhtar had beaten us 1-0 at Lviv Arena, which meant we needed a better result than a 1-0 win to go through.  In the East End of Glasgow it took just 1 minute for our notorious Frenchman to level the scores.  In the 69th minute, Leigh Griffiths, on for Dembélé, put us in the driving seat!  We had a game on our hands!



We held on to an important victory, and the final table looks like this:



So ends our Champions League exploits for this season, with a total of 6 wins, 1 draw and 5 losses.



European football isn't over yet though!  We've been drawn against PSV in the Europa League.

[Taggz88]

I'm enjoying this lad, good luck against PSV. After taking 4 of Juve it's looking good for the bhoys 

[mjaferrie]

7 hours ago, Taggz88 said:

I'm enjoying this lad, good luck against PSV. After taking 4 of Juve it's looking good for the bhoys 

Over two legs I could edge it, just survived the January window unscathed so it's not too big an ask!  Update coming soon...

[mjaferrie]

Mid Season Report and January Transfer Window

So we're halfway through the first year here at Celtic Park and by a mile the surprise of the season so far is that Neil Lennon's Hibernian are unbeaten after 18 games, with 16 wins including a 2-0 victory over us at Celtic Park, a 3-0 hammering of Rangers at Ibrox, and a 2-0 victory over Aberdeen at Pittodrie and 2 draws against Dundee and Partick Thistle.  We currently sit in 2nd place, with the loss against Hibs and draws against St. Johnstone, Partick Thistle and Aberdeen leaving us 5 points off the pace with a game in hand. 



Our best performer so far this season has been Scott Sinclair, with 16 goals and 13 assists from the left wing and a rating of 7.64.  Moussa Dembélé is not far behind, with his 32 goals! at the halfway point giving him a 7.56 rating.  So far, we've scored 109 goals in all competitions and we're well on our way to breaking the Lisbon Lions 196 record from 1966-67.  

January Transfer Window

We got through the January Window without losing any of our key players, apart from Kolo Touré in a £500k move to OM.  He had made 22(1) appearances in all competitions before moving on, and at 35 years old I felt the game time would be better value for the much younger Jozo Simunovic, Eoghan O'Connell or Jamie McCart (alongside Erik Sviatchenko).  He was also earning £25,000 a week, so we've got a chunk off our wage budget as well.

All January Ins / Outs are as follows:

IN
None

OUT
Kolo Touré - £500k to OM

Loans Out
Regan Hendry - Partick Thistle
Tony Ralston - St. Mirren
Stephen Welsh - Stirling
P.J. Crossan - Airdrie
Stephen Easton - St. Mirren
Gary Mackay-Steven - Blackburn
Calvin Miller - Falkirk

Some game time for young players who had a run in the team at the beginning of the season and have since fallen down the pecking order.  GMS' move is due to almost zero game time so far this season, probably with a view to sell in the summer.

While we may have survived the window without any major departures, it was not for wont of trying by very big clubs in Europe.  We had to fend off multi-million bids for several of our players, including:

£5.25m for Kristofer Ajer from Real Madrid
£3.3m for Mikael Lustig from Fiorentina
£5.75m for Erik Sviatchenko from Roma
£2.3m for Jozo Simunovic from Udinese
£4.9m for Ryan Christie from Swansea
£4m for Nir Bitton from Real Sociedad

By far though, the biggest bids were for our two brightest prospects - Moussa Dembélé and Kieran Tierney - and resulted in the first time I've ever seen this during a Celtic save:





Fortunately I was able to convince the board not to sell, and we go into February intact.  Several of these bids were of an acceptable nature, especially for ageing players such as Mikael Lustig, but I felt that if we can keep our best players going into the Europa League Knockout Rounds, I might get better offers in the summer and be better placed to replace them.

[mjaferrie]

Youth Intake Day!

We've finally arrived in March, which brings us the first youth intake of this save.



Not too much to write home about with this intake, a couple of Northern Irish lads from the affiliate clubs but overall pretty poor personalities and not a lot of potential.  Jon McNeil being the obvious exception, good personality and plenty of room to develop!

[mjaferrie]

Europa League Knockout Stage Review

A tricky tie against PSV Eindhoven was made all the easier when braces from Ryan Christie and Scott Sinclair, plus a goal from Moussa Dembélé, gave us a 5-2 home victory against the Dutch side.  2 away goals was a concern heading into the return leg, but goals from Leigh Griffiths and Scott Sinclair gave us a 2-1 victory and a 7-3 aggregate win in the First Knockout Round.



In the 2nd Knockout Round, we are rewarded with an arguably more far more difficult task in A. Bilbao, who had eliminated Sparta Prague 4-0 on aggregate in the previous round.



Within 33 minutes in the First Leg, we were 2-0 down and looking to be set for an exit from the competition.  A goal just before half time from Ryan Christie brought us back into the tie.  At half time I told the bhoys I wasn't happy with what I was seeing, and for the best part of the 2nd half I was rewarded with a positive attacking display, but to no reward.  In the 73rd minute, against the run of play, Markel Susaeta rose to meet a brilliant cross and made it 3-1 for Bilbao, but it took less than 30 seconds for Ryan Christie to put another goal in the back of the net and bring us back to 3-2.  At the final whistle, we had our first knockout stage defeat, but the tie was far from over!

Back at Parkhead, I went with an attack minded lineup.  Pure and simple, we needed to score goals.  In the 18th minute Ryan Christie scored his 3rd goal of the tie to bring us level and going through on aggregate, but just 3 minutes later Bilbao had equalised through Mikel Rico.  It took until the 66th minute before Scott Sinclair would put us ahead again, with Tom Rogic sealing a 3-1 victory in the dying stages.  We're through to the Quarter Final!





Well... it was fun while it lasted.  And then it was so not fun.  It was brutal.  Arsenal's £36.5m signing Saido Berahino put 5 goals past us over the two legs on the way to a 7-1 aggregate victory for the Gunners - a 4-0 defeat at the Emirates Stadium partly due to having to field 16 year old Daniel Church in place of the injured Kieran Tierney at LB.  





Our European adventure is over for this year, but there is plenty more domestic football to play including a tantalising Semi-Final tie against the still unbeaten Hibernian in the Scottish Cup...

[mjaferrie]

Scottish Cup Review

3-0 victories over Hamilton and Partick Thistle in the 1st and 2nd round respectively set up a Quarter Final tie against Kilmarnock, who we eliminated 2-0.  Goals from Mikael Lustig, Stuart Armstrong, Callum McGregor (2), Moussa Dembélé, Patrick Roberts (2), and Leigh Griffiths had us on the way to Hampden Park and a draw against Hibernian in the Semi Final.



We were now at the end of March and Hibs were still unbeaten and top of the league (their only defeats all season a 2-0 against Slavia Prague in the Europa League qualifiers, a 6-0 aggregate defeat against Rangers in the League Cup Qtr Final, and a 1-0 defeat to Hearts in the East of Scotland Shield Semi Final).  It's some achievement for the Edinburgh men, as in real life they play in the second tier.  We had some work to do to overturn them in the league, and the Semi Final tie was a daunting prospect.  A 0-0 draw, and our first clean sheet against the Hibees this season, in the tie saw it taken to a replay one week later.  A Patrick Roberts strike was cancelled out a minute later by Josh Harrop.  A second Roberts strike cancelled out 3 minutes later, this time by Brian Graham, and we were into the last 30 minutes of the match.  It was time to throw caution to the wind and up the ante, but into the last 5 minutes it started looking like the tie was heading for extra time.  With 4 minutes remaining Patrick Roberts completed his hat trick!  We had our first win against Hibs for the season and we were into the final against Dundee Utd, fresh from a comfortable 2-0 victory over Falkirk.  



At the end of April we made the short journey to Hampden again for the Final, and it was certainly a case of blink and you'll miss it stuff.  Within 38 minutes, Patrick Roberts had completed another hat trick, broken up with an Ashley Fletcher goal for the Arabs, and we went into the break 3-1 to the good.  4 minutes into the second half, our French hitman Dembélé had our 4th goal and the party had already started.  A second goal for Fletcher wasn't enough to dampen the party atmosphere and we claimed our 3rd trophy of the season with a comfortable 4-2 win.

[mjaferrie]

Scottish Division One!

And just like that, it's all over.  Did we retain the League title or have the Edinburgh upstarts claimed it in an unbelievable season?!

Well, on the 22nd of April, Derek McInnes' Aberdeen team came south to Edinburgh to play the Hibees, and became the only team to win against the Edinburgh club all season.  We managed to nick in ahead of them, and with only 3 games left to play we were 1 point ahead.  On the 6th of May, Hibernian responded with clear intent in a 3-0 victory over Airdrie, and moved back to the top of the table.  The next day, we travelled across the city to Ibrox to play Old Firm rivals Rangers in a must win game.  2 Dembélé goals gave us the 2 points and we were back on top.  On the 13th, Hibernian travelled to Ayr and claimed another 3-0 victory, climbing above us in the table.  Again it was shortlived as Dembélé gave us a 1-0 win at Pittodrie on the 14th and it had all come down to the last day of the season... Celtic top the table with 58 points from 33 games, followed by Hibs on 57.  Our far superior goal difference though of 62 to their 46 meant that a draw in our last game against St. Mirren would surely be enough to claim the title...  Meanwhile Hibernian play Dundee at home.

14th minute...
JASON CUMMINGS SCORES FOR HIBERNIAN! We're level on points...
14th minute...
MOUSSA DEMBÉLÉ SCORES FOR CELTIC! We're back at the top!
67th minute...
JAMES FORREST FOR CELTIC! It's 2-0 at Paradise, the League is surely ours!
73rd minute...
DYLAN MCGEOUCH MAKES IT TWO FOR HIBS!  It's not over yet!
74th minute...
OH YES IT IS!  FORREST with his 2nd makes it 3-0 for Celtic!
83rd minute...
BOTTI BIABI gets one back for St. Mirren, it's 3-1 here in Glasgow!

7 minutes remaining... It's still 2-0 in Edinburgh.  As things stand, Celtic will be crowned champions...

84th minute...
IT'S ALL OVER!  JAMES FORREST COMPLETES HIS HAT TRICK!!!  GLASGOW CELTIC, CHAMPIONS!

[mjaferrie]

Season Review!

It was an incredible finalé to the season as former Celtic midfielder and manager Neil Lennon's Hibernian team defied all the odds to take the League to the last game of the season, smashing their preseason expectations of a 5th placed finish.  It was elation for Queen of the South and Morton who clinched promotion from the second tier, while Clyde and Stirling face the drop.



Our top goalscorer for the season is no surprise - with Moussa Dembélé scoring 53 goals in all competitions and equalling Jimmy McGrory's record from the 1928-29 season.  It was no surprise that he won the League Golden Boot, along with the Scottish Players' Young Player of the Year award.  Meanwhile, the Players' Player of the Year and Football Writers' Player of Year was awarded to Scott Sinclair, who contributed 21 goals and 24 assists in all competitions.  The League Goal of the Season was awarded to Tom Rogic and Celtic's Goal of the Season was awarded to Stuart Armstrong.



End of Season Departures

Players
All Youth Intake players from this season apart from YP1a, 1b and 1c have been released.  Their PA had all reduced to 1 star and they just don't have a future here - the game time is better served for the other three.
Patrick Roberts completes his loan spell and returns to Manchester City after a fantastic spell at Celtic Park, scoring 19 goals and creating 11 more with an average rating of 7.32.  We would be able to extend his loan, but my rules of only signing players born within 30 miles of Glasgow makes him ineligible.
Michael Johnston, Colin McCabe, Fiacre Kelleher, Paul McMullan, Luke Donnelly, Jamie Lindsay and Aidan McIlduff come to the end of their contracts and move on for free.
Dorus de Vries retires.

Staff
Tommy McIntyre - U20 Manager
Colin Meldrum - U20 Goalkeeping Coach
Chris Davies - Assistant Manager
Tim Williamson - Head Physio
Simply not of the required quality.

Young Players of the Season (Players 21 and under at the beginning of the season)
Moussa Dembélé - Age 20, Appearances: 51(6); Goals: 53; Assists: 13; Av. Rating: 7.53
Jamie McCart - Age 19, Appearances: 13(13); Goals: 1; Assists: 2; Av. Rating: 7.41
Kieran Tierney - Age 19, Appearances: 36(9); Goals: 0; Assists: 11; Av. Rating: 7.38
Patrick Roberts (Not contracted to Celtic)
Ryan Christie - Age 22, Appearances: 42(16); Goals: 14; Assists: 19; Av. Rating: 7.25
Eoghan O'Connell - Age 21, Appearances: 18(12); Goals: 0; Assists: 1; Av. Rating: 7.22

Notable Mentions
Kristofer Ajer
Liam Henderson
Daniel Church
Regan Hendry
Jack Aitchison

[mjaferrie]

Preseason, League Cup Groups and Champions League Qualifiers

We had an 'easier' path to the Group Stage this year - drawn against Northern Irish opposition again in the 2nd Qualifying Round in the form of Cliftonville, who we eliminated an unbelievable 18-0 on aggregate.  5 goals from Callum McGregor, 3 from Scott Sinclair, 2 from Kieran Tierney, and 1 each from Moussa Dembélé and Tom Rogic giving us a 12-0 away win in Belfast, before a return leg 6-0 featuring a 23 year old as the oldest player in our starting line up.  In the 3rd Qualifying Round we were drawn against Panathinaikos, a trickier tie but goals from Adam Frizzell, Stephen Easton, Moussa Dembélé and Scott Sinclair gave us a 4-1 aggregate win and a Playoff tie against FC København.  A 2-0 win at Celtic Park thanks to goals from Dembélé and Griffiths gave us a cushion heading into the away leg in Copenhagen, where a Dembéle brace and Scott Sinclair goal gave us a 3-1 lead before losing two late goals.  The game finished 3-3 and we are through to the Group Stage 5-3 on aggregate!




Qualification is met with a bittersweet feeling at the Group Stage draw, where we are a 3rd seeded team this year.  The 1st seed in our group is Atletico Madrid, followed by Manchester United 2nd and Dinamo 4th.  If we can secure solid results against Dinamo we can hopefully nick a 3rd place finish again.

In the League Cup we have another clean sweep in the Group Stage, with wins home and away against Kilmarnock, Stenhousemuir and Alloa.  We've been drawn against Hearts in the Quarter Final.



So onto an assessment of the squad heading into the new season, starting with Transfers In and Out:

IN
Keith Miller (16), born in Falkirk - £450k from Falkirk
Scott Smith (17), born in Glasgow - Free from Queen's Park
Jim Bannigan (16), born in Shotts - £40k from Airdrie

Total Spend: £490k

OUT
Cristian Gamboa - £3.2m to Wolves

Total Income: £3.2m

With Saidy Janko returning from his loan spell at Barnsley, and the arrival of Keith Miller from Falkirk, we can afford to sell Gamboa in the DR position.  Mikael Lustig is still our first choice, and the other two will get some cup games and hopefully some league game time as well in order to develop.

Staff Ins
Dirk Kunert - AssMan, from Hamburg II
Luke Anthony - Head Physio, free
Joe McBride - U20s Manager, from Hibernian
Gianni Vio - Coach, free
Paul McGuinness - Coach, free 
Christian Wiesner - U20s Coach, from Urberach

Loans Out
Josh Kerr - Clyde
P.J. Crossan - Dunfermline
Tony Ralston - Dundee
Calvin Miller - St. Johnstone
Lewis Bell - Kilmarnock
Broque Watson - Queen of the South
Stephen Welsh - Airdrie
Gary Mackay-Steven - MK Dons
Scott Allan - St. Johnstone
Scott Smith - Ayr
Shaun Bowers - Morton

FIRST TEAM SQUAD

 

Goalkeepers

Craig Gordon SCO (aged 34) - Still our first choice with 3 stars CA and PA.  On the decline and ageing however, and needs replaced.
Leo Fasan ITA (23) - No change from last season.  Had a handful of games, but isn't an adequate replacement for Gordon.
The verdict:  I've tried to sign a newgen from Rangers who refused for obvious reasons, and Robbie McCrorie doesn't match the 30 mile criteria, so I have to hope for a decent newgen in the intake.

Right Back

Mikael Lustig SWE (30) - 3.5 CA and PA, a solid first choice albeit a bit injury prone.
Saidy Janko ITA (former Swiss) (21) - 2 CA, 3PA, Decent back up, like Gamboa in that he's also lightning fast and a bit more attack minded than Lustig.
The verdict: Lustig still has a couple more years, I can see Janko taking his starting place in the coming years with Keith Miller fighting for the spot as well.

Left Back

Kieran Tierney SCO (19) - The determined fan favourite is still our first choice, now with 4 stars CA and 5 PA.  An £11.75m bid wasn't enough for me to part with our talisman on the left hand side, and he's definitely one for the future if he'll stick around.
Greg Taylor (19) - 2 CA, 4.5 PA.  Good back up on the left, but subject to several bids over the summer window.  Might not be here for long.
The verdict:  Much more relaxed about this area than last season, with Church and McNeil YP1a able to provide quality back up.

Centre Back

Erik Sviatchenko DEN (25) - 3 CA/PA, our first choice stopper.
Jozo Simunovic CRO (23) - 2.5 CA, 3 PA, improved a lot since last season but I'm a bit concerned with the decline in PA.
Eoghan O'Connell IRE (22) - 2.5 CA, 3 PA, same craic as big Jozo.
Jamie McCart SCO (20) - 2.5 CA, 3.5 PA, the ambitious teenager from last season broke into the starting 11 and played 22 games last year, I'm expecting big things from him this season.
The verdict:  Happy with the strength in depth in this area.

Right Midfielders/Wingers

James Forrest SCO (26) - 3 CA/PA, highly injury prone and inconsistent, I have more trust in Quitongo so Forrest is our backup.
Jai Quitongo SCO (19) - 2.5 CA, 5 PA.  The young signing from Morton had an excellent season on loan at St. Johnstone and has come on leaps and bounds, and has now been capped at senior level.
Adam Frizzell SCO (19) - 2 CA, 4 PA, backup option but likely to overtake Forrest in the pecking order.
Verdict:  Quitongo and Frizzell have provided us with good options following the departure of Patrick Roberts.

Left Midfielders/Wingers

Scott Sinclair ENG (28) - 3.5 CA/PA, had a formidable season for us last year picking up all the Player of the Year awards.  First choice.
Michael Duffy NIR (23) - Backup following a successful loan spell at Dundee.
Aidan Nesbitt SCO (20) - Unhappy at the club after a summer loan move away didn't come up.  Likely to move on in January.
Verdict:  As with last season I can count on Commons and Christie to deputise here, so no worries.

Defensive and Central Midfield

Scott Brown SCO (32) - On the decline, but is still our reliable captain.  Likely to be edged out of the team in the coming seasons.
Nir Bitton ISR (25) - 3 CA/PA.  Hasn't improved much over the last year and might be one to move on.
Kristofer Ajer NOR (19) - Fantastic prospect now at 3 CA and 4 PA, subject to multi million bids and won't be here for long.
Callum McGregor SCO (24) - Mr Unpredictable.  Doesn't turn up one day, scores 5 in a Champions League qualifier the next.  At 3 CA and PA, he's a good back up option able to play at AMC and on the wings.  
Josh McGinn SCO (22) - Almost won the league with Hibs, now the determined young midfielder is aiming to do just that here.
Liam Henderson SCO (21) - 3 CA and 4 PA, young Henderson is a quality option. 
Verdict:  After a bit of a cull here, I'm much happier with the quality available.

Attacking Midfielders

Kris Commons SCO (34) - Ageing, with 2 CA/PA.  Last resort backup.
Tom Rogic AUS (24) - 3.5 CA, 4 PA, room to develop but has fallen behind Christie in the pecking order.
Stuart Armstrong SCO (25) - 2.5 CA, 2.5 PA.  Backup to Rogic and Christie who can is also effective in CM.
Ryan Christie SCO (22) - After an incredible first season, he now has 4 CA/PA.  First choice.
Verdict:  No change from last season - this is our strongest area in terms of strength in depth.  No need to invest here soon.

Strikers

Leigh Griffiths SCO (27) - Quality rotation option with Moussa.  3.5 CA/PA.
Moussa Dembélé FRA (21) - 4 CA, 5 PA.  Best player at the club, with 53 goals last season.  Subject to a £17m bid in the summer, was U21 European Championship Player of the Season and has just been capped at senior level.
Verdict:  Quality area of the team, with Commons and Quitongo able backup and Aitchison and Easton waiting in the U20s.

[Bedese]

Really good first season. Bloody hell Hibs! I suppose that's what happens when you get rid of Alan Stubbs (not that I'm bitter or anything...)

I'll be following!

[mjaferrie]

1 hour ago, Jupjamie said:

Really good first season. Bloody hell Hibs! I suppose that's what happens when you get rid of Alan Stubbs (not that I'm bitter or anything...)

I'll be following!

Haha, another former Celt... didn't really have much of an impact down your way eh... Speaking of which, nobody will take Scott Allan off my hands.  I offered him out for a free transfer and it took until deadline day before St Johnstone took him on loan.

[argento]

Liking this so far, will be reading

[mjaferrie]

A Glasgow Cup, League Cup and Champions League Group Stage update will follow, but I just got to the first week of January and Manchester United have offered (after drawn out negotiations) £15.75m up front, with £5.5m over 12 months, £4.9m after 50 games and £4m after 10 international appearances plus 40% of profit from next sale for Kieran Tierney...

It's too good too refuse, the local hero will be moving on.  Welcome to the first team, Greg Taylor!

[mjaferrie]

A sad day at Celtic Park...

[mjaferrie]

And the exodus begins...

£13.25m up front, £10.5m over 24 months, £5.5m after 50 appearances, £5.5m after 10 international apps, £6m after 30 league goals and 40% profit from next sale for Moussa Dembélé.  The 53 goal man is moving to West Ham in this deal worth up to £41m.  

[mjaferrie]

Glasgow Cup, League Cup and Champions League Review

Well, before we take a look at a shell shock of a January transfer window, let's recap how we got on in the pre-Christmas cup competitions.
The first trophy up for grabs this year was the League Cup.  A clean sweep in the Group Stage had given us a tie against Hearts in the Quarter Final, but goals from Moussa Dembélé and Jai Quitongo weren't enough as we fell to a First Leg 3-2 defeat.  4 days later though and a Ryan Christie strike followed by a cracker from Scott Sinclair were enough to take the tie to extra time, the game 2-1 after 90 minutes.  Another Christie goal in the second half of extra time put us through to a Semi Final at Hampden against Glasgow neighbours Partick Thistle.  Our now famous double act, Dembélé and Sinclair, grabbed a goal apiece and we were through to the Final against an Aberdeen side who had eliminated Falkirk and Dundee.  Dembéle's 2 early goals were cancelled out by Celtic academy graduate Richie Towell, who scored twice after half time to level the tie.  In the 63rd minute, Dembélé completed his hat trick and we claimed the first silverware of the year!  League Cup champions!



Onto the Glasgow Cup and a 2-0 victory over Partick Thistle in the Semis set up an Old Firm tie at Hampden for the Final. Unfortunately 2 quick fire goals from the Gers in the second half cancelled out Quitongo's early strike, and Rangers lifted the Glasgow Cup.



Onto European competition and we were facing a difficult draw against Atletico Madrid, Manchester Utd and Dinamo.  A 2-0 loss in Madrid, followed by a 1-1 draw against Manchester Utd at Celtic Park gave extra importance to the double header against Dinamo.  We needed a win from these games!  A 3-1 loss away was followed by a 3-0 win back at Celtic Park and we sat in 3rd place in the table.  A 3-3 draw at home against Atletico followed by a 3-1 loss at Old Trafford sees us bow out of the Champions League in 3rd place with 5 points.



We face RB Leipzig in the Europa League 1st Knockout Round.

[mjaferrie]

January Transfer Window 17/18

Well, what can I say?!  We smashed the transfer record fee received by a Scottish club, before doing it again just a few days later.  Let's have a look at all the ins and outs and consider where the squad stands after such high profile departures.

OUT
Mikael Lustig - £3.1m to Lazio
Moussa Dembélé - £24m to West Ham Utd, rising to £41m
Kieran Tierney - £21m to Manchester Utd, rising to £30m
Leo Fasan - £25k to Ross County
Total Income: £48.1m

IN
Connor Bell (18), born in Stirling - £40k from Falkirk

Loans Out
Ross Doohan - Morton
Regan Hendry - Millwall
James Forrest - Aston Villa
Michael Duffy - St Johnstone

With the acquisition, and subsequent excellent performances, of Jai Quitongo, James Forrest has taken a tumble down the pecking order and is in desperate need of some game time.  We get £48.5k a month from Aston Villa, and he'll get some matches under his belt to tide him over until next season.
Mikael Lustig has been allowed to move on as £3.1m is a good fee for the 31 year old with Saidy Janko, Keith Miller and indeed Scott Brown able to play in the RB role.  Fasan has also been allowed to leave, and replaced by the 18 year old from Falkirk.

Not sure what to say about Tierney and Dembélé to be perfectly honest.  Time will tell if this was an awful mistake or a hidden opportunity, but with Leigh Griffiths and Greg Taylor coming into the starting line up, I shouldn't be too worried about performance level in the short term... 

[mjaferrie]

Youth Intake Day!

Pretty awful intake, but I think I've found the best newgen name I've ever had come through.  Ladies and Gentlemen, welcome Mr Elvis Lala!



And here's the top 3:

[mjaferrie]

Europa League Round Up

After a difficult Champions League Group, we managed to nick a place in the Knockout Stages of the Europa League, where we were drawn against Scottish starlet Oliver Burke's RBL.  A 27th minute own goal from Kurt Zouma, followed by a late strike from Daniel Church gave us a 2-0 victory at Parkhead, and we went into the tie at the Red Bull Arena with the game still to play for.  A 21st minute Leigh Griffiths goal looked to have put the tie to bed as we took a 3-0 lead on aggregate and the all important away goal, but strikes from Poulsen, Orban and Demme for the Germans put us level on goals and set up a nervy final 20 minutes.  We had to hang onto our lead in order to progress... The final whistle blows, Celtic are through to the next round!



In the 2nd Knockout Round, we were drawn against A German Team, Borussia Mönchengladbach, taking us back to the land of excellent beer in a difficult tie.  2 goals from Scott Sinclair gave us a narrow 2-1 win at Celtic Park, and we headed over to Borussia Park expecting a well organised display from the Germans.  Organised it was, attacking it was, and within 1 minute Stevan Jovetic had given them the lead.  2-2 on aggregate, and the Germans were going through with 89 minutes still to play...  It took just over 20 minutes for the next blood to be drawn, as Raffael made it 2-0 on the night for the Germans.  We weren't having any of it, I cranked up the attack and gave our full backs more freedom to bomb forward, and I was rewarded with a brilliant goal from Scott Sinclair who levelled the tie at 3-3 on aggregate.  Game on!  On the stroke of half time, a Stevan Jovetic goal made it 3-1 on the night and the Germans had the lead again.

We needed goals, and we needed them soon, but for 35 minutes of the 2nd half we played out a stalemate with BMG, neither side able to break the other down.  With 10 minutes left on the clock, Leigh Griffiths came up with a wonder strike and we had taken the lead on away goals.  3-2 on the night, 4-4 on aggregate, Celtic were going through!  The final whistle blows, and we're through to the Quarter Final.



We enter the Quarter Final draw filled with excitement, and trepidation at the thought of the giants lying waiting.  We were drawn against... seriously?!... Hoffenheim.  We're heading back to Germany...  I begin to wonder if our fans have rigged the draw just for the hoppy goodness.

So Round 3 in Deutschland and we make our way to the Wirsol Rhein-Neckar-Arena for the first leg.  2 away goals from our £40,000 signing from Stenhousemuir, Stephen Easton, ease the pain of a 3-2 loss and we go into the 2nd leg at Celtic park with it all to play for.  We've needed away goals against RB Leipzig and Mönchengladbach, are we going to need the same here?

An emphatic no!  4 first half goals from Scott Sinclair, Leigh Griffiths, Kristoffer Ajer and Stephen Easton give us a fantastic 4-0 victory over Hoffenheim and we're through to the SEMI FINAL!!!

[mjaferrie]

ARE YOU FREAKING KIDDING ME?!

We had Leipzig.  We had Mönchengladbach.  We had Hoffenheim.  In the Semi Final?

We have been drawn against Bayern Munich.  The German giants were the surprise of the Group Stages, as they crashed out of the Champions League behind Anderlecht and Napoli with 8 points.  Wins against Trabzonspor, Inter Milan, and Porto have taken them to the Europa League Semis.  The other tie is contested between Chelsea and Shakhtar.



After a familiar trip, we arrive at the Allianz Arena for the First Leg.  Many of Bayern's players are no strangers to ours, with the German and Polish national teams eliminating much of our Scottish contingent from the European Championship qualifiers just a couple of years ago.  We aren't expecting much.  To be honest I think most of my players are watching the game at the pub.  Erik Sviatchenko, Greg Taylor, Scott Brown, Kris Commons, Eoghan O'Connell and Stuart Armstrong are out 'injured'.  So it's going to be a youthful line up against the Germans...

Craig Gordon - GK, age 35
Saidy Janko - RB, age 22
Jozo Simunovic - CB, age 24
Jamie McCart - CB, age 20
Jon McNeil YP1a - LB, age 18
Nir Bitton - CM, age 26
Kristoffer Ajer - CM, age 20
Jai Quitongo - RW, age 20
Ryan Christie - ACM, age 23
Scott Sinclair - LW, age 29
Leigh Griffiths - ST, age 27

Our starting line up...  I say Wingers, Attacking Midfield and Striker with an air of confidence, like we'll be getting the ball up the park and into danger areas...

What I really mean is we have a Goalkeeper and 10 defenders... YP2e Elvis is just Lala'ing in a corner to himself...

We roll back the Mentality to Counter, and for the First Half it works.  We come into the break at 0-0.  Somehow we're surviving in a chaotic onslaught of attack from the Germans, who just don't have the end product.  Ball after ball coming into the box, and we get it away, or it goes behind for a goalkick.  But we're keeping the ball!  We have had 49% possession at the break, and while we're not managing to get up the other end, we're keeping the Germans off the ball for good periods of time.  I give the Bhoys a rally call, and we're out again into the cauldron...

10 minutes pass.
15 minutes pass.
20 minutes pass.
25 minutes pass.  It's still 0-0.

In the 72nd minute, we win a corner.  Scott Sinclair steps up to take it.  It's an outswinger from the right hand side.  David Alaba heads it out of the box but only as far as Jai Quitongo, who knocks it back down for Sinclair still out on the right.  Sinclair plays it low back to Quitongo, who squares it across to John McGinn, subbed on for Bitton, waiting just outside the box.  He rounds his man and plays it out to Griffiths waiting on the far left, who plays a beautiful cross into the box FOR THIAGO TO KNOCK IT PAST NEUER AND INTO THE NET!!!  The Germans have scored an own goal, and it's 1-0 to the Bhoys at the Allianz Arena!!!

The onslaught begins.  8 minutes later, the Germans equalise through Lewandowski who scores a mighty header from a Douglas Costa cross.  6 minutes later it's a 2v1 in the box and Lewandowski puts Bayern ahead.  The final whistle blows and  the match finishes 2-1 to the Bundesliga side, but we have an all important away goal.  Do we dare to dream?

[mjaferrie]

Scottish Cup and Division One Roundup

Before we get to the second leg, let's have a look at how the domestic season is shaping up.

Yet again it's come down to the final game.  We're top of the table by only 1 point, this time with Rangers biting at our heels, and a game against last year's challengers Hibernian at Celtic Park stands in the way of our title success. 



As long as Rangers don't take 4 or more goals from their game at Tynecastle versus Hearts, a draw for us against Hibs should be enough to secure the title.  I'm relying on the two Edinburgh sides to help us out a little bit!  With some teams already having played their final game of the season, Dunfermline and Airdrie bid farewell to the First Division as newly promoted Morton and Queen of the South preserve their top flight status.  Meanwhile in Division Two, Raith Rovers and Dumbarton have been promoted, with last season's relegated teams Clyde and Stirling only managing 4th and 7th place. 



The Scottish Cup this year goes to Edinburgh as Hibernian claim a 3-2 victory over Partick Thistle in the final.  We eliminated Rangers 2-1 at Ibrox in the First Round, before a 5-1 victory over Airdrie set up a Quarter Final tie against Partick Thistle.  Unfortunately an experienced lineup fell to a 1-0 defeat and we crashed out of the competition.

[mjaferrie]

It has been 15 years since heartbreak in Seville for Martin O'Neill's Celtic side.  A cynical display from Mourinho's Porto gave them a 3-2 victory over the Bhoys, with two goals from Henrik Larsson not enough to claim the trophy.

An away goal against Bayern Munich in the first leg of the Semi Final gives us some hope of being able to progress to the final and claim our revenge, this time at Wembley Stadium.  Can we keep the German giants at bay, and nick a famous victory at Parkhead?

With several players still out injured, the only change in our lineup from the first leg is Daniel Church in at left back for John McNeil.

Craig Gordon - GK, age 35
Saidy Janko - RB, age 22
Jozo Simunovic - CB, age 24
Jamie McCart - CB, age 20
Daniel Church - LB, age 17
Nir Bitton - CM, age 26
Kristoffer Ajer - CM, age 20
Jai Quitongo - RW, age 20
Ryan Christie - ACM, age 23
Scott Sinclair - LW, age 29
Leigh Griffiths - ST, age 27

If Brendan Rodgers sent out this line up in real life against Partick Thistle, I'd probably have a heart attack.  Yet, they're the bhoys against men in this glamour tie against Carlo Ancelotti's team.  Ghod help us.

Craig Gordon plays it long up the middle for Kristoffer Ajer, who heads it down for Griffiths...
Griffiths plays it left for Christie, who with one touch knocks it back across to Ajer.  It's tiki taka stuff here at Celtic Park!
Bitton, unmarked on the left of midfield, receives the ball from Ajer and plays it forward to Sinclair.  Sinclair knocks it first touch back to Ajer...
Ajer to Bitton...  Bitton plays the ball back to Jamie McCart on the halfway line.  McCart chips it over his man to Daniel Church unmarked on the left wing...
Church plays it back to Bitton.  Bitton to Ajer.  Jings, Guardiola would be proud of this!
Ajer knocks it back to Church on the wing who's our furthest forward man, who plays a stunning cross in the box only for Hummels to head it clear...
But it's only as far as Bitton who plays it first time to Ajer...
Ajer passes out right to Quitongo, who plays it short for Griffiths.
FIRST TOUCH INTO THE TOP CORNER OF THE NET!  NO ONE IS SAVING THAT!

[mjaferrie]

A strange amount of blue shirts in the crowd here at Celtic Park would suggest that fans from across the city have fled in search for European football...

And it was worth it.  A stunning 13 minute strike from Leigh Griffiths put us 1-0, 2-2 on aggregate and heading to Wembley on away goals if we could hang on.

For 77 minutes, that's exactly what we did!  The Germans have come to Celtic Park and they've gone home with their tails between their legs time and again this season, with Leipzig, Mönchengladbach, Hoffenheim and Bayern Munich all falling on their swords in front of the Green Brigade, with an aggregate score of Scotland 15 - 12 Germany.



WE'RE THROUGH TO THE EUROPA LEAGUE FINAL!



I'm interested to know what qualifies our 'Riches' over Chelsea's 'Modest Budget' given the English TV deal and a certain Mr Abramovich... A glance at their profile tells me their finances are only 'Okay'... serious debt? 

[mjaferrie]

Back on the domestic front, we're absolutely knackered after our exploits in Europe.  A 32nd minute Eoghan O'Connell goal is followed by 2 goals for Jake Hesketh and we succumb to a 2-1 defeat to the Hibees on the final day of the season.  Surely that means we've surrendered the title to our great Glasgow rivals?

No!  Apparently all those blue shirts at our Bayern Munich match have been converted and naeb'dy turned up to see the Tynecastle game where 2 Jamie Walker goals gave the Jambos a 2-0 victory.  By a sheer stroke of luck, we're Champions again!



Following our exploits in Europe, and the sales of Tierney and Dembélé, the board are willing to bankroll us with a £56.68m transfer budget and £675k in wages.  With our strict transfer rules and youth policy though, it's not likely we're going to need anywhere near that level of cash.

Scott Sinclair claims the Player's and FW Player of the Year awards again, with Hibernian's Jason Cummings getting the Golden Boot and Tom Rogic again claiming the Goal of the Season.  Sviatchenko, Simunovic, Christie, Sinclair and Griffiths all feature in the Team of the Year. 

Next up, a Wembley clash against Louis Van Gaal's (I know, I know...) Chelsea on the 16th of May 2018.  Remember the date bhoys and ghirls...

[mjaferrie]

The traitor...

[mjaferrie]

You know it's bad when you're playing your numbers 29, 50, 41, 35 and 44 in the Europa League Final...

[mjaferrie]

It was aggressive.  1st minute yellow card for N'Golo Kante.  11th minute yellow card for Cesc Fabregas.  19th minute yellow card for Saidy Janko.  45th for Scott Sinclair, 59th for... oh, you're interested in the goals?...

In the 24th minute, the man who surprisingly the didn't pick up a card in the whole game, Diego Costa opens the scoring for Chelsea.  The game is chaos.  We can't keep the ball, neither can Chelsea, and it's back and forward stuff.  The game was anyone's taking, and by a sheer stroke of luck, it's Chelsea who grasped it by the scruff of the neck following a beautiful cross from Eden Hazard.  The rest of the half played out with our backs to the wall, and it looked like at any time the scoreline could get worse.  

At the break, 1-0 to Chelsea.  I told the bhoys to show me something else in the second half, and they certainly did.  Up the aggression, up the tackling, get in there!  Yellow cards for Sinclair and Simunovic were a price to pay, but we were finally keeping the ball, keeping it down and stringing some passes together.  Chelsea sat back in an attempt to preserve their lead, but we just couldn't break through.  

With 10 minutes remaining, Chelsea still have it at 1-0.

Chelsea shoot!  And it's out for a goal kick... Gordon plays it long for Quitongo, but the ball is won by Hugo Mallo who plays it forward for Diego Costa.  Costa rounds McCart, and is through on goal!  But Simunovic tracks back and Costa's shot is blocked... the ball falls to Liam Henderson, he plays it wide left to Quitongo.  Quitongo holds up play, rounds his man and plays it inside to John McGinn.  McGinn to Bitton in the centre circle, who chips it to the overlapping Daniel Church on the wing. Church heads it down to Quitongo who's on the edge of the box!  He plays the one-two to Church who plays a stunning cross to the far side of the area... but it's out for a goal kick.  

Courtois kicks it long out to the left but the ball is won by Saidy Janko who heads it to Henderson.  Henderson heads it down for Bitton who plays it first time to Griffiths on the right wing.  Griffiths chips it inside to John McGinn in the centre circle, who switches it to Daniel Church who has bombed it up the left wing.  Church plays it into the box! Easton can't make anything with it, but somehow manages to shrug off two defenders...





and cross it for Griffiths cutting inside from the wing... 









He can't miss from here!!!



GRIFFITHS VOLLEYS IT INTO THE NET!  IT'S 1-1 AT WEMBLEY, GAME ON!!!

[mjaferrie]

... And pause, and put the kettle on  

[mjaferrie]

The last 10 minutes of the game are played out much like the opening stages, with the ball back and forward, end to end, with no real quality in the end product.  The game finishes 1-1, and we're into extra time here at Wembley.  The bhoys are knackered.  I dial down the mentality a notch to counter, in the hope that we can draw Chelsea out a bit and create some space, but this could backfire and end up resulting in either giving Chelsea too much respect and drawing them onto us, or the lottery of penalty kicks... Can Louis Van Gaal's army find the decisive goal or will it be the young pretenders from the East End of Glasgow, fresh faced from cleaning the first team's boots?...

Janko plays it off his man for a corner on the right hand side.  John McGinn steps up to take an inswinger.



Which is met by the head of Semedo and knocked out of the box, but only as far as McGinn.



McGinn takes everyone by surprise by firing it into the box with his back to goal... past 5 Chelsea shirts, and 3 Celtic ones... chaos in the box! 



and it's GRIFFITHS! 



TOO FAR TO THE RIGHT?!



IT'S IN OFF THE POST, where did that come from!?!



CELTIC 2 - 1 CHELSEA AT WEMBLEY!!!  It's all over, the Bhoys are CHAMPIONS!

[Bedese]

.....

 

That's just ridiculous!

[mjaferrie]

9 minutes ago, Jupjamie said:

.....

 

That's just ridiculous!

Can't quite believe it!  If I think about the number of Celtic saves where I've invested heavily in the squad and can't get near the latter stages, never mind the final or winning it, speaks volumes about developing your own!

[mjaferrie]

Season Review!

In a quite unbelievable finalé to the season, we have won the Europa League.  Victories over RB Leipzig, Borussia Mönchengladbach, Hoffenheim and Bayern Munich set up a final at Wembley against Louis Van Gaal's Chelsea, where a 1-1 draw in 90 minutes took us to extra time.  A 2nd goal of the game for Leigh Griffiths and the trophy was ours!  Redemption for heartbreak in Seville 15 years ago.  Who needs Moussa Dembélé?!  On the domestic front, despite disappointments in the Glasgow Cup and Scottish Cup, we claimed the First Division title and the Scottish League Cup, completing a treble for the season.  



Our top goalscorer for the season, despite leaving us in a £24m move to West Ham in January, is Moussa Dembélé, scoring 39 goals in all competitions.  He was closely followed by Scott Sinclair, who from the Left Wing contributed an incredible 37 goals and 34 assists.  We scored 185 goals in all competitions, an increase on last year, but we're still a few short of the 196 record. 

End of Season Departures

Players
Several Youth Intake players from this season have been released on account of poor PA.
Josh Kerr and Broque Watson come to the end of their contracts and move on for free.

Staff
Glen Driscoll is replaced with Kris Commons, who continues as Player/Coach.

Young Players of the Season (Players 21 and under at the beginning of the season)
Moussa Dembélé - Not contracted to Celtic
Kieran Tierney - Not contracted to Celtic
Jamie McCart - Age 20, Appearances: 28(6); Goals: 0; Assists: 1; Av. Rating: 7.43 - a big development from last year and thanks to injury to Sviatchenko is now a first team regular
Saidy Janko - Age 22, Appearances: 31; Goals: 2; Assists: 4; Av. Rating: 7.36 - First choice RB after the departure of Lustig
Stephen Easton - Age 19, Appearances: 17(5); Goals: 13; Assists: 4; Av. Rating: 7.31 - rotation with Griffiths in the CF role following the departure of Dembélé, a fantastic prospect who cost just £40k from Stenhousemuir
Daniel Church - Age 17, Appearances: 24(8); Goals: 1; Assists: 2; Av. Rating: 7.22 - Now a first team regular, in rotation with Greg Taylor, following the departure of Tierney.  Looks to have a bright future after excellent performances in the Europa League.
Kristoffer Ajer - Age 20, Appearances: 32(8); Goals: 3; Assists: 6; Av. Rating: 7.20 - A regular in the heart of midfield, the engine of the team.

Notable Mentions
Jim Bannigan
John McNeil YP1a
Jai Quitongo
Jack Aitchison
Greg Taylor

[mjaferrie]

Schadenfreude much?

[mjaferrie]

It's fair to say this was a surprise - Craig Gordon makes the Champions League dream team with an average rating of 7.12.  

Bittersweet to see Kieran Tierney make the team - he has missed only 2 games for Manchester United since leaving us in January and is now worth £30.5m

[mjaferrie]

Our exploits in Europe over the past two seasons - coming 3rd in the Champions League Groups twice, reaching the Quarter Final of the Europa League, and then winning the Europa League - means the Scottish Division One is up to 15th in the competition rankings and we gain a Champions League spot.  Step One on the road to having 4 teams doing well in Europe, like back in '67.  We now have one team each in the Best Placed and Champions 3rd Qualifying Phase, which will mean one less round to negotiate for us a year from now, along with 2 teams in the 3rd QR for the Europa League and one in the 2nd QR.

Meanwhile, Celtic are up to 35th in the European rankings, with the rest as follows:

[Keano16]

[mjaferrie]

44 minutes ago, Keano16 said:

I have every faith that Brendo's going to replicate it IRL next season...  

Meanwhile I've just been offered the Austria job on £11,000 a week.  No thanks!

[mjaferrie]

Preseason, League Cup Groups and Champions League

Success in the Europa League means we qualify straight to the Group Stages this year and Rangers take our place in the qualifying rounds.  On the surface this is great news for us, as we can focus on player development, friendlies against quality opposition and the League Cup games.  However, the reality is that poor performances by the other Scottish teams in Europe this season - Rangers, Aberdeen, Hearts and Hibs - means that our co-efficient is going to take a hit.  Winning 4 or 5 of our qualifying games in previous seasons had given us a significant boost.  This year, Rangers bow out to Ludogorets in the Champions League Qualifying Round 2, while Aberdeen, Hearts and Hibs don't make it past the Europa League 3rd Qualifying Round. 

In terms of the Group Stage draw, we are a 3rd seeded team again this season and we're drawn in Group B with Leverkusen, Benfica and Fenerbahçe.  Some tricky games, but we could possibly make the last 16 this season... 

In the League Cup we have some unexpected results, with Raith managing a 0-0 draw at Parkhead, followed by a 1-0 victory over us at Stark's Park.  4 points from us though is only enough to claim 2nd place behind us on goal difference, thanks to comfortable 9-2 and 4-0 victories over Albion Rovers.  The other team in Group 2 was St. Mirren, who we defeated 3-1 and 2-0.  



So onto an assessment of the squad for season 2018/19:

IN
Darren Duncan (16), born in Alloa - £20k from Alloa
Brian Wilson (17), born in Glasgow - Free from Queen's Park
Graeme Leitch (18), born in Airdrie - £525k from Airdrie
Jonathan Gallacher (16), born in Paisley - £50k from St. Mirren

Total Spend: £600k

OUT
Scott Allan - £75k to Millwall

Total Income: £475k (including loan fees)

Nothing too much to say about this window... Scott Allan finally moves on after 3 attempts of trying to ship him out permanently.  Unfortunately a move couldn't be found for Gary Mackay-Steven, despite offering him out for free, who enters the final year of his contract.  Darren Duncan looks to be a phenomenal bargain at £20k, with Determination of 20 and a Work Rate of 15.  At 16 years of age, this should mean he develops into a quality player.

Staff Outs
Gianni Vio - retired
Jeff Clarke - retired

Staff Ins
Giorgio Gasperini - Physio, free
Paul Jenkins - Coach, from Middlesbrough
John Owen - Scout, free
Dieter Nüssing - Scout, from Nürnberg
Dave Galley - Physio, free 
Pierre Barrieu - Fitness Coach, from Swansea
Nils Schmäler - Scout, free

Loans Out
P.J. Crossan - Airdrie
Aidan Nesbitt - Partick Thistle
Ross Doohan - Hamilton
Jim Bannigan - Montrose
Jon McNeil YP1a - Hibernian
James Forrest - Aston Villa
Keith Miller - Hibernian
Darren Duncan - Hibernian
Ian Robertson YP2a - Berwick
Lewis Bell - Falkirk
Adam Frizzell - Barnsley
Joe Thomson - Queen of the South
Shaun Lindsay YP1b - Airdrie
Stephen Welsh - Airdrie
Scott Smith - St. Mirren
Shaun Bowers - Alloa
Will Johnston YP2c - Dumbarton
Graeme Leitch - Hamilton
Ryan Allan YP1c - Partick Thistle
David McIntyre YP2d - Dumbarton
Regan Hendry - Partick Thistle

To be honest, this is far too many players too have out on loan, but we still have a squad of 36 players (including the U20s).  It looks like next summer is going to have to be a bit ruthless with many players leaving permanently.  There have been too many names out on loan for all 3 of these seasons, which I've looked at and gone "I'll keep him for next year, I'll keep him for next year".  Now it looks more and more likely that's never going to actually happen.
Some of these are quality options though, with Jon McNeil, Darren Duncan and Keith Miller (3 of our brightest prospects) all looking at regular first team action with Hibs under the tutelage of Neil Lennon.  Top flight action in these cases will serve them well for a return here. 
James Forrest is a conundrum.  At the moment he isn't going to get a game here, with the excellent Jai Quitongo unshiftable.  I don't know whether to get rid of the injury prone Forrest permanently or keep him in case Quitongo leaves...  

FIRST TEAM SQUAD

Goalkeepers

Craig Gordon SCO (aged 35) - Amazingly still has 3 stars CA and PA.  Declined a lot over the last year, and the departures of Tierney and Dembélé have resulted in a deceiving jump in CA/PA stars for several of our players.  Still a first choice.
Connor Bell SCO (19) - Could be a fantastic player, with potential much higher than Craig Gordon, but is going to need a lot of game time in order to improve, especially as he looks to be our only option soon...
The verdict:  Like last year I've tried to make signings in this area, but players don't qualify through age or birth.  I've made several offers for Rangers' Jim Maclean, a newgen, but he won't sign due to the rivalry.  Have to hope for someone to come through.

Right Back

Saidy Janko GAM (22) - 2.5 CA, 3PA, the U21 Italian international went on to make friendly appearances for The Gambia and Switzerland before making his competitive debut in the African Cup of Nations Qualifiers for the Gambia.  He's fast, but that's about it.  Our first choice RB.
Tony Ralston SCO (19) - 2.5 CA, 4PA.  After 2 impressive seasons at Dundee and St. Mirren, Ralston comes into the first team set up following the departure of Mikael Lustig last season.  Looks to be a good rotation option with Janko, poor technicals but some impressive physical stats. 
The verdict: Janko doesn't have much going for him other than his pace, so if I can develop the technical side of Ralston's game a bit, he could be a better option here.

Left Back

Daniel Church (18) - 3 CA, 5 PA.  Defied the odds by wrestling the starting spot from Taylor following the departure of KT.  Impressive displays in the Europa League have done wonders for his stats, and he's our first choice at LB.
Greg Taylor (20) - 2 CA, 4.5 PA.  No change from last season, he has poor determination so is going to need a lot of tutoring if he is to reach his potential.
The verdict:  There's only one Kieran Tierney.

Centre Back

Erik Sviatchenko DEN (26) - 3.5 CA/PA, our first choice stopper.  Improved stars on last season, but as I mentioned already this is a bit deceptive. 
Jozo Simunovic CRO (24) - 3 CA/PA, consistent game time means consistent progress, and big Jozo has come on leaps and bounds. 
Eoghan O'Connell IRE (23) - 2.5 CA, 3 PA, only made 18 appearances last season following the emergence of Jamie McCart as a first team regular.  Is going to need to up his game if he wants to stay at Celtic Park.
Jamie McCart SCO (21) - 3 CA, 4 PA, Mr. Reliable, with average ratings of 7.41 and 7.43 from the last 2 seasons.  His performances disguise the fact that his stats are *****  
The verdict:  No changes here, pretty solid.  

Right Midfielders/Wingers

Jai Quitongo SCO (20) - 3 CA, 5 PA.  5 caps for Scotland including World Cup group games against Uruguay and Ghana, this young man is making solid progress.
Calvin Miller SCO (20) - 2 CA, 4 PA.  Impressed during loan spells at St. Johnstone, Falkirk and Queen of the South, and looks to make his first appearances in the Hoops this season.
Jack Aitchison SCO (18) - 2 CA, 4.5 PA.  Decent cameo appearances over the last couple of years show he has the potential to make the step up.

Verdict:  With Forrest and Frizzell out on loan, Miller and Aitchison move into the first team and have the opportunity this season to push for a starting berth. 

Left Midfielders/Wingers

Scott Sinclair ENG (29) - 4 CA/PA.  Formidable form on the left hand side, isn't going anywhere.
Michael Duffy NIR (24) - Backup following successful loan spells at Dundee and St. Johnstone.  Isn't realistically ever going to be a first choice here - if Sinclair moves on his place will more likely be taken short term by Ryan Christie - so I may look to move him on, especially at his age when he just needs games.
Gary Mackay-Steven SCO (28) - Unhappy at the club and if I can't shift him in January, he'll leave at the end of his contract this season.  
Verdict:  With Scott Sinclair at his peak, we're in an okay position here, but will need other faces over the next couple of years.  

Defensive and Central Midfield

Scott Brown SCO (33) - On the decline, and has lost the captaincy to Erik Sviatchenko.  Getting edged out of the team due to persistent injury (a total of 6.5 months in 2 years) and the young guns improving consistently.
Nir Bitton ISR (26) - 3.5 CA/PA.  No change here stat-wise and interest has cooled in the Israeli, he's here to stay as a solid rotation option.
Kristofer Ajer NOR (20) - Our first choice in the heart of midfield, 3.5 CA, 4.5 PA.
Josh McGinn SCO (23) - Set up the winning goal in the Europa League final and earned himself hero status among the Celtic support.  An excellent option in DM, CM, or AMC.
Liam Henderson SCO (22) - 3.5 CA, 4 PA, Hendo is our supersub, making 24 appearances from the bench last season.  He'll be looking for more starts this year.
Verdict:  Callum McGregor, Tom Rogic, Ryan Christie and Stuart Armstrong are all options in this area too, making it our strongest area of the team in terms of depth.  The impending retirement of Broony shouldn't be a worry, at this rate of injuries it can't be far off.

Attacking Midfielders

Kris Commons SCO (35) - No change here, a last resort option who is now one of our backroom staff.
Tom Rogic AUS (25) - 3 CA/PA, hasn't really reached his potential here after losing the starting position to Ryan Christie.  If he can be replaced, it might be time to more him on.
Stuart Armstrong SCO (26) - 3CA/PA.  Same craic as Rogic, likely to move on.
Ryan Christie SCO (23) - First choice, with 4 CA/PA.
Callum McGregor SCO (24) - Has fallen down in the pecking order in both CM and AMC.  Worth hanging onto in case of the departures of Rogic/Armstrong.  
Verdict:  Still a strong area of the team, but a bit of a worry.  Commons will probably retire at the end of this season or next, and Rogic, Armstrong and McGregor are no longer at the stage where they are developing players.  They don't offer us much more than a backup, so I'd be looking for someone a bit younger and with good potential to take their spot next season.  The likelihood is this will be Adam Frizzell and Darren Duncan, as they offer more in terms of potential.

Strikers

Leigh Griffiths SCO (28) - Quality rotation option with Easton, but has had a lot more game time since the departure of Moussa in January and has thanked us for it with 25 goals in the second half of last season.  4 CA/PA.
Stephen Easton SCO (19) - The surprise of last season, after coming out of leftfield to replace the departing Dembélé.  The £40k signing from Stenhousemuir has been a revelation for us after a loan spell at St. Mirren and is a solid option for the future.

Verdict:  Aitchison, Miller and Quitongo can all deputise here, so we have no worries.

Overall, I'm pretty happy with where we stand going into the new season.  Some departures are going to be necessary at the end of this year, but we have some solid young players performing to a very high standard.

[mjaferrie]

One thing I've certainly learned from this save is that I don't really do short and sweet... Fair play to anyone who's actually reading my drivel!  

[argento]

really enjoying this, great result in the Europa League.  Unbelievable scenes.  Long may it continue