Firstly congratulations to Aberdeen on a fantastic result. Is it a coincidence that since their manager has been ruled out of the Ibrox gig the team and maybe the manager has been more focused. I don’t know but sometimes people get motivated to show others what they are missing out on. Regardless of this to win 7-0 away from home is a fantastic effort for the second best team in Scotland. Well done.
It is only right and fitting that the champions elect get the opportunity to clinch a sixth successive league flag on the field of play at Tynecastle tomorrow. Should the Hoops get the required three points the only downside is that there won’t be many of our fans to witness it ‘live’.
I want the title won as early as possible and preferably tomorrow. Whilst Hearts are capable of beating us we know that if we match their effort we have the players to make a difference. They will play at a very high tempo and try to hassle and harry us at every opportunity. Tynecastle is one of, if not the, most intimidating stadiums. The fans are right on top of the pitch and are no friends of Celtic. Nothing would be more pleasing than winning the trophy on their patch. We effectively won the league there last season and it would be sweet to do so again.
Our international players are back and good to go. I did not see our International match last week but by all accounts we did well and won one nil. I was surprised that Scotland got the three points and not us 😀.I believe Stuart Armstrong played well on his debut and that will give the immaculately coiffed midfielder even more confidence in the coming few months.
I believe that whilst it would be amazing to go through a season undefeated once the league is won (whether it is tomorrow or midweek) the only thing that matters is the Scottish Cup.
I don’t want to see us lose any game but I think it is more important that we rest players with a view to the big picture of next season and the all important champions league qualifying games.
In other news Celtic have been linked in the Aussie press with an audacious move for 37 year old Tim Cahill. The Aussie Internationalist , who currently stars for Melbourne City in the A- league, is reported to be interested in a European swan song with the Hoops.
Cahill is reported to have told his Saudi based agent Pilar Lofo Bin Hadi that he will take a substantial drop in wages to join Celtic.
Cahill said to the local media that he has always followed Celtic and Alan Stubbs spoke glowingly of his time at Celtic Park and bizarrely said his team is always Celtic when he plays FIFA!
My immediate response is that this would not be a good signing for us and I hope our new head of recruitment and scouting is going to be looking for young up and coming talents rather than players like Timmy. Time will tell.
We are obviously very active in scouting in Australia at the moment as we were also recently linked with Adelaide United young gun Riley Mc Gree who ironically was in the Australian squad alongside Timmy Cahill for this week’s games.
Staying Up Late. Getting Up Early 
I have been pondering Celtic’s next steps in the transfer market and wondering what strategies Brendan will apply.
May I step away from the usual ‘buy young potential gems … develop and sell” strategy that is largely our MO. There is anothe one that Brendan has deployed that has paid dividends … and may offer more in the CL arena … I offer the ‘Sinclair Strategy.’
The Sinclair Strategy is premised on targetting players who have promised much potential, shone brightly but briefly, have been in and around the periphery of their national squads, they will be between 25-28 years old and now find themselves on the fringes of first team football. They will cost Celtic between $3-5m and draw a ‘top-tier’ salary on a 3 year contract.
Now, if we blend say 3 of those buys (+Scotty) with those young gems, mix it with our own home-grown ingredients then my friend … I belive we have a recipe for an awesome ‘cake.” That cake will feed continuing growth, potential to make the journey onto CL group stages much less fraught than it has been up til now , build the reputation of the Club and importantly make Celtic a much more attractive prospect to those quality players who sit on the fringes if the top 6-8 squads across Europe and Enger-land. If achieved and sustained an unintentional consequence of the Sinclair Strategy will be that the quality of those players coming in will incrementally increase. Our business and financial model can comfortably support this. Oh, this model WILL also ensure domestic domination given the revenue we will generate, notwithstanding the arrival of a billionaire investor to elevate any othet Scottish team.
I would welcome your and other commentators thoughts on this strategy? Also SULGUE, noting your excellent knowledge of the broader footballing landscape outside Scotland and footballers that fit that profile … who would be your picks for us?
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