Celtic - what next?

Article by e-Celtic Correspondent Jim Payne

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This is the first of what hopefully will be the first of many articles I write for this site.

Celtic - club and support - often like to portray themselves as a club which is a bit different from all the rest. There are things about the demographics of our support which probably are unique amongst senior clubs- at least in the UK- and things will happen in the coming times which will cause to me comment on these other factors. But for the moment I shall concentrate on the footballing aspects of Celtic.

The season drawing to a close has been a long one and it has not been an overly distinguished one. After last season's League and Cup double and mostly excellent Champions' League campaign- one which saw us in the last 16 for the first time in 5 years -there were high hopes back in July of last year.

Some new players had been signed such as the Dutchmen Virgil Van Dijk and Derk Boeriggter and the young striker Amido Balde who was signed from Vitoria Guimares of Portugal. Others were rumoured to be on their way to join them whilst two star players, Wanyama and Hooper were clearly on their way south.

Celtic received a lot of money for that duo and, more surprisingly, also offloaded the mostly reliable centre back, Kelvin Wilson, for a tidy sum. There was a flurry of activity after we qualified that saw Teemu Pukki brought in from Schalke to replace Hooper. But it was hard not to think that the transfer dealings had left us ill prepared for a tough Champions League section in which we were to face Barcelona, Milan and Ajax.

As it turned out Celtic managed only 3 points from the section and in the last two games caved in by 3-0 against the weakest Milan side in decades at Celtic Park and then by 6-1 in the Camp Nou to a Barca side that seemed inferior to the one Celtic beat a year earlier. Although Celtic played quite well in the first three matches and with a little luck should have had at least 5 points instead of 3 overall we mostly looked out of our depth. We could not keep possession well, had strikers who posed no goal threat and had a tendency to fade as games wore on. But it was still kind of fun to be involved and the one victory, a 2-1 victory over Ajax, had been a clever, merited win over a promising young side.

But there was nothing enjoyable about the failures in the League Cup and Scottish Cup to Morton and Aberdeen.

The game with Morton - a team that was so good that it lost its last game of the season 10-2 to Hamilton Accies - was a dismal affair that the Greenock team deserved to win against a Celtic team that could have played for several days without creating a decent chance.

Against Aberdeen Celtic were outplayed at home by a robust, better motivated, quicker Dons' team that maintained that club's long undefeated run in Scottish Cup ties at Celtic Park which stretches back to 1951. Although certain players were poor that day the real cause of the defeat was the team selection made by manager Neil Lennon. Neither right back Adam Matthews nor striker Georgios Samaras had featured in weeks following injury but both started that day. Matthew's deputy, the young Englishman Darnell Fisher, had looked more than adequate whilst the Greek striker had done little since the early weeks of the season and surprised most by not leaving for warmer parts during the January transfer window.

Matthews looked manifestly unfit - and was inexplicably not substituted after picking up an injury early on - whilst Samaras' selection left the attack looking bare and one paced. Meanwhile on the bench until the closing minutes sat new signing Leigh Griffiths who'd been Scotland's top scorer the previous season whilst with Hibernian. Aberdeen would have been amazed at how easy it was and how untroubled their 'keeper [the frequently calamitous Langfield] was in the closing minutes of that game.

Celtic have though won the league with the outcome officially decided in the last week of March - the earliest such outcome since the late 1920s. Form was at times pretty patchy with the excellence of Fraser Foster in goal and the goals of attacking midfielder Kris Commons bringing much gloss to a campaign that frequently failed to sparkle.

Things though did begin to look up after that cup exit as new signing Stefan Johansen ( a Norwegian midfielder) as well as the aforementioned Griffiths settled in quickly. Griffiths' off-field conduct has already led to much criticism from fans and brought into question his future with the club but he has played really well and his introduction has seen a spectacular return to form for fellow striker Anthony Stokes. Had Griffiths been signed in the summer instead of the hugely disappointing Finn, Pukki, Celtic might have done better in the Champions League. And we'd surely have beaten Morton. Nobody will be fooled into thinking that recent easy , high scoring wins over the likes of Inverness Caledonian Thistle, Partick Thistle and, last Saturday, Aberdeen mean that Celtic are likely to be jousting with Real Madrid , Bayern or Chelsea at this time next year for next season's Champions' League but I think Celtic are at least better now than 6 or 7 months ago.

As always though there is considerable speculation as to who will and won't be at Celtic next season. Already Neil Lennon's long time assistant, Johaan Mjallby, has announced he'll be moving on whilst with one or two biggish English managerial positions likely to be becoming vacant there will be inevitable suggestions that Neil Lennon himself moves on. Lennon has had a lot of real crap to put up with up here and he may well be fed up with it.

He's far from flawless as a manager - even before this season several of Celtic's repeated , but still unexpected, reverses in Cup Football have very much been down to his selections and formations. He has seemed too conservative when it comes to choosing young players, has overplayed the likes of Kayal, Mulgrew, Forrest and especially Samaras in big matches when players in better form might have been chosen though all players mentioned have often infuriated Neil's critics by repaying their manager's faith by playing very well. The team often looks less fit than its opponent if the opponent is not from Scotland.

But I think Neil will stay. He makes mistakes but he seems to be less hot headed than even a year ago, his team tries to play good football and quite often he gets it right. I think that as supporters we are quite right now to think that Neil is no longer a rookie and is instead a young but experienced manager. Generally most supporters like him and want him to be a success, but we also know he needs to up his game.

Who he will have to pick next season does not seem clear. Both Griffiths and Stokes may leave for reasons that will have little to do with football though as with Neil Lennon I'd expect both to be there for the start of next season. Others such as Kayal, Samaras and perhaps the eternally promising but never quite mature winger Forrest seem more likely to leave as at best their Celtic careers can be said to have plateaued. They'd go with my best wishes and in the case of the Big Greek Ghod himself thanks for the memories and also for being the most inconsistent player we've ever had. And I go back to the days of John Hughes and Paul Wilson.

The goalkeeper Forster and centre half Van Dijk seem likely to be the subject of interest from outside if they aren't already. The big goallie made his name with two majestic displays versus Barca last season but in fact rather fell away in the second half of the season. But after a slow start he's been terrific this year and is a much better player than he was when he arrived nearly four years ago - Lennon has rarely been given credit for sticking with the big chap in his early days but he deserves to be. English clubs are rarely keen on keepers from this side of the border ( even when they are English) but Celtic's PLC board will be keen to cash in. I hope he stays but I am not confident he will.

The Board may well want to cash in on van Dijk also. The giant Dutchman has been very well received by the Celtic support though in truth I think he has rather coasted things in recent months especially since it became evident that Louis Van Gaal was highly unlikely to include him in his World Cup squad this summer. The big man makes all the right noises about liking Celtic and Scotland but I think he'll leave this summer. He's got ability by the sackful but he already looks as though he needs a new challenge. Many will be disappointed if he goes - I wouldn't say I'll be delighted if he leaves but I don't think he'll leave as big a gap as most other Celts do.

The likes of Pukki, Balde and especially Boerrigter have all disappointed severely and the manager (and the club's money men) must surely be looking to punt them. I suspect that few clubs will have any from that trio on their shopping lists so we may be stuck with them.

Who comes in? Rumours abound that Robert Snodgrass of Norwich is a shoo-in and that Hooper may return. I'd take both though I'd like to see a tall striker with a bit of muscle on board as well. A new left back to replace the mostly excellent Honduran Emilio Izzaguire seems desirable but if anything my greatest wish would be to see some of the young players who have been in the squad for a while become regulars. Liam Henderson seems most likely to and I hope Fisher stays but Atajic, O'Connell, Heron, Irvine and one or two others look to be worth a try. And there's Tony Watt who scored that famous goal against Barca. His career with Celtic has nosedived since that heady evening and he's hardly run amok with Lierse where he has spent the majority of this season on loan. He always looks good when I see him play- though Neil Lennon picking him to play on the wing didn't do the team or Tony any favours. My hunch is that we've seen the last of him in the Hoops but I hope not.

Celtic will have at least one more year without the team known as Rangers playing in the same league. The eventual arrival of that team in our league will come and it will undoubtedly see an increase in season ticket sales- but as they still look to be a poor side I don't think that on the field Celtic are affected by their absence. A team like the Rangers one which existed prior to their self - destruction might improve the sense of competition but the side managed by Ally McCoist is not such a team.

I have had my say about who will come and go. As a seer though I come with a warning. All through this season I said that I thought Liverpool wouldn't quite get the trip and fade in the final furlongs. I finally relented and backed them to beat Chelsea. Sorry Liverpool.

@Jimbo67

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