Everton have dropped some further positive early team news before they play host to Manchester City in the Premier League on Saturday evening.
The Lowdown: Doucoure back for Man City clash
As seen in images posted on the club’s official Twitter channel, the Toffees have revealed that Abdoulaye Doucoure is now back in training and will hope that he can play a part against Pep Guardiola’s men.
After Burnley’s 1-0 win at home to Tottenham Hotspur on Wednesday night, the Merseyside club may be worried about potential relegation just a little bit more, so they will need as many of their key players back as possible when the Premier League champions visit Goodison Park.
The Latest: Godfrey progress
Just after Everton revealed the news about Doucoure, they also tweeted an update on Ben Godfrey as he also aims to return to full fitness.
Posting an image of the 24-year-old in training, the club added the succinct caption of “Making progress”, along with an hourglass emoji.
The Verdict: Positive news for Everton
It certainly is promising to hear that Godfrey is also making progress, on top of the revelation that Doucoure is back in training.
The defender has not played for Everton since the 4-1 win at home to Brentford in the FA Cup earlier this month, and he had rarely missed a game this season before then (Transfermarkt).
Godfrey has ranked highly among his team-mates in terms of tackles, clearances and blocks per game in the Premier League this term (WhoScored), so he is clearly a key player in Frank Lampard’s team.
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While he may not make it for the match against the Sky Blues this weekend, he may be fit enough for the rest of the campaign, which will no doubt be a big boost for the Toffees.
In other news, Everton are ‘hedging their bets’ over this deal
Everton secured their place in the quarter-finals of the FA Cup last night after beating Boreham Wood 2-0 at Goodison Park thanks to a brace of goals from Salomon Rondon.
Despite the goalscoring efforts of the 32-year-old, one other Toffees figure put in an impressive display which would surely have delighted Frank Lampard.
Starting on the right-hand side of a back three next to Michael Keane and Jarrad Branthwaite, Jonjoe Kenny played through the entire 90 minutes and was able to show his manager just how capable he is on and off the ball.
With a total of 110 touches, the 24-year-old completed 83 of the 93 passes he attempted, with one of them being the assist for Everton’s opening goal of the night. He also played five accurate long balls, two crosses and five key passes, highlighting his wide range of passing ability. [SofaScore]
Despite the away side having just one shot at goal throughout the match, Kenny still showed what a capable defender he is by making three tackles, one interception and one clearance, along with winning seven of his nine duels (78%).
This display ultimately earned the former Celtic loanee – who was described as a “passionate” player by Neil Lennon during his time in Glasgow – a strong overall match rating of 8.4/10, making him the highest-rated player on the night according to SofaScore.
The Liverpool Echo also picked up on his industrious performance by saying that he “showed his aptitude for versatility by playing in three different positions”.
Even though their midweek opponents are currently in the fifth tier of English football, Lampard will still be happy to see Kenny being able to step up to the plate on important occasions and show what he can do up and down the pitch.
If the full-back can replicate this standard of performance moving forward in the Premier League, he could end up being a vital player for the Merseyside club and their hopes for avoiding relegation, along with potentially getting their hands on the FA Cup.
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Rondon may have got his name on the scoresheet, but Kenny’s relatively unsung performance was just as heroic from an Everton perspective.
In other news: Everton missed their chance on £33m star dubbed “one of the best in the world”…
When Ryan Christie joined Celtic from Inverness Caledonian Thistle in what was a £500k deal back in 2015, few would have expected the versatile forward to go on and enjoy the career he did at Parkhead.
Indeed, over his 151 appearances for the Bhoys, the 27-year-old scored a highly impressive 41 goals and registered a whopping 44 assists, as well as winning three Premiership titles, one Scottish Cup and two Scottish League Cups.
However, despite these quite remarkable returns for the Hoops, towards the end of his stay in Glasgow, the Scotland international began to frustrate the Parkhead faithful after picking up a habit of shooting from distance – something which Frank McAvennie commented on in the summer of 2021.
After being linked with a move to Southampton, the former Celtic centre-forward was asked whether he felt Christie could make it in the Premier League, to which the 62-year-old replied:
“I don’t think so. He’s a wonderful talent but I think he’s too light for the Premier League. If you touch him, he goes down. He’s a big lad, he needs to stay on his feet. It looks like he just wants to win free-kicks.
“There’s no doubting his ability or his talent. But he’s stopped doing the little things. He’s stopped chasing the ball, he looked so eager at the start of his career. Now he doesn’t look bothered.
“He’s lost his hunger, his appetite. He became a bit of a laughing stock, he was just picking the ball up and shooting but he deserved some slack. It will take a big job for the boy to make it in the Premier League.”
And, while Christie ultimately did not secure a switch to Saints, he did move to the South Coast, with Championship side Bournemouth paying Celtic an extremely reasonable £2.5m for the 27-year-old’s services – despite the fact Tranfermarkt valued the Scotland international at £6.3m at the time of his transfer.
Now, after making 26 appearances in the Championship for the Cherries, this fee appears to have been an absolute steal, as the £23k-per-week forward has been one of Scott Parker’s players of the season, bagging three goals, registering six assists and creating seven big chances for his teammates, as well as taking an average of 2.1 shots and making 1.6 key passes per game.
These returns have seen Christie average an extremely impressive SofaScore match rating of 7.12, ranking him as Bournemouth’s third-best player in the second tier of English football.
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And, with the Cherries currently occupying third place in the Championship standings – boasting four games in hand on second-placed Huddersfield Town – there is every chance that the 27-year-old will finally get his chance to disprove McAvennie’s claim he is not good enough for the Premier League next season.
Either way, considering Christie is now valued by Transfermarkt at £8.1m, Celtic’s decision to part with the player – whose move to England was dubbed “staggering” by Davie Provan – for just £2.5m last August is something that will have undoubtedly left the club red-faced.
In other news: Sold at £3m, now valued at £50m: Celtic had a shocker on “outstanding” £70k-p/w “star”
Reports suggested that the Hoops would be willing to create a coaching pathway for their former captain, possibly in the senior academy and B-team or coaching Celtic’s Under-18 side.
Ange Postecoglou appeared to be open to the former captain returning to Glasgow, however, ex-Hoops boss Brendan Rodgers has already made the first move.
The Latest: Leicester contact
As reported by Burns on Wednesday afternoon, Leicester have made contact with Brown.
Rodgers has reportedly offered the Scot the chance to head down to the Midlands to spend time with him and his coaching staff ahead of a possible move.
The Verdict: A blow?
It seems as if the Foxes are one step ahead of the Hoops when it comes to offering Brown a new home, which could be a blow for Celtic chiefs.
Postecoglou spoke highly of Brown on Thursday, and a return to Lennoxtown could be a shrewd move as he looks to continue his coaching development.
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However, it seems as if he may well be heading down south with Rodgers over the coming weeks, so Celtic may have to play the waiting game when it comes to their club legend’s next move.
In other news: ‘Seems that’ – Journo now drops more Parkhead exit news on ‘horrendous’ Celtic ‘waste of money’.
Newcastle United are set to head into their first summer transfer window with PIF in charge at the end of the current season.
The Saudi Arabian consortium completed their takeover after the start of the campaign and had no say on the business done in pre-season, as Joe Willock was the sole summer 2021 signing under Mike Ashley.
PIF flexed their muscles in January as they brought in Bruno Guimaraes, Matt Targett, Dan Burn, Chris Wood and Kieran Trippier, and it will be intriguing to see what they do in July and August this year.
Brutally axe Clark
Along with incomings, Newcastle will also need to let players go, and one who must be brutally axed is defender Ciaran Clark. The Irishman already has one foot out the door after he was omitted from the club’s Premier League squad for the second half of the season.
Leaving him off the list is the first step but they must now take the next, and final, one by selling him permanently ahead of the 2022/23 campaign. His current contract expires in 2023, so the Magpies would need to put up with his wages for another season if they are unable (or refuse) to cash in on him before then.
Clark has become a liability for Newcastle on the pitch in recent years as he has allowed his performance levels to plummet.
In the 2018/19 and 2019/20 Premier League campaigns, he averaged WhoScored ratings of 7.06 and 6.89 respectively. This shows that he was putting in solid displays on a consistent basis and Transfermarkt valued him at £5.4m – the highest point of his career – in December 2019.
Since then, it has been all downhill for the centre-back. He averaged an underwhelming WhoScored rating of 6.64 in the 2020/21 campaign and then endured a disastrous first half of this season before being left out of Howe’s squad, averaging a dreadful rating of 6.24.
Along with this, journalist Josh Bunting claimed that Clark “embarrassed himself” after he was sent off in a friendly match in Saudi Arabia at the end of January.
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This shows that his performance levels have been plummeting and that is reflected in his market value. He is currently valued at £2.25m by Transfermarkt – set in December 2021 – which means that his stock has dropped 58.3% in just two years.
Newcastle must now cut their ties with Clark and sell him in the summer whilst they still can. His statistics do not suggest that he is set for a revival and Howe’s decision to leave him out of his squad indicates that the manager has no plans to reintegrate him into the first-team, which is why PIF must sell him as quickly as possible.
AND in other news, Forget Burn: Newcastle now plotting bid to sign “unbelievable” £30m tank, he’d be “sensational”…
Doak is yet to pen professional terms at Parkhead, meaning Celtic could receive just £150,000 for the 16-year-old’s services in compensation.
It now appears to be a case of one in and one out at the club’s academy, with an update emerging on Thomson.
The Latest: Thomson’s arrival
The Daily Record shared a story on Thursday morning, revealing some smart business by Michael Nicholson – Thomson has now signed a professional youth deal at Parkhead from Mossend FC.
The youngster was labelled as one of their most promising starlets and now joins a growing list of Lanarkshire players currently at Parkhead, including David Turnbull and Stephen Welsh.
The Verdict: Welcome news
Celtic needed some positive news during the international break following injuries to Tom Rogic, Johnny Kenny and concerns over Daizen Maeda’s fitness.
Thomson could well turn out to be a star of the future, with Mossend admitting the youngster will be a ‘huge loss’ to the club.
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He now looks set to take his place in Celtic’s academy system, and hopefully, we will see Thomson in a senior Celtic squad in years to come.
In other news: ‘Worrying…’ – Sky Sports man claims ‘brilliant’ Celtic ace may now have suffered ‘bone damage’.
Tottenham Hostpur have been handed a huge boost in their pursuit of a deal to bring Ruben Neves to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium this summer.
What’s the talk?
That’s according to a recent David Ornstein article for The Athletic, in which the transfer insider claimed that, after five years of service for the club, Wolverhampton Wanderers could be open to parting with the central midfielder at the end of the current campaign – should an acceptable offer be lodged.
Ornstein went on to state that, despite Barcelona currently looking to be the most likely destination for the 25-year-old, a number of Premier League teams are also in discussions with the Portugal international’s intermediaries regarding a potential summer swoop – one of whom could well be Tottenham.
Indeed, just last August, Fabio Paratici was reported to be negotiating a long-term contract with Neves prior to a £40m (£34m) move to north London, however, in the end, no agreement between the player and Spurs was reached.
In his article, Ornstein wrote: “There is an acceptance that after five years of fine service, Neves may be sold if a suitable offer arrives and gives him a chance to play Champions League football.
“Discussions are taking place between intermediaries and, at present, the most likely destination is said to be Barcelona, though Premier League teams are known to be keen and Wolves would gladly sign him to a new contract.”
Neves can replace Lo Celso
Considering just how impressive Neves has been since his £15.8m move to Wolves back in 2017, in addition to the fact that both Giovani Lo Celso and Tanguy Ndombele – currently on loan at Villarreal and Lyon respectively – appear as if they could be on their way out of north London this summer, it would be surprising if Paratici does not reignite his interest in the 25-year-old in the coming months.
Indeed, over his 28 Premier League appearances this season, the £36m-rated midfielder has been in electric form for Bruno Lage’s side, scoring four goals, registering two assists and creating three big chances for his teammates, as well as taking an average of 1.4 shots and making 0.7 key passes per game.
The £58k-per-week maestro has also impressed in metrics more typical of his position, making an average of 1.3 interceptions, 2.3 tackles, 50 passes and winning four duels per fixture.
These returns have seen the player who David Edwards claimed was Wolves’ “biggest signing of the window” after keeping him at Molineux last summer average a quite breathtaking SofaScore match rating of 7.20, not only ranking him as Lage’s best performing outfielder but also as the joint 25th-best player in the division as a whole.
In comparison, over Lo Celso’s nine Premier League outings in the current campaign, the £25m-rated midfielder was in rather less spectacular form, scoring no goals, providing no assists and creating two big chances, in addition to making an average of 0.1 interceptions, 0.9 tackles, 13.9 passes and winning 2.6 duels per game.
These returns saw the £100k-per-week Argentina international who John Wenham dubbed “unacceptable” earlier this season average an extremely disappointing SofaScore match rating of 6.72, ranking him as Antonio Conte’s sixth-worst performer in the top flight of English football.
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As such, it is clear for all to see that Neves would be a significant upgrade on Lo Celso, leading us to believe that Paratici simply must do all to move the 25-year-old on this summer, before reinvesting the fee received for the Argentine – as well as his hefty weekly wage – into a move for the Wolves destroyer.
Consequently, a swoop could just turn out to be the deal of the window, something Edwards alluded to last summer.
AND in other news: Paratici plotting £59m bid for 24 y/o “appreciated by Conte”, he’s “perfect” for Spurs
Even though Chelsea have a squad full of incredible players like Moises Caicedo, Cole Palmer and Marc Cucurella, they’ve made more than their fair share of poor signings in recent years.
For example, the likes of Axel Disasi, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, João Félix and Mykhailo Mudryk are just some of the club’s worst pickups since the ownership took over.
However, when it comes to the most prominent example of a signing gone wrong at Stamford Bridge, a lot of fans and pundits alike will pick out Raheem Sterling.
Unfortunately for Chelsea, one of Enzo Maresca’s more recent signings looks set to go down a similar path to the Englishman.
Sterling's Chelsea career
When Chelsea initially signed Sterling for around £50m in the summer of 2022, there was a fair amount of understandable excitement from fans and pundits alike.
After all, here was a four-time Premier League winner who, during his time with Manchester City, racked up a brilliant haul of 131 goals and 86 assists in 339 games.
That positive feeling around the deal lasted quite a while as well, as even though he wasn’t electric, the Englishman started life in the capital fairly well.
For example, he scored three goals and provided one assist in his first five league games and by the time the new year rolled around, he had produced eight goal involvements in 19 games.
He would end that first season with a reasonable enough haul of nine goals and four assists in 38 games.
Interestingly, in terms of raw output, the following campaign was even better, as he ended it with 21 goal involvements in 43 games.
However, the club then appointed Maresca in the summer, and the Italian manager decided he no longer wanted to use the former City star and a loan move to Arsenal was agreed.
The winger’s time in North London was nothing short of a disaster.
Described as a “passenger” by Arsenal writer Charles Watts, the Kingston-born ace appeared to lose all of his dynamism and ended the season with a paltry tally of one goal and five assists in 28 games.
Sterling’s Arsenal record
Competition
EPL
UCL
FA Cup
EFL Cup
Appearances
12
6
1
4
Minutes
307′
297′
80′
270′
Goals
0
0
0
1
Assists
1
2
0
1
Goal Involvements per Match
0.08
0.33
0.00
0.50
Minutes per Goal Involvement
307′
148.5′
N/A
135′
All Stats via Transfermarkt
Since his return to West London, the former England international has been relegated to the club’s ‘bomb squad’ and is unlikely to ever make another appearance for Chelsea again.
In all, while there were moments of quality here and there, it would be hard to describe Sterling’s move to Chelsea as anything other than a dud, and the bad news is, a player in the current squad could end up being an even bigger flop in time.
The Chelsea dud who could be a bigger flop than Sterling
Unfortunately, a few of Chelsea’s summer signings have been underwhelming so far, including Liam Delap and Jorrel Hato.
Chalkboard
Football FanCast’s Chalkboard series presents a tactical discussion from around the global game.
However, when it comes to someone who could end up being a bigger flop than Sterling, it’s impossible to look past Jamie Gittens.
Like his compatriot, the dynamic winger’s signing was met with quite a bit of excitement and, once again, justifiably so.
For example, across 49 games for Borussia Dortmund last season, the Reading-born dynamo recorded 17 goal involvements.
The 21-year-old gem even scored away to Bayern Munich in the league and Real Madrid in the Champions League, which led Sky Sports’ Dougie Critchley to describe him as “England’s best left winger” at one point.
So, there were certain expectations that, even if he wasn’t going to be a bona fide star to start with, he would be a seriously useful option off the left for Maresca and Co.
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Unfortunately, that just hasn’t happened.
Instead, the summer signing has looked miles off the pace and struggled in practically every competition he’s played in.
For example, he had to be hooked against League One side Cardiff City in the League Cup, with his replacement, Alejandro Garnacho, going on to score a brace.
In all, the Englishman has scored one goal and provided five assists in 20 appearances for the Blues, with three of those goal involvements coming in the League Cup and the other three in the league against relegation-threatened sides.
Considering this poor return, the poor performances and the fact that he could fall even further down the pecking order now that the club are interested in Antoine Semenyo, it’s hard to disagree with one analyst’s opinion that the winger has been a “pointless signing.”
Gittens’ recent league form
Season
24/25
25/26
Appearances
32
12
Minutes
1784′
426′
Goals
8
0
Assists
4
2
Goal Involvements per Match
0.37
0.16
Minutes per Goal Involvement
148.66′
213′
All Stats via Transfermarkt
Moreover, it’s easy to see a world in which he becomes another Sterling-like figure in the squad, and perhaps the only reason he isn’t already viewed as such is the fact that he’s a new signing and not earning anywhere near as much.
Ultimately, Gittens is a talented player, and there is time for him to come good, but as things stand, he is looking like another flop signing for Chelsea.
Chelsea line up £47m move to sign their new Moises Caicedo in January
The incredible prospect could develop into another Caicedo for Chelsea and Maresca.
Sunderland have now reportedly opened talks to sign a La Liga forward, who has green-lit a move to the Premier League in the January transfer window.
Sunderland open talks to sign La Liga forward
Sunderland are in absolute dreamland. Fresh from their promotion and subsequent spending spree in the summer, the Black Cats are set to sit as high as sixth on Christmas Day. Not even the most optimistic fans could have predicted that at the start of the season, but those at the Stadium of Light aren’t done there.
Manager Regis Le Bris told reporters after drawing 0-0 against Brighton & Hove Albion on Saturday: “We won 26 points before AFCON, which is important and a big achievement, and now it’s really clear that we will be a bit less composed because we have less players.
“And the players who didn’t play so far will need time to step up. We trust their quality, their mindset but you’re can’t switch on and be at the level (straight away), so they will need time.”
What’s more, with AFCON underway and as many as six Sunderland players taking part in the tournament, the Black Cats could turn towards the January transfer window.
To that end, rumours are already arriving. According to recent reports, those in Wearside have already set their sights on signing the likes of Jhon Lucumi, who has been a target since the summer and could finally be on his way to the club.
Alas, he’s not the only one on their radar. According to TeamTalk, Kyril Louis-Dreyfus and Sunderland are now in talks to sign Ruben Vargas, who has green-lit a move from Sevilla to the Premier League in the January transfer window.
Intermediaries have reportedly contacted Sunderland, Leeds United and Bournemouth over a move for the winger, sparking a Premier League race for his signature ahead of next month.
Ruben Vargas could ease Talbi blow
It makes perfect sense that Sunderland have reportedly opened talks to sign Vargas. As long as AFCON continues and they’re without Chemsdine Talbi, they’ll be without a crucial attacking spark that Vargas could reignite that month.
Valued at around €10m (£9m) by Sevilla, the Swiss winger is certainly in Sunderland’s spending range, so is may well come down to whether they can fend off any competition from Premier League rivals.
Sunderland "warrior" looks like a new Dan Ballard in the making
Regis Le Bris has a new Daniel Ballard on his hands at Sunderland in this determined warrior.
ByKelan Sarson
Manage that and then they can turn their attention towards Vargas’ salary demands. As things stand, he earns around £53,000-a-week at Sevilla, which would put him in Sunderland’s top 10 earners. Whether they regard his quality high enough to grant those demands is the big question.
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In terms of goals, it’s difficult to see how the 27-year-old would significantly add to Le Bris’ side, with just three strikes to his name all season to go alongside his four assists.
In the short-term, Vargas would provide added depth whilst AFCON continues to stretch Sunderland’s squad. In the long-term, however, the Black Cats may struggle to find a place for the Sevilla star.
With the demise of Rangers, Celtic have quietly gone about their business dominating Scotland’s top flight.
They failed to return to the ‘big time’ last season, which means Celtic are favourites once again for a domestic clean sweep of silverware this season.
Most football fans would like to see Rangers back in the top flight, contrary to the feelings of most Celtic fans. The Old Firm derby has always been the highlight of Scottish football, so the quicker they return to the Premiership, the better.
But while Rangers continue to struggle to get out of Scotland’s second tier, what do the Celtic faithful expect to see under Ronny Deila this season?
We asked the experts for their season predictions and stuck them all in one place for you to enjoy.
Here’s what Celtic fans expect from their club this season…
The Celtic Blog – James Forrest
What the fans expect: Goals. Guts. Passion. And trophies. Last season, once the team started to motor, most of us thought the treble dream might be alive. But domestic trebles are incredibly tough to win, even in Scotland, and it takes an exceptional side, having an exceptional season, to actually scale that particular height. Whilst we dreamed about it, I don’t know that many Celtic fans actually expected to see us triumph and win it.
We came mighty close. The semi-final against Inverness, which ultimately ended the run, was one of those games we ought to have put out of sight before the wheels came off and things started to go wrong. We were also denied a stonewall penalty, in a travesty of a decision which haunted Scottish football for weeks and ought to have seen heads roll.
(I blogged extensively on the bizarre aftermath of that decision, and the ensuing mess the governing bodies got into in relation to it.)
Since then the team has really clicked under Ronny and the fans will be expecting us to go one better this year and seal the deal, making everyone involved part of something special.
In European terms the troops will be expecting qualification to the Group stages of the Champions League. It might be a big ask to go much further than that though.
What they’ll actually get: I’m going to be brazen and say that we’ll do the clean sweep in Scotland this year. The team is hungry for this, and with Gary Mackay Steven, Nadir Cifcti and Stuart Armstrong complimenting what was already a damned good side (GMS and Stuart were ineligible for the latter stages of the cup competitions last year and Nadir is a new signing) we’re in good shape domestically.
Europe is a tougher call. I think we’ll make the Groups but doing anything major in them is going to be a Herculian task. At best we can hope for a third place finish, giving us a Europa League berth, which in itself would be nice. Qualifying outright? Man oh man … if wishing made it so … I just don’t see it this time around. A year too early maybe, and we still lack that one qualify finisher who can take chances at that level and propel you onward.
One to Watch: Oh that’s easy. We have some extremely strong players in the midfield, guys who could go and play anywhere. (No joke, I really think they’re special.) Aside from our captain, Scott Brown, the others are really coming into their own. Nir Biton has blossomed into the kind of guy who was attracting Man City a few years ago, and he will be hugely important. Stefan Johansen is one of my favourite players at Celtic Park, a consummate passer of the ball, who gets forward but can do a defensive job as well. He is going to be a huge star.
But it’s Stuart Armstrong who excites me the most. He’s 23, he’s got a tremendous work ethic and he is classy. He can pass a ball, shoot from distance, he moves across the pitch almost effortlessly. His signing, late last year, was the one a lot of the bloggers had lobbied for on and off for a few years and we were delighted that the club made its move.
He is well worth keeping an eye on.
Predictions: A domestic treble, the Group stages of the Champions League … ending up in the Europa League quarter finals. That’ll be a success story beyond what most Celtic fans hope for … but I think it’s achievable, especially depending on what happens in January. If we get to the Groups and find a way to stay in Europe with the current squad there’s no excuse for not breaking out the cheque book.
Visit: The Celtic Blog
Video Celts – @VideoCelts
What the fans expect: Winning the treble and reaching the group stage of the Champions League
What they’ll actually get: Win the Premiership and Scottish Cup, reach group stage of Champions League
One to Watch: On loan Luke Donnelly
Predictions: Donnelly will be Championship Player of the Year
Visit VideoCelts.com
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On Fields Of Green – @LaytonBhoy
What the fans expect: Last season the club’s supporters had no great expectations; we were watching a team in transition and we knew that. As the season wore on we started to dream about a domestic treble though and that, I think, is what the supporters will be expecting this year.
We also failed to progress in the Champions League, suffering those two calamitous knockouts, one after being reinstated in the competition. The supporters expect progress on that front too, provided we get through tomorrow night in Azerbaijan.
What will they actually get?: Odd as it may seem, this season they actually stand a chance of hitting those targets. It’s no longer a team in transition for one, and the manager appears to have learned from the mistakes me made last season. In spite of all the changes at the club in the 2014-15 campaign, we actually did come exceedingly close to doing the clean sweep in Scotland; losing in the cup semi-final to Inverness prevented us going all the way.
Europe will be the tougher campaign, but even there I see signs of progress.
One to Watch: Easy one. Stuart Armstrong. A fantastic signing, with all the talent in the world. He compliments what was already a very strong Celtic midfield. I’m really excited about this guy and can’t wait to see him when he’s fully up to speed with the demands of the club.
Predictions: The treble will be wrapped up nicely. We’ll still be in Europe by Xmas… and we’ll still be waiting on the club spending more than £3 million on a player when this season is over. Forgive me for that cynicism, but I’ve been here too often before to doubt it.