Much has been said over Celtic’s transfer policy, usually negative I might add.

The idea of having player after player come through the doors at Lennoxtown for a trial doesn’t always go down too well with the Faithful, myself included. It was almost as if there were more trials in the Campsies than at the High Court!

We would all much rather see the club pick an established player pay the money, throw him into the team and he becomes and instant success.

But in reality, it doesn’t work that way.

The old adage that you have to ‘kiss a lot of frogs’ could well be used when it comes to the number of ‘potential’ signings that make their way to Glasgow to earn a contract with Celtic.

The ‘frogs’ will come and go but every so often a ‘prince’ will emerge and the Bhoys will take him on to the next level.

By all accounts it looks like Celtic’s new number 40,  Nigerian Rabiu Ibrahim will be that player. The 20 year-old has done what many before him have failed to do, earn a three and a half year deal with the Hoops.

Hopefully he’ll repay the faith manager Neil Lennon has in him and become a star at the club.

Welcome to Paradise young man!

When a manager leaves a club there is always one player who comes good….call him a legacy for want of a better description.

Wim Jansen left Henrik Larsson, Dr Jo left Lubo Moravcik and to a lesser extent Martin O’Neill left Aiden McGeady.

As Lenny continues his own development of Celtic, it’s looking likely that the ONLY player left by former manager Tony Mowbray to keep his job at Celtic Park will be 20 year-old centre back Thomas Rogne.

Marc-Antoine Fortune, Diomansky Kamara, Edson Braafheid and Jos Hooiveld have all got through the exit door at Paradise, and with Morten Rasmussen unlikely to feature in any capacity under Lenny, that left Rogne and young Josh Thompson from Mowbrays time in Glasgow.

Yesterday the club announced that big Josh will go out on another loan, this time to Chesterfield, so his Parkhead prospects don’t look too good.

That ultimately leaves Thomas….

Beset with injury since he joined the Hoops, Thomas was brought back by Neil for the recent Derby match and played as though he’d never been away. It was like his early promise had come good.

Now, I’m not suggesting he can repeat the feats of those players previously mention, Mssrs Larsson, Moravcik or McGeady but if he keep up progressing he may well become a good Celtic player, a very good Celtic player.

Then Tony’s time wasn’t a total waste….

Has anyone else notice how relaxed and controlled manager Neil Lennon seems at the moment?

OK, he’s just won the Manager of the Month award and his team have overturned a fifteen point deficit in two months to sit two clear at the top of the SPL.

But it’s not just that.

Since he was appointed gaffer at Celtic he’s had to contend with death threats, personal attacks, bullets and bombs in the post and yet through all that he’s still in the Celtic dugout.

He was absolutely demonised by a baying pack in the Scottish media who portrayed him as some sort of villain. Somehow they managed to turn his actions, that of managing his team, into public enemy number one.

And let’s not forget, there were managers who had a go at him too…..one of them returns to Celtic Park tomorrow, let’s not forget about him!

All that off the field nonsense took it’s toll and at the start of the season there was a real concern that it had all caught up with Lenny.

The team were inconsistent, we were dropping silly points and his big players just weren’t performing. Although there was no real call for his head,  more than a few dissenting voices were being raised about his ability.

In fact Lenny himself admitted that during the half-time break at the Kilmarnock game on the 5th November, he wondered if he could turn it all around.

History shows that coming back from 3-0 down to get a valuable 3-3 draw was the turning point, not only for Neil but for Celtic as a team.

Our fortunes have changed considerably since then.

Although we bowed out of the Europa League at the group stages,we more than competed in a very difficult section. In fact our performances acted as a spring board for our league form if truth be told.

And all through this Lenny was changing.

He no longer got himself too involved with the field of play, although he still makes himself heard. He no longer gets too controversial in his pre or post match press conferences.

The people who tried to hang him out to dry, the Scottish media, are now feeding off scraps. And there’s nothing they can do about it.

Few men would have come through what Neil Lennon has, I’m not the only one who is glad he’s got this far, sooner or later he’ll get rewarded for the faith he showed in his team.

Maybe even as soon as March with the League Cup….

To say 2011 was a year of mixed emotions is an understatement as far as Celtic are concerned. As expected there was so much going on around the club, off the park as well as on the park.

Let’s take a look at on the field of play first.

Highlights:

The New Year started so well with a makeshift Celts going to Poundland and winning 2-0 courtesy of big Sammy. The result was major surprise and one that turned the Greek from zero to hero. (Although that wasn’t to last)

We also had a great day in the sun the following month, whipping the Dark Side 3-0 to continue our good SPL form. The highlight of the game Kris Commons’ 25 yard ‘swerver’ that left McGregor scratching his arse.

Into March and The Hoops did it again against the MM, this time in the Scottish Cup thanks to a goal from defender Mark Wilson. The game was later to be named the ‘shame game’ though Celtic and our players’ discipline was exemplary throughout the night when the Govan Mob lost the plot.

For manager Neil Lennon the Scottish Cup took on a whole new importance with the loss of the Co-op Cup and eventual misfiring in the SPL. The Cup Final at rain soaked Hampden saw Lenny finish the season with his first trophy as Celtic manager when the Bhoys thumped Murderwell 3-0. Not the league title but a trophy nonetheless.

If we thought last season was hard to take, then this season has produced a real mix of highs and lows. Keeping on the ‘highs’ theme the second half performance against Kilmarnock when the Hoops found themselves 3-0 down must rate as one of the most dramatic 45 minutes the club has ever played in.

Little did we know then the goals from Anthony Stokes (2) and Charlie Mulgrew would galvanise the team and ultimately go on an unbeaten league run that would turn a 15 point deficit into a 2 point lead.

And that lead was achieved by ending the year with a 1-0 win at Celtic Park on Wednesday thanks to Joe Ledley’s headed winner.

Celtic sit proudly at the top of the SPL after underachieving during the early part of the season.

Not only can Neil and the Bhoys be proud of their recent league form but they can equally be proud of their performances in the Europa League after FC Sion were banished for fielding ineligible players.

In a group that featured Atletico Madrid, Udinese and Rennes, the Hoops were effectively denied progress to the next stages by a ‘dodgy’ penalty decision against the Italians in the final minute of the game at Celtic Park.

Our off the field highlights must begin with the Celtic Park ‘huddle’ in the final SPL game of last season. The whole stadium, including Rod Stewart had Paradise rocking even though it was the day we lost the league.

The Faithful repeated the feat just a few days ago but this time the audience were undeserving of the spectacle!

And we can’t leave this year without mentioning the impact of the Thai Tims.

These children have touched the hearts of the Celtic support near and far even though their existence was brought to our attention by the tragic murder of Reammon Gormley.

They are a credit to the Bhoy and a reminder of how special our club and the people who support the club are…

and of course, you The Fanzoners who visit the site day in, day out, make producing the Celtic Fanzone a real honour, thank you all!

Lows to follow……

There’s no doubt in my mind that if Celtic turn up tomorrow night, then we’ll have more than enough in our locker to take the top spot in the SPL off the Dark Side. If only it was that simple.

Our recent form suggests we should take all three points but as we all know, Derby matches don’t always go with the form book.

Also there is another factor we have to take into account. The referee, Willie Collum. Why the SFA appointed him in the first place beggars belief.

He is without fear of contradiction, the worst referee to shove a whistle in his mouth for the last twenty years. And that’s what worries me.

His ability to give a penalty when facing away from the incident like he did in his first Derby match last season sends shivers down my spine. His inconsistency is almost legendary.

And there’s no doubt the Sneaky One’s team talk will encourage the ‘cheats’ and ‘hammer throwers’ to go about their business of diving and fouling their way through the match.

In other words, play their normal game….

Celtic are today reeling from three potentially damaging body blows, and non of them were their own doing!

• Blow1. UEFA have decided, not surprisingly, to charge the club after ‘fans’ set off flares and displayed and offensive banner at the Europa League game against Udinese in Italy last Thursday.
• Blow 2. Daniel Majstorovic looks likely to be out for five to six weeks after he fractured hi s cheekbone and eye socket during the Hoops 2-0 victory over St Johnstone at Perth yesterday.
• Blow 3. The SFA have appointed Willie ‘eyes in the back of ma heid’ Collum as referee for the derby match at Celtic Park on December 28th.

Of the three blows the third is without doubt the most dangerous.

UEFA won’t deal with the charge against the club until January 26th, so that can wait. As for Dan, his form has been good lately, but with Thomas Rogne and Kelvin Wilson both back fit, we should have ample cover there.

But the third blow, the appointment of Collum brings the most danger.

He is without doubt the worst referee in the Scottish League. He has a consistency of incompetency that knows no bounds. To give him the derby match is another slap in the face from the SFA.

And that’s NOT paranoia, just fact!

Since he first pulled on the Celtic goalkeepers jersey there has been an uneasiness between young Fraser Forster and the Celtic support.

Even though the Bhoy kept a record equalling 21 SPL clean sheets last season he has yet to really win over the Faithful.

In his defence, excuse the pun, he’s only 23 years old and has had more than his fair share of ‘bomb scare’ central defenders in front of him. Think Mssrs Maj and Loovens to start with….

He has made a few howlers, but tell me a keeper who hasn’t?

And of course, he’s had a number of really good and important saves. But none more important than yesterday.

With only a couple of minutes left on the clock, referee (I didn’t feel threatened) Calum Murray pointed to the spot after he ‘thought’ he saw goalscorer Victor Wanyama handle the ball in the Celtic box.

Eventually, Heartz’ Eggert Jonnson took the spot kick and Fraser threw himself full stretch to his left and shoved the ball away from danger. At this point the Celtic Park erupted!

That save effectively meant that the Hoops took all three points instead of one, and kept us firmly in the hunt for the SPL title.

It might also help endear the big fellow to the Faithful…

Earlier this evening I was reading the excellent Celtic Quick News version of tomorrow night’s match programme, when I came across a video of a previous meeting of the two clubs.

Celtic drew Atletico Madrid in the semi-finals of the old European Cup in 1974. It was seen as a favourable draw by Big Jock at the time…that was before the most shameful night Celtic Park has ever witnessed.

A crowd of 73,000 rolled up to Paradise hoping to see Celtic with Jinky, Kenny, Dixie et al do enough to put one foot in the club’s third European Cup Final in seven years.

I won’t spoil the drama, click here to see for yourself what went on that evening.

I’m sure you’ll be disgusted.

And keep this in mind, in flashes in our first game in Madrid the Spanish showed on occasion a cynical side that they always have in their locker.

Hopefully we won’t see a repeat of 1974 tomorrow, but don’t be surprised if they use lets say a ‘physical’ approach to the game….

When you’re on a wee bit of a run and results are finally going your way it’s easy to get complacent and take your foot off the gas. Then the next you know, yoiur back into another crisis.

As Dunfermline make their way through to Celtic Park tonight from sunny Fife, they’ll feel that the Bhoys could be vulnerable if they keep the back door locked for a while.

In other words, the Hoops AND the Faithful just might be asked to show some patience as we look to break down the Pars who I’m sure will be delighted with anything other than a defeat.

It’s game like this that often require a single goal victory to secure the three points. Hopefully that won’t be the case but if it is, then fine, as long as Celtic win. That’s all that matters.

P.S. A big CELTIC Fanzone welcome to Swedish defender Mikael Lustig who joins the club on a pre-contract agreement. Mikael played with Norwegian side Rosenberg, the club Celtic also signed Harold Brattbakk from!

Funny old game football.

Yesterday afternoon Beram Kayal was the centre of attention at Lennoxtown after he put pen to paper on an improved four year deal that keeps him at Celtic Park until 2015. (well maybe)

Kayal was paraded in front of the cameras pledging his undying love for Celtic, for Lenny and of course for us, the fans.

This is the same Kayal who on two weeks ago defied the medical team of the club he loves, to go on international duty instead of staying here in Glasgow to get the treatment he needed on the injury that kept him out of the important SPL game at Tynecastle only days before.

When I pointed this out yesterday I was accused of NOT being a Celtic fan because I wasn’t swept along with the usual badge kissers patter.

You see, since I clapped eyes on Celtic in the flesh for the first time in 1971 I’ve seen plenty of players walk through the gates of Celtic Park and profess an unwavering love for Celtic.

And I’ve seen them leave.

Kayal my friends is no different. And if it seems like I’m raining on someone parade, well so be it.

Give me a player who shuts his mouth, gets on with his job  and does his talking on the park any time. Too many of the current squad, including Kayal, talk a good game..