After Birmingham City failed in a bid to turn Riley McGree’s loan move into a permanent deal after failing to strike up a deal with Charlotte, Nottingham Forest and Middlesbrough were alerted to the availability of the attacking Australian international midfielder.
It was expected that he would move to one of the English clubs after both made bids of £2m on Friday evening with Boro being slight favourites after offering a more lucrative deal with add on’s.
Celtic and Ange Postecoglou who will know the player well surprised both English clubs with a £2.5m offer late last night and are now in pole position to sign McGee if they can trash out a deal to include add on’s for Charlotte.
Celtic is the preferred destination of the player and if the clubs shake on a deal then all that is left will be personal terms for the player and his representatives to accept.
At the moment there is no confirmation that Forest or Boro have offered a better deal than Celtic.
Manchester United! The team of Alex Ferguson, and, long ago, of Matt Busby & Jimmy Delaney! The team which had resurrected itself from Munich and had won the European Cup a year after Celtic did. A team of romance and passion – not unlike Celtic themselves.
Meetings between the two had been scarce – Celtic had beaten them in the Coronation Cup of 1953, and in a famous friendly in 1966 at the start of the great season. But there was Pat Crerand, who could have been one of the greatest Celts of them all had he not come at the wrong time, when things were so bad that he was easily seduced away to Manchester United to the distress of every- one at Celtic Park.
All these things counted as nothing in 2006. This was the fifth game of the section. Celtic had lost the first game 3-2 at Old Trafford, a respectable but disappointing defeat. They had then beaten Copenhagen & Benfica at Celtic Park, but had then obeyed the prevailing law of the time that Celtic were obliged to blow up away from home in Europe. 3-0 at Celtic Park, was tragically balanced 0-3 in Lisbon, a city with happier memories.
Domestically, Celtic were doing well enough, the only blot on the copybook being the failure to beat Falkirk in the League Cup and the consequent defeat in the most heart breaking of circumstances – a penalty shoot-out. Celtic Park was, hardly surprisingly, sold out for the visit of Manchester United weeks before the event, and the crowd saw a good first half, although most honest Celtic supporters were prepared to admit that Manchester United played the slicker football. But Artur Boruc in the goal was in fine form, and the English team didn’t score.
It was much of the same in the second half, except if anything Celtic were beginning to take more of a grip of the game. It looked more and more like a 0-0 draw until well within the last 10 minutes Jiri Jarosik, a man who tended to be kept for European rather than domestic games, earned Celtic a free kick. It was more of a fall than a tackle, let’s say, but the Spanish referee bought it. It was about 35 yards from the goal, slightly to the right. It did not look like an obvious danger, but Celtic had a special free kick expert in Shunsuke Nakamura with an astonishing ability to judge his free kicks to perfection, and this was what he did here, lifting the ball over the wall and managing to get the ball to dip just under the bar.
The heaving masses of Parkhead had still more drama before the end. The Spanish referee awarded United a penalty. Saha took it, but Artur Boruc saved it. It was delirium piled on top of delirium, and the full time whistle came with Celtic winning 1-0 – enough to qualify Celtic, even though not everyone worked that out at the time, and even though Celtic went on to obey once again the rule that says you must lose in Europe away from home, this time in Copenhagen although admittedly in a meaningless fixture. But Tuesday November 21 was a great European night.
Born in 1948, David Potter first saw Celtic at Dens Park, Dundee in March 29. It was a 3-5 defeat, which equipped him admirably for the horrors of the early 1960’s. He had “followed” Celtic for a few years before that and recalls having been called upon to impersonate Jock Stein and receive the family silver teapot which had to do for the Scottish Cup as it was presented on April 24 1954, after he and his father had spent a nerve wracking afternoon listening to the radio! Since then, he has “followed” every Celtic game with bated breath, and has written extensively about the club in magazines and books. His favorite team was that of 1969 (which he rates marginally better than 1967) and his favorite player was Henrik Larsson.His ambition for Celtic is for them to keep on winning silver in Scotland and to be something in Europe once again. His other interests are cricket and drama. He is 70, a retired teacher of Classical Languages, married with three children and five grandchildren. He now travels on the Joseph Rafferty bus from Kirkcaldy. He also loves Forfar Athletic.
Celtic FC announced last night that Johnny Kenny will join from Sligo Rovers on a 5 year contract subject to the usual conditions and international clearance. Here is a compilation of his Sligo Rovers goals and a detailed article on what type of a player we are getting and his career so far.
Celtic Fans will be happy to see Christopher Jullien, Karamoko Dembele, Giorgos Giakoumakis, Joe Hart, James Forrest and Callum McGregor all back in training ahead of the restart of the league campaign on Monday 17 when Hibs visit Celtic Park.
No concrete news yet if fans will be allowed back into Paradise but I remain optimistic that we will be back inside the stadium cheering on the Bhoys.
Anyone who watched the short video released by Celtic today will have seen the 3 new Japanese Bhoys training at Lennoxtown with their new team mates but fellow country man Kyogo was a noticeable absentee as was Jota both are continuing their rehabilitation from hamstring injuries and hopefully they will be back training soon.
David Turnbull also remains on the injury list and reports suggest that he won’t be back till at least February. Long-term absentee Jullien will be chomping at the bit to get back into the team after missing out on over a year of football.
His return can only be a positive and add some competition for starting places in central defence. Hart and McGregor will go straight back into the team and you would expect Forest who has had a stop start season to be high up in Ange’s thoughts about getting him game time.
We haven’t seen to much of Giakoumakis and Dembele but these players returning will give the manager food for thought ahead of a packed schedule of two games a week with Cup, League and European glory all up for grabs.
Andrew Milne is Editor of More than 90 Minutes Celtic Fanzine which he started in 2001. He has been involved with fanzines since 1989 and has written for numerous publications and online about Celtic. He is a former newspaper columnist with the Daily Ireland and the man behind celticfanzine.com. He is host of the Celtic Soul Podcast, Talk form the Terrace Podcast, Grand Auld History Podcast & Celtic AM pre-match events at Murphy’s in Glasgow on match days and follows Celtic Home & Away. He is a season ticket holder for Celtic FC and the Republic of Ireland. He is also P.R.O. of St. Margaret’s CSC, a member of the Celtic Trust and the Celtic Graves Association.
“Everyone at the club worked awfully hard to get the deals done and we had great co-operation from the Japanese clubs involved and their representatives, and I’m really pleased we managed to get them over so early.
‘I think they’ll be an important part of what we’re trying to build here, so from our perspective, they’re here for the long term and we hope they can be successful in the years ahead.’
“I know Daizen well. He’s a really determined character who wants to improve.
“He’s one that knows our style of play and I was keen to bring him in during the summer. I know his attributes and I think he will do well for us.
“Reo is a player I watched develop in Japan. His old team Kawasaki Frontale have been the outstanding team in the J-League for the last five years with some ridiculous talent in their ranks and Reo is one of them.
“He’s had a lot of success playing for a club that wants to win every week, which sounds similar to this club. He has the right character and I think he will develop over time.”
Yosuke is someone I followed and scouted from my time in the Australian national team,” he said. “He’s an exciting young talent and a guy I’m really pleased to bring in and work with.
“For Daizen, I can see there’s unfinished business for him from his time in Europe and he wanted to get another opportunity.
‘It’s an added bonus that Yosuke and Daizen have experience playing in Europe and I like the fact they went back to Japan with the intent of proving themselves and going again.’
“It’s a very different culture in Japan and for a lot of Japanese players that first move across can be pretty challenging.
“It’s not about trying to create a unique environment for them, they know they’re here to represent this football club and they know the challenges involved.
“The whole group will be happy to get three quality footballers to help us on our path.”
‘I’ve only been able to see Celtic Park on videos and pictures, so I’m really excited to finally be able to experience this great stadium and I’m extremely looking forward to meeting the fans and playing in front of them.’
Ange Postecoglou continues his rebuild at Celtic in the January transfer window with three arrivals from the J League grabbing the early headlines one young Irish man was preparing to sign for Celtic was out shopping for some new clobber and grabbing a few headlines of his own on the Emerald Isle but grabbing football headlines is nothing new to Johnny Kenny.
Kenny is about to sign for Celtic from Sligo Rovers. He may be unknown outside of Ireland, but he has the potential and talent to make it in Glasgow and his talent will not have gone unnoticed by Celtic Irish based Scouts or Willie McStay who has links from his successful period at the club. Willie is ever present at underage Ireland games where Kenny has caught the eye on numerous occasions.
Sligo Rovers will have been aware of interest in the player since he broke into the senior team when scouts started appearing to watch him from several clubs in Europe including Celtic’s rivals Hibs.
I have heard some within the media speculating that he will go out on loan, but he is expected to go straight into the Celtic B team. If players are going out on loan, they will more than likely be players who are not available to Tommy McIntyre for selection because they are too old for the B Team that competes in the Lowland League and need first team football like Liam Shaw who’s move to Motherwell till the end of the season is a perfect fit at this stage of his Celtic Career.
At 18 Kenny is young enough to play in the B team, if he impresses, he will get a chance to train with the first team and hopefully he can make it to the first team bench by the end of the season.
Postecoglou told me at a recent press conference about the importance of B team players getting a chance to train with the first team so that when they are called upon to the first team if needed, they are ready and know what is expected.
A lot has been said about the SPFL being a big step up from the League of Ireland, Liam Scales has made that step up after his move from Shamrock Rovers and he is one player who will not be going out on loan this window as he has shown that he is ready to play his part in the first team.
To flip things on its side the League of Ireland is a step up from the Scottish Lowland League so Kenny will have been playing at the higher level than his new Celtic teammates so he should have no problem hitting the ground running.
He will bring pace, a great attitude and a goal poachers’ instinct. He can score goals with his left or right foot, with his head, from long range or in the box from a tap. When Sligo Rovers manager Liam Buckley gave him his chance, he grabbed it with both hands and both feet, while still at school.
He made 33 appearances some from the bench and scored 11 goals. He has been in Ireland under 18 and 19 teams. In the under 19 UEFA Championship qualifiers Ireland faced Bulgaria, Bosnia, and Montenegro and he scored in each game.
At underage level he has been banging in hat-tricks on a regular basis and he continued that into his senior form in the League of Ireland nothing is certain in football, but this young footballer just might possibly prove to be a steal for Celtic at €150k and the Celtic scouting team deserve all the credit for this one.
Andrew Milne is Editor of More than 90 Minutes Celtic Fanzine which he started in 2001. He has been involved with fanzines since 1989 and has written for numerous publications and online about Celtic. He is a former newspaper columnist with the Daily Ireland and the man behind celticfanzine.com. He is host of the Celtic Soul Podcast, Talk form the Terrace Podcast, Grand Auld History Podcast & Celtic AM pre-match events at Murphy’s in Glasgow on match days and follows Celtic Home & Away. He is a season ticket holder for Celtic FC and the Republic of Ireland. He is also P.R.O. of St. Margaret’s CSC, a member of the Celtic Trust and the Celtic Graves Association.
Not sure where Paul Lennon from the Irish Daily Star and the Irish Daily Mirror online is getting his information about Celtic missing out on Seamus Coleman 13 years ago. Coleman proved during his career that he was a quality player for both club and country.
Lennon was writing about Johnny Kenny’s move from Sligo Rovers to Celtic and writes “The Hoops were outbid by Everton for Coleman in January 2009 when the Toffees’ €70,000 offer was accepted by the Bit O’ Red with subsequent add-ons earning Sligo a total of €170,000 for the future Ireland skipper” Not true or maybe my mind is playing games with me but I don’t think so.
When Coleman was linked with Celtic, he was not on the Everton radar. German international Andreas Hinkel was Celtic’s first choice right back and Paul Caddis was his reserve. Paul had come through the youth ranks at Celtic and would make 17 first team appearances before leaving the club to play in England. Celtic opted not to sign Coleman and David Moyes was alerted to this and took a punt on the young player and it proved to be a great bit of business.
Let’s get it straightl, Johnny Kenny’s signing has nothing to do with Seamus Coleman like the tabloid headline suggests.
Andrew Milne is Editor of More than 90 Minutes Celtic Fanzine which he started in 2001. He has been involved with fanzines since 1989 and has written for numerous publications and online about Celtic. He is a former newspaper columnist with the Daily Ireland and the man behind celticfanzine.com. He is host of the Celtic Soul Podcast, Talk form the Terrace Podcast, Grand Auld History Podcast & Celtic AM pre-match events at Murphy’s in Glasgow on match days and follows Celtic Home & Away. He is a season ticket holder for Celtic FC and the Republic of Ireland. He is also P.R.O. of St. Margaret’s CSC, a member of the Celtic Trust and the Celtic Graves Association.
I don’t think I am the only one who believes that Celtic or any other Scottish club playing games down in England is complete pie in the Sky. Maybe it was leaked out as a rumor from the powers that be who run the SPFL or one of the PR gurus at one of the clubs to put pressure on the Scottish Government.
If anyone thinks that putting pressure on the Scottish government with a treat of a move to England to play games in front of football fans, then they are mistaken. The government will only be guided by medical science and not by anyone connected with football.
For now, it’s a waiting game for Celtic fans ahead of the return on Monday 17 when Hibs visit Celtic Park to see if we will be inside the stadium come kick off at 19:45. My flights are booked to Glasgow, and I don’t expect to land in an English Airport anytime soon!
Celtic Playing Rangers in England – Pie in the Sky
Andrew Milne is Editor of More than 90 Minutes Celtic Fanzine which he started in 2001. He has been involved with fanzines since 1989 and has written for numerous publications and online about Celtic. He is a former newspaper columnist with the Daily Ireland and the man behind celticfanzine.com. He is host of the Celtic Soul Podcast, Talk form the Terrace Podcast, Grand Auld History Podcast & Celtic AM pre-match events at Murphy’s in Glasgow on match days and follows Celtic Home & Away. He is a season ticket holder for Celtic FC and the Republic of Ireland. He is also P.R.O. of St. Margaret’s CSC, a member of the Celtic Trust and the Celtic Graves Association.
Best of luck to Ewan Henderson who joined Hibs on loan with a permanent move agreed for the summer. Hibs manager Shaun Maloney will know the player well from his time coaching the Celtic development squad
The 21-year-old joins the Edinburgh side on a temporary deal until the end of the season when he’ll make the move full-time on a three-year deal.
His chances were few and far between in the Celtic first team but he never let himself down when his chance came to pull on the Hoops. He came through the Youth ranks at Celtic and won the Glasgow Cup with the under 17’s.
He made his senior debut against Kilmarnock from the bench in the league back in 2018 and started his first game v Motherwell in February 2019 and picked up the MOTM award.
His chances in the first team were few and far between and he went out on loan to Ross County in September 2019 and then to Dunfermline in March 2021.
My last memory of him will be coming off the bench against Real Betis and scoring with his first touch. Henderson’s move to Hibs has kicked started Ange’s Clear Out.
Andrew Milne is Editor of More than 90 Minutes Celtic Fanzine which he started in 2001. He has been involved with fanzines since 1989 and has written for numerous publications and online about Celtic. He is a former newspaper columnist with the Daily Ireland and the man behind celticfanzine.com. He is host of the Celtic Soul Podcast, Talk form the Terrace Podcast, Grand Auld History Podcast & Celtic AM pre-match events at Murphy’s in Glasgow on match days and follows Celtic Home & Away. He is a season ticket holder for Celtic FC and the Republic of Ireland. He is also P.R.O. of St. Margaret’s CSC, a member of the Celtic Trust and the Celtic Graves Association.
