How are Celtic sitting now the window has been carefully shut?

With the exception of maybe picking up a few players currently without a club, the SPL squads are in the position they are going to be until January.

The biggest movers and shakers have been Celtic, which is unsurprising given they have a new boss and how poor they were last season.

With many in and many out, it is still hard to properly judge the strength of the squad as the jury remains out on many players.

Then again, no one does a knee-jerk reaction like a Scottish football fan so let’s review Neil Lennon’s team.

Goalkeeper

Definitely weaker.

Artur Boruc had his critics but it is easy to overlook the fact he had a good season last year. Injuries blighted him and some people could never bring themselves to give him credit but he is a big loss.

Boruc is unlikely to get back to his prime of 2008 but it’s worth remembering strong performances at Ibrox and Easter Road last season, scenes of previous Boruc howlers.

Lukas Zaluska, for us, lacks the presence to be the number one at Celtic and his summer form so far backs that up.

Fraser Forster, a loan signing from Newcastle, made his debut at Fir Park but went largely untested. Many Celtic fans appreciated the punch he delivered to the head of Glen Loovens but the 6′ 7″ keeper is still very much under the spotlight.

We can’t imagine anyone would strongly argue that Celtic look weaker in the goalkeeping department.

Defence

Tentavitely stronger…but is definitely up for debate
The sieve was back for Celtic last season and even a January overhaul failed to improve matters.

The long-term injury picked up by Andy Hinkel (who was likely to be sold) means that Cha Du-Ri is the chief right back for the hoops.

The South Korean looks capable when bombing forward but has looked suspect at the back. In reality, he is a more cost effective Andy Hinkel. Such is the downsizing of Celtic.

Where Cha has looked most suspect is defending crosses with an attacker coming across him on his blind side. It may be that the South Korean’s awareness at the back could be an Achilles heel for Celtic.

If Cha is unavailable, Celtic will turn to injury-prone Mark Wilson or will draw Mexican Efrain Juarez out of midfield. This would limit the options of Celtic on midfield so would not be the preferred option.

At left-back, Celtic lost the services of World Cup final star Edson Braffheid and the maverick Lee Naylor. Add this to the quick in and out of Danny Fox and you can see why some Celtic fans were crying out for the capture of ANY left-back.

As is so often the case, the arrival of Charlie Mulgrew left many choking on their words. Mulgrew has the ability to make Celtic fans daydream of the halcyon era when Mo Camara roamed the left flank with a smile on his face and a bandage on his arm.

The capture of Izaguirre, the Honduran international, came as a relief and like Forster, made his debut at Fir Park. As first games go, it was well received with even Motherwell boss Craig ‘Big Bad Leroy’ Brown praising him highly.

The early performances of Lee Naylor also looked good so there is no need to get carried but there is hope Izaguirre may solve Celtic’s left back options.

If the Honduran is out, his position could be filled by dropping Joe Ledley in, by giving a full debut to Hoopy the Huddle Hound or at a last resort, Charlie Mulgrew.

What about the middle of Celtic’s defence? Well, from the squad that finished last season, loanees Darren O’Dea and Josh Thompson have been replaced by Dan Majstorovic. This is an improvement.

However, there hasn’t been enough improvement in this area. If Thomas Rogne could avoid injury, Celtic would have the look of a decent duo at the back. Then again, that looks like one of the biggest IFs in the Scottish game.

This leaves Neil Lennon to choose between Loovens and Jos Hooiveld. You can see why this is not a good thing. One more centre half, one with a bit of pace, could have transformed the Celti backline but the failure to do so could be costly.

We think the new starting defence for Celtic is an improvement but is only an injury or two away from a new crisis. Which could be argued is the case for many clubs.

So that is the Celtic defensive positions examined….and its a lengthy article, so we will return to the midfield and attack later on.

How do you feel about Celtic at the back? Three clean sheets in the SPL – indication of strength or no guarantee of future success?

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Loovens the latest addition to the Celtic backline injury list

Given the way that Celtic have defended this season, it is maybe not the worst thing in the world that Tony Mowbray has been forced into changing his back four.

And when you consider his substitutions in the second half in the win over St Johnstone, if he could get away without a defence, he may well try it.

At one point, Celtic had McGinn, McCourt, Crosas, McGeady, McGowan, Samaras and Fortune on the field.

Add in Paul Caddis, who is more of a wing-back as opposed to a genuine full-back, Celtic were playing with only Darren O’Dea and Josh Thompson at the back.

A player making his first start for the club and another who struggled to get a game on loan at Reading for the first half of the season.

Mowbray is really down to the bare bones of a back line at the moment.

Gary Caldwell is gone.
Mark Wilson is still a long injury casualty.
Stephen McManus is injured and has looked off-form all season.
Danny Fox has been missing since after the Rangers game.
Lee Naylor picked up an injury after the Morton match.
Glen Loovens was subbed around 20 minutes of the St Johnstone game and required stitches. The player had a slight concussion which may see him unavailable for the next game or two.

Celtic currently have Andreas Hinkel, Josh Thompson and Darren O’Dea available.

The club has recently signed two centre halfs, Jos Hooiveld and Tomas Rogne and Hooiveld may be forced into first team action sooner than Mowbray would have wanted.
Celtic welcome Hibs to Celtic Park on Wednesday night and there is no doubt that Hibs have the fire power to punish a weak rearguard.

Hibs struck 5 against Hamilton with Nish, Stokes and Riordan all on the score-sheet.

Tony Mowbray will need to spend a couple of hard days on the training field (or in the transfer market) to ensure his backline is up to the task at hand.

Do Celtic need to buy more defenders this window?

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Names don’t get much bigger than Dzmitry Verkhovtsov

Celtic fans, go ring all the bells and go tell the people.

It is only a rumour at the moment, started by the people at E-Tims, home of the Rumour Mill (oh wait, bin this now) but there may be hope that a new centre half is on the way.

Given that the transfer window is not even open yet, this may be a bit too much to bear, especially after all the crazy rumours of the past few days.

The 23 year old Belarus international has 12 caps to his name and has scored twice for his national team. The 6’3” defender, if signed, will likely add some much need muscle at the back for Celtic.

He currently plays for FC Naftan Novopolotsk, who won their first major trophy this year, the Belarusian Cup.

There has been a definite lack of presence at the back for Celtic and the sight of average players like Lee Miller, Billy Mehmet and Kevin Kyle bullying the backline has been very depressing for Hoops fans.

Boss Tony Mowbray must understand that his job will be on the line soon if his team continues to throw away goals so cheaply and it is hopeful for Celtic fans that the club appear to be doing something.

Perhaps the first pay at the gate league match at Celtic Park in many years has finally woken the PLC board up?

Video footage of the player has been hard to find but WeKnowSFA has uncovered this clip.

Okay, it is a clip of Low singing ‘Belarus’ but WeKnowSFA are big fans of the band and if this move comes off, could only encourage Celtic fans to welcome the player to Parkhead by belting out the chorus to this catchy number:

Is one new centre half enough for Celtic?

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It is fair to say that the Tartan Army and Celtic fans don’t always agree.

Lets not get carried away, there are a great number of people who like Celtic and Scotland but there is a sense that some of the followers stand apart.

In the opinion of some fans, “the kilt and desert boot wearers who are only there for a party” may be opposed to “the tricolour waving political activists that pepper Parkhead” but there is one topic that brings them together.

Yes, Gary Caldwell and his massive heid manages to pull these two groups together, an act that Henry Kissinger may have struggled to pull off.

Its a shame as he managed moments for both that should have made him a legend in the eyes of even the harshest of fans.

Scottish fans won’t forget the winner that rainy night at Hampden when Gary slid in to stick it to the French.

Celtic fans won’t forget the way Caldwell stepped up to the plate and was a key player in the run of 7 victories that propelled them to a third title in a row back in 2007/08.

However, even with all this goodwill built up, Caldwell has somehow managed to obliterate it with poor performances and an even poorer attitude.

It says a lot about the state of modern football and the relationship between fans and players but the poor performances could probably be tolerated. Caldwell is not the worst player for either club but insists on singling himself out with an inability to keep his mouth shut.

There are those who will point at some of the private life indiscretions Caldwell has made but they should probably remain his private matters. It is the wage demands of around £15,000 to £20,000 that has caused the most offence for fans.

With the economic situation being what it is, any player openly making a claim for this sort of cash is going to be viewed poorly. When it is being made by a player who is making mistake after mistake, it is hard to fault fans for not having patience.

The start of the 2009/10 season was a disaster for Caldwell, an early dismissal in Scotlands drubbing in Norway setting the low standard. For all that there can be debate about whether it was a harsh sending off or not, poor defensive work allowed John Carew to have Caldwell in his back pocket and draw silly fouls.

The international form has been carried to his club, with Caldwell being part of a defensive line-up that has shipped 5 goals in their last two games.

Credit should always go to the attacking team but the goals Celtic have conceded to Falkirk and Dundee United have exposed a very weak central defence.

Losing two free headers in the six-yard box in the final few minutes consigned Celtic to their first defeat against Dundee United in over 10 years. The man with the captain’s armband could only look around and realise he had no one left to blame.

The issue is, within a few days, Caldwell will be back spouting off to the media about how the team can bounce back and that fans opinions don’t matter, the team will decide what is good enough.

Celtic fans can at least look forward to the fact that Caldwell is unlikely to be at the club next season, Scottish fans may have to suffer his performance and attitude a bit longer.

Tell us your opinion on Heid in the comments section below.

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