The South Korean is back from injury

It probably says more about the paucity of the Celtic squad at the moment, numbers wise at least, as opposed to anything that Ki Sung Yueng has done on the park for Celtic but the hoops fans have been handed a boost by the South Korean player’s return to the squad.

Ki Sung Yueng was quietly impressive on his debut against Falkirk but an injury picked up in that match has seen him sit out the games versus Morton and St Johnstone. That 90 minutes, plus all the Youtube footage, has created a buzz around the player. The South Korean played in front of the back four linking play together and came close to scoring from a free-kick which was heading for the top corner before it was palmed away.

Celtic have drawn their last two home matches but with the gap behind Rangers narrowed to 7 points with a game in hand, Celtic fans will be keyed up for the match against Hibs. Both teams show a lot going forward so it could be a night of chances between the greens in Glasgow’s East End.

With the Celtic rearguard likely to be a makeshift one yet again, the midfield will have to help out as much as possible to keep the Hibs strike force at bay.

Should Ki start against Hibs?

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Falkirk take point from Celtic yet again

In cased it gets lost in the shuffle, Falkirk deserve praise for taking a point from Celtic park. They rode their luck at times and certainly benefitted from a peculiar performance from Celtic and match-day referee but sometimes when you are at the bottom, you need the luck.

Debutant Enoch Showunmi made the most of his hour and got the best of Stephen McManus and Darren O’Dea. The Falkirk goal could have been a foul by Showunmi on McManus but then Carl Finnigan easily shrugged off O’Dea and outfoxed Boruc to slot the ball home.

Boruc then made a good save to keep the score at 1-0 before Celtic started taking more control of the game and they would have been considering themselves unlucky to be behind. As the half-time whistle neared, Marc Crosas won the ball superbly on the half way line and the ball was played forward, eventually reaching Georgios Samaras who fired home from the left hand side of the penalty area, squaring the game at 1-1 for half-time.

The second half was predictably one way traffic but Celtic weren’t making as many chances as they have been of late.

Yes, they pushed on but it certainly wasn’t relentless.

Debutant Ki Sung Yueng was unlucky enough to not have scored from a free-kick whilst Samaras and Fortune missed good chances.

There were too many Celtic players off form. McGeady was badly off-form and Lee Naylor showed why even on off form Danny Fox is a better player than him.

In fact, Lee Naylor showed that a dead fox would be a better player than him.

If there was any justice for Celtic fans who pay good money to watch their side, Naylor would be removed from their club first thing on Monday morning. Late in the game, in space on the left hand side, Naylor overhit his cross with no excuses other than he is a terrible player. He may be a decent bloke but this player is a very clear indication of the mediocrity that permeates a lot of Celtic Park.

It wouldn’t be a game where Celtic dropped points that the man in black did not play some point in and the home side should have had a penalty with a few minutes to go. Marc Antoine Fortune was hauled down but with Celtic boss Tony Mowbray refusing to condemn the refs, he will have to get used to not getting these decisions.

Then again, he may not have this situation for too long as question marks are being heaped on the question marks hanging over Tony Mowbray. Like Lee Naylor, he may be a decent bloke but he isn’t a lucky man and he doesn’t have the mark of a winner.

Eddie May must be wishing that he could play Celtic every week.

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Two midfield slots up for grabs

It has been a while since Celtic last played a match, with three players and one important sub unavailable to Tony Mowbray from the team that drew against Rangers.

Landry N’Guemo is in Africa at the Cup of Nations and Gary Caldwell and Barry Robson are not longer at the club. This means there will be three changes to starting line-up from the match on the 3rd and super-sub Scott McDonald who came off the bench to open the scoring, is recovering after a hernia operation.

This means there may be a place for South Korean star Ki Sung Yueng to make his debut.

Problems with the players registration (which the South Korean FA said was the fault of the SFA) prevented him from playing against Rangers and Celtic have been unable to play Morton in the Scottish Cup so far.

It is likely that Stephen McManus will come in at centre half to replace Gary Caldwell and Zhi or Niall McGinn will be looking to come in wide. Whether they will come in directly for Barry Robson or come in and swap wings with Aiden McGeady remains to be seen.

Falkirk may have a few new faces on show too.

Former Celtic midfielder Colin Healy has been signed on loan from Ipswich Town and the Irish star may find himself in line to make his debut at Celtic Park. Enoc Showunmi and Jack Compton could also feature for the first time for Falkirk.

With Rangers playing at lunchtime, Celtic could be 10 points off the top by the time they kick-off, so there is no margin for error for Tony Mowbray’s side.

Will the Bhoys blow away the Bairns?

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Hoops launch new online service

The demise of Setanta brought about the death of Celtic TV and Rangers TV.

WeKnowSFA isn’t going to say it all tremendous but for fans of the club, it was a good service, particularly the daily news shows that were available.

Rangers have already brought about an online TV service and Celtic have revamped their Huddle programme service, which starts back on Monday 11th January.

The first evening is available free so if you fancy seeing what the fuss is about, check it out.

The format of the two hour schedule will be a 30 minute news program followed by a classic match.

The opening show on Monday 11th is set to feature an interview with new signing Ki-Sung Yueng. Celtic haven’t been in action this weekend so there is unlikely to be much new game footage although there could be some information about any further comings and goings from Celtic Park.

The show hopes to provide a look back on previous players and the first focus will fall on Pierre van Hooijdonk.

This is sure to have a little bit of controversy as many Celtic fans are unable to remember the good times the player brought about because of the time his Celtic career ended.

That said, it was Pierre’s header that defeated Airdrie in the final of the Scottish Cup and ended Celtic’s silverware drought. This was the sole triumph during the Tommy Burns era.

Following this, the classic match is scheduled to be:
Celtic 5 v Aberdeen1 from May 6, 2000.

Tommy Johnstone hit a hat-trick and Lubo Moravick got two as Celtic were successfully winding down what had been a disappointing season.

More information can be found here:

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Not a good start to the year for football administrators

Celtic will be unable to play new signing Ki Sung Yueng against Rangers after the player wasn’t registered in time. This is not the first time there has been an issue with Celtic registering a player but in this instance, the SFA say they are entirely blameless.

They state the blame lies with the South Korean FA for failing to supply them with the international clearance.

Both the Kerrydale Street site and the Celtic Underground site have relayed this information on Friday night but it is now being reported by newspapers such as the Herald.

There was no guarantee that Sung Yueng would have been involved against Rangers but that choice should have been down to Tony Mowbray, not because administrative people were unable to do their job properly.

A few years back, because Celtic were playing Hearts on New Years Day, after a round of fixtures on the 31st, the SFA announced that Celtic would not be able to field Roy Keane against Hearts at Tynecastle. Even though Keane had been picked up by Celtic after the Irishman’s contract with Manchester United was terminated, the workings of the transfer window meant that the player would not be available for the match.

This was known in advance and there was no complaint from the Celtic camp, it was a fair decision. It didn’t stop Celtic from achieving a great comeback in what was one of the best days under Gordon Strachan in his time at Celtic Park.

This time is different though.

It was made public that Ki Sung Yueng would be signed up in time to make his debut for Celtic in the match against the champions.

It is only natural that this is being described as doing ‘a Cadete’.

This stems from the SFA deliberately delaying the registration of Jorge Cadete.

On Monday 8th March 1999, the SFA released a statement concerning the dismissal of Jim Farry for gross misconduct. The full statement can be viewed here.

It was interesting to note that although Mr Farry agreed with the findings, he did not agree with the terms of the apology to Celtic.

As stated, there was no guarantee that Ki Sung Yueng would have featured in the match but it is disappointing that with the transfer being concluded in advance of the window opening that this wasn’t ready to go when the window did open.

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Get a taste of what the new Bhoy can do.

Using Youtube footage to judge how good a new signing can be is fraught with difficulties but it is something most football fans will do.

Celtic today confirmed the signing of South Korean rising star Ki Sung Yueng and we have pulled together some of the Youtube clips for the player.

The goal was brilliant but a celebration like this will see the player with a booking in the SPL:

Celtic have been notably poor from free-kicks and penalties this season, so if this clip is anything to go by, Ki Sung Yueng could make a major improvement to the team:

The following clip features fantastic technique to finish this volley from outside the box:

The goalkeeper may have did better with this effort but the vision and ability to even attempt this effort indicates an agility and quick thinking on behalf of Ki Sung Yeung

Celtic fans will be wary of getting carried away on the back of Youtube footage but there will be a large level of hope that Ki Sung Yueng will be able to light up Celtic Park with goals of the calibre.

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Four year deal for South Korean star

Following the awarding of a work permit on Friday, Celtic have announced the signing of South Korean international Ki Sung Yeung on a four year contract. The player said the following;

I am absolutely delighted to sign for Celtic, a football club with a tremendous history and one which is known throughout the world.

I know that Celtic has some of the best supporters in the world and I will be doing all I can to show these fans what I can do and give everything as part of a team which will aim to achieve more and more success.

When I lived in Australia, my football coach there was a Celtic supporter and through him I really became interested in the club.

It is now a dream come true for me to join this great club – already, Celtic has shown me a tremendous welcome and I really do now feel part of the Celtic family. I look forward to teaming up with my new manager and team mates and I will be working hard towards achieving all I can for Celtic.”

The original article featured a comment questioning just how much the player would know about Celtic. This has been taken by some readers as to being an attack on the integrity of Ki Sung Yueng or perhaps something of a darker nature. This was certainly not the intention and was in fact, a questioning of the media attention to have this sort of remark when players come to Celtic. To cause offence was certainly not the intention and therefore, WeKnow SFA has decided to remove the sentence. We believe it was a case of ambiguity and misunderstanding but there has to be a need for any website to be careful with their articles and any representation within. Therefore, WeKnowSFA apologises unreservedly if any of our readers felt this article overstepped the mark

Celtic look as though they have found a midfield pairing that works with Landry N’Guemo and Marc Crosas finding form. The club have won their last four games and having a settled midfield pairing has been at the heart of this.

Some fans say that the absence of Scott Brown has helped Celtic to find a consistent level of form and the arrival of the South Korean will spark further comment about the Scottish internationalist’s future.

Injury is the reason why Brown is absent from the Celtic midfield but there will be increased speculation about his future at the club. When Brown’s former Hibs boss Tony Mowbray took charge at Celtic Park, hopes were high the club would finally see the best of the midfielder.

Barring an all-action substitute performance in Russia which helped Celtic squeeze through, Brown’s form has been poor at best. How much of this can be attributed to the injury is unclear but it is fair to say that Celtic fans have not seen the best of Scott Brown.

Will Ki Sung Yueng spell the end of Scott Brown’s hooped career?

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