Old boy is a new Bhoy
And the departures keep on coming. To say it's been in the pipeline for a while would be a massive understatement - but Fraser Forster has finally left the club on a permanent basis, joining Celtic, the team for whom he's played on loan for the past two seasons, for a fee in the region of £2m.
The 'keeper declared: "I want to win things as a team and improve as an individual and I think I will be able to do that at Celtic." Well, Fraser, with Rangers facing up to the prospect of liquidation and life in the fourth tier of Scottish football, the traditional two-horse race will now be a one-horse procession. A succession of championship winners' medals looks certain, but the move is hardly suggestive of a player with a huge amount of ambition, as big a club Celtic feel they are.
Forster's been voicing a thinly-veiled desire to leave Tyneside for some time now; nevertheless, allowing an undeniably talented youngster to go doesn't square with our general policy, even if we've received reasonable compensation for him. With Steve Harper not getting any younger and Rob Elliott yet to convince, might we now be in the market for serious competition for Tim Krul? The general recruitment drive has stalled for a while but needs to get back into gear soon.
The 'keeper declared: "I want to win things as a team and improve as an individual and I think I will be able to do that at Celtic." Well, Fraser, with Rangers facing up to the prospect of liquidation and life in the fourth tier of Scottish football, the traditional two-horse race will now be a one-horse procession. A succession of championship winners' medals looks certain, but the move is hardly suggestive of a player with a huge amount of ambition, as big a club Celtic feel they are.
Forster's been voicing a thinly-veiled desire to leave Tyneside for some time now; nevertheless, allowing an undeniably talented youngster to go doesn't square with our general policy, even if we've received reasonable compensation for him. With Steve Harper not getting any younger and Rob Elliott yet to convince, might we now be in the market for serious competition for Tim Krul? The general recruitment drive has stalled for a while but needs to get back into gear soon.
Labels: celtic, fraser forster, transfer window
posted by Ben at 8:47 am
15 Comments:
Excellent blog! Let me know when your players start picking up some silverware could you.
To be fair the Coca Cola Championship is the prize that all pros dream about.
Enjoy the Europa League qualifiers.
For a club that hasn't won their own league for ALMOST 90 years - and their top cup competition for ALMOST 60 years - how big a club do Newcastle think they are? - lol -
Newcastle are a bit like Rangers, not even the biggest club in their own city! No wonder he left, i will be keeping an eye this season and expect that last years blip will be just that where Newcastle are concerned and that the will continue in mediocrity and at best finish in the final third of the table, if not dogfighting relegation.
Bitter farewell to a promising young goalie,you could have at least wished him well,but thats to be expected from one who does not seem to like the Club he has chosen!
Anonymous 1: You may scoff, but winning the Championship is a hell of a lot harder than winning the SPL is for Celtic or (until recently) Rangers. I'd rate the current Celtic squad on a par with a mid-table Championship side - everyone else in the SPL would be lucky to stay in the division.
Anonymous 3: So Newcastle isn't the biggest club in its own city? I think you may be in need of a geography lesson, my friend...
Anonymous 4: No, not that bitter - he'll make a good goalkeeper but I just find it hard to view playing in the SPL for Celtic, especially given the Rangers affair, as anything like the sort of challenge he could have chosen elsewhere in England.
In all seriousness, aren't you disappointed at the Rangers situation? OK, so the title should now be a cakewalk - but winning without any serious competition will devalue an already weak league further and will also get very tedious after a while. At the same time your players and manager are on a hiding to nothing - they know that anything less than winning the league won't be good enough. Wouldn't like to be in their (or your) shoes.
No you reap what you sow. People harp on about this being going on for 20years. Try 100 years and you might be nearer the mark.
OK, so I fully understand that news of Rangers' demise may have initially met with general glee in the green-and-white half of Glasgow. Their conduct has clearly been despicable and they're fully deserving of punishment - especially when Green's got the gall to come out and issue sinister veiled threats about the future of Scottish football (as if to say they should be let off).
But from a Celtic fan's perspective, doesn't their removal from the league - the removal of the one real obstruction to your march to title after title - remove most of the excitement (which hinges on unpredictability and the possibility of failure as well as the possibility of success)? If I was a Celtic fan, I wouldn't be remotely excited about the forthcoming season, or indeed beyond. Likewise, I honestly can't see how Forster's excited by the prospect.
Participation in the Champions League will be the balm that soothes.
Ben you can't understand why forster is excited? How's about the prospect of champions league football? Newcastle fans seem to have a big chip on their shoulders at times, Always slagging the SPL off. Ok its not the greatest league in the world but trust me, the english premiership bubble will burst - the amount of debt teams are in trying to keep up with the likes of chelsea and man city. Kinda the same thing that happened to scottish football before rangers starting spending 20-30m per season - everyone tried to keep up and difference between big and small just grew.
Forsters gone to Celtic on the basis of playing champions league football. A few winners medals in a few years and he will quite happily move south of the border with pride and a decent wage. What footballer doesn't wish to play infront of 60,000 fans and pick up medals in the process? A shot at champions league football will increase his stock majorly if Celtic make it, Could be the best career choice he had at present.
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Fair enough - I was talking exclusively about the forthcoming domestic campaign. As for the Champions League, though, I wouldn't count your chickens just yet given you need to get through two qualifying rounds to reach the group stage...
I honestly can't believe the negative attitude of some of these people posting on this thread, for a young ENGLISH keeper to take a chance at making a name for himself in Europe he should be given all the credit he deserves rather than play 2nd fiddle (to a good keeper)and get no experience and then having a dig at a club that has played many friendly's and testimonial's clearly some troll's here have no memory. (BEN)
Forster at some point in the future will get a chance to get capped and is no doubt a colossus in the sticks he has a bright future maybe a chance of of becoming England's number 2( only cause joe hart is the dogz bollocks!)so stop the antics and get behind him
celt67: I'm not a troll - I don't think you can technically be a troll on your own website...
This is all getting a bit tedious - I'm not disputing that Forster is a promising young 'keeper, or that he had every right to seek a move given that he wouldn't have displaced Tim Krul as our first choice. I wasn't even really having a pop at Celtic - more at the current state of the SPL. Surely there must be some Celtic fans prepared to acknowledge an uncompetitive league has just got even less competitive? OK, so he wouldn't have been playing in front of such large home crowds, but I honestly think a move to a top Championship club may have been a more astute move in the long run.
Celtics first qualifying round will be against relatively easy opposition, Even if they fall at that hurdle its straight into the Europa league group stages. That he won't get at a championship club, Hopefully Celtic meet Newcastle at some stage and Forster will get a chance to prove a point.
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