The Oracle of Trapatonni, Volzy to Join?

By: JT | July 7th, 2007

Giovanni Trapatonni thinks Celtic is heading for the final eight of the Champions League this term. The head man at Red Bull Salzburg (that name is terrible isn’t it?) went on to say, “At the moment, I think Celtic are really up there at the top of football in Europe. They are on a par with the Italian, English and Spanish clubs.” Keep talking Gio, I like what I’m hearing. He also described new Bhoy Donati as “solid, like concrete”. In Trap we trust, as do these fine ladies.

Fulham defender Moritz Volz has reemerged as a transfer candidate to Celtic Park. He’s valued at a mere £1.5m, but word is that the Celts was to rid themselves of Jarosik, Gravesen, or Bobo rather than pay the fee. I rate Volz highly as a right back. He’s got talent, guile, and a ton of character. Just check out his snappy website. He’d be a great fit. Gravesen’s worth more than £1.5m, and Bobo probably less, so it looks like Jarosik would be the man to leave. Someone has heard my plea! Make it happen.

The Herald continues its love fest with Strachan. Today Gordo is master psychologist, direct descendant of Sir Alex. It seems to me that every manager at a big club these days has to be a damn good psychologist. There are tons of games whose values vary, the dressing rooms are full of different languages and cultures, and some modern footballers can be impudent punks. Its just part of the job description. Wee Gordon does manage a huge squad, and keeping everybody happy is definitely a talent, but this kind of puff piece is a bit over the top.

What exactly are Rangers doing? They sign Carlos Cuellar from Osasuna for £2.37m, and won’t even ante up more than £1.5m for Scottish prodigy Stephen Naismith. Cuellar has played 60+ games in four years for an average Spanish side, and Naismith has proven himself in the SPL. I’m amazed how managers get so enraptured with a player when they play against him in a European match. He has a great match, and then the club is willing to move the world to get him. Maybe they should watch more tape of the guy first. I guess in Cuellar’s case though, there just isn’t much tape. They’re digging themselves a bigger and bigger hole every day over at Ibrox. Fine by me.

**** Update: Rangers have withdrawn from the race to sign Naismith. If the Hoops don’t step up their interest, he may be spending another year at Killie. ****