Boruc Out Up To Three Weeks, Andy Cole to Parkhead?
By: JT | July 30th, 2007
Its on. Finally the time has arrived to do away with excuses for poor performances, and arguments about who is atop the power rankings of the SPL. The matches matter now, and in the buildup to the season opener against Kilmarnock, there is bad injury news. Your hero and mine, the Holy Goalie himself Artur Boruc, is out for up to three weeks with a shoulder injury. That means he could miss as many as three SPL fixtures and the first leg of the third round qualifying tie in the Champions League. Mark Brown is the man for the time being, and Tommy Burns thinks the squad is fully confident in him. Thats good, cause I’m not. Heal up quick big man, because we’ve got Hearts in Week 4 and the second leg is gonna be huge!
Steven Pressley (Noooooooooooooooooooooooo!) is suspended for the Killie match, and Scott McDonald is out for both the Killie and Falkirk matches. That means JFK gets the nod in the center of defense. The suspensions are carried over from last season.
Shunsuke Nakamura will be back in Glasgow on Friday, which is the same day as the draw for the Champions League qualifiers. We know Naka’s match fit because he just finished up the Asian Cup, but what to do next is tricky. Let’s see who we draw in the Champions League before making any decisions about a rest. I say start him on the bench against Killie, and bring him on if necessary in the second half. If we’re in command, let him be, the next match isn’t for another six days after that.
The midfield is shaping up. Aiden McGeady scored the winner with his right foot against Parma yesterday, Massimo Donati was excellent, and Scott Brown did what he does. WGS obviously has a man crush on Paul Hartley as he ended up in the center of the park against Parma, albeit in a deep role, with Brown on the right. It looks like thats how we’ll line up sans Naka.
I’m a huge proponent of the 4-3-3 with this squad, but a 4-2-3-1 is making all kinds of sense to me right now. Let’s do the math. The current defensive shakiness can be alleviated with two defensive midfielders. If Hartley must play, pair him with Donati there. So far it seems to me that distribution is Donati’s strength, as is his long passing game. Give him more of the field to see. No foil for Jan the Man has stepped up, so let’s stop looking for one! I love Jan’s prototype single striker game. Our midfielders are our strength right now. Use them. Brown, McGeady, and normally Naka, but for now, one of Sno, Riordan (WGS chuckles as he reads), or Bjarnason to complete the attacking midfield trio. This can easily transform into the more aggressive 4-3-3 if necessary by sliding McGeady and Naka/Other MF up the flanks and putting the defensive midfielders back in the middle.
The Celts are rumored to be interested in formerly good player Andrew Cole. He’s 35 and has tons of quality European experience, but as the future mother of my children Amy Winehouse would say, “No, no, no.”
Here’s Aiden’s winner against Parma as promised yesterday. Kenny Miller looks like such a doofus attempting the overhead kick.
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Tags: Amy Winehouse, Andrew Cole, Boruc, Celtic, Friendlies, In the Press, Mark Brown, Naka, Scott BrownSubscribe
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JT,
First of all let me thank you for linking to Amy Winehouse. Believe it or not, I had never heard of her before. However, I clicked the link you posted to a photo of her, and I wondered, “What the ….? Who the hell is this?” (Please don’t let this serve as an indictment on all Cajuns; not everybody down the bayou is as culturally ignorant as me.)
So, of course, I googled her up; which led me to her website, where there are samples from Back to Black. I’ve got to say, based on what I heard, I like it. I can’t stand - CAN’T STAND - what passes for pop music these days, and I won’t listen to it.
However, her jazzy, bluesy voice and retro-50s feel are wonderful. I’m debating now whether or not to fork over the cash to actually pay for her work.
(BTW, you might want to take a look at this article in the Daily Mail. IMHO, the old, fuller Amy Winehouse looks muuuuch better than the new, skinny, tatt’ed up Amy Winehouse.)
Now, back to business…
1) Andy (ahem) Andrew Cole - Okay, let me give him his proper respect. He is the 2nd leading scorer in EPL history; and his scoring rate is superb. I don’t know what the problems were with Souness, but if Celtic can get him for under £1 million, then I say, “Go for it.”
Of couse, Parkhead should not become a retirement home.
2) Nakamura - rest him.
3) King Artur - he’ll mend up just nicely. He wouldn’t miss the opportunity to play in a CL tie, given that he wouldn’t mind a move out of Celtic.
4) Good thoughts on the 4-2-3-1.
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Nick, you’re Old Reliable on the Celtic Offside. Gracias.
The Amy Winehouse CD is worth the cash even though it’ll likely go to one of her drinking binges. She certainly has an oversized personality, which some people can’t get beyond, but the music is great and she sings about real stuff. And she definitely has transformed physically.
Lame pop-punk boy bands she is not.
The Nakamura thing is worth watching. It’ll be interesting to see how WGS handles it, because it could backfire later in the season if he plays him too much now. These guys play so man matches, travel so many miles, and get so little rest it really is astonishing.
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Andy Cole is still alive? Hmmm, maybe he could be your version of Henrik Larsson this year. A late game super sub who occasionally scores a big goal or two. Or he could just be a waste of space.
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Bob,
If you could guarantee we’d get the Larsson version that made Sir Alex gush with praise, then I’m with you; but I don’t want the version of Henrik Larsson who showed up for the 2006 World Cup - that was more like Henrik Stink-son.
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