Benkovic - I want to show that I can play in the English Premier League.

[Jattdogg]

On 20/02/2019 at 15:22, Nickfosse said:

Not sure if you’re a ST holder already, but if Brendan Rogers ends up as our manager please PM me and you can have mine. 

So did you give up that ST?

[nwl fox]

54 minutes ago, Jattdogg said:

So did you give up that ST?

Has this been given away as promised, if not can i have please @Nickfosse

Edited 17 March 2019 by nwl fox

[Nickfosse]

I’m afraid I’ve got 4 boys who all need a lift ?

Seriously, I’m as delighted as everyone at the start Rodgers has made. He certainly talks a better game than Puel, clearly gets on with the players far better, and I like the high press and intent to get support closer to Vardy.

 

Can I suggest a slight note of caution however. The start he has made is no better than Ranieri, Shakespeare and Puel. Recent history teaches us that the proof of the pudding with our group of players will be next season.

I hope that everyone stays as positive when the inevitable dips in form and results come. The sense from some of our fans that we should be winning virtually every week against anyone outside the top 6, and giving the very best a good game is a mindset that is destined for disappointment I’m afraid. Let’s take our last 2 games as an example, we were awful at 1-1 against Fulham and at that point they looked the far more likely to go on and win until a misplaced pass to Maddison turned the game, and yesterday, had a stonewall penalty been given to Burnley they would’ve most likely won too. 

I’m not bothered about either by the way, that’s the way a low scoring game in a competitive league pans out. Sometimes it goes your way, some games like Watford and Spurs don’t. 

 

I am prepared to do something that is rarely seen on foxes talk, and that’s admit I was wrong to want us to give Puel more time.

The only thing that confuses me is why we’re ok with decisions when Rodgers makes them but boo and complain when it’s Puel. Eg. When Tielemans is substituted for Ghezzal under Puel we sing “you don’t know what you’re doing” but remain silent when Rodgers does it, and can you imagine the uproar if Puel had given Wes an extra year and said “the fans need to understand that a backward pass is not always a negative pass”. 

Oh, and you might want to reserve your long term judgement on how great Rodgers is until Lee Congerton has had a window or two. 

I also hope that he’s learned from that ridiculous nonsense we saw in the Liverpool documentary of envelopes with the name of players who are going to let the club down. I didn’t think he came over well in that series at all.

Anyway so far so good with his start at Leicester. As a supporter, that’s what matters most to me as I’m sure it does for us all. 

Edited 17 March 2019 by Nickfosse

[Jattdogg]

2 hours ago, Nickfosse said:

I’m afraid I’ve got 4 boys who all need a lift ?

Seriously, I’m as delighted as everyone at the start Rodgers has made. He certainly talks a better game than Puel, clearly gets on with the players far better, and I like the high press and intent to get support closer to Vardy.

 

Can I suggest a slight note of caution however. The start he has made is no better than Ranieri, Shakespeare and Puel. Recent history teaches us that the proof of the pudding with our group of players will be next season.

I hope that everyone stays as positive when the inevitable dips in form and results come. The sense from some of our fans that we should be winning virtually every week against anyone outside the top 6, and giving the very best a good game is a mindset that is destined for disappointment I’m afraid. Let’s take our last 2 games as an example, we were awful at 1-1 against Fulham and at that point they looked the far more likely to go on and win until a misplaced pass to Maddison turned the game, and yesterday, had a stonewall penalty been given to Burnley they would’ve most likely won too. 

I’m not bothered about either by the way, that’s the way a low scoring game in a competitive league pans out. Sometimes it goes your way, some games like Watford and Spurs don’t. 

 

I am prepared to do something that is rarely seen on foxes talk, and that’s admit I was wrong to want us to give Puel more time.

The only thing that confuses me is why we’re ok with decisions when Rodgers makes them but boo and complain when it’s Puel. Eg. When Tielemans is substituted for Ghezzal under Puel we sing “you don’t know what you’re doing” but remain silent when Rodgers does it, and can you imagine the uproar if Puel had given Wes an extra year and said “the fans need to understand that a backward pass is not always a negative pass”. 

Oh, and you might want to reserve your long term judgement on how great Rodgers is until Lee Congerton has had a window or two. 

I also hope that he’s learned from that ridiculous nonsense we saw in the Liverpool documentary of envelopes with the name of players who are going to let the club down. I didn’t think he came over well in that series at all.

Anyway so far so good with his start at Leicester. As a supporter, that’s what matters most to me as I’m sure it does for us all. 

Boooooooooooooooooooooooo. You are not a man of honour! Shame, shame!

 

Lads, boo this man at the next game. Probably one of those that arrives 15 minutes into the first half and leaves 15 minutes before the final whistle. Tsk tsk.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Lol 

[mozartfox]

 

The latest quote on Celtic Chat..............................

 

 

'The weasels only possible shot at redemption is allowing us Filip on a free.

Big chap * loves it up here'.

[H.a.r.r.y]

31 minutes ago, mozartfox said:

 

The latest quote on Celtic Chat..............................

 

 

'The weasels only possible shot at redemption is allowing us Filip on a free.

Big chap * loves it up here'.

some of them think they're god's girft

[weller54]

37 minutes ago, mozartfox said:

 

The latest quote on Celtic Chat..............................

 

 

'The weasels only possible shot at redemption is allowing us Filip on a free.

Big chap * loves it up here'.

Arghh.. 

Bless their hearts. 

It's rude to laugh at the inflicted. 

[OntarioFox]

12 hours ago, Nickfosse said:

The only thing that confuses me is why we’re ok with decisions when Rodgers makes them but boo and complain when it’s Puel. Eg. When Tielemans is substituted for Ghezzal under Puel we sing “you don’t know what you’re doing” but remain silent when Rodgers does it, and can you imagine the uproar if Puel had given Wes an extra year and said “the fans need to understand that a backward pass is not always a negative pass”. 

It's almost as if managers see more to Ghezzal's all-round game than us fans, who expect him to beat 7 players and thundercleft it into the top corner every time he gets the ball - because he's "supposed to have replaced you-know-who".

 

Ghezzal is defensively under-rated. He shores up the wing when he comes on and, unlike his predecessor who far too many people expect him to emulate, actually puts in a tackle now and again.

 

But nah, he's not scoring worldies every other game, so he's doggo, obviously.

[Ric Flair]

12 hours ago, Nickfosse said:

I’m afraid I’ve got 4 boys who all need a lift ?

Seriously, I’m as delighted as everyone at the start Rodgers has made. He certainly talks a better game than Puel, clearly gets on with the players far better, and I like the high press and intent to get support closer to Vardy.

 

Can I suggest a slight note of caution however. The start he has made is no better than Ranieri, Shakespeare and Puel. Recent history teaches us that the proof of the pudding with our group of players will be next season.

I hope that everyone stays as positive when the inevitable dips in form and results come. The sense from some of our fans that we should be winning virtually every week against anyone outside the top 6, and giving the very best a good game is a mindset that is destined for disappointment I’m afraid. Let’s take our last 2 games as an example, we were awful at 1-1 against Fulham and at that point they looked the far more likely to go on and win until a misplaced pass to Maddison turned the game, and yesterday, had a stonewall penalty been given to Burnley they would’ve most likely won too. 

I’m not bothered about either by the way, that’s the way a low scoring game in a competitive league pans out. Sometimes it goes your way, some games like Watford and Spurs don’t. 

 

I am prepared to do something that is rarely seen on foxes talk, and that’s admit I was wrong to want us to give Puel more time.

The only thing that confuses me is why we’re ok with decisions when Rodgers makes them but boo and complain when it’s Puel. Eg. When Tielemans is substituted for Ghezzal under Puel we sing “you don’t know what you’re doing” but remain silent when Rodgers does it, and can you imagine the uproar if Puel had given Wes an extra year and said “the fans need to understand that a backward pass is not always a negative pass”. 

Oh, and you might want to reserve your long term judgement on how great Rodgers is until Lee Congerton has had a window or two. 

I also hope that he’s learned from that ridiculous nonsense we saw in the Liverpool documentary of envelopes with the name of players who are going to let the club down. I didn’t think he came over well in that series at all.

Anyway so far so good with his start at Leicester. As a supporter, that’s what matters most to me as I’m sure it does for us all. 

You make some valid points but Ghezzal came on in a double substitution with Okazaki for Gray and Tielemans but dont let that get in the way of a good story.

[Nickfosse]

56 minutes ago, Ric Flair said:

You make some valid points but Ghezzal came on in a double substitution with Okazaki for Gray and Tielemans but dont let that get in the way of a good story.

You know what I mean. If Puel had made the same substitution do you think it would have been greeted in the same way?

[Ric Flair]

11 minutes ago, Nickfosse said:

You know what I mean. If Puel had made the same substitution do you think it would have been greeted in the same way?

I know what you're getting at but there's very little options in this squad when making substitutions. The starting XI picks itself in terms of ability and there's very little else to choose from. This isn't all Puel's fault as he inherited a bloated squad and had to cut his cloth accordingly but he shipped out a lot of fringe strikers and creative midfielders so what's left on the fringes ain't a lot.

[Ross 'LCFC' Turner]

Interested to see how he will fit in next season, especially with Rodgers clearly rating him. With Morgan staying on for another year will that mean Söyüncü out on loan? 

[Al-aLondon-Foxile]

4 minutes ago, Ross 'LCFC' Turner said:

Interested to see how he will fit in next season, especially with Rodgers clearly rating him. With Morgan staying on for another year will that mean Söyüncü out on loan? 

By then he will have seen Soyunca at the club, he will have worked with Benkovic at Celtic and seen the value of the loan on him. Maybe we could swap them around, but i think we will have one first team centre half too many if we don't send someone out. 

[davieG]

The Croat made a timely return to action in yesterday’s 1-0 win at Dens Park. He was forced to come on in place of Kristoffer Ajer due to the latter picking up a knock. It hasn’t been revealed yet as to how severe that head injury was, but it didn’t look too bad during the game.

Benkovic, however, was assured in his return. He didn’t put a foot wrong, and helped Celtic clinch a late victory before celebrating post-match. As for his own celebration? An eagle-eyed Celtic fan noticed he was trying something a little different. Have a look at the video below.

[mozartfox]

We had better reserve squad number 53 for next season now.

[Muzzy_Larsson]

My tuppenceworth on Benkovic after having watched him for a season.  Excellent player, really excellent in fact, does everything really well, there is no obvious weakness in his game.  I know I'll get responses he's not up against much up here and that's valid in relation to the standard of attacker he'll face in the EPL.  However, we all said the same about Virgil Van Dijk and look how he's gone and done.  I'm not saying Benkovic will be that good but you can tell he's a real cut above similar to what VVD was. 

 

On the negative side of things he seems to get injured pretty frequently, that said we play 60 odd games a season up here typically so that could be a reason why we pick up a lot of injuries in general, I guess in terms of number of matches the load will be less down at Leicester and he can be managed better in that respect.

 

Do you guys think he'll be a first pick next season alongside Evans at the back?  On another note, what has happened to Soyuncu this season, I notice he's not played much?  I thought he would have turned out to be a very decent signing. 

[surrifox]

6 minutes ago, henrik_62 said:

My tuppenceworth on Benkovic after having watched him for a season.  Excellent player, really excellent in fact, does everything really well, there is no obvious weakness in his game.  I know I'll get responses he's not up against much up here and that's valid in relation to the standard of attacker he'll face in the EPL.  However, we all said the same about Virgil Van Dijk and look how he's gone and done.  I'm not saying Benkovic will be that good but you can tell he's a real cut above similar to what VVD was. 

 

On the negative side of things he seems to get injured pretty frequently, that said we play 60 odd games a season up here typically so that could be a reason why we pick up a lot of injuries in general, I guess in terms of number of matches the load will be less down at Leicester and he can be managed better in that respect.

 

Do you guys think he'll be a first pick next season alongside Evans at the back?  On another note, what has happened to Soyuncu this season, I notice he's not played much?  I thought he would have turned out to be a very decent signing. 

I’d be pretty surprised if he didn’t become Brendan’s talisman and leader . He seems to be an ambitious and confident guy and BR will know his game inside out . We’ve gone from something of a centre back shortage to an embarrassment of riches so there will likely be some outgoings but think FB will stay 

[Nicolo Barella]

16 minutes ago, henrik_62 said:

My tuppenceworth on Benkovic after having watched him for a season.  Excellent player, really excellent in fact, does everything really well, there is no obvious weakness in his game.  I know I'll get responses he's not up against much up here and that's valid in relation to the standard of attacker he'll face in the EPL.  However, we all said the same about Virgil Van Dijk and look how he's gone and done.  I'm not saying Benkovic will be that good but you can tell he's a real cut above similar to what VVD was. 

 

On the negative side of things he seems to get injured pretty frequently, that said we play 60 odd games a season up here typically so that could be a reason why we pick up a lot of injuries in general, I guess in terms of number of matches the load will be less down at Leicester and he can be managed better in that respect.

 

Do you guys think he'll be a first pick next season alongside Evans at the back?  On another note, what has happened to Soyuncu this season, I notice he's not played much?  I thought he would have turned out to be a very decent signing. 

I think the problem with Soyuncu is Maguire will not get benched much which has impacted Soyuncu's gametime. he hasn't looked bad when he has had chances. 

[cal21212121]

@henrik_62

I really appreciate you're honest opinion on Benkovic and expect him to be challenging Evans an Maguire in a 2, or alongside them in a 3.

As for Soyuncu, it's been a case of poor player management. He came in not speaking any English so he didn't get any game time for a while. He played a couple of times for U23's and did fine, came into the starting lineup when Wes was suspended, played okay, at fault for a goal against Fulham away. When he played in the cup he showed promise, then he just fell out of favour. I thought he'd be a guaranteed starter for the Newport game but Puel chose Wes and Evans instead and we haven't seen him since.

In terms of under Rodgers it's clear Maguire and Evans are the favoured pairing with Wes being used from the bench or as a 3. It seems like he's using Wes similar to how he used Kolo for you and is grooming him for a coaching role. I'd imagine he'll go on loan next season, most likely back to Germany where he was in good form.

[st albans fox]

2 minutes ago, cal21212121 said:

@henrik_62

I really appreciate you're honest opinion on Benkovic and expect him to be challenging Evans an Maguire in a 2, or alongside them in a 3.

As for Soyuncu, it's been a case of poor player management. He came in not speaking any English so he didn't get any game time for a while. He played a couple of times for U23's and did fine, came into the starting lineup when Wes was suspended, played okay, at fault for a goal against Fulham away. When he played in the cup he showed promise, then he just fell out of favour. I thought he'd be a guaranteed starter for the Newport game but Puel chose Wes and Evans instead and we haven't seen him since.

In terms of under Rodgers it's clear Maguire and Evans are the favoured pairing with Wes being used from the bench or as a 3. It seems like he's using Wes similar to how he used Kolo for you and is grooming him for a coaching role. I'd imagine he'll go on loan next season, most likely back to Germany where he was in good form.

if maguire leaves then caglar stays. otherwise i think he goes out on loan

[mozartfox]

19 minutes ago, henrik_62 said:

My tuppenceworth on Benkovic after having watched him for a season.  Excellent player, really excellent in fact, does everything really well, there is no obvious weakness in his game.  I know I'll get responses he's not up against much up here and that's valid in relation to the standard of attacker he'll face in the EPL.  However, we all said the same about Virgil Van Dijk and look how he's gone and done.  I'm not saying Benkovic will be that good but you can tell he's a real cut above similar to what VVD was. 

 

On the negative side of things he seems to get injured pretty frequently, that said we play 60 odd games a season up here typically so that could be a reason why we pick up a lot of injuries in general, I guess in terms of number of matches the load will be less down at Leicester and he can be managed better in that respect.

 

Do you guys think he'll be a first pick next season alongside Evans at the back?  On another note, what has happened to Soyuncu this season, I notice he's not played much?  I thought he would have turned out to be a very decent signing. 

Given Brendan's obvious and past appreciation of Benko, I can see hem being a starter next season, particularly if Maguire is sold off.  Pleased to see that Celtic Chat has finally woken up and smelt the coffee and realizes Benko will not be staying at Celtic Park next season.

 

Soynuncu has not really been given a chance yet (thanks to Puel), but at 22 and a regular in the Turkish National Team, I am sure BR will help with his development.   Thanks for the up-date.

[Muzzy_Larsson]

5 minutes ago, mozartfox said:

Given Brendan's obvious and past appreciation of Benko, I can see hem being a starter next season, particularly if Maguire is sold off.  Pleased to see that Celtic Chat has finally woken up and smelt the coffee and realizes Benko will not be staying at Celtic Park next season.

 

Soynuncu has not really been given a chance yet (thanks to Puel), but at 22 and a regular in the Turkish National Team, I am sure BR will help with his development.   Thanks for the up-date.

Tbh no sane person at Celtic ever expected him to be here past the summer, given you guys paid £15m for him there is no chance of us paying even 2/3 of that to get him permanent never mind anymore than that.

 

The pain point with a lot of Celtic fans with him is with the board as we had been tracking him for a while and had the chance to get him 12 months before you guys signed him but wouldn't go to the £7/8m Zagreb wanted for him.

[surrifox]

21 minutes ago, henrik_62 said:

Tbh no sane person at Celtic ever expected him to be here past the summer, given you guys paid £15m for him there is no chance of us paying even 2/3 of that to get him permanent never mind anymore than that.

 

The pain point with a lot of Celtic fans with him is with the board as we had been tracking him for a while and had the chance to get him 12 months before you guys signed him but wouldn't go to the £7/8m Zagreb wanted for him.

Doesn’t sound like your scouting set up is full of lemons Like they’ve been portrayed if he popped up on your radar and was available at that money ! 

[Dan LCFC]

I keep saying it but I'd be giving Caglar some time this season.

[Ric Flair]

38 minutes ago, Dan LCFC said:

I keep saying it but I'd be giving Caglar some time this season.

In a way, it's a shame Maguire's ban isn't for 3 games rather than 1. It would have given Soyuncu a much better chance of another chance. He hasn't played since Newport I don't think and Cardiff in the league? Wow.