Manager
Ronny Deila

Goalkeepers
Craig Gordon
Lukasz Zaluska
Leonardo Fasan

Defenders
Adam Matthews
Emilio Izaguirre
Efe Ambrose
Charlie Mulgrew
Virgil Van Dijk
Jason Denayer
Mikael Lustig
Darnell Fisher
Marcus Fraser
Lewis Toshney
Eoghan O'Connell
Stuart Findlay

Midfielders
Scott Brown (C)
Kris Commons
James Forrest
Nir Bitton
Beram Kayal
Derk Boerrigter
Jo Inge Berget
Tom Rogic
Stefan Johansen
Aleksander Tonev
Mubarak Wakaso
Callum McGregor
Dylan Mcgeouch
Filip Twardzik

Forwards
Leigh Griffiths
Anthony Stokes
Teemu Pukki
Amido Baldo
Stefan Scepovic

Lennon: Pre-season trip Down Under will benefit everyone

AS the Celtic squad settle into their new surroundings in Sydney, Australia, Neil Lennon is expecting the club to reap the benefits of their pre-season tour.

The manager believes the two-and-a-half week trip Down Under is a perfect opportunity for the fans to catch their heroes in the flesh, and it will also provide his new players with a reality check.

With fresh faces Adam Matthews and Kelvin Wilson in the 23-man squad, their new boss doesn’t think it will be long before they realise the true magnitude of the club.

“I don't think when some players sign they realise how big this club actually is,” Lennon said. “The guys who came in last summer got a real taste of things and it will be the same with the new boys this time around.

“When they see what it's like 10,000 miles away they'll get a taste of what playing for this club is really like.

“Two out of the three stadia in Australia are sold out already, which is great, and hopefully we can get the third one sold out soon.

“It was the same in America last season, it's always incredible to see so many fans turn out. This club has a huge following around the world.”

That’s not the only reason Celtic are venturing to Sydney, Perth and Melbourne, however, and Lennon is aware of the club’s intentions behind the trip.

“We're going to Australia to try to make friends - we're going there to try to sell the club again,” he continued.

“Hopefully we'll play some good football there because it's important we put on a show for the fans who come to see us.

“I know there are a lot of expats in Australia and we have a huge following over there so it's shaping up to be a good trip.”

It may have been a long journey for the Celtic party, who spent over two days travelling across the world, but once they have settled into Australia, the manager is confident it will be worth it.

Lennon added: ““There is a lot of travelling and we'll put in the miles but it will be worth it. When we get settled in Australia we'll have plenty of time to recover.

“We employ good people on the medical side of things who can take care of the players and cope with all the travelling. The lads are in good shape.

“Australia will be vital in terms of preparation for the new season. The season starts early and we need to make sure we're ready. I've no doubt we will be.”

Will be an interesting period ahead with all the talk about Izaguirre, Yeung and Kayal and where they will potentially go.


FYI: The Murphy is Daryl Murphy not Danny Murphy.

Wilson and Matthews are good signings to strengthen the defence

:-$ :-$ :-$ :oops: :oops:

Shows how much he played for us this season :lol:

Really hoping we keep at least 2 of those guys, if not all 3. Pretty much my 3 favourite players at Celtic right now, alongside Gary Hooper.

Skysports.com understands Celtic have had a bid accepted for midfielder Victor Wanyama.

It was revealed on Monday that the 20-year-old had agreed personal terms with the Parkhead club and a deal is now close to completion.

Celtic's bitter Old Firm rivals, Rangers, had also been linked with a move for Wanyama, while Aston Villa were understood to be interested.

But Neil Lennon is set to win the race and it is believed that the signing will be worth £1million for Wanyama's current club, Germinal Beerschot.

The Kenyan is the brother of Inter Milan's McDonald Mariga and made his international debut aged just 15 in an unofficial friendly against Nigeria.

[size=6]SPL let Hearts off on Lennon attack [/size]

The SPL have confirmed that no action will be taken against Hearts despite the attack on Neil Lennon at Tynecastle.

Straight after the incident SPL Chief Neil Doncaster and SFA counterpart Stewart Regan took to the airwaves to condemn the attack amid promises of enquires as they voiced their horror at the incident.

Showing a complete lack of judgement the SPL have checked that Hearts’ security arrangements were followed and allowed the Edinburgh side of scot free.

It seems that the safety of opposition managers isn’t an issue for the SPL as today’s statement highlights.

The statement read: “The SPL Board also noted that Heart of Midlothian’s stewarding arrangements were entirely consistent with both their Safety Certificate and the requirements of Lothian and Borders Police.

“In accordance with these requirements, a steward was deployed to each gate at half time and full time, but not during the match. The Heart of Midlothian Safety Certificate is provided by the Safety Committee of City of Edinburgh Council.”

It appears that following procedures is the priority for the SPL rather than dealing with the reality of an attack on a manager that brought worldwide shame on the Scottish game.

The SPL’s conclusions from the incident are almost as worrying as the attack on Lennon with the organisation showing a disregard for the seriousness of the incident.

Failure to punish a club for the attack on an opposition manager will again hold Scottish football upto ridicule with outsiders wondering just what has to happen before the authorities take action.

Hearts were recently fined £100,000 by the SFA for their disciplinary record but the SPL have body-swerved taking action against the club on a more serious matter.



The SPL Board recently received a report following the Heart of Midlothian v Celtic match on Wednesday 11 May 2011. The Board also considered the reports from the SPL Match Delegate and the Match Referee.

The SPL Board noted that Heart of Midlothian identified the fixture as a high risk game and in addition to the usual pre-operations meeting between the clubs, Lothian and Borders Police and G4S, Heart of Midlothian had arranged an earlier meeting with Lothian and Borders Police to specifically discuss safety and security aspects of the game.

The SPL Board also noted that Heart of Midlothian’s stewarding arrangements were entirely consistent with both their Safety Certificate and the requirements of Lothian and Borders Police. In accordance with these requirements, a steward was deployed to each gate at half time and full time, but not during the match. The Heart of Midlothian Safety Certificate is provided by the Safety Committee of City of Edinburgh Council.

The individual alleged to have assaulted Celtic Manager Neil Lennon is being dealt with by the justice system and has been give a life ban from Tynecastle Stadium by Hearts.

G4S stewards, employed by Heart of Midlothian, sought to challenge offensive singing amongst both sets of fans when it occurred and correctly challenged other incidents of disorder.

The SPL Board noted that both clubs implemented fully the Guidance for Clubs on Unacceptable Conduct issued by the SPL in 2007 to aid full compliance with SPL Regulations in this area.

The SPL Board decided that no action should be taken against either club as the action taken by each club before, during and since the match was reasonable in all the circumstances.
http://videocelts.com/2011/06/blogs/spl-let-hearts-off-on-lennon-attack

Dunno if it's been mentioned in AF, but Samaras will be given the armband against Victory.

Celtic have agreed a fee of £2million to sign Israel striker Omar Damari from Maccabi Petah Tikva.

Victor Wanyama joins Celtic subject to work permit

CELTIC Football Club is delighted to announce they have agreed a fee with Germinal Beerschot for the transfer of Victor Wanyama, who has also agreed personal terms.

Victor will join the club in the summer subject to a work permit and medical.

For anyone in Sydney heading to Macquarie Uni today for their training. It has been called off. Training tomorrow is on though.

Any rough time for today? I'm just around the corner.

Open training session in Sydney confirmed

CELTIC'S first open training session of the Australian pre-season tour has been confirmed.

It will be held on Friday, July 1, at the ANZ Stadium, Sydney, and will start at 11am. All Celtic supporters are welcome.

Information on open training sessions in Perth and Melbourne will be announced on the official website over the coming days.

Just finished at their training. It was very good. Lennon put them through their paces a bit at the end, they were rooted.

Met everyone but the two I really wanted to lol, Paddy and Brown. Every player was happy to sign and have a photo which was good. Going to Lennon's 40th birthday tonight, I think Brown will be there also so hopefully meet him there.

So if you get the chance to go to a training in Melbourne or Perth make sure you do, they made it worth it for the fans.

Bhoys Rebuffed In Musona Bid

Celtic have been told to forget about hijacking Hoffenheim's move for Kaizer Chiefs striker Knowledge Musona.

The Bhoys have expressed an interest in the 21-year-old Zimbabwean but he is due to travel to Germany for a trial after he receives a visa on Monday.

And his club manager, Bobby Motaung, insists the forward will not be derailed from his German trip even if Celtic step up their interest.

Motaung told kickoff.com: "We know there is Celtic's deal coming into play, but firstly Musona is not on auction. Secondly, we are not going to play a pick and choose game or money game.

Act ethically

"There has been an invitation for the player from Hoffenheim and we are going to follow through that process and we will exhaust that process before we consider any other offer.

"For now we will park the proposal that has come through. It is only fair for us to act ethically.

"We will respond accordingly to Celtic and acknowledge their interest, but Musona is not on auction."

Meanwhile, Celtic have distanced themselves from a bid for Maccabi Petah Tikvah forward Omer Damari, with the Israeli club demanding a 30 per cent of any sell on fee.

Neil Lennon has branded Celtic's display in a 1-0 defeat to Central Coast Mariners as 'remarkable'.

The Hoops came unstuck in their first outing on a pre-season tour of Australia, with an 86th-minute effort from Troy Hearfield proving to be their undoing.

There were, however, plenty of positives for the Scottish Premier League outfit to take from the game.

Given the amount of travelling they have done in recent days, and their lack of match sharpness, Lennon was delighted with the effort put in by his charges.

The Hoops boss left out Thomas Rogne, Kris Commons and Charlie Mulgrew as a precaution after they reported muscle fatigue but he was happy with the response of those who played - including debutants Kelvin Wilson and Adam Matthews.

He told the Sydney Morning Herald: "The players' condition and the quality, particularly second half, it was a remarkable performance when you consider the week they've been through.

"They've been travelling all the way over on Tuesday and Wednesday and then one day's training, played very, very well second half and controlled the game.

"I thought they scored with their one shot on target but overall I'm delighted with the performance."

Rusty

Lennon praised Mariners left-back Josh Rose and centre-back Patrick Zwaanswijk for their displays, but he was denied the chance to see potential transfer target Mustafa Amini after the teenage midfielder missed out with a groin injury.

Central Coast head coach Graham Arnold was overjoyed with claiming the scalp of the Scottish Cup winners.

"I thought our defensive structure was again good, although we were rusty in our execution in the final third," Arnold told his club's official website.

"Overall I thought we played well. It's the first time the boys have played in this stadium, and to play a powerhouse side like Celtic was fantastic for them.

"They don't have their history for no reason. They're a top side, with some outstanding players. It's their first game, so we played them at the best time in their tour.

"It was a great chance to see Australian players test themselves against that type of opposition."