Alistair Johnston

[Obinna]

Interesting that Juranovic is being benched and not playing. Is that to bubble wrap him and sell him on this window, with Johnston clearly being the future of the RB spot? Or, is it the case of Johnston putting in a great performance against Rangers and thus retaining his spot. Probably a bit of both. 

[Kadenge]

1 minute ago, Obinna said:

Interesting that Juranovic is being benched and not playing. Is that to bubble wrap him and sell him on this window, with Johnston clearly being the future of the RB spot? Or, is it the case of Johnston putting in a great performance against Rangers and thus retaining his spot. Probably a bit of both. 

I haven't seen Juranovic play for Celtic, but he was very good  for Croatia in the WC. 

[Watchmen]

47 minutes ago, Unnamed Trialist said:

Who's like me here, thinking about his next transfer already, having serious difficulties getting excited by anything except for Old Firm and maybe some European play if that?

I have no problem with him being at a club he's always wanted to play for, that's one of the more famous clubs in the world, in a top 10 UEFA ranked league, with a pressure to win every week regardless of opposition.  So no, I'm not thinking about his next transfer after 2 games.

[Unnamed Trialist]

7 minutes ago, Watchmen said:

I have no problem with him being at a club he's always wanted to play for, that's one of the more famous clubs in the world, in a top 10 UEFA ranked league, with a pressure to win every week regardless of opposition.  So no, I'm not thinking about his next transfer after 2 games.

And Koné? Are you thinking about his next? I am.

[Canuckia]

3 minutes ago, Unnamed Trialist said:

And Koné? Are you thinking about his next? I am.

Aren't they grooming him for the owner's dad's team-Udinese?

[Unnamed Trialist]

2 minutes ago, Stephen Hills said:

Aren't they grooming him for the owner's dad's team-Udinese?

I'd like to see Steve Cooper fired, the team is saved from relegation, and Laryea, Johnston and Kone tear it up at Forest.

Mostly what I am saying is that some players are interesting to watch in league play, others not so much.

[Watchmen]

6 minutes ago, Unnamed Trialist said:

And Koné? Are you thinking about his next? I am.

No.

Look, I get that players are essentially ALWAYS looking at their next move.  Hell, Davies is definitely thinking about what comes after Bayern Munich.  But *I* don't need to start thinking about "their next move" when they've proven nothing at their current club.  Let's see what Kone does, because "his next move" might be "down".

[Canuckia]

1 hour ago, VinceA said:

Looks like a 4-3-3 with Johnston at RB.

And he's all over the pitch without getting caught out.

[Obinna]

16 minutes ago, Unnamed Trialist said:

And Koné? Are you thinking about his next? I am.

Kone? Yes, because his ceiling is ridiculously high and he's playing in the Championship for a club with affiliations with Udinese. Furthermore, it was said there's a plan for him to go to Udinese at some point. If and when he gets to Udinese, he'll be younger than Johnston is today. There's also the possibility he promotes to the EPL with Watford. From there he'll be on full display to the biggest clubs in the word. Either way, it seems like his stay at Watford will be short term. 

Johnston is completely different in my view. It's more in the Eustaquio category for me. Both Johnston and Eustaquio could stay at Celtic and Porto for the rest of their careers respectively and I wouldn't view it as a disappointment. Both are regular CL or Europa league participants who win domestic silverware every season, and both clubs are full of international players who regulary get called up for respectabe-to-strong national sides, such as Croatia, Japan, Serbia, Scotland, Iran, Portugal, etc.

I do think Johnston (and Eustaquio) could make a small step up from where they are at now, but they don't necessarily have to in order to have successful careers. If Celtic and Porto are the pinnicle of their careers - that's still a great standard for Canadian international players.

Kone on the other hand can (and will) move up a level from playing in the Championship with Watford. If this is the pinnicle it would be a massive disappointment. The guy is being compared to Patrick Viera by some. Not saying he wil ever reach those heights, but considering he just moved to Watford for roughly 8 million euros at the age of 20, and there's already talk of him to moving to Serie A, I am absoutely thinking about his next move. I am very content with Johnston and Eustaquio to stay put (at least for a while). 

[nolando]

Agreed. Hutch at Beskitas is immediately brought to mind.

[Watchmen]

23 minutes ago, Obinna said:

Kone? Yes, because his ceiling is ridiculously high and he's playing in the Championship for a club with affiliations with Udinese. Furthermore, it was said there's a plan for him to go to Udinese at some point. If and when he gets to Udinese, he'll be younger than Johnston is today. There's also the possibility he promotes to the EPL with Watford. From there he'll be on full display to the biggest clubs in the word. Either way, it seems like his stay at Watford will be short term. 

Johnston is completely different in my view. It's more in the Eustaquio category for me. Both Johnston and Eustaquio could stay at Celtic and Porto for the rest of their careers respectively and I wouldn't view it as a disappointment. Both are regular CL or Europa league participants who win domestic silverware every season, and both clubs are full of international players who regulary get called up for respectabe-to-strong national sides, such as Croatia, Japan, Serbia, Scotland, Iran, Portugal, etc.

I do think Johnston (and Eustaquio) could make a small step up from where they are at now, but they don't necessarily have to in order to have successful careers. If Celtic and Porto are the pinnicle of their careers - that's still a great standard for Canadian international players.

Kone on the other hand can (and will) move up a level from playing in the Championship with Watford. If this is the pinnicle it would be a massive disappointment. The guy is being compared to Patrick Viera by some. Not saying he wil ever reach those heights, but considering he just moved to Watford for roughly 8 million euros at the age of 20, and there's already talk of him to moving to Serie A, I am absoutely thinking about his next move. I am very content with Johnston and Eustaquio to stay put (at least for a while). 

We have the same thought process, but reach a different conclusion: I don't really think of Kone's next move because we already know (generally) what the path is.

[Bison44]

Hmmmm, is thinking about KONE next transfer after playing one game with his new club as bad as calling for some kid who has never played a pro game to be called to a Cap tied??  Maybe I'll start a thread about it.......

[Unnamed Trialist]

8 hours ago, Bison44 said:

Hmmmm, is thinking about KONE next transfer after playing one game with his new club as bad as calling for some kid who has never played a pro game to be called to a Cap tied??  Maybe I'll start a thread about it.......

It'll be a thread to put on the Threads I Hate thread, just warning you.

[narduch]

15 hours ago, Unnamed Trialist said:

And Koné? Are you thinking about his next? I am.

I'm thinking about Eustaquio's next move too

[Unnamed Trialist]

47 minutes ago, narduch said:

I'm thinking about Eustaquio's next move too

For Canada, they are fine where they are, I have no problem at all with the levels. But when it comes to watching games, there are some I just can't. Having to put up with Lille has been bad enough. I enjoyed Bruges in Champions League, fine. Can't stomach Championship, or most of SPL. That is what I was really saying.

I think of all three, Eustaquio has less reason to move from Porto, the competitive level in Portugal is far higher than Scotland.

[Fresh Prince of MTL]

2 hours ago, Unnamed Trialist said:

For Canada, they are fine where they are, I have no problem at all with the levels. But when it comes to watching games, there are some I just can't. Having to put up with Lille has been bad enough. I enjoyed Bruges in Champions League, fine. Can't stomach Championship, or most of SPL. That is what I was really saying.

I think of all three, Eustaquio has less reason to move from Porto, the competitive level in Portugal is far higher than Scotland.

I’d give watching Celtic a chance they played some really exciting football yesterday. Very fluid in the attack and seeing Johnston embrace that was a joy to watch

[Unnamed Trialist]

4 minutes ago, Fresh Prince of MTL said:

I’d give watching Celtic a chance they played some really exciting football yesterday. Very fluid in the attack and seeing Johnston embrace that was a joy to watch

Sorry, just can't.

But I was watching my local 7th tier team today, and a player saw his buddy was eating a sandwich on the sideline, went over, took a bite, went back in. Then the left back told the coach he'd be late for work if the ref added too much time, so he was immediately subbed out. The rival coach was yelling instructions from the bench to his guys, giving them hell, and our centre back and captain answered back calmly, as if he was talking to him. So the rival coach told him he was talking to his team. 

This is entertainment in sport, not Celtic-Killie.

 

[frmr]

35 minutes ago, Unnamed Trialist said:

Sorry, just can't.

But I was watching my local 7th tier team today, and a player saw his buddy was eating a sandwich on the sideline, went over, took a bite, went back in. Then the left back told the coach he'd be late for work if the ref added too much time, so he was immediately subbed out. The rival coach was yelling instructions from the bench to his guys, giving them hell, and our centre back and captain answered back calmly, as if he was talking to him. So the rival coach told him he was talking to his team. 

This is entertainment in sport, not Celtic-Killie.

 

Watches Whitecaps but not a Celtic with Alistair Johnston. Perplexing.

[Unnamed Trialist]

1 hour ago, frmr said:

Watches Whitecaps but not a Celtic with Alistair Johnston. Perplexing.

How many times have you watched Celtic live ☺️?

[frmr]

4 minutes ago, Unnamed Trialist said:

How many times have you watched Celtic live ☺️?

Once. Celtic was actually my first love in football. Even if that weren't the case though, it's great to see AJ become an instant fan favourite over there and it's definitely worth a watch to see him excel in that environment.

[Unnamed Trialist]

5 minutes ago, frmr said:

Once. Celtic was actually my first love in football. Even if that weren't the case though, it's great to see AJ become an instant fan favourite over there and it's definitely worth a watch to see him excel in that environment.

The point is, Whitecaps are my team, I support them. I want to see any player whatsoever do well on the pitch for them, if it's a Canadian, then great.

I like Celtic, I even took a die-hard Celtic fan to a game as a gift once in Camp Nou because I much prefer the team and its fans over Rangers (amongst the most disgusting visiting fan bases we've ever seen). But in Scotland, games are not entertaining. I am not going to watch Johnston for that reason alone.

[InglewoodJack]

Hearing a lot of fan comments about how shocked they are at how big he is. I know he’s deceptively strong, but it looks like he’s put on some weight over the last year. He’s around the age where athletes really start bulking up for strength- I think that’s a good sign as far as how durable he’ll be playing European soccer. 
 

Just looking at Celtic clips, he definitely looks bigger than he did when I went to see him with Montreal.

[Obinna]

1 hour ago, Unnamed Trialist said:

But in Scotland, games are not entertaining. I am not going to watch Johnston for that reason alone.

To each their own, I guess. Personally, I can be entertained by La Liga, the SPL, the CPL, the local premier division in Calgary, etc. 

But if you are not entertained by the brand of football they play in Scotland, fair enough. 

[SthMelbRed]

51 minutes ago, Obinna said:

To each their own, I guess. Personally, I can be entertained by La Liga, the SPL, the CPL, the local premier division in Calgary, etc. 

But if you are not entertained by the brand of football they play in Scotland, fair enough. 

Two of my closest friends here in Melbourne are Glaswegians, and die-hard Celtic supporters. I'm always compelled to remark to them whenever I watch an SPFL match at how ridiculously lenient refereeing is in Scotland. They simply ignore the Laws of the Game sometimes. But, neither side seems to be bothered by it much of the time, either, so.....

[Obinna]

10 minutes ago, SthMelbRed said:

Two of my closest friends here in Melbourne are Glaswegians, and die-hard Celtic supporters. I'm always compelled to remark to them whenever I watch an SPFL match at how ridiculously lenient refereeing is in Scotland. They simply ignore the Laws of the Game sometimes. But, neither side seems to be bothered by it much of the time, either, so.....

Makes for entertaining football, some would say.