Looks like Hooper is on his way !

[Carlton Canary 0]

[quote user="jed exodous"]

Why do people keep mentioning Shane Long?  I don''t get this fascination with him.  Have I missed Steve Clarke Saying he''s available?  Long is decent, but I don''t see there being too much difference between him and Hooper. 

 

WBA are pushing on for Europe this season.  Also, one of their regular strikers is only a loanee, so surely they need to keep their own decent strikers for next season.

 

We aren''t going to be signing Shane Long in January. 

[/quote]

I mentioned Shane Long being able to play the lone striker role to devastating effect, not that we were after him? I know 100% that we won''t be signing Shane Long and made no suggestion to the contrary.

If your post was not aimed at me, then I apologise in advance.

[Dr Greenthumb 753]

Hold on, weren''t you using Demba Ba and Fernando Torres in your comparison? Last time I checked, they were up there with the worlds elite! We should just stick to your theory and rotate Harry Kane and Steve Morison every week, I can see the goals flowing already.....

[jed exodous 0]

[quote user="Carlton Canary"][quote user="jed exodous"]

Why do people keep mentioning Shane Long?  I don''t get this fascination with him.  Have I missed Steve Clarke Saying he''s available?  Long is decent, but I don''t see there being too much difference between him and Hooper. 

 

WBA are pushing on for Europe this season.  Also, one of their regular strikers is only a loanee, so surely they need to keep their own decent strikers for next season.

 

We aren''t going to be signing Shane Long in January. 

[/quote]

I mentioned Shane Long being able to play the lone striker role to devastating effect, not that we were after him? I know 100% that we won''t be signing Shane Long and made no suggestion to the contrary.

If your post was not aimed at me, then I apologise in advance.

[/quote]

 

Not singling you out in particular.  But Longs name has been mentioned on this board for years, and we''ve never really been in a position to sign him, and aren''t now, that''s all I''m pointing out.  Some posters on here seem to consider Long a realistic target for us.

[KeelansGlove 0]

Whilst I would still be amazed if this actually happens and not sure of the risk I would guess that Hooper could be employed in a couple of different roles.

 

He seems small to play as one upfront but if people are saying he does for Celtic who am I to argue.

2 up with him and Holt does sound pretty good.

On some websites he is described as a "forward" could it be that like Sturridge and Walcott he could be employed left or right on our usual formation if we wanted to be slightly more attacking whilst still retaining the solidity at the back.

I often thought we could have tried that with Jackson (especially as he has played on the wing for Canada)

would have thought he would definately stay at Celtic till the summer but who knows.

[Dr Greenthumb 753]

Exactly, play to the mans strengths! Height is irrelevant unless you are just lumping long balls all game! If Hughton wants to play that kind of game then let''s forget Hooper and call for a kenwyne Jones type player. We have enough height to cover set pieces, we need somebody in the box banging them in.

[judderman 0]

A few people on the Celtic forum say he can get lazy just waiting for the right through ball, which would be annoying. But they still all think he''s good

[Carlton Canary 0]

[quote user="KeelansGlove"]

Whilst I would still be amazed if this actually happens and not sure of the risk I would guess that Hooper could be employed in a couple of different roles.

 

He seems small to play as one upfront but if people are saying he does for Celtic who am I to argue.

2 up with him and Holt does sound pretty good.

On some websites he is described as a "forward" could it be that like Sturridge and Walcott he could be employed left or right on our usual formation if we wanted to be slightly more attacking whilst still retaining the solidity at the back.

I often thought we could have tried that with Jackson (especially as he has played on the wing for Canada)

would have thought he would definately stay at Celtic till the summer but who knows.

[/quote]

In my honest opinion, no he couldn''t be played out wide. He really is a goalscorer. He will link up play, but he isn''t a play-maker.

He should either be played on his own and given the freedom to drop deep to join in the build up play or play on the last mans shoulder, or he should be played with Holt and just be busy around Holt while he scraps for every ball.

I know my opinion is completely irrelevant but from what I have seen and the fact he is only 24, I believe Hooper could turn out to be our best signing since Hucks and possibly one of our best in my 15 years as a fan.

[Carlton Canary 0]

[quote user="judderman"]A few people on the Celtic forum say he can get lazy just waiting for the right through ball, which would be annoying. But they still all think he''s good
[/quote]

Take that with a MASSIVE bucket of salt. Leeds fans did nothing but praise Howson until we were interested, then all of a sudden he was lazy, lightweight, slow, not very creative... etc...

If it looks like your star man is leaving, you slag him off. It is a football fans safety net.

I have watched him many, many times and when played with another striker, he does stay on the shoulder and may look like he is just ''being lazy'', but if the ball comes within reach or there is a sniff of a chance, he will do everything he can to get on the end of it, fight the defender off it and get a shot on goal. He DEFINITELY is NOT lazy.

As I have said, he isn''t going to create chance after chance for the team but they have Commons, Stokes, Forrest etc... for that and we have Wes, Pilks, Snoddy etc... but if a ball drops loose on the penalty spot and you had one man on the end of it, you would definitely want it to be Hooper over and above all our other players.

[judderman 0]

[quote user="Carlton Canary"]

[quote user="judderman"]A few people on the Celtic forum say he can get lazy just waiting for the right through ball, which would be annoying. But they still all think he''s good[/quote]Take that with a MASSIVE bucket of salt. Leeds fans did nothing but praise Howson until we were interested, then all of a sudden he was lazy, lightweight, slow, not very creative... etc...

[/quote]I agree, but these posts were before the January window, it was just 3/4 who say they thought he was overrated, and could be so much better if he tried harder.A lot of others disagreed as I read further, saying he''s the best striker since Larsson, etc!

[judderman 0]

Would bring a whole new meaning to the word HoolaHoop

[Carlton Canary 0]

[quote user="judderman"][quote user="Carlton Canary"]

[quote user="judderman"]A few people on the Celtic forum say he can get lazy just waiting for the right through ball, which would be annoying. But they still all think he''s good
[/quote]

Take that with a MASSIVE bucket of salt. Leeds fans did nothing but praise Howson until we were interested, then all of a sudden he was lazy, lightweight, slow, not very creative... etc...

[/quote]
I agree, but these posts were before the January window, it was just 3/4 who say they thought he was overrated, and could be so much better if he tried harder.

A lot of others disagreed as I read further, saying he''s the best striker since Larsson, etc!
[/quote]

Fair enough. Bare in mind there are also quite a few muppets on here who rant and rave about Holt occasionally. Every club has a few idiots.

If a lot are suggesting he is the best since Larsson then fair play. They haven''t had much since Larsson really though so it would be better if they said ''He''s up there with Larsson!''... haha.. Not sure Zurawski is hard to beat!

[Bryangunnshairline 0]

Anyone that says we cant play a small bloke up top have either not seen us play much this season or don''t understand tactics.

Last season when we played it we got two quick wingers to whip balls into morisons head.

This season its been about ball to feet. Playing off Wes who is not big either. Because of the tactics we have adopted the lone striker does not need to be tall. He needs to have a good touch, movement and understand Wes. Holt does all of this.

As for set pieces e have other tall lads like turner and bassong for that.

If we change tactics and go 442 you could maybe argue one of the two need to be tall if we go more direct with big crosses.

Anyway does anyone actually know how good Hooper is in the air? He actually might be ok ??

[First Wizard 0]

In this mornings EDP, Hughton says we haven''t even bid for him yet!

 

 

[Carlton Canary 0]

[quote user="Bryangunnshairline"]Anyway does anyone actually know how good Hooper is in the air? He actually might be ok ??[/quote]

I have to be honest and say it is one of his weaknesses, but in his defence, he has never needed to be deadly in the air. At Scunthorpe, they played a lot of counter attacking football and it tended to be sweeping moves on the ground that he swept home or individual strikes.

At Celtic, they play the ball like us, on the deck. Heading has never been a strength, but I wouldn''t say he cannot head the ball. I''ve seen him score a few headers but on the ground, in the box, he is lethal.

I know the SPL is weaker than the EPL but 62 goals in 106 games in any professional league with some European standard football is pretty good going. I also think it is probably harder for someone like him to bag goals in the SPL as teams come up against Celtic and 9 times out of 10, they just sit deep with bodies behind the ball and soak up pressure. This obviously makes it difficult for him to get in behind so I think he does well.

[Hog 0]

Not sure I believe this, we have seen before how a rumour can make it to reputable sites pretty quickly. After reading this below I am even more convinced....

 

http://www.scotsman.com/sport/football/top-football-stories/celtic-keen-to-secure-gary-hooper-in-january-peter-lawwell-admits-1-2728825

[shefcanary 2,503]

The best we can hope for this window - given Celtic are in last 16 of ECL and play Juventus next - is a pre-contract deal with him joining for real in the summer.  Anything else is total TalkSport b#ll#cks.

[Carlton Canary 0]

[quote user="Hog"]

Not sure I believe this, we have seen before how a rumour can make it to reputable sites pretty quickly. After reading this below I am even more convinced....

 

http://www.scotsman.com/sport/football/top-football-stories/celtic-keen-to-secure-gary-hooper-in-january-peter-lawwell-admits-1-2728825

[/quote]

They''ve been trying for a while and, so far, he has rejected everything they''ve offered him. Rumours in Scotland suggest he wants to play in the EPL as with Rangers out of the SPL for a little while, Celtic won''t face much competition for the league titles and limited runs in Europe don''t interest him as much as games against the big clubs in England.

Also, if anybody wants to know anything about his style of play, this is from his Wikipedia page:

Style of play

Hooper has all the main attributes to play as a striker, he is strong and can hold up the ball well. He is also a good finisher, he has been described as being a ''penalty box striker''. However, he can also pass the ball well and this allows midfielders to play off him.^[105][106] He has received praise since moving to Scotland. Newspaper The Daily Record described him as being one of the most skilled attackers in the SPL. They also said that he had shown that he could deal with the physical nature of the Scottish game, due to his ability to ride a challenge well.^[107] He is able to play the game at a very high tempo and has a very good first touch.

One criticism that Steve Claridge had when analysing Hooper''s game was that "[he often] played at either breakneck speed when involved in play or at walking pace when not", Claridge noted that Hooper needed to work harder to make himself available to his teammates for passes. Especially long balls out from defence.^[108]

Since moving to Celtic, Hooper has struck up an excellent partnership with fellow striker Anthony Stokes. They scored over 40 goals between them in their first season together and are considered to be Celtic''s best strike partnership. Although on many occasions, especially for big matches, Georgios Samaras has often been used alongside Hooper. In recent times he has been used as lone striker with Kris Commons behind him, Hooper can also drop deep to pick up the ball and has a superb range of passing as well as deadly vision. Overall Hooper is a complete all round striker with the exception of his weak heading ability and aerial presence.

[Joanna Grey 0]

They are just fire-fighting Hog, if not trying to push up his price.

[Jim Smith 2,365]

Talk sport in general are very unreliable, however, that Abrahams chap does occasionally get stuff right and appears one of the better connected people there.

I have seen a poster above citing the Lambert to Burnley story as an example of why they are full of cr*p but to be fair I am pretty certain that the ever loyal Lambert did have talks with Burnley and had given them the impression he was going to join them before doing an about face after we persuaded him otherwise.

Abrahams was also tweeting stuff about Holt during his contract saga in the summer that i understand was not a million miles off the mark.

I suspect, therefore, he has got some info via an agent.The question though will be whether that info has been given to him because we genuinely are close to a deal for Hooper or in order to try and get Hooper a better deal somewhere else (whether at Celtic or another prem club).

Personally I would rather have got Graham purely because he is proven in the premiership and I don;t really know enough about Hooper. Having seen the clips of his goals though it is clear that he is a finisher of the type we do not currently have and, as such, would probably be a good signing for us.

[Jim Smith 2,365]

[quote user="shefcanary"]The best we can hope for this window - given Celtic are in last 16 of ECL and play Juventus next - is a pre-contract deal with him joining for real in the summer.  Anything else is total TalkSport b#ll#cks.[/quote]

I think people overestimate the allure of 2 games v Juventus in the Champions League. Celtic are not going to win the Champions League and will probably be knocked out in the next round. Maybe he is so desperate to play in that game that he is prepared to turn down a move to the premiership but it would be pretty short sighted.

[First Wizard 0]

So is todays EDP lying?

 

They claim Hughton''s denied this move for him.

[Mr Brownstone 0]

[quote user="shefcanary"]

The best we can hope for this window - given Celtic are in last 16 of ECL and play Juventus next - is a pre-contract deal with him joining for real in the summer.  Anything else is total TalkSport b#ll#cks.

[/quote]

 

Whilst I trust anything TalkSport say about as much as I would a watch from Snetty Market, I''d disagree with you there. If he stays up there he''s got those 2 games against Juve to look forward to, but what else? Celtic rarely qualify from the group stages of the Champions League, let alone progress from it, and Rangers won''t be back in the SPL for another couple of years at the least, so his prospects of big games in the next few years are extremely limited. If he comes here he''s got trips to United, City, Arsenal and Liverpool, plus the likes of Spurs and Newcastle to come to FCR just in the next few months.

[Jim Smith 2,365]

[quote user="Wiz"]

So is todays EDP lying?

 

They claim Hughton''s denied this move for him.

[/quote]

I can''t get the EDP but didn''t Hoot say we haven''t made a bid not that we are not in for him.

[jed exodous 0]

[quote user="Wiz"]

So is todays EDP lying?

 

They claim Hughton''s denied this move for him.

[/quote]

 

Perhaps, just perhaps, things have changed overnight.  It was in Hughton''s interview yesterday where there was a sort of denial, but not a total denial.  The EDP will have been written and printed overnight, so maybe somethings changed since it went to print...

 

 

[Bethnal Yellow and Green 1,647]

[quote user="Wiz"]

So is todays EDP lying?

 

They claim Hughton''s denied this move for him.

[/quote]

When Hughton was asked ''Is it correct you have made a bid?'' he replied ''No, that''s not correct''.

 

Doesn''t mean they aren''t planning on making a bid - I personally think Celtic are looking to sell Hooper now as his value is at a peak and will only go downwards. They are allowing Norwich (and possibly other clubs) to speak to Hooper''s agent and will then talk transfer bids with any clubs that can come to an agreement over wages. They don''t want to start accepting bids from clubs Hooper doesn''t want to move to as it will look bad to their fans. Going this way round means they can push the blame onto the player saying ''he wouldn''t sign a new contract and made it known he wants to leave''.

 

Anyway, whether or not Norwich are interested/making a bid/agreed terms etc will only ever be confirmed when the club announce his transfer.

 

(Also managers are known for lying in the face of jurnos, especially when it comes to transfer stories)

[jed exodous 0]

The tweet from yesterday reporting when the question was asked.

 

Norwich City FC ‏@NorwichCityFC

CH reaction to question on reported Hooper bid: ''No that''s not correct.'' #ncfc

 

Sounds to me as though theres something going on, and CH didn''t want to talk about it...

[ncfcstar 296]

[quote user="shefcanary"]The best we can hope for this window - given Celtic are in last 16 of ECL and play Juventus next - is a pre-contract deal with him joining for real in the summer.  Anything else is total TalkSport b#ll#cks.[/quote]There''s no way the club would do this.

[Bethnal Yellow and Green 1,647]

[quote user="jed exodous"]

The tweet from yesterday reporting when the question was asked.

 

Norwich City FC ‏@NorwichCityFC

CH reaction to question on reported Hooper bid: ''No that''s not correct.'' #ncfc

 

Sounds to me as though theres something going on, and CH didn''t want to talk about it...

[/quote]

 

Here''s the comments from the man himself.

 

http://www.skysports.com/video/inline/0,,16426_8389138,00.html

[Carlton Canary 0]

Journalists are paid to sell newspapers and grab attention. Local journos want to build a relationship with a club so they can get inside info etc... but it is rare they leak proper info as it could jeopardise the relationship they have with the club.

National journos on the other hand couldn''t give a shit, so if they have something, they will tell everyman and his dog. Our local boys might have more info than they are letting on but nothing will have been given away in the public eye.

Also, judging by the way the club do their business these days, we would probably see Hooper in the match day squad before we heard he''d signed!

[Jim Smith 2,365]

[quote user="Carlton Canary"]Journalists are paid to sell newspapers and grab attention. Local journos want to build a relationship with a club so they can get inside info etc... but it is rare they leak proper info as it could jeopardise the relationship they have with the club.

National journos on the other hand couldn''t give a shit, so if they have something, they will tell everyman and his dog. Our local boys might have more info than they are letting on but nothing will have been given away in the public eye.

Also, judging by the way the club do their business these days, we would probably see Hooper in the match day squad before we heard he''d signed![/quote]

I think its more a case of our local journalists not having any real info. All they seem to do these days is report back on what the national journalists are saying. Things may improve a bit under Hoot as he''s more personable but i think this is because under McNally and Lambert the local press was basically starved of any info at all and it still appears to be pretty locked down. what tends to get out though is the stuff via the agents and its the national media guys who tend to know and mix with the football agents.