A backline poser for Tony Mowbray

With Gary Caldwell now at Wigan Athletic and injuries mounting up, Celtic boss Tony Mowbray will need to juggle around with his back four for the trip to Perth to take on St Johnstone.

Andy Hinkel will surely be straight in at right back and Glen Loovens will find his name on the team sheet in one of the centre half positions. After this, it gets tricky:

Danny Fox is still injured.
Stephen McManus picked up an injury when Falkirk scored at Celtic Park last week.
Lee Naylor has an injury – its not been confirmed if its a perforated eardrum after the crowd’s reaction to his substandard deliveries last weekend.
Mark Wilson – well, you know….

So, that has greatly reduced the options for Mowbray.

Darren O’Dea is likely to be included but the Irishman may be selected at left back, as opposed to his preferred central defensive role.

This means that the remaining centre half role is likely to go to either Josh Thompson or Jos Hooiveld. Thompson made his debut last weekend in replacing McManus but it may be that the Dutch defender Hooiveld is fit to make his debut.

Celtic badly need to toughen up in defence and another re-arranged backline isn’t going to help. However, it is up to the players coming in to stake their claim for the rest of the campaign.

The midfield, you would think, would include McGeady, Crosas, Zhi and McGinn with the front two consisting of Samaras and Fortune.

There can be no excuses for Celtic today, they need to take all three points to start chipping away at the lead of Rangers.

As for the hosts, they look set to be without Colin Samuel but Morais should be able to return. St Johnstone will also be without loan-striker Cillian Sheridan, who is not eligible to play against Celtic.

It is a big game for both teams and the Perth side are no push over at home. There could be another twist in the SPL this Sunday.

Who would you choose for Celtic’s defence?

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Sources indicate a three and a half year deal

There has been no official confirmation from Celtic yet but a number of sources online are reporting that a three and a half year contract has been signed by Dutch centre half Jos Hooiveld. The fee is reported to be around £1.5m.

The following link is to a Swedish football website, which is said to be confirming the transfer, however, we will have to take their word for that!

Swedish site saying Jos for Celtic

WeKnowSFA discussed the player on Friday and provided footage of a powerful header which may indicate the player could be a threat in the opposition box.

First things first though for Celtic fans, the player needs to be doing a job in his own box.

Double Dutch for Celtic?

With Gary Caldwell leaving imminently and Stephen McManus looking to be on the periphery, Celtic could well be lining up with two Dutch centre halfs.

If no further centre halfs come in during the transfer window, it is likely that Glen Loovens will partner Hooiveld and it will be hoped that the new man can bring the best out of the current Celtic centre half.

With Ki-Sung Yueng already on board, this deal will take Celtic up to a transfer spend of £3.5m.

Depending on the number of players who leave the club, there may be a lot more players coming in and Celtic fans will certainly be asking for a lot more.

A centre half has definitely been a requirement for the Celtic Park faithful with a striker also being required. If Celtic can get a goal scorer they will be looking well placed for the run in to the end of the season.

Does this centre half sound like the bhoy for Celtic?

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Could this centre half cure Celtic’s ills?

Yesterday, STV gave us the first episode of The Football Years, today STV broke the news that Celtic are trailing Jos Hooiveld of AIK Stockholm, a Dutch defender.

The channel said that the defender has been at Celtic Park this week for a tour although no discussions have taken place between the two clubs.

There is no doubt that Celtic need to improve the quality of their backline, which is likely to be depleted even further with Gary Caldwell leaving at some point in the next 6 months. Stephen McManus is another one who is likely to find that his future lies away from Celtic Park.

So, Tony Mowbray needs reinforcements at the back and a tall and imposing centre half is exactly what the fans are crying out for.

The player’s agent said this;

“He is having a very good last two years of his career. He is really going step by step quickly forward.”

“Celtic is a bigger club than AIK. AIK still is a big club, they play weekly for 35,000 people. It’s a great club, they won the cup last year, they won the league title, but of course Celtic is another step forward in his career.”

So…sounding good? Well, Celtic fans wont be raising a glass to a new signing just yet as they have heard this sort of chat all too often and so many players trials end in a quick release, you get the impression that it was the Procurator Fiscal and Reliance running the rule over these players, not the Celtic management team.

One thing that may see the arrival of new faces at Celtic Park would be the exit of some of the current staff and the Middlesbrough link gets stronger and stronger.

Both news channels in Scotland made claims that Gordon Strachan could be taking up to four players of his former club this window and if thats the case, some Celtic fans may remember Strachan a little more fondly than they did during his tenure.

If Strachan takes a Gang of Four from Celtic, you wont hear too many complaints.

Here is a video clip of Jos Hooiveld causing bother in the opposition box:

Celtic fans, concerned with no new defenders yet?

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