Sign Him!
Morning, all.
It was a genuine tonic to see that Colby Donovan received such huge credit for his performance on Wednesday night. All the sites were raving about him, and our own recognised his contribution with over 80% of voters in our POTY Competition ticking off his name.
He has been a contentious figure in the team since his arrival as replacement for AJ, our excellent first choice right back. When Johnston was injured a year ago, the consensus was that we would struggle without him. And when he aggravated that injury in his comeback a few weeks later, the wailing and gnashing of teeth was everywhere across the support. We knew we had lost a good player, and we were wary of those in reserve.
Tony Ralston is a fierce competitor who has won his way into the national squad, and is a capable back up to have. He rarely lets us down,but he isn’t AJ. He doesn’t possess the same skill sets or abilities. Neither does young Colby, but at 19 he still has room in his locker for the improvement that we expect age and experience to bring. Well, he certainly came of age on Wednesday, and more performances like that will only be of benefit to him-and us!
AJ of course has spent the summer at the World Cup, but when he returned he let it be known to the club that he was looking to up sticks. That desire even went as far as apparently agreeing outline terms with Everton before Celtic crushed those hopes by refusing to release him for the insulting fee offered by the Merseyside club. He would have been expecting offers from elsewhere as well as an improved offer from Everton, but these are unlikely now that his injury will keep him out for some time.
Injuries are becoming an all too familiar situation for him, and since his arrival in January 2023, he has missed over a third of the matches we have played. Don’t get me wrong, a fit AJ is a first pick and a very valuable asset to have in the team, but that is becoming a rarity these days as he repeatedly falls victim to injury. It may well be that his attraction for other clubs is on the wane as a result, and we will end up with an injury-prone and unhappy player. That is a scenario will suit none of us at all!
However, that is not the scenario we currently have. AJ is out of the first team plans for the time being, and we have to deal with the hand we have. While not getting carried away on the back of just one performance, I think we now know that our first choice at right back is Colby Donovan. In which case, it is high time that the fella was rewarded with a proper contract befitting his status.
His current contract runs out at the end of the season. It is rumoured to be for £900 a week. That is a derisory sum, and I hope it has been supplemented by regular bonuses for first team action. Get him and his agent in to the office, and sit them down to a five year deal on at least ten times that. Even then, we would be getting him on the cheap and running the risk of him seeing out his contract.
I’ve bemoaned for some time now the lack of youngsters coming through from our academy. Now that we finally have one who looks a good bet for the future, it would be an act of criminal negligence to lose him due to our infamous pennypinching.
<><><><><><>
Above article by BMCUWP
POTY Competition update.
*SENTINEL CELTS PLAYER OF THE YEAR 2025-26*
*RESULTS FROM GAME #4 CELTIC 3 LASK (NYGREN, DURAN(2) )*
Good evening, friends.
Let me start with an apology. As a rule, whenever folk nominate the same 3 players as me I try to send a personal reply with additional comments on what those players brought to the game. But following last night’s game I would have had to draft 72 such emails as, for once, the same 3 picks came up with incredible regularity. Normal service may resume next week. And so to the game itself….
A rain drenched Celtic Park was bursting at the seams for the first leg play off tie for this season’s Champions League. I was less nervous than normal for such a game, perhaps because of the safety net of the guaranteed Europa League spot should we lose. And in the early stages that did seem the most likely outcome.
Less than a minute gone and a Van Basten-esque volley crashed into the Celtic goal, only to be disallowed for offside. 2 minutes later and a ball through the middle saw the Lask striker easily outpace Carter-Vickers but he sclaffed his shot wide of the post. At that point I hoovered behind the sofa!
But Celtic began to settle after that and in the 6th minute Yang, donning his new Maeda-like hairstyle, won a free kick at the edge of the box. But Nygren’s effort cannoned off the wall. A couple of minutes later and an excellent over the top pass from Donovan earned a toe-poked volley from Duran that slipped narrowly wide. Another brilliant cross field long pass out of defence from Donovan fell nicely for Duran on the left side this time but he just couldn’t get the ball under control. But the chances were coming.
The breakthrough came in the 26th minute, following 3 or 4 minutes of controlled pressure from Celtic. Yang’s off the ball move into the box dragged a defender in, leaving loads of space for Tierney to receive a pass wide left. The cross into the box was headed out to the D and Nygren, who was far more involved in the game, met it with a brilliantly controlled left foot curler into the keeper’s top left hand corner. Cue bedlam in the stands. And me pushing my sofa back against the wall.
Lask continued to look dangerous going forward and scored with a well placed header, only for another offside decision to cancel out the strike.
Nygren’s ‘goal of the match’ award lasted only 9 minutes. Another clever move saw Tierney in an identical position to the first goal. Again, a cross into the box was headed back out to the D and this time it was the impressive Duran who volleyed a brilliant strike into the same top corner. 2 goals to the good at half time.
Celtic continued to dominate possession in the second half and almost got a third when a Calmac shot was deflected by Høgh on to the post. But Lask also looked dangerous on the break with Sinisalo having to pull off a couple of decent saves. But in the 67th minute we scored what was, for me, the best goal of the night. Donovan was under pressure in the right back area and could easily have hoofed the ball clear. But he shimmied inside and found space to pass across to Sinisalo, who fed Trusty, who played it up to Høgh in the centre circle. Hogh held off his marker and laid it off to Nygren and Benji progressed with the ball, fed Duran on the right, but continued his run into the box to receive the ball back. A return lay off to Duran who curled the ball home. A brilliant move and a brilliant finish to end the scoring on the night.
Celtic used all 5 substitutes during the second half, mostly replacing players who had given their all, rather than being introduced to change the game. This meant we could see out the game without having to risk the introduction of Balikwisha.
All in all a very good night at Celtic Park, highlighted by those stunning goals from Nygren and Duran Duran.
Celtic have now played 4 games and won them all. We have scored 13 and conceded just once.
As for the voting numbers, congratulations to everyone who contributed to what has been the highest turnout ever. An unbelievable 145 kind folk took time to fire an email my way and trigger another £3 donation to the Sentinel Celts nominated charity, Glasgow City Mission. We have hit the 100 vote target in all 4 games so far.
And so to the results. The total votes cast for each player (with my own nominations asterisked) are as follows –
Sinisalo: 15
Donovan*: 118
Carter Vickers: 4
Trusty: 0
Tierney: 4
McGregor: 23
Baur: 16
Nygren*: 99
Duran*: 143
Høgh: 10
Yang: 1
Hatate: 0
Tounekti: 0
Scales: 0
Hassan: 0
Ralston: 0
Unused subs: Balikwisha, Doohan, Forrest, Kenny, McCowan, Murray, Osmand
And so, the POINTS earned by each player for the game against Lask are as follows –
25 – Duran
22 – Donovan
19 – Nygren
16 – McGregor
14 – Sinisalo
12 – Baur
11 – Høgh
10 each – Carter-Vickers and Tierney
8 – Yang
5 each – Hassan, Hatate, Ralston, Scales, Tounekti and Trusty
1 each – Balikwisha, Doohan, Forrest, Kenny, McCowan, Murray and Osmand
And the CUMULATIVE POINTS after 4 games played are as follows –
79 – Nygren
74 – Duran
57 – McGregor
55 – Tierney
52 – Høgh
51 – Carter-Vickers
48 – Donovan
40 – Trusty
34 – Tounekti
33 – Sinisalo
30 – Engels and Yang
21 – Baur
18 – McCowan
17 – Johnston
15 – Forrest
14 – Oxlade-Chamberlain
12 – Scales
9 – Hassan
8 – Hatate and Osmand
7 – Murray
5 – Ralston
4 – Doohan
1 – Balikwisha and Kenny
We now have just 5 more sleeps to wait until our return leg against Lask. It’s an 8.00pm kick off next Tuesday to see whether we progress to the Champions League or have to settle for the Europa League.
Hail Hail!
We now have a new JustGiving page set up to enable donations to be made for our latest charity appeal.
We wanted to focus again on a local charity, and this time one which is dedicated to helping those suffering from homelessness, addiction or poverty.
The one we have gone for is
GLASGOW CITY MISSION
You can find our dedicated page at
https://www.justgiving.com/page/sentinelcelts67
It is coming up to that time of year when the betting aficionados amongst us have to get our thinking caps on again.
As usual, our site will run a NAPS COMPETITION with some healthy prize money, and once again it will start on St Leger Day in September and run through till the last day of Royal Ascot in June. There will be a short break from the end of November till the end of January.
And for those whose betting interests are mainly centred on the football, we will also run our MAGNIFICENT SEVEN accumulator, starting on the same day and finishing when we no longer have eight leagues to pick from. Usually the end of April. Let’s hope that it gives us a more magnificent return than the litany of near-misses and total failures we got last term!
We will be looking for volunteers for this year’s ACCA , so please join up!
Both these initiatives are FREE TO ENTER, and will be on their own dedicated page nearer the time. I look forward to your participation.
D R M has also very kindly volunteered to operate a competition over the three days of the AYR GOLD CUP meeting. Usual rules, with a selection from each race.
There is £100 of prize money, and as alway is FREE TO ENTER!
More details will be available on the dedicated page nearer to the beginning of the event on 17th September.
I just hope we (The fans) give Colby space and time to grow.
We shouldn’t expect that is the new standard for how he has to perform, as very few 19yo players are consistent from that age on.
Like others, I think his wages are an embarrassment, considering he’s out-performing guys who are on 10s of thousands.
Before he starts to attract the attention of the sharks that surround us in little Scotland, show the lad he is appreciated by giving him a contract that reflects his position!
We moan and act like we don’t understand why these young guys are leaving before kicking a ball for the first team ..well, if Colby’s wage doesn’t explain it to you, I don’t know what else will.
I was impressed with him from minute 1 the other night, and he showed me things I hadn’t seen from him before, like his range of passing.
We’ve found a gem, let’s treat him like one.
Once again Bobby, an excellent lead , and one most will full heartedly agree with.
Sevco 5088 – Huffin and Puffin and Jimmy Ruffin. “What becomes of the broken hearted”.
It always bothered me that the good players went to the World Cup or any other big tourney and within weeks of returning to their clubs they became injured, asking players to give their all and the same when they return home. Its both the pressure of pride and testing themselves to their limits but at what cost? They should have more time of to recover properly.
Good morning you old duffers.
I’m glad Brendan Rodgers promoted Colby Donovan into the Celtic side ahead of Tony Ralston and the injured AJ.
Introduced last pre season by BR, an outstanding talent suffered like the rest of us at Tynecastle especially, then went back the way in the turmoil, especially when WN preferred AR in his ill fated experimental back three.
Always room for new heroes in Parkhead. Donovan is a lot of swash not so much buckle, care will be required especially in Europe where the youngster will face better systems that can exploit us.
Any deficiencies in Alistair Johnston’s game could be viewed in the same way. MON will know what’s best for the youngster, lots of games and plenty game time for Tony Ralston, a steady Eddie player that ‘gets Celtic’
🇨🇮 🇨🇮 🇨🇮 🇨🇮 🇨🇮
Hail Hail
For my tuppence worth, I always feel that when a player makes it known that he wants to leave, the only thing a club should be working on is how much they might get for them and who can they replace them with. AJ has made his intention to leave well know and has handed the advantage to the buying club. His endless injuries have seriously complicated the situation and I would have taken the money offered by Everton and replaced him with it. Injured players who don’t want to be with us are no use at all.
I genuinely don’t think he’s worth more than about £10m anyway despite being the best full back in the World Cup. If that was true, where are all the bids? Like most on here I was really impressed by Donovan on Wednesday night but at 19 he will have as many bad games as good. I would like to see us buy a Swiss Army type player who can play a few positions around the defence. They are out there if we look hard enough. Donovan needs brought on relatively gradually, not left to carry too much of a burden too young.
Football supporters are fickle. We have gone from criticising Colby to sign him up on a long term contract in one step. Hopefully we give him time and space. If Martin likes him then that’s good enough for me.
I like the young man but I don’t like his haircut. He looks like he is an escapee from the Bayou Tapestry.
Bayeux Tapestry.
Emenalo at Lennoxtown, announced this afternoon possibly, Chelsea LB on loan
100%, tie him down!
Ermin Mahmić is reportedly set to join Celtic from Slovan Liberec, with multiple sources claiming he “will continue his career at Celtic.”
Mahmić visited Liberec this weekend to say goodbye, with Czech media describing it as his “last time in Liberec”.
(Source: @zmajevi)
Imagine the meltdown 🤣🤣🤣
Ermin Mahmic on his way over too apparently, €10 million seemingly
𝗧𝗥𝗔𝗡𝗦𝗙𝗘𝗥 𝗨𝗣𝗗𝗔𝗧𝗘 🚨
Arbroath are set to sign Celtic midfielder Jude Bonnar on a season-long loan.
The 20-year-old has been training with the Red Lichties this week and is keen on the move as he looks to gain further first-team experience.
Bonnar impressed during a successful loan spell with Ayr United last season and will now look to build on that with another year in the Scottish Championship.
Best of luck, Jude! 🍀
Mahmic,Same position as Nygren….
https://chatgpt.com/share/6a884004-da14-83eb-9138-700401c51115?ogimg=plain
Scroll to the top of this link and read down for an interesting read.
Especially if you may be interested in a few things;
Is Andrew Cavenagh related to Craig Whyte in any way? Or has Craig Whyte went Ethan Hunt on us ?
Why nobody gives a fuck about John Bennetts health anymore?
How the makeup of the finance “invested” by Cavenagh’s consortium is directly related to John Bennetts blood pressure (in a good way forJohn)
Why the SF49ers current strategy mirrors exactly Dave King’s and Douglas Park and John Bennett’s strategy and everyone else in the world that owns a functioning fish tank
Why Celtic PLC keep so much money in the bank account
I look forward again to the external emails, Whatsapp, Signal replies.
Best not to clutter up the current sentinelcelts thread. So I’ll not be replying to any questions related to this post. This post and the link is just for your own curiosity.
BMCUWP,
Good article.
I wonder if our link up with Dumbarton is dependent on them not getting promoted to the SPFL
AWENAW
Doubt it. Even if they achieved that, we lend players out to SPL clubs all the time.
Saint Stivs on 21st August 2026 2:42 pm
does anyone have a link to a table of earnings per club for uefa payouts last season ?
AWE NAW
Fascinating link. As requested, I will not ask you any questions about it. After all, I’m not known for cluttering up any Sentinel Celts thread. 🤣
But wouldn’t it be absolutely hilarious if any of the mysterious ‘12 investors’ into Sevco were one or all of these 3?
Dermot Desmond
Vatican Bank
The Holy See.
According to America The Jesuit Review, “the Holy See collects revenue in four main ways. The primary one is financial income from commercial investments, real estate management and self-generated services. These make up the majority of Vatican income, comprising about 65% of the $887 million income projections for 2022.”
I can just see Hun heads exploding. 😂 😅 🤣
HH
INIQUITOUS IV 😊
Saint Stivs on 21st August 2026 3:08 pm
why does it always rain on me
—————-
Champions League progress is about to hand Celtic a coefficient edge over Rangers that has not existed since the end of the 2020/21 season.
Celtic are on course to leapfrog Rangers in UEFA’s club coefficient standings for the first time in five years. According to the Scottish Sun, qualification for the Champions League league phase would provide the points needed to move ahead of their rivals.
At the time of that report, Celtic were 53rd in Europe on 38.000 coefficient points, with Rangers 49th on 40.250. Qualification for the Champions League would guarantee Celtic a minimum of six bonus points, enough to take them above Rangers for the first time since the end of the 2020/21 season.
https://thecelticstar.com/celtic-coefficient-rangers/
A wee follow up
https://chatgpt.com/share/6a885d47-5dfc-83ed-b6a3-c1c8f5c3ba86?ogimg=plain
I think we genuinely need to be prepared for a £25m bid for Nygren.
Ermin Mahmic.
The boy can shoot.
https://youtu.be/2w9NFVY4MP0?si=lPvcr7SbNRsnc6dx
Mehmic makes no sense unless Nygren is off.
unlike big clubs in big leagues, who stockpile players and sell on for a profit, (I) prices won’t appreciate in the SpL unless playing, and (ii) players won’t come if they think they will be playing regularly
and Celtic don’t need no more no 8’s. They need at least one number 6.
But maybe not definite yet?
https://x.com/HereCelts/status/2090794109292192132?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E2090794109292192132%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_c10&ref_url=
LASK game from supporter cam. Austrian traveling fans not too discouraged.
https://youtu.be/Sn2inJLIUTc?is=47HsxBQVBgwKYpBZ
Big chief says “Still can’t see The Ranjurs coming “ but Alistair Johnston is a nice fella “
😳 😳
https://youtu.be/2w9NFVY4MP0?is=yXp7–stA3PAQRqn
2 footed
Awe N,
I find it alarming how cogent AI is in responding to your enquiry. I know you are in the IT business and, thus, less gobsmacked by this technology but I find the whole thing scary.
Here we have an entity that has tremendous ability to collect, and parse information; formulate both an argument and a conclusion, and, finally, present it in our language.
What is left for humans to do? Just press buttons?
Yes, I know it sounds like an old fart’s argument but this old fart remembers five track paper tape as the input medium and Algol 60.
Rebus
Awe Naw 👋🏻
Interesting Chat.
I noticed you mentioned Bennett , so I asked for further details:
Does John Bennet hold equity ?
No — John Bennett does not appear to retain Rangers equity after the May 2025 takeover.
Before the takeover he owned about 7.11% (34,647,059 shares).
When the US consortium completed the acquisition, reporting specifically states that Bennett sold his entire shareholding, alongside Dave King’s.
However, there is an important wrinkle: Bennett remains financially connected to Rangers as a lender. The 2025 accounts identify him as the principal lender behind a £13.81m secured investor-loan facility.
So:
That distinction is actually quite relevant to the theory we’ve been examining: Bennett exited the visible equity but remained a significant creditor of the club. That’s not the same economic position as simply walking away with cash.
How will Bennett be repaid?
According to Rangers’ 2025 accounts, Bennett is due to be repaid from the club’s investor-loan facility, rather than through his old equity.
The important details are:
So, in simple terms:
Rangers → quarterly repayments + 4% interest → Bennett/Wolhardt → fully settled by July 2028, assuming no acceleration event.
And this is an important distinction from what we were discussing earlier: Bennett apparently exchanged his equity for cash/consideration but remained a substantial secured creditor. His £13.8m isn’t dependent on Rangers making a profit or paying a dividend; it’s debt that the club is contractually obliged to service and repay.
There’s also an interesting wrinkle: the accounts say £17.38m of pre-existing investor debt was converted into shares during the takeover, while a new/rolled investor facility remained outstanding. So Bennett’s position changed from shareholder + lender to essentially lender only.
That is actually quite relevant to your earlier “switcheroo” argument, because it means we need to distinguish who got paid for shares from who remained financially exposed to Rangers through debt…
Have a nice evening. Ol McCoy is going to a party 🕺🏻 😂
HH💚🍀
Rebus67,
AI is absolutely stupid. No doubt about it. You need to know the story inside out before asking it questions. It continually draws from unreliable sources and makes false assumptions. Once you eradicate that then very rarely can it provide anything you don’t know. I’d imagine the algorithms are tightly bound around legality, decorum etc
It is good for saving you typing.
The Real McCoy
See my points to Rebus67
John Bennett does not APPEAR …is meaningless
We don’t know that’s exactly why the SFA went all Delaware on us in 2025 …
The £20m and the £16m equity injections this and last summer are partly paying off those tranches while increasing their shareholding. Done in end of season stages to keep them buying ST. More jam tomorrow etc
Seemingly we will not know more about hiw they were divied until November
Anthony Joseph
@AnthonyRJoseph
·
27m
CONFIRMED: Fulham have signed Celtic youngster Erskine Rennie.
The striker, 16, has agreed terms on a three-year contract with the Premier League club.
It’s understood that #FFC registered the player and applied for a minor’s application with FIFA.
They were granted an international transfer certificate to register the player with the FA.
Celtic will now be due training compensation in the region of £80,000.
CRAIG76
Fuxake. Another one? Still, that evens up the score for us nicking Osmand.
BMCUWP
We also stole Moussa off them for £500k.
Rebus67
August 21, 2026 4:29 pm
‘What is left for humans to do? Just press buttons?’
###
Exercise judgement.
And adhere to Marx’s favourite motto, de omnibus dubitandum.
But I sympathise with your viewpoint, it feels like the barbarians are at the gate.
Are AI Companies Really Buying—And Destroying–Antique Books?
That mahmic bhoy looks sensational.who cares about number 6 and 8,s.this bhoy will be in that midfeild.players need to fight for there place
Ex-Rangers stars apologise for initial reaction to Devlin red
Blair Meikle Profile Image
By Blair Meikle
Sports Reporter
Former Rangers players Andy Halliday and Steven Thomson were both forced to apologise for their understandable initial reaction to Cammy Devlin’s unfortunate red card against Jablonec.
Shortly after coming on as a sub, the Australian midfielder was sent packing for a challenge that was initially missed by the referee but picked up by VAR.
Devlin seemed bemused at his fate, as did most of Ibrox.
However, Derek McInnes admitted post-match that, having seen it back, the red card was probably warranted. He explained that his player was under instruction along with Curtis and had been trying to get his body in front of his opponent in an attempt to initiate any kind of contact from the opponent in order to win a penalty.
Halliday and Thomson were on punditry duty for BBC Scotland and both initially said they had no idea what the red card was for and that it should have been a penalty to Rangers.
But when they later saw footage, they apologised and said it was probably the correct decision.
Halliday said: “Me and Thommo have now seen a replay and we apologise for our initial blue tinted analysis.
“What Cammy Devlin is doing – I actually can’t comprehend it at all.
“It looks as if he’s almost trying to dive before he receives the ball and trying to get the defender to initiate contact like Derek has obviously instructed him to, and ends up planting his studs into his shin due to a lack of understanding and ability.
“There’s no defence about the red card.”
Thomson added: “You don’t see it from here. It’s at the far end of the other 18-yard box from where we are.
““We’re thinking maybe it’s a penalty as it nearly always is and then VAR are involved.
“We see Shankland coming on, thinking his first touch will be a penalty to score.
“Maybe this is when VAR audio would be a good thing at Ibrox. Nobody had a clue what was happening as it’s normally always a penalty and then it was stunned silence in here for a couple of minutes, everybody trying to work out what happened. It’s never happened before so it’s completely understandable”
No way Nygren will be going anywhere this summer.
Mahmic will be a replacement for Reo.
AWENAW
Good as it ever was…
Mahmic, Sigur, Emenalo coming in says the word on the street.
CRAIG76
That is also true.
Selling Nygren who had best stats last season and this so far would not for the first time time highlight the priorities of Despot and the Lackeys!
Money Money Money
Can’t see Nygren leaving this window.
Not with his budding relationship with Kasper Hogh and Camillo Duran just starting!
Stop giving the Board ideas 😁
HH
proof that AI is shite –
did rangers fc die
No, Rangers FC did not die. While the corporate entity that owned the club went out of business, the football club itself survived through a transfer of ownership. [1, 2, 3]
Because this topic is heavily debated between rival football fans, the answer depends entirely on whether you look at it from a legal/corporate perspective or a sporting/governing body perspective: [1]
—————
my granny died, but her house came to me in a tranfer of ownership.
doesnt mean my granny still lives in the house.
norman bates csc