-
Following input from many long term contributors to Celtic Quick News I have restricted comments to registered users.
If you would like to comment but are unable to register, email me at 1967@lisbonlions.com and I will post your thoughts.
Lost passwords can be retrieved from the link to the right of the page.
Many thanks for the continuted support from all contributors and readers.
Paul
-
Yeah..problem is paul most of the players we are being linked too don't exactly seem to be multi-million bank breaking names... my only positive thought is that though WGS is seen as a MON clone (though possibly one of poorer quality) from what I remember he was not afraid of looking outside of these islands for players, with places such as israel(boo)(no more eyal's please) and morocco on the menu ... though not too sure if either off those would like the scottish winter
-
Copied from the dying embers of the last deabte:
Paul, am I right in thinking that previous share issues (and possibly a future issue) have operated in somewhat of an Islamic Banking style? By this I mean that investors receive a better return (dividend) if the team is successful in achieving certain goals i.e. european progression.
I wonder if a combination of interest free loans with some element of profit/loss sharing (dependent on trigger events) would be a possible alternative to further rights issues and so on.
I have noted with interest that the government is going to help out certain workers in buying a home by 'profit-sharing'. Here, the Gov pays around 20% of the purchase price thus allowing a borrower access to better rates and a better home. When the flat is sold (or after a setperiod) the Gov receives the initial 20% back plus and incremental value accrued over the time period. The obvious difference here is that the investor is getting a piece of a physical asset but I am sure cimilar contracts could be arranged with a club like celtic.
As an example, an investor could offer cash (most likely used for transfers) as an interest free loan to be paid back at a later date but with added clauses offering a special dividend based on champions league performance (and hopefully increased revenues).
Does anyone know the in's and outs of leeds way of financing certain player purchases in the past 5 years? I believe there were problems in that Leeds never actually owned the players.
-
Joos has left as well?
Is this a scoop paul, was half expecting it but hadn't seen it announced anywhere
-
It is good that the wage bill has been reduced.
And we know from your many posts that the amortisation charge will also be reduced.
But how does this all fit in with the BQ statement that the 60% of turnover needs to be reduced (probably to nearer 50%)?
-
With Gordon now back from holiday, I would expect things to heat up over the next couple of weeks. We do not have a great deal of time between now and the start of preseason training (a little over three weeks I believe).
The wee man is going to be busy.
-
Cheers for that Paul, hope as has been said that things start to pick up and we pick up a few really exciting players, I suppose it will still be a little slow as players head off on holiday too. Still I have a bit of faith that the right signings will be made and that there will be a bit of a buzz about the place (copyright Paul Mcstay) come July
-
Where has Joos moved to (if anywhere)?
-
Although many players are leaving or have left (not sure about Joos as of yet); we are going to need at least 5 or 6 new faces in. It's unquestionable that we need a quality keeper, left back & centre back. And unless we retain Bellamy we are more than likely going to fork out for a new striker and possibly a midfielder or two (especially a left winger/wingback) as I feel Thompson has gave all he has unfortunately.
The dissapointing thing about the transfer targets mentioned in the media so far is that there, as usual, seems to be a lack of ambition. Hopefully I am wrong but in my opinion there have been no un-cut diamonds in the transfer speculation so far - just championship players or those who struggle for a game in lesser premiership clubs.
As I've said before on these forums, I would love to seen Christian Wilhelmsson at the club - he would give our left side the skill and running power it needs. All at a cool cost of £1.5m, that is if Inter don't snap him up.
-
when at parkhead for season ticket renewal day, i spotted wilhelmsson entering with 2 advisors and quickly followed by trevor steven. has anyone heard any outcome of this meeting?
-
Don't think he has moved yet but he will be looking for a move, also Hedman will probably (hopefully) move for personal reasons.
This is just a feeling and maybe Paul can shed some light and knowledge to this? (or tell me I'm talking rubbish) But I have a strong belief that either Sutton or Hartson will go over the summer.
-
larsson7,
How long ago was this? I know last season there was apparently some interest in him. But I read some quotes from the player himself along the lines of "Inter are interested in me." Arrogant lad... I like him!
Although it is encouraging that he was at cp if this is true, at least if he was approached he didn't just firmly dismiss it.
-
Paul
Can we add to your list of savings a substantial reduction in the cost of the management team. I cannot believe we will be paying Strachan/Pendry anywhere near the wages of MON, Robbo and Steve Walford.
Incidentally, although all 3 resigned and did not honour their notice periods (with the agreement of the board) my guess is that they probably received a pay-off. When will we know this? The next accounts? Or am I being too cynical.
-
do you reckon we will have around 16 million to spend or was that an example. if not how much do u reckon we will have?
-
it was the last date for renewal (21/5).
was waiting to get a ball signed by the players entering for training and he went in the main door.
he may be one of the players WGS mentioned in his press conference that had been cross ref'd with MON and had been contacted already about a move. i was surprised no media picked up on his appearance at CP
-
Celtic continue to play their cards close to their chest on transfers.
I am sure we can replace the out going players by better quality players on lower wages, but we need a couple of high profile signings to recapture our enthusiasm following last season's disaster.
-
What confuses me is when the board start going on about the transfer budget being taken up by wage bills. Surely it would make much more sense to have a set wage budget and give the manager a transfer budget therefore he can match the money has has to spend on players and assess if he can 1) afford to buy the player, and 2) fit him into the wage structure.
-
Must say I agree that the media not picking up on that is strange. Especially when you consider that if someone sneezes the wrong way in the CP car park they'd be in the late edition of the Daily Rangers.
Heres hoping the talks were successful!
-
Thank Ghod we are off the Board link. Let us get back to Celtic
-
Great No 8
Yes, extra dividends are paid if the club reach the knockout stages of the Champions League (nothing for Uefa Cup or for reaching the CL). Dividends increase each round until the semi-final.
This looks like it was designed with your plan in mind.
The Leeds situation is another story all together, I could spend all day telling is here. You could write a book on how not to run a football club.
Baldymeister, no scoop I’m afraid, the story was give little coverage (none here).
Frank, I have heard rumour of a pay-off to the departing management team, should be noted in the accounts.
Jabba, too early to say how much exactly we can spend. Will know soon.
-
Hi Paul,
All makes sense to me.
2 questions for you. Do you think the rumoured share issue money will be added to the transfer kitty as well?
Also why dont the club use players like Hedman, Laursen and Fernandez that are still under contract as make weights to get in better players rather than letting them go for free.
Great site keep up the good work.
-
I think someone like Wlhelmsson would be a great addition to the team. With him on the left, McGeady on the right and Bellamy or the likes of Keane up front we'd have a pottent attacking force. Btw has anyone heard anumore on the Hartley story? I heard from a mate that he will be returning from Scotland duty to CP but not seen anything anywhere else.
-
Richie,
Good point - but who would want them?
-
just read ian king in the sun waxing lyrical about big feck saving them 2.6 million in wages by getting rid of Zura, Lovelypants and Mr Bean.
all with a nice positive spin.
never seen anything positive in the media regarding the amount our wage bill is being cut by.
all we see is that we can't afford Bellars wages, on a tight budget, cash strapped etc.
oh its not my Sun its the guy sitting next to me.
-
I wouldn't worry about what Ian King or any of the rags have to say - the demonstrable proof that we have sufficient finance to sign several players will come when we make signings. Quite how they'll square their "Pennypinching Celts can't afford Bellers" exclusives with us stumping up the cash to sign him (or someone else) will be interesting.
Expect more tales of Celtic being in crisis, going to the wall, lacking ambition or, what's most likely, stating that we've foolishly wasted our funds when we do spend big.
-
Oh NO Trevor Steven!! Surely not!!!
Thanks paul...I think....I was more looking for the effect on the balance sheet and debt...and consequently the transfer spend...but I guess I'll have to dust down my abacus over a nice bottle of wine.....like esteemed gentlemen do..
-
I hope Trevor Steven was only there as an agent!
Ok sorry, somebody had to say it, and it might as well be me.
Great site Paul.
-
larsson7,
Could it have been the polish goalie you saw that day? He has a similar barnet to Wilhelmsson (blonde mullet) and was over with his advisor, Dariusz Wdowczyk around that time.
That said, I'd love to see Wilhelmsson join, exactly the type of player we need. I could see him making the same type of impact as Thomson did in his first 3 seasons.
-
Does anyone know what the current value of Celtic just now? Does this have any affect on our borrowing capacity, transfer budget etc?
-
Did anyone note Davie Provan's column last weekend had 'Celtic Crisis' running along the top of the page? What crisis is that, have i missed something?
-
malone19,
I know what you mean. But if we go for Niemie we could always offer Hedman plus money to keep the cost down.
Someone might be daft enough to take them on. After all Shef Wed hoodwinked us into taking Blinker when they got Dicanio. What a deal that was!
-
Sorry about the change of subject but, does anyone know what's happened to Stephen Pearson???
-
test
-
Pearson's still there, in the reserves. Not sure if there is any truth to this but heard he had been a naughty bhoy which was why he was dropped, nowt to do with a training ground bust up.
-
Test Hail Hail
-
Pearson had hernia or a hamstring operation, can't remember which but remember that it began with a 'H'.
Just looked at Celtic's share price as now become much more FTSE savvy 8^) and it is now up to 67.5p, up again on yesterday - so looks as if something (positive?) is going on, as shares are up nearly 25p since March 21st.
-
"i was surprised no media picked up on his appearance at CP"
If what Jinky was saying yesterday is true then look out for the exclusives in tomorrows chip wrappers.
-
Looks like you now have chat room on your hands.
-
On a lighter note for CQN and possibly our own T-Shirt maestro Rumoid, noticed that the symbol for Celtic on the Stock exchange is 'E:CCP'.
As it was discussed ages ago about 'ofeeshall' CQN T's and as money is often the subject discussed upon this blog, perhaps a design incorporating this symbol a la the classic Soviet Union CCCP jerseys that Toffs produce.
Just a thought 8^)
-
Great Site Paul - Keep up the Good Work.
Cant wait for the season to start.
I know I'm a bit early but does anyone know when the league fixtures are published?
-
ottokaiser, wasn't aware of the goalie being over but if it transpires it was him, he is the double of wilhelmsson.
would love to see us play attractive football with 2 wingers again to supply the ammo to sutty and bellars (if he comes to his senses and signs), this long ball nonsense is demoralising to watch and doesnt excite the fans.
-
thanks for that baldymeister...
Could go for the Stalin/Lenin (not neil) photo with pauls barnet and ECCP underneath...:-)
The design is on its way and I'm sure will be here before Celtic's first big signing of the summer...
-
larsson7 - are you sure it wasn't Bobby Willhelmson you spotted? - only joking
I don't know why he would move from the Belgian league to the SPL which is also a blow torch league. Also Anderlecht like ourselves are guranteed European football every year - so again i can't see why he'd join us. He's a great player though.
TRIG - Pearson got off to a bad start at Celtic when he drove up to Parkhead on his first day in a Ford Ka. I don't think he's ever got over that nor the players.
-
Paul,
can we go over amortisation just one more time never really got my head around it.
Say Celtic sign a player for 4million on a 4 year deal.
What comes off our balance sheet ?
Surely the selling club recieve 4 million so we're 4 million down.
But if we then remove another 4 million over the for years were does it go ?
or does only one million for the 1st year come off the balance sheet?
aaaaahhhhhhh
This is why I work with switches and servers I know where it all goes !
-
-
-
I knew it was only a matter of time before we all had to 'join up'. Probably a good thing, one or two of the anons were taking liberty's
-
-
-
Re: Hartley - A friend of a friend of a friend of Hartley (so that makes it a certainty, I'm sure you'll agree!) was told not to bother renewing his season ticket, cos PH will get him comps - so if true it's a done deal.
I like the fact that nothing is coming out of CP - but some of the names the press are throwing about don't inspire. Specifically, the two Toon rejects, O'Brien and Harper (unlike most, I'm not convinced Given is the complete package, so it follows that his understudy falls a good way short), are part of a sieve which compares well with our own leaky defence.
We all know the problem areas: LB, CH, left midfield, striker and the elusive "new Lubo" for behind the front two - so I'm looking forward to see who GS brings in.
-
I read with interest today the D&T report on EPL wages. It seems that financial prudence is spreading, with all EPL clubs bar chelski reducing their wage/turnover ratio.
Estimating our turnover 04/05 comes in around £74m and with a stated intention of a 50% ratio. This would allow a wage budget of £37m an increase of just £1.5m on 03/04.
Unless my figures are wrong, it does not matter the amount for transfers, the driver on player quality is likely to be the wage budget.
Taking the £7m and the £1.5m effectively this gives WGS £163,500 per week of wages with which to sign players.
This will give you 4(40k) stars or 8(20k) average pros from the EPL.
If we want more there will have to be more exits from the current squad or a change in thinking from the board.
The best option would be a manager who does not shop in the EPL.
-
Bellshill tim:
mortisation: a fools guide....written for Jim Traynor
We buy a £4m player on a 4 year contract (Bellamy for instance)
In simple terms this results in £4m coming out of the bank (off our balance sheet) and £4 going on to our balance sheet....(Intangible asset)
As we benefit from having that asset over the period of his contract we should recognise this benefit and the associated cost on the P &L account...
The benefit/associated cost is worked out over the term of his contract (i.e. we have him for 4 years therefore £1m per year benefit)
Deduct £1m from assets in the balance sheet... And this cost hits the P & L account....
So after year 1 we have a £3m asset and a loss of £1m.....
You'll never get me to understand switches and servers....I'm still struggling with my spectrum 48K...Its never been the same since Daley Thompson's decathlon
-
What is Jinky's secret?
Come on weeman put us out of misery!
-
-
Malone19 there is a picture of Artur boruc on this URL
http://www.90minut.pl/kariera.php?id=2624
-
thebhoys67 -
"At 2:49 PM, Wee Jinky said…
Skelly 2,
About two years or so ago I made up a story about Celtic being on the verge of "swooping" for a young Slovakian player whose name I can't remember.
While the player was real everything else about the story was fabricated by me.
I made up quotes from the player and from a "Celtic source". I posted it on the Huddleboard as a parody of a tabloid transfer story.
The very next day the story appeared - virtually word for word - in several tabloids with The Star giving it full page coverage!
Even teletext carried the story and all of them featured the quotes from the player and source which I had made up!!
I think that says everything we need to know about the tabloids and transfer speculation."
Polish keeper is called Artur Boruc, g00gle image search will do the trick.
-
Cheers Skelly 2!
-
Don't know if it's just me but I can't see the resemblance between
Wilhelmsson: http://www.uefa.com/competitions/UCL/Players/Player=54364/
and Boruc: http://www.90minut.pl/kariera.php?id=2624
Also, I'm still confused as what the "chippie wrappers" will be reporting if all jinky said was he leaked a fake story seasons ago.
-
Since Wee Jinky's trick worked so well then can we now expect a "Bhoys in drugs shame" headline tomorrow...?
Regarding players in and out, let's hope whatever's being said in the papers is pure conjecture, and the real (good) news is being kept quiet.
Maybe we could put Celtic's PR dept in charge of transfer dealings - that way noone would ever hear about them! (Sorry, just an attempt at sarcasm.)
-
malone19,
I think the suggestion was that some "lazy journos" would trawl the various messageboards as "research" for their exclusives, hence expect "Wilhelmsson says deal me in" on the back of the tabloids tomorrow.
Do a google image search on Artur Boruc, on the first page - first picture on the bottom row.
-
Stevie58, Iceland under 19's beat Sweden 2-0 with our Teddy Bjarnason playing behind the front two and scoring both (1 pen). May still be a bit young but interesting none the less. He ran the whole show by all accounts. I think there is a report on "news now".
Apparently his younger brother is an even better prospect with ourselves and a few others looking at him.
I think Chippen Wilhelmsson would make a great signing.
-
The last 2 close seasons had us all wound up about tranfers, with little of substance to show for it.
For sure the next couple of months will bear fruit, only question is what variety.
Hope Wee Gordo gets a few in early while the best pickings are available and also to ease the stress on our fragile hearts.
-
Paul,
As you correctly say, getting rid of unwanted players is a good piece of business.
As well as the ones that you have mentioned then there is also the strong possibility that as well as high earners such as Bellamy will go, others may be pushed towards the door, namely Sutton, Hartson or Thompson.
These 3 are very high earners whose salaries could easily be reduced by a replacement. However we need to ensure that we do not replace too much too soon, as we need the team spirit that the team has had over the past 5 years.
Is Jock Brown still doing psycho-analytical testing on behalf of Celtic to make sure that signed players are the full shilling? :)
-
Was trying to remember the nickname chippen earlier... wonder where it comes from? Maybe its because he looks like a chipmonk.
I suppose that picture does look quite like him, oh well there goes my hopes!
-
Personally Id sell Hartson and Thompson. The wages combined could be used to get a top class bosman (not likley at Celtic I know) or £3m player on big wages would mean we could compete with the richer eurpoean clubs on wages at least for the likes of Wilhelmsson.
-
how would we feel if in the 89th minute leading one nil to Rangers in a league decider, Niemi was called upon to face a Hun penalty?
Ah wid have kittens!!
-
"Chippen" is a common nickname in Sweden.
-
Apologies, I didn’t realise registering was not clear until I looked at my emails this afternoon. Instructions are:
At the bottom of the main story on the www.celticquicknew.co.uk home page
you will see a 'number of comments' item. If you click on this you will see
the story with the comments below it.
Right at the very bottom of the page you will see a 'Post a Comment' item.
If you click on this a new window should open listing all the comments. At
the bottom of this window you will see a box you can add a comment on.
There will be a box for Username and Password, below this there should be
a 'Sign up here' item in blue. If you click on this you will be taken to a
form to create an account.
Richie8, the share issue will be there to supplement the short term cash situation take care of other projects, principally the new training facilities.
Thanks Ardoch and Mr Stein.
Trevor Steven is part of the excellent Blair Morgan football agents stable.
Bellshill Tim, so you work with switches and servers and not for my Bellshill company? Hmm.
Amortisation, just for you:
£4million for a player on a 4 year deal. The cash is likely to go up front. No more cash goes.
The value of the player is added to the balance sheet (+£4m) but the corresponding amount of cash is removed from the balance sheet, so there is no immediate impact on balance sheet.
Over the course of the contract the P&L is charged £1m per season, which is removed from the balance sheet as it hits the P&L.
OttoKaiser, no info on the Nike logo’s on the North Stand. I would assume it is part of the shirt deal.
As far as transfer stories go, I have been told to expect the first one to be a big name. There are several small deals done, if they come out with a cheap signing first they will be accused by many fans of lacking ambition.
-
I have to agree with BazzaBhoy on that again. Thompson just isn't the player he used to be and if we could replace him with the likes of Wilhelmsson I think it would make sense to have him off the wage bill and possibly get some money for him. I know this sounds a bit harsh but too long have we held on to players until they are wotrth nothing and simply drain the wage bill. Take Lambert for instance, there is no doubt that what he has done for the club in his prime was fantastic as with Thompson; but in this day and age we cannot afford to be sentimental about or selling policies.
I think we need a skilful, pacey striker and because of this either Hartson or Sutton should go. My opinion is that Sutton is the more complete player albeit he won't grab as much goals. And Hartson is still the right age where we could get a fee for him. We would miss his goals and need to replace them but for the last month or so of the season he had nothing to give. We can't have players running on small tanks who will eventually be asked to run on empty come the end of the season - especially if we hope to play in European competitions.
-
Would make sense not to come out with smaller signings. I'm pleased the way transfer rumours are going around this season. Although no names are being mentioned by WGS its nice to know there are names and they are being actively persued. Last season there seemed to be nothing. That was one of probably 3 qualms I had about MON: Leaving transfers till the last minute, overly loyal and some strange tactical decisions (i.e. Petrov on the right).
Paul do you have any idea on a timescale?
-
I wouldnt mind thomo moving on but he,s probably on £30k plus per week, would probably need a pay off to see him go.
If we give players a pay off does this go down as wages or recorded as an exceptional cost?
-
Here's hoping the first is Bellamy then!
Paul,
Brilliant message board by the way!!
-
Paul,
Thank you, Thank you, Thank you for excluding the Anons.
The silly season has arrived, as always at this time of year. Speculation on the back of speculation leads to so and so seen in the car park of CP. As always it makes good fun but is not worthing anything until they actually sign. Keep it up bhoys.
Reality is that transfer budget has not been made public (yet?). We know that some of the players are now ex, but that's it. Okay, I'm being a killjoy here but too many seasons have gone by when so and so is joining us for it not to take place and my anticipation gland has dried up.
Regarding Pearson, I love this guy. I honestly think he could become something for the club. I truly hope he overcomes whatever demons are besetting him and returns to the first team.
I hear Charlie Miller is available.........
-
Paul, I have just seen visual proof of the swoosh signs on the north stand upper tier. There appear to be 3 of them. Left, middle and right.
Any idea if this could have been part of the original NIKE deal or if there is more cash to come from this?
squeek.
-
TimOTay
Sutton, Hartson and Thompson have all been BIG game players for us since they came to CP 5 years ago.
Not sure if I'd be so quick to get them off the wage bill. I think too much is based on getting the wage bill down and or getting players to suit the wage bill. Sometimes you have to have exceptions.
You say they're salaries could be easily reduced by a replacement.
However - how easily could we replace these BIG game players?
-
Several already done! feel much happier already hopefully there will be a couple of quality signings on the way. As we are thankfully having a more relaxed afternoon today,
No major rammies as yet may i share with many of you who have as much work as I have today this. I give you;
http://www.studentfreestuff.com/shoot_crazy_frog.html
Enjoy
-
Mr Stein, Hartson hasnt kicked a ball since beatin the great unwashed in the scottish.. fair enough he may bang 30 a season but he doesnt create anything for others - period. eben if we get a striker who will score say 20 but could create at least the same amount. Larsson scored a barrowload but I bet he created just as many - not suggesting we will get a player of that calibre but you can see my point.
-
Bhoys, no sooner do some finish impugning our largest shareholder than others start to recycle old, and unsubstantiated, rumours about named individuals and drugs. Dangerous, dangerous stuff.
To avoid legal action, Paul will probably have to go back in and edit out these comments. He should also have a word with those responsible.
Libel laws apply to blogs. Those who post such comments could also be held responsible. Please, please, please be more careful or this forum may cease to exist.
-
JohnBhoy nobody has said players were taking drugs simply that they had heard rumours of this... I think if you read over again you'll find this clearly stated!
-
Chill out JohnBhoy, I think you're taking things a little too seriously. We don't have enough time to read all the comments on this site, never mind the hundreds of other chat rooms, bulletin boards, and blogs. So I'm sure Stephen Pearson's solicitor doesn't either.
Opinions expressed here are generally just that: opinions. Apart from some small talk, banter, and the odd reference to reports seen in various parts of the media.
Legal action would be extremely unlikely unless the story was being deliberately fabricated for financial gain. e.g. A "shock, horror" exclusive in a major circulation national rag about attacking some poor press photographer who was just minding his own business studying a top player's skin condition with his best macro lens.
-
Beyond the libel situ......
Bazzabhoy couldnt agree more re BBJ. If he is not scoring hes blocking out the sun. 30 goals per season is v. useful but how many mofe could he have had with some fitness and determination.
Bellamy & beattie up fron would work - both with lightning pace ripping most defences apart.
Not only an out ball but some who can follow up with an out ball.
-
This is a test
-
OK amortisation,
I'll just take your word that it's not a scam, never understand why they just don't take the hit up front and the money is gone, but thats why I don't run a business.
Don't we all just love the pre-season transfer rumours.
We should note all the certain signings down and see how many actually do come off.
Not expecting anything until monday earliest untill GS comes back from his holidays.
-
I have it on quite good authority that Craig Bellamy will be signing a 3 year deal with the option to leave after 2 for an agreed sum (this will be what we pay for him circa £5m). Craig wishes to play in the Champions League but does not want to commit himself to 3 years in the SPL. This means that he has the option of returning to a bigger league whilst he will still be at the peak of his career. The biggest drawback for Craig is playing in the SPL against inferior opposition.
-
3:26 PM, Bellshill Tim Go to the excellent Kerrydalestreet site they have a sticky on transfers we are linked to. http://kerrydalestreet.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=10965
-
i'VE got to say I'm disappointed about the speculation regarging Pearson.
We shouldn't be doing the gutter media job for them.
A second point is Anti Niemi.
I have never been convinced and I can assure you it has nothing to do with him being a former Ranker.
I can remember him as a goalie who was a great shot stopper but without the concentration of the best like Kloss.
I think he looks so good at Southampton as he gets plenty of practice.£2 million is a big gamble IMO.
-
Haha,
I see Freddy Adu mentioned on that list, Bhoy that would be nice... doubt it would ever happen though. Wilhelmsson scrubbed from the list as well, shame!
Any news on the man u defender that was apparently signing?
-
Good to see the good debates raging.....
Paul - good info. What do you think our revenue/wages artio should be - 50% or more?
Bigchipsuk - I have to agree with Johnbhoy. It may not be illegal to make accusations like that, but I honestly believe rubbish like that should not be repeated on a forum. Pub chatter at best.
I_SPY - may be BS, but actually sounds plausible.
My tuppence worth - a striker for Celtc in the SPL should count on 20 goals as minimum.
-
Hope I'm no bein daft.. Tinneybhoy not a word... but who is this Freddy Adu, seen his name mentioned here a few times and elsewhere. I have't a scoobie who he is.
-
JohnBhoy is spot on with his post of 2.59, and those of you who are making light of his comments need to think again.
Malone19, stating something is a rumour provides no defence against a libel action, so your point is completely irrelevant.
BigchipsUK, we know this site is read by senior people at Celtic, how do you think Paul got his invite to press conferences? Anyway, suggesting it's all right to libel someone because not many people are reading this doesn't qualify as a thoughtful response to a serious point.
Even leaving aside the risk to Paul's wallet and the existence to this site, is unsubstantiated third-hand pub gossip about Celtic players taking drugs an appropriate subject for us to be discussing? I'd expect to find this sort of thing on a Rangers site, not a Celtic one. CQN is better than this, guys. Give it a break.
Paul, I strongly recommend you take JohnBhoy's advice and either remove or edit the comments which make reference to named individuals taking drugs. These posts add nothing to the site and are a blot on its reputation.
Maybe that 'Code of Conduct' suggested a few months ago wasn't such a bad idea after all.
-
-
Bazzabhoy. check this out for info on Freddy Adu - http://users.rcn.com/jizen/freddy/
-
FAO Bazzabhoy
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/si_online/news/2003/03/03/freddy/
-
Cheers gents, boy must be a bit of a player. Seriously though, italy america, scotland.. for a lad that age you can stike one country out.
Re Pearo, apologies for any offense caused, non intended.
-
Kerrydale st have got a picture of the NIKE swoosh, looks fairly cool, but dont see why they would spend much on it, it will be obscured by a collection of lardy north stand arses every match day.
-
I see we're now playing Newry in a friendly on July 16th.
Considering our strong Irish roots and connections why is it we've never really attracted that many Irish players?
With these strong historical links and the consequent high profile in Ireland you would have thought we would have been a natural home for Irish players.
In truth an average top-flight English side has probably fielded as many Irish players as ourselves, if not more.
While in the last 25 years the likes of Man Utd, Liverpool and Arsenal have all been home to icons of Irish football.
So why haven't we been able to do likewise?
There has been some noteable exceptions over the years but in truth - despite the historical advantages on our side - we've failed to attract the quality and quantity of Irish players found at most top English clubs.
Is it money? Is it poor scouting?
This is far from a recent trend either, so its not just down to the recent high media profile of the English game.
Even when we were among Europe's elite we couldn't attract Ireland's top talent and Willie Maley mentioned back in the 1930s how few players from across the Irish sea came to Parkhead.
-
can you share this "big signing" with us?
please
we're desperate
-
-
Milkray, where is the Nike swoosh on Kerrydale St site? I cannot find it :o(
-
Malone19, well done on removing one of the damaging posts. Rather less well done for telling us you think the rumour may be true in the same breath that you tell us you've removed the post.
You have left intact your explicit post of 1.17. Any chance of taking that one off too?
-
Neilr said: "Anyway, suggesting it's all right to libel someone because not many people are reading this doesn't qualify as a thoughtful response to a serious point."
How does the following statement constitute "suggesting it's all right to libel someone"?:
"Opinions expressed here are generally just that: opinions. Apart from some small talk, banter, and the odd reference to reports seen in various parts of the media."
Any suggestion in my post is purely inference on your part Neil. I didn't instruct, advise, or suggest (to) anybody to do anything!
-
Fed up seeing the same old names being bandied about as regards signing targets, so
here are a few names that I will throw into the ring.
Feel free to rip into them.
Rustu – Signed for Barca after the last World Cup and couldn’t get in the side due to the form of Valdez and ended up back in Turkey. Would he fancy leaving his own country again for another stab abroad?
Placente – Great attacking left back, currently contracted to Leverkusen. The only problem is that he is recovering from a cruciate injury just now. Should be starting training soon though.
Altintop – Young holding/creative midfielder similar in style to Xavi, who I think could easily fill Lennon’s role. Currently with Schalke04 and is a Turkish international after snubbing the German National side and the country he was born in.
-
On a slightly different note. I see from skysports that Bayern Munich are on the verge of signing a new centre half.
Some French bloke from Werder Bremen. If the article is to be believed and why not then it says he is their top target this summer and will cost 8M Euros. It says he has already agreed personal terms.
I wonder how comfortable Mr Balde will feel when he hears that.Doesn't sound like he is top of their list to me.
Personaly I would keep him till January then punt him to the highest bidder. I wanted shot of him before he made his comments but they were the icing on the cake for me.
-
Growing up in Belfast I can never really recall many Celtic scouts about, a few of my mates had trials and contracts for English clubs but never even mentioned any celtic scouts, even Huddersfield had more scouts about! Think it’s a bit better now but we really should have the pick of most of the Irish lads I think
-
PS - I don't play Championship Manager.
-
Haw Milkray,
I resemble that remark!
-
Ardoch,
http://kerrydalestreet.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=11151
but dont tell another sole we are probably infringing copyright and the lawyers on this blog are watching!!
NO win NO fee, who you calling an ambulance chaser?
-
you may all laugh, but i honestly believe fernandez can do the business for celtic. or at least one good season. afterall, petta did it. new manager, new chance.
-
Taken from sky web site today "Espanyol have confirmed that Erwin Lemmens, Toni Soldevilla and Alex Fernandez will be leaving the club this summer.
Goalkeeper Lemmens will leave after a two-year stint and is rumoured to be a target for Celtic.
The Belgian international will be available on a free transfer having found himself surplus to requirements due to the form of Cameroonian Carlos Kameni at the Estadio Olimpico de Montjuic"
-
photo of the tic is not the best but..........
it looks terrible
but well show us the money.
-
Big Eck aka International Allstar appears to be dreaming again ..see www.ukfootballforums.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=12449
-
wee jinky , dont ever forget the legend... Chrissy Morris!!
-
I would really doubt it if Hartson, Sutton and Thompson etc were to leave. Strachan has already made it clear that he intends to keep key players i.e Jackie and Lennon because they are good examples to new players for how you should play. Sutton and Thompson especially would easily fit that category. Hartson is a little more lazy but would Strachan really want to sell the clubs top goal scorer?
-
Cheers Milkray! Don't worry, i won't make a copy (cough cough).
Chrissy Morris! aaarrrgghh!!! The flashbacks!!!
-
Can anyone confirm if the Nike swooshes have been added as part of the shirt sponsorship deal or are they part of an additional spnsorship / stadium renaming package? Or are we all in the dark?
-
Lyon are now in for Bobo.
His agent is quoted in the Evening Times
as saying he wants to move to a club who are "..capable of playing in the second stage of the Champions League."
The cheek of it!! If it hadn't been for Bobo's errors in the past we would have been in the second stage of the Champions League.
Personally I hope we never see Bobo back in the hoops again. He may be a big guy but his ego is now even bigger.
-
Paul unless you have a guy who looks like Eagle Eyes Action Man working for you then its definately not Bellshill Tim !
-
BigchipsUK, if you can't be bothered to read my posts carefully, you should at least read your own!
You ask (in the context of my post warning against possible libel action): How does the following statement constitute "suggesting it's all right to libel omeone"?: "Opinions expressed here are generally just that: opinions. Apart from some small talk, banter, and the odd reference to reports seen in various parts of the media."
I have two answers to that. First,all libellous statements are opinions. More or less by definition, they cannot be factual; veritas is a defence to a libel action. Second, you've left out the paragraph of your 3.11 post which prompted me to mention you, which read: "Chill out JohnBhoy, I think you're taking things a little too seriously. We don't have enough time to read all the comments on this site, never mind the hundreds of other chat rooms, bulletin boards, and blogs. So I'm sure Stephen Pearson's solicitor doesn't either."
You're explicitly telling JohnBhoy that he stops worrying about libel actions as a serious issue for CQN, and now you tell me I'm inferring any suggestion on your part. It's there in black and white - no inference required.
This isn't an interesting subject but it is an important one for all of us who value CQN as it is now. If we don't police ourselves, someone will eventually do it for us.
-
Malone19, no idea on when the first signing will be, but would expect next week.
Anon E Mouse, really do not expect more money from Nike at this stage. I checked out the ‘renaming the stadium’ idea after our survey and it was not on the agenda then.
Thanks to JohnBhoy and NeilR for their advice on the site. I would rather err on the side of caution.
Can anyone tell me why people post the word “test” and then do not follow up with a comment?
BigTex, the key figure in a football club should be wages + amortisation as a percentage of turnover, which in my reckoning should be no more than 60% for a tight run ship (my view is based on looking at non-staff costs in clubs the size of Celtic).
This is the actual cost of staff, only considering wages means you can really screw up with transfer fee amortisation. If we take this as a guide 50% looks high for a club who are intending to buy players.
For clubs who are not likely to spend money on transfer and will sniff around the bosman or youth development game, 50% is a bit low.
There is no reason why Celtic cannot get basic wages below 50% which would leave room for recruitment and bonuses.
Thanks for the tip Beermats, I’ll look out for him.
-
On the pearson story I heard that he went down to liverpool for james mcfaddens 21st birthday after having been told by o'neill not to as it was too close to a match!
-
Hi,
Enjoy reading this site, but occasionally I feel too much flexing of the old grey matter occurs. Its great that people want and are capable of talking about the clubs finances but even the most intelligent amongst us do not have a scooby-doo about what is really going on. Business men are incredibly ruthless people and it is a world which I would'nt wish on my worst enemy (employment wise)
Being from the NE of England I see the work of a truly GREAT chairman in Steve Gibson at the Boro. Supportive of the manager and the club using PERSONAL injections of cash along the way.
Paul you sound like a worried man who is afraid to upset DD as he holds all the cards. I understand your sentiments but if this man has any emotional attachment to the club, he will not want to go down in this great clubs history as the man who sold us down the river. Unless he is friends with Anakin Skywalker of course...
We should be pro-active here. Celtic should recognise the dangers of being floated and take steps to reduce risk. By this I am of the opinion that DD has proved himself capable of looking after the club and should be ALLOWED to take a greater ownership of the club while football enters an uncertain and greed driven era. The man has a vast fortune. 800 million!!!! Have some fun you tight bastard- you will peg it soon enough. You could go down in celtic history as the man who took us to the top again (no matter what league we ply our trade in).
Unfortunatly money men rarely look at the world this way. They seem to be obsessed with accumalating as much as possible.
Few garbled points in there somewhere but you get my drift...
-
different slant altogether,
does anyone have any idea when we should start to see some more young parkhead bred talent coming through the ranks - we have had all conquering youth teams for the past few yrs but only the established few (ie. mcgeady,wallace,beattie et al) seem to get anywhere near the first team.
only a thought but maybe this preseason is the time to bring some more to the fore and let us see what they can do - we may get a surprise which will could save us wasting money on below average EPL players and put it to signing the high calibre star names we all crave
-
It seems we are going to be linked to every single goalkeeper that gets released by their clubs. I've lost count of the amount we have been 'looking' at.
-
paul,
If DD is going to underwright a share issue for 15M what would happen if.......
The normal fans took up all the 15M would DD still invest 15M? or would it be 30M ? :-)
do we know if his mates are coming on board?
-
I don't think we want DD's mates do we? Never mind, it could be worse. Glazer is supposed to be not only considering changing the Man U club crest, but also their colours!
Can you imagine?!?! Celtic in Blue!
-
SO...
who's the "big" signing gonna be?
keep up the good talk, guys
westim
-
why is there a wee symbol at the bottom of my post??
help, i think I'm getting stocked
-
Larsson7- i agree with you all the young team will probably be glad that MON is away as they all start with a clean slate.
they will desperate to show WGS that they can do a job.
a mixture of youth and experiance with power pace and are tactically sound, should be enough to win back our title.
But as Pujol said to me today- what if next season we see a young side playing attractive football but end up winning sod all.
Will WGS get the time or will the fans be on his back 5 mins after our 1st defeat?
for me i think if the fans see what he is trying to do they will give him the time just as we gave TB the time.
-
I would love to see Pearson play again, he has two great feet, and plenty of pace.
-
If you have yet to see the video of this kid, check it out. He is 9 years old, and has already been signed by Santos. He is going to be some player.
The video can take a bit of time to load so be patient.
http://www.jean-carlos-chera.com/
-
i would like to hope that some of these young guys start to feature more in the 1st team pool. going by WGS previous posts as manager, he has shown he's not afraid to blood younger players.
obviously its not in our best interests to throw them all in at the deep end and complain if results go against us, but if he found a balance with the established players we are keeping together with possible star new signings which enable us to be well ahead of teams the way we used to be when we would go 3or 4 up, then maybe the kids could come on and feel free to play knowing the jeers wont go out when they make mistakes like this yr at times.
we really do need to bring some more kids through - heres to seeing more of mcglinchey,gardyne,ferry and the icelandic pair.
-
I'd like to see a different goalkeeping coach brought in....one who can drum in to the No 1 (whoever it is) to :
A ) Command his area
B) Know when to stay on his line and know when to come off it.
C) Ensure if he comes for a ball at a corner etc......to bloody well make sure he gets it !!!
Great site Paul,Keep up the good work.I dont post much coz I'm too busy reading it ;-)
-
Given all the speculation regarding incoming talent, there is one thing that is guaranteed next season and that is we will have a much fitter team on the park and no-one will be running through us after 70 minutes.
Incidentally, I heard from a good source that Stephen Pearson spent most of his rehabilitation from injury helping under privileged children in Third World countries.
-
Gerry, no idea what the plan would be for the share issue. When Fergus first had a public issue DD underwrote it. When it was fully subscribed DD then invested what he had pledged to underwrite on top.
The wee symbol at the bottom of your post is a dust bin. Click on it if you want to delete your humble thoughts.
-
Beermats, I had a shave for a meeting this morning so I no longer look like action man, but give me till tomorrow night.
Paul I work out in Bearsden so uinless you have great eye sight.
Pearson should get a fresh start under the new management, so hopefully as we're not to blessed down the left hand side.
-
Just had a minor heart attack after I saw the headline Paton signs for Celtic!!!.....
Not again....
-
I always thought Pearson, with a bit of coaching, would make a decent left back.
Squeek.
-
Is it not the case that most players contracts expire at the end of June. Although we can sign players before this date, we can't parade them.
This would explain why the transfer market is quiet for most clubs.
-
If it's young talent it's got to add something. They need to get involved, then the support comes in, they need special encouragement around the ground if they are giving it their all. not the " guilty until proven innocent" verdicts which seems to be the atmosphere at matches last season or am I wrong?
MacNamara was/is a nippy defender and good distributor, he's the only long term home grown success so far in the MON era, he has stayed the pace because he had a background before MON arrived and it was still hard for him to make it!! Because the level of scottish football is dire. No big news, the big news is that every other country in the world is producing better players than us
But
Every team needs a
tricky forward like maloney,
wide men -wallace and Mcgeady,
a centre forward beattie,
centre back kennedy,
goalkeeper Marshall,
Macnamara played for another club before coming to celtic it would be good for the current crop to get themselves farmed out to other clubs, like Jimmy Johnstone he didn't have it easy getting into the team, he was stuck in the reserves until Jock Stein arrived.
BTW Jinky has had 19 special fabergé eggs made in his honour. it will raise funds for research into his condition.
I need to think of giving up something if I am plunging into buying Celtic shares. The time I spend reading CQN, quelquechoise?
Naw, something else.
-
Well Well,
I see the thought police are alive and well.
Neil - good to hear from you again (I do mean this y'know) - I had forgotten your rather aggressive style.
I will reproduce NeilR's post on the other thread and respond accordingly.
NeilR states:
John Bhoy has already pointed out Negative Anon's utter ignorance or lack of interest in libel laws, and his frequent practice of making potentially defamatory comments about the board in general and DD in particular.
My response:
In actual fact I am not ignorant of libel laws - one of my tasks is to avoid such risks. However this is a place for opinion. If you look at other sites you will find much of the same content. It is astonishingly rare for any action to be taken and even rarer for action to be succesful - does anyone know of a private blog or website that has been a) Sued b) Succesfully sued)?
Neil again
Despite what NA says in his snide throwaway comment about me (post of 8.39), I am pleased to see any reasoned criticism of the board, or for that matter any other aspect of Celtic, on this site. Only through reasoned debate and the exchange of views can we hope to see constructive progress, and one or two ideas have emerged from CQN which I think may be of genuine benefit to Celtic.
My response:
Firstly - what snide comment are you referring to?
I'm not so sure you want to hear debate that you don't agree with - I think your aggresive response tells me what I need to know. I also believe this emphasis on libel is more about shutting people up rather than furthering debate.
Neil again
We know this site has attracted the attention of senior people at Celtic, hence Paul's invitation to press conferences. That is a compliment to everyone who has made a constructive contribution to the site and contributed to its success. But the more publicity the site gets, and the more people who log on, the more risk there is that anyone libelled on it is likely to take the comments seriously.
For anyone to put CQN's existence, and potentially Paul's bank balance, at risk by going beyond the point of reasonable criticism is an act of selfish folly. NA has done so repeatedly, with his occasionally amusing conspiracy theories frequently veering into explicit allegations of criminal wrongdoing by the board, with never a shred of evidence to back them up.
My response:
Should I be cowed if senior celtic officials read the site? Are you suggesting I should stop posting to ensure Paul stays at the press conference?
Paul - if you are worried simply put a rider on the site stating you are not responsible for the views expressed.
Neil again:
Hiring a libel lawyer is an expensive business, even if you are only responding to an initial letter. Anyone with a modicum of decency will not wish that risk on Paul. NA is by far the most frequent offender, but he's not the only one by a long way. We all value the site, and a lot of us would be devastated if it were closed down due to over-eager posters letting their feelings run away with them.
My response:
This is nothing more than scare tactics - see my responses above.
Neil again:
Let's try to show Paul the respect he deserves, and respond a little better to his hospitality on CQN. Thanks to his open-mindedness we're all welcome on here, whatever our views. Criticise all you want, but if you must publish defamatory material, please take it somewhere else, ideally your own website where you will carry the can.
My response:
Where is my lack of respect for Paul? Please show me?
Neil again:
NA, I will call you on one more thing, though I expect the same inadequate response to this as Bankiebhoy got to his rather funny exposé of your deliberate twisting of the DD quote. You say in your 8.38 post "I have repeatedly stated alternatives and your perceived wisdom that I haven't reflects your own form of lazy statements". That's an exact quote by the way :-)
I have read this site more or less religiously since I came across it last autumn. During that time, I have often asked you to put forward your own views on how the club should be structured, or what strategy the board should adopt. You NEVER responded to that request in any detail, usually your response if any would be limited to a few words along the lines that a bit of ambition/integrity/whatever would be a good start.
I've taken 15 minutes to trawl through some previous threads looking for your posts. The closest thing to a positive statement I could find re what you feel the board should be doing is: "I have heard the comments that we should not speculate to accumulate. But thats what we all do in life - thats how you get somewhere."
[For history students, that's from the thread "Celtic at the Crossroads", 1 Dec 2004. Browsing through it I started to feel quite depressed: there's a long exchange between me and Negative Anon in which I warn him against libelling the board. Ho hum].
I'm sure that can't be what you mean by 'repeatedly stating alternatives'. Can you perhaps cut-and-paste the bits that Bankiebhoy and I have missed?
This request is really directed at all those who direct their invective at the board, not just Negative Anon. I don't think the current setup is an ideal - does anybody? - but what is the alternative? If there has been one post on CQN attacking the board and all it has done, there have been a thousand. Not one of those posters has taken the trouble to detail a realistic vision of how things could be radically different. After all this time, I've concluded that no-one has that vision. If you're out there, though, please prove me wrong.
My response:
I have said repeatedly that I believe the club should have a strategy, we should know that strategy and judge them upon it.
The fact that the board doesn't tells you that they do not wish to be honest as to what the plans are. Paul and I agree that the plan is for Celtic to join a larger league. We disagree on how we get there. I believe the board are protecting their personal investment at the expense of short term losses. This is dishonest and exploits the support (which they then deride).
My plan for the club may be to join this league - but we should be open, transparent and honest with the support.
I won't bother with the litany of ineptitude from this board - been over it a million times.
In conclusion Neil - we disagree - fine. But you just want me to shut up and go away.
To all on this board - if we swallow this libel tripe then there aint no point in its existence. Or we can all be happy clappy and agree everything is great!
-
Libel Laws - Demon internet paid a UK college professor £15,000 damages and was responisible for court fees of £200,000 in a law suit filed by Dr Irving regarding defammatory messages published on an internet forum hosted on demons servers. This was about 5 years ago. I don't think the poster was tracked so the provider was next in line of responsibility. Nowadays all bloggers and forums record the IP address of the poster - so unless you are coming in here anonymously via some proxy server then you can be be traced no problem - logged IP address eg XXX.YYY.ZZZ.111 can be traced in 30secs to give the Internet Provider and node - and in turn if you know the time of the posting then the internet provider can tell you what internet connection was used and where that connection is installed. Easy as pie.
-
Can someone help me, I'm looking for a link that was posted about two weeks ago, for a video of celtic fans in seville. Anyone know where i can find it.
-
Paul,
I very much appreciate the time and effort you devote by way of your postings here and for the wider opportunity that your forum provides for all the various shades and opinions that exist in the fellowship of Celtic.
Whilst I dont always share all your views or optimism your contribution is always very articulate, stimulating and thought provoking.
Now that Ive finally registered I hope that my modest contributions, will from time to time be positive in their nature.
-
Fellas, isn't it time to take a deep breath and a step back for a second.
Without disrespecting anyones views some of the posts are edging ever closer to personal attacks. We're not there yet but we're well down the road.
I feel like I've walked in on a private argument rather than a debate on Celtic.
Let's all argue our varied points with as much passion as possible but can we leave the personal insults and barbed jibes at the door (next to the dirty shoes, preferably in the big box marked "personal insults and barbed jibes ").
Please don't think I'm trying to police this issue but this site is - IMO - the best forum we Celtic fans have on the web.
I think what makes it this is the fact the posts (this one excluded of course) are usually intelligent and reasoned.
Now I'v got to outside and water the garden, in the mean time lets have a group huddle so when I come back things are much better!
-
Neil R ,
I agree you with you that some of Neg Anon's conspiracy theories I think are more due to his natural cynicism than based on solid facts, however, I think one think you cannot accuse him of is being disrespectful to Paul.
Indeed, the time you and NA take to construct some coherent arguments show that you are extremely respectful of his opinions and points of view, his (NA’s) responses are extremely aggressive but are dignified towards Paul. I believe Paul has acknowledged this himself.
The insinuations that you refer to, hinting that the board may have been acting in a criminal manner are so vague they have not remained in many people's mind, certainly not the "senior people who read this site”.
For the record his well constructed points of view should not be associated with other posts referring to the unsubstantiated and unproven allegations concerning the personal life of a Celtic player, this could not only attract attention from legal quarters but have a damaging effect on the club we love, that is what I call counterproductive.
-
I am hoping this works as I am thick as mince when it comes to computer stuff.
anyway now I am registered just to say great site Paul.Really adds to the information we can access about our great club.
-
Paul, it is clear that the banning of anonymous posts has raised the level of discussion again.
Keep up the good work.
On a seperate note - I don't suppose that anyone has a spare standing ticket for U2 at Hampden they'd be willing to sell?
e-mail me at georgiebhoy67@yahoo.co.uk
Cheers
ps Appologies if I am breaking any rules or offending anyone with this - I'm desperate!!
-
Where's the Mole these days. Need some gossip to keep us going.
Then again he said we had signed the Polish keeper. Anyone else have a 'source' or a friend of a friend?
-
Paul 67 .. you asked .. why would anyone post saying "this is a test" then not post ... because I was called into a meeting !!
Anyway, great site, generally a lot of very salient points and somewhat addictive.
Transfer speculation is driving us all crazy I think but I tend to agree, next week will see our first signing and it will be a major one. Expect a few others shortly thereafter.
I am somewhat optimistic about what is going on at the Club and I think (hope) we are going to be pleasantly surprised.
-
Decky67
Try the link below. It always lightens my mood when I watch this.
To any of you, who never caught it last time round check it out, It's a must watch.
http://forum.comeonthehoops.com/showthread.php4?t=1314
-
Wee Jinky, well said. I am not going to fuel the fire with comment.
There are enough places on the web spreading bile about the Celtic family. Celtic Quick News can be a wee respectful place on its own if we make it so.
John H, congrats at getting registered and thanks.
I agree Gorgiebhoy.
Shammy, we are 7 weeks from the deadline, or put it another way, it was only 45 weeks ago Dwight Yorke turned us down.
GS is waiting on a big name first before going public. Bellamy fits the bill and will set the tone. If he declines there will be another ‘name’ first.
Celtic gets enough criticism for their PR, this time they are getting it right. Look back here at what was being said about the GS appointment before it was formally announced. The club were getting dogs abuse.
If they sign Paul Hartley and then no-one for a week the “no ambition” brigade would be whipping it up. With Bellamy signed the summer should bring lots of positive comment.
Thanks for the info USABHOY.
-
Just checking I can sign in OK!
-
TimeWillTell
You had better post a comment soon or Paul will slap your wrist
-
a general comment.
the critical moment last season was the mistake by big rab against rangers. this mistake ultimately cost us the league but i would not blame the keeper. he was doing his best and it is not his fault if his best was not good enough. we should be signing better players. this comment can be applied to all our players. they are all doing their best and it is not their fault if they are not good enough. so no more negative comments on celtic players.
-
Cheers Glasgowdave,
It'll bring a tear to my eye.
-
Paul, if we sign Bellamy the media will spin it into 1blowing all our budget on one player'.
If we sign Bellamy we have to follow it up very quickly with another signing to counter this argument.
-
Looking forward to the next few weeks as hopefully we start to see some new additions at the Club.
Bellamy indeed would be a good start in terms of the "wow" factor,I just hope that the less exciting signings are interspersed with one or two more exciting ones too.Otherwise,the criticism will come after six weeks instead of just one.
I think it is great at the minute that the tabloids don't have a clue about any of our movements in the transfer market.Well,with some of the names that they have been coming up with,I really hope they don't anyway!!!
BankieBhoy
-
Bankie
The tabloids are clutching at straws with who we will/wont sign, they are clueless, witless and when we get to the EPL, jobless.
Sit back, relax and ebjoy the next couple of weeks.
johniebhoy
Big Rabs blunder against Rangers was not the defining moment of the season, there are many moments which contribute to the success or failure of a long season, that was one of them but certainly not the critical moment to which you refer.
Not meant as a slant, just my opinion (anyway we are just about getting over the league debacle are we not ... please)
-
yankeebhoy.
a draw would have been enough.
ps.
if you are ever in san diego give my sister a big kiss1
-
dont know if anyone has posted this yet
http://celtic.soccer24-7.com/features/4005
-
TEST ;-)
-
NeilR,
Are you a lawyer? If not then why are you spouting rubbish about certain laws. A question was asked and a possible answer was 'suggested'. The people that said this said they had heard from someone. This is an opinion based site, therefore everyones views are more often than not opinions. Nobody claimed anything or stated anything as facts. So I think you should, before going off in a negative rant, have a look at the real facts.
"First,all libellous statements are opinions."
This may be true, but they are only libellous if they are stated as hard facts and turn out to be false. I get the feeling you're just on the site for an argument.
-
Perhaps the PR Dept. are learning after all. I expect several signings to be publicly unveiled together at he same press conference/photo shoot.
(Please note that any views expressed herein are intended solely as discussion points and are the uninformed personal opinion of the contributor only. They are not based on any material facts nor were they intended to imply any action or viewpoint of or about any persons herein mentioned.)
Happy NeilR?!
-
GlasgowDave, a big thanks for posting the Seville video link, i love it!
I wish folk would stop arguing, we're all in this together, if you want to argue, argue with a hunny bunny.
-
Bigchipsuk and Malone 19, I agree with other posters who say let's stop the arguing and get on with nattering about Celtic, just let's not do it in a way which endangers the future of this site. The libel laws of Scotland do indeed apply to a forum such as this, especially when its host is known to club officials. Libel, under Scots law, applies to any statement which could injure a person's reputation. It is no defence to say you are just repeating what someone else said.
We can publish statements we KNOW to be true (and can thus prove) or make fair comment on previously-published facts. A lot of the nonsense that was published here earlier by a number of people went way beyond that.
This isn't the thought police or scaremongering. George Robertson, the ex-MP and head of NATO, sued the Sunday Herald for 200,000 pounds for a comment printed on its chatroom.
And way back in 1997 Jimmy Hill no less got an out-of-court settlement from sponsors of the Tartan Army website, where a "Jimmy Hill Joke Page" contained 32 translations of the phrase: "We hate Jimmy Hill, he's a ****!"
Most cases are settled out of court but the legal expenses are hefty. All I'm saying is, let's be a bit more careful about making specific allegations of wrongdoing about anyone.
Sorry about that sermon, but it's up to us all to ensure the future of this board.
Now, who are we signing?
-
Quick message to comment on the original post. Unfortunately a bit negative, the general thrust of the article is the wrong way round.
Really is cart before the horse stuff, a general fault of most things financial on the site.
Amortisation is the effect not the cause, the real story involves cash, cashflow and banking limits.
Need to start with some of the figures that have been bandied about on this site
1) Six months ago the £20mill "Amortisation" figure was all the rage, the new five year plan for the club. Well where is that now?
2) Recently we have had the £15mill "Share issue" figure which has been described as £10mill in some quarters.
3) Now a figure of £16mill is up and running, well quoted for demonstration purposes.
Well my point here is that unless we have had some nifty footwork behind the scenes we will be looking at a lot less if the banking restrictions we allegedly work under are correct
Main point is that instead of amortisation, cash is the biggest sticking point, we simply do not have access to enough of it to pay for any 8 figure net investment in the playing staff.
Starting from the famous £20mill figure how can we afford that
2004/05 playing budget - £5mill increase has been quoted.
This was split between one-off payments, signing on fees, loan fees and the like versus recurring costs such as increased wages.
My best guess at this would be 50-50 consequently £2.5mill is available this year.
Income changes - The Nike money, another £2.5mill new money for the pot.
Against this should be placed the loss of the USA tour money, another guess would be £1mill
Consequently all things being equal the club has £4mill to the good at this stage.
Next up is the removal of squad players from the roster, a figure around £7mill has been mentioned.
However this will be needed to pay the players that are coming in so the potential to turn outgoings into investment is limited.
Five years money all in one transfer window?
£20mill investment in players plus £3mill for agents commissions and signing on fees.
Paid in instalments as is the modern way, front loaded because of the fees and commissions.
That means £8-9mill out the door right away to get them on-board.
Plus three equal instalments of £5mill approx at six month intervals.
Even the savings on wages will be lost in all of this.
£20mill of star players, 4-6 as decided by WGS = £6-7.5mill in wages pa. (£120-150K per week)
This figure is pretty low in that if you pay money to clubs as transfer fees the amount available in wages in reduced.
Good quality Bosmans and you have a Boumsong contract and Boumsong wages.
In cold financial terms this means £13-14mill cash out the door to support our new players in 2005/06.
This on the back of £4mill new cash and the £4mill improvement in our bank borrowings since Seville.
Consequently I don't think so, so the big £20mill splurge story is just that, a story straight from Jackanory.
So unless the Co-op is feeling generous or we have more wiggle room with the bank than the board is letting on then we are looking at 2004/05 x 2, progress of a sort rather than a step change to a CL QF team. Under current conditions anything better than this means it is back to nice Uncle Dermott and his golfing chums. Either that or a large air conditioning business will soon be on the market.
However it doesn't have to be like this:
Mezzanine finance - Use the Nike money to start a player investment fund.
The club minus strip money looks after the running costs.
£5mill x 5 years = £20mill NPV?
Player investment fund - Separate entity buying 18-22 year olds for the future.
Again the club pay the running cost with first refusal on the player at twice the original cost.
Potential for a little tax planning?
Hire the Villareal chief scout / do a link-up with them.
Celtic's greater financial resources and a team that can think on its feet.
Surely we could make something of this.
Hijack every Icelandic footballer under the age 18?
It will be beyond irony if in 5 years time we have more blondes than redheads in the team.
What are they doing right that Scotland is doing wrong?
We couldn't beat Sweden at anything at the moment.
Not even rugby or cricket.
Thomson / Sutton / Hartson / Lennon
Ship any two from the four above to get things moving.
Fresh blood, fresh attitude and fresh ideas are required.
Hopefully WGS will provide the latter.
-
Malone 19 and Negative Anon
I'm not a lawyer, though for my sins I am married to one. However, I don't have to be a lawyer to find your cheek breathtaking. You both clearly know next to nothing of the law of libel (despite Negative Anon's claims to the contrary), nor have you made the small effort it would take to acquire some basic knowledge on the subject. Even so, you choose to make a number of statements about the law which are laughably, totally wrong. Malone19 goes so far as to tell me I am "spouting rubbish about certain laws". Negative Anon trumps even that by attempting mind-reading when announcing to BankieBhoy, "As with NeilR - your litigious fears are merely an attempt to shut people up".
Various contributors to this site are labouring under one or more of the misconceptions that if you state something as an opinion, or repeat it while stating it's only a rumour that you have heard, or say "allegedly", that you cannot commit a libel. Each of these ideas is 100% wrong, as is Negative Anon's notion that websites are rarely or ever challenged under libel laws.
I suggest you go to http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/ican/A1183394 and read these extracts from the BBC's internal guidance notes carefully. If you can't be bothered, here are two paragraphs which you might find relevant.
"It is inadvisable to repeat a defamatory rumour unless you are in a position to prove it’s true. Even if you are contradicting the rumour you should not repeat it. And adding ‘allegedly’ is not enough to get you out of libel difficulties."
"In 2001, the Daily Mail lost a libel action brought by the former Tottenham Hotspur chairman Alan Sugar over the remark that he was a "miser" when he ran the club because he didn’t give his manager enough money to buy top class players. The jury were not sufficiently persuaded that there was any factual basis for making this comment. They didn’t deem it fair comment. He was awarded £100,000."
If you know more than the BBC does about libel law, please accept my apologies. If not, consider how disrespectful it has been to Paul for you to prejudice the hundreds of hours he has put in on this site, first by flouting the law, and second by pretending to a degree of legal expertise that you do not possess.
What Negative Anon dismisses as my 'scare tactics' are genuine concerns (also expressed by JohnBhoy and BankieBhoy) that libellous statements such as yours put this site and its owner at risk. Before the two of you swat away these concerns yet again, please at least try to get to the point where you know what you're talking about.
McGarveyBhoy
Your defence of Negative Anon is well meant but for the most part misplaced. Much of what he says is IMO nonsense but mostly harmless - but not all. Perhaps you weren't reading the site earlier this year and in late 2004 when he made repeated and serious allegations about share price manipulation, lies in share prospectuses, conspiracy to defraud and a number of other lesser but still illegal practices by the Celtic board.
The ridiculous thing is that despite my stereotyping as his Nemesis, I actually agree with some of what Negative Anon says on this site (though of course none of the above). There is a potential divergence of interests between major shareholders and the fans, and DD has a history of pursuing his financial interests aggressively in business deals, so it behooves all of us to be vigilant in relation to the board's actions. It is a real shame that Negative Anon chooses to over-egg the pudding so drastically by submerging his sensible scepticism in a sea of conspiracy theories.
To everyone else, if you feel at all intimidated by what I have said, please don't. I love this site and a large part of its attraction is the range of opinions which are represented on it. There is nothing in any of this which should impede anyone from expressing a negative opinion on CQN - just be clear you're not potentially libelling anyone before you put your views online.
BigChipsUK - glad to see you're taking this whole thing so seriously :-)
OK I'm all done on the libel thing now, at least till the next time!
Madmitch, interesting post. A few quick points based on a first read. You haven't allowed for any of the pending share issue to be put towards transfer budget. Also, we will have (assuming we win of course) an extra CL qualifier which should raise well over £1M in TV and gate money, cancelling out the income loss from the US tour. Finally I hope WGS will raise some money from player sales - in my dreams, Thompson and Hartston will go for £3M. All of that could add £8-10M to the budget you've calculated. Whether it would be sensible (on a medium-term view) for us to go for such a big spend is another matter.
-
Agree with Wee Jinky and Ardoch, c'mon lhads, lets stick together, c'mon c'mon lets stick together. Maybe Paul you could include some of those wee animated smiley faces? Just joking, I hate them.
I saw the move "Million Dollar Baby" recently. Has anyone noticed the references to Glasgow football. The heroine is called "Mo Cuisle" and wears a green shamrock logo and white trunks and the "baddie" is called the "Blue Bear"! This isn't giving anything away to those who haven't seen it. I just thought it was interesting is all.
-
Sorry to be yet another poster with a test message, but it is my first post having been a long time reader. Testing testing. If this works I will be back... and amazed.
-
Right, where do I start?
Very interested in the behind the scenes finance information and the regular discussions about our possible entry into other leagues.
I have always favoured EPL as the preferred option and have consistently argued that the current blockers ( FA,SFA, UEFA, FIFA)will be bulldozed out of the way by SKY if they wanted us in. I have also held the naive belief that as Celtic supporters we have a small way of influencing this move.
It goes like this.
1. BSKYB revenues are falling as they experience a huge churn factor when subscribers question the annual outlay to watch a season bulked up with meaningless, tediuos games between between the likes of Birmingham and Bolton.
2. Many are opting for the alternative of the pub for the big games and learning how to interact again with real people.
How long can you nurse one pint on a school night?
3. BSKYB try to freshen things up and look to us as a means to generate the interest in their flagship product.
( Remember its sport that sells SKY, the Cartoon Network and the Film Channel are a cover so that the guy doesn't feel guilty when he signs up to £40 a month from the housekeeping budget)
4. At the next round of negotiations between BSKYB and EPL clubs are informed that times are tuff and they will need to get used to reduced revennues. Due to huge payroll at even the smallest clubs this would cause a meltdown throughout the league.
5. Rupert Baldrick reveals his cunning plan. "The Old Firm games, when they were on SKY, had bigger viewing figures than any EPL fixture. If the EPL smooth the way for them to join the subscriptions go up and order is restored once again in the empire. The alternative a thin slice of a much smaller pie."
6 Old Firm , come on down.
I have always pondered the fact that ,we as Celtic supporters, moan about the fact that we can not compete with EPL clubs in terms of signing top class players and the fact that we get a pitance from recent BBC and Setanta contracts. However if we subscribe to Rupert Murdochs money making machine we are directly subsidising the EPL.
So as radical suggestion No.1 how about every Celtic supporter in the UK cancelling their SKY Sports subscription ( or go the whole hog go on, rip the dish off the wall, you've already seen the films anyway and the kids should be out practising their McGeady turns.)
This would surely make a small dent in the SKY income stream and perhaps move things along.
What do you do with the £40 per month savings?
Buy Celtic shares of course.
Just a thought!
-
I'm a long time poster, but less frequently these days as there are a lot of new bloggers on board.
This brings welcome new insights and renewed "spirited" debate.
I do see a trend for some blogs to be extremely lengthy.
When I am trying to catch up on the gist of 150 - 200 blogs, guess what..I skim the overly long ones.
Expect others do too.
Can we try a bit of brevity guys?
-
No bread No Cakes have you never heard of spoofing
-
Hi Galabhoy,
yip heard of spoofing and other IP anonymiser methods, just thought it was sensible to let people know that they can be tracked to the computer that they are using when posting on a forum as most people I speak to on a daily basis (been in computers and IT since 1980) think they are anonymous when surfing the web.
I also didn't think it prudent to explain methods of posting anonymously as my input was intented to protect this fantastic forum and not make it easier for people to post what they like and disregard the forum spirit.
-
Paul I agree with you when you say that the first signing will probably be the showpiece signing.
A pal who is a journalist in London said that the Laptop Loyal are not happy .Apparently nothing is coming out of CP even unofficially since the MON / GS story was leaked.
The press have been reduced to linking us with every player GS has ever managed, well they will eventually get one right.
Apparently hundreds of players are offered to big clubs every summer through agents.
The point of all this is that we should take everything we see in the press as a lie until you see the player at CP.
-
Shammy - Artur Borec (Polish keeper) was over here at the end of April with his agent, Darius Wdowcyck for talks, but what the outcome was - i don't know
-
Not sure if this has been posted before but it's a classic. It'll bring a tear to your eyes!!!
http://www.putfile.com/media.php?n=MON256k&width=320
-
Oh this close season apathy, trying to get excited (very hard when you feel no emotional attachment to your country) about diddy internationals when the only Bell we are bothered about is Bellamy and not Belarus.
See we are now being linked with Steve Harper the Toon back up goalie. This is because we have been priced out a move for Auntie Nemmi.
What does this say about what we have to spend or is it just rubbish by the press trying to make us out to be tight fisted skinflints who won’t splash the cash?
I go for the later as I feel the money being asked for Auntie was to high to pay for any goalie.
Million Dollar Baby what a terrible film that is a cross between “Rocky” and ”The Champ” as overrated as Peter Lovelypants.
-
Paul, you mentioned that if Bellamy isn't announced as our first major signing that it will be another big name. Have you info on this name or is it just how you imagine it will go. I heard a whisper last night & am trying to find out more from my Kings Road Correspondant - don't want to post the name until i've got more concrete info.
-
test.
-
The article FINANCIAL CHAMPIONS OF EUROPE - 9/6/2005 (see below) might be of some interest. It is from a site I have recommended before http://www.footballeconomy.com/ . Points of interest are 1) “in the other major leagues only German clubs recorded operating profits and they were down on the preceding year.” I thought they were in financial meltdown?
2) “The Premiership clubs returned record operating profits of £149m.” Given that Man Utd will, according to Paul67, have to make circa £80 million profit each year now to make it worth the new owners while, things will have to change dramatically.
3) “In terms of wages Chelsea were way ahead of the rest with a total bill of nearly £115m, followed by Manchester United with £77m and Arsenal with £70m. The skew in the distribution is shown by the fact that only two other clubs are above the Premiership average of £40.5m, Liverpool with £66m and Newcastle with £45m. “ So how would this average compare to Celtic. When the press start to talk about us paying premiership wages are they talking the top clubs or the average club.
-
This might come back & bite me in the erchie, but after watching Alexander Hleb (Belarus)last night - i think we would be wise to avoid the top end of the foreign market. You can see that he is technically gifted but to be honest he huffed & puffed & never really made a killer pass all night. It looks likely he's off to Arsenal for £8-10 million???
I think we should stick to players from the EPL
-
Wages - do the press ever actually say we're paying premiership wages? Wouldn't have thought that would suit their agenda (unless it backfired badly). Regardless, clearly we are. Not of the level of the top 5 but surely the equal of anyone else, and above what many pay.
This would tie in with BQ's assertions in the infamous mobilegate.
Players - if Bobo, Henchoz and Laursen all go (I hope they do), i'd say we need 8 players to come in: GK, 2 CB, 2 LB, CentreM, CreativeM, CF (Bellamy or other). One way or the other, regardless who leaves now, we surely should be looking for at least 6 to come in. Achievable with 10 million on transfer fees if a couple are Bosman/low cost options.
-
Giggsy, I don't think it's a case of being "priced out" of signing Nemmi; it's more the desire to get value for money.
Regardless of whether we have £10m or £100m to spend, I don't think we should be splashing £3m for a 33 year old.
GM
-
Giggsy I am glad to see we are looking around for other options not least in that just as agents put out stories that their player is in talks/is wanted by other clubs to push up the price we can do the same the opposite way.
-
henchoz agent announced he is leaving, surely this will free up another £20K a week or so
-
really enjoyed the link to MON'S legacy at CP. the one on seville brought back a few memories too. tear in the eye for seville. hairs on the back of the neck watching MON celebrate goals going in against ajax, juventus, barcelona, stuttgart, celta vigo, liverpool, boavista, blackburn and of course the vermin.
also enjoyed the link to that 9 year old boy that's signed for santos. what a player. has he ever heard of the cel'ic?
i think GS's first signing will be an important one. that's the internationals out the road so i'm hoping we'll see something/someone by friday!!!!
-
Why do we all every year buy into this "this year we'll buy quality first team players" routine? The usual spectors are surfacing, BQ's usual patronising fiscal prudence stance, misguided outbursts from petulant billionaires, money thrown at PR to minimise the foot in mouth PLC brigades lack of understanding with regards to progression (you know the sort i mean - yes competing in Europe at "especially for you DD" FOOTBALL, not Debt management). I genuinely hope i am proved wrong but we've been here too many times before, expect the majority of new first teamers to come from inside the club, with the occasional SPL fooder signing.
Navarro
-
celticbhoy and GM- Priced out was the red top's take on the situation not mine.
as i said 2 million for any goalie nevermind a 33 year old i feel is 2 much.
value for money is the key in any signing something that we haven't had a for a few years.
-
giggsy14 From your post wasn’t clear that you were relating to a redtops stance as you said: “See we are now being linked with Steve Harper the Toon back up goalie. This is because we have been priced out a move for Auntie Nemmi.”
You also said “2 million for any goalie nevermind a 33 year old i feel is 2 much” If you can get us Gianluigi Buffon or Iker Casillas or Nelson de Jesus Dida I don’t think too many fans would complain to forking out 2 million.
Ronnie Simpson wasn’t too bad a goalie and he was at least 33 when he came to us.
-
Onlooker,
Where have you been all of my life? I have been banging on for two years, here and on other sites about the need to focus Sky's attention to our claim for more revenue. There are serious concerns within the EPL-Sky axis about falling viewing figures and customer dissatisfaction re product quality. I contend that this is the opportune time, i.e. when they will soon be discussing the new deal, to nudge them along and to demonstrate the value of the Celtic pound or Euro.
As you ,IMH(umble)O, quite rightly,suggest, we should cancel en bloc, or as many are prepared to make the effort,the Sky Sports part of the package. It's easy, all it takes is one phone call and they even ask for your reason for cancelling.
Paul doesn't think that Sky has a significant bearing on any EPL future or in any form of reconstruction, but the logic of affecting their income in a serious manner is to me infallible. Why would they want to court us if we were already subscribers?
The fact also that this site has recently been bogged down by gossip, backbiting and innuendo has been most distasteful and I would welcome serious debate on the merits, or otherwise, of the proposal that Onlooker and I believe in. Remember, it will save you the money to buy your season ticket, new kit or a wee holiday and help the club. C'mon, let's be 'aving ye!.
-
CB I will have to respectfully disagree with your opinions on Niemi.
I think he is an OK keeper in a team that will mean he is busy. The problem we at Celtic, like Man Utd and Arsenal as well have, is that we need a keeper a la Schmichael or Seaman who is capable of maintaining 100% concentration throughout 90 mins.
Niemi didn't do this while he played for Rangers (that in itself doesn't bother me BTW)so what suggests he is capable of doing it now?
How often is our keeper going to be tested in the SPL on past experience. Maybe once a game. In the EPL where he did look good he was tested every 10 mins or so. I do not see how he has improved so much.
Magnus looked good while he played here at City, likewise Douglas when he was at Livvy. When the style of game they were required to play changed they could not adjust. I just feel persevering with Marshall and McGovern m,ay be a better option. Most of the big European teams have done it with their present No.1s
Juventus - Buffon
Real Madrid - Casillas
Barcelona - Valdes
valencia - Canizares
AC - Abbiatti (No. 2 but thro their youth system and a V. good keeper Dida also they bought him young and stayed with him to become the outstanding keper he is today)
Marshall is going to make mistakes as do all keepers, I would rather say here is the No. 1 jersey prove to me you deserve to keep it for at least this season anyway.
I would rather spend what cash WGS go on outfield players rather than on a keeper no better than what we have.
-
I think the Birminghams and Middlesboroughs, Boltons etc. are stuck between a rock and a hard place by the time of the next negotiations with Sky. Glazer will be pushing for individual tv rights to safeguard his investment on the one hand and mr murdoch will be looking handing out a reduced contract based on the fall in viewing figures on the other. Both parties will be looking to maximise revenue which hopefully means ourselves and TFOD being invited down so they can achieve it.
I don't watch Sky Sports anyway, Paramount Comedy channel is the biz, Seinfeld repeats galore.
On the matter of shares, I'm in the process of opening up a share dealing account through the RBS, looks pretty simple and cheap-ish trade fees (£15). Sticking this years bonus into the club.
-
NeilR,
"Thompson and Hartston will go for £3M." Just to advise you, you may come in to "libel difficulties" as a result of this statement. You do not know this is the case and as a result of your presumptions stress could be placed on the parties in question - that's how rediculous your being! I'm going to leave it like that, it would be nice to see you write something constructive.
Reports all over the web are that Henchoz, as expected, is on his way out. I thought he would do well at his time at CP but it turns out not and Celtic need players who can hit the ground running (and keep on running). That's another load off the wage bill - although if it continues this way we won't have a team to watch next season!
-
baldymeister, I don’t know if by using CB you mean myself or not but if you look at my comments at no time have I expressed an opinion either pro or Auntie Nemmi.
Maybe I should not say this on a Celtic site but I was invited in to watch Rangers training by Walter Smith in his last year at Ibrox. I was especially interested in the goalkeeping training. During my two days with them I was more impressed by Auntie Nemmi than Goram with his concentration and application during training. From my experience though what a player does in training is not always seen on the field.
For what it is worth David Marshall will be the long-term goalkeeper for us for years to come. But we need two first rate keepers (Hedman I would have got rid of after his mistake at CP when we beat Dun Utd 5-0.).
-
Looks like my posts are being taken off the website now,must have been too close to the bone or truth for some,OK for NeilR and the likes to put up personal attacks but not the Negative posters.Keep up the great work Negative Anon,your certainly not alone on your thoughts,your the only consistent blogger on this site.
Your site Paul is going down hill and rapid and people scoffed when the likes of Matt McGlone were mentioned.At least you are showing your true colours.Good site,bad company you keep,surrounding yourself with yes men.
Cabbage
-
Onlooker and Tom the Tim - I agree with you both on the Sky subscription issue. I've been considering ditching it too. to be honest the only things I'd miss would be Soccer AM and the Spanish football.
-
Howdy all,
I couldn't log in under my own name, so I am having to use my alter ego.
These internationals are a menace. They are sullying my already poor name.
Now that they are out of the road, we should start seeing some action.
The Mole
-
WARNING - Here comes a football post.....
Goalkeepers : Marshall
Hedman (?)
Defenders: Agathe
MacNamara (?)
Varga
McManus
Laursen
Balde (?)
Kennedy (Inj)
Midfielders: Thompson
Petrov
Wallace
McGeady
Pearson
Lennon (?)
Attackers: Sutton
Hartson
Maloney
Beattie
Fernandez (?)
A first team list of 20 players with question marks over the future of at least five of them. The list of leavers in the past year makes interesting reading also:
Petta, Lambert, Camara (loan), Juninho, Sylla, Douglas, Valgaaren, Henchoz, Bellamy (loan).
Anyway you look at it, that current first team squad looks poor. Short on quality, long on age. The correct strategy would be to supplement this squad with players in the 23-28 bracket but they all cost money. From that current squad, a potential first team of 4-4-2 could look like:
Marshall,
Agathe, Varga, Laursen, Jackie
McGeady, Petrov, Lennon, Thompson
Sutton, Hartson
That is not a team I see qualifying for the champions league. What is needed first and foremost is players to replace those currently considered first teamers. I think of that potential first eleven, maybe only 5 could be counted upon in Europe next season.
-
Celticbhoy yeah I was just passing an opinion in a 'friendly' way about Niemi. If i got the wrong end of the stick I apologise. I agree we need two top class keepers and totally agree about Hedman and that Dundee Utd game. Absolute shocker!
If we are going to sign someone then i would like value for money and I do not believe any of the names mentioned offer anything above Marshall. There just seems to be an opinion that we must sign a keeper and I am not totally convinced that any mentioned name is better.
Totally agree with the Sky debate with Onlooker and Tom the Tim but to get Setanta in many parts of the Uk you need to have the SKy sports as the other Cable providers are not there. The Highlands etc.....
catch 22 situation for many. I know that in many parts of the Highlands you cannot get Channel 5 on terrestrial TV so need SKY just to get the basics that we who live in towns get as a matter of course.
-
I think that......nuts can't say that.
Also have you seen.....oh - can't really go there.
Maybe GS should buy........sigh can't speculate (bit like the board..damn can't say that either).
Maybe if we........oh forget it.
Yours in Celtic Forever.
Negative Anon (NegativeAnon is fully liable for all his comments on this board and Paul is not to be blamed. NegativeAnon is ignorant, crass, stupid,occasionally cheeky, angry, sometimes sarcastic, emotional and ABOVE ALL CLEARLY INSANE and lives in a world full of wild and unsubstantiated conspiracies - this means he cannot be sued because he is not responsible for his actions.
NegativeAnon currently resides in Carstairs Home for militant celtic supporters.
