Agility in the football market

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When you’re shopping in a sellers’ market, agility is the only way to survive.  You need contacts, sufficient coverage to trawl outlying corners of the bazar, and enough experience to ensure you don’t get burned.

If you’re trying to buy Champions League-calibre players for £100k you’re shopping in a serious sellers’ market but there is good strategy behind the deal Celtic have struck with Icelandic club, Fram, for the signature of 20-year-old striker, Holmbert Aron Fridjonsson.

Holmbert may or may not be the next Ibrahimavic, experience suggests you’ve got to kiss a lot of frogs in this game to find the one you’re looking for, but if Celtic are to bring a player to Glasgow who is capable of hitting the top, we’ll have to get him before the hundred-or-so other clubs floating around the wealthy leagues of Europe, which means we shop early.

We can afford to sign a few at £100k in an effort to fill just one place in the team.  The argument could also be made that our more expensive players have only a marginally higher success rate than those signed for six figures or less.

Thanks for the big response to the launch of the second edition of the CQN Annual [which is now shipping]yesterday, as well as CQN Magazine, and the ‘10’ event, which the occupants of the comments section are being given a head start on.

If you are on or near South Uist tomorrow make sure you take in the Hebridean cultural event of the year, when Alex O’Henley has a book signing of his biography of Celtic great, Malky MacDonald at the Dark Island Hotel from 1-2pm, before a Q&A at the Polochar Inn, from 7-8:30pm.

Not only does the book chart the life and achievements of a pre-war Celtic great, it does so in two languages (English when read one way, flip the other way for Gaelic).  It’s a great work, available from the Islands Book Trust.
[calameo code=000390171e05b9b63a832 lang=en page=1 hidelinks=1 width=100% height=500] Order your CQN Annual here:


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990 Comments

  1. MHARK67 prayin for OSCAR KNOX on

    @celticrumours: Next speaker rattles off names of clubs that have struggled financially and congratulates the board on financial management. #ticagm

  2. Richie #TeamOscar on

    A quick fag packet calculation shows that the workers are on less than £2 per hour if that 500k figure is right

  3. MHARK67 prayin for OSCAR KNOX on

    @celticrumours: Speaker being very dry about changes to league. Very funny. We should be grateful that the one horse in this race is us. #ticagm

  4. MHARK67 prayin for OSCAR KNOX on

    @celticrumours: Next speaker wants to ask @officialneil a question. Neil says “hallelujah” speaker wants Neil to sit in stand to see game. #ticagm

  5. On resolution 12. Whilst we clearly need to wait for info from Morrissey and/or Canamalar, I would think its a safe assumption that they are content with the nature of the discussions that have been held prior to the AGM. I’d be astonished if they went to all that effort to simply withdraw the resolution without a whimper. I actually believe its a positive sign, but, as I say, let’s await some information from the main bhoys.

     

     

    KTF

  6. leftclicktic oscar in our thoughts on

    Phil MacGiollaBhain‏@Pmacgiollabhain1m

     

    @moo_gaby @Auldheid @TheClumpany It won’t. This is just the beginning.

     

     

     

    Reply

     

    Retweet

     

     

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    More

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

    View conversation

  7. MHARK67 prayin for OSCAR KNOX on

    @celticfc: In response to a question, manager Neil Lennon explains why he prefers being on the touchline rather than watching from the Main Stand.

  8. BOBBY MURDOCH’S CURLED-UP WINKLEPICKERS backs Resolution 12

     

    12:34 on

     

    15 November, 2013

     

    @TheCelticTrust: #ticagm Board refuse to read own statement in defence of their position LW. Claim it affects 117 workers and will cost half a million!!!!

     

     

    The difference is £1.34 ph. £53.60 for those who are on 40 hrs pw

     

     

    I expect few to work as many hours as that,but if they do,it equates to

     

     

    117×53.60×52=£326102

     

     

    Well short of half a mill,but still a considerable sum.

     

     

    Two points though.

     

     

    1-As I said,few of those 117 will be on a full working week,it is more likely to be casual staff employed when we play at home. So the total will be much reduced.

     

     

    2-we have 117 staff on minimum wage?! Shameful.

     

    ————————————————————————

     

     

    agreed sir and how much do we pay bangura

     

    want to be a world class orginisation

     

    then pay world class wages across the board

     

    #setthestandard

  9. When are yeez awe going to realize that

     

     

    once the ‘bored’ have banked / troosered ?

     

     

    yer SB money – they couldny gie a flying

     

     

    f#ck what any of yeez think ?

     

     

    Vote the ‘bored’ in = ye deserve tae be shafted. imo

     

     

    Away Off oot tae chase some motors – Hail Hail

  10. MHARK67 prayin for OSCAR KNOX

     

    12:40 on

     

    15 November, 2013

     

    @celticfc: In response to a question, manager Neil Lennon explains why he prefers being on the touchline rather than watching from the Main Stand.

     

     

    did the guy then say that his point was watching from stand is dire ???

     

     

     

     

    Post

     

    « Prev1…14151617

  11. Philbhoy - Bring it on!!!! on

    BMCUW

     

     

    Mibbe need to factor in increased NI contributions and pensions too!

     

     

    Going to the Beer Cafe tomorrow to meet some CQN Legends.

     

     

    Takin’ my misses to keep an eye on me. :-(

     

     

    Sorry you can’t be there!

  12. MHARK67 prayin for OSCAR KNOX on

    Ok ppl the taxi has been parked up for long Enuff today need to goo try and earn a living wage hope what I posted helped and again applaud for the sweaty word that I missed

     

    As for resolution 12 I wait till the guys that know what happened tell us here hail hail

  13. BOBBY MURDOCH'S CURLED-UP WINKLEPICKERS backs Resolution 12 on

    TOM McLAUGHLIN

     

     

    Just to help you out,I have copied and pasted the entire discourse about coalmen etc.

     

     

    Please return the favour by showing me which part backs your argument in the manner you suggested.

     

     

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

     

    weefrathetim

     

     

    23:40 on 14 November, 2013

     

    Thank you Thank you all for your concern, just heard ole Nigel Lawson commenting on the Chinese building of more coal fired Power Stations. Strangely enough, my coalman, who I believe knows what he’s talking about, tells me, there is enough coal in Ayrshire to provide Scotland with FREE electricity for the next 50 years minimum. Oh, meant to say, he is a Tim.

     

     

    Night Night Timland for the last time.

     

     

    Weefra HH supporting Wee Oscar.

     

     

    cowiebhoy

     

     

    23:42 on 14 November, 2013

     

    Weefra

     

     

    The biggest coal merchants in Scotland, are the Fergusons from Stirling, I believe

     

    They most certainly ain’t Tims

     

     

    Haha

     

     

    the exiled tim

     

     

    23:47 on 14 November, 2013

     

    Cowiebhoy

     

     

    I also believe that most of the scrap metal dealers in scotland arny Tims either !!!

     

     

    Could be wrong mind you >}

     

     

    HH

     

     

     

     

    weefrathetim

     

     

    23:51 on 14 November, 2013

     

    Cowiebhoy

     

     

    I can assure you my coalman is a Tim. He lives not far from BT. Honest. :)) off to bed now.

     

     

    Weefra HH supporting Wee Oscar.

     

     

    the exiled tim

     

     

    23:51 on 14 November, 2013

     

    Oh, and funeral directors as well >}

     

     

    HH

  14. Richie #TeamOscar on

    Let’s not forget that the staff at CP are tied to the football season and very few will be there for the whole year.

  15. Philbhoy – Bring it on!!!!

     

     

    12:45 on 15 November, 2013

     

     

    BMCUW

     

     

    ‘Mibbe need to factor in increased NI contributions and pensions too!’

     

     

    ###

     

     

    And possibly maintenance of differentials.

     

     

    Whatever the reason we can be sure that the only reason for Celtic’s success is its policy of not paying a living wage.

  16. If all 117 people were on a 40 hour week and are currently being paid the minimum wage then the move to a Living Wage would cost the club £310,000 per year.

     

     

    I would expect most of these employees are part time and have a wage rate between these two values so the cost of the club would be much less than this.

     

     

    This shames the club.

  17. 23:51 on 14 November, 2013

     

    Oh, and funeral directors as well >}

     

     

    ok who’s fur a funeral directors debate.

  18. tommytwiststommyturns supporting Wee Oscar on

    BMCUW – How many at CP on “zero hour” contracts as well?

     

     

    T4

  19. It is very hard to get a full flavour of the situation if you are not in attendance at the AGM but…..

     

     

    the early feedback confirms an already powerful notion in my head that Ian Bankier has a tin ear for addressing the sensibilities of the Celtic Support. I do not criticise lightly when I am unaware of the restrictions that people work under but Ian Bankier has constantly embarrassed me with his utterances about Celtic. He is a very poor front man.

     

     

    I will await the feedback from canamalar and Morrissey23 but I trust them enough to know they are not the types to roll over for no good reason.

     

     

    Interesting times indeed.

  20. BOBBY MURDOCH'S CURLED-UP WINKLEPICKERS backs Resolution 12 on

    PHILBHOY

     

     

    Be grateful for my absence. I can be a bad influence!

     

     

    Won’t your wife get tired running to the bar for the round all the time?

     

     

    Have a fine fine day,mate. I’ll raise a smile to our wee misunderstanding last week,haha!

  21. BOBBY MURDOCH'S CURLED-UP WINKLEPICKERS backs Resolution 12 on

    SFTB

     

     

    I wasn’t much taken with his comments at the POTY either. It’s all a plan to make us appreciate PL, you know!

  22. Philbhoy - Bring it on!!!! on

    BMCUW

     

     

    I’m still laughing at that!

     

     

    Told the wife too. Now that’s another problem!

     

     

    Take care!

  23. BMCUW

     

    I gotta head to the Nuffield in 5 mins. ( that’s the hospital not the tractor:-). Hopefully be back in couple hours at which point I’ll send you an e mail which you’ll like. Don’t worry, it’s not a horse tip! Will take me too long to type it for now.

     

     

    Laterz

  24. BOBBY MURDOCH'S CURLED-UP WINKLEPICKERS backs Resolution 12 on

    TOMMYTWISTSTOMMYTURNS

     

     

    Zero-hour contracts should be illegal,and I’m surprised that no union has taken steps to do so.

  25. BOBBY MURDOCH'S CURLED-UP WINKLEPICKERS backs Resolution 12 on

    TWISTS N TURNS

     

     

    Your horse tips are better than mine,believe me!

     

     

    I’m heading to the pub. My landlord is beginning to think I may be ill. Not been in for seventy hours.