I AM beginning to wonder where some folk get the time to spend decoding all these concealed messages coming out of Celtic.
Brendan Rodgers says “snooze and you lose” in this game and you and I are informed it is a hidden dig at the Parkhead’s hierarchy to coax them into plunging into the champions’ sea of millions while reducing the level considerably.
If that is the case, then I can only say the gaffer is as subtle as a train wreck.
I’m fairly sure our esteemed team leader is a tad more astute than these so-called deep offerings. If that’s the best he can deliver I can tell him here and now that it is highly unlikely a job at MI5, FBI, KJB – or any other shadowy organisation you care to mention – awaits once he quits the dug-out.
Has the wily Rodgers surreptitiously rolled the ball in the direction of chief executive Michael Nicholson and chief financial officer Chris McKay and let everyone in on the secret that it is their responsibility to bring in the quality required to make sure the club continue their joyous domestic domination and also gear up for a tilt at the new-look Champions League?
How cunning is that? Foxes everywhere will be impressed.
Or maybe not.
LOOKING AHEAD…Brendan Rodgers is still preparing for the new season.
Do these decipherers, working night and day to diligently keep us all in the loop, reckon Joe Public requires a helping hand to understand the subliminal utterances of the manager?
Gee, I thought messrs Nicholson and McKay were there to help with the car parking on match day. That’s the reason behind their salaries having a helluva lot of zeroes following a prime number. Lucky guys.
For goodness sake, we all have a reasonable idea what these blokes do for a living. To them falls the onerous task of arm-wrestling with clubs, agents, lawyers and the subject himself when it comes to getting a transfer over the line.
Anyone believing the Henrik Larsson move to Celtic from Feyenoord back in 1997 was a shoo-in should talk to Davie Hay.
My lifelong pal had been acting in tandem with new manager Wim Jansen with the two former combatants – they had faced each other in the European Cup Final in Milan nine years earlier – engendering an instant rapport when they met again.
Wim, a one-time Feyenoord boss, knew exactly the details of Henrik Larsson’s contract and he was aware of a £650,000 buy-out clause.
WELCOME TO PARADISE…Henrik Larsson poses at Parkhead after his £650,000 switch to Celtic from Feyenoord in 1997.
If Davie thought everything was hunky-dory and done and dusted as he flew to Rotterdam to seal the deal he was about to be disillusioned when he reached the offices of the player’s agent Rob Jensen.
Henrik, accompanied by his wife Magdalena and baby son Jordan, was sitting in a corner seemingly just waiting to sign the forms.
Davie takes up the story. “I could hardly get into the office for all sorts of folk, apparently all claiming to be advisors for Henrik. They all wanted a slice of the pie. Plus Rob, who insisted he had been stung by Fergus McCann over the previous deal for Pierre van Hooijdonk from NAC Breda, was in no rush for any business to get done until he was completely satisfied.
“Everything was put on the back burner for another 24 hours. I left the crammed office, phoned Fergus, spelled out the financial requirements outside the actual fee and, as anticipated, he wasn’t overly-keen to part with another of his thin dimes, as he liked to call money.
“I stressed that £650,000 was peanuts in a marketplace where £1million was now a standard fee for a fairly average player. Eventually, the move was completed, but there were a few hurdles to be overcome before Henrik was posing with his Celtic jersey at Parkhead.”
And, dear reader, that takes us up to the present time. It seems nothing has changed in the murky underbelly of wheeling and dealing in the transfer world where hangers-on appear from dark corners with their hands thrust out.
It’s natural for you and I – and every Celtic follower – to be anxious to get new players in before August 30 rolls around.
Patience is not a commodity with which I have been overly-blessed, your humble scribe has to confess.
ALTOGETHER NOW…”when you walk through a storm…”
But, like you, I realise it will never be the case of a manager identifying a player, the money men getting on the case and, hey presto!, the club have a new player.
That may occur in the tales of Hans Christian Andersen, but not in the world you and I occupy, however appealing it may be.
I also accept there is much to do for the club in this area. Chief scout Mark Lawwell left in March and has never been replaced. That’s ridiculous when you think about it. It’s a crucial vacancy that needs to be filled immediately by someone of a high calibre with a tried and trusted CV.
But, please, spare us all the decoding guff from amateur cryptographers and let everyone get on with the job of making sure Celtic are up to a strength that will be able to meet and overcome the challenges that lie ahead.
We can all ask for reasons and demand answers if we feel the club have failed to meet the criteria expected of them.
Can we all hold off until August 30, please, when the talking and the decoding must stop?
Today, though, we celebrate that thoroughly enjoyable annual event called Flag Day at Parkhead.
Another season is upon us, dear reader, and may I hope we are all here in a year’s time to discuss Celtic’s quest for a 56th title.
Until then, take care, stay safe and enjoy adding to the emotional chorus line of ‘You’ll Never Walk Alone‘ as the harmony sweeps through the east end of Glasgow and beyond.
ALEX GORDON
*DON’T miss the unbeatable match report from Celtic v Kilmarnock this afternoon – only in your champion CQN.
