I love this time of year. As we publish, 60 hours of the transfer window remain. Celtic have gaps to fill in the squad, we have targets for each position, each target has his own target destination clubs, and the potential selling clubs all want to hold out for as long as possible to get top price – and some do not want to sell at all.
There are options for several positions we could have concluded on Monday. These were not top of anyone’s list, of course, and not cheap either. Hospital facilities are reserved in cities across Europe, most awaiting medicals that will not happen, but may be required before Friday evening.
How long should we wait for top targets? You certainly wait this late in the window. Bedwetters signing players early in the window to relieve anxiety symptoms is a sight to behold. If you have that knot in your stomach right now, just go pop an antacid and let those with a seasoned constitution cope with stressful negotiating situations.
Every transfer window follows the same rules. Players want the most money possible and the best stage to enhance their subsequent contract. Clubs do not want to sell valuable players with a lengthy period left on their contracts. When a sale looks inevitable, they employ agents to entice more bidders into the market.
If more than one bidder is involved, stalemate can run until deadline day. People who ask, “Why are we not signing players earlier?” occupy that special peak at the top of the Dunning-Kruger chart. None of this is news, we all know and accept this as an absolute article of faith.
So why all the angst? This is the game, let the enormity of what Celtic are attempting to achieve over the next two days sit with you for a few moments and you might begin to enjoy the unfolding drama. It sure beats wearing adult nappies (I’m led to believe).
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King Lubo – bl**dy spell checker
MARKIEBHOY on 30TH AUGUST 2023 12:32 PM
“Imagine if a reasonably well healed club made a decision to place an academy in as many towns and cities as practicable and spend money employing the best coaches available. Then bring through local players only and not spend any of its income on foreign mercenaries. Now that might be a team with a vision worth following. But let’s be honest. No one has won anything playing a full team of players all born close to the clubs stadium. Have they?”
Brilliant but sadly without decent development compensation rules or Jim McLean era contracts for youths if we did that today we’d spend a lot of money for the benefit of others as almost all of the talent would bail out to go rot at Chelsea etc. where they will likely be paid in line with some of our first team squad despite it being their first pro contract.
QB
Nat Philips comes into the category of ‘ vicious rumour ‘……Flashbacks of Scott Marshall ffs
Remember we wanted Ben Davies from Preston then Liverpool signed him 🤭
James Pearce of The Athletic (who is very well connected regards LFC news) says we are the front runners for Nat Phillips.
GENE on 30TH AUGUST 2023 3:48 PM
Remember we wanted Ben Davies from Preston then Liverpool signed him 🤭
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In fairness, you can’t blame him for choosing Liverpool over us, but we defo dodged a bullet with that one. Even the zombies want rid of him after seeing him play.
!!BADA BING!! on 30TH AUGUST 2023 3:46 PM
Nat Philips comes into the category of ‘ vicious rumour ‘……Flashbacks of Scott Marshall ffs
Phillips has played 5 times in the champions league. Clean sheets against RB Leipzig, Real Madrid and Atlético Madrid.
Wow. Quite an article.
CQN – everything is fine, trust the process. Strap yourself in, you and I have been here before (repeat to fade)
Poster – we were beaten in the 2nd round of the cup and drew against a team who Stirling put 4 past. I belive we may be weaker than we were last season.
CQN – shut it, ya bedwetter. We were worse in the 50s. Larsson had a crap debut. Short players can win things too
Daily Record Sport
@Record_Sport
Paulo Bernardo to Celtic transfer ‘practically agreed’ as Benfica midfielder set to walk Jota Parkhead path
Chairbhoy
“It is not hindsight, Ange was very much open and transparent and worked in tandem with the Board, it’s all a matter of record.”
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That was not the issue at stake. I never suggested that there was tension between Ange & the Board over recruitment- ever.
What I did say dispute was whether AJ was brought in to be first choice. To be sure of this we would need to know several things that you and I don’t know.
Did Ange know that Jura wanted to leave? Therefore, we would have an alternative reason for playing AJ ahead of him rather than yours where he considered him “jaded” but good enough for the bench and get playing time, as it turned out.
Had Tony Ralston been fit, would he have been given the starting place by Ange as less of a risk. Ange had been very forward in his praise of Tony after several games. So his praise of AJ needs to be put into the same context. Since Tony WAS injured, this is a moot point, but playing AJ ahead of an injured Tony does not prove that AJ was earmarked to have the start he did.
Ange bought players like Kobayashi and Ideguchi (who has an injury excuse but was not beating the doors down at training to insist on getting game time) and he had more knowledge of them than he had of AJ. He never, at any time, said they were projects, squad players or B team options. He talked them up too but he did not play them often after their first or second appearance because they had not claimed the jersey the way AJ did. He got his chance, ahead of time, I think because Josip was only recently back from the WC and/or he had told the manager he was leaving. Ange had no other option, with Tony the Tiger injured, but to debut him at Ibrox. You take that as a sign he was always earmarked for first choice. I see it as being given his chance because of 2 fortuitous circumstances.
Most important for him- he grabbed his chance with a solid display. It may not have been quite as praiseworthy had not Kyogo rescued things with 2 minutes to go but Ange and all us fans would still have seen his successful performance in a difficult fixture. he earned the jersey and he is still in possession and now clearly superior to Tony- but we did not know that back then. That’s why I feel his categorisation as oven-ready is suspect. He proved himself to be that but we did not know what a gem he was until he proved it to us in a Celtic jersey.
Quadbhoy
You’re right of course. It just seems a bit ridiculous that we develop Ben Doak for him to go to Liverpool so that other teams can develop players to come to us. I’ll never win this argument. We are far too far down the road to ruin. I can only hope for a new South Sea Bubble and the current system completely implodes.
When we appointed Ange most people on here said Ange who.
Most of us couldn’t even pronounce Postecoglou, never mind sing about him.
It was a calculated gamble bourn out of necessity as Eddie Howe eventually stood us up.
Hindsight is wonderful but the fact remains nobody in European football was willing to take a punt on a mid 50’s Australian manager before we did.
The gamble paid off and the journey was most enjoyable.
HH.
off topic i know but someone last week recommended giving a female African singer a listen to………… cant remember the name…
100% Greenpinata.
Great 2 years.
KLV
Markiebhoy
I thought we plucked Doak from Ayr.
I think these deals are concluded already but tbe drip news is to keep the transfer window more exciting.
Liverpool CB and Middie from Portugal are done if they are being leaked.
LB and Keeper will be the perm deals with Palma and all being announced on Friday with Brendans presser.
KLV
Scullybhoy
“Someone who has already achieved in one of the top leagues and is still valued by their current club.”
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Still begs too many questions for me. How recently was that achievement? How top was the league?
Was Boerigter oven ready because he had established at Ajax before he got injures?
Was VvD oven ready, playing for a bottom half Dutch club and not being looked at by their top 3 clubs?
Was Ajeti oven ready because he had achieved at Basel or a project because he failed at West Ham? If the answer is project, then so was Chris Sutton when we bought him. What about Joe Hart- who was a back up keeper and his club did not haggle to keep him- was he a punt or oven ready?
Yang was wanted by his club but we may not consider S. Korea a top league though their national team (and Japan’s and Australia’ and Iran’s) are higher ranked than Scotland (30). Lagerbielke and Nawrocki come from National Associations ranked higher than Scotland too. They were wanted, insofar as they were starter picks but the clubs wanted the money more than they wanted to keep them. Anybody who comes with a transfer fee was, to an extent, wanted by their club, otherwise they’d be a free.
Still not sure we’ve got a working definition.
Like Big Wavy, I think we are hoping to recruit better and we are trying to implement plans to make that so. but the closing three words of “Some Like it Hot” are reminders that the man who never did anything wrong, just never did anything.
Nath is in a relationship with Molly Moorish-Gallagher, daughter of Oasis musician Liam Gallagher.
this time tomorrow we will know where the huns are in europe, and who we have in the champions league group stages.
given that no one will be signed before then, so PL has the wiggle room to pull the plug on the deals.
TEN MEN WON THE LEAGUE on 30TH AUGUST 2023 3:49 PM
James Pearce of The Athletic (who is very well connected regards LFC news) says we are the front runners for Nat Phillips.
Front runners in a 1 horse race,he must be due a Testimonial for Liverpool reserves
someone asked – what does the Board of our PLC actually do and who are these people, a wee refresher, scroll past if not interested.
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The Board of Directors has legal and financial responsibility for the affairs of the Company. The Board delegates day-to day operational responsibility to the executive Directors, the Chief Executive Officer, Michael Nicholson and Chief Financial Officer, Christopher McKay.
The Board as a whole monitors Company performance against budgets and a rolling five year business plan as well as making specific decisions on key areas of the Company’s business, risk management and setting future strategy. The Board operates, through the Audit Committee, a comprehensive set of internal financial controls, which are reported on regularly by the internal auditor and reviewed each year by the external auditors.
There are some matters which only the Board can decide upon including, for example, the appointment of directors and auditors, the payment of dividends and the approval of budgets and interim and annual results. Decisions on significant contracts and expenditure above certain levels, also require Board approval.
Phillips has played 5 times in the champions league. Clean sheets against RB Leipzig, Real Madrid and Atlético Madrid.
Celtic40- If you’re in a back line with Allison,van Dyke/Matip,Alexander- Arnold and Robertson, there’s a chance that might happen, Porteous from Hibs is looking like a chance missed,when linked with Phillips
EXCLUSIVE! Liel Abada to sign new Celtic mega contract
Tim Horton
Shows what I know!! But re enforces the whole thing.
I just can’t be bothered with it any more. A few years ago I knew the names of players who played for most of the teams. Now I hardly know who anyone is. As I’ve said before clubs are like transit camps.
BADA:
I never rated Porteous with Hibs, always, always looked as though he was a mistake waiting to happen. The more I see of him with Watford I can see that he can concentrate on what his job in the team is and no longer has to cover the inadequacies of those around him. Aye, I think we missed a trick there, por cierto
MICHAEL NICHOLSON – CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER
highly qualified legal professional, specializing in sports law.
I am guessing he knows his way around a contract negotiation.
Appointed to the Board: September 2021
Michael was appointed Chief Executive Officer on 23 December 2021 having joined the Board as Acting Chief Executive Officer in September 2021. Specialising in sports law, including 11 years as a partner at Harper Macleod LLP, Mr Nicholson joined Celtic in 2013 as Company Secretary and Head of Legal before being promoted to Director of Legal and Football Affairs in 2019. He has previously served as a Council Member for the Law Society of Scotland and is currently an Arbitrator for the Court of Arbitration for Sport. He is a member of the Legal Advisory Panel of the European Club Association, a Non-executive Director of the Scottish Professional Football League and serves on various committees and working groups of the Scottish football authorities.
setting free the bears for Res. 12 & Oscar Knox on 30th August 2023 4:24 pm
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You make some excellent points, top player versus top prospect. Once in a while a VVD or a Ben Doak does come along, but that is the exception, not the rule.
We have had Stuart Slater, Charlie Musonda, and bleedin Martin Hayes. It is a difficult task, and being in the SPL makes it harder.
HH
HH
Anthony Joseph
@AnthonyRJoseph
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Follow
UPDATE: Liverpool defender Nat Phillips is due to arrive in Glasgow tonight to finalise a season-long loan move to Celtic.
On player development – we only have 1 player in the Scotland u2i squad ,Ben Summers and he’s on loan to Dunfermline
!!Bada Bing!! on 30th August 2023 4:31 pm
EXCLUSIVE! Liel Abada to sign new Celtic mega contract
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Brilliant news.
HH
Deniabhoy,
Glad you got back home safe and sound, a wee podium for good measure.
Nice meet up over a few beers although not long enough.
Till the next time, take care.
.
big wavy on 30th August 2023 4:35 pm
Anthony Joseph
@AnthonyRJoseph
Follow
UPDATE: Liverpool defender Nat Phillips is due to arrive in Glasgow tonight to finalise a season-long loan move to Celtic.
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Happy with that.
HH
Bada
I’ll drive him to the contract signing myself 👍
MARKIEBHOY on 30TH AUGUST 2023 4:34 PM
I mentioned the other week, A Rangers player came into local shop, fit looking guy, full training gear on, amazing car outside, I serioulsy did not have a clue who he was, and i couldnt identify him in a parade.
the reason I clocked he was a player was man and son getting a selfie with him.
CHRISTOPHER MCKAY – CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER
Appointed to the Board: January 2016
Chris was appointed Chief Financial Officer on 23 December 2021 having joined the Board in January 2016. Mr McKay spent 18 years in professional services, most recently in a senior position with global consultancy firm Deloitte which he left to join the company. He qualified as a Chartered Accountant with Deloitte in 2000 and has spent the last 15 years within the Financial Advisory area. He has extensive corporate financial advisory experience in many industries across the UK and International Markets and is currently a Member of the European Club Association Finance Working Group and the SPFL Audit Committee.
Excellent news. Heard weeks back Abada signing new 3 yrs but it went quiet Bada.
KLV
Nat will do for me
KLV
Nat Phillips. So, for a overall picture think Paul McGugan Tom McAdam or Pierce O’Leary and that will save me summarising him for you.