Building mainstays, lessons from yesterday

1164

Great news that Mikael Lustig and Emilio Izaguirre have extended their contracts until 2017.  Footballers’ careers flow on a few distinct tracks.  Some are too hot for their clubs to retain, Victor Wanyama, who declined a contract renewal with almost 3 years of his initial deal remaining, fell into this category.  Some, like Georgios Samaras, will represent diminishing value to their clubs, and attract only diminishing contracts.

I could make an argument that the players in the third category, who are highly valuable to their club, but are not so valuable that they are impossible to retain, are more important than the latter.

It’s important for Celtic to have outstanding achievers (especially up front) but clubs find it difficult to remain on-strategy if they have significant churn each season.  Transfer income is great, and often needed, but ideally you would look at your squad around this time of the year and want to change no more than 3 players over the summer.

I reckon Celtic should be able to hold onto Lustig, Izaguirre, Matthews, Ambrose, Brown, Commons, Mulgrew, Stokes and Forrest until the club want to move them on.  These players are the mainstay of our squad, hopefully Johansen will prove to be too.  Forster and van Dijk fall into the same category as Wanyama and Hooper – they will have high paying options in England.

Forster and van Dijk will help get us into and compete in the Champions League, but two or three gems are useless if they are surrounded by players less polished bling.

The last 24 hours has been a salutary lesson on what will continue to happen until Celtic appoint a manager.  The Daily Mail got the ball rolling when someone told them Roy Keane was leaving Dublin to speak to Celtic.  This was good information, in as much as it was true, Celtic did meet Roy Keane, but the ‘paper put inappropriate weight upon it.

Soon everyone and their dog was reporting the deal was done.  Which surprised Celtic.

Today’s news – there is no news.

‘News’ will continue to break and eventually one story will actually be the news we’re waiting for.  There is value (reputation and advertising) in rushing out with a story before it’s confirmed or others are doing the same, and little consequence (zero damage to reputation and you get to keep the ad money) in getting it wrong, so stay tuned for the next instalment.  Only this week, Pope Francis was talking about papal retirement, maybe he has another gig in mind.

London Calling

Let me know if you would like to attend the CQN Question and Answer evening at the Manor Club, Wimbledon, on 21 June, with a confirmed line-up of Lisbon Lion, John Hughes, and our own Brogan Rogan and Auldheid, celticquicknews@gmail.com

Visit the CQN Bookstore to get Tommy Gemmell to sign your personal copy of his tome, All the Best.

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  1. Margaret McGill on

    ‘the bould bhoys’

     

     

    04:03 on 31 May, 2014

     

     

    catholic

     

     

    Thindimebhoy

     

     

    03:59 on 31 May, 2014

     

    If I told you i was a monkeys uncle would you

     

    a) understand

     

    b) do some research

     

    c) bless me father for I have sinned and call the cops?

     

     

    Just askin. ken.

  2. 'the bould bhoys' on

    Well….its been fun outing you all..

     

     

    God Bless the true Tims

     

     

    Nighty night

  3. Margaret McGill on

    ‘the bould bhoys’

     

     

    04:07 on 31 May, 2014

     

     

    is a true Tim a catholic?

  4. 'the bould bhoys' on

    Whats the 3rd brother up to these days?

     

     

    Don’t think Ill be able to sleep tonight now……

     

     

     

     

    Hmmmm

  5. twentyfirstofmaynineteenseventynine on

    the bould bhoys

     

     

    I fully realise that, accept that we were cheated at the time, still doesnt make him a good manager. I’m starting to sound anti-Mowbray here, not the case, just think he was lucky to play for us and very lucky/unlucky to manage us. Im starting to argue wi myself here, time for kip. Bottom line for me tbb, I think of every past year in terms of how the Hoops have done, someone mentions 78 to me I cringe, that sort of thing. I have three grown up kids and should have got out of this by now, but it afflicts us all. I enjoy your posts and appreciate your frustration, but ffs keep posting, Ive said to you before, it will be a duller site…..

     

     

    HH

  6. Thindimebhoy on

    Margaret McGill

     

     

    Monkey is an insult to an Africans intellect not the colour of his skin

     

     

    A bit like Paddy and the thick Irish

     

     

    Just tellin. ken.

  7. Margaret McGill on

    ‘the bould bhoys’

     

     

    04:11 on 31 May, 2014

     

     

    If you find out let me know. The 2nd one too. No idea.

  8. Imatim and so is Neil Lennon and May God Bless Wee Oscar on

    I ran with “2010 never again” as part of my moniker for 18 months on here due to the extent of the cheating we endured as a Club.

     

     

    Indeed Kit

     

     

    Tony Mowbray is a decent man. I seen what he had to endure as manager of Celtic and we as a support. There are no words to describe what that man had to go through.

     

     

    And then along came Neil Francis Lennon and the Unseen Fenian Hand and for that I will be forever grateful.

     

     

    They still don’t know to this day who done them.

     

     

    Hail Hail to the UFH

  9. 'the bould bhoys' on

    ‘the bould bhoys’

     

     

     

     

    04:03 on

     

     

    31 May, 2014

     

     

     

     

    Mags

     

     

    Are you (and your bros) non-Catholic?

     

     

     

    “non-Catholic” as per your link…..

     

     

     

     

    Are yous?

  10. 'the bould bhoys' on

    Enough from me….Said enough.

     

     

    As usual itll all be for nothing.

     

     

    Adieu Adieu to you and yoo and u

  11. Margaret McGill on

    there has been shock recently and an abundance of angst among right thinking people, when several supermarkets and restaurant chains admitted they’d been selling meat with traces of prayer.

     

    “The fact that I’ve been eating dodgy bits of piety from faiths that may be past there sell by date makes me quite angry” said one fulminating Scottish OAP.

     

    “My body is a temple, and the last thing it needs is putting prayers inside it.”

  12. Margaret McGill on

    Thindimebhoy

     

     

    04:13 on 31 May, 2014

     

     

    I’m glad your up to date with all the latest racial epithets. Personally, I cant keep up.

  13. Margaret McGill on

    Well to me there are 2 possibilities why Celtic look shambolic again in the manager Cheaplechase

     

     

    1. PL had no idea that NFL was leaving even though Mjallby would have been a red flag to anyone who had a modicum of sense in this risky business.

     

    2. they dont give a rats vagina who the manager is as they’ll find someone to keep the fans at bay while they calculate the dermot algorithm on risk averseness

     

     

    Just saying as a shareholder. ken.

  14. twentyfirstofmaynineteenseventynine on

    as theres not many left posting now, what about a new topic ?

     

     

    Who do you think our new manager will be ?

     

     

     

    lol and goodnight fellow Tims

     

     

    HH

  15. Margaret McGill on

    twentyfirstofmaynineteenseventynine

     

     

    04:33 on 31 May, 2014

     

     

    A bit coy on coyle

     

    No to keen on Keane

     

    As for Dick Byrne I’ll keep my opinions to myself.

  16. twentyfirstofmaynineteenseventynine on

    Margaret

     

     

    I was honestly saying it a bit tongue in cheek, as you probably sussed ,but I have to go for Clarke.

     

     

    Ive got a score on him

     

     

    Who knows ? We’ll end up taking what we’re given, as always

     

     

    HH

  17. twentyfirstofmaynineteenseventynine on

    sorry Margaret, takes me at least 3 mins to reply at this time of night/morning due to inebriation problems

     

     

    HH

  18. Margaret McGill on

    twentyfirstofmaynineteenseventynine

     

     

    04:40 on 31 May, 2014

     

     

    I understand. personally I think the manager is secondary in the PLC vision else they would never let our beloved Neil leave. Anyway after all the superlatives have run their course we will have a lucky guy: a la mode of MON WGS NFL or a howler: TM

     

    Either way the board dont give a shit. they’ll just re-iterate if its a howler.

     

    Do you remember how keen they were on signing NFL in the first place?

     

    Howler? Unsuitable? No use?

     

    The board are always thinking HUN.

  19. Mags,

     

     

    When the Lisbon stand was opened, six Celtic supporters sat together…I was the only catholic.

     

     

    Speaks volumes to me.

  20. Thindimebhoy on

    Margaret McGill

     

     

    I’m glad your up to date with all the latest racial epithets. Personally, I cant keep up.

     

     

     

     

     

     

    Instead of genuflecting you are deflecting…:)

     

     

    Racism and sectarianism and how they are treated in law is the issue

     

     

    Surely you agree one is as bad as the other…?

     

     

    I expect if you are racist your very likely to be a bigot as well

  21. Thindimebhoy on

    Margaret McGill

     

     

    We will find a coach and we will love him

     

     

    It is written…..

  22. Margaret McGill on

    Thindimebhoy

     

     

    04:53 on 31 May, 2014

     

    Yeah but how do you distinguish sectarianism from racism?

     

     

    sectarianism is:

     

    “Sectarianism, according to one definition, is bigotry, discrimination, or hatred arising from attaching importance to perceived differences between subdivisions within a group, such as between different denominations of a religion, class, regional or factions of a political movement.’

     

     

    To me racism is different its based on appearance. Irish dont look different from Scottish. We are the same gene pool.

     

     

    The law is clear on racism. How can it be on sectarianism? By what songs you sing?

  23. Gordon64

     

     

    None of us are better than anyone else

     

    ——————————–

     

    Well said big G,,,but monkeys are better than them huns.

  24. Mags,

     

     

    Give the people something to hate and deflect from their own strife, has always been the answer to the ones in power…ukip!

  25. twentyfirstofmaynineteenseventynine on

    Margaret

     

     

    Not a big fan of our board, never have been over last forty years, theyre getting it right (fiscally) but dont think they give a shit were supporters are concerned. However I have you to ask you about Hun ? Dont see were youre coming from there but interested to hear your point of view

  26. Margaret McGill on

    twentyfirstofmaynineteenseventynine

     

     

    05:06 on 31 May, 2014

     

     

    They believe in the Old Firm!

  27. Thindimebhoy on

    Margaret McGill

     

     

    To me racism is different its based on appearance. Irish dont look different from Scottish. We are the same gene pool.

     

     

     

     

    By appearance I expect you mean the colour of a persons skin and not any resemblance to a monkey

     

     

    Black people are a race monkeys are not of course

     

     

    The Irish and Scots gene pool comes from a time when we ran about bollock naked painted blue eating sheep raw

     

     

    We wear clothes now and the gene pool is so mixed there are Scots and Irish living all over the globe in various skin colours

     

     

    I do think calling someone a fenian * should be as unlawful as calling someone a black *

     

    The trouble is how do you jail a crowd

     

     

    Seems like the more its said the more its accepted and by default the harder it is to deal with

  28. Margaret McGill on

    Thindimebhoy

     

     

    05:20 on 31 May, 2014

     

     

    Black people are a race monkeys are not of course

     

     

    Wait a minute. Are you tellin me the whole premise of this conversation was that black people look like monkeys?

     

    What is going on here?

  29. twentyfirstofmaynineteenseventynine on

    Ive been up all night (decorating and drinking) viewing the aggro on here and now Im getting my were’s and my where’s mixed up. this cant go on, I have work in the morning. I love the craic on here but lets not get too personal, especially not talk about law suits ffs. End of the day we’re all Tims (not necessarily catholics) and we’ve all got our own opinions, surely what the sites all about ?

     

     

    Margaret 05.19

     

     

    I hate that phrase, always have done, but I believe we as a club have bought into it down the years, maybe we still are ? Dont think for a minute it means they’ll select a “hun” as our next manager. I really dont care what religion our new manager is, just as long as its the right man. And I dont think youre a bigot, no way, or a racist for that matter

     

     

    HH

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