Alexandro Bernabei (24) joined Brazilian side Internacional yesterday for a fee in the region of £4m, providing a small profit on the fee we paid Lanus for him 2.5 years ago, although there a sell-on clause is likely to consume that.
Not every player will work out at Celtic, but ensuring those who do not make the cut leave at a fee consistent with what we paid for them is a critical part of squad management. The Americas have been good to us in this respect, with Giorgos Giakoumakis and Patryk Klimala both heading over the Atlantic for a higher ticket price then they arrived with. Giorgos only spent a year at Atlanta before the MLS side doubled their money when the striker went to Mexico.
There is a fair chance we will bring in a left back with a different profile from Alex this month. If so, the returning son will be celebrated as befits the best left back we have seen in 50 years. There are, however, strategic worries.
Signing players at their peak, when their value has already topped out, is a short-term play. It all you are interested in is this season, or next, you will be happy with this route. You and I are here for the long haul, though. We know how hard Celtic need to work to compete in the Champions League every year and what we need to do to stay ahead in Scotland.
I want to see a Celtic team full of Nicolas Kuhn and Arne Engels-types. Players we have worked hard to find and can bring to Scotland before their profile has reached critical levels. We will not keep many of them for long, but that will only make it easier to attract the best talent next time.
We have talked about Brighton owner and savant Tony Bloom a few times. On Sunday, Brighton won away at Manchester United for the third season running. They had three different managers for those wins and (including subs) used 33 different players.
Brighton are ruthlessly dedicated to plan. Bloom sets the strategy and the managers accept it or move on. Abundant transfer profits are ploughed into ever-improving scouting, higher wages and transfer budget. By contrast, we have a more short-term outlook. It will deliver domistically, for a while, anyway. Others will make more progress.
219 Comments- Pages:
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TinyTim on 21st January 2025 1:47 pm
Celtic40ME
We have just added to our scouting network by adding the 80 year old ,highly experienced David Pleat .
————————
David Pleat is a conduit – he has vast experience in the English game – he has great knowledge of the Championship and lower leagues – he is respected and held in great esteem by many – he will not be flying around all over the world – he is eighty, not dead. I welcome any assistance he may offer to Celtic and look forward to seeing him in the Directors Box on occaasion – maybe tomorrow night. HH
CELTIC40ME @ 1:43 PM,
We currently have seven development players in our twenty four man first team squad.
That’s 30%, that’s sufficient.
We also have development players out on loan on the fringes of the first team squad, we have a development team who have got through to the play-off rounds of the UCL U19 event.
IAN_IN_BUDAPEST @ 1:38 PM,
Very good post and spot on…
Hail Hail
my first game was 1960 so I must say that I am concerned about the long term as well as the short term.
Celtic need to produce players through our Academy as well as looking at players in other Scottish academies. In addition we need to bring in players internationally both Develoment players and established players.
It should be noted the financial sense of the clubs strategy of signing Developments players has resulted in some of the players who we have tried and rejected bring in profits when we move them on.
We have appointed a Pathway manager to assist our young players on the step up to the main squad. It is n worth noting that we have a large number of players out on loan and that indicates that internally the club cannot provide the essential experience.
I feel we should be flexible in the different pathways to Celtic First team.
There are four teams within a point of us playing this evening, it will be interesting how they get on, of course it has little baring to where we finish up in the league compared to our next two UCL games.
But it may have some baring, if PSV, VfB Stuttgart win they could knock us down to 23rd position, that could focus minds;)
Hail Hail
Wonderful ageism from the spritlely CQN crew recently.
Presumably David Pleat will be scouting players younger than himself.
Hail Hail
“A bunch of fractious old duffers on here.”
David Pleat.
Squad number for David Pleat?
BIG GAME TOMORROW, AND WE ARE TALKING ABOUT BRIGHTON.
I have no doubt mr pleat can spot a player, but so can we all.
It is not ageism, it is just a genuine question, how fit is the man, and it is not exactly a vitality hire is it.
We every street in Brighton they proudly make their way………..
bigrailroadblues on 21st January 2025 1:30 pm
McPhail Bhoy
Tried that line on her. Then everything went dark.
______________________________________________________________________
No Blackpool illuminations for you then, boom boom! Or was that the sound you also heard when it went dark?
*We = From
McPhail Bhoy
😂
Nag, nag nag. Watch your drinking she said.
Simples I’ll buy a mirror. 🍺🍻🍹
An Tearmann on 21st January 2025 11:43 am
A non driver here,lon̈g overdue fines for those who do not give a fook for pedestrians,namely the wheelchair bound,tthe elderly with walking sticks.
Skelp those poor wee motorists not happy with roads but need the pavement too.so impede the pedestrian.no sympathy fine them
HH
I take it you won’t be asking me for a lift anytime in the near future 🤣🤣🤣
BOURNESOUPRECIPE @ 3:23 PM,
80 + 1 apparently
Hail Hail
KT is a left back. He is coming out of contract at Arsenal, is Scottish, appears to want to come back and is a mad Tim.
Since KT left we have had a few left back and not made any money on them despite the strategy being to buy and develop potential. There’s been a few loans in there also. It’s a position where that strategy has not been fruitful.
Hart and now Schmeichal don’t fit the strategy either but that position too, has a small pool to choose from.
I suspect you are right Paul67. Brendan Rodgers is concerned with Brendan the managers reputation and next job prospects. However , he is also willing to play Kuhn, Engels, Idah and Trusty. He would’ve kept and tried to develop Kelly and Vata, giving both a game before they left.
Both Brendan’s and Celtic’s interests can align and have done so. They are not diametrically opposed.
The undercurrent of dissatisfaction and mistrust of Brendan is misplaced as far as any signing of KT goes.
Gotta say, very concerned about that narcissistic wanker Trump. No doubt about it he’s fucking nuts and worryingly so to are the idiiots who voted for him.
He doesn’t give a toss about any other country, give me Putin any day
KINGLuBO
so too
KC VIC on 21ST JANUARY 2025 4:11 PM
He would’ve kept and tried to develop Kelly and Vata, giving both a game before they left.
*aye but the grass isnae always greener as where are they now, I watched the latter last week, oh he did score a brilliant goal and then disappeared, like he will shortly, as for the much vaunted doak, Liverpool are desperately trying tae flog him now, as Big Billy said when charlie nickerares, left the agents will be the ruination of the game
Since BR took control of transfers and went off piste in January 2024, we’ve permanently signed; Kuhn (24), Idah (23), Bernardo (22), Engels (21), Viljami Sinisalo (23), Trusty (26), McCowan (27) and Kasper (37/38).
These are the facts and yet we’re being told on here on a consistent basis that Brendan has torn up our development and trading strategy. It’s demonstrably untrue to say such things.
KINGLUBO on 21ST JANUARY 2025 4:19 PM
Gotta say, very concerned about that narcissistic wanker Trump. No doubt about it he’s fucking nuts and worryingly so to are the idiiots who voted for him. He doesn’t give a toss about any other country, give me Putin any day
*he wont last, either through his poor diet or the 26th amendment will be invoked and the preferred choice of the right wingers will take over, anyway its NOT him they should be worried about but herr musk who clearly signaled to the maga crowd that he’s on their side
Tontine Good point indeed
AN DÚN on 21ST JANUARY 2025 4:21 PM
Hear Hear & Hail Hail
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So many wearing black clothes and jumping on the super-critical bandwagon – Like the vast majority I’m not ditching my colourful wardrobe. HH
FC- AJ is captain material
I mentioned the structure Brentford had on here a couple of years ago, and there was a pile on…..
Love the champions league nights.
Usual routine for the home games tomorrow :
Coia’s for an early dinner with my good lady and my son
Palais Bar for a wee beer and to take in the early game 1st half.
Stroll around the corner for that magical glimpse of Celtic Park set for a European night under the lights.
Memories of Benfica 69 Fiorentina 70 Ujpest 71 Basel 74 Real Madrid 80 Juventus 01 Porto 01 Lyon 03 Benfica 06 Man U 06 Milan 07 Barcelona 12 Spartak 12 Leipzig 24 and other huge conquests in the BIG Cup will come flooding back. Shared experience’s with my own mum and dad.
Hopefully another really memorable night and maybe another big scalp or 2 to come this season.
KC VIC
“ Brendan Rogers is concerned with Brendan the manager’s reputation and next job prospects “
Can you evidence that please ?
A few weeks ago there was a comment suggesting ,good luck to anyone trying to get the manager to change his tactics.
After being horsed in Dortmund we fought hard and stayed tight in Atalanta.
It’s not true that the manager will not consider change.
Perhaps his bar for doing so is high or maybe he judges that his regular tactics will succeed or he believes individual players to be less prone to mistakes.
There are regular slights aimed at the manager which don’t reflect the reality.
I’m not in the know, thought he was a rat for leaving us, didn’t want him back and was in Paris to see a 7-1 and Madrid for a 6-0. Nevertheless i’d like to see some fair comment come his way. He’s at the helm of the club. He has responsibility for alot of our hopes.
Celltic40ME…………….Celtic would not have qualified for the Champions Lge. without crucial goals scored by Adam Idah. Young players like Arne Engels and Adam need time to settle in a new enviroment as well as in a sporting capacity.
trump/musk have nothing on the zionists – now focussing all their evil on the west bank – drives you insane watching this scum on tv
If we fill our squad with development players entirely (which is how I read Paul’s article) there is going to be some considerable churn and a settled team will be nigh impossible to achieve . Successes like Kuhn are going to be snapped up by the big guns after a couple of seasons while the development also rans will be shipped out on loan or permanently within a similar time frame .
All the more need then for players like KT to provide some oven ready maturity , leadership and continuity . What we need is a balance .
For years the doom mongers have been trotting out the ‘look what happened to Rangers’ line , as if footballing ambition and fiscal prudence were mutually exclusive .
Tim for life
I have no primary evidence only the comments of others and my own opinion.
Moussa Dembele was not complimentary of Brendan Rodgers after he left. Harry Brady on the Celtic underground podcast commented on Brendan Rodgers desire to remain high profile in England while at Celtic the first time around by giving regular interviews at crucial times and of course his leaving and it’s timing when he did so.
His tactics could also be said to be those of a type of European big club. Barcelona, Man city, PSG. Possession ,thrust, recover, pace. All to win.
Rocco vata and Daniel Kelly chose their clubs for game time?
Rocco Vata is mainly a squad player but has been used as a sub in several games.
Daniel Kelly has had 2 sub appearances and that’s it.
The reason they chose the clubs they did was because they were both given 16k a week contracts. Contracts they may never see again in their career.
Quite apart from winning the title the match against YB Berne in the Champions Lge tomorrow is the most important fixture in Celtic’s season.
The team has surpassed all expectations in their current position in the League table with only one loss and on the verge of qualification for the knockout stage.
I don’t expect the Swiss to roll over as the standard and technical abilityof all these continental teams is very high ie Bodo Glynt etc. We saw that with Brugge a team we expected to beat but took us quite a while to get to grips with their quality football.
I’m hoping the team reproduce the form we showed against Bratislava and Leipzig and secure a knockout place in this new European League. If memory serves correctly our previous meeting with a Swiss team was Basel resulting in a 3 – 1 win for the Hoops. I’ll take that for tomorrow .night.
Monaco 1 up v Villa
“Signing players at their peak” ….
… and for no fee.
Will never catch on.
I’m generally supportive of the model.
The way Celtic have implemented it has been quite brilliant.
A great success.
But it needs to apply to most, not all signings.