I watched Wolves boss Manchester United at Old Trafford last night when the parallels with what they are doing and what Celtic are attempting struck me. Six of the Wolves starting line-up and seven of the 11 who finished the game were Portuguese. As is their manager, while a seventh starter is a Portuguese-speaking Brazilian.
Wolves Chinese owners decided there was no value in the UK market and invested in building connections with Portuguese agents and clubs. As a consequence, they know this market better than any other, perhaps better than some of the top clubs in Portugal, who field fewer Portuguese nationals.
Paul Lambert was their last non-Portuguese manager. He was replaced in May 2017 by Nuno Espirito Santo, who won promotion at the first attempt and was enticed to Tottenham last summer. His stay at Spurs was short and unsuccessful – Spurs did not have deep knowledge of a value market he could exploit.
Wolves went straight back to Portugal and appointed Bruno Lage, sacked a year earlier by Benfica after one of the worst runs of results in modern history. A failure at Benfica, Lage took to the EPL with apparent ease.
Back in 2014 we discussed our prospects after recruiting Ronny Deila from the value-looking market in Norway. Ronny took a raft of Norwegian backroom staff with him, but I remember us worrying that the status of Norway in the Uefa coefficient table was well below that of Scotland. We subsequently recruited Kristoffer Ajer but Norway was not sufficiently fertile to seed in Scotland.
What has happened in this transfer window is different. Already we have signed three peak-age Japanese players to augment Kyogo Furuhashi and Ange Postecoglou, recruited from Japan.
Portugal and Japan are quite different. For a start, Portugal is scouted significantly more, it is a market known to every club in Europe with a transfer spend. Exports command a premium. It should be more difficult to carve a successful niche in Portugal than in Japan.
Japan is a significantly cheaper market, our four recruits this season cost less than £10m. More than half of that money was spent on Kyogo, so I would caution against jumping to conclusions about how effective Daizen Maeda, Reo Hatate and Yosuke Ideguchi will be before they settle into life here. Cheap does not guarantee value.
Deep knowledge of a market is needed to find any sustainable value. If we want to over-perform, it seems unlikely that we will be able to do so to any significant degree but speaking to the same agents as everyone else. Wolves picked a market and went all in, as a consequence, they are performing at a 50 year high.
Half a season after recruiting Ange Postecoglou, we have gone all in on the Japanese market. There will be a tangible Japanese culture at Lennoxtown, a host of Japanese clubs and agents have done business with us and more will hopefully follow. Celtic have gained a degree of deep knowledge of the Japanese market. As I said, these are early days, but there is much to be hopeful about.
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By that logic Van Bronckhorst will exploit the Dutch market?
“JIMDOM on 4TH JANUARY 2022 2:07 PM
I enjoy reading the comments of MADMITCH”
I used to but gave up . As you seem willing to persevere, perhaps you could give the occasional summary of MM`s `good` points for those ,like myself ,who grow too frustrated to decipher.
So the fee for worderboy is undisclosed(Everton FC official website) lets see how much they spend, the numbers banded about in the media with Sky leading it are fanciful and a balm to the Orcs, my guess is 250k on Souttar to get him now or a pre contract to join in the summer if Goldson up sticks.
JC2 on 4TH JANUARY 2022 2:23 PM
St Stivs
any info on Celtic fans going to Ajax ?
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I dony bud, other than it being 1971.
Might be McGinleys charter.
Dessybhoy
Correct no mention of mega million pound fee, this what their website says:
Everton sealed the signing of promising Scotland international right-back Nathan Patterson on a five-and-a-half-year deal on 4 January 2022.
The 20-year-old joined the Blues from Scottish Premiership champions Rangers for an undisclosed fee, becoming the Club’s second acquisition of the winter transfer window following the arrival of Vitaliy Mykolenko.
PPB
I smell the usual about this.
Tim Horton
The Telegraph ran a really great piece on it today.
Simple facts
Only 1 person out of 20,000 apparent omicron positive cases is in ICU and only 34 Covid 19 cases in ICU in Scotland.
Yet we have shut down the whole economy and health service to supposedly stop spread of this thing. Folk on here now suggesting it stays shut until April ffs.
Meantime the head of jabbing folk in the UK (JCVI) Sir Andrew Pollard has counseled against jabbing folk a fourth time until we know if the third has actually been effective ! At least that sensible question is being asked.
Honestly it seems bonkers. In a personal level I have not met a single person who claims to even know anyone to have been affected even as bad as flu by this omicron. This is not dissimilar to what S African experts suggested.
The problems now for us all and esp NHS appear to be caused by folk being told to isolate or ‘pinged’ as I see it.
I completely respect that others may see it differently.
‘Undisclosed fee’ for the white Cafu, £16 million, my arse
The Patterson sale is a symptom of their financial mess.
They’ve lost a promising young player who had been at both Rangers clubs from the age of 8.
Imagine if we had lost KT after 20 odd games, would we really celebrate that ?
DENIABHOY on 4TH JANUARY 2022 11:30 AM
My point was it was a surprise Gerard didn’t get involved to help Sevco out a la Souness. Nudge the bidding up a bit etc.
*mibbees slippy is not that big of a hun we thought he was and being a bird man, Liver Bird Cormorant lol, he played them like the eejits they are.
that Ange full interview and talking about doing everything for his dad, what a humble man, with such intrinsic demonstrated values.
This pic of them circulating, is there a time in your life when you realise you look more and more like a parent or grand-parent ?
I have a picture somewhere of my granda wuddy in a school play (later he did think he was cagney) aged 7, at saint johns parochial hall PG, in 1920. My communion picture 53 years later and I look exactly the same as he did, not a little bit but exactly.
I had one of those moments, 3 years ago exactly today, all my ill health was at its peak, and I was so fatigued I couldnt even shave, I looked in the mirror, and saw what i could only say was my granda staring back when he was a real 55.
I know this because it just popped up on my phone as one of those remember this things. Gave me a shiver but also a smile. Christamas and New Year were A family write-offs, wife and daughter tested positive, one laid very low, other flu like, neither mild at all for them even with being vaccinated and boosted. Our NYD dinner was a tasteless waste of food, The Mother in law stayed home alone, poor old dear. On the 2nd I happened to pass Ibrox in the afternoon, there was plenty of people there paying their respects found it quite reflective, imagine losing anyone becaue they went to a football match, both that and Anne had me too deep in thoughts.
Then yesterday morning, my old neighbout through the wall died unexpectedly a shock and gave me a wee bit of melancholy.
So in spite of all this, Ange talking about his dad was uplifitng and has me counting my blessings rather than dreading the here and now, or indeed the Celtic future.
KEEP IT LIT as I like to say.
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FIGuvDBX0AE85Gy?format=jpg&name=small
DENIABHOY
Did Ange not say that there value to be had in the Japanese, Iranian and Korean markets ?
Also Africa, it’s ginormous and there is some real quality there, as far as I know we don’t have anyone scouting there, or many other places either by the looks of things, everything seems for the moment to be on Ange’s shoulders, hopefully we can set up a proper scouting network given our manager and CEO seem to have a decent working relationship.
But as ever, it will be down to the spondooliks.
DESSYBHOY on 4TH JANUARY 2022 3:25 PM
So the fee for worderboy is undisclosed(Everton FC official website) lets see how much they spend, the numbers banded about in the media with Sky leading it are fanciful and a balm to the Orcs, my guess is 250k on Souttar to get him now or a pre contract to join in the summer if Goldson up sticks.
________________________________________________________________________________
Dessbhoy as I and others said about the millions being bandied about by the SMSM we will only ever find out how much Everton paid the Tribute Act when Everton publish their accounts. By then Sevcoeconomics assisted by said SMSM will have him costing Everton, ‘mullions and mullions’. When the real price paid is reported by Everton they will have moved on and there will be no correction!
Burnley I totally agree it’s frustrating, the new variant is not making people as sick as before.
Well vaccinated folk anyway.
You did mention the isolation period which until reduced for contacts will continue to cause havoc.
I work for the NHS and have seen my department badly struggle due to absence this past month.
If we have full stadiums and God forbid there was a major incident we would not cope due to lack of ambulances, hospital capacity police etc. However I beleive the 500 fans rule is very unfair and has to be looked at. HH 🍀
TIMHORTON on 3RD JANUARY 2022 11:46 PM
ALMORE It’s like stage 2 ,bars,restaurants ,gyms and a few others people to work from home if they can and no school.
When this started people were saying it’s just a bad cold ,well this could really test our health system that was not the best to start with imo. It’s going to be a rough ride.
*No going to argue with you TH but it’s as they used tae say at hame when I lived there “like the man with a widden leg said it’s a matter of o pinions”
Unless you need it OHIP like NHS are always heavily criticised and yet tangerine heid when he was campaigning in 2016 said the Canadian and Scottish health plans were the best and what they should be aspiring to achieve.
Personally I love them as I have Type 2 Diabetes, was at one time on 11 pills a day and then went on to insulin. It was then I started to take it a bit more seriously in wanting to see my grandweans growing up and with the help of my doctor at the time, optometrist and foot care clinic got rid of the needles, and now on 4 pills, 2 for diabetes, 1 for cholesterol and 1 for a hereditary extra heart beat I have which is also good for blood pressure control, everything, except the pharmacy fee of $4.11, is free tae.
As for Mrs TT, she has a chronic illness that one of the top specialists who works out of the Toronto Western has told her she can never be cured but he will try to provide her with a better quality of life.
He also told her she had the worst case he ever saw and with her permission he would like to use her for the benefit for other future patients, being a wee lassie fae hame she willingly agreed.
She attends the hospital a minimum twice a year, only phone consultations right mow and blood work up where we live. BTW she had Covid 2 year ago and is convinced sitting in an overcrowded lab down there is where she caught it.
Yesterday a day after a wicked snow storm and in brutal sub zero temperatures we had to attend the Toronto Eye Care Clinic, only consolation was it was after lunch and the roads weren’t busy.
She did get good news there and the specialist while confirming her illness was horrible said, to help calm her, that there were worse diseases out there to which she concurred.
By the way, the consultation and parking were covered by OHIP but she to pay for one of the services because that big fat grade 12 educated balloon who is living up at his cottage right now has cut back on this service.
Also he has cut back on so many of the services that Bob Rae, he of the Glasgow born granny, made available to us after his deal with the Liberals to remove the scabby tories after 43 years of misrule in this once loyalist Province.
As you probably know he now is at war with optometrist as well , she also has vertigo and the medication was covered by OHIP but that slob withdrew that coverage which means you are allowed to be dizzy in Ontario.
Sorry for the non Celtic rant but as I said unless you need them you have no idea how beneficial that under paid and overworked profession are. Oh and I should add she would be better covered at hame.
Turkeybhoy
I saw you mentioning the darts earlier, I also have played a world champion, five times as it happens and beat him twice when playing county darts against Fife, this was before he turned pro, but trust me he was quality was wee Jocky, my downfall was that as soon as I had a big audience I crapped it, my legs went to jelly, hand and arm was fine, it takes some balls to stand up there and do it.
AN DÚN on 4TH JANUARY 2022 3:53 PM
Imagine if we had lost KT after 20 odd games, would we really celebrate that ?
——————————————————
No. There were people on here who went berzerk after we sold Frimpong for £11m and I thought that was great business for us.
BURNLEY78
Cannot disagree with any of that, except to say that the Scottish Government acted at a time when Omicron was fairly new, unknown and rampant.
Pre-Omicron I knew of a limited number of friends, relatives, acquaintances, work colleagues etc who contracted Covid-19, the only fatality being a cousin who caught it in the very early days.
Since Omicron I am being told virtually every day that so and so has Covid. It really does seem to be spreading like wildfire. Most of these have been either asymptomatic or limited to cold and flu-like symptoms only.
On that basis, I would hope that Holyrood, in the next week or two, will follow the science and rescind the need for 10-days self-isolation for entire families of positive cases. That is what is taking its toll on NHS & Transport etc staff shortages. Understandable overkill based on an earlier lack of knowledge of the effects of the new varient.
Let us see if they have the courage of their convictions to reduce restrictions now that they know how Omicron works.
Hopefully we have come on a bit from the days when we were signing Hibs’ best players every year. Ange will not be neglecting the youth academy, those players are even cheaper. So we need to get good kids of 12/13 years of age in too. Oporto had a big young South American contingent under Mourinho which was one of the reasons for their success. No Robinho or Neymar big money type signings but they recruited well.
MADMITCH on 4TH JANUARY 2022 2:44 PM
SB67 @ 2.40
I dont disagree that celtic need to up their game and sort a lot of stuff out. It is very clear Rodgers took just about everyone he rated away with him on the midnight flight out.
That experience highlights the benefit of having a footballing structure and department in which a head coach is just that and is employed to put into place the overall footballing style.
Listening to Ange it seems he is heavily involved in a hell of of lot beyond the coaching and is key to the overall direction of the football department. The guy has a full career playing, coaching at various levels and being successful.
It would be crazy not to use ange’s knowledge of football to help shape the football department along the way. Using a football man to inform footballing decisions makes complete sense.
Also i don’t think we can blame the scouts, they will be looking and recommending players based on particular skill sets. we have saw many successful players come through the academy and transfer market.
Watched the first couple of progs about the Hillsbourgh disaster, quite emotional stuff.
BURNLEY78 on 4TH JANUARY 2022 3:45 PM
‘Only 1 person out of 20,000 apparent omicron positive cases is in ICU and only 34 Covid 19 cases in ICU in Scotland.+++’
###
Suggests the vaccination programme, and other preventative measures have been successful, doesn’t it?
————
Yet we have shut down the whole economy and health service to supposedly stop spread of this thing.
###
No we haven’t.
Patterson to Everton £5m plus add-ons.
TOM MCLAUGHLIN on 4TH JANUARY 2022 4:59 PM
Patterson to Everton £5m plus add-ons.
——————-
A balloon, a whistle and a penny chew
ragandboneman csc
I suspect the reason behind the “undisclosed fee” might be to conceal how desperate they were to sell so that it doesn’t lead to a fire sale of guys like Kent etc for smaller fees.
<4
JC2 on 4TH JANUARY 2022 2:23 PM
St Stivs
“any info on Celtic fans going to Ajax ?
One of my best mates uncle and Aunt used to travel away a lot. Thought it
might be them but would have been 20 years before i met them.”
I searched online for that photo, the only one I could find on google relates to a story about the Ajax game in 1971, in the Evening Times. AS when I first saw it I thought it was from 1972 and they were going to Budapest to see us play Upjest Doza, the Liz and Richard game, as there was a guy on that trip who had won a Rothman’s cigarette competition to fly out to Budapest, with tickets for the game included. I might be totally wrong but the guy, bottom left in that photo immediately brought the Rothmans winner to my mind, por cierto
A penny for Fat Charlie’s thoughts at the moment?
Aye.
SAINT STIVS on 4TH JANUARY 2022 3:31 PM
JC2 on 4TH JANUARY 2022 2:23 PM
St Stivs
any info on Celtic fans going to Ajax ?
I dony bud, other than it being 1971.
Might be McGinleys charter.
Aye, it’s a McGinlay’s Charter I was on it! :))
por ciertoi
So, Patterson to Everton confirmed on 4th Jan. Still almost four weeks of the window to go, why the urgency ? They need cash and they need it now . Goldson, Barisic, Kent, and Kamara looking on with interest. And their agents.
Ange is now .
Manager, head coach and head of recruitment.
Is this us modernising and restructuring.
It certainly doesn’t look like it to me.
The only change is Ange
What about the Australian market for some up and coming stars or even those 1st team ready. It’s been a while since someone came over to the UK ready to go and play. Ange may be working under the radar there so as not to alert the EPL or EFL to what can be had for a few “prawns, lobsters or pineapples”! :)) por cierto
Goldson can sign a pre contract anytime he wants.
Kent and Morelos will be in that position in 12 months time.
If these lads genuinely fancy their chances in the EPL, all they have to do is sit tight.
ST TAMS on 4TH JANUARY 2022 5:11 PM
Ange is now .
Manager, head coach and head of recruitment.
Is this us modernising and restructuring.
It certainly doesn’t look like it to me.
The only change is Ange
—-
I suspect Ange likes having a large amount of control. He was asked about a DoF some months back and didn’t strike me as being overly supportive of the idea.
The way he spoke about reading through scouting reports when he first came in struck me as someone who actually enjoyed that aspect of his work.
From our perspective, perhaps having so much power resting with the gaffer isn’t terribly prudent and will need to looked at further down the line.
No further lockdown measures in England (for now).
I don’t know how serious Omicron is
What I do know, hospitalisations have increased by over 100% in just over 2 weeks
From under 7000, to now over 15000
Must be bad enough to require hospitalisations
What I also know for fact
In my work place, we are seeing positive PCR tests on household isolations after day 7 ( the figures are reported to me daily)
and will quote personal position
My son in law was tested positive just prior to Christmas with my Grandson
My daughter tested negative daily on LFT, until day 10, and was positive on PCR on day 10 of her isolation
St stivs & the ajax pic.
Can you repost please i will ask around.
BTW when in Lisbon in 2017,a couple sat behind us where from Greenock.they were there in 67.
:-)
HH
In the summer window epl clubs didn’t buy players over the age of 25 for decent money unless they’d proved themselves in decent leagues. If you look through the names signed in the summer nobody wants them after 23, 24 at a push
The good Sevvies are too old, clubs look far beyond how “good” a player is to determine their value.
More undisclosed fees on the horizon, but that doesn’t solve their problem with cash.