They call it Helicopter Money. Income that just lands in your lap without you having to do any work for it. It brings a special kind of joy. The millions Celtic will earn as a result of a sell-on clause from Virgil van Dijk’s £75m sale to Liverpool is a classic of the genre.
Right off, let’s acknowledge a few facts. Virgil’s £2.6m capture from Groningen was a brilliant piece of business by the club. Many are due credit for this, including Neil Lennon and Peter Lawwell, but the occasionally-maligned John Park, in particular, deserves applause.
Park lost his Midas touch after the January 2012 capture of Mikael Lustig, but that had as much to do with the change in comparative finances between Celtic and the bottom of the English Premier League, than any degradation of our former chief scout’s ability.
Virgil had played only 62 games in senior football when he signed for Celtic. We got him because we moved, showing incredible agility, before anyone else had the opportunity to act. We will not be able to exactly recreate the Virgil business – others see where and how exceptional value has been earned and copy, but this has always been the case.
What we can say for sure is that few clubs anywhere in the world have the success rate of Celtic at finding under-priced footballers and transforming them into Champions League players who are sold at multiples of five or ten times value.
NEW CQN PODCAST OUT NOW! CHRISTMAS JUMPERS FOR GOALPOSTS
Paul John Dykes and Kevin Graham are joined by Celtic authors, Stephen Sullivan and Stevie Murray for a special festive episode – Christmas Jumpers for Goal-Posts.
Stephen Sullivan is a former Celtic View reporter who wrote the much-lauded Sean Fallon biography, ‘Iron Man’. He is now the editor of FIFA.com.
Stevie Murray has now written two books on Celtic – ‘Ten Men Won The League’ and ‘Kenny of the Celtic’ – and he is a respected and authoritative voice on the club.
Treat yourself to a signed copy of Jim Craig – Right Back to 67 and you will receive a copy of That Season on Paradise signed by Bertie Auld, just order the Jim Craig book at CQNbookstore.co.uk and we’ll do the rest…
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THEORIGINALSADIESBHOY on 28TH DECEMBER 2017 2:05 PM
Who would win a fight between The Vikings and the Peaky Fookin’ Blinders?
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No contest. The Dothraki :)
sixtaeseven – 67 trophies in my lifetime on 28th December 2017 4:39 pm
Mark Walters … ???
The latest to be trundled out by the SMSM to deflect and take the spotlight off of THEMs.
Dear, dear… they are scraping the barrel now.
Whenever you think they have reached the low, they go lower.
Virgil van Dijk to Liverpool was indeed a hard one for them to take this week.
THEY HAVE REACHED ROCK BOTTOM AND ARE STILL DIGGING………
Uxbridge letter of the day is V :-
Vaccinate: To administer drugs with a Hoover
Vagrant: taxi driver’s conversation
Vampire: A very angry seductress.
Vanilla: A large white ape
Vegetable: Thing to lay out salad on
Vegetarian: Bad hunter
Velocity: A large town where cycling is very popular.
Veneer: Flemish painter of floorboards
Venezuela: A gondola with a harpoon.
Verisimilitude: Extremely evenly masticated.
Vigilante: A very observant aunt.
Violin: A very unpleasant public house.
Vocation: Giving your voice a rest
Voluptuous: We can choose the output level of this sound.
bournesouprecipe on 28th December 2017 2:58 pm
Ole Derk Boerrigter hasn’t kicked a ball since he left Celtic ( and didn’t really kick a ball before he left Celtic come to think of it )
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Derk always brings to mind the words of Fleetwood Mac…
“Thunder only happens when it’s raining – players only love you when they’re playing”
…apparently not a lot of affection emanating from Derk if truth be told.
Weeman67,
At this rate the BBC will dig a hole to Australia. Now a decent editor would ask , when presented with this piece ,what the relevance was. What merited the content, was there a comparable storyline etc etc but no just produce any “Celtic bad news”
That department is dysfunctional and not fit for purpose.
We pay Craig Gordon £1m a year to save shots.
He was tasked with 5 attempts on goal against Hearts.
He let 4 of them in.
Craig Gordon is the WORST shot-stopper I have EVER seen at Celtic in my 4 decades as a fan.
Just my opinion.
NALLY81
PISH!
Happy new year to you!
BSR
Jack to appeal stretchering off!
Brilliant!
Virgil always looked a cut above the ordinary, it’s no surprise he’s been a success in England. I see a couple of English managers are saying they scouted him but didn’t buy him because he played in Scotland.
What a damning indictment on their football judgement – but also on how poorly our game is regarded. Hopefully, his success, and that of Wanyama and a few others, will help bolster its reputation.
On another note, whilst lounging in front of the TV yesterday I noticed Sky were showing old Scottish matches. Two of these were “Old Firm” games from 2010. One at Ibrox, which we lost 0-1, and one at CP, which we lost 1-3.
In the first game, Laufferty attacks Scott Brown, complains about it to ref, at which point Dougie McDonald red cards our captain. This was also the game Bougherra (of the famous “wink”) committed five or six yellow card offenses on Robbie Keane, after being booked early on. The huns won with a last minute goal. The second game was the one with Willie Collum’s “eyes in the back of his head” penalty award.
All the decisions were utterly, unfathomably, criminal. Just ludicrous in their obvious bias against us. I’d actually forgotten just how blatant the refereeing was then.
Their team was packed with players they could not afford, and less than 2 years from administration and death. It really made me wonder just how much pressure was being put on the Brotherhood in that time.
It also made me very proud that, their tax shenanigans and the help of the refs were needed to edge us out.
Arthur Shelby new CB rumour…
Hope everyone hade great Christmas and new year brings health and happiness.
would Southampton be one of the few clubs that have done better in the transfer market?
Ah notice, no vanity, on word of the day.
Ach well, maybe one day they’ll get, maybe one day.
Anywye,…….
……oot.
Word of the day
Vanity : reflecting the opinions of Hugh Keevins and other shock jocks, to their great delight.
And it’s every day that we get it- in big steaming piles
‘rangers’ last five games almost matches ours – could be interesting
TONYROME. 415
Everyone should know how to defend themselves against a banana.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=U90dnUbZMmM
Now,a pointed stick,that’s a different matter(!)
George Weah for president!
BMCUWP
If you get hit wi a battery instead of a banana is that a more serious charge?
Only got hit wi a pointed stick once it was a flagpole fae a golf course.
Merry Christmas M
KEEP THE FAITH
Unbearable: A True Tim
PHILBHOY. i.liked that one as well hope you had a good christmas
Mornings like this bring an emotional nostalgic tear to my eye as we confirm our greatest musketeers ethos pathos and logos.
“Football is nothing without money.”
“Without money football is nothing. Sometimes we are inclined to forget that.The only chance of getting more money is via transfers and sell-on fees.”
“Cups are not won by individuals but by money.”
“My proudest moment? Every morning when I look at Celtic’s transfer list to see if I’m on it yet.”
“Nobody wants to know what the manager is saying. Money says it all on the park.”
“We like to think that whoever we play, we are a sales pitch, nothing more. We will sell anyone from anywhere, from any walk of life, from any religion, from any creed. That is Celtic Football Club.”
Oh God……………
…………
Good job……… The Heroes Of Telemark is on the telly.
HH.
TONYROME
Serious charge,Cracker!
Happy Hunskelpin’ New Year to you when it comes,big fella.
THEORIGINALSADIESBHOY on 28TH DECEMBER 2017 2:05 PM
Who would win a fight between The Vikings and the Peaky Fookin’ Blinders…
==============
Nice one, take it you watched the Vikings like me today;)))
Sandman….
Totally agree with you on Craig Gordon, he does a grand job with our full backs pushing forward so much.
Any tickets for Saturday going about, I’d more than happy to take them and cover the cost.
anybody got netflix. give ozark a go fantastic series.
nally81 on 28th December 2017 5:26 pm
We pay Craig Gordon £1m a year to save shots.
He was tasked with 5 attempts on goal against Hearts.
He let 4 of them in.
Craig Gordon is the WORST shot-stopper I have EVER seen at Celtic in my 4 decades as a fan.
Just my opinion.
=================================
You don’t really get this ‘soccer’ thing, do you?
Just my opinion.
IanAndrewsCSC, to address your supposed 4 decade dilemma…
Great to read that Peter Lawwell was involved in the signing of VVD.
Happily Peter wasn’t involved in the signings of any less successful players, the hapless Ronny confirmed that was all down to the Coaches.
A couple of good years at Anfield and hopefully Virgil will move on to Real Madrid or Barca for £150m +++
If the ‘Windfall’ figure is £9.37m the split is easy.
£9m to Dermot and the Plc and £370k for the squad.
happydayscsc
Not sure if any of our previous keepers would make this list-actually,one did but he was a loanee-so let’s count our blessings.
http://www.90min.com/posts/2843164-18-of-the-most-embarrassingly-bad-goalkeepers-in-premier-league-history
Tony Warner our keeper when we won 5.1 against oldco.
Hail Hail
BIG PACKY on 28TH DECEMBER 2017 6:50 PM
anybody got netflix. give ozark a go fantastic series.
Godless was decent too. Deciding at the moment whether to persevere with ‘Frontier’ if I can put up with Scottish accents that are worse than Mel Gibson.
Glendaly
Agree re Ozark.very good.
Craig Gordon…
I like him.
Virgil money…woohoo and feck the begrudgers
Jonny Hayes..get well soon
Transfer Dealings in General….plenty of frogs get kissed before they turn into Princes
So Madden is the MIB entrusted by the peepil to keep the score down on Sat .
I would just love the bhoys in green to finish the month off with one of their best performances of the season .
Then they could enjoy a well earned rest to recharge the batteries for the after winter breaks exploits .
After his display in the 1-1 farce ,i suppose, I shouldn’t be surprised that Madden got the gig .IMO he struggles to hide his bias but then again why should he even bother .
Bias is a carrier plus in our game as long as it benefits a certain team .
HH
career even
HH
FERGUSSLAYEDTHEBLUES
I reckon you were right first time with ‘carrier’.
Madhun is a carrier of the deadly ‘Peepilvirus’.
Symptoms are an overwhelming but unfounded feeling of supremacy , a pathological hatred of non ‘peepil’, (particularly those who have been vaccinated with the Timmyness vaccine) and an irresistable urge to cheat.
Thankfully it is only deadly to the ‘peepil’ themselves and has already wiped out one entire football club.
the party centre of my brain is flagging
GARY67 on 28TH DECEMBER 2017 3:42 PM
Second centre half in January?
Steven Caulker has left #QPR by mutual consent with immediate effect.
I would hope Celtic could get him over to Dubai,see how he is.He WAS a terrific CH,could Brendan make him one again?.Worth a look ,I would think.
Sandman- I get soccer just fine and I don’t have any dilemma.
Gordon is a poor goalkeeper.
He lets in almost half of all on-target attempts by our opponents, which isn’t good enough for a Celtic keeper.
If that’s a good keeper in your opinion, then it is you who doesn’t get it.
Brilliant.Some Hun nugget on Monkey Media.A blog about “Who their next manager should be”.Alex Neil being touted.David Weir brought into the mix,one balloon says,”Eff of,he was hopeless at Sheffield”
The Moron who thought of his name says,
“Not great,but crap team,and he never had any decent players to work with”.
Deary me.We should cash in on their stupidity,and charge them 200 quid on Saturday.
As a team i think we are at our best when we press the game from the front effectively and get the balance right in the midfield. I was listening to Alan Archibald last night and he said his players got some confidence and belief after surviving the first 20 mins up in Aberdeen. Thing is, it doesn’t matter how poor you are and how bad a run you’re on, if you’re allowed to get a foothold in a game anything can happen. As the home team, i hope Brendan has the players wound up to go for their throats straight from the kick off. Put them on the back foot straight away and they will really struggle. On the other hand allow them to gain a foothold and it becomes bitty and scrappy and suits them.