Steven Fletcher has his own place in Celtic folklore. We bid for him in January 2009, the player made a public plea to Hibs to allow the deal to happen, but Rod Petrie rejected the approach. Fletcher would go to Burnley at the end of that season for a deal worth around £4m, which seemed eye-watering at the time for a striker who scored 11 goals the previous 12 months.
As Celtic ran out of steam in the spring of 2009 attention turned to what might have been had Fletcher signed. He was the one that got away. The whats, whys and maybes of that time are irrelevant now, but in short, Celtic didn’t value Fletcher at £4m and Petrie reckoned he could get that kind of money in England if he waited.
Before selling to Burnley he didn’t even put the customary call out to Celtic to entice a higher bid. Petrie wanted Hibs to be known as a team who could produce players for the English Premier League – a Hamilton Accies-Lite, if you like. It’s a legitimate strategy.
The player is 28-years-old and now free of the ankle injury which plagued him for over a year. He’s on an astronomical basic wage at Sunderland, who paid north of £10m for his services. Few Scottish footballers will have higher career earnings than him, but that contract ends in June. This season has brought 4 goals from 11 starts for a Sunderland team who sit in a relegation position.
The injury profile makes him a possibility for Celtic. Without it, as a free agent, he would remain in the English Premier League next season (whether Sunderland do or not). His agent will no doubt be shopping him around right now, as will Sunderland, who at the moment will be asking for a consideration to be paid to release him this month.
We must have signed 20 strikers since January 2009, very few as good as Steven Fletcher. I’d take him in a heartbeat.
I’m pleased Anthony Stokes (16 months younger than Fletcher) has a choice of clubs wanting to loan him this month. All three: Dundee United, Inverness and Hibs, would be good places for him. United are a better team than their abysmal points tally indicates, but they are desperately short of strikers. Stokes could transform them. Hibs and Inverness are both clubs looking purposefully towards the second half of the season.
Charity Q&A Night, Carfin
I’m on the (otherwise excellent) Q&A panel at the Xavier Centre, Carfin, on Saturday 30 January alongside two Libson Lions – John Clark and Bertie Auld, Celtic author and sports academic – Dr Joe Bradley, and Fifa referee – Willie Collum.
The purpose of the night is to raise funds for Lanarkshire Cancer Care Trust and the Young Adult Ministry. Tickets will be scarce, so if you’d like to attend, call Mick on 07827 975271 soon.
You know when you look at a line-up and just know it’s going to be a great night…..
516 Comments- Pages:
- «
- 1
- ...
- 5
- 6
- 7
- 8
- 9
- 10
- 11
- 12
- 13
- 14
- »
DD
Yer urban foxes are nothing like the wild ones. They are almost tame, but the wild ones, will never be tamed. They kill just for the fun of it. Horrible, horrible bassas. Total vermin. Take my word for that. They will kill a complete chicken coup and not even take one for food. Terrible creatures. That’s why farmers have no problems getting “shotgun” licences. HH Looking forward to our meet up next week, I might attend the coarner, if not, an alternative can always be arranged. Ask Dena. Lol. HH.
Sniff
Basil Brush will be turnin in his grave
praecepta on 14th January 2016 1:46 pm
Forget Fletcher – we should be looking at:
Faissal El Bakhtaoui
Just turned 23 and has scored 28 in 56 games past 2 seasons for the Pars.
French Moroccan from a Fussball background – could be the next Sami!!
H!H!
– See more at: http://www.celticquicknews.co.uk/fletcher-what-might-have-been-what-makes-it-possible/comment-page-2/#comments
====================
I only saw this guy in the highlights of first cup game with Ross County and thought he was a stand out. Hard to gauge how he would do higher up but against a Premier club he was a standout.
———————-
Fletcher is a seasoned pro who links well so whilst not a goal scorer might be a perfect foil to Griffiths as well as bring more experience to the side.
Come to think of it…..who shot Basil?
Meant to say, the RAF search and rescue helicopters being retired from Prestwick, flew over the farm today on their way back to base. Fair chuffed. HH.
Weefra
Look forward to it. Miss oor wee pre match blethers. :)
Nature amazes me. I know it does you too.
I so respect your life choice F.
See you Tuesday pal.
Winning Captains @ 9:03
I imagine that if macca had got the 90k he was due would have invested it in another treasure hunt
DD
Wit’s on tuesday??? HH
THE GREEN MAN on 14TH JANUARY 2016 10:34 PM
MacJay
Perhaps your mate Lurkin should indeed go forth and multiply.
Forsooth.
:-)
Pulled up alongside a car in Sydney yesterday having noticed Celtic stuff in the back window.
I wound down the window…”Mon the Hoops”…..The wee lad in the passenger seat greeted me with a huge smile and thumbs up.
Fair made my day.
RIP RAF search-and-rescue, long live search-and-rescue…..way the civvies ;-))
H.H.
Weefra
Hamilton at home. The rearranged postponed match fae last month.
See you there! :)
THELURKINTIM
If you get the oppertunity to fire a shotgun, do not stand with your legs apart. One behind the other or you’ll end up on your ass. Such is the power of the recoil. Seriously. :-)) the best of luck if you do. A brillint sport is Clay Pigeon Shooting where you can hire the guns and the cartridges. HH
MACJAY
There will always be the beating heart of Celtic in Oz…Long may it continue.
It just so happens today, that i was reading a short history of The Scottish Radicals transported to Australia
Entitled: The Scottish Radicals: Tried and transported to Australia for Treason in1820…Margaret and Alastair McFarlane.
Quite fascinating, more than a few of the fellows ended up as Bar Owners/Managers in Sydney.
HH
Macjay1….Perhaps your mate Lurkin should indeed go forth & multiply….noo your answerin with personal insult…wtf
H.H.
Page7 & Page 8 podiums ;-))
Double. ;-))
H.H.
MacJay
Those wee moments abroad are magic. It is the reason I visit Castellon every July with my family. Villarreal and Valencia fans love Scottish families dressed in the Hoops in their towns. :)
Hope your family are well amigo. ;)
Waiting on a double triple ;-))
H.H.
DD
Is that the 19th?? If so, beeling CFC never contacted me to say. Missed one home game, 2nd January, this season and that’s the treatment you get. Once an old fart, always an old fart. Lol. Probably will be there, weather permitting. If there is a risk of heavy snow, I might not make it home. So will give it a miss. I cannot be allowed to stay in a pub overnigh………. I’ll be there. Lol. HH
THELURKINTIM
Ye’ll get accused of being a troll wi awe these podiums. Lol. HH
The Green Man on 14th January 2016 10:52 pm
Shamefully,I know too little about the transportations……Apart from “Black Velvet Band” and Van Dieman`s Land.
A Wild Colonial boy view of history.
I really must look into that. Was unaware that there was a Scottish component.
Every year ,there is a commemoration held in a cemetery in the beachside suburb of Clovelly by the Irish community for one particular “rebel” who was transported and is buried there.
I know that a huge percentage of the Oz. population have Irish ancestry.
Maybe I should begin my education with the book you mention.
SFTB
We can copy and paste as many definitions as we want but Ten Men Won The League was trying to portray by his post that his inside track information was the definitive transcript of the alleged conversation between Petrie and Lawell . Note my use of the word alleged conversation ,because until we get Petrie or Lawell on the blog to confirm or deny the conversation took place as transcribed in Ten Men Won the Leagues post then the post is nothing more than allegations dressed up as the truth
MacJay
That Irishman was Thomas McCulloch.
From 1833-40, was the Licensee of the Sydney Arms.
Fascinating material.
HH
THELURKINTIM on 14TH JANUARY 2016 10:54 PM
Macjay1….Perhaps your mate Lurkin should indeed go forth & multiply….noo your answerin with personal insult…wtf
H.H.
======================================================
Mate.
Smiley.
Joke.
Obviously.
Looks like Real and Atletico Madrid face a two-window transfer ban.
http://www.theguardian.com/football/2016/jan/14/premier-league-clubs-real-madrid-atletico-madrid-transfer-ban-manchester-united-chelsea
Just thought I’d mention it in case any of our galactic is were eying up a move…
Galacticos,ffs!
Weefra,
Does living under a bridge count?……I blame government caps on weekly rent ….especially in central london…..no it don’t affect me, but it has thousands of families in central London ;-((
H.H.
MACJAY
Leave the jokes to the clowns on here(!)
MacJay
Tom McCulloch was the only Irishman involved in The Scottish insurrection of 1820.
Misled by government agents….entrapment we would call it today.
Transported for 14 yrs.
HH
Delaneys Dunky on 14th January 2016 10:56 pm
Every opportunity I get I try to spread the word.
As does my big lad.
Sounds like Melbourne Tim is doing an amazing job on his patch.
We ,Celtic,have so much worldwide potential………….Makes me pained to see us in the doldrums.
Family are all grand,pal.Thanks for asking.
Enjoy your trip to Dublin.It can`t fail to be momentous and moving.
Incidentally,does anyone know how Summa is?
*for those caught up in the banking crises….and those caught below the poverty line & unemployed……in central london
H.H.
I should compose my thoughts before posting ;-))
THELURKINTIM
Eh??? Lost me wi that one kiddo. I’m in ML10. :)))) HH
BMCUWP,
don’t u get involved…..don’t matter i can’t remember how it started ;-))
H.H.
DD
“G” you are allowed to get my moby from our Swindon CFC or Dena. I know he’s on,, so our best bet. :-)) HH
WEEFRATHETIM
Duty calls,usual time the morra?
The Green Man on 14th January 2016 11:08 pm
Thanks for that.
THELURKINTIM
Just lobbing a harmless grenade-smoke bombs,in modern terms-on my way out…
Good to see you back,mate. You got a trip planned for Dublin2016?
Weefra,
definition of Troll…..soz…..;-))
H.H.