Sky have reported that Celtic have accepted a £5m bid from QPR for Gary Hooper. Gary is in the final year of his contract and has declined to sign a new deal which has been no offer for almost a year now.
It will surprise some, perhaps including the player, that an English Premier League club have not made a move, but QPR have the cash to compete with most in the top flight, so the financial rewards for the player will be comparable.
For Celtic the proposition is simple, if the player is not going to extend his stay beyond this season, and an offer matching valuation is received, it is better they know where they stand as early in the transfer window as possible. We’ll know soon enough if the player wants to move. As we said about Victor, it’s always hard to lose a good one, but I’ve yet to meet someone who would walk away from a deal north of £50k per week, so fair play to Gary, whatever he decides.
Neil Lennon had never hid his admiration for the player but the Celtic strategy is clear enough. If Gary decides to move it’s all about finding the right replacement, they days of slavishly watching players run down their contracts are over.
Have you done your thing for 1254125 yet? The supporters group working with Celtic Charity proposed we get as many as possible signed up to running a 10k, hoping each person can raise £125. We’ve teamed up with The Great Scottish Run on Sunday 6 October and extended the scope a bit, to include those who don’t quite have the legs for 10k.
On Saturday 5 October, The Great Scottish Run also organise supporting events you can enter and raise your £125:
100m Toddler Dask (0-5 yrs)
1.5k Mini Run (5-8 yrs)
2.5k Junior Run (9-15 yrs)
Family Mile (Adults and children from 3 yrs)
If you are particularly fit, you can enter the Half Marathon on the Sunday. It is going to be a great family weekend. If you know a kid who is keen to participate and get involved in 1254125, let them know.
If the legs won’t support you for 10k, you can gingerly make your way along the Family Mile.
To sign up you need to register with The Great Scottish Run first. Register here if you are participating in the 10k or Half Marathon, and here if you are participating in the Saturday events, then register here with Celtic Charity (scroll down the page until you see Great Scottish Run).
Just over 10 weeks to go, get your application in and get every Celtic fan you know with a pair of trainers to sign up. I’m doing the 10k, so will be out running tonight…….
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oglach
I think you’ll be ‘pleasantly surprised’ very shortly.
HH
roy croppie
Inside info? por cierto
roy croppie
I would imagine Neil and Pedro are working overtime!
Por Cierto
17:41 on 24 July, 2013
roy croppie
Inside info? por cierto
Unfortunately I can’t claim that mate…gut feeling.
HH
praecepta
I honestly can’t remember disagreeing with you.
I would also have sold hooper for 7 or so mill, it was a no brainer imo, we were never really going to get past Juve either.
I also don’t believe we paid more than 1.25 mill for him, Lenny said that was the most he had paid for a player, whatever, we have had him 3 seasons, he has more than paid what we paid for him.
My gripe is the weakening of the team just as we are about to attempt to qualify for untold riches, we have the cash, spend some of it at least to try and qualify, a couple or threee years of CL football will see us in a position, to as near as dammit qualify season after season, it’s really no rocket science.
HH
starry plough
I agree.
Financially we are in a very good position and the drive to fill the stadium this year has been good with sensible pricing etc but our board will be aware you cannot sell players like Wanyama and Hooper and not replace them and expect the support to turn up.
HH
Ignore old Croppie – he talks a load of nonsense ;)
The Bellshill Beatle
hahaha
how are you mucker?
HH
My Dear,dear,dear,friend.. The Singing Detective
So.. Ye jist gave me .. whit is known in the trade as..
A.. “Gunga”.. Doin’!
Nae Maitter..
Ah Still Like Stokesy..and Ah hope he Stays and Plays.( Way oot West.)
Ah wiz jist enjoying daeing Ma SECOND… favourite Pastime.. fur a wee
minute, there..
so, Ah hiv decided tae tell ye aboot it..
Dae Ye Need tae Ask?
Ye Dae?… Ah’ m Surprised..
Well ,Although, ye didnae Ask..
Whit is Ma FIRST. Favourite Pastime… Ah wull tell Ye,anyway
and THAT IS..
Coontin’ MA MONEY!
So..it figgers Then..
That MA SECOND FAVOURITE PASTIME..
Must Be..
( Ye goat it..and First time, Tae)
Coontin’… CELTIC’S MONEY!
And so Far.. Ah Cipher that
Celtic ,Hiv Noo .. Amassed the Grand Sum..
Or.. Nigh ooan.. roon aboot.. approximately..give or tak .. A Smidgeon here and there..
of…
Forty Three Grand!
Noo that is whit Ah call .. Grand!
And they Said that Pierre is just anither Pretty Face!
Kojo
Still Laughin
oglach
17:24 on 24 July, 2013
We’re debating hooper possibly going for 5m, and wanyama left for 12m.
Both signed for less than 5m. Add ki, and prob the three of them cost 5m.
There’s no need to spend big to get a good player as the above proves.
As Celtic fans we seem to be hung up on the idea that we need to spend millions.
We don’t, we just need to spend smart. Which we have been, and for that in grateful.
Tore Andre Flo CSC
Tallybhoy 17:28 on 24 July, 2013
…………………………………………………..
Thanks, that’s kind of what I’d have expected. Pretty even for both halves of the season, ergo nay petted lip. Anyway good luck to him whatever he chooses. Players come and players go, it’s maybe just the timing of this one that’s causing such angst to some of the support.
HH
ACGR
Roy Croppie
Good mate – glad the fitba’s back! How’s tricks with you?
in this special case…
A Grand wid signify..
One Million…pf Course!
Kojo
Still Laughin’
We sold Dalglish and the support turned up. I fail to see why following our club is dependent upon who is playing, it has never been that way for me, but hey maybe I’m just blind or perhaps I’m one of the dying breed of supporters, you know the ones who turn up to see the team no matter who is playing :) This time last year we had spent very little and look what we went on to achieve!! por cierto
The Bellshill Beatle
I’m good; up for a wee drink prior to returning?
HH
Roy Croppie – definitely! :)
Por Cierto
Like you I’ve always turned up however there were lots of empty seats last year and PL and the board know they have to do their up most to fill the stadium regularly.
Signings excite the support and generate interest.
My Dear Kojo….
So Celtic Are Accumulating Money…?
That’s Fine & Dandy…
But We Are NOT A Bank…..
Money Sitting There….Is DEVALUING….
As Our Governments Continue To Print MONOPOLY MONEY…..
Re-Establishing Youth Teams,Down To The Under-14 Level….?
A Worthy Cause….
A 500-Bed Deluxe Celtic Hotel On Kerrydale Street…..
With A Rooftop Helicopter Landing Pad For PL …..And The Donut..?
Ye’re Havin’ A Laugh…!
I’d keep Hooper, even without a new contract signed.
His goals are worth more, only caveat being he is happy and motivated.
I know that makes no business sense, but it makes football sense.
Re 125, I have done the Half Marathon for the last couple of years, its a skoosh! :-)
Any other CQNers willing? I’m behind in training, ankle injury, but back to the 5’s tomorrow, so should be ready by October. That is a month later than usual, which will help us get ready. C’mon, lets go for it. Anyone?
Two tin hats on.
I’m sure we’d spend £5m for a player worth it.
but their club has to agree to sell, and he has to want to come play in Scotland.
If as is reported Gary Hooper has a burning desire to get into the England squad then he will not move to QPR as Roy Hodgson is just as unlikely to see his goalscoring there any more indicative of warranting a cap than with Celtic.
That puts Celtic in an awkward position since any Premiership club interested in Hooper is likely to offer less than QPR may have done with a nod and wink from the agent.
By holding out for the best possible price from such as Norwich or Hull and playing Hooper in the CL qualifiers the risk for Celtic is that he gets an injury severe enough to mean he is unfit in this window meaning that he will inevitably leave under freedom of contract so that the club ends up with nothing.
That’s too big a risk for me and as such I trust Peter Lawell to do the best that he can to resolve the situation in Celtic’s best interests.
SSN: “Gonzalo Higuain is in advanced talks with Arsenal according to Sky sources … we believe … our sources say … ect, ect, ect…”
Three weeks later….
SSN: “Gonzalo Higuain is in Napoli to discuss a £30m move from Real Madrid. Higuain was in advanced talks with Arsenal three weeks ago according to … his father.”
Brilliant.
TET
I don’t think its necessarily a case of weakening the Team – its more a case of being market driven. The buyers are out there and have time and options on their side (unlike us who are in the middle of qualifiers) – the sellers don’t have to off-load till late August.
We have the cash but need to spend wisely. Replacing Hooper with better will probably cost £15K min per week = £3M wage/ bonus over a 4 year contract + £3-4M transfer fees. We need to tie up a number of the current squad – Sammi, Stokes + probably a few who go into their last year at the end of this season. When you add it up its likely to mean committing £10M+ to increased wages/ length of contracts (V67 money?).
I suppose the other thing is that we need to keep some form of reserve (should we fail to make the CL Group Stages) – its all a bit of a balancing act.
Its taken us a few years (and a bit of anguish) to get to this financial stage – can’t see the suits being anything other than cautious. If you were to debate with them – they would probably cite; Miku, Mo, Lassad, Murphy who cost us money but that spending our income wisely always allows to absorb these type of costs.
Hooper off (t’s to be crossed/ i’s to be dotted) – get past the Swedes and it could be the difference between a Bosman (£2M max) and a prolific £3-4M striker.
If I repeat it often enough – I might convince myself! :-)
por cierto
17:52 on 24 July, 2013
We’re a dying breed mate, it shocks me when I hear guys saying ‘ I’m no going this week it’s only Ross county/Inverness/Kilmarnock or whoever’ but there first there for hearts Dundee utd Aberdeen away or the big champions league games fed up arguing with them it’s Celtic we go to see not the other team it’s like talking to a brick wall with some of them HH
‘Arry said Hooper deal agreed.STV
Paul and gang…..
These are indeed interesting times for Celtic.
Having come to terms with dwindling revenues, declining attendances, and rumours of armageddon, Celtic have developed a sensible, and hopefully sustainable strategy. The key to such a strategy is in sticking to the plan. Not wavering.
But…..
All of a sudden….we have MONEY….!
What to do……?
And we are talking serious money here, coming from 2 sources. CL ,obey, and sales of players. 22 million from CL. 12m from Southampton. Possibly 5 million from QPR.
I see 2 issues here. First, the management team knew that both Victor and Gary wanted to go, and that they would go. I can understand that we were not willing to spend that money in advance of actual sales. What if deals fell through? Fair enough.
But, we have known for 6 months that our CL slice would be upwards of 20 million. Yet here we are, at the sharp(ish) end of CL qualification, and no apparent replacements. Unless we are thinking that Blade and Van Dyik are replacements……
So, I am a bit surprised that we haven’t moved well in advance of 2 tough games against a Swedish team that are well into their season.
Second issue……
Do we stick to buying raw kids? Or is there room for us to look for that 26 year old,’real deal’ player who we’d put on a 30k a week contract?
Who knows? I guess we are in the world of risk management.
One thing I AM sure of…..if we get 4 or 5 CL seasons in a row….sevco will go bust again in order to catch us. It would be a shame if we missed this opportunity.
My dear,dear,dear,friend ..The Singing Detective
Pal. Ye hiv jist hit Ma ..
Money Bone!
As Ye know .. .Ah Jist Luv Money.. Crazy aboot in Fact..and In Fiction..
Ah know that tae admit such a Crass and Selfish Thing..in Front of Awe these
Altruistic Altruists who Positively.. Haunt this Hallowed Spot. Ah am taking A Chance!
But…tae Heck wi it.. Napoleon, Took A Chance.. Didn’t He?( And Look whit Happended tae Him?;;;ed)
Ye’re Right.. Ah see whit ye mean…
So.. Let’s Chinge that..whit Ah just admitted tae ..
tae..something Mair Soothing.. that wull meet the approval of awe those
Altruistic Altruists who Haunt this Hallowed Spot..
Tae..
Ah Luv Money, but Ah am also , well aware… that there are Starving Folk in ..All Sorts of Countries thruoot the World.. So..
Let me say that Ah constantly Am thinking and Sympathizing wi’ their Plight..
awe the time. Ah am Coontin’ Ma Money..
How’s that?
Bettah!!..Much Much Bettah!
Kojo
Still Laughin’
If hooper goes for £5m we’ve done well in the deal and hopefully we push the boat out and go for someone who can make the difference in the champions league we need to start thinking bigger than the last 16 ( as good as it is ) we want to improve year on year if possible HH
derbyshirebhoy 18:06 on 24 July, 2013
Gary Hooper was asked if he’d like to be in the England squad for the World Cup. Unsurprisingly he answered “Yes.”
A professional footballer would like to represent his country at the World Cup – who’d have thought it…
The media (see my above post at 18:12) then put two and two together and come up with 54.
Earlier today the Press Association stated: “Essex-born Hooper could now be on his way to Loftus Road after making clear his intentions to return to England.”
Hooper has never at any point said he wishes to return to England – they just make it up.
Wee Oscar
http://www.u.tv/News/Magic-mascot-moment-for-Wee-Oscar/26dfc53f-f30c-4371-86ae-a24996445978
obey = money
I take it Souness is still at Hampden being grilled by the MSM about having an EBT from the huns while he was Blackburn Manager…….maybe no then….
so its prince George i see.
after oor sammy i bet.
aint his great gramps Greek . makes sense ta me.:-)
praecepta
We made a few bob on Ki, likewise Vic, we got the defender we have been screaming out for a couple of seasons, signed a prospect.
Hooper will also make us a few bob.
The duds you mention are a sad inditement of the scouting system that will unearth a gem or two, but the dross imo outweighs them re the money spent buying them and the wages wasted on them.
I agree it’s a balancing act, but I do believe that we are weakening the team by selling our top scorer and arguably our best midfielder and not replacing them.
For what we paid for hooper, we can well afford to let him run down his contract, but we both know the suits won’t let that happen.
If we miss out on the CL group stages this season, PL will be 100% to blame imo, it’s a gamble not worth taking imo
HH
Made mistake , first time in a yr of catching STV sport. Walter this, Graeme that,rightful place the next thing..
Shocking programme!!
HH
TAFKAP is George
Shoot.. Ah Gotta Scoot!
SeeYa
Kojo
Still Laughin’
My Dear Kojo….
I Suspect That MOST People Defined As Living On The Poverty Line In The UK Nowadays….
Have A Standard Of Living That Would Have Been Envied By Our Middle Classes Living Back In The Fifties And Sixties….
By The Way….Ah’m Ah Still In The Wull?
Gotta Go,Joe….