We seem to have a lot of forwards. Stokes, Pukki, Balde, new recruit Fridjonsson, and on-loan, Atajic and Watt, while Georgios may yet stay beyond the summer. That’s six under contract for the Champions League qualifiers, not counting Sweden’s ‘next Henrik Larsson’, who is likely to move on soon.
Quantity is one thing but cost is just as important, only Samaras and Pukki are likely to be on wages competitive with some of the richer leagues in Europe, so the actual spend on forwards is likely to be considerably less than on defence or midfield. The manager is likely to be operating within budget for this area of the team.
What we’re missing is an on-form striker who is capable of embarrassing St Johnstone and Inverness’s finest with their goals-to-games ratio, not to mention our own free-wheeling creative-mid. Gone are the days Celtic strikers stats are dismissed as a mere by-product of the sheer volume of chances they are presented with. Without a class act up front, the squad is unbalanced.
There was a note of disappointment in Neil Lennon’s voice when he spoke of missing a potential signing last week. I’m almost certain we’ll sign a striker this week but if he’s more of a hunch than a certified target we’re wasting our money. Hunch signings are fine but you can only give space to so many in any one season. We’ve made our low-cost gambles up front, and there is never a time for a high-cost uncertified gamble.
Celtic have a bit of money burning a hole in their pocket earning 15% interest from the Co-op Bank at the moment. The desire to spend it, from chief exec, to manager, to scouts and all other influencers will be practically unstoppable, which is why I’m so sure we’ll sign someone. Time will tell if we experience buyers regret.
Reminder to everyone who booked tickets for the CQteN St Patrick’s Day Dinner that they have to be paid by 31 January. Let me know if you can’t find details, celticquicknews@gmail.com
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Never liked kenny miller before he played for us
Liked him when he played for us
Then never liked him since !
Don’t know what that says about me!
If LG signs I’ll give Him my full backing
HH
TonyD
good one mate.Made me recall an interview I had and being an old goat I thought, what the hell.
Interviewer – What would you consider your greatest weakness?
Me – – honesty
Interviewer – – Honesty, I don’t think honesty is a weakness
Me – – I don’t give a f##k what you think
KINGLuBO
ernie
Or it suggests that players develop in their own time, according to a rather bumpy curve which is unpredictable and fraught.
tonydonnelly67
11:51 on 28 January, 2014
I wouldn’t equate Griffith with Bellamy, either as a player or as a man.
Have we signed Messi yet?
Kayal 33 ….. thank you …. working nightshift is my excuse -:)
The Battered Bunnet
11:55 on 28 January, 2014
‘ernie
Or it suggests that players develop in their own time, according to a rather bumpy curve which is unpredictable and fraught.’
###
The skill of a scout is supposed to be to spot potential before it’s fully developed.
Ernie
“The fact that we are being linked to Griffith, and also perhaps Snodgrass, two players we could have got for modest amounts before they left Scotland, suggests something has gone badly wrong with our forward planning, or there has been a major rethink in our approach to the transfer market.”
Or maybe the players have improved significantly.
Couple of fixture changes just announced:
St Johnstone H now Sun 16/2, 12:45 KO
Hearts A now 12:45 KO on Sat 22/2
Greenpinata
11:54 on 28 January, 2014
What if you were as critical of the events surrounding Mark Walters’ debut as you are opposed to Celtic signing LG.
Are you still a hypocrite?
ernie lynch
11:53 on
28 January, 2014
You need 8 home grown players for the 25 man CL squad. Now I accept that you can use some of our own youth and we did this season but if they’re top heavy in one area of the field (midfield as far as I can see) then getting in a player that fits the criteria for position, nationality and probably 1st team action at a relatively modest fee is a reasonable idea.
That’s the main motivation for chasing him to me, as in other aspects he may not be the ideal choice. He’s not my ideal choice.
Or maybe they tick our boxes now.
Or maybe the management and scouts have changed.
OldTim67
I’d certainly agree with the last line of your post!
gerryguk7
11:48 on 28 January, 2014
I know, I hope I am wrong. I had been hoping for something a bit more exciting. We’ve made an absolute fortune from UCL and particularly Wanyama sale.
I appreciate finding a quality player for a wee bit more money within our wage structure is very difficult, but if it’s not possible why bother with Griffiths like signings, why not just persevere with Fridjohnssen, Atajic et al and keep the money. Leigh Griffiths, even when he played well against us, always struck me as a good HIbs player. I reckon it’s another Riordan, hope I’m wrong.
———————————————————————-
I think that’s a valid concern. I’m happy to welcome LG to the club and hope he does well. But this kind of signing seems to go against the strategy we’ve had to date. I was under the impression we were looking for VFM – and possibly potential sell-on. I’m not sure LG falls into this category? Of course if he comes in, scores a shedload and is sold on is a few years for a profit I will claim the strategy was correct all along. :-)
So a third choice striker playing in the third tier of English football is the answer?
ernie lynch
11:53 on 28 January, 2014
weeminger
11:52 on 28 January, 2014
‘We need more Scots in the team that came up through the youth ranks of a Scottish club.’
###
Why?
——————————-
Just a thought.
Lisbon 1967 ?
Gordon j,
Our fourth home game on the bounce now to be televised on a Sunday??
Poor crowd forecast.
There’s never a guarantee, and I appreciate that. Griffiths could end up being a great signing. I sincerely hope he is.
I don’t often comment on Celtic signings, as I can by and large only bring a very limited knowledge of the player involved to any assessment, particularly relatve to our scouts and managerial team.
However, I saw enough of Griffiths with HIbs to feel able to express an opinion on him, and in my opinion what he showed at HIbs wasn’t as good as I’d expect of a future Celtic striker. Other people might have a different opinion. Let me ask this though, can you see us selling him to a Premier League Club in a few years?
I just don’t see where he fits in our recent strategy.
ernie
When you’ve completed codifying human development I’d be obliged if you’d copy me in on the findings before you publish.
tonydonnelly67
12:01 on 28 January, 2014
Perhaps we should restrict our scouting to players born within a 30 mile radius of CP.
It would certainly cut down on mileage.
Jungle Jim. My old mother God rest her soul allways taught me you can think what you like but you cant say what you like.In a free Country you are entitled to your point of view I might not agree with you but it is your right to have your own point of view.Why would it be othewise ? H.H.
ernie lynch
11:56 on 28 January, 2014
tonydonnelly67
11:51 on 28 January, 2014
I wouldn’t equate Griffith with Bellamy, either as a player or as a man.
—————————
Ehhhhhhhhhhhhhhh! I wasent, I just stated the baggage label, and his potential, but you read it your way, I’m fine with that.
RIP Pete Seeger
Good thinking Weeminger.
Bigger squad for Europe.
Why farm out Atajic and watt then.
Sportsound 03/12/2011 – The State Of Rangers.: Remember this everyone. Wee tax bill added to the debt
http://t.co/6wZGpPZImB via @youtube
Next 4 games are at CP and not one is Saturday 3pm
tomorrow night, 3pm Sunday, 12.45 Saturday, Sunday 3pm
Kinglubo @ 11:55
Priceless! Made me laugh out loud :-)
The Battered Bunnet
12:04 on 28 January, 2014
Aye, very good.
As I said the skill of a scout is to spot undeveloped talent.
Signing fully developed talent isn’t the way to go for a Club like Celtic.
The Honest mistake,
will they both not be back in the summer in time for Europe next season?
HAIL! HAIL!
Token
forget Leigh Griffiths sign this man!
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/jan/28/doctor-fights-shark-stitches-up-leg
HT
Jings, you’re gettin it tight this morn ( and last night ), is that what really happened, you got hit on the face by a ball?
cos you’re a wee bit older, I thought I’d help you out…here’s your reply to livibhoy last night.
“Incidentally, if he does indeed sign I will give him my full support, as I would anyone fortunate enough to wear a hooped jersey, but I’ll always have a feeling inside that Celtic as a club lost a little something by signing him.”
gerryguk7
The perils of football management. If Neil Lennon signs Griffiths for £500k and he rattles in 20 goals between now and the end of the season and hits 40 next season with 10 in Europe it will be a master stroke signing. I don;t care if he has no sell on value. I would rather we kept players until they are no longer use to us.
You have to trust the manager to see something and a part of the jigsaw we don’t see. Just like when we signed a Slovakian has been for £300k.
We can all have optinions on the player but the managers is the one that matters. LG is No1 target right now. I doubt he will be the only one arriving. We need two goal scorers.
LB
http://t.co/EgQuCxTHD6
STV Mike Farrell reporting RFC formed in 1899 liquidated.
Old article but changed days eh regarding reporting
Rangers liquidation now inevitable after CVA bid rejected by HMRC
By Mike Farrell
12 June 2012 10:40 BST
Rangers have failed in their attempt to offer creditors a pence in the pound deal after Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC) indicated it would reject it.
The Ibrox club had offered those owed cash a reduced payment deal funded by an £8.5m loan from a consortium led by Charles Green.
On Tuesday, administrators Duff and Phelps confirmed they now expected HMRC to refuse the deal at a company voluntary arrangement (CVA) vote on Thursday afternoon.
Mr Green has previously stated that should the CVA fail his offer goes into an “automatic mode” to carry out a ‘newco’ switch at the Ibrox club, where all assets are sold to a new business entity for £5.5m and Rangers FC plc, incorporated in 1899, is liquidated.
Mr Green said he was “hugely disappointed” by the rejection of the CVA proposals by HMRC, which is currently owed around £21m in unpaid VAT and PAYE dating back to Craig Whyte’s May 2011 takeover.
He also told STV News that he felt he had been “led along” by the tax authorities in dialogue on the CVA deal. The Yorkshireman claimed that he was “confident” Rangers would be playing in the Scottish Premier League (SPL) next season, despite uncertainty over whether clubs will vote in favour of an application from a newco club.
The leader of the Sevco consortium stated that he was unaware it was HMRC policy to rejected creditor pay-off proposals on the grounds that there has been historical non-payment of tax. On its website, HMRC states that among some of the “exceptional reasons” it would reject a CVA is that a company has “funded their business or lifestyle by consistently withholding Crown monies” such as tax.
The former Sheffield United chief executive added: “Frankly, I do not see what benefit will be achieved by this decision. My consortium’s offer for a CVA amounted to a total of £8.5m. Now that we will have to complete the purchase via the formation of a newco, the purchase price and therefore the amount available to creditors will be £5.5m.
“I can understand HMRC deciding that football clubs which do not pay their taxes need to be punished, but by effectively banning Rangers from Europe for three years all that will happen is that there will be less revenue generated by the club and consequently less money paid over to the taxman.”
HMRC is also awaiting the settlement of the ‘wee’ tax case for an estimated £3m relating to the use of a tax dodging discounted options scheme to pay players Tore Andre Flo and Ronald De Boer between 2000 and 2003.
Currently, the club is awaiting the outcome of the First Tier Tribunal in the ‘big’ tax case over the illegal use of an employee benefits trust (EBT) to pay players and staff between 2001 and 2010 that could result in the club being hit with a tax bill of up to £75m.
Neutral insolvency
HMRC had previously agreed with Duff and Phelps to appoint neutral insolvency firm BDO should Rangers be liquidated. This came after the administrators had asked creditors to appoint them as liquidators should the CVA fail.
Paul Clark, joint administrator, said: “The reasons HMRC have given to us for their decision to vote against the proposal are as follows. HMRC has cited its general policy of not agreeing to a CVA where there is strong evidence of non-compliance by a company with its tax liabilities.
“HMRC had agreed to consider a CVA proposal along with all other options in the case of Rangers but having taken into consideration the extent of funds which will be made available to creditors through the CVA option, they have decided that it is not acceptable given The Rangers Football Club plc’s level of indebtedness to HMRC.
“It has also been made clear to us that other offers tendered for the club, which took the form of a CVA, would have been treated in the same way and that the rejection is not a reflection of the Green consortium bid. HMRC has taken the view that the public interest will be better served with the liquidation of The Rangers Football Club plc as a corporate entity. The club will continue to operate as it has always done but within a new company structure.”
On Tuesday, a HMRC spokesman said: “A liquidation provides the best opportunity to protect taxpayers, by allowing the potential investigation and pursuit of possible claims against those responsible for the company’s financial affairs in recent years. A CVA would restrict the scope of such action. Moreover the liquidation route does not prejudice the proposed sale of the club. This sale can take place either through a CVA or a liquidation.
“So the sale is not being undermined, it simply takes a different route. Liquidation will enable a sale of the football assets to be made to a new company, thereby ensuring that football will continue at Ibrox. It also means that the new company will be free from claims or litigation in a way which would not be achievable with a CVA. Rangers can make a fresh start.”
Binding contract
Administrator Mr Clark added that now the “binding contract” with Mr Green to complete a newco switch would take place “within a few days” of Thursday’s meeting of creditors where the CVA proposals will fail.
He continued: “As soon as the CVA proposal is formally rejected, Mr Green’s consortium will move towards completion of an acquisition of the business and assets of The Rangers Football Club plc. That transaction will be completed within a few days.
“The sum payable to creditors will be £5.5m, most of which has already been paid over to us by the Green consortium. Over the coming months, we as administrators will continue to finalise the administration of the club and we will work in conjunction with BDO who will undertake the liquidation process.
“We would like to thank the staff and supporters at Rangers for their great determination and professionalism during a very difficult period for the club. While the club will continue to face difficulties in the short term, it will survive and continue to play at Ibrox.”
Duff and Phelps last month estimated they would earn £3m from the insolvency job, while liquidators are set to earn at least £1m for dissolving the company.
Mr Clark told STV News that he does not see any legal challenge to the sale coming from current owner Craig Whyte, liquidators in waiting BDO or HMRC.
He said the liquidators will be appointed once the £5.5m has been transferred to Rangers FC plc in exchange for the club’s assets that will be owned by the newco.
Last week in an interview with STV News Mr Green indicated that some of the “20 individuals and families” backing his consortium preferred either an CVA route or a newco. It is not yet clear whether the failure of the preferred exit from administration will now hamper the takeover by the Sevco consortium.
Mr Green is currently listed as the sole director of Sevco 5088 Limited, which is now the likely newco Rangers in waiting. It is registered to the London offices of the lawyers advising the takeover and was incorporated this year.
ellboy – i am neil lennon, ynwa.
12:01 on 28 January, 2014
So a third choice striker playing in the third tier of English football is the answer?
———————
Was Scunthorpe third tear when we got Hooper?
Pedro67
Thank you, I genuinely appreciate you taking the trouble to find that.
You’ll still get a slap for the agist comment though :-)
Hope you’re well mate.
Griffiths will do for three seasons until Balde,Pukki and Boerrigter come good.
ernie lynch
12:06 on 28 January, 2014
The Battered Bunnet
12:04 on 28 January, 2014
Aye, very good.
As I said the skill of a scout is to spot undeveloped talent.
Signing fully developed talent isn’t the way to go for a Club like Celtic.
—————————————————————————–
Lenny seems to think he can improve him. So not fully developed yet?
THMLBF,
Newsflash
We got papped out of Europe in December. ;)