Adam Idah changed Celtic history. He arrived at the club on loan during Brendan Rodgers’ first season back in January 2024. Philippe Clement had not only stabilised the wreck Michael Beale left Newco in, he hunted Celtic down, went top of the league and made his side favourites for the title.
A week in the door Adam scored with two penalties against Hibs, to turn a 1-0 deficit into a 1-2 win in the 92nd minute. At Motherwell two weeks later and he again scored twice, his second to give Celtic the lead on 94 minutes.
He will be better remembered for his Scottish Cup Final winning goal against Newco in May 2024, and our third goal in a 3-3 draw at Ibrox the month earlier, but the goals at Hibs and Motherwell were just as crucial in picking a Celtic team off the canvas and making us champions again. We would have won neither without him.
The club spent £9m to take Adam permanently from the Norwich City bench to Glasgow. It was a decision based on a small sample size (the fee was due to Brendan Rodgers publicly naming Adam as his No. 1 target early in the window). A statistical error was made; always check the sample size.
I doubt anyone is motivated to explain why Nicolas Kuhn was allowed to leave without backfill secured. Signings are notoriously difficult for all clubs and all know not to make assumptions, which is why Kuhn’s sale is so unusual. A bit of bloody mindedness was involved. Contrast with Adam’s departure. Adam could have gone earlier in the window but was kept until backfill was secured.
Two weeks late, but Royal Antwerp eventually got their backfill for Michel-Ange Balikwisha (24), who joined Celtic last night. The right-footed (predominantly) left-winger has been at Antwerp for four years and I expect will see some action on Sunday. Celtic have scouted for a long time, so he will surely fit what we need.
Michel-Ange played the same role in Belgium as Jota played at Celtic, and Daizen Maeda has played in Jota’s absence. Brendan likes to swap out both wingers during games, so I can see scope for at least five in the squad.
Welcome to Celtic, Michel-Ange.
Our Europa League draw:
Roma (home), 5th in Italy last season
Feyenoord (away), 3rd in Netherlands last season
Braga (home), 4th in Portugal last season
Red Star (away), Serbia champions last season
Sturm Graz (home), Austria champions last season
Midtjylland (away), Denmark runners up last season
Utrecht (home), 4th in Netherlands last season
Bologna (away), 9th in Italy last season
There are easier games in the Champions League than any of them, but there’s lots we can achieve with that draw.
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Celtic is a curious club. It is run by a Board, the members of which seem highly paid. Despite that each Director’s area of responsibility is largely unknown to the support. The exception being Peter Lawell. Poor Peter’s role at Celtic is to assume the perennial role of pantomime villain. That said, supporters will make their own judgements on the ability of club Directors to advance Celtic’s best interests . But, in the absence of genuine information, each supporter’s views amounts to little more than rumour or speculation.
What seems obvious is that those who run Celtic either lack a clear vision of the club’s future or are reluctant to share it with the support. Now more than ever they seem caught in a dilemma. Currently, Celtic is the wealthiest and usually the best team in Scotland. Obviously, it’s only fair that the Board some credit for this success. Again currently, Celtic are winning the SPL title more often than not and this, in turn, offers a potential route to the UCL with guaranteed prize money. That is the current model. But it includes jeopardy. We saw that on Tuesday.
There is an alternative vision for the club. That vision would ensure that Celtic was always in a position to make qualification for the UCL much more likely than not. That would involve fielding a team in preliminary rounds with the quality to reduce jeopardy to an absolute minimum. If Celtic adopted that model, and it is an entirely feasible model, it would be capable of competing at elite level not just one year in five but seven years in ten.
Whoever was responsible for Almaty is unclear. It’s past history now anyway. But still it would be better if the Celtic board were to share some sort of vision with supporters.
Fritzsong:
Excellent post and 100% right.
Our next game, against last seasons runners up and quite possibly our closest challengers this season, kicks off in little over 39 hours.
Have we given the manager every support to get the 3 points or does he not even know which forwards he will have to choose from come ko?
Stories that Idah has had a medical yet there’s far less traction on inward movement.
This is a shit show. A shambles
Toom Tabard Nicholson continues his vow of silence
well said , FRITZSONG
Fritzsong on 29th August 2025 8:27 pm
A balanced and unemotional post at a time when anger is bubbling over .
Dolberg deal is far from certain according to Joe McHugh on videocelts . Might mean Idah on Sunday (and beyond ) since we cannot sell until replacements are in acording to Brendan.
Would it be beyond the board to disregard Brendan and sell anyway ……?
Anything new on the Hammerby winger supposedly we bid 4.7m according to shy sports?
Sky
glendalystonsils:
Probably not. More to the point, can we rely on big Idah even if he’s in the squad?
What a frigging mess.
Glendalytonsils…they want 10 we’ve offered 8 apparently….this is where it gets messy….because I don’t believe we’ve offered 8…that is such a small margin …because they’ve said we’re way off !!!…it is another total clusterfuck to coin a phrase someone else used ….we’ve also low balled Hammerby….though not sure that player is worth 6 million !!!
Playing keeping players who are halfway out the door its the Celtic Way and why we have failed 5 times a row to qualify for the CL.
2-0 to the Good Guys in the German derby.
Hopefully the start of a good derby weekend.
glendalystonsils – said yesterday thatI can’t see Brendan selecting Idah or Idah wanting to be selected. Cannot imagine he would give 100%, his mind is already elsewhere. Why risk injury and jeopardise your transfer.
Yang may be in a very similar situation.
Looks like Brendan has to go with Maeda, Kenny or Shin through the middle.
Could be a front three of Maeda, Shin and JF with Yang on the bench to replace JF and Kenny to replace Shin.
Whichever way you combine them, doesn’t seem like much of a goal threat.
The board could always sanction the 8-9 million that Anderlecht want for Dolberg who looks like a significant upgrade on Adam. He has scored 33 goals for Ajax in 78 games, 23 for Nice and 34 for Anderlecht in 72 games.
Just a taste from Wikipedia:
NICE
Dolberg signed for Nice in Ligue 1 on 29 August 2019 for a fee of 20.5 million euros.[15] He finished his first season in France as the club’s top scorer with 11 goals and was named the club’s player of the season, as Nice finished in fifth place, securing a spot in the group stage for next season’s UEFA Europa League.[16]
Anderlecht
On 7 July 2023, Belgian Pro League club Anderlecht announced the signing of Dolberg from Nice on a four-year contract, playing under fellow Dane Brian Riemer.[2] Dolberg scored his first goal for Anderlecht on 6 August 2023, the winner in a 1–0 victory over Royal Antwerp,[21] and Anderlecht finished third in his first season at the club.
Dolberg was named Belgian Player of the Month for November 2024, thanks to scoring 12 goals in six domestic games, including two hat-tricks in three domestic games against Tubize-Braine in the Belgian Cup and Cercle Brugge in the league.[22][23]
On 23 April 2025, Dolberg scored 4 goals against KAA Gent in a Jupiler Pro League Champions’ Playoffs game, totalling his tally to 18 goals in the domestic competition. [24]
Saint Stivs on 29th August 2025 7:50 pm
published elsewhere worth a read if you have time on your hands
We have applied to the Legislature, in vain, for a remedy against the annual inundation of pauper Irish with which we are afflicted. They are landed by thousands, we may say, since the Irish famine by tens of thousands . . . We have thus to bear the expense of supporting the lives of perhaps the most improvident, intemperate, and unreasonable beings that exist on the face of the earth, who infest us in shoals and beg our charity because the land of their birth either cannot or will not support them. Our hospitals are filled with them, our police are overwrought by them, our people are robbed and murdered by them. Glasgow Herald, 1st April 1850
https://the-shamrock.net/thousands-are-sailing/
*some read this and makes us all the more grateful for those great men and women who went before us paving the way for our fortunes but also makes us all the more humble when we watch those racist chanting “why don’t you go home”
prestonpans bhoys
Think you missed the point of my post re Tontine Tim’s suggestion (based on a conspiracy theory of his own making) that I took it seriously, when in fact my response was a simple play on words, which Bourne, who was mentioned got, as did Garrygillespies…You however, going by your own post @6.19 did not, appearing to have taken it literally, hence the Hibs reference. Like you, Bourne et al, not all of my posts are to be taking seriously, though some are.
AT – ah, the ‘A’ word, amortisation
A business operating a ‘player trading model’ wants its assets to appreciate. Most of our player assets are not like cars, office furniture or plant and machinery that can be written down to zero over 4 or 5 years.
You are correct, in this instance: the capitalised value of the player will roughly equate to his market value……by coincidence.
But let’s say we bought Daizen on a 4 year deal for £4m and he’s been here for 3 years. On the balance sheet he’s worth £1m. Is that a true reflection of his value?
We could sell him for that and not incur a book loss, but is that good business?
Cash is king. Give me a cash flow statement over a P&L and balance sheet any day.
Truth is £9m of cash went out the door last year to buy a player that was expected to be sold at some point for a higher price.
Unfortunately it looks like we will sell the asset for 20% less than we paid 12 months ago.
Forget all the accounting gimmickry, that’s not a good look.
The Blogger Formerly Known As GM:
Except we’re not a “business operating a player trading model.”
We’re a football club. And a player’s real value is on the park.
It’s this balance sheet bollocks and this idea that we’re a business which masquerades as a football team that has gotten us here.
It’s not a good look.
Celtic Mac on 29th August 2025 9:25 pm
“Like you, Bourne et al, not all of my posts are to be taking seriously, though some are.”
No need to be impolite then is there…..and that was impolite, leave it there,……..
If we have to go into the EL , up against teams like Roma or Feyenoord with basically the same team that played in Almaty , DFS , Sterling and all the other furniture warehouses don’t have enough sofas for us all to hide behind.
We are in the same position as last year with £9m Idah and £11m Arne . Pay your £10m for Dolberg or your £6m the Hammerby winger or you’re stuffed and you go with Adam and Yang. Groundhog day with a vengeance . Unfathomable .
Good article on FIFA
https://novaramedia.com/2025/08/04/the-fifa-museum-is-a-masterclass-in-reputational-whitewashing/
HH
Raskin’s chucked it
https://x.com/ibroxrocks/status/1961493174678876265?t=RXMDFWw4LpyMRkODYLT5YA
World class trolling from Rodger’s again today.
The club is a clusterf**k, ran on the whim of a minority billionaire shareholder, no doubt.
But the failures against Kairat over both legs are down to the football and the manager – poor tactics, team selection and an inability to recognise and change it in game.
But let’s instead focus the narrative on the lack of investment in forward players this summer.
Smoke n’ mirrors in the PR spin game playing out in the media. I wish he would do another midnight flight and let the fans deal with the long fight to oust Desmond and the board.
Elite manager my arse!
He is yesterday’s man but also a devious narcissist.
THE BLOGGER FORMERLY KNOWN AS GM on 29TH AUGUST 2025 9:33 PM
It’s a fair point. It’ can be a boring topic of conversation on a Friday night but on Monday morning when we’re finalizing deals it can make all the difference. The same people who are accused of being obsessed with balance sheets and P&L understand also understand the basic premise that football is a cash business.
I think the profit on Idah’s sale if it does happen will be less than people think, the reports from Wales suggest the fee is lower than 7m, and the cash for the deal will be spread over a few years. But I agree, selling a player so quickly at a loss on a significant outlay, seems to have been quickly forgotten
I’m uneasy with the whole thing. A couple of days ago there was no talk of him leaving, today he’s been allowed to go to Swansea to speak to a new club, and now we hear he won’t be allowed to leave unless we get a replacement in. That’s a lot in a few days. I can’t imagine Brendan didnt have a lot to do with allowing him to talk to another club, if it’s essential we get a replacement in before he goes why was Adam allowed to agree everything with Swansea first? It’s all very public, he’s no longer committed to Celtic in the fans eyes, it’s a long road back for him now
JF
are they the good guys again ?
so are all of the 7 out of the last 9 CL qualy failures to do with the manager at the time?
i think we could say that we had a good enough squad in most of those ties to progress.
but we didnt.
i dont think anyone is blameless (apart from me)
but we need to get rid of the balance sheet bean counters.
they are only ring fencing their own PLC pay packets
like all other PLC bosses do.
but theres a difference between a bank and a football club.
but these parasites dont care.
their only care is their own cash grab.
everything else is window dressing
No, I said it many times over the years that ultimately it’s DD and his lapdogs on the board that hold Celtic back from being the very best version of themselves. DD’s re-appointment of Rodger’s is just another example of this.
The DD/board apologists on CQN have always thrown it back citing record domestic trophies won in past 20 years and healthy cash reserves.
The only thing I think they deserve credit for is that they have not bankrupted the Club like Murray and many others throughout British football.
But the generation of dominance achieved is the absolute minimum that should be expected given the clubs huge financial advantage, particularly in the past 13 years.
A proper measure of the clubs progress would be in their European results and co-efficient over the long term. And for that, DD and the board have failed. 5 consecutive seasons failing in CL qualifiers is testament to that.
Everything else about Rodger’s can be true too at the same time though. BR is just another symptom of a poorly managed club.
Deniabhoy @ 3:51pm – cheers.
“Adam could have gone earlier in the window but was kept until backfill was secured”
The only thing I inferred from Paul’s words was …
the opportunity for Adam to leave was past tense
… and the decision to keep him until a backfill was available (the decision not the backfill) was past tense.
Paul then went on to say Balikwisha is a winger.
… so not a replacement for Adam?
Ah … the old “we won but …” line.
Trebles are amazing achievements.
I’m glad I am living through it.
It won’t last … so should be enjoyed.
Perhaps those of a certain age (younger than I) can imagine a conversation 40 years hence that goes something like this.
“Grandad, what was it like when Celtic were winning trebles and doubles regularly?”
“Terrible”
We play in the SPFL. That is the bottom line. How can we really progress playing, as we do, against poor teams whose only idea is not to lose against us, and when they don’t are lauded to the skies by the media. It maybe football but not the beautiful game.
What a state OUR Club is in,we will have differing views as time goes by, but this is a total clusterfuck of our own making ,?
We are still keeping the huns relevant…..by design I think
BACK TO BASICS – GLASS HALF FULL on 29TH AUGUST 2025 11:07 PM
The football is a bit of a sideshow these days
36 hours away from kick off in the derby and nobody is talking about the game, which is a shame seeing as how we’d have all given one of our balls to be looking forward to giving them a doing not that long ago
!!BADA BING!! on 29TH AUGUST 2025 11:25 PM
What a state OUR Club is in,we will have differing views as time goes by, but this is a total clusterfuck of our own making ,?
It’s certainly been manufactured.
B2B
the trebles are amazing, great days out, the joy of seeing the anger in the hun hordes too…
however, the repeated failures in europe dampen that joy and i find myself coming to the conclusion that the trebles maybe down to the huns being pish as much as the tic being good…
and yet i never tire of seeing big rogic’s goal celebrations…
or Broonie absolutely owning the hun games and ripping the pish at every opportunity…
We play in the SPFL. That is the bottom line. How can we really progress playing, as we do, against poor teams whose only idea is not to lose against us, and when they don’t are lauded to the skies by the media. It maybe football but not the beautiful game
—-
cant disagree with that to an extent.
and we got papped out the CL by a team whose only plan was even worse than that – and that was to keep the grass flat by rolling about on it for 2 games.
but we still couldnt score against them in 210 minutes.
but if that is what the clubs excuse is, then stop charging 600 quid for season tickets, and 50 quid for european games.
if our ambition is just to be an average europa league team, then charge us 400 quid for a season ticket, and 30 quid for europa league games.
but we know the PLC cash grabbers wont do that
rake in cash like a champions league team.
but spend on players like an average europa league team.
while paying the CEO 850 grand a year.
ridiculous.
but the income versus player signings balance directly affects the CEOs renumeration, and the rest of the grey suited brigade as well.
as anyone who has ever worked for a PLC knows.
they need to be got rid of
anyway
YNWA has just come on Gold Radio.
im busy for the next few minutes