I’ve been looking for signs for an inflationary bounce in English football. The next Premier League TV deal is still 12 months away but at this stage before previous TV deals kicked in, clubs started spending ahead of themselves as they looked to secure a piece of the lucrative new deal. In particular, I’m keen to see how central defenders are valued.
Today news broke that West Brom agreed a deal with newly-relegated Hull City to sign central defender, James Chester (26) for £8m. Chester has 11 months left on his contract at Hull. Three years in the English Championship and 45 Premier League games over two seasons was enough evidence to induce modest West Brom to pay the asking price.
It would have helped that three other Premier League clubs, Southampton, Aston Villa and Newcastle, were also reportedly interested, but no one is making false claims for a lad who has not troubled the scouts of England’s top clubs. He’s a modest player who is able to sign a pre-contract in January. This is a spectacular fee, passing between two modest clubs, for a central defender.
Consequences for us? We’ll see.
I’m doing a State of the Club article for Friday, as we do the day before the league campaign starts. So far there’s a flow to the words. A solid result on Wednesday will reaffirm that, whereas a reversal would, frankly, deem a satisfactory assessment inappropriate.
So much turns on these next few games, Champions League qualification, squillions of pounds, and sure, the State of the Club. We’ve come through a few iterations of acceptable levels of performance over the last 20 years, since winning our first trophy in six years. Younger readers will never appreciate how precious a 1-0 Scottish Cup win over Airdrie could be.
These days it’s all about the treble and Champions League group stage qualification. The loss of a cup would be an annoyance, but Celtic need to be part of the Champions League.
Our friends at Magners have offered a pair of Premium seat tickets for the Jock Stein Stand at the opening league game of the season on Saturday. To enter, all you need to do is email me with the name [IN THE SUBJECT LINE] of who we play that day, celticquicknews@gmail.com
If you’d like to donate £1 to the CQN Mary’s Meals school kitchen appeal, help towards what would be our fifth kitchen in Malawi, you can do so here:
Entries close at 6pm this evening, so not much time.
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Obviously not. I’m off to Golf check back later. HH
Sunny for now in Battlefield but clouds coming in.
Very excited about today (the build up) and the game.
Looks like my fears on Monday morn about a poor crowd were unfounded. I know the BBC were criticises for their news piece on Monday evening , but I thought it was a great bit of free advertising. Especially the crowd scenes on Euro nights, how could any fan without a ticket resist that.
Looking at the plan on the ticket master site, the poorest section on sale is only offering about 20% of the tickets. Assuming the white dots are sold tickets then that’s a min of 80% of available tickets (say 55 000) which would make a min crowd of 44 000 ish.
It’s going to be a good bit higher than that! – I think/hope!
Mon the Bhoys.
Hail Hail
and
Get Intae Thum!
QF
Cowiebhoy.
Next mission is find one of your onesies in Melbourne
BMCUW.
I’m pretty certain we’ll all be cheery tomorrow, apart from
the trolls of course.
H.H Mick
Corkceltic- 810 MW for radio scotland i think, or Fivelive which is 909 MW. DAB radio should pick it up or Virgin tv, no matter where you are.
i don’t know about the sausages
Stuart Armstrong’s thoughts on tonight’s match….
http://www.cqnmagazine.com/armstrongs-euro-target/
Celtic are 5/11 on tonight with oddschecker with Qarabag hovering between 6s and 8s, and the draw between 3s and 7/2.
We are expected to win but this team have a good defensive record and it takes a good team to get them to ship goals. In recent years they have knocked out Club Bruges and Eintracht Frankfurt from Euro competition
Our best hope is to obtain a narrow win and try for an away goal as they do not score lots (usually).
They may not have star names but we have seen the success that Shaktar Donetsk obtained with 2nd string uncapped Brazilians and we even saw Apoel Nicosia make the CL quarters with 3rd string Brazilians. These guys will be dangerous footballers.
I still expect magic to happen on a Euro night at CP. Tonight will be a good game to win. I would have hoped to hear the last of Celtic fans talking about diddy teams, pub teams and lambs ripe for slaughtering but sadly not, it seems.
Celtic are not the Celtic of the 60s and early 70s and neither are clubs from the small states (Andorra & Gibralter excepted) likely to shift more than 3 goals in 90 minutes, on average, any more.
I will be very happy with a 2:0 win.
Anybody know Newcastle well enough? I’m going to be there on Friday afternoon for a few hours. Pubs, food and maybe a bit of sightseeing info would be appreciated.
Sftb
I’m surprised at those odds, think Qarabag are better than that.
What price are we to qualify?
Looks like I might be watching the match on the ole Teletext tonight. Just like the good ole days.
marrakesh express
Plenty of nice orangie halls for site seeing,
Tonight’s the night, as Rod the Mod once sang. Quite excited. Meeting an old friend I haven’t seen for a while for the game, so that’s an added bonus.
Like Melbourne Mick,hangin` out for the game.
4.45 am tomoz.
Worldwide Tims are with you all.
Masty,
I’m told they’ve got their fair share of Irish clubs too mate. Come to think of it, how many left in Sectarian Scotland?
Morning Hoops
I’ve managed to secure the day off and what’s this I hear the game is not on anywhere, holy moly that’s a slap in the dial.
Did Celtic TV not negotiate a deal then?
Copy of The Herald lying in the office. With the Scottish champions playing tonight in the Champions League in front of what will be the biggest crowd in Europe tonight, their headline sports article is about 2 minor league teams squabbling over some no mark player..
Utterly pathetic. Ram it down their throats Celtic….lets malky this carrier bag mob!
HH
Livibhoy
Thanks very much, really appreciate that… Will try mussle and steak… Sounds good!
Away to make them trek to the zoo! That will keep them happy!
Thanks again
Not the first time I have said this but tonight is probably the biggest game of ronnys fledgling management career at celtic, and the return leg will be the biggest also.
Just shows the pressure that a manager at celtic is under where almost every game is a must win.
Best of luck to him, he has to pick his best goal scorer though. Doesn’t he?
Marrakesh Express
Newcastle, depends what you want? a great pub..try this place
http://www.crownposadanewcastle.co.uk/
great food and drink? try here
http://www.thebroadchare.co.uk/
had good nights in both of them, they are down the quayside area.
Cheers
marrakesh express
Sorry can’t find those odds- in a rush now
I found that we are priced from 500-1 to 2000-1 to win the CL outright whereas Qarabag are priced from 500s to 5000s to win it.
bt
Thanks.
Was en route to work when i posted so the print ticket at home option wasnt an option!
I have looked at it before but my understanding of it was, that you only get 1 attempt to print it out.
Seemed like a recipe for disaster….paper jam….out of ink….communication error….arrrghhh!!
Playing safe by picking it up in person!
Marrakesh Express
2/7 to qualify with bet365.
Corporate governance demands qualification to the group stages.
Anything less is failure.
Failure must not be tolerated.
Or we`re also rans.
And we have accepted our station in life.
Step up,Ronny or ship out.
wits
Ciftci will be on from the start.
Griff subby and on in 2nd half…..imo
Not what i want….just how i think it will be.
Hello again all you young rebels.
Had visitors from the U.K. last week and they wanted to
go down to the bottom point of the Mornington peninsula
to see the smallest penguins in the world.
What happens is they all troup ashore at dusk avoiding
all the predators but not the seagulls who wait for them on
the beach but the happy feeters gather in groups before
making a run of about 20 yds for the thick scrub.
All of them made it except one tiny one who could not find
others to brave it with.
Why am i telling you all this? well eventually the wee fhella
took them on and zigzagging up down and across the beach
with the gulls slashing and pecking at him until he reached his
target, and do you know what i was thinking?
Put the hoops on that wee mhan and it’s Jinky taking on the
stickies.
Now am i sad or what?
H.H Mick
celtic bhoy
23:34 on 28 July, 2015
Justafan you are so right when you talk about the memories that any trip to Paradise evokes. In work today I was telling the young bhoys I sit with that my first game at Celtic Park was in 1959 for my seventh birthday, most of their father’s weren’t even born at that time, but the memories came flooding back of the great and not so great games I have seen over the years.
But more importantly memories also of the people I have shared these times with from my father who nourished a love of Celtic that has been lifelong, my uncles who were always there and made my Saturdays so special and my mates who I went to the games with as I got older. Special friends that shared my youth, sadly some no longer with us, but all still alive in the wonderful memories following this club, our club, has given me.
I will continue to follow this club until I am no longer able but will always have the memories of great times with great people.
Hail Hail
——
Good morning
It’s Celllllllllllllllllllllllltic time
Let the people sing
https://www.youtube.com/watch?gl=GB&feature=related&v=zhkdy0AOpaM
Marrakesh
St martins bhoy maybe able to help
I’ll email him and ask him to post details
MACJAY
Negative vibes,man…
(At least,by your standards)
Just off the phone to kid sis. She’s getting her usual butterflies. I’ve reminded her that Celtic fans approach every game positively. At least,that’s what we tell everyone,inside we’re bricking it!)
MONTHEHOOOOOOOOOOOPS!!!!!!
MM
Sad?
Then we`re all sad.
And we bloody well ain`t.
Tims will always support the underdog.
It`s in the D.N.A.
Literally.
MELBOURNEMICK
You did it again!
Where was Bertie,was he injured?
Marrakesh
there’s an irish club opposite st james park, well there was the last time I was there.
Coming Home – The Malleys
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U9KIhJe5e6E
Mark Warburton will be catching up with coronation St. Tonight.
Ffs no even half 9 yet an some on here are pissin on our parade..ah well, got the night off (and the morra) so am takin it easy, take mrs m for lunch, then it’s brazen time.
B.M.
Negativity? Never.
Just a statement of intent.
We feckin better qualify.That`s all.
Ronny`s got the players.
Does he have the ability?
Hingin` oot for our people.
As always.
One for the MiniJinkyNewtons
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iTe9rhLC2XE
ScritScritScratchin’CSC
Tony
what time you going to brazen?.has commy got spares? Didnay think I could swing the night off, but I have.
Selling sand to the Arabs,ice to an Eskimo-how about this?
http://www.gizmag.com/smart-palm-wi-fi-charging-palm-tree-dubai/37984/