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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Christianhansen: apologies for this delay there are particular issues with this broadcast hoping to update later tonight or 1st thing tomo Celtic TV on Twitter
Interesting : All CL games tonight (apart from Panathonikas) AWAY team either won or drew !!!!!
But not tomorrow
67ECW
Cowiebhoy
A decent quality replacement must be sourced
A large part of our success last year was based on an excellent CB partnership ….Boyata seems decent ….absent of VVD no one else is good enough to partner Boyata to a decent consistent standard
i’vehadtochangemyname @17:32
Anybody know what ROIC means? It’s in the context of sorting/ maintaining Ibrox- read it on Phil Mac’s site
I am guessing but it might be –
Relying On Illegal Contributions
Really Old Institutionalised Corruption
Rangers Once Irritated Celtic
Rotten Orange Impersonating Cults (*spelling error)
Pfayr
Not everyone’s cup of tea, but both Charlie Mulgrew and Mikael Lustig, can play centre half, Boyata has the pace to sweep behind both, also Efe can play there, his own pace makes up for some of his own loss of concentration
But
Agree a decent replacement should be in place before he is let go
Hail Hail
Pity Celtic fans across the pond will not see tomorrows game on. Why is Sky or Bt not showing highlights. What the hell are we paying subscriptions for.
Is it not UEFA who control all TV rights for European competition games ?
67 European Cup Winners,
Well done, T. Love your simple, positive attitude.
Me, I’m worried, as usual.
Interesting to see Molde draw one each in Zagreb…
If, big if we qualify through this round, Molde would be ideal in the play off.
What is going to happen the first time Sevco win a premier title and the Scottish media backs their fans by claiming it’s their 53rd?
Think Celtic have say in qualifiers will be trying to sell tickets if it was full house it would be on t v
Cowiebhoy,
I never want to see EFE at CH again.He cannot time his jumps.Gets caught under the ball far too often.Fine player anywhere else.Superb athlete,but never a CH.Not against decent opposition.
ruggygman
21:49 on
28 July, 2015
Interesting to see Molde draw one each in Zagreb…
If, big if we qualify through this round, Molde would be ideal in the play off.
Apoel would be a dream for me.£50 return from here.Never happened yet though,and had a few chances.
blantyretim is praying for the knox family
20:59 on 28 July, 2015
Just BV
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You two should get doon to the Market Ayr for a game…
Ayrshire is Green and White
Dennytim………….understandable but what is the problem outside of Scotland. Austerity means I don’t have 300 euro to travel for a football game.
Cypriot teams have been doing well in Europe these last few years..
Without looking too far ahead, think they would present a tricky couple of ties.
Tonights 1st leg results for 4 of our possible Play Off opponents:
FC Midtjylland (Denmark) 1 – 2 APOEL Nicosia (Cyprus)
FC Milsami Orhei (Moldova) 0 – 2 Skenderbeu (Albania)
Videoton FC (Hungary) 1 – 1 BATE Borisov (Belarus)
Dinamo Zagreb (Croatia) 1 – 1 Molde (Norway)
5th game is tomorrow night :
HJK (Finland) ? – ? FC Astana (Kazakhstan)
Interesting that of all 9 CL qualifying ties tonight only 1 home team victory
Micktt
Oldtim going to match, I need to get home
hankray
Yes agree I think Celtic T V trying to show outside Britain
Shakeurbooty from Albania, would do nicely.
Bate Borisov have had impressive form in recent seasons, not too dissimilar to Quarabag.
Cowiebhoy the problem is that we couldn’t care less if he wants to leave. He will be getting sold for the money and that money will not be reinvested back into the squad.
Does that answer your question Owen? Many thanks for the compliments by the way. I was blushing.
MickTT
You going to game?
Is the VVD that we are going to sell the same one that many posters had us selling in the last transfer window
No need to worry about Virgil being sold if we don’t make CL he won’t be the only one sold.
Seems to be a lot of worry from everyone regarding this game tomorrow night, we’ve been here before, we’ve won we’ve lost.
I’m getting a feeling of the press highlighting pitfalls regarding this game and a lot of us jumping on it and worrying.
We’ve been here before let’s go to the game, support the bhoys and let the other team worry about us.
Ayrshire is Green and White
Blantyretim get doon here a wee Sat morning away game.
Going to the game PFAYR away leg available, if ye’ll huv me…
HH
Good to see the usual ignorance displayed by some thinking less than a 3 nil win will make us doomed.
Same halfwits talking as though we have a divine right to beat a team from a country twice our population with a stronger domestic league.
Same negative tripe from so called celtic supporters dancing the media tune that we are not selling many tickets for the games …… When we will still have the largest crowd in Europe ths week.
Never let ignorance, negativity and a moan about those in charge get in the way of truth about our club and what is going on.
Incredible that some on here seem to enjoy regurgitating daily record and bbc type drivel.
Can’t wait to sit with 45000 other celtic folk who want to be there to cheer our team to victory and hopefully be part of another great campaign.
MickTT
22:06 on
28 July, 2015
Seems to be a lot of worry from everyone regarding this game tomorrow night, we’ve been here before, we’ve won we’ve lost.
I’m getting a feeling of the press highlighting pitfalls regarding this game and a lot of us jumping on it and worrying.
We’ve been here before let’s go to the game, support the bhoys and let the other team worry about us.
Ayrshire is Green and White
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Not very often you get sensible words from Ayrshire…well done MickTT… :op
Ten men won the league…..
http://www.celticfc.tv/freeview?video=2997
voguepunter
22:13 on 28 July, 2015
MickTT
22:06 on
28 July, 2015
Seems to be a lot of worry from everyone regarding this game tomorrow night, we’ve been here before, we’ve won we’ve lost.
I’m getting a feeling of the press highlighting pitfalls regarding this game and a lot of us jumping on it and worrying.
We’ve been here before let’s go to the game, support the bhoys and let the other team worry about us.
Ayrshire is Green and White
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Not very often you get sensible words from Ayrshire…well done MickTT… :op
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Words from a well known Ayrshire man (And knuckle cracker)
Sensibility, how charming,
Dearest Nancy, thou canst tell;
But distress, with horrors arming,
Thou alas! hast known too well!
Fairest flower, behold the lily
Blooming in the sunny ray:
Let the blast sweep o’er the valley,
See it prostrate in the clay.
Hear the wood lark charm the forest,
Telling o’er his little joys;
But alas! a prey the surest
To each pirate of the skies.
Dearly bought the hidden treasure
Finer feelings can bestow:
Chords that vibrate sweetest pleasure
Thrill the deepest notes of woe.
Ayrshire is Green and White
Cuchulainn,
Thanks for the earlier post. Inishowen is a special place.
Hope to see a few of you Donegal lhads, in Dublin next year.
dublin2016@mail.com.
If you want tickets, I will do what I can
HH,
Clogher
Given the burns contribution got me thinking,
where is BRTH these days.
Taking my bhoy to his first European game tomorrow , a big thanks to his uncles for donating their tickets, excellent seats.
45000 at the height of the holiday season is a fantastic attendance. What is your press on about.
Rubicon
21:48 on
28 July, 2015
Relax stroll in the park !!!
67ECW
neganon2
Now I’m not an accountant
But
In 2015, so far Celtic have bought, Stuart Armstrong, Gary McKay Stevens, D Boyata, S Janko, N Ciftci
That’s investing in better quality this year, in my opinion mind :-)
We must also live within our own means, strange things can happen to teams who do not pay their way
Hail Hail
67 European Cup Winners,
Will do! Young Ryan Rubicon will join his auld Grampa tomorrow night for his first evening match at Paradise. He’s as confident as you.
What’s the dafty tinfoil held graham been up to now,
Tom English saying he will expose his Twitter threats