It always stings a bit when we lose a good one, and there appears to be universal agreement that Victor Wanyama is a good one, but there are compensations. We lost him for the asking price (a club and Scottish record) and lost him early enough in the transfer window for the cash to be put to good use. Technical note, £12.5m and freeing up a very small wage will not provide £12.5m for transfers plus wages for either a £12.5m player or a collection of players at that value. It will free up a lesser transfer budget and provide a higher wage budget.
Victor goes with our best wishes. He joins a club who signed Celtic fringe player (I’m being generous), Jos Hooiveld, two years ago, and who also employ former Celtic misfit, Danny Fox. It’s not a sexy move but Victor will be as well compensated as Celtic by England’s bling. There could be claims about the move being about football, but it’s about the money, honey; not that there’s a problem with that, Victor didn’t pack his bags in Nairobi hoping to end his days in Glasgow.
He only became a first choice player after Beram Kayal was injured so comprehensively by Elbows McCulloch and played less than 30 games and was a first team choice for less than a year before declining a contract extension for a substantial wage increase (several times the wages he was on). This, when he had almost three years left on his existing deal. There’s a lesson there for future negotiations.
If you are feeling less than happy about this development, I could suggest a reason or two. Back in the 70s and 80s Macari, Hay, Dalglish, Nicholas and McClair were sold for competitive fees but the Cavalry of reinforcements didn’t arrive. Instead Celtic hoped a new generation of youths would fill the gap. Those of us from that generation were condition by the experience.
Things worked differently when Jock Brown was in charge (aye, you read right). Within a few months we lost the league for the ninth consecutive season and sold the Three Amigos for a substantial amount of money. In August 1997 I was distraught but 10 months later the penny dropped. The challenge now for Peter Lawwell, Neil Lennon and the Celtic scouts is to outperform Jock and Wim………….
Easy, right?
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canamalar1:
I don’t dispute that, and I loved watching Ajax play, but history is in the past, as is the European Cup and 67, I’m sort of a wee bit confused with the present.
weeron,
You’ll need to explain the “ring-fencing mentality” bit for me, you’ve avoided my point, the transfer money has apparently been “ring-fenced” to be reinvested in the team while the rest which has not been “ring-fenced” is in fact been “ring-fenced” for other purposes which are not up for discussion.
I never told the Celtic support that transfer money would be “ring-fenced” for future investment into the team, that was our chief exec, so why do I have to quit asking about other “ring-fenced” finances ?
garcia lorca, 15:03
Glorious post, sir
Capitalism in our dog-eat-dog world is what did for Big Vic. What else is he supposed to do?
The days of love of club etc.,. for young talented players went away a long long time ago.
I love Big Vic’s talent and the love he felt for us, but all I can say is : Good Luck and Bon Voyage, and I hope you find the admiration in your new home you were accorded at Celtic Park.
AdiosAmigoCSC
bsr
I knew there was something fishy about Victor joining Southampton.
So a ‘big boy forged his signature and ran away’?!
Does that mean that CFC get £12.5 million for him, and he is still their player?!
Brilliant!
HH!!
Tonight wee play Union.
Last chance .. fur Neil, tae Win Wan fur the Guys in the Back-Room.
Those are the Celtic Strategists.
Never Hoid of ’em?
Well.. Ah hiv!
Anywey.. When ye watch these Friendly Affairs, keep THIS…in mind.
“It’s awe aboot the Fitness…It’s Never aboot .. the RESULT.”
Ah know it’s no sae easy tae dae..
But.. Try it.
Ah assure you it Helps( When we git . Demolished!)
Faces, Ah wanna see….In Tonight’s Game..
Ah wanna see.. Jackson Irvince.. Mickey Miller… Stuart Findlay . get an ootin’
Jackson, Ah particular wanna See..
Kojo.
Still Laughin’
Kojo
a stor..,
I’m thinking its a cyclical thing and they seem to have a better bike than us when it comes to producing homegrown talent, the the wheels on their bike are smaller so the revolutions come quicker, they will produce a more successful team more frequently than us, their unsuccessful periods will be shorter too, I think :o)
canamalar1…
Because it is irrelevant. We can plan to spend the Ki money on players. But if we have other bills to pay, they must be paid. We don’t run two sets of books.
The type of spending that some see as ‘good’, is transfer fees. These seem to demonstrate ‘ambition’.
However, new contracts were agreed with several Celtic players last season. These cost money. Maintaining the stadium costs money.
We only have one set of books. These are the audited ones.
If you want Celtic to spend more on transfer fees, you’ll need to find the money somewhere.
So…..if you think in terms of one set of audited financial statements, you can see how totally irrelevant ‘ring-fencing’ is.
In fact ‘ring-fencing’ is just a stick with which to beat our management team with. It is an old daily record trick. Most fans nowadays have a better understanding of things.
Some big names drawn against each other in League cup
suppose the easiest way to decide which is the biggest is to count letters
Berwick Rangers v Cowdenbeath
Stirling Albion v Hamilton Academical
East Stirlingshire v Dunfermline
Queen of the South v Annan Athletic
Airdrieonians v Stenhousemuir
Forfar Athletic V Sevcovians of Govan
Ajax in the past were great at finding and bringing players through. They are still very good and have a successful youth set-up but I wouldn’t say they are front-runners.
Porto on the other hand have proven what you can do from a smaller league. They have the benefit of being about to bring in young South Americans easier than in the UK (possible sweetener for independence?).
There was a report somewhere contrasting Porto and Celtic and showed how, strategically, having players on top money can be a killer blow. Porto spent quite a bit more on incoming transfers than Celtic but a fraction of the wage. Outgoing they were bringing in 10 times as much as us yet have had more success in Europe.
Young goal scoring Italian prospect Ciro Immobile moves from Juventus to Torino for €2.75m.
I never saw him moving… But would have been a good signing for us.
Tea at Trent Bridge
England 230/6.
Tallybhoy
Nothing to do with Victor – looking forward to seeing the big man, he’s on holiday in Tenerife in fact he has just knocked the big bell clean off the top of high striker, in the local fairground.
BigStrongMan CSC
Ole Shangri La Classico in prospect.
The ole WindfirmDerby.
miki67,
Hail Hail sir
I agreed with Thomthetim, the boy has a strategy to work his way up through the system to the top, this is his next step, I am not convinced the money is as important to him as achieving his goal, if he achieves his goal the money will pour in as a consequence. I expect he will not be adverse to a bit more money and don’t believe going to Southampton or any other lower level EPL club was simply down to making more money.
Great to see you still in the mood for the fight, know your in our thoughts and prayers. Keep up the good fight.
Hail Hail
Mate, it is really hypothetical, but did Ajax achieve from under the same constraints as us. Were they subjected to the same ‘honest mistakes’ as us in their own domestic league? Had we not been second to all the honest mistakes and SFA and bank endorsed shenanigans, is it beyond the realms of possibility that we too, Celtic, might have recorded a wee bit more an illustrious Champions League account for ourselves?
Ajax are a great team, as are Benfica and all their like, but are the restrictions and shackles that are applied to Celtic applied proportionately to all these other grand continental teams? Do Ajax and Benfica operate under a dysfunctional, and possibly corrupt, authority like Celtic do?
Mate, when all is considered, with all that we suspected and now know, then there are not too many teams outside of the big four, and many from within the big four, who can in all honesty, look down on Celtic’s record.
I’m hoping honesty and integrity is cyclical too, pan European as well as domestically, maybe then we might have a chance of a wee continental cup.
Malone Bhoy
Porto are not subjected to the same employment restrictions as Celtic.
Poor folk of Forfar will have to be lookin’ out the Domestos for the visit of Los Horriblos.
A Stor Mo Chroi
That’s what I said.
bsr,
I believe that it was the agent’s cut that was the ” snag” in the deal.
Soton wouldn’t play ball.
Celtic had their valuation met, no matter who was “driving the deal.
Saints were happy to meet the price.
Reports of the signing. Mention, as significant, the absence of the agent when the forms were signed.
Anyway, give me a player who values his talent and career, before a jersey kisser any day of the week.
If you look through the reduced squad and factor in the 5 or 6 injuries we currently have the cupboard is looking extremely bare. We do need to get a few in and quickly and there is space for a couple of veterans who might fill a hole for next season whilst we try to get the likes of Balde, George and Atajic up to speed. Initially I wasn’t in favour of signing him but McFadden has still not put pen to paper. He wouldn’t cost us too much in wages, worth a punt?.
o.g.rafferty@15.32pm
Thank you.
God Bless Our Pope and Forfar
weeron,
This time you simply ignored the point,
The chief exec ring-fenced the transfer money no me
So why are you trying to lecture me ?
If he’s allowed to ring-fence, then I’m allowed to ask about the rest
Your argument is full of double standards
The exec are allowed to ring-fence and no one is allowed to question that.
Go and ask the exec why they are ring-fencing finances
Great to see you posting Miki67,CQN Legend.
Just back from picking up my tickets for tonight’s game, having a wee siesta. So far had two meals for two with drinks since we arrived and still have change out of €70,-. Considering that this is the capital city of the powerhouse of Europe it is still cheaper than where I live in Germany 400km from here.
On our way over to the ground we came across this sign and had a wee chuckle, no marching here today! :
No huns on this street
Malone Bhoy;
My apologies, don’t know how I did it but I did, I missed out your middle paragraph. I really don’t know how I missed it.
Having re-read it,I think then that we are both in agreement, we are not playing on a level playing field domestically or internationally either.
a stor..,
Ah, you found the glaring flaw in my argument, I sit doon corrected.
But they still have an excellent record and more frequent success rate.
As for the discussion about the Portuguese and the independence sweetener, well it’s bunkum, the Portuguese have more relaxed visa requirements from former colonies like most. I can’t see Scotland’s former colonies being as rich in football potential, I mean Belize is no exactly known for producing great players and as far as I know that was the limit, no ?
Hail Hail
TnT
Just to let you know I am back at work at the moment , home on the 24th and will be in touch then . Looked at a few options but starting to think along the lines of Mrs Robeson if it is still available .
HH
Estadio Nacional .
Man on the radio has just said that the total number of Croats signed by Serie A clubs since ” Croatia joined Europe ” currently stands at 9 .
Saw your post re Immobile . Don’t understand that transfer . Juve paid 4 million euros for a 50 % share of him . Genoa owned the other 50 % Do Genoa still owe 50 % of him ?
Two clubs, one culture – the shared political vision of Cliftonville and Celtic fans will this week be celebrated in unique style at Solitude, home of the former, as supporters of both teams will mix side-by-side in the 123-year-old stadium amid an inevitable sea of red, white and green.
While Celtic’s fanbase is largely made up of Irish and Scottish nationalists, a proportion of which hold Republican beliefs, it is worth noting that the club welcome supporters of all ethnic and religious backgrounds, so long as they maintain a left-wing stance.
The above piece made me chuckle re a left wing stance, someone should tell Kojo & The Singing Dick.
A Stor Mo Chroi
We’re not, particularly compared to Portugal and Belgium… even in Italy they get a lot fo Argentinians on dual passports. But we still have to try and we did actually have to appeal Wanyama’s case when he arrived so maybe that’s the way ahead. Focus on winning appeals for players that would never normally be granted automatic work permits?
Forfar v The Rangers?
Always good to see a new, wee, unseeded club getting a money spinning away tie
SoT 16:09
They seem quick off the mark there, Spain, Germany an the EPL probably got the rest of them covered.
I’ve kept an eye out for Immobile, I like his name but seems quite a prospect, surprised to see him move as low as Torino. The report I read was in Italian, only fee mentioned was €2.75m, forgo about the half share thing. So have Torino bought a 4th 50% share? ;)
EN
thomthethim
Quite probably was, – given the agents utterings about ‘poor Victor who hadn’t had
a wage rise for two years’
A wage rise he’d have trousered if he was intent on hanging around at Celtic, it was
also reported however ‘players personal terms were not met’
We may never know, I don’t think it matters.
But a career move very, very rarely involves a drop in salary and money is always a motivator,* unless you’re a Jimmy McGrory * who sadly died a long, long time ago, as did footballing integrity, in these agent driven days.
Celtic as always held the key to open the sale door for Victor. I’ve no doubt the player
managed the situation impeccably, but no matter whether it’s for career, or cash and in this case, methinks both, he’s gone, glad he played for us, and wish him well.
Southampton’s 12.5M is the same as Man Utd et all – so good for Celtic.
Sally ‘absolutely delighted, absolutely’ on hearing the news that they have been drawn away to Forfar Athletic in the League Cup.
When asked why he replied – ‘Bridies! And lots of them – before, during and after the game!’
HH!!
Kayal,
Yep i agree with you re Hooper. i think we would repalce with like with Hooper.
However, if somebody special like Saviola comes up and can provide magic especially in Europe, then you have to have a look.
Players like that, one piece of skill can turn games for you.
We do not have at present. Lubo could win us games so could Naka. We haven’t had the same type of player since then. Saviola could that guy now.
Corkcelt
Where did ye get that information?
Where ye said in yer ultimate Submission
which Ah wull Paraphrase…
(In order tae Be a Celtic Supporter, wan must favor a Left-Wing Stance)
Ah am sure it is not coming fae You.
Ah wid like ye tae divulge the source of that Poppycock, if ye kin.
Kojo
Still.. Laughin’