Two players arrived during this transfer window: Rami Gershon and Tom Rogic, with no first team players leaving the club. I don’t know what Neil has planned for Rami but his loan deal and stats at Standard Liege suggests he is here as cover. I expect to see as much of him as we saw of Pawel Brozek last season.
20-year-old Tom Rogic is different. He joins the club on the same runway as Victor Wanyama, Beram Kayal, Adam Matthews, Mikael Lustig and Emilio Izaguirre. I’ve refused to watch his YouTube clips but there is every reason to hope he will be as successful a recruit as our other recent acquisitions of a similar profile.
I’ve been banging on about Asset Management for years. The mantra being – they all have their price and if any club fails to grasp this reality they will underachieve. Against this backdrop, Gary Hooper will either sign a new contract in the coming weeks or there is a good chance he will leave for nothing when his contract expires in June 2014.
A fundamental problem prevented a deal being done for Gary last month. His value to Celtic, not necessarily in this season’s Champions League, but in the same tournament’s qualifiers in July and August, is far greater than his value to any suitor. In other words, his value as an asset is not measured by transfer fee alone. This squad should have enough to reach the Champions League group stages next season, worth the best part of £20m to Celtic. Any deals have to be measured against this target.
The kind of transfer decision Celtic made yesterday, a profitable club holding onto a player and at the risk of losing him leaving for free, is so much healthier than the scenario we previously faced, in an arms race with a rival who was prepared to spend money they could not afford in order to beat us. What a mistake that whole ‘Old Firm’ thing was. Glad to see the back of it.
The ‘big clubs’ in England didn’t come looking for Gary. Instead, a well-run club made several attempts to acquire a good player on a price appropriate for their income. No harm in that, you have to give Norwich the respect any yokel deserves trying to hook up with a beauty queen (nothing implied about people from Norwich, or Gary as a queen!).
There is no guarantee the same club will be playing top-flight football when he becomes available, or that a club with a greater income, or with a more flamboyant approach to spending, will move for him, so there is every chance that Gary and his new agent will figure out that an extra year on his Celtic contract for a hefty wage rise is a decent option.
There is an interesting side plot to the Hooper non-transfer. Victor Wanyama is sitting on an offer of a substantial wage increase to extend his contract from 2015 to 2016. Unless someone comes in with an offer greater than his value to Celtic in Champions League campaigns he’ll be here until 2015.
Chances of both players signing new contracts in the coming months has to be a wee bit higher today. All those meaningless scripts about Celtic being a selling club floating around various places will have to be shelved for another time. We are a selling club, but only at the right price and the right time, just as it should be.
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Keeper Fraser Forster will return for Celtic’s Scottish Cup fifth-round tie at Raith Rovers on Sunday after recovering from a neck injury.
Winger James Forrest is back from a hamstring injury but forward Georgios
Samaras (hamstring) and left-back Emilio Izaguirre (knee) are out.
OK OG..,
Will it be announced by Tinkerbell FC or the MSM ?
Hi corkcelt how’s things. Not been lurking much since I got back. Been trying to get my iPad off the 3yr old grandson which is not easy when he is playing angry birds.
Happy that the window closed with Hoops and big Vic still here. Still keeping ears open for any spare tickets for the Juve game,will let you know if anything happens.
Mick
****ing lol!!!
From official Sevco site.
‘A QUIET transfer window was just
what Ally McCoist wanted as he ended
January with his squad intact.’
I thought they were queing up to come and play for them?
“It’s really extremely difficult at this moment in time to try to attract the players to come to us because plain and simply of where we are.”
hahahahahahahahahaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa ASonOfDan, April fool in Feb. Coouldn’t make that up. hhaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa
KLV
Well done Celtic, well played Big Peter!
ASonOfDan
16:10 on
1 February, 2013
****ing lol!!!
From official Sevco site.
‘A QUIET transfer window was just
what Ally McCoist wanted as he ended
January with his squad intact.’
=====================================
No excuses then,he must push for a European place.
Hi Mick, glad you made it home safe & sound. Hope you enjoyed the Hols its a pity that The Hal’penny Bar out there is now only open for matches but I suppose its in an out of the way place and that whole complex is gone a bit grubby. Sean told me he is trying to relocate in a more central area. Thanks for looking out for tickets for Juventus game, I’m still not sorted but we are going to travel over one way or the other.
KLV,
That was a great team, there’s always an Uncle, Big cousin etc to take you to the matches and show you the Glasgow Celtic way. Never got to the Jungle though.
Sipsini,
Just shows, sometimes your Mother is over-protective sometimes (most times) she’s spot on.
It might have been a better/safer life but it would certainly have been a more boring one if we always did what we were telt…
Hail! Hail!
Neil canamalar Lennon hunskelper extrordinaire
16:07
I can’t confirm it (yet) but it’ll be broken online I’m sure
Phil MacGiollaBhain@Pmacgiollabhain
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1orMXD_Ijbs
… This was my response this morning when I heard some Sevco related news.
Aw come on O.G. give us a hint about what the story is, if its not true we promise not to sue you.
OG
get yir finger out man, if this isnt broken by my finishing time I wont be able to rip the knitting out of the hordes in the office till tuesday…
show some consideration :-)
PS
they know theres something brewing….
a Nike Friday after all
If it is true you will know all about it very quickly, rest assured
This suspense is killing me, it’s worse than transfer deadline day.
Che 16:19
Even I can only refresh a page so many times a day…
asonofdan
16:10 on 1 February, 2013
****ing lol!!!
From official Sevco site.
‘A QUIET transfer window was just
what Ally McCoist wanted as he ended
January with his squad intact.’
……………
Oh stop it please I cannot laugh anymore.
Corkcelt
Enjoyed our first visit to Lanzarote. Yes the complex looks if its seen better times. I was talking to Sean and he was saying he was hoping to move. I think me and the Mrs were last to leave after the game. Enjoyed the craic,the game and the music.
HH
Mick
The Comfortable Collective
and anyone else, do you know that is being used on an advert by a travel co. por cierto.
O.G. Is it that the Huns are deed, cause that’s a wee bit late…….;-)
Yeah its true chairBhoy, When i was at primary school my pals would go on about the political side of it and sign songs and i was oblivious to the hole thing, until 1 night a girl i was seeing started signing bb and the inner Fan was unleashed never looked back since and needless to say I never married the girl.lol
Come O.G.!!!!!!!
KLV
Let’s get Jim White on the case,he will get in touch with Arry,we will know before OG comes back on.
O.G. will Paul need to start a new article at least tell us that?
KLV
McMoist- “It’s really extremely difficult at this moment in time……..”
That’s Dalziel speak
O.G.Rafferty
what page would that be then…?
kickinthenakas
Enjoy your meal – or ‘buon appettito’ as we say out here!
Rab Donadoni was not that wee – about 1.75m I think!
Think he’s still the same height!
Hope there are no Juve fans among the staff!
HH!!
Mick, I was on to Sean about CQN and he said he would join and keep in touch but I haven’t seen any post from him. Its been a great place to watch a game, Home or Away down through the years, Lanzarote wouldn’t be the same for me if it wasn’t there.
Is it cabin doors to manual yet?
kevinlasvegas, 16:24
Fret not, he knows he will be a busy man
Jim White last night – …”the final latest on Gary Hooper.” !!!!!
Cretin!
HH!!
Tallybhoy – I enjoyed yer wee story about yer granny and her love of the vino:0)
Let’s just say it was inspirational as i nearly had a night aff.
slainte
tony
oh O.G. this is fun mate, The wife not amused though, The “are you on that again” face is in full flow today.lol ; )
KLV
OG – Is it news that will make EVEN me smile ? :o)))
Bring Back The JUNGLE – CSC
KevJungle, It’s a real story all right
KevJungle – Murdo Macleod – 4-2 – Cheerio 10 iar :o)
OG – Is it news that will make EVEN me smile ? :o)))
Now theres a challenge…..;-)
@ OfficialNeil
Just had a fantastic afternoon with Guilleme Balague and Gaizka Mendieta(legendary player)…great knowledge of the game.
Torontony
Thanks for that!
My wee Italian granny was quite a character – liked a wee drink but ONLY homemade red wine!
Also a very devout woman – I used to get her to pray for Celtic before big games! She used to get very upset when we didnt win!
HH!!