There should be lessons for Celtic from what happened to three forwards who started last month playing in Belgium. Anderlecht’s Kasper Dolberg seemed to be on the hook for a move to Celtic, but he was a player in demand. That has consequences.
Kasper and his agent knew that players in demand often receive bids late in the window. Why would they move before everyone has shown their hand? While Celtic tried to get the deal over the line, Ajax moved in with an offer. The player had a choice and chose to go back to the Netherlands. This is not an exception, players will often make choices like this rather than come to Scotland.
Michel-Ange Balikwisha had a good season at Royal Antwerp. With a deal to Celtic in the offing, Balikwisha’s agent had a duty to offer him everywhere north of Scottish football in the food chain. We can assume that Michel-Ange had little prospect of a bite, so signed with Celtic.
The lesson: try to recruit top players with years’ experience in highly scouted leagues and you will often fail. If they have offers from better leagues, they will go there rather than come to Scotland.
A year after Genk paid Celtic £2.4m for Hyeon-gyu Oh, he was subject to a €28m bid from Stuttgart. Reports on why the deal fell through are vague: a medical issue was reported, promoting Stuttgart to reduce their offer to €20m, which Genk declined.
There are so many lessons from Hyeon-gyu Oh’s year in Belgium it is painful to go over them. We had a player in the building who did not get the development support at Celtic which was available to him at Genk. Adam Idah was the recipient of that help, which resulted his sale on Monday for a £2m loss. You can get recruitment perfect, but if you don’t get development right, you are wasting your time.
If we want a striker who Stuttgart are prepared to pay around €20m for, we will not find them in Belgium. Recruitment is difficult, requires proper resourcing and absolutely cannot be done well working the agent circuit.
Scottish football is about to get a lesson on how it’s done by Tony Bloom’s Hearts. If we persist in trying to sign top strikers from Anderlecht, they will soon overtake us.
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Burnley 78 -Thanks for your response. I would suggest that your vision of how it could/should be structured hinges on DD and the current board accepting they are not fit for purpose, that they have got it very wrong and to move forward they would need to step aside so that a new board of directors is appointed that is fit for purpose.
Turkeys voting for Christmas comes to mind. A DoF worth his salt would not be able to be effective while PL and MN remain in situ and DD interferes as and when pleases him (managerial appts and transfers included).
Cheers
BRRB
Thanks for your feedback yesterday.
I guess when we see the same folks moaning and saying the same outright negative stuff about how the club is run for 20 years but not coming up with a solution, never mind stepping up and actually doing something about it, it gets frustrating. Even more when it has been run very well.
Burnley78 at 0855
May I say, that’s an excellent post.
You come across as someone with comprehensive commercial acumen
Your comments occasionally stray into anti Brendan (even anti other fans) and that is very much regrettable.
The above post can only add to and help debate. Completely agree on the DoF model and reducing the current CEO remit and commensurate salary
Enjoy the Basque country
BRRB
It’s a bit like the uninformed folks on FF who have zero experience of managing anything giving the rangers DOF dogs abuse after he raised his head up and did an interview about their window and direction this week. It may sound arrogant to highlight it but for me folk should have constructive solutions in mind as well as criticism.
Deniabhoy
I agree with all your comments there.
Perhaps now is the best time to evolve though.
Maybe that will be a positive outcome if such change is accepted by DD and a plan to morph into a more effective structure could be worked toward.
The board has limited power in reality. It needs DD and maybe CT behind change. That would do it
EmeraldBee \o/ A Double Niner!! @ 9:14 am,
This was from the CQN state of the report this summer….
”Do you want to look at past performance again? Peter Lawwell spent every penny that came into the club over any multi-year period you care to mention. [Gasp! What did the Romans ever do for us?] My expectation is that Michael will do the same. Anyone who thinks this is easy, or that there is complacency, or that they would boss the football industry, sits on a peak on the Dunning Kruger graph.”
https://www.celticquicknews.co.uk/state-of-the-club-report-summer-2025/
Let’s look at what Peter Lawwell said in the annual statement of 2023 in terms of the cash reserve.
”History tells us that we will not always qualify for the Champions League and the benefit of holding cash reserves affords us the optionality of managing through seasons where we participate in the Europa League with the ability to retain our squad as opposed to selling key players to bridge the income shortfall between both competitions.”
Enough is more than enough…
Hail Hail
So much anger. Does it help. I grew up in a less entitled world.
Life can be much simpler. Celtic, win lose or draw. Mon the hoops.
Heaven help us if we start turning on the team like thems do.
We might be weaker than last season, if Maedas head is turned, but we might not. Time will tell.
We can cry our eyes out till the January window or get behind the hoops and win a few more trophies.
SS- The programme isn’t about tax avoidance, it’s about fraud and theft of guy’s life savings,try watching it then comment on it.
Burnley78 on 5th September 2025 8:55 am
Lets see what no one with any ”skin in the game” has to say about that post.
Our friend from Artificial Intelligence takes the stage again . . . .
” Deeply Status-Conscious: He needs to signal his success, even in a space that ostensibly doesn’t value that.
Condescending: He believes his worldview is broader and therefore more valid than those “in the storm.”
Insecure: Despite his confident tone, he feels the need to leverage his lifestyle to win a football argument, suggesting that on some level, he knows his ideas might not win on merit alone in that particular crowd.
He is the archetype of the “well-heeled fan” who patronises the support, believing that because he has been successful in business, his opinions on the club are inherently more valuable than those of the fan who lives and breathes it in the schemes of Glasgow. It’s a massive own goal in terms of likeability, but it perfectly reveals his character.
Chairboy
Let’s look at what Peter Lawwell said in the annual statement of 2023 in terms of the cash reserve.
”History tells us that we will not always qualify for the Champions League and the benefit of holding cash reserves affords us the optionality of managing through seasons where we participate in the Europa League with the ability to retain our squad as opposed to selling key players to bridge the income shortfall between both competitions.”
Enough is more than enough…
——
I’d like to hear Lawwell explain how a cash reserve allows us to break FSR which caps squad spend at 70% of revenue.
If our revenue falls – we must reduce our costs. Cash reserves or not.
MAOLMUIRE O MUIRGHEASA Attacking a person rather than their views tells us more about you than them. If your life is shite, do something about it.
Ah the grand plan “opposed to selling key players to bridge the income shortfall ”
However that’s not true because we flog our key players irrespective of being in the CL or not. We might even flog then off while currently in the CL!
Taurangabhoy on 5th September 2025 10:41 am
Read it again. Analysing someone’s patter isn’t attacking them. Unless you think his personality is just a list of KPIs and a view of a bay? ‘If your life is shite’… solid projection, mate.
Stay safe.
An Dun, it’s not rocket science. The season tickets pay for the basics , stadium staff etc, most of the salaries of the players.
Player trading keeps the best players at Celtic, funds future transfers. Prudent management doesn’t speculate unless unlike the Govan mob. How did that turn out. Celebrate our successes, our domination over the last twenty. Enjoy it while we can. Support the players who sign up and wear the hoops. Encourage other to want to. Don’t be green Huns.
On it Friday and just about to crash. Enjoy your weekend CQN.
BURNLEY78 on 5TH SEPTEMBER 2025 9:29 AM
BRRB
It’s a bit like the uninformed folks on FF who have zero experience of managing anything
———-
When did you complete your UEFA coaching badges, Burnley ?
MAOLMUIRE O MUIRGHEASA Your whole post was designed to attack a person. What B78 has to say is his gig. You don’t need to analyse him but you can put your own view out there. Play the ball mate.
Maeda said to Japanese media,told the club he wanted to go during the Window
burnley78
An interesting and worthwhile post. Problem, or one of them, with being a PLC is that it does place certain responsibilies on the Board, that are not always, though can be, in step with those of say the manager, or indeed the aspirations of the supporters many of whom who bought into Fergus McCann’s vision on thirty years or so back. It may be your idea(s) of streamlining the more corporate structure we have might help on the footballing operations front, and yet I do seem to recall Manchester United paying £millions to Newcastle for their DOF and binning him shortly afterwards, so change does not always work either. Certainly we do not look well run on the football side at this point in time, though we did in the USA last summer, and for much of last season. Seems that the club, the team and to some extent the players ran out of steam. That said the EPL clubs have just spent £3.1 billion in tranfer fees, lot of it intra deals true, whereas the first Sky Sports broadcasting deal, which concided with Fergus taking over, was “only” £300 mill. Enough though to allow the likes of Sheffield Wednesday to double the wages of Celtic supporting players such as Simon Donnelly and Phil O’Donnell. And so it goes.
ForeverChangesCSC
TAURANGABHOY on 5TH SEPTEMBER 2025 10:50 AM
I’m glad it’s not rocket science because I might understand now 😂
How does a cash reserve allow us to circumvent FSR ?
MAOLMUIRE O MUIRGHEASA Sorry about the life is shite stuff, I just think we need a bit more resilience and perspective. I meet with so many angry people who project. The Celtic players need support and encouragement, not angry projections. If we want the best out of our squad, give them the support they need.
Taurangabhoy on 5th September 2025 10:53 am
‘Play the ball’? That’s all I did. I didn’t tackle the man, I passed a comment on his 50-yard pointless punt into the stands when he should’ve been playing a simple pass.
Analyzing someone’s patter on a discussion forum is the whole point of the game. If you don’t want your passes analysed, stop kicking the ball out of the park and announcing you’re doing it from a yacht.
Stay Safe.
A Dun how are we circumventing FSR and why would we want to.
I see some posters,already being sucked in by Burnley.Does not take much,does it?.Next week it will be the Board.
Innocents abroad. 😐😐😐😐😐😐😐😐
We f@cked up our “easy” CL qualifiers.
The consequences of failure in these season defining games would be downsizing.
Subsequently we will be downsizing, the only ( as yet ) unknown particulars will be the detail.
However we really need to reset and make the most of what we have got. The Europa is still a big tournament with high profile as you progress.
The league is our bread and butter, but it will not give us the credibility we have inexusably flung away.
We need the profile of competing in a market outwith our comfort zone and pricing should reflect our need for collective redemption
HH.
Taurangabhoy on 5th September 2025 10:59 am
That’s quite a pivot from analysing a blogger’s condescending tone to the support levels for the Celtic first team.
I’m glad we agree that analysing communication isn’t a personal attack.
Let’s leave the psychoanalysis of strangers and the team talks for the professionals.
Stay Safe.”
B78
La Kontxa is a fine place to be in the daytime, but the real action is in the Alde Zaharra, as doubtless you well know.
Topa!
MAOLMUIRE O MUIRGHEASA yes he chucked the yacht hook out and you took the bait, analysing B78 isn’t playing the ball and he won’t care about your opinion of him. My point is CQN gets nasty when we stoop to the level of the followfollow. If it starts to eat into you, change the narrative.
David Strelec last night,tearing Germany apart,wonderful assist,stunning goal,and overall great performance.This was a guy desperate to join us,forget the claptrap about the difficulty in signing players,every pundit saying he would suit us down to the ground,and a great scoring record.
Our Board,thought £6 million too high,and dithered and lowballed.We know the result.
Incompetent cretins with anything concerning players.That will never change.
Taurangabhoy on 5th September 2025 11:10 am
You’re still missing the point by a mile friend, but let’s follow your logic to its conclusion.
You say analysing his patter isn’t “playing the ball.” But complaining about my post on a discussion forum apparently is.
Righto.
You say CQN gets nasty when we “stoop to the level of followfollow,” right after you told me my life must be “shite.” Aye, that tracks.
You’re not changing any narrative. You’re just trying to shut down one you don’t like.
Turkeybhoy you are kind of missing the point, out for a by kick. Whether you agree with B67 or the board is a personal choice. You wouldn’t be attacking that basic right to have a view would you? . I have read your own views. Sometimes I agree with you other times less so. When it gets personal it gets messy on a blog. Seen it too many times over the years on here. Take care.
MAOLMUIRE O MUIRGHEASA You are right there. I am trying to shut down playing the player. I don’t like that because I think it is not good for the poster or the target. Might be a pointless exercise, I know. Enjoy your weekend.
Burnley78 @ 08:55.
Terrific post.
Respect.
In particular your paragraph re the CEO role and resps in a risk averse business.
Compelling.
BTW, FWIW …
… I don’t agree with the DoF model.
Have never been a fan.
CELTIC MAC on 5TH SEPTEMBER 2025 10:55 AM good point about teams running out of steam when other teams are on the rise. Hopefully our new players will rise better than most think. .
C40me last night re Adam Idah – cheers.
Guy has bags of talent. I don’t doubt it.
At 24, he has potential resale value. No doubt
I posted this time last year about his lack of professionalism with Norwich.
It did not sit well with me.
Basically he downed tools to get a move.
At the time, the celtic cyberspace chucklefest was in full voice.
Good on ye, Adam. You’ll be one of us soon
Perhaps we were taken in a little bit by the old “dream move” cliché.
Turns out Adam didn’t want a move to somewhere.
He wanted a move from somewhere.
Fast forward a year? Rinse and repeat.
Perhaps Ange was right about a lesser emotional connection to our heroes.
TURKEYBHOY on 5TH SEPTEMBER 2025 11:03 AM
I see some posters,already being sucked in by Burnley.Does not take much,does it?.Next week it will be the Board.
Innocents abroad. 😐😐😐😐😐😐😐😐
—————
David Brent in full reverse mode 🚴♂️🚴♂️🚴♂️
Jees getting a bit deep on here …
Anyhows…
As much as I love Walk on in big European nights and Furitzaganoleteam before kick off.
How about something a bit more motivational for the players when they are running onto the park…..
Time moves on and after all it’s all meant to be about entertainment, or even ask get the players to pick a tune each week….Im sure some of the players tunes might be a bit of a crynge fest but would be light hearted fun… or maybe not !!🫣🥴😂
MAOLMUIRE O MUIRGHEASA
Not an original thought in your head.
Load AI with your own lurking bias
Yesterday me,B78 today.
See what comes out.
Stay hidden,stay anonymous and i am glad my answers to cqns racist boat chaser inspired you to fake originality via AI.maybe some day you’ll tell us your thoughts.
BSR,
In a nutshell.