Living so close to England it’s easy for us to get drawn into the ways and processes which prove effective south of the border. SPL clubs all scout there, more often than not trying to pick up physically robust scraps discarded by the lower leagues, or troubled souls looking for a sixth chance. Scottish clubs are full of players who have failed to make the grade in England.
When Motherwell were looking for a manager a year ago I heard one of their directors say they hoped to get someone with experience of the English lower leagues, as this has proven to be an effective place for them to network in the past.
Problems with the neighbours works both ways. It’s too easy for English clubs to use the loose change part of their budget to scoop up anything that looks like promising talent from the SPL. While most players will earn well in England, few enjoy the career progression they hoped for.
They do things differently elsewhere. When was the last time teams from Cyprus or Switzerland badgered an English League Two side for their surplus talent? Developing football teams is difficult but a good top level plan helps. One of the most encouraging aspects of Celtic’s top level plan is that it meets criteria that match our place in the world. Recruit talent from the right markets, at the right age and price. Some money has been spent in England, but not much, and those who have arrived from there look decent value.
If Celtic are to match the recent Champions League achievements of Basel or Apoel Nicosia, players like Izaguirre, Kayal, Wanyama and Ki, who pitch up in Glasgow from what appears to be beyond the horizon of the English, will be crucial. Just as those players at Basel and Apoel, they arrived here within an affordable budget and appear to have the talent required to compete at the level Celtic aspires to.
11 years ago we bought Chris Sutton from Chelsea against competition from other FA Premier League clubs. He was soon joined by others at the peak of their ability and reputation, all relatively low-risk signings. We had a few years in the sun but it was neither affordable nor sustainable.
We’ll know soon enough if the current crop of players trying to establish a reputation for themselves have what it takes to win the league and compete in Europe. Good top level plans can still fail in execution, but I’d rather this strategy than send my cash down the M6.
Issue 5 of CQN Magazine is due out next week, let me know if you would like to advertise, celticquicknews@gmail.com.
Read CQN Magazine for free online here. Subscriptions to the online copy are discretionary but you can contribute here. Old-school hard copies are available here from Magcloud.
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Ron Bacardi says:
8 December, 2011 at 17:39
“It’s staggering, absolutely staggering and to say I’m angry would be a massive understatement.”
typical verbiage from Ally McShoite
——————————————————–
dunno if verbiage is the right word for any of Ally McShoite’s statements
Jungle Jim says:
8 December, 2011 at 17:37
Did Jose Mourinho? He seems to know a fair bit about football. Not as much as the chubby 50 year old protege of Sir Walter though, of course.
My dear,dear,dear,friend…Dushanbe Bill Bhoy
Pal..
Read Ma ultimate Sumbission.. oan how Ah fell aboot..
JIST WAN of the Very Natural State’s that Human Bean
are subject tae Fae Intae..
Disappointment ,is Another.. Impatience.. Anger…Fear..
Lust???
Awe awe these States.. are part an parcel ..
of.. LIVING..
Ye must Tak the Good and the Bad in yer Stride..
Doctors are like Lawyers.. they live oaffa the Miseries o Ithers~
The Always hiv an eye..tae turn a Buck…
if they kin.
Push a Few Pills..
The worse thing that ye kin dae..
‘
Is take a DRUG..in order tae Coonter.. Depression..
It wull only.. gie ye Mair Problems.. and this time
Those Problems.
wull NO BE . NATURA WANS>
Heck .. Pal..if ye are willing tae believe that Tommyrot..
aboot.. some depressions are Worse than Ithers..
Well.. they urnae..
Jist ..Some Last Longer..
But..
They wull all pass in Time..
Ye are being taught a Lesson..
Learn fae it..
Kojo
yer pal.. who likes ye aloater
“It’s staggering, absolutely staggering and to say I’m MAD would be a massive understatement.”
Coisty has been Aw nawed
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U326Vm3XHFg
Enjoy…
HH
!!Bada Bing!! says:
8 December, 2011 at 17:31
Retired,and canny even tie yir ain shoelaces!
Looked back at earlier posts and saw that that Rangers supporter seemed at a loss to explain why O`Connor was not banned and Aluko was. I would have thought the answer was very simple: A mistake was made in not banning O`Connor and a mistake was not made in banning Aluko.We all know that honest mistakes happen.
JJ
angelfc67 says:
8 December, 2011 at 17:41
Yes, it’s almost as if they feel that they are doing everyone a massive favour by graciously accepting the rules against elbowing a player in the face (even though they were applied retrospectively instead of a red card at the time!)
VP-Havin a mare wi PC and HD set up,help!!!!
Ron Bacardi says:
8 December, 2011 at 17:35
No doubt this is a pointer to their friends in the press to support
—
And no doubt they will duly oblige so as to deflect from the fact that it is a rangers player who got found guilty of something they usually (Naismith) get away with.
Make your way into the box and see what you can get says a winking Sally to Aluko
Is there such a thing as mock anger cheeky chappyness when it all goes wrong
Hail Hail
The Honest Cover Up
I was referring to Traynor having called Aiden a cheat.
JJ
Anybody seen my wee Jack Russel??
P.S Jaques Rousel is his sunday name. :-))
Mention was made of Davie Wilson and his diving. He was indeed a practitioner of that black art, like John MacDonald and McCoist after him. I think McCoist’s faux anger is partly because he has never experienced equal treatment in his time at Ibrox. His mob are special. He can’t really believe his players should be playing by the same rules as everyone else. Let’s hope it continues. For once, the SFA have shown fairness. Now, let’s see McCoist called to account for his complete loss of dignity in attacking his Establishment.
What Coisty meant to say:
“The other thing I would like to point out is that the compliance officer is a thoroughly nice man but he is a lawyer, he comes from a legal background not a football one. That’s why the Disciplinary Tribunal is made up of a former Manager, a former Player and a former Referee.
“So effectively we’ve got 3 people who have played, managed and refereed professional football at a high level telling me my player is a cheat. I’ll maybe have to reconsider my views on Aluko’s behaviour in that light”.
Thindimebhoy says:
8 December, 2011 at 17:30
“Someone needs to tell Sally that all you need in some cases is the eyes in your head to come to the right verdict”
Or as with Collum, eyes in the back of your head to come to the wrong decision.
The Honest Cover-up says:
8 December, 2011 at 17:45
Thanks for that, for a minute i thought i was going mad!!
2 decisions refs have missed that could have changed the outcome of the game, and this mcmoist still complains.
The mans lost it!
The Honest Cover-up says:
8 December, 2011 at 17:39
Physician heel thyself. Clearly you have an ageist agenda?.
If you can’t articulate yourself in a civilised fashion, then you are nothing more than a cyber bully.
Away and finish your homework son before coming on here.
TBB
Perfect riposte.
JJ
!!Bada Bing!! says:
8 December, 2011 at 17:45
Bada ,depends on tv,go through source.
My only hdmi come from PS 3’s and you can alter up to 1020.
Will have a wee look shortly.
The storm continues apace down here, by the bye.
My dear pal Kojo,
Agree. Thanks for clarification.
One should try St. John’s Wort….the natural herbal cure to depression/being fed up.
Yer Mucker DBB, who still love yeh cos you’re the only wan on here who speaks “the hamely tongue”.
DBB
Billy’s Bhoy says:
8 December, 2011 at 17:23
‘Battered Bunnet
If only we could find a way to capture and store (on a back up grid) the energy of todays slightly windy conditions we would meet all our renewable energy targets for the rest of the century in one day.’
I’d settle for them being able to stop the windfarms from catching fire in windy weather.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-16094360
(photo 13)
DUSHANBE BILLYBHOY says:
8 December, 2011 at 17:51
I think you got the wrong end of the stick there.
It was NOT you that was being referred to.
Despite the violent winds and relentless rain sweeping across the country, the Carmunnock Players will go ahead with tonight’s Christmas Panto.
The missus is thrilled…
ShowMustGoOnCSC
Just had to drop this quote from Grauniad Fiver in to the blog:
“…a mediocre and flimsy squad reflects the silent leeching of the Glazers. Since the sale of Cristiano Ronaldo in 2009, United’s net spend is lower than that of, among others, Hull, Burnley, Blackpool, Bolton and Alexa Chung.”
thomthethim says:
8 December, 2011 at 15:10
brimmer,
From way back on last thread, re Glasgow Streets; gonnae no’ dae that! Not a dry seat in the house.
*born and bred doon in the Bonnie Banks i have a love affair with Glasgow and not just because of the ‘tic, didnae socialise much up there when I was younger preferred tae dae my winching locally and only travelled as far as Clydebank.
However when I was younger my mother and I would get the 08:30 train fae Balloch and alight at North Hanover Street and walk through the Square tae Glassford Street as she loved shopping in Bremners.
Shops were just opening, there was a Royal Mail Depot enroute and a smell from the hotels and restaurants permeated the air.
Well done to Kano Foundation on 1000 kids taken to CP.
Also tommorow is two years since Kano can home. Well done to all in here that achieved this.
Hail hail
Dushanbe
To put depression/fed up together shows that you do not have a clue re depression. That does not make you a bad guy but maybe you should refrain from making comments about it.
JJ
DUSHANBE BILLYBHOY says:
8 December, 2011 at 17:51
Ageist? Hmmm, if you say so! By calling me “son” maybe it’s you who is ageist! You have no idea what age I am.
I was merely advising you that if you want a measured discussion on a complex and sensitive issue like depression you may not take kindly to Kojo’s views. Feel free to heed or ignore my advice. No bullying here. Not sure what “homework” you are referring to. Hope it’s not an ageist slight at me!
Kojo,
I wouldn’t normally respond to a post like yours, but your views on depression are not only inflammatory but could be downright dangerous.
Depression is a mental illness. It is not simply the absence of happiness. It is not something made up by doctors – MRI scans have shown the differences between the brain of a person with depression and one without. It leads to a terrible state of mind that can ultimately end in suicide in many cases.
Your views on anti-depressants are what I see as dangerous. These drugs may be over prescribed, but for those who do have a diagnosis of depression they can be a lifeline. Being correctly medicated can make life tolerable.
Anyone suffering from depression should seek medical help – exactly as they would for any other illness. At the very least they should talk to someone. Too many people, especially men, bottle it up and that only makes things worse. Trust me when I say that this is a lesson I’ve learned the hard way.
I’ll leave the last word to Neil Lennon – a man who is unfortunate enough to understand the true nature of depression:
“People say ‘go on holiday’, ‘go and have a rest’ but you take [the depression] with you. The best thing I’ve found over the years to cope with it is to talk about it, get professional help and if there is a tablet you have to take that suits you, then do that.”
I’ve helped ‘a couple’ of Celtic players battle depression – Neil Lennon
From the BBC:
The Rangers boss said he was unhappy with former referee Jim McCluskey, who chaired the three-man panel that heard the tribunal.
“The meeting was chaired by a former referee and I have to say his decision making hasn’t improved any since he stopped refereeing,” said McCoist.
“The three gentlemen on the panel have effectively called my player a cheat and a liar, neither of which he is.”
That is an incredible blast from McCoist.
I’ll be staggered if he isn’t called up to explain himself.
Why is the former referee named in the article?
See Rooney got his 3 match ban lowered to 2.
What is that all about? He deliberatly kicked the player. Can think of no mitigating circumstances.
googybhoy ♥ Kano 1000 says:
8 December, 2011 at 14:05
There a change of name to celebrate Kano 1000
=========================================
Great idea googybhoy.
HH
CRC
Bhoys from earlier
Tomorrow after the quiz, we will raise a toast to Kano and The Kano Foundation. Saturday brings TKF’s 1000th visitor to Paradise
Fill yer glasses from around 10:30pm
HH
CRC
mental health is not an illness to be belittled .
Is it just me ? or are media trying to talk up this storm.
Scotland is becoming more mamby pamby each day.
Earthquakes ,tsunamis,typhoons,volcanic eruptions ,
hurricanes and twisters? naw a wee bit of wind.
Still take our minds of the woes of the mighty gers for a short while.
I done it a bit on this the other week about when the ‘black mist’ comes down.
Unless you suffer from it, don’t even try to attempt understanding it or getting to the bottom of it.
Wife, kids, money, house, you can have it all it does not stop it happening or the terrible feelings you suffer whilst in the grip of it.
You have fair cheered me up this evening… :(
celticrollercoaster says Hail Hail to Kano1000 says:
8 December, 2011 at 18:09
Can I borrow a wee bottle to raise?