Lessons to learn from Pukki mistake

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Teemu Pukki’s permanent move to Brondby for a reported £500k is good business for a player who never came close to commanding a regular starting place at Celtic.  While we did well exiting him from Celtic Park but his arrival two years ago is worthy of review.

He came from Schalke as a 23-year-old, having been at Sevilla as a teenager and scoring slightly better than one in two in Finland.  Even his Schalke stats were decent, 8 goals in 7 starts and 30 appearances from the bench, which for a sparingly used young player is around the mark expected.  On paper, Teemu looked a good fit for us, so do we have anything to learn?

For a start, being able to score goals in the Bundesliga does not guarantee you will be able to translate this into an even better scoring rate in Scotland.  We have made similar mistakes when recruiting strikers from Spain in recent seasons.  For all our lack of financial clout, delivering in Scotland is not an easy task.

There is a whole world of potential issues around psychology, motivation and appetite, which I regularly hear cited about players from people in the game.  For the most part, I reckon these are excuses to bridge the unexplained gap between expectation and outcome.  You get the odd indulgent nutcase, but most players have an overwhelming sense of their need to maximise their commercial value by delivering on the park.  I suspect Teemu is no different.

Whatever the reason behind him not fitting at Celtic, the exercise cost us not only the £1.5m net loss on transfer fees, and wages paid, but more importantly the failure to kick on from reaching the last 16 of the Champions League in season 2012-13.

There’s a truth in the game which has stood the test of time: only people who watch a player week-in-week-out know his true value.  Schalke fans would have told us things about Teemu which we can tell others about John Guidetti.  John will pick up a club keen to exploit his untapped potential.  A year from now they will be a little wiser.

Our lesson: scouting is the only important part of recruitment, stats, references and YouTube clips don’t count.

Our friends at Magners have offered us two of the new Celtic away jerseys.  It’s another fantastic offer from Celtic’s main sponsor, my thanks to them.  In order to win, answer the following question:

Which team won this year’s Premiership Play-off final 6-1 on aggregate?  Put the answer in the SUBJECT line of your email to celticquicknews@gmail.com

Competition closes at midnight TONIGHT, so get busy, these are two great prizes and there’s less than a 12 hour window to win them.

And………….. while you’re entering, you might want to kick a pound or two towards our Marys’ Meals Malawi school kitchen appeal.  Thank you.

And #2, if you enter, check your inbox for a response over the weekend.  There’s a home shirt unclaimed from a similar competition last month!

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  1. Nye Bevans' rebel soldier on

    RWE……..keep checking in pal,always enjoy yer post’s,

     

    well not always,ach!!! ya know whit I mean,take care

     

    anyways.

  2. 50 shades of green

     

     

    I read bobo baldes recently and he had a goal scoring record better than mcgrorys and had played for Real Madrid and won pretty much every single cup in the world! Did you tamper with that?

  3. Sepp Blatter must have organised the U.S. Open. Like a scene from Game of Thrones.

     

    Not much greenery, no trees, looks like cement in the bunkers. Butch Harman said the greens are worse than temporary greens on local courses. They are like those on a 2nd rate municipal course. Have a bet on Tiger to break 100 today. Worth a look even if you don’t follow golf.

  4. Thunder Road on

    Don’t normally get too excited with new signings until i actually see how they perform but the thought of this guy Jelle gave me chivers.

  5. embramike says "the Huns are Deid" on

    Collins’ comments on supposed Celtic transfer interest – are you reading Jingle while you compose another ‘article’ for the Level5 in-house magazine ??

     

     

    Celtic rule out transfers for Ikechi Anya and Steven Fletcher

     

     

    Celtic assistant manager John Collins says the club will not be signing Scotland internationals Steven Fletcher and Ikechi Anya…..

     

     

    …. Collins, who also confirmed the Scottish champions will not be pursuing their interest in former Hearts captain Danny Wilson

     

     

    Also BBC on FF banned list after this comment ?? …

     

     

    Rangers and Celtic met in last season’s Scottish League Cup, but have not met in the league since the Ibrox club’s liquidation

  6. Phillbhoy & MiT

     

     

    Stayed up at Mains of Taymouth ( Kenmore) for a long weekend earlier this year, absolutely stunning, and would highly highly recommend

     

    Now I don’t play golf, but there was a Golf course there, which was open

     

     

    The drive between Mains of Taymouth, (right at tip of the river Tay) right along the side of the River Tay, to Lochearhead ( along Loch Earn) is a beautiful drive, includes the Falls of Duchart

     

     

    Now Jelle Vossen, were we not also linked with him 2 or 3 seasons ago ?

     

     

    Hail Hail Bhoys

  7. Nye Bevans' rebel soldier on

    Over in RM their discussing strip they should wear….. Black and red socks just so people are reminded what we are up to our knees in

     

    .

  8. Philbhoy 15.44

     

     

    I too had my honeymoon in Dornoch. Even made time off for a round or two !!

  9. I spoke about Jelle two years ago, I think he has a lot of potential if he can find the right team. We could offer him Champions league and the chance to fight his way into the national side also we could help to develop his natural ability to find the net. I would be amazed if we could bring him in. Especially on our budget. I think he is much better than Guidetti. As far as other rumours are concerned I like the sound of Jonathas and the Argentinian dude. I don’t know if they can speak English and that could be a problem.

     

     

    Hail Hail.

  10. lennon's passion on

    Genk have said that they have not yet received any offer or even a firm inquiry from CFC and that they are prepared to wait until someone matches their 3 million Euros (£2.2m) valuation.}

  11. nye bevans’ rebel soldier…

     

     

    If you read on one post is about needing blue shorts for playing in Europe…delusional or just mental ;)

  12. Cowiebhoy

     

    17:30 on

     

    19 June, 2015

     

    Phillbhoy & MiT

     

     

    ……made that drive many times… bit hairy at places, an that’s in the summer.

     

     

    Killin for falls.

  13. BOBBY MURDOCH’S CURLED-UP WINKLEPICKERS

     

     

     

     

    01:08 on

     

     

    19 June, 2015

     

     

     

     

    Just been reading back,so…

     

     

    Congratulations to TONTINE TIM on the 40th Anniversary of life in his adopted second home.

     

     

    By my reckoning,he was lucky enough to see 9 in a row,then buggered off at the first sign of the Huns winning.

     

     

    *ha ha ha, my da was convinced that the reason I left was the deid team stopping our 10IAR, Big Billy retiring and Jock’s car crash although I was over here by the time the latter happened.

  14. Can Jonathas speak Spanish ? If so then my reservations will dissolve :-)

     

     

    Hail Hail.

  15. Could there be a new version of the Jelle Piece song… obviously not with warburtons.

  16. Nye Bevans' rebel soldier on

    sipsini…….I have a wee look on there now and again,God

     

    love them,I’m amazed,they think it’s only a matter of time

     

    before they are ruling the roast and reaping horrible revenge

     

    on all the Sevco haters.

  17. Almore

     

     

    See you Sunday night pal.

     

    I will try and be a wee bit sober.

     

     

    Gonna be a long weekend HeHe

     

     

    HH

  18. Nye Bevans' rebel soldier on

    roast= roost,eff me see whit happens when you

     

    visit the dark side.

  19. BGFC

     

     

    calling

     

     

    BGFC

     

     

    if your around bud, can you get me email from Paul67, and give me a wee send

  20. weet weet weet(GBWO) on

    Former England and Chelsea footballer Kerry Dixon has been jailed for nine months for punching and kicking a man who is said to have called him “fatso”.

  21. balornock bhoy on

    Tallybhoy- Isa Karim! Just burst out laughing on train. People opposite think i am a nutter!

  22. nye bevans’ rebel soldier

     

     

    17:33 on 19 June, 2015

     

     

    I thought shite was brown ……HH

  23. Nye Bevans' rebel soldier on

    Goodnight Timland.

     

     

    A bit of running around to do,be nice ffs.

     

     

    Kevj…..whits happening,have missed you,get

     

    back on here and keep rattling them cages.

  24. ThompsonTwin on

    charles kickum

     

    —————-

     

     

    Of course we can’t afford them – both of them togethet, over four years, would cost the ‘thick-end’ of £20 million, in transfer fees and wages.

     

     

    Of course they are not worth £30/45k per week on performance, however coming from the EPL (one leaving, one joining), these kind of wages are the lower end of normal.

  25. charles kickham on

    ThompsonTwin

     

     

    18:12 on 19 June, 2015

     

     

    My point was STV led with the story that we couldn’t afford them rather than the true story that we have no interest in them – there’s a big difference – non story

  26. Big Amido has all the physical attributes to become a fantastic target man, but does he have the heart and mind to make it happen, I don’t know. I don’t even know if he can speak English yet.

     

     

    Hail Hail.

  27. i'vehadtochangemyname on

    and there’s also luck paul – I remember a quality blog by you on gareth bale and the dilemma spurs faced with what to do with his money – it came down to luck and i’m sure espoused investing to try and find more luck

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