Over the last few days of the European transfer window I was keen to find out what business Ajax would be able to complete (what Milan and Barca did is of scant interest). Between Friday and yesterday Ajax lost two players, Danish midfielder Christian Eriksen moved to Tottenham, and yesterday, Belgian defender, Toby Alderweireld joined Atletico Madrid.
Both were big players for the Dutch champions, who could realise €20m from the sales, but attempts to sign Ola John from Benfica and Eljero lia of Werder Bremen failed, instead they paid Heracles Almelo €2.5m for midfielder Lerin Duarte.
The Amsterdamers had a frustrating final few hours of the window. No doubt potential targets were worried about having to face three huge teams in the Champions League. In a difficult group, this is what counts as a break for Celtic. Only five games into their league season and without Champions League qualifiers to use as a yardstick, the group stage will come early for Ajax.
Living adjacent to an over-monied behemoth has considerable drawbacks as even our top clubs struggle to retain teenagers in the face of English lower league competition but such a rich market can also bring enough transfer income to make the difference between feast and famine.
The English Premier League spent £445m on transfers outside England but apart from Celtic and Hamilton Accies, who between them will earn around 4% of that total, I don’t think anyone else in Scotland got a piece of the action.
Nurturing and selling talent to England has to be a strategy for dozens of clubs here. Paying (for them) top wages to players who are no longer able to gain employment in England can only be considered a waste by comparison.
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Mickbhoy1888- Hotels are based on double occupancy, single occupancy +£80-100 on top of that.
Auldheid @ 17:08
You did a great job getting the support from the Celtic Trust last night. Thanks and well done!
The Battered Bunnet @ 17:35
I attend matches. I am upset at being cheated for decades. I am upset with Celtic’s silence on this. The game is now bereft of sporting integrity and there didn’t seem to be any action taken to stop or change that. I wish I could see Scottish football for more than just a bit of fun. It should be a fair and equal competition. It’s not. It’s corrupt. The games-a-bogey.
blantyretim is praying for the Knox family @18:06
Me too!
SFTB
Some great points you’ve raised today, however, I stress the point that I made yesterday; rarely outside of cyber land have I encountered a Celtic supporter who would walk away for any of the 3 issues you’ve mentioned.
There will be much wailing and gnashing of falsers, especially amongst the more aged of our support, but on the whole we will all still pay our money and buy our macaroon bars.
And we thought Thomas Crook was bad…..
So Big Pete is appointed to the SFA board…………..
I’d rather we had nowt to do with that manky mob.!
Are we now the establishment team and this is merely recognition of that?
Paul67 et al
Sandy Stables? Is he perchance related to Augeas?
I think we should be told!
Goldstar10 @18:21
Scandalous
mickbhoy1888
18:19 on
3 September, 2013
googybhoy ♥ celtic
17:57 on 3 September, 2013
Celtics new travel partner thomsons sports
Hopefully, they will be better a lot better than Thomas Crook.
Because I for one, was not impressed with their
travel and match package arrangements, when
it was Thomas Crook who was handling it.
Marks 2/10 for TC bad show and organization,
Crookie.
Let me say this.. fur.. after reading a Loata Contrary Opinions,on this Subject.
Contrary ..tae Mine,anywey…
Ah feel that Ah must .,.well… Say ..
This Celtic Team, is By No Means..
WEAKER!!
Ah have said this . consistently.. and Ah wull Continue tae say, so.
Victor, will NOT be Missed..
Wilson, will NOT be Missed..
Sadly.. Hoops WULL be Missed,of course..
Howvahhhhhhhhh..
In Ma Opinion
Celtic, this Time Aroon.
Is a Far Stronger outfit..than ..last season’s Version.
Especially, in the Defensive area….
Ah am also, hoping the Pukki, wull dae a Joab..and Hoops wull No be Missed,eethur.
This Big ,Tall. Strong. Striding Israeli..
Willl Make us Furget Aboot.. Awe Aboot,Victor..
and Van Dyke,is A much more Reliable Player, in the Key C.B. position than Wilson ever wiz.
and Don’t furget.. The Flying Dutchman, who Ah am sure will hiv a most pleasing effect oan oor Attacking options, once he settles.
Yep..
Ah am looking forward tae a Much Improved and Stronger Celtic Line-up,this coming Season
Weaker?
Don’t Believe it.
Kojo
Still,Laughin’
A friend just Emailed me the deadclub media thread
Knock ’em bandy Karagandy!
I started reading at 89mins their bile & pain is a thing that better men would have joy studying.
4 mins ET Awwwwwwwwwwww ***%$”*!% *&%%%£££!!!”” %%$$$
wAAAAHHHHAAAAAAAAHHHHHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA
Thank you Neil Francis Lennon and your Bhoys for rattling the carcass of the corpse just that wee bit more :)))
KOJO…
to the tune of Abba’s money, money, money…
Pukki, Pukki, Pukki
Teemu Pukki
He will score goals
67Heaven … I am Neil Lennon, supporting WEE OSCAR..!!.. Ibrox belongs to the creditors
Just for you :))
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A0ttGFEwhPE
Till later meeting time
leftclicktic
I assume that was a FF knuckles thread.
mickbhoy1888
17:15 on 3 September, 2013
Thanks for the info, but I never said he was wrong to leave, or wished him any bad luck. He made the decision that he felt was best for him. All I said was that we needed a new striker because he wanted to leave. Maybe he would have stayed under certain conditions, but we were unwilling or unable to meet those, he left for someone who could. So I stand by my comments, that he wanted to leave. He might not have been unhappy, but he must think he will be happier or such being somewhere else.
Good luck to him, and I hope he does make the England squad. But I am really only interested in who replaces him, and how well they do.
Looks like Lawwell and the SFA deserve each other…
Celtic’s Safety Certificate
Request under the Freedom of Information
(Scotland) Act 2002
Thank you for your email received on 6 August
2013requesting that the following information
be provided to you:
“Following the announcement by Celfic that
they are to relocate fans amidst safety
concerns raised by the Local Authority, Fire
Service, Police and others, I would be grateful
if you could provide me with minutes or
correspondence under FOI where threats were
made to revoke the Club’s safety certificate.
I would also be grateful if you could confirm if
the same criteria is applied to the National
Stadium which recently held a number of large
rock concerts.”
The Council is treating your request as a
request under the Freedom of Information
(Scotland) Act 2002.
Glasgow City Council is a member of the
Safety Advisory Group which addresses safety
in sports grounds, including the four main
football stadia within the city. The Safety
Advisory Group comprises partners from the
Council’s Building Control & Public Safety and
Licensing sections as well as Police Scotland,
Strathclyde Fire and Rescue and the Scottish
Ambulance Service.
The primary role of the Safety Advisory Group
is to provide advice and guidance to a football
club’s safety management team on
accommodating spectators safely within their
stadium including advice and guidance on
sensitive issues such as spectator ingress and
egress, crowd management,fire safety,
personal security and anti-terrorism
procedures. The Safety Advisory Group is also
responsible for issuing the stadium with
General and Special Safety Certificates under
the Safety of Sports Grounds Act 1975.
On inspecting our records, it would appear
that Glasgow City Council does not hold
any minutes or correspondence where threats
were made by the Safety Advisory Group to
revoke the Club’s safety certificate. Neither
does anyone else hold it on our behalf.
Therefore this information would be exempt
under Section 17 of the Act. This is because
no such correspondence or minutes
exist within the Council.
In respect of the second part of your
requestregarding the National Stadium, the
Safety Advisory Group is also responsible for
issuing General and Special Safety Certificates
for this stadium. Our records indicate that we
hold no correspondence where we have
threatened to revoke the certificates for this
stadium. Therefore this information would
also be exempt under Section 17 of the
Act. Accordingly we are unable to comply with
your request.
If you are dissatisfied with the way Glasgow
City Council has dealt with your request you
are entitled to require the Council to review its
decision. Please note that for a review to take
place you must:
•
Lodge a written requirement for a review
within 40 working days of the date of this
letter
•
Include a correspondence address and a
description of the original request and the
reason why you are dissatisfied
•
Address your request to the Executive Director
of Corporate Services:
Executive Director of Corporate Services
Glasgow City Council
City Chambers
George Square
Glasgow G2 1DU
So Peter Lawell joins the SFA Board, is that another brick in the facade coming down?
BT, Morrisey, also agree, I hope he is in there to get us out.
KOJO…same tune, next verse
‘cos in Neils dreams Pete had a plan
Teemu Pukki was the man
He’ll work so hard in all the games
to score the goals and please our fans
an thats no bad
burghbhoy
18:24 on 3 September, 2013
Don’t think there is any danger of THAT…..hahahahahahaha
Asonofdan – that’s handy. No minutes being taken.
………Pukki, Pukki, Pukki
Teemu Pukki
He will score goals
Asonofdan – I have to say, and this is not a defense of the club or council, that I’ve never seen as much movement in the seated sections at gigs as you used to see in 111.
leftclicktic oscar in our thoughts
18:30 on 3 September, 2013
PLEASE POST THAT FF STUFF, PLEASE….hahahahahahaha
PL YOU TUBE ONE….HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA
Desert Bhoy
Yep..Glad ye ur oan Board.. pal.
Pukki, when he was Playing. Regularly..Feeling Comfortable..and.. Maist IMPORTANTLY.. Wanted.. at H.J.K.
Was a PROLIFIC SCORER!
When he went to Germany, he was the Noo Kid oan the Block..
And .. Had tae join the Queue..for the Premier Striker’s Position.
and.. unfortunately..
He ran intae some Mighty Fine Competition . .there!
So, natch.. because of his Infrequent Outings in the Shalke Side..
the Germans did not see the Best of Him.
Ah am Hoping that in Coming To Us..
Pukki, has Found a New HOME.
Where he wull be allowed tae freely express Himsel.. and in the best ways..
By Rattling the Riggin’, fur us, wit Consistency and Aplomb.
He soitenly , does not find himself in a similar position,as he did, when he went to play in Germany.
At Celtic, He does not have the same caliber of Competiton for the Striker’s Position..
So right away, Things are Looking up for him,in that respect.
He should get more Playing time, with us, and that wull Help him settle.. more easily.. which would allow him to Re-Capture his H.J.K. Goal Scoring Consistency .
Nice Chatting..pal.
Kojo
Still, Laughin
Gotta Scram, Sam
Seeya..
Morrissey
I get it. I agree with you.
But… are you mistaking ‘silence’ for inaction, and ‘didn’t seem to be any action’ for fact?
Scotland’s shame in my view, is simply this:
Faced with the awful reality that the game was bent, rigged, corrupt, we (or moreover, those who are mandated to act for us) elected to accommodate those responsible for the frauds for fear of their losing face, position and patronage.
There are though 2 key differences between ‘decades’ ago and now:
1) We now know the game was bent for decades.
2) We now know the interests of those in charge of the game take precedence over the game itself.
I’ve yet to see any evidence, or even a decent argument, that shows Celtic had anything to do with it all, beyond being mugged.
We played by the rules. We continue to.
We ran our affairs properly. We continue to.
We didn’t run to the media, or whisper in ears. We still don’t.
Action is always louder than words. Simply because we have not been heard to speak, doesn’t mean we were inactive.
A healthy dose of scepticism though is never a bad thing in such shabby affairs.
‘Scuse me…. some tweets jsut floated by talking about some kind of, er, glitch, with the cup draw. It sounds like they didn’t dra enough games, 28 instead of 32 but I can’t quite believe I’ve read that properly.
Clarification please!!!
Fan-a-tic
Who outwith the first team squad has been given a run of games?
We list a first team squad of 20 to 30 players. It is currently at 25, the smallest for a while. We can only play 11 to 14 players in each game. even amongst this senior group, players like Twardzik did not get a “run” of games but Watt did. It is this senior squad which will supply most of our players- they include young players like Forrest, Matthews, McGeoch, Rogic and Balde. We should only expect the development players to get a handful of games interspersed throughout the year. It will take an exceptional talent to jump straight to first team competitive level. Forrest and Watt managed that under NFL but the support is already doubting both players.
On the Rogic question he is a full internationall so playing him so sparingly seems cautious but understandable with our coaches system.Dont think its necessary.
He has achieved international status- 2 appearances- whilst at Celtic. He played futsall in most of his development years. He has a lot to learn about real football- thankfully he looks like doing so and Neil has already given him chances this year. Tom Rogic will be delighted about how he is progressing at Celtic.
I agree the pressure is there to win or the groans begin but time for Neil to show he has the confidence and belief in his players and systems.
Neil has shown confidence and belief. He can only pick 11 and play 14, if needed. The whole 25 man squad are his players and the only ones he does not believe in have left or are on loan.
We continue to count managers a failure on grounds where they have a better record than any previous manager. Why raise the bar and pressures on Neil. He sees these players every day. Let him select.
ASonofDan
Absolutely no surprises in any of that response.
If you ask leading questions and don’t understand how these organisations operate you will always get such responses.
As for your PL comment, crass in my view.
There is clearly a bigger picture here.
HH
Within the last few weeks it was posted to the effect that CQNers tend to be in the older group of Celtic fans.
This would suggest a fairly lengthy cumaltive experience of following and being acquainted with thing Celtic.
Therefore it is surprising that there are still a number of Celtic fans who have not yet took on board, that, barring an economic implosion throughout world football, Celtic signings will continue to be of the Oh Aye! variety rather than of a Wow! nature.
Also regardless of commitments such as Euro Qualifiers, spending on any scale will not take place until income is firmly secured.
From a purely business point of view the recent transfer window activities, or lack of them, have almost certainly guaranteed that figure for the current financial year will be in the black.
Spiers “Daryl Broadfoot hasn’t got an anti-Sevco gene in his body….” no sh#/ Sherlock
off message
I wonder if there are joke e mails going around sfa about child abuse and bbc stars
hope big peter will be our mhan on the inside and help stop the rot and clear the dross that has been involved in bringing the game into disrepute via all things sevco and deidco,see how ra pee pul like them apples,theyre reacting as expected by all accounts,cant go on any of their sites..bile and deprevation are the norm.not my thing!
kojo totaly agree with what you said earlier re.virgil and the others..all positive for the future and will be interesting to see the new bhoys fitting in,just hope they settle well h.h
Re playing the youngsters
Who would want Neil to play a team of youngsters in the league cup?
I think it would be a good idea
A wee, perhaps not too popular thought on regularly alleged corruption in Scottish game.
I imagine that some of the money we pay on entering Celtic Park filters through to the allegedly corrupt SFA.
SFTB
In your initial post you said Neil had used many players outside the first team squad.
Watt,Mathews,Forrest,McGeouchBalde and Rogic are all members of the first team squad!
I have put no pressure on Neil with comparisons to any other/previous coaches performances or results.
My initial post was about our transfer policy and how I felt that we also needed to start bringing through our youth as we cannot rely on selling players and using the cash to restock the team.
I said we have to change to being proactive rather than reactive on and off the field.
And felt that Neil would have to be a little less cautious to facilitate this.
yorkbhoy
Depends on whether or not we eventually draw THEM.
i asked this before on here,but why does our club not have an unemployed gate at the stadium?hh
tommysbhoy
PL would probably reply that just as with free school meals we do not wish to stigmatise anyone.
YorkBhoy, it would seem a sensible thing to do, but if they lost, NFL would take flack for bleeding too many youngsters too soon, and some supporters would complain about not winning the treble. A team of youngsters could loose at any time, which could also be a confidence issue. So a couple at a time, billed them in slowly throughout the season.
Just an opinion.