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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Magnificentseven
Ha! Ha! Can’t believe I typed that – indoctrinated with Lisbon ’67!!!
Divitbhoy – scrub that – we will be in the LEFT END!
Old age catching up with me (note to self – repeat: red = AC/ blue = Inter).
Yorkbhoy @ 19.02
I would love to see the Next Gen squad compete throughout the League Cup. They can’t be drawn against them :-). The bulk of the young team did very well at Inverness last season.
Delaney
The younger players have to be pushed in my opinion… Don’t know how though…
Celtic Football Club @celticfc 11s
73. Goal for Celtic! Patrik Twardzik bundles it over the line to make it 2-1.
Quiet tonight
From twitter @ grantcoll
Peter Lawell on the sfa board
Bloody hell – Rangers will be turning in their grave !
:)))))
A Short Story
Once upon a time, a football club called Rangers FC used to have directors on the boards of the SFA and SPL.
It didn’t work out too well.
Ended up in all manner of disrepute, deceit and rule breaking.
Then the club died.
The End
Peter Lawwell:
My first job in this new role as head of the SFA will be to rename Hampden as “The Jock Stein Stadium”.
1) Every time we get a half decent performance from a youngster, he IMHO gets OTT adulation, when perhaps they weren’t that good in the first place
totally right clashcity
Yorkbhoy
It would be the perfect opportunity in this year’s league cup. Especially with no zombies in it.
Seems that Sevco were humped by Hibs in a bounce game at Murray Park tonight (3-1).
Wonder if Bang Bang was playing?
;o)
Alexander Buttner’s agent has slammed
Manchester United for failing to complete a
deal for Real Madrid left-back Fabio
Coentrao and claimed his client does not feel
David Moyes has any trust in his ability.
The United left-back is keen to secure a loan
move away from Old Trafford in order to
secure more regular playing time and has
been heavily linked with a possible switch to
Turkish side Besiktas.
His move could still go through as the
Turkish transfer window remains open until
6 September but the loan was more likely to
have gone through had Moyes managed to
bring Coentrao to the club.
The Portuguese defender was said to be close
to completing a move to Manchester United
but it seems the deal was scuppered at the
last minute and Buttner’s agent Aleksandar
Bursac is not impressed.
“It’s unbelievable that Coentrao was not
signed on time and, whether that is an error
on the part of Real or United doesn’t
matter.” he told Voetbal International.
“We have received assurances of a loan.
Alex is not necessarily looking for a
guarantee of playing time, but he does not
want to spend the entire season on the
bench.”
The 24 year old defender made just five
Premier League appearances for Manchester
United last season but did score two goals
and clearly felt he was making progress
under Sir Alex Ferguson.
However, it now appears as though the
Dutch left-back feels he is already out-of-
favour now that Moyes has taken charge.
“Under Sir Alex Ferguson, Buttner was the
up and coming man,” added Bursac. “He
started playing in more games and was
trusted in training. That sense of trust is not
there now.”
Peter Lawell on the sfa board, magic moments.
Will the Ajax supporters boycott the pies?
My second job at new post in Hampden will be that the old rangers end in the stadium will be called the west terracing , the Celtic end will still be the Celtic end.
Delaney
It would be the perfect opportunity in this year’s league cup. Especially with no zombies in it.
I had forgotten that…
Pedros first job will be to get rid of the goat and install an altar ! Hh
Celtic chief executive Peter Lawwell is chosen to represent professional clubs on the Scottish FA board.
To have a Celtic chief executive on the SFA board is monumental.
We won’t be playing in a Scottish football for long :-)
Dearie me, how feckin much lower can they sink ?
http://www.rangers.co.uk/news/club-news/item/4966-serving-the-nation-with-pride)
If you a bit squeamish or easily offended, please don’t click on this link…
http://www.rangers.co.uk/news/club-news/item/4966-serving-the-nation-with-pride)
I know I shouln’t laugh…
… but I can’t help it.
bwaaaa- haaahaaahaaa
You boys are kidding about the youth team in the league cup- right? Having seen the grumps on here around the transfer window can you imagine the moaning if playing our youths meant we didnt win the league cup- the season would be treated as a disaster- even if we did the double and reached the last 16 again. The MSM would have a field day and the disinformation dept hired by oldco would be spreading lies about it being a financial disaster
Hi Ghuys
That Sandy Stables on the SFA board?
Sounds like a Hospital Bulletin to me
HH
Phil
THE EXILED TIM
you just beat me to it…
as you sayhow much lower can they sink?!?
Yorkbhoy
The town of Forfar haven’t forgotten :-)
THE EXILED TIM
20:50 on 3 September, 2013
Dearie me, how feckin much lower can they sink ?
********
Or of course instead of buying the sauce you could just pay your taxes. :-)
Paddy – Lazy (again)! :)
forces sauces…………….the huns will want it on HP
Paddy G
C’mon ….you have VAT on that.Hopefully they serve it in Govan shipyards canteen
for ole time sake.
NegAnon2
20:56 on 3 September, 2013
Paddy – Lazy (again)! :)
********
That’s me NegAnon2, Lazy lazy lazy – Your negative, I am positive, positive energy wins :-)
leftclicktic oscar in our thoughts
18:30 on 3 September, 2013
Peter Lawell’s first job at Hampden…….give all the VIP passes to Celtic Supporters ….we can throw some of the free pies oot the windae to sally….
theBHOYfromU.N.C.L.E
20:56 on 3 September, 2013
forces sauces…………….the huns will want it on HP
;-))
TET
What next? Panty liners and colostomy bags?
thebhoyfromu.n.c.l.e.
brilliant.
Given the Sevconian charity record, I wonder how much of the 6 p will be cascading in their direction?
How much lower can it get in the land of Sevconia?
Much lower I would wager !
setting free the bears supports Celtic’s best fighter- Wee Oscar Knox
I see what you did there.Of course I would not bet my house on it,nor bet my shirt on it,nor,put my mortgage on it,nor,to use the betting terminology used by millions of people every day,bet my last pound on it.Its only terminology used by people to put forward their own personal certainty of any outcome.Dont know if you are a betting man,but before any bet is placed,it is always wise to study past form.When all the pros,and cons have been weighed up then you proceed.Now Finnbogasons past performances in the art of goalscoring would compel me to bet on him finishing top scorer in the SPL,a title held only recently by a carthorse from Motherwell.
As for your comments on Ajax,I dont really know anything about their finances,but I do know my facts stand up.6 goals in the last 5 meetings,would give them great trepidation about lining up against him again.To finish,I will await your comments when some posters tell the world that Celtic will win comfortably in the forthcoming game,even predicting the score,invariably wrong,or else they would all be living out here in luxury.
Hail Hail.
Stairheedrammy
And losing to the bridie town team wasn’t a financial disaster? Oh I forgot Sally’s Galactico’s couldnae play :-)
Stairheedrammy @ 20:54,
“You boys are kidding about the youth team in the league cup- right? Having seen the grumps on here around the transfer window can you imagine the moaning if playing our youths meant we didnt win the league cup- the season would be treated as a disaster…”
Well, the last time we seen the proposed team playing, it was in Dublin against Liverpool.
I don’t think they will do any worse than the inconsistent First team of last season.
Hail Hail
On the situation with the youth set up outside the first team squad, my thoughts are that we should push to be able to put a second team into the SPFL set up through expansion of the number of teams to 48 — 4 x 12 — with a separate squad that can be changed during the normal transfer windows.
If that is not a goer then get up close and personal with a 4th tier side and provide 6-8 players to bolster their squad. AR would be my first bet but other teams would surely be happy to get an influx of talent both on the playing and possibly coaching side. ES anyone — they are currently squatting so they really are one hard rations.
My preference would be the 2nd team in the league.
It would be part of the “Growth Agenda” — a new reserve stadium built in the East End.
Big Pedeo to get the Pope as guest of honer for the Scottish cup final.