Occasionally an innocuous comment left here can stay with you for years. The day following the 2005 defeat in Bratislava someone wrote, “I suspect we’ll find an injury in Nakamura’s fitness test”. The player was scheduled to sign imminently, but with Champions League income looking unlikely, doubts emerged that Celtic would pay the money.
Soon others expressed doubts that Shunsuke would want to come, but within 48 hours of that defeat, he was sitting in front of the media at Celtic Park. I was there, among a gaggle of Japanese and Scottish journos, when one of the locals asked why the prospect of being without European football didn’t put him off.
Shunsuke handled the question perfectly, “I am not here for six games of football, I have signed for Celtic and hope to play here for many years.” Rumour has it that not everyone in the dressing room back then was equally as enthusiastic about life in Glasgow.
I’ve heard lots about Wakaso Mubarak in recent weeks, he appears to be a genuine talent, as well as being spirited. What is most appealing about him is that he wants to be here. This deal would not have happened if the player was not absolutely committed to coming to the club, and making his stay a success.
Back in August 2005 we didn’t know what we were getting with Naka, and I’m not going to burden Wakaso with a comparison to a player who turned out to be a transformational legend, but we need players with big personalities who can walk into the dressing room with the determination to be there, just as Naka did.
Welcome to Celtic, Wakaso. Be yourself and you’ll love Glasgow; Glasgow will love you too.
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corkcelt
14:25 on 28 August, 2014
TOSB. Perhaps leave a big hole in corkcelts life but Mrs. corkcelt might argue that wouldn’t be such a bad thing. Must admit I tried to flounce a couple of times but a week or so later, you have spare time on your hands and log in to see what’s happening. Usual suspects hammering away, you disagree with something and bang you’ve posted and you are back. Bloody thing is addictive.
…………………………………
Made me laugh. What you’ve said mirrors my own experience. The wife has threatened me with divorce on several occasions. The first thing my grandson says to me when he comes in, “Have you been on Celtic Quick News all day, Grampa?”
Was chatting to marspapa a few weeks ago and he called it right then. He said if we didnt spend any on transfer fees, sold ff and had europa league then that would compensate pl for loss of champions league this season! Must get him to tell me lotto numbers this week! !!
Looks a lot like Che Guevara
Your points are hard to violently disagree with.
I did say he should have a seat at the top table just not at the head of it.
I did not say anything about ‘a football man having the cheque book’
My point was really that he can only behave the way his education and experience tells him (same as you and me) and that it’s not going to change.
We should be getting better every season given the magnitude and income of the club but we seem to be getting worse. Just to be clear – I don’t mean spending more than we earn but the transfer market surplus is more than excessive.
I don’t believe this week is as a result of RD becoming the new manager – I believe it the result of several years of non-investment.
I also made the point the other week that I would happily pay more for the season card if it guaranteed investment and I am sure others who are able would also be willing to do the same. I don’t need a free badge or scarf if I join a global membership – but I do need better on pitch
I couldn’t give a flying F about sevco…………but there is no doubt as a football team we have lost an edge !!……
Players must miss the intensity the adrenaline rush that the fixture will provide…….. In fact I have not heard one player past or present who says wish they were gone forever.
They will just hear a wall of noise …they won’t be able to distinguish which particular vile ditty they are singing
The fixture with the deed club undoubtedly made the likes of Larsson even better…….cos he revelled in them…..
From a personal point………I don’t miss it ……..far more calmer person……..my young children hardly know the other me !!!!!!……..that ain’t no bad thing……
larrsson80
Calm down fella. My post was directed at those who came on, fired a volley at Paul67, got personal and then flounced claiming outrage. If the cap fits and all that..
Don’t play the martyr. Nobody’s denying anyone the right to bark at the board or whoever, but you have a better chance of engaging your audience if you don’t use your vitriol as a means of being heard.
I get you’re angry. It screams out of every word in your post to me.
Now be constructive and perhaps appreciative at the same time.
So many Celtic supporters upset that the Celtic board are not as obsessed with The Rangers as they are.
Shame.
larsson80
Showing respect to the blog host and agreeing with his views are two entirely separate things.
Calling the blog owner out for his failure to address the big issues is valid. Doing so by insinuating that he is not allowed to express his own opinion as he is bought for and sold to PL is not.
And mistaking people, who are making that distinction, as backside licking sycophants is just childish name-calling.
Play the ball and not the man!
larsson80
“Constructive arguements needed but those who attack those venting anger at the badly run pre-season and investment policy need to pull their tongues out Paul’s backside.”
Do you see the irony in that? I would call that a vitriolic comment. An attack in fact.
And “Paul67 sycophants”…is that constructive?
As far as Finbogasson is concerned, were is your proof to back up that statement about what NL wanted?
MONEY, MONEY, MONEY
It’s all people obssess about. Whether it is hoarding it, spending it, earning it or selling players for it.
When we sign someone.
First question? What’s he cost?
Next Question? What’s he worth?
Next question? What age is he?
Good sell on value?
What has our club become? A trading house for footballers?
We should be more concerned about what the players can do in the team. We have been suckered in to the world of money.
It is consuming us. I believe if coached properly you could build a team from our youths and a couple of decent signings who want to play at the club and compete just as well as we are now.
The obsession with money is embarrassing.
WE must spend money!!!!
How much?
About £10m
At least £5m on a striker!
Absolute garbage.
We need to bring in good players. The cost is not important. If they are free and do the business even better.
He is 32. No sell on value! Awnaw.
Who cares? That is not my concern.
The club are spending money on dross because the fans crave it. The fans must have a signing. We need an exotic name. He must be a good player because he has played in Serie A or La Liga or has 25 caps for Botswana.
Aboslute garbage.
Jackie Mcnamara took a player from Queens Park and developed him into a player within 6 months.The boy was capped and United sold him. They sold him because that money may just double their income from season ticket sales. We don;t have to do that.
Celtic are not identifying the right players. Celtic are playing moneyball because it is what the fans crave. If we didn;t spend the money on Pukki, Balde and Boerritger last season we would have a reaction like now. They players were rubbish. They have not proved to be value for money. Simply they are nowhere near ready.
Pukki has confidence issues. That should have been identified beforehand.
Boerritger has injury problems and De Boer even gave us the heads up on that and we ignored it.
Balde is just nowhere near ready to play at a decent level.
None of those 3 was able to handle the pressure or expectation of playing for Celtic with a price tag round their neck because the support expect them to hit the ground running and they couldn’t. Whoever scouted them was miles off.
If the players in question are being signed for Celtic they need to be Hungry for it and they have to be Ready for it.
If we are going to sign players for anything over £1m they must be first team players.
The board panicked last season because we needed players signed for £Xm because that is the majority of fans expectations for Celtic. I disagree. I want to see players come in who say I want to play for this club and run through brick walls for the fans. They do that and we will love them for it.
I think Ronny has that mindset. Buy a CB or get what is perceived to be the next Kompany on loan? No brainer. Get the Bhoy in. Why spend money on someone who may not be ready when you can get a loan of a top player and take time to scout for your next CB? That to me is smart. Where Ronny got it wrong was not playing him at home to Maribor. Huge opportunity missed.
We have other loans with a right to buy. Smart.
I wish we had done that with the players signed last year we have no hope of offloading.
As fans we should have learned from last season. Just going out and splashing £2m on a player doesn;t guarantee he will be a success. Spending £5m on a striker will not gurantee goals. We need to bring in the right players because the wrong ones have been brought in all too often and they usually come with a lovely Youtube compilation and a glowing report from a pal of theirs who plays at a decent club telling us how great they are. If Ronny is to be a success he needs to change the thinking and bring Bhoys in who he believes are better or fit his model. How much they cost the club is of little consequence.
We must forget about signing players for X amount of monies and concentrate on what the manager is bringing them in for.
Buying 3rd or 4th rate players for millions of pounds is not working. The key is to bring players under the radar and keep them for 5 to 6 years not bring in a player for X and hope to punt him for Y in years to come. We need to build a football team and a spine that will be around for a few years.
The fans have become obssessed with what players are worth. Even the board haters are saying if VVD does go we should get at least £10m! Why? What good does that do us?
If VVD wants to go we will get market value and won;t spend it anyway. Change the scouting and the mindset.
We have had 3 years when we could have been playing youths who would have had nearly 100 games under their belt and chose not to take it. The league was guaranteed. This could be McGregors 3rd season in the team but it is his first. We missed a great window of development because the fans crave a signing with a fancy name and a price tag.
The board have only given the people what they want.
LB
stevo
“We should be getting better every season given the magnitude and income of the club”
You are going to have to explain that one a bit more.
I honestly do not get the connection. What are you comparing with here?
Larsson80 –
Neil Lennon did not want Finbogasson.
Neil Warnock is the new manager of Crystal Palace?? Phew that was close!!!!
Just logged on… read back a few pages.
We are all hurting. I will not be “welcoming back” any team called RFC as they are DEID.
I have stated here before that if CFC try and assist in the allusion without reference to their funeral I will not attend the games.
No interest in the bigot nonsense but obviously some on here are. How you can enjoy that I will never know. More important things in life to me.
Anyway everyone to their own.
Hail Hail CFC
Sumdae read the big print on WD contract to him. !0 million? Mmmm
Despite the board having a “we’re all in this together” approach when it suits them, the only official reaction to the CL debacle has been the post match comments of RD.
Surely the events of this week are big enough and important enough and have caused sufficient concern amongst the support to merit a board statement to address the justifiable concerns expressed in various ways over the past two days?
A statement to address what efforts, if any, were made to strengthen the attacking options between the date of Legia reprieve and the Maribor game;
A statement to address the allegation that the club has actively decided to downsize in recent seasons;
A statement to clarify the full circumstances surrounding NFL’s departure, including the existence or otherwise of any restrictive covenants/gagging orders;
A statement to clarify the full circumstances of the GB’s ban for the Maribor game and the position of the GB going forward;
A statement addressing what current strategies are being pursued in respect of TV revenues and whether Celtic would advocate a renegotiation or revocation of the Sky deal or a unilateral move to individual selling of match rights;
A statement to confirm what strategy, if any, is bring actively pursued in respect of any potential move to any other league or league structure;
The club’s policy on squad size;
Any development of Lennoxtown including covered facilities;
Whether there has been or will be any review of scouting systems including addressing the expressed concerns regarding the influence of players’ agents.
There are other genuine concerns not listed above which I’m sure others could list.
However, no one can deny that very real fears and questions now exist in the minds of many fans. These are not crackpot conspiracy theories or concerns. They are live and they will grow if not addressed by the board as soon as possible.
Welcome to Celtic Stefan Scepovic
My info is his work permit appeal has been succesful.
GLASGOW, August 28 (RIA Novosti) – Questions will be raised over Scotland’s future international sporting participation if there is a No vote, a source at FIFA, world football’s governing body, has told RIA Novosti.
http://en.ria.ru/analysis/20140
adi dasler
Watch out….not wanting the bigot huns at CP.
Means you are a “Bad” Celtic supporter:)
HH
LiviBhoy
The board are a long way from giving me what I want!
Adi_Dasler –
You say if Celtic do not publicly recognise the true status of Sevco, you will not attend games against them. You then go on to question why anyone would want to endure the “bigot nonsense”.
So are you in effect saying if Celtic make the right noises regarding Sevco, you will be happy to go to games and endure the bigot nonsense?
Castel Gandolfo
14:05 on
28 August, 2014
Welcome to Celtic Wakaso Mubarak
time to stand and deliver
Is that what Paul means by AdamAnt in the title?
Yogiy
I guess the Yes side are becoming desperate in their Project Fear tactics.
An un-named FIFA source said all that.
A named FIFA spokesperson refused to confirm or deny it.
The old tabloid tactic
setting free the bears for Res. 12 & Oscar Knox but saying no to CQN racists
My point was maybe mixed up in my dislike of accountants running companies
Really I am saying we seem to be getting worse/weaker/falling behind our preferred opponents at every transfer window when as a club with good income we should be getting better/stronger/keeping up with our preferred opponents every transfer window.
Yogiy
14:46 on 28 August, 2014
GLASGOW, August 28 (RIA Novosti) – Questions will be raised over Scotland’s future international sporting participation if there is a No vote, a source at FIFA, world football’s governing body, has told RIA Novosti.
http://en.ria.ru/analysis/20140
####
That would ease our path into the EPL, wouldn’t it?
monteblanco
“Change the manager – that’ll work. Naw, get a fitness coach. What about hunners of loan signings to save cash. We need a strategy to maximise revenue – get wi-fi in the stadium. Four strips a year for the weans. Try summer football. Send the youths to England for a year, put holy water in the tea, buy a brick, get a striking coach, bring back the Green Brigade, naw – shoot the Green Brigade. Hang Peter Lawwell.”
Great post and I loved that paragraph. Laughed
HH
stevo
“Really I am saying we seem to be getting worse/weaker/falling behind our preferred opponents at every transfer window”
Sorry, just trying to understand who our competiors and comparators are.
Who did you mean to indicate as “preferred opponents”?
Dexter-Lawwell facing the media tomorrow, don’t think he will answer all your points mate :)
Yogiy
14:46 on 28 August, 2014:
So this source at FIFA, does he have a pronounced Scottish accent by any chance?
Let’s see if I understand the rationale ….
As part of the UK we’re allowed to compete as Scotland.
As an independent country, competing as Scotland would be … problematic?
Hahahaha. You have to hand it to Bitter Together. They never run out of amusing ways to suggest we’re facing Armageddon.
williebhoy 12:39 on 28 August, 2014
Too much sense in what you say…
It’ll never catch on.
HH
traditionalist88
13:12 on 28 August, 2014
The board won’t be ignoring Sevco.
Not with the marketing opportunities the Old Firm brand provides.
I’m only asking but has Paul ever posted a leader criticising those presently running Celtic. I can’t remember one but then again can’t remember what I had for my dinner. Everybody, even the happiest of clappers sometimes get bothered about issues concerning the Club. Nobody is above criticism Peter Lawell, Dermot Desmond, Paul67, Ronny or Johnny etc.
However I do agree criticism should be constructive and certainly not abusive. I enjoy the blog am thankful to Paul for giving us the blog but of late, I am scratching my head when I read the Leaders and wondering am I living in a Parallel Universe to our host.
Yogiy
14:46 on 28 August, 2014:
Sorry … just read that again. Cripes. I am going mad today. Too much caffeine, too much work, too little time to relax and hold a thought.
So, the actual suggestion is that if Scotland ISN’T independent there will be a problem.
That’s … unusual.
Some people at UEFA have long chaffed at the way one sovereign state was allowed two seats on the General Council. I didn’t know that continued over to FIFA.
Yeah … troubled by this actually … what the Hell are they sticking their noses into this for?
sftb
“I guess the Yes side are becoming desperate in their Project Fear tactics.”
Tongue in cheek, right?
JF
The fact that Jim Sillars was quoted in the placing of that article suggests an O.G. by the Yes campaign rather than a direct effort on goal by the No campaign
I actually read it wrong and I’m now even more baffled.
FIFA appears to be sticking its nose into a constitutional debate going on here in the UK.
Have they ever done that before?
Catman
I thought Scepovic held a Spanish passport and so did not require a work permit?
HH
James Forrest is praying for The Unconquerable Oscar Knox
14:55 on 28 August, 2014
‘Let’s see if I understand the rationale …. ‘
###
You obviously haven’t understood the article, never mind anyone’s rationale.
Setting free the bears, James and Ernie thanks for your comments but things like this are surely much more of a concern for No voters. I do not agree with his final comments though because not everyone is aware of how Westminster operates.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CIQ8VVn8AJA