Spurs have dispensed with the man once thought Europe’s hottest guru manager (don’t believe in guru managers). Villas Boas was a failure as manager but he was a mere symptom of their problems. Splurging circa £100m on vagrant misfits should be enough to disguise the fact that you don’t have a sustainable strategy. For a while. But primary responsibility lies with whoever authorised the budget in the first place.
Selling that chap with the funny hair to Madrid went some way towards offsetting the cost of this summer’s acquisitions, but Spurs wage bill for the new arrivals will dwarf the money paid to those who departed. This is the more serious problem.
They are left with players on long and expensive contracts who look like they auditioning for a West End show. Forget about Spurs recouping their ‘investment’, the chances of players attracting contract offers which match the cash the Cockerel coughs up each month is zero.
The Bale money is gone and those new contracts written in the summer will inhibit the club for years. What next: downsizing, or another visit to the roulette table, gambling with even bigger stakes next time?
Here’s what happens when you sell your star player: everyone and their grannie wants the money spent. “The [Insert club name] board need to show their ambition”. This comes from fans, the media, the manager, scouts, family members and every taxi driver in a 30 mile radius. And why wouldn’t they spend an apparent windfall, that’s what the money’s there for, after all.
It’s at this point clubs lose all self-awareness. Reinforced by the success which led to the development and profitable sale of a prime asset in the first place, the organisation’s view of its reach, not to mention competency, is obliterated. “We have spent money well in the past, look, here is the evidence, therefore we can spend this even larger amount of money well now”.
With this belief now orthodoxy, every pore in the organisation secretes an intoxicating scent attracting the club to market. Unfortunately, the rewards for spending big are heady and instant, though they seldom last as long as the hangover.
Directors are celebrated, ticket and merchandise sales get a short-term kick. The manager and coaches get to play with more expensive toys; quite literally, everyone is happy. This is narco-football, only accommodated by ever-bigger hits. For some, this narco-football offers proof that management share wider stakeholder aspirations. I contend otherwise.
The heresy to this orthodoxy reads differently:
Clubs should mistrust their successes, they are evidentially more random than most are prepared to accept.
Windfall transfer income is more likely to draw clubs away from the part of the market they are most competent in. It is an acknowledged fact that sellers and agents literally see them coming.
Don’t go searching for the instant hit, you’re more likely to miss. If necessary, take some short-term pain while using resources to enhance recruitment infrastructure.
Heresy in any area of life is seldom met with quiet contemplation. Narco-football heresy is more likely to be met with a rationalisation that the heretics don’t share orthodoxy’s core values – sustainable success of the football club – no matter how many references to “sustainable success of the football club” they make. It’s Salem-esque.
The orthodox-heretic analogy is evident where three or more are gathered in any club’s name. The first club who manage to unite everyone behind the heretic’s charter will clean up/reach nirvana/find salvation/achieve ultimate enlightenment/do lunch with Tom Cruise.
CQteN St Patrick’s Day Dinner is now FULLY BOOKED. Many thanks for everyone who responded so quickly. We are well on the way to raising the money to build a kitchen and shelter at the Kholoni Primary School in Malawi (for details check here).
Just a few posting days left to order your CQN Annual before Christmas, £5 from every sale goes to the Malawi appeal:
Sean Fallon: Celtic’s Iron Man:
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Kitalba
“Am I a ‘narco-football heretic’ because I would rather my club replaced our only striker of worth with another striker (even one who was coming to the end of his career) rather than beef up a beefy squad well capable of winning the SPL, with bloody expensive projects who rarely string two successive games together? ”
I doubt it. We are both agreed that the CF department is deficient and, while I won’t speak for Paul, I would be surprised if he was content with it.
I only depart from what you say on two grounds:-
We both want to reduce our expensive transfer mistakes. I am pessimistic that we will be able to do this by much as I have seen Celtic and every other club buy the “wrong” players in every year that I have followed the team. Sometimes the wrong players and projects come good, e.g. Petrov, Ki and Wanyama but often they go bad. I suspect that will remain the case. Jock Stein bought a whole heap of duds that featured in that section of the NTV fan mag, Billy bought Martin Hayes, and John Barnes bought Raphael. No one can promise an elimination of mistakes. I just think we are unfair in not acknowledging the successes in the lists.
We have had 3 CL last 16s a level of football achievement better than anything (including losing a UEFA final) since 1980. We are getting a lot right in football terms but are in danger of spoiling that over our off field positions on SFA/Rangers corruption and on fan treatment and criminalisation.
I only have time for one more post so I will catch replies later.
bournesouprecipe
14:15 on 17 December, 2013
proudbhoy
Ehh…………injured
—
Thought there musta been reason i havent heard him mentioned.
Wouldnt be surprised if martinez gets rid of naibalance and brings shaun to goodison.
Without doubt a better squad player in my eyes.
SFTB 13.14
Just what re you doing on here…….with your coherent and well thought out post….I agree 100% with all of it and great to read a post not mired in petty nonsense.
Your further post re Hooper….the problem now imo….is that players have all the power…agents drop them wee tidbits about other clubs being interested, wages being doubled and trebled…..we as supporters fall into the trap of believing it…we only have to look at Van Dijk….bloggers and Celtic fans have already got him out the door….as long as agents and players rule the roost every club struggles to keep players except a select few.
Kikinthenakas
LiviBhoy – God bless wee Oscar
12:07 on
17 December, 2013
I think they signed him for under £2m and he was a great player for them. He never turned into a monster like Novo just done his job and got paid well for it.
*beg to differ there LB it was his foul on Stephane Mahe that caused the big mhan to lose the plot and the rest they say is history.
BYW Tommy Burns turned down the chance to sign him from Dundee.
SFTB
Have you deliberately misread my post?
My point was that the buy low-sell high policy has been in operation now for ten years.
It had,until this summer,been successful ONCE.
Our income on transfers over this ten year failed policy has been around £40m.
We’ve spent more than that on duds due to our buy low-sell high policy being an abject failure.
In ten years,we have gone from being amongst Europe’s elite to where we are now.
It sure as hell takes a brilliant financial strategy to manage that,and to leave us with a team at the moment which has as much hope of a decent run in Europe as Lou Macari’s team had.
Some good points,
but the basis of the wage criticism it is miles off – some big earning players left
Bale, 65k
Parker, 60k
Dempsey, 45k
Hudd, 40k
BAE, 40k
Livermore, 20k
Caulker, 20k
Gallas 45k
Bentley 65k
Total – 400k
Those coming in
Lamela – 55k
Erikson – 50k
Vlad – 35k
Capoue – 40k
Soldado – 65k
Chadli – 35k
Total; 280k
The post I wanted to highlight was the interesting stats from the STV site on goalkeeper shot stopping.
Scottish Goalkeepr stats
It seems that FF is often dismissed as merely a good shot stopper. He does not even get into the top 5 in the Scottish Premiership list.
There is obviously a lot more to his game than shot stopping.
I’m off oot now
Garngad to Croy
12:22 on
17 December, 2013
Yes Paul
For every Gareth Bale there are 38 Mo Bangura’s
Yep,and we seem to have the monopoly on all of them.
Paul 67
If its underway for Eurpoean competitions then there must be a lot of flexibility, Gareth Bale cost Real Madrid close to 90m plus wages added to their already huge debts, sorry I dont see any change in Europe as a result of FFP
setting free the bears supports:
Quality over quantity for me, every time, either that or play what we have in our youth system. After all we have a very highly regarded youth team who never get a chance because we buy so many duds.
You really don’t want to hear what I think of our summer signings.
I can’t remember Jock Stein buying too many duds. I can’t remember Jock Stein buying more players in his Celtic career than Gordon Strachan or Neil Lennon or Martin O’Neill.
BMCUW
Very quickly
No deliberate misread but I did find some of the points cryptic and said so.
My quick counter to the 10 years of failure analogy and the no hope of a better future is to say that percentage of league titles and Euro progress (3 last 16s) has never been higher since the LL era than in those 10 years.
And it was only last year that we did the last one, so I am not as quick to lose hope as you are.
Catch yiz later
St Stivs here is one of the Lochgelly bus with John Jobson and some of his mates at an Arsenal friendly in London
http://www.thecelticwiki.com/photo/14472611/Lochgelly+CSC+in+London+for+Arsenal+friendly+1984%3F
Also one of Richard Jobson with Brian Wilson and TB at same do in Lochgelly.
http://www.thecelticwiki.com/photo/14472602/Richard+Jobson+and+distinguished+guests+at+Lochgelly+CSC+dinner
So you and Antipodeanred are Port boys are you. One or two of my old journeyman in Rosyth Dockyard were port pups. Old Jimmy Hempsey would take me to the odd midweek game.
I did find myself up Fenian Alley a few times when I worked in the Klondyke, but least said about that the better.
Fife Tims might have had it tighter than through the West, but we survived, and lived to tell the tale.
I think Paul 67 you need not worry about Celtic going down the same road as spurs we will have to wring out PL to get money out of him for any big signings PL prefers to look at a big Celtic bank book.Playing abroad during the winter break shouldnt cause us any problems as we are going to win the SPL comfortabely but once again it should be a big earner for the club.H.H.
KITALBA
Jock also did it without breaching six figures.
Apart from a player,whom I won’t name but he joined us from Fulham after KD left,he had a very good record with his signings.
Even Tom McAdam who flopped at CF turned out to be a very good CH for us over the years.
The crossword is celebrating it’s 100th anniversary with a book to mark this most auspicious of occasions.
It included such clues as: Tory in Lab disguise. (4.5)
Answer: Tony Blair
How so very appropriate!
Bags are packed -I’m ready to go.
Holiday time -way down south . Rome tonight, New York tomorrow., Baltimore on Monday .
Back in January { via a wedding in Amsterdam -is that allowed ?] -so –
Buon Natale tutti . ! Auguri !.
Ps ——embdy know a good bar for watching cricket in Baltimore ?
Ajax in a friendly.
Should give them a chance to wave thier FB banner at us again.
Imho somebody needs what my wee granny used to advocate ” a right good slap roon the ear”. :(
SFTB
At least my one about Ajax was deliberately cryptic!
Not entirely sure the leader article is anything more than an an attempt to wrap Peter Lawells recent performance in pseudo religious imagery in an attempt to bolster the general apathy and falling attendances currently in progress.
Strategy is what an organisation hopes to achieve over whatever timescale………
Tactic’s is what an organisation develops to implement the strategy……
Policy is the written directives to deliver the strategy……
Theres nothing wrong with a strategy of “sustainability” at all, especially for Celtic within Scotland……….the implementation of the strategy is the problem.
The fundamental problem is that Peter Lawell’s personal financial performance bonuses come from the playing field. If we are not successful on the field then he must sell players to achieve T/O to obtain his bonuses.
In essence he operates the club for the benefit of his own pocket win, lose or draw. The fact he is is Celtic supporter means hee haw in the context of things for we are all Celtic supporters.
Deductive logic would therefore suggest that the more apathy and falling attendances and hence T/O,the greater will be Lawell’s urge and or need to sell players?
Rather than sit smugly waiting on the implosion of Spurs maybe the analogy with Dads Army would be more appropriate with call of……..”Don’t panic”!
I have never seen such technical management of a television edit as when Puuki scored on Saturday……mostly cropped images…..no panning around the stadium…….Celtic TV perhaps? Only the deluded could argue that we don’t have serious problems.
Theres nothing wrong with the CFC stately……..theres EVERYTHING wrong with its implementation and dare I say it…….by some if not all of the people involved.
Just saying like………
SOUTH OF TUNIS
Cricket?
Get doon the record shops,and enjoy yourself…
kitalba
13:50 on 17 December, 2013
Can anybody explain to me what Paul’s article is actually about?
………………………………………………
I think he is trying to bamboozle us with narco babble so that we will concentrate and stop talking about light hearted non football stuff.
He may have a point this forum has got the holiday feeling. It reminds me of the last week at school before the holidays, or the last days at sea before hitting port. Everyone is acting silly and posting about everything bar football.
Sledging, spin bowling, Test Matches, Lancers, Poets, Communists, Accordionists, Supporters dances and buses, fish suppers in Cowdenbeath miner’s bellies, Bluebell Polkas, its just getting out of hand.
BOBBY MURDOCH’S CURLED-UP WINKLEPICKERS:
I liked Tom McAdam, he played football, and defended, to his limitations, and he was effective.
Can one of the posters who frequently espouse the values and virtues of our current custodians please enlighten me on the decision to play Ajax in January.
At a time when we have 5 innocent Celtic supporters awaiting trial in the new year in Amsterdam and the small matter of a banner proclaiming us as ‘Fenian bastards’ this is a shameful slap on the face to the Celtic support.
Peter Lawell and his suited friends are, at an ever increasing rate, destroying our club.
Is it “speculate to accumalate” day, and does that mean tomorrow is “songs day”?
Big Nan:
Rightly or wrongly, I did not read it that way, I read it as a prelude to the upcoming window and Celtic and Celtic Supporters expectations. I might be way of the mark with my understanding, and Paul knows I mean him no disrespect or malice, but the article is either about drugged expectations of EPL fans or drugged expectations of Celtic fans.
The orthodox and heresy added is what confused me. Nobody who seems to think it is a great article has yet explained its meaning to me. And the only reason I’m asking for an explanation is because I read it as insulting. Again, rightly or wrongly.
greendreamz
14:41 on
17 December, 2013
Do you mean falling attendances generally? Because Saturday aside, which was a primarily a weather/time of year issue, league attendances have been rising since the start of the season.
Attendances started falling while MON was still here.
This is a brilliant piece of skill from @kcommons15 http://t.co/PaUUzm0vNT
setting free the bears supports Resolution 12 & Oscar Knox
13:14 on
17 December, 2013
Paul 67
You stated in a later post what all the “We need a striker”brigade have been saying all along.Then you disagreed with us.Balde is a project we did not need.Pukki is a,in your words,and mines,a mid,to front player.He was bought as a striker.Derk,was a total waste of money.Heartless and injury prone.No one on here has ever came out and said we must spend big.What we want is to spend wisely.We have wasted a fortune(for us)on duds.Not unlike Spurs,although they did it all at once.
If we are not willing to spend the money on quality,why waste it on duds?.The fans would rather we DID bring in some of our younger players and see how good they are.If one is a striker,a real striker,not a project,then no one will complain if we go with him.
The fallacy that we all want Celtic to spend fortunes is just that.We dont,it is our club that is wasting fortunes on guys that are not up to the job.
……but there is always a good side to every coin thrown into the air…….and sometimes it lands on that good side………
Remember the orc hoards demonstrating outside ipox, forcing murray to spend £18m on davis etc…!!?? …..that was the straw that broke the camels with them……oh, the joys..!!!!
………one of the benefits of having a ‘strong’ Board in place…..
Big Nan
God Only Knows, but for some reason that wasn’t the Brian Wilson I had hoped for
turkeybhoy
14:55 on 17 December, 2013
We’ve bought some good uns, and Pukki etc are progressing…….the only Turkeys we have bought will be on our tables at Xmas….!!!!!!!!!!
BMCUW
The decision on the change of direction that effectively drew the curtains on MON’s time at the club was made in late 2004 after the Shakhtar game, as is well documented.
This had the effect of a flat annual budget, averaging a spend of £4.5M per year. One of the curiosities is that WGS and MON spent pretty much the same on terms of fees over their tenure, albeit WGS had to manage the wage bill downwards at first before his success in Europe loosened the purse strings.
The ‘policy’ of buying young talent, developing it and trading on at a profit – what PL refers to as growing our own champions League players – started a year or two after Lennoxtown was opened. We signed umpteen players from around Europe at the 16/17/18 year age group. Guys like Milan Misun, the Twardziks, Bjarnason, Santonocito, Sno, Hutchinson, and so on. It didn’t work because the development curve is not sufficiently predictable at that age. They were outstanding at 17, but by 21 the rest had caught up.
So we adapted the system and started recruiting at 19/20/21 years old when judgements are based on more reliable data. I would say Ki was the first of the new policy, a policy that has accelerated markedly since Lenny took the job. Matthews, Wanyama, Hooper, Forster and so on. You can include Stokes, Rogic, Biton, Ambrose, Balde and Bouncin’ Mo Bangura to that lot. It’s a decidedly different approach.
I’d say it’s working fairly well, more hits than misses, but we haven’t yet figured out how to maintain performance on the park in the face of a revolving door effect on the first team.
In summary, the policy was foreseen in 2004, applied haphazardly from 2006, refined in 2009, and is now maturing.
In my view, of course.
TBB
BMCUW.
I know the address of every second hand choon store in Baltimore. I want to be able to watch the 4th test whilst Mrs S of T walks the streets of Baltimore [ in search of shoes and boots ]
Divertiti !
Been a few posters recently singing the praises of our young McGregor, currently playing very well on loan to a 3rd tier team in England.
Good 3rd tier footballers are ten a penny.
Anyone in the top division we should be looking at?
Or is the 3rd tier in England our new benchmark?
Abandon ship!!!!
(Because we are sinking fast!!)
HT
Not to mention the inconvenienced fans for the postponed SPL game, Jock Stein was wrong football without the fans isn’t nothing, it’s money, and the tournament will find it’s way onto
some TV Channel, who will pay more than Celtic fans.
As for the injustice, the silence is deafening, no wonder they’ve not confirmed the games in
Turkey yet.
Big Nan:
Mate, we get all sorts of posts on here, even the ones about the huns AGM I read, and some of them I find funny. I have no interest in the huns AGM but if others wish to post on it that is their prerogative. Tennis, baseball, square sausage, over the years they all get a turn and some I read and some I don’t, but I personally would not dismiss those posts because most often they are the topic of the moment. Cricket… I like cricket. I like the diversity of the posts and never forget – I am the captain of my scroll finger too. If I scroll past a persons post I like to do it in silence because what I find interesting and post-able that person I just scrolled by might think my subject matter an intrusion or a waste of Paul’s expensive expenses.
I read all your posts, I follow your links and I have never yet disagreed with your stance, not once; but I’ve never signed any of your petitions because I don’t think I have the right to.
I think you’re a great poster and from what I take from your subject matter, and from what I saw of you in Edinburgh, I think you are a thoughtful, and kind, and caring, and tolerant person.
But toast and cheese, that stretches my tolerance.
Oh, and young players don’t get a run in our first team.
!!Bada Bing!!
14:54 on
That is not Kris Commons btw.