Aaron Hickey’s incredible £19m move to Brentford looks like an eye-opener for Italian football. Bologna paid around 10% of that for the Scotland international two years earlier. Now Hibs have accepted a £3m bid from Hellas Verona for Josh Doig, while Aberdeen have accepted a bid for the same money for Lewis Ferguson. Scottish players of this calibre were disappearing into the English lower leagues for a fraction of this money before Hickey.
Fans hate when their best young talent leave after only fleeting appearances in the first team, “What’s the point if we only keep the poorer players?”, is the overwhelming emotion. Aberdeen and Hibs have stumbled into a lucrative player trading seam. They now need to figure out how to grow that side of the business.
£3m can be wasted in a season on imports from cheaper European markets with lower wages. This was the route Dundee United and Aberdeen went down when their player development strategy was broken up in the late 80s. The whole of Scottish football followed, although other clubs did not have a successful youth strategy to dispose of.
Alternatively, £3m buys you a lot of scouting and youth development resource; Aberdeen could be bidding against Celtic for St Mirren’s best talent, for example. Scottish Premiership clubs have a competitive league, relatively straightforward access to European football and a domestic pond that has largely been overlooked by foreign scouts until recently.
Selling players of the calibre of Hickey, Ferguson and Doig has allowed clubs from genuinely impoverished leagues like Romania and Moldova to make an impressive impact on the European stage. This is the model for Aberdeen, Dundee United, Hibs and Hearts; Celtic are operating on a related but different model. If this New Money is spent wisely we will all benefit.
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A nice mixture of pleasantries,humour and helpfulness on here this morning. Who is missing?
Well, I will be as I am off to the golf :-)
Cheerio for now.
That story of the “Scotch Boat , The Cattle boat”.
I have been doing a lot of genealogy this wee whiles back, and just last night discovered another generation on my grannies side coming from Donegal and taking us back to 1849.
The marriage certificate is for St Johns, and everybody, bride, groom and witnessess all make their mark with an X.
They might have spoken english, but nobody could read or write it.
Doing all this the same route if followed by them all , that boat passage from Derry to Greenock and Port Glasgow (as the Wakes tell us)
Cinderella stories.
All this talk by Pundits etc over the years about World Cup, Champions League, European Championships matches etc etc….and there being ” The GROUP of DEATH” each time Blah blah.
They do NOT know what the ” Group of death” looks like…….
its when I join up with the likes of DAVID66,BRRB, Big Leggy, The Lurking Tim and the rest of the CQN Bhoys for a Bevvy…..
NOW, THATS what I call ” The Group of Death ” !
LOL
HH.
As of this coming season the Kerrydale bar will only be open to hospitality, before and after games.
St Tams,
That’s a pisser. There’s a market, especially the Irish fellas who park up at the stadium early and head there.
Last season was hitting a limit around 1pm and we were turned away.
Build a feckin marquee and do what festivals do. Doesn’t have to be bricks and mortar or nothing.
HH
ST TAMS on 13TH JULY 2022 10:21 AM
As of this coming season the Kerrydale bar will only be open to hospitality, before and after games.
………….
OH NO, thats a Bummer…I will try and phone them later this morning for more info.
ST TAMS…I have NO reason to doubt you mate.
HH.
I’ll be at the match on Saturday, and am available for selection afterwards before returning to Dundee. Is there a RV point in mind?
HH
Bolingoli was hopeless long before decided to break the Covid rules, which managed to turn him into a victim in the eyes of some.
He wasn’t in the side just before his indiscretion coupled with his lack of ability to defend and play games in sequence for certain made sure he wasn’t in the side afterwards. To have played a good game ‘wance’ doesn’t fulfil a Celtic contract never mind a jersey, his actions merely interrupted a failing transfer.
It takes more than talent if he had any hidden to be a Celtic player , his lack of game time wasn’t just Covid related. The Juliper League can be a bit of a Celtic dumping ground especially for the less fashionable Belgian sides hope he gets his career back on track.
So far Boli Bolingoli, Liam Scales, Diego Laxalt were all better than Greg Taylor! – how did that work out?
” Nadhim Zahawi would offer Boris Johnson Cabinet role if he becomes Prime Minister”…….
IF TRUE….Yet another example of senior Tories NOT learning anything.
Boris Johnson…a PROVEN SERIAL LIAR …to STILL be welcomed into UK Cabinet ?
Mr ZAHAWI looking out for Tory mates, DESPITE the LIES and destruction caused by Johnson.
You couldnt make this up !
FRIESDORFER on 13TH JULY 2022 10:36 AM
I’ll be at the match on Saturday, and am available for selection afterwards before returning to Dundee. Is there a RV point in mind?
……………
You are most welcome mate to meet me and BRRB after game and we can head into city Centre for several Beers ?
HH.
Happy Birthday to cqn legend Oldtim67.
83 years young today.
Gentleman and a Celtic man
Take care
HH
ST TAMS on 13TH JULY 2022 10:21 AM
As of this coming season the Kerrydale bar will only be open to hospitality, before and after games.
————–
Oh no, you can’t be serious. That will affect the match day for many.
HH
ST TAMS on 13TH JULY 2022 10:21 AM
As of this coming season the Kerrydale bar will only be open to hospitality, before and after games.
Sorry, but how is that different to previous seasons?
Big Jimmy
That’s a go go… look forward to it.
HH
Tom
The Kerrydale has generally been open to all with season/matchticket, including away fans – not necessarily on a hospitality package – which is occasionally the case. If the default now is that it can only be used with a hospitality package, then that is a significant change which will affect a large number of supporters, especially those travelling from distance.
HH
AN TEARMANN on 13TH JULY 2022 10:51 AM
Happy Birthday to cqn legend Oldtim67.
83 years young today.
Gentleman and a Celtic man
Take care
HH
—————-
Just to echo the above .
All the best Oldtim67
👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏
Tom, it was open to the general public.
I went before most games.
Apparently there are plans to have another bar open to the plebs like us.
But don’t have details.
St.Stivs 9 57 about the Derry boat
Thanks for those,such a cultural link with that boat,I would suggest it is the main reason the vast majority of those of Irish descent in Glasgow and west of Scotland.
In England you could ask which part of Ireland you came from? if part of the diaspora,in Scotland the bulk of the diaspora originate from Donegal and its due to those boat links.
As John Kelly describes in his book Irish,’the boats of face’s called because they were packed tight with the gaunt figures of those escaping An Gorta Mor.
The link took generations of Irish to work in the harvests,the Mills,mines,railways and my own late da in 1921 to Labour/navvy the hydro dam projects all up the West Coast of Scotland.
Good luck on your genealogy quest.😊👍
Hail Hail
Surely the best way forward would be to build another “Kerrydale” if the free pie seats / hospitality in the JS Stand are up and running again?
A big amenity block behind the JS Stand would be a good place to start with the much needed improvements around the ground — prepping the ground before the big Main Stand rebuild / expansion.
The season ticket waiting list does not seem to have moved much this summer so the club is missing out on a lot of revenue as things stand.
Fan zone — is that on the agenda?
In 2019 the egg chasers put on a show in the coach park before their big game at P/head.
Weather let them down a bit but it showed what could be done.
From memory the car park alongside the Cheese Factory was empty in 2019.
So we do have / did have space to try it out.
Good morning all from the Orchard Park Hotel. Worked up a thirst doing a few jobs at my Mums. 🍺
Happy hooooooopy birthday to OLDTIM.
Have a great day D. HH
Are there any numbers / dates for the Irish moving to Victorian Scotland.
Family history suggests G/GP’s and GG/GP’s moving over in the 1880’s / 1890’s.
Local stories point to the mine owners looking for labour possibly a generation earlier.
Mass movements in the 1840’s does not appear to be the main driver in local histories.
Local as in the North Lanarkshire badlands around Glenboig / Annathill / the Myvot.
OLDTIM67
Happy, Hoopy Birthday to you!🥂🍾🍸🍰🎂
Fabrizio Romano
@FabrizioRomano
Celtic are in advanced talks to sign Edouard Michut. Paris Saint-Germain are open to let him go – first proposal to be submitted soon, permanent deal now discussed. 🚨🟢 #CelticFC
Opening bid will be around €2.5m, as
@SkySportsLyall
advanced.
The big handsome fella in action below. Looks both a brammer and a steal at that price….
He’s 5ft 11ish…
https://youtu.be/q5LMKCd_Q94
HH
ST TAMS
Sorry. I misinterpreted your use of the term ‘open for hospitality’ and read it as open for food and drink. I now realise you meant open to those with a hospitality ticket.
That’s a bummer.
celticbynumbers
@Alan_Morrison67
·
16m
If you like your midfielders to play 1 or 2 touch; to always be looking forward; to be a Pack Passing monster but with accuracy and control AND to look/play a bit like Verratti then you might like this kid.
HH
Looks a Rogic replacement and not a CDM……
HH
new article posted.
Let me grab a podium, cheers P67
Bognorbhoy
Spoke to OT67 there and relayed the best wishes of the blog to him.
His health he says is failing and he spends a lot of time tipping bout the garden.Didnt stop him suggesting coming thro to meet some bhoys but I know nothing def has been arranged yet.
Hope all good along the Sussex coast there friend 👍
:-)
HH