In the dark days of late August, with various players looking for an exit from the club, some at Celtic Park concluded that for all the success of our strategy to scout young European youth internationals who were still below radar, none of them would sign an extended contract after their credentials were established at Celtic. This assessment included Olivier Ntcham.
The club set its face to stone regarding Moussa Dembele but Brendan Rodgers was so incensed by the player on deadline day that he was told to empty his locker. Dedryck Boyata was denied a move to England, but while the Belgium international remains in the final year of his contract, Olivier surprised me by signing a new four-year deal. Something has changed.
While there is nothing inherently wrong in selling players for large transfer fees, selling too many, too quickly, puts pressure on clubs, who will struggle to recruit appropriately experienced replacements to order.
It is good news that Olivier extended his stay. It confirms he is happy at Celtic, that we can afford competitive wages, and that he has faith in the manager and direction of travel at the club. His continuing stay will also encourage others to come to Glasgow.
Ryan Christie, who signed a new contract yesterday, has every bit as much potential as Olivier. He has had the most thrilling three weeks of his career. A year ago, I was told by someone inside Celtic Park he had the potential to go far, which I dismissed on the spot. It took patience and hard work, but he got there.
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P67
Your comments would suggest that PL and his booster club have some way to go before they fully understand the concept of buying quality young and early and then making the most of it.
Buying quality young and early means that capital will need to be invested but the wages will be lower.
The hard bit is managing the growth of these players to deliver the most benefit to the club / team / squad.
We need to work to a consistent pattern:
Two from the youths and 2 young and early quality buys — at least every season.
Might cost us £10 mill / might cost £20 mill but this the level we need to be working at.
Someone of the quality of FB @ £10mill plus should not be a big issue
The hard part is too manage what happens next …
Some will stay for two years, others for four or more but they will leave and generate a surplus for the club. We should not be afraid to pay the wages needed to keep them for 10 years if that is in the interest of the club. Improving the contract of someone of ON’s quality and demonstrable quality should become the way we want to work — not an object of wonderment.
We have now settled down after all the street theatre of the summer and the start of the league.
The last week shows what we have and what we need to do to improve.
We need to improve our fitness and conditioning — RBL are a step ahead of us and that is the standard we need to work to. Then comes the focus, desire and appetite that we need in the squad to make sure a throw in is not an article of ridicule and a corner is a credible attacking threat rather than as now a counter attacking opportunity for our opponents.
Hopefully we will make the most of the next transfer window.
Tough December coming up and we will need reinforcements to kick on in the new year.
bouresouprecipe et al
Watching the Red Star game reminded me that ten years or so ago we met a young Celtic supporter aspiring to be a film/documentary maker. I suggested one idea, unoriginal it has to be said, that he should figure out a way, using computers/cgi etc to colourise old Celtic matches filmed originally in black and white, and in effect recreate them. Of course the Americans had been doing this for decades using previous technologies, often with disastrous results. Never heard from the guy again. And yet, Peter Jackson has done something similar to fantastic effect with his contribution to this weekend’s Armistice Centenary, ‘They shall not grow old’, literally bringing life to the soldiers of that time, many of whom lost their’s.
Celtic could and should do something similar, plenty of creative and talented supporters out there, take say the Coronation Cup Final for example and recreate in glorious green and white.
Delighted with Ollie and Ryan’s new deals. Will live for the moment and not have them off in any transfer period in the near future as some on here appear to be certain off, well at least, as far as Ollie is concerned that is.
According to what we are told Brendan is in charge of the budget. It is Brendan who agrees that the players get new contracts. Peter Lawwell, at least the Commercial department agree the actual deal and the details.
Brendan has agreed that his budget is to be spent on these two players. This is good player management’
Boyatas case is not good player management
In Boyatas case as he is forced to stay then he knows he needs to perform to get the best move from his own good. I believe he will perform at least until January when under Bosman rules he can talk to other clubs. If he does a good deal he will get a fantastic signing on fee as no transfer will be paid to Celtic.
If he gets the deal he wants in January then I expect him to declare himself regularly injured. I hope I am wrong but he is professional but remember His “injury” in The CL Qualifiers.
If he signs a deal with a club who need him right away then we may get a small fee to let him go in January
HS
The Bin Yin
HH
Celtic Mac
Was the chaps name Jamie Doran.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jamie_Doran
Jamie is big Celtic man and an award winning film maker. He made a Film about Jinky called the Lord of the Wing amongst others
Big bhoy,
You’ll be able to share your source on who controls the budget then?
https://stv.tv/news/east-central/1432811-scots-football-boss-dies-suddenly-at-the-age-of-28/
BIGBHOY
Cynism bordering on the psychic?
p.s. I’ll think you’ll find Brendan is Not in charge of the budget
Would like to think Gerard Butler has had his last Celtic invite.
`According to what we are told Brendan is in charge of the budget`
Told by whom?
`Would like to think Gerard Butler has had his last Celtic invite.`
Why ?
JJ
What I have been told that Brendan agrees the Budget for the Football Department with the Board in advance and then he decides on how it is spent. This relates to transfers and wages.
Brendan is allowed to bring expenditure forward or back between each transfer window.
Brendan has first and final say on the individuals but has to stay within his budget unless brought forward or deferred. Commercial and legal negotiate the details of the transfer. The CEO site over this.
This is where, I think that the conflict last summer arrived. Brendan identified John McGinn but the transfer didn’t happen because the Board got outmanouvered by Petrie who sold McGinn to Aston Villa.
I believe the budget for Transfers and wages are agreed in advance. So Brendan will know what his January Budget is. He will have used it to get Nt’cham and Christie extended
The thing with Boyatta,to me anyway,is that if he goes for buttons,or nothing ,next summer,we have to try and find a replacement.At what price.Surely it makes more sense to give him a new contract,with appropriate wages,than fork out maybe 5 million on a guy who might,or might not be as good,take time to settle,etc.The current trend to “Go with what we have”I hope extends to some common sense.We have a big problem coming soon with CHs.
Ok,I will move aside as the”From what I know”,or”From what I have heard” people are on.Cant compete with that.
Totally different from saying ‘in charge of the budget’ of course, and not planned prepared or set by Brendan Rodgers at all.
Just like every single other manager at any major club.
HOT SMOKED
Sorry random thought on whom he raises funds to support, and unlikely to affect his
affiliation with Celtic.
BSR
Fifty years ago today – I was at that game!
Never to be forgotten
Cheers
Another Chinese proverb
Man with two holes in pocket not feel too cocky
0 SHADES OF GREEN on 13TH NOVEMBER 2018 11:37 AM
Not sure I agree with the withholding a ban until the player comes uo against the team he was sent off against
DILLIGAFBHOY on 13TH NOVEMBER 2018 11:55 AM
I agree, its a ridiculous suggestion.
not suggesting for a red card given by ref during a game , only when compliance officer has given out a ban that the ref missed.
As Jose Mourinho said after the first Juventus game last month “They are a different level of stability, experience and knowhow and at the base of the team they have Bonucci and Chiellini, it allows them to play with the freedom in attack, creating and losing the ball, ‘no problem, we are here’. “
bigbhoy
Thanks for that! Good example of the talent we have on board.
Would like Celtic to commission a project, say one game from the past, 1930s, 1950s whenever.
We know it can be done.
MADMITCH
We need to improve our fitness and conditioning — RBL are a step ahead of us and that is the standard we need to work to. Then comes the focus, desire and appetite that we need in the squad to make sure a throw in is not an article of ridicule and a corner is a credible attacking threat rather than as now a counter attacking opportunity for our opponents.
Just think how much more potent and effective we would be if we improved in these areas?
Don’t understand why after over two seasons the coaches have not addressed this glaring deficiency.
Turkeybhoy on 13th November 2018 3:11 pm
————–
We’ve been throwing contracts at Boyata for at least the past 12 months, he doesn’t want to sign. Odds are he’s already got his new club lined up and with wages we could never offer him.
He’s been excellent since his hissy fit but probably should have been sold.
JINKYREDSTAR
My young nephew is curious as to wether the game was played in black and white or colour?
Technology has not led to higher intelligence.
Canamalar it looks like OCD obsession on 13th November 2018 2:31 pm
I don’t think any of what was said by BigBhoy should be a surprised or viewed as unlikely. It’s a given that Brendan Rodgers will have to work within a certain financial budget that will have been set by the CEO and the Board (particularly Desmond)
That’s what I’ve heard anyway. It’s pretty much standard process.
There appears to have been several people dropping the ball in different departments.
Has anybody been impressed with the signings made since Congerton replaced John Park? Not me anyway.
Did Lawwell make mistakes with the McGinn deal? Certainly.
Do Boyata and Dembele come out of it smelling like roses? Absolutely not.
The good news is that quite a few of this first team will likely be signed up for 10 in a row.
The bad news is the squad is actually quite big despite being low in quality in some positions. People need to be shipped out before new players come in.
We should likely release De Vries, Izaguirre, Lustig, Gamboa & Allan come the summer. We might end up being saddled with Compper, Hayes, Benyu, Bitton & Kouassi for another year at least.
fan-a-tic
Tell him Celtic played all in green.
fan-a-tic on 13th November 2018 3:46 pm
We need to improve our fitness and conditioning — RBL are a step ahead of us and that is the standard we need to work to. Then comes the focus, desire and appetite that we need in the squad to make sure a throw in is not an article of ridicule and a corner is a credible attacking threat rather than as now a counter attacking opportunity for our opponents.
_____
I agree that Celtic were second best when it came down to fitness but to a certain extent its difficult to change that.
The first reason being, RB Leipzig have the budget to buy better athletes.
Secondly, RB Leipzig play in a league where they are getting more practice against top opposition. They are tested and get more experience playing without the ball.
So often do we have to go from one extreme to the other when we face a fine team like Leipzig and then have to go play a Livi team who aren’t interested in anything like a contest and are just setting out to survive.
It’s really hard for Brendan Rodgers to overcome that.
CELTIC MAC
He thinks colour only arrived on the planet after tv developed it.
TIMALOY
Fitness levels are achievable.
They are not solely dictated by money.
Not convince our sports science department are up to the task.
The number of players unfit to play is not just down to bad luck and the dirty B’s the masquerade as football teams in the spl.
Also i have often commented how poor when we not have the ball and that is surely teachable.Against Livi we reverted to earlier season form and stopped running off the ball and the result was predictable.
I took the paragraph for MADMITCH’S post and i agree with him that improvement can be made in those areas.
Not sure why people are keen to ditch our Swedish International full back, re Izzy any time he plays he never leaves us down, Certainly De Vries, Gamboa. Allan, Hayes & Compper seem destined for the exit door.
Kouassi & Benyu you never know. Look at Christie ,there were plenty here had him on the exit list last year.
Re Bitton, again very hard to call, he is still only 27 so we need to wait until he gets a couple of games back under his belt & see how he is going.
DB — At the moment we need him playing well.
The need of the club on the park is greater than the needs of the balance sheet.
Consequently if we need to take a hit then we take it and move on.
I would love to get another couple of years out of him and would up his wages to reflect that.
However if he wants to go then he goes.
FAN A TIC
Very vivid colour – it’s still is in my mind!
The people who live in the Tv where tiny right enough:-)
BSR … no slagging off Gerry Butler … given that he is my doppleganger, and my brother from another mother, I take it personally.
However, if he has gone ideologically off the rails (Republican, or something), let me know, and I will sort him out!
Who gained from the headbutting incident.
1) the player by staying on the park.
2) his club by not being reduced to playing with 9 men.
Who lost? Celtic by having to play against 11 men.
Suspend him for next game?
Gains) if top player, next opponent’s gains
Solution?
Fine player 1 weeks salary including win/draw (EBTs) bonus
Fine club equivalent of players salary.
Of course fines go up with any repeat offense.
Money could be donated to charity/fighting funds of original opponents.
MIKE
Have a word in his ear about his fundraising ? you’d think he’d know better since he’s one the 300 Spartans.
JINKYREDSTAR @ 3.23
I was in the Jungle
MIT
Just seen on tv that Gerald Butler lost his home in California fires