Celtic Park and Lennoxtown will be tense places to work today, after notes on recruitment and player sale considerations, dating from April, were photographed and distributed online. Information like this is incredibly sensitive, will expose player recruitment to competitive pressures and can undermine confidence in the current squad. If the leak is identified and found to be an act of carelessness, or worse, someone is likely to lose their job.
I get that information on Celtic’s recruitment plans are of interest to all of us. It is also true that exchanging valuable information confers authority on the source. But this is commercially sensitive information, which once public, undermines Celtic’s attempt to strengthen the team. It is inexplicable that it was left unattended, leaked or publicised by anyone with Celtic’s interests at heart.
The scale of the potential damage of this is significant, not only for those involved.
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Charliebhoy
No
Think about it..
Absolutely no
There are to many on here that try and kid on they aren’t influenced by the SMSM. Their paranoia and panty wetting about our apparent demise, while winning an unprecedented Treble Treble bears testaments to this.
I’m not particularly happy with the way we appointed our current manager though if it was a choice a between Slippy G and Neil I know who the majority would choose. They would choose the man that had a record of winning trophies in Scotland over a failed under 18 coach who couldn’t win one single trophy in Scotland although he had the second highest budget and against an injury ravaged Celtic team.
We have our issues, though I personally would prefer our issues to theirs.
Get behind Neil and the team, you really don’t have a choice guys.
Melbourne Mick how are you ghuys down under,bet you wish you were here in sunny Cheshire, or like me id like to be back in glenboig /Lanarkshire. miss it very much mick, but last time I was up for my uncles funeral all the green fields we used to play in there was houses there, my god there was no sunshine just rows and rows of houses ,was thinking of all the wildlife that used to be there ,nostalgia.com,hh,.
SUPERSUTTON on 4TH JUNE 2019 11:04 PM
Yes I’m sure it is Tosh in his role as a Scout.
Strange there was no one from the academy to put forward young players for roles (Henderson, Dembele etc).
A strange document. No agenda; clearly written after the event yet the version published has some discussion scored out with a biro – either it was discussed or it wasn’t.
BIG PACKY
Our wee/big CSC is doing very well thanks to all the hard work
Paddymac and the committee put in to keep it running, numbers
going up all the time, planning on more Celtic bbq’s in the park
which attracts more kids to our Celtic family which keeps our
ethos going when us auld codgers go and join Tommy, Jock, Billy
and Jinky et al.
Nice sunny weekend coming up 18 degs expected, not bad for
winter, but great for soccer, hoping our youths rattle in a few at
home this Sun against a mid league team to take us clear at the top.
The club is hoping to get the Celtic Academy back at our ground next
year for our new crop of youths to attend, their training methods
made a massive difference to our bhoys performance.
Quite funny you mention wildlife, remember they used to chase
foxes off of Celtic park? well here it’s kangaroos lol.
H.H Mick
MELBOURNE MICK ,yes remember the foxes, kangaroos that made me laugh,,anyway mick midnight here, could talk to you all night, but work in the morning,.ffs im retired im 66, but need to help out in the wifes dog grooming parlour.hh.
Wildlife eh?
Got me thinking about a game way back in the sixties at an icy
Shawfield against Clyde, not many there and the players about to kick
off when a pigeon landed next to the ball, obviously hurt it’s wing and
was just fluttering about.
Of course much sympathy from the small band of Celtic supporters as
the cry went up ” Greigs a doo.. Greigs a doo ..Greigs a doo..oo
H.H Mick
MICK, before I go was shawfield not a dog track at one time, seem to remember my grandfather taking his greyhounds there in the sixties,,anyway must go now ,if you reply will catch it tomorrow.hh.
Melbourne Mick
‘Ticileaks’
Belter mate.??
All the best
HH
Good morning CQN from another dreich day in the Garngad
Still good to be a Tim though.??????????
Leaked documents, sex abuse scandals, NFL no the right man, awe the players are away and we are shoite, Celtic have no cash as they need it for law suits, just some of the distractions we have faced and not even 2 weeks after the cup final. Let The lawyers deal with some of these things and I’m sure NFL will deal with his detractors, this should spur him on.
Someone in the smsm is hurting big time.
We have just won an incredible tr3ble tr3ble and it hurts some people big time.???
Lenny get 9, I’m small minded, feck the duos, if we win 1 then great. Europe??? Do the best we can and get as much cash as possible, but it should not be a distraction from the 9th title.
Yes I’m small minded, I don’t mind admitting it.?
HH
D. :)
Duos??? That was meant to be cups. ?
D. :)
David66
Agreed on all counts.
Re leaked documents…Someone is definitely hurting. It has the hallmarks of sabotage about it, imo.
Hope the mole is found and dealt with quickly.
HH
Ps It is indeed dreich here in Glasgow this morning of my day off. :-(
Ah well, at least I still support the bhoys. :-)
Forget any treble next year
Announce now, we will be playing squad players in League Cup
Focus on Europe, improving our coefficient and progress there
League Cup is an inconvenience
DAVID66 on 5TH JUNE 2019 6:15 AM
Spot on
hail hail to that
Papers are full of the reasons why we won’t get players we had on the leak list.
Oh so predictable given they are from England.
Meanwhile Ajax have signed Kik Pierie from Herenveeren for £4.5m who is an 18 year old centre back, Lisandro Martinez for £6.3m who is an Argentinian centre back again only 21. Lastly Razvan Marin from Standard Liege for £11.4m.
We have £37m in the bank and counting. If Edouard and Ntcham are sold make that a number in the £60m bracket. Bids will come for Tierney, Forrest and McGregor. Our club is sitting relying on fans happy to tread water while Rangers and the rest of Europe change and make positive moves forward.
Loans and last minute signings because the manager wants to shop in the most expensive and over rated market on earth.
MULLET AND CO 2 on 5TH JUNE 2019 8:46 AM
Interesting about Ajaxs new signings. Couple of quick points:
*Dutch league has a far better reputation than our league, helps when attracting players. All the signings listed would either see Ajax as a club or a move to the Dutch league as a step up. Could we say the same about the SPFL?
*Ajax earn significantly more in TV money than Celtic, helps when paying for players.
*Ajax sold De Jong to Barca for £75m and will sell De Ligt for a figure in a similiar ballpark.
*Money in the bank and potential money in the bank are two very different things. The players listed are Celtic players we should build the team around this season.
Do agree about broadening our horizons with regard to player search and someone mentioned the Scandinavian market last night and our inactivity there. Maybe the standard of player just isnt there and any that are are quickly snapped up eg. Odegaard.
But this is a critical time for rebuilding and although the nucleus of a team is there, that can quickly be disrupted too by unsolicited bids as you have noted.
Lets sort the priority positions first then hope we can add some quality and ingenuity in the final third.
HH
It’s been raining cats and dogs here for two days solid, but I’ve never seen that mountain look so green and lush. A white mist is on top of it and the scene is like tropical.
Fresh CSC. ?
Operation “Stop Celtic” now full on. The real story is that Celtic have just achieved a triple treble. Amazing.
No, the narrative is; child abuse, pennypinching, discord in the camp etc etc etc. To be fair, we leave ourselves open to some of the criticism. The point is that the media wish us harm, do not buy or click them, or buy Sky,or even a TV Licence.
All the chat about what has gone on behind the scenes is just speculation. We can wish that we had a more “progressive” manager; you know, the type that grows on trees, can guarantee success, and have the team playing the “Celtic” way. Oh, and his salary and his trackside squad costs will all be covered because we are LOADED.
I didn’t fancy Lenny for the job. Doesn’t matter. He’s in post, loves the club, and can put a team on the park to beat the best. He knows Scottish football and exactly what’s at stake for us all. We have assumed that he coming transfer window will be a disaster. A bunch of Private Frasers. If Lenny is backed by the board, there is no reason for him not to do well.
Is George Baldock any better than Stephen O’Donnell?
Is Stephen O’Donnell any better than George Baldock?
I see a lot of people saying things like “on the back of a fag packet” or “unprofessional” regarding the action plan.
The leak is unprofessional in itself. My personal theory is that this has been left lying about by a member of staff who should know better a taken off the premises by somebody else who should know better. Equally it could be something worse.
The targets don’t particularly excite me either (though I have never seen any of them play) and it’s a disappointment not to see any good young SPFL players being monitered like Turnbull of Motherwell or Taylor of Kilmarnock.
This was two months ago and I would have expected the list to have changed. I just don’t see what’s so awful about the action plan itself. There is a structure to it. Everybody will know what is happening with each target and who the action lands with. This certainly is not inconsistent with what I have seen in the legal world.
This has given us all something to talk about in the fallow point between two seasons and before the transfer window. The moaners will moan.
Ger 57,
Do you espouse the Amish way of life by any chance ??????
HH.
Traditionalist 88,
Ajax earned less total income than us in their last set of accounts. They may earn more from tv money but we earned more from other income than them.
That said they sell players for £60 odd million but they advertised them to in the semi of the Champions league. If we had McGregor and Tierney at that level they too would be in that bracket. If you doubt that then how much is the current asking price for either player? Add in later stage Champions league appearances and I am sure you are talking another £10m to £15m in each players head.
We need to accept that selling one or two top players per year with other like for like talent coming through or purchased is the way to go.
Selling McGregor and replacing with Turnbull would be a no brainier. The money then gets spread on buying a striker or two and a right back that isn’t hopefully George Baldock who has less than 100 senior appearances at the age of 26!
TIMALOY29 on 5TH JUNE 2019 9:34 AM
It’s symptomatic of a deep malaise within the treble treble eight in a row season ticket waiting list large cash balance record turnover redeveloped ground site etc etc etc club
MULLET AND CO 2 on 5TH JUNE 2019 9:42 AM
De Jong hadn’t played in the knockout stages of the CL when Barcelona agreed the fee with Ajax
Another interesting observation is that the leaked doc points at Lee Congerton being responsible for signing Shved.
Celtic supporters deride Congerton for his apparent responsibility in Celtic signing Compper and Hendry. I’m not entirely sure that he found these and thought they were gems! You may find that he was given a criteria and had discussion with Rodgers et al about those players. Not sure Congerton would have said this guy Compper is a stand out? Also if rumours are to be believed Compper blotted his copy book with off field issues involving room service in Dubai?
Anyway – Shved looks a cracker but remains to be seen if our mangers preference for British players allows him to play.
MULLET AND CO 2 on 5TH JUNE 2019 9:42 AM
The significant difference is they can bank on a certain level of income far higher than ours. We benefited well from 2 consecutive years of group stage CL football but the figure we can bank on cannot include this.
Just simply means that if Celtic and Ajax both fancy a player, its not hard to see how they can outbid us. And the Dutch league having a much better rep than Scotland is the clincher.
The Frenkie De Jong deal was signed in January, way before we knew Ajax were going to go on an amazing run, almost to the final, of the CL:
https://www.fcbarcelona.com/en/news/981677/barca-sign-de-jong
Yes we should ask/demand more but the simple fact is the fee is largely influenced by your domestic circumstances. We’ve been to the last 16 but could never get near a figure in that ballpark. Of course, the market has gone a bit more crazy even since then but in terms of reputation we have a long, long way to go to reach the top 15 leagues never mind being on a par with the Dutch.
https://kassiesa.home.xs4all.nl/bert/uefa/data/method5/crank2019.html
HH
Mullet and Co 2
Congerton knew Comperr from their time at Hamburg.
The reason people doubted its authenticity was because of the quality of the report.
More typical of notes taken at a local boy scouts AGM
NOTTHEBUS on 5TH JUNE 2019 10:13 AM
Even so, It just seemed a bit too much effort to be fake – analysing the whole squad, getting an accurate list of attendees, picking a couple of transfer targets that wouldnt set the heather alight…
If it was a fake you’d bet that there’d be some other wild inaccuracies that would have stood out like a sore thumb (see what I did there)…
HH
When I say accurate list of attendees, i should have said a ‘believable’ list of attendees…
HH
@ TRADITIONALIST88 on 5TH JUNE 2019 8:57 AM
There has always been a running argument on here as to why we can’t sign players.
At first it was that to speculate to accumulate was imprudent and our board didn’t want to endanger our future.
Once we got money in the bank and didn’t need to speculate, that morphed into keeping it in the bank for a rainy day so we don’t need to sell. The rainy day came this year and we sold Armstrong and Dembele and didn’t replace them.
Now the argument is that no one wants to play for Celtic. Even though we have some quality players in our squad currently (Edouard and Ntcham, amongst others) and have purchased other quality players in recent memory (VVD), no one wants to sign for us; notwithstanding the fact that we are supposed to have a higher wage bill than Ajax and other smaller teams throughout Europe and money is supposed to be the major pull for players (John McGinn anyone?), our money is just not an attractive enough prospect.
Add into the mix the subsequent careers of Vic, VVD and Dembele after Celtic and it seems as if we should be quite an attractive prospect.
The most simple reason for our inability to get players in is that there is a lack of desire to do so (we just don’t want to spend the money).
Ajax have spent £20m before the window has even opened- we constantly hear that players don’t want to sign until the last minute in case better options come along. Unless we are saying that there are no better options in football than Ajax, why does that rationale not apply to them?
THE HANDS CANT HIT WHAT THE EYES CANT SEE on 5TH JUNE 2019 10:23 AM
Its quite important to factor in the Scottish leagues, unfortunately, low reputation.
Also, as I said above Ajax have a far higher base income they can bank on every single season.
I’m not debating the speculate to accumulate part, just pointing out that if Celtic and Ajax both want to sign the same player then there are several factors which make Ajax the heavy favourites to get him. Unfortunately that logic applies to lots of other clubs in Europe, be it top clubs in mid-level leagues like Holland and Portugal, or one of the top leagues, where anyone in the EPL, Spain, Germany or Italy can outmuscle us if they really want to.
But you are right to highlight the failings also, McGinn is one we will regret losing for years to come. And yes, even though we ridicule the media for wording like ‘Celtic finally sign…’ it does seem that we take much longer than average to complete deals as we try and save a relatively low sum in the scheme of things.
However, in the last couple of years we had agreed big money deals for Paddy Roberts and Tim Castagne, only for both to collapse through no fault of Celtic.
Lets see what this transfer window brings. It appears there will be early action anyway which will hopefully settle some nerves.
HH
THE HANDS CANT HIT WHAT THE EYES CANT SEE on 5TH JUNE 2019 10:23 AM
You keep saying that the argument is that no one wants to sign for us. No one is taking that binary standpoint.
It’s more difficult for us to sign quality young natives of the Lowlands and Scandinavia and the leagues in this countries than Ajax. Not impossible, Vvd and Wanyama, for example, but more difficult. Vvd would have gone to Ajax but they passed on him.
This two don’t prove how easy it is shopping that market
The evidence I have seen with my own eyes over my sixty years on this earth, tells me that player procurement is not wholly a science. Generally speaking, the more thorough your research, the more attention you pay to detail and the more you know about a player, will tend towards a successful purchase, but it is not the whole story.
Players can underperform at a new club for a number of reasons, that are not all to do with their football ability. Weather, accommodation, food, language, homesickness, family issues and myriad factors away from the pitch can have an impact on a player’s performance at a new club.
The dynamics between players, and the social dynamic within a team can impact on player performance. Patrick Robert’s best performances for us were when him and KT were best buddies (it could also be argued that KT’s best period was when Paddy was here). Larsson played his best football for us, when a fit Chris Sutton was his minder.
There is no selection process for players (or managers) that guarantees success. Paying more money means you have a larger market choice, it doesn’t necessarily mean that you get a better player, or make a better choice.
These are often used examples, but the combined transfer fees of Marc Antoine Fortuné and Raphael Scheidt were almost £10m, whereas Henrik Larsson and Lubo Moravčik together cost under £1m.
Feyenoord’s Henrik Larsson almost walked out of football for ever. Celtic’s Henrik Larsson? Well we all know that story. There is no “right” signing, but there is a right signing, at the right club at the right time. Luck plays it’s part.
Finally, there is one thing that I do know for sure, and that is that every player we have signed, and moving forward every player that we will sign, will be a better player with our support, than he would be with our derision. Maybe Jack Hendry is not good enough for Celtic. But he wasn’t the person that decided to bring him to the club. He gives his all, when he does play. He does not deserve the treatment he gets from the stands… it certainly doesn’t help him to be a successful Celtic player.
?⚽️
All the above imo of course
?⚽️
A wee thank you from the club for last year
https://twitter.com/i/status/1136211971693600768
HH
Hunderbirds are gone – my opinion too, well said.
Jack Hendry was thrown in as a first pick far earlier than was probably planned. More recently, Anthony Ralston (who was starting to look good before he got injured around the turn of the year) gets a couple of games after the league has been won and lots of folk judge him as not good enough. I think that both Jack and Anthony still have a chance with us byt need to know that they’ll get, perhaps half a dozen xonsecutive games in order that a more rounded assessment can be made.
Quite a few of our current regular first team players had blips in their early form and many on here would have driven Callum, Ryan, Kristoffer, Wee Jamesie, etc to the airport themselves….