Shifts in signing focus

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Watch for the shift in focus at Celtic and Newco in the transfer market this summer. A year ago, Celtic’s focus was on players with development potential, whereas Newco went for players at the peak of their career. For Celtic, this was strategically right, albeit with short term risks (which were successfully handled).

This year, those across the city have learned something from us. The only sustainable plan for a football team is to sign players with development potential, hence they have busied themselves in the emerging talent market.

Getting this right is really difficult and I expect they will spend next season learning some lessons for the next campaign, but, as I said, at least this is a sustainable model. Cheap, young players, on low wages, will allow the club to shift towards financial viability, not before time.

What of us? There is a new sheriff around these parts too and it will be interesting to see if this summer follows a path which delivered so well in recent seasons, or if we depart from plan and focus on more short term objectives.

There is no right or wrong strategic choice for Celtic here, but if we aim for players in mid-career, we have to be prepared for the cyclical crash we’ve seen so often before.

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  1. Yesterday someone mentioned Spike Milligan’s cure for sea sickness, stand under a tree.

     

    The following is true.

     

     

    a number of years back, my very good friend was in the horrendous Cannon Street rail crash in London, he was very badly injured and spent months in hospital recovering. At the end of his time there, he was moved to a psychiatric hospital where the trauma was sorted out. During his time there he told me that during an open discussion, one or the participants was Spike. In turns they all spoke and then it was Spike’s turn, During his speech he was asked where he lived and answered Finchley, Someone asked him why he lived there, he said ‘cos that’s where my house is.

     

    Brilliant

     

     

    KINGLuBO

  2. For anyone planning a cruise , the boffins have just discovered a 100% guaranteed cure for seasickness 👍

  3. Weebobbycollins on

    I recall fishermen on a boat sitting on newspapers to supposedly avoid seasickness.

  4. Thanks for the summer learning paul67

     

     

    does tat mean that all’s that between us is quality leadership? experience? Nous?

  5. Back to Basics - Glass Half Full on

    Sad news about the death of Jerry West, the man in the NBA logo.

     

     

    Before watching the excellent ESPN documentary …. Lakers & Celtics : The Best of Enemies ….

     

     

    I knew very little about him.

     

     

    Incredibly determined athlete.

     

     

    If at first you don’t succeed try, try again …. and again and again and again.

     

     

    The documentary compared him to Sisyphus

     

     

    Often he would almost reach the summit only to lose – repeatedly – to the Celtics in the NBA Finals

     

     

    He kept going and eventually won the prize.

  6. JACKIEMAC

     

     

    At this time of year we seem to be linked to every ex player under the sun

     

     

    Armstrong Yes

     

     

    KT Yes

     

     

    Eduard No

     

     

    Forster No

     

     

    Ajer No

     

     

    Who have I missed??

  7. Clunks

     

    I thought that Ajmer would have made a good fullback under Anje’s system .

     

    TT

  8. There is only a cyclical decline in the team if you exclusively target mid-aģed players and hold on the them beyond thier best without having a core of younger players

  9. och it will be nice for the tourists.

     

    —————-

     

     

    A MASS gathering of Orange Order marchers in Gourock later this month has been given the go-ahead by Inverclyde councillors.

     

     

     

    Elected members voted in favour of the County Grand Lodge of Ayrshire, Renfrewshire and Argyll’s procession on June 29, which is expected to attract more than 3,000 participants as part of the annual Boyne celebration events.

     

     

    The parade will feature around 30 flute bands plus large crowds of onlookers, while temporary traffic restrictions will be in place as up to 55 buses head to the town.

     

     

     

     

     

    Police Scotland did not raise any objections to the plans, however, a force representative told a meeting of Inverclyde Council’s general purposes board on Wednesday that ‘there will be major disruption to the community’.

     

     

    The march will start at Battery Park and proceed along Eldon Street, Cardwell Road, Broomberry Drive, Barhill Road, St John’s Road, Shore Street and Chapel Street, before heading back along Cardwell Road and Eldon Street and finishing at Battery Park.

     

     

     

    Forty-five public objections were submitted along with four representations in support of the proposal.

     

     

    Objectors claimed that the gathering will require a police presence that is ‘stretched to the limit already’, and the march was labelled by some as ‘clearly antagonistic’.

     

     

     

    James MacLean, grand treasurer of the Grand Orange Lodge of Scotland, said: “It is worth stressing that the parade is only a small and fundamental part of the various services to be held across Ayrshire, Renfrewshire and Argyll throughout that day to mark the anniversary of the Battle of the Boyne.

     

     

    “Much planning has gone into this and the Orange Order has been very much a part of the local scene in Greenock for something like 200 years.”

     

     

    Mr MacLean questioned whether many of the objections were ‘genuine bona fide complaints made by fair-minded people’, and added: “I have no doubt whatsoever that this is not the case.”

     

     

     

    Speaking on behalf of the organisers, Mr MacLean said ‘misconceptions’ had been spread around the aims and objectives of the Orange Order, which ‘promotes love towards all’, and they ‘vehemently denied’ the claims of objectors.

     

     

    He rejected the claims as ‘utterly preposterous and defamatory’, and said they were ‘not supported by evidence of any value’.

     

     

     

    Mr MacLean said: “People are perfectly entitled in a democratic society to hold and propagate these views but not to induce Inverclyde Council to restrict the rights of thousands of marchers.”

     

     

    Claiming that the complainants have an ‘axe to grind’, Mr MacLean denied the suggestion that those attending the parade would form part of a ‘mob of inebriated, knuckle-dragging neanderthals’ and said the event is not scheduled to return to the area for another 12 years.

     

     

    Referencing the recent Taylor Swift gigs in his home city of Edinburgh, he added that disruption on the day ‘is the price we have to pay for living in a modern, democratic society’.

     

     

    Hundreds of stewards will be in place to assist the event organisers, while toilet facilities will be provided at Battery Park.

     

     

    It was stated during the meeting that the organisers have ‘bent over backwards’ to accommodate all of the concerns raised.

     

     

    Superintendent Sam Glasgow, representing Police Scotland at Wednesday’s meeting, said: “We are quite clear that there will be major disruption to the community, I don’t think that is disputed in any way.

     

     

    “Our presence will reduce the risks.

     

     

    “All of the concerns raised by the community are of concern to the police.

     

     

    “We have undertaken due diligence and nothing of any significance in terms of disorder or violence has been reported.

     

     

    “There are no notable flashpoints in terms of the route.”

     

     

    Public comments opposing the plans stated that the parade ‘promotes hatred’ and there is ‘no place for a supremacist and sectarian organisation on our streets’.

     

     

    Inverclyde Council’s general purposes board gave the green light for the plans this week

     

     

    The event is planned for the start of the school summer holidays, while cruise ship Azamara Onward is scheduled to call at Greenock on the same day.

     

     

    Several objections highlighted fears over possible traffic disruption, trouble and anti-social behaviour in residential areas.

     

     

    Others argued that the ‘loutish activities’ of attendees – including allegedly urinating in gardens and leaving litter – will make the area ‘virtually a no-go zone’, while it was claimed that the event ‘will endanger the safety of our children’.

     

     

    Further objections said the ‘drunkenness and disorder’ that the event could cause makes it a ‘disaster waiting to happen’ and it ‘risks poisoning our peaceful environment’.

     

     

     

    Eight councillors voted in favour of the parade going ahead, with one voting against and one abstaining.

     

     

    Councillor Francesca Brennan told the meeting: “We have not had an application of this scale for some time and there is a higher number of objections than we normally receive.

     

     

    “I am sure that it must be wearing for yourselves to have to continuously justify your processions.

     

     

    “You have given us a lot of assurances today that we need not worry.”

     

     

    INVERCLYDE COUNCIL

     

    ORANGE ORDER

     

    EVENTS

     

    LEISURE

     

    LOCAL GOVERNMENT

     

    GOUROCK

     

    Share

     

     

     

     

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  10. Great article again from one of the best websites since the internet was born. With the bonus of a headline I don’t have to hide from my daughter.

  11. Back to Basics - Glass Half Full on

    Bada – agreed.

     

     

    Six hours worth … covering 30 years of rivalry.

     

     

    Compelling watch.

  12. The options for folk who were born into the wrong country.…

     

     

    1. Find another country that will tuck you into your bed at night awe comfy n stuff, cause you obviously need it. 👀️

     

     

    2. Grow the fk up and endlessly thank the kind hearted Orange Masonic Racist Vermin who opened their hearts to your starving and beaten ancestors and ‘allowed’ them some shelter in Scotland rather than have floot bawn Boyne celebration parties at the riverside celebrating whilst watching your ancestors drown and starve to death on Bonny Hun filled Scotland’s shores….back in the day. 😶️

     

     

    Hmmmm.

     

     

    🍀️

     

     

    …oot.

  13. Bhoyjoebelfast on

    Would the walkers that will descend on Gourock later this month not propose they hold their boyne dander at the venue they hold dearly. Oh! that wouldn’t work…too many objections I would imagine from the folk in Meath and neighbouring places.Inverclyde Council will be holding their breath…won’t they?

  14. We should have 2 players for every position in the first team. The 3rd choice player for each position should be from the academy. The targeting of mid-age quality players will not lead to cyclical decline so long as we continue to look for good quality young players to develop (overkill last season). Keeping players beyond their best due to misplaced loyalty or not moving on those development players who don’t progress well enough will lead to cyclical decline but that is wholly avoidable so long as you bake in the need to continually refresh the squad. A good mix of quality player across the age spectrum offers the best of both worlds and is possible.

     

     

    Also sick of folk talking about how much the academy cost to run and the poor return on investment. Conflating the running cost with lennoxtown. Lennoxtown is the training centre for the adult male teams not the academy kids.

     

     

    Overall the academy is more than worth it, Celtic lose about 3 academy players a season to other clubs and generally receive around 400k for them so around 1.2million a year and 5% of all future transfers fees. All this added up on top of the players we have sold from the academy at decent prices and those that have been in our team over the years. We do have to find a way to secure our best prospects but even with the best transition in the world you’d still get kids and their parents that would jump asap!

  15. !!Bada Bing!! on

    STEPHBHOY67- good post.but you should have ran it through the Prefects first,with wanting to improve the squad….HH

  16. Bada

     

     

    Squad is so 90’s

     

     

    We don’t have a squad

     

     

    We now have a group lol

  17. Larkin .

     

     

    Us you catch this

     

     

    Bbc4.

     

     

    Fever pitch the rise of the premier League

  18. CLUNKS on 12TH JUNE 2024 11:47 PM

     

    Bada

     

     

    Squad is so 90’s

     

     

    We don’t have a squad

     

     

    We now have a group lol

     

    —-

     

    Hey Clunky that made me think……. and laugh

     

     

    All these ex players some are advocating. Could be from the 90’s.

     

    We wouldn’t need a stopwatch to measure their pace, a f@cking calendar would do.

     

     

    HH.

  19. bigrailroadblues on

    Had a few beers with my old pal Saltires En Sevilla and his lovely wife yesterday. They’re off to Newry today. According to Magua it’s a party town and home of the Maley CSC. Have fun you two! 😁

  20. greengray1967 on

    The Willie Maley statue is a must visit for them in Newry. Only erected last year after years of fundraising

  21. Por Cierto

     

     

    There is a pic doing the rounds of a great tim( fae near the puggy) and John Hartson.

     

     

    Know anythin bout it?

     

     

    :-)))

     

     

    Fame at last Csc

  22. KINGLUBO on 12TH JUNE 2024 7:28 PM

     

    Yesterday someone mentioned Spike Milligan’s cure for sea sickness, stand under a tree

     

    ____

     

    😂😂

     

    Spike could be hilarious

     

    Read some of his books, years ago. Puckoon had some laugh out loud moments, as I recall.

  23. What is the Starz on

    Parsimonious Lawellites..where are you when we need you.

     

    Euros about to start and O Riley not sold,not even linked with anyone…take the 5 million from Burnley before it’s too late….get some youngsters in free from Bristol City’s academy and we are all set.

     

    Bring back Jonny Hayes

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