Simunovic in town as deadline deals loom

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Transfer Deadline Day is now part of our sport. To get through it successfully requires research, money and experience. It’s a new kind of football tactics which can determine the outcome of a season every bit as much as zonal marking.

If you encounter someone say “Just go out and sign him”, mark their card. From what I hear Celtic are working on deals in an End of Days-style market this week. The domestic business (Ryan Christie) has been straightforward. All other deals, and I’m sure more will happen, are going through some sort of torture.

Croatian central defender Jozo Simunovic is in town and I expect the intent is there from all parties to conclude a deal today, but we’re 12 hours away from the window closing and six away from the English deadline, so the range of possibilities on how today pans out is almost endless.

That’s it for now. Sit tight and try to get some work done this afternoon. More when I have it.

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  1. Need a striker Bhoys

     

     

    Bye Virgil another best player to Saints!

     

     

    Would’ve liked him to stay another year would’ve been good for him – but think Dutch national team half forcing him to move to EPL in order to play in Euro 2016

     

     

    HH

  2. traditionalist88 on

    A little demoralising to lose such a talented player we’ve lost better and gone on to thrive. I think the context of the football world at the moment adds another layer of concern. The way I see it though, I think if the notion of ‘superclubs’ was an idea floated in the past it is quickly being eroded by funding in the EPL. The more boasts there are that Burnley are now bigger than Beyern Munich, or Palace are now bigger than Juve… the EPL will become more and more isolated and there will be far MORE of the football world in our corner than in theirs. Its happening already – it just may be that we have a few more of the traditional big guns on our side than we may have expected.

     

     

    Anyway…where there is boom, there is bust…as an old club not far from us found to their cost.

     

     

    Tick tock, EPL…

     

     

    HH

  3. Brogan Rogan Trevino and Hogan supports Oscar Knox, MacKenzie Furniss and anyone else who fights Neuroblastoma on

    Beamish

     

     

    The success of Porto under Jose is looked upon as an anomaly from over a decade ago and afeat that is likely never to be repeated again under the current set up.

     

     

    I am not comparing Porto to Celtic as it is eveident from their trading pattern that they have made huge transfer gains over a far longer period than Celtic.

     

     

    As for the supporters point, I wholly agree that other clubs take large travelling supports – that is not in doubt.

     

     

    However, the 2003 experience – extending into 2004 where we hit the quarter finals of the UEFA Cup – demonstrated huge numbers of travelling Celtic fans and no matter which way that is viewed a lot of footballing and travel related people sat up and took notice.

     

     

    It is undoubtedly not a competition between clubs as to who takes the most fans – that would be daft – but the quantity and reputation of your travelling support is a business asset. Celtic attract crowds in Europe others – such as Monaco – do not.

     

     

    I have said before that there is a great deal of goodwill amongst the fans of other clubs ( with a noted few exceptions ) towards Celtic and their support and there are numbers and markets to be harnassed there in a business and marketing sense.

     

     

    The TV companies would rather we all stayed at home and wwatched the TV but that is not the nature of the true football fan.

     

     

    If Celtic draw clubs from accessable European cities and have a side that can compete then the Celtic support from many quarters will travel to take in the experience – and that is worth coin to the hosting cities as has been demonstrated in the past.

  4. Much as I liked big Virge I can’t help feeling he will get found out in the EPL.

     

     

    He didn’t dominate in the air often enough against Scottish and European teams.

     

     

    We’ll see.

  5. Geordie Munro on 1st September 2015 3:04 pm

     

     

    Im working with Totals….thats all that matters

  6. 15% sell on clause for VVD as well good deal

     

     

    SSN painful stuff (not my sky subscription dw), questioning if VVD is good enough for, cough, Southampton, and then going £15m for Austin – what a snip. Dear lord

     

     

    HH

  7. Chuckles Green ‘singing like a canary?’

     

     

    Or is he the ‘stool pigeon?’

     

     

    We bought a decent striker yet?

     

     

    No?!

     

     

    Never mind, still plenty of time.

     

     

    Besta luck to Virgil and Eoghan O’Connell.

     

     

    HH!!

  8. so our central defence at the moment of

     

    boyata mulgrew (or efe)

     

     

    against

     

     

    van-persie

     

    nani diego markovic

     

     

    never mind hiding behind the couch, get it on the penalty spot

  9. Good move for young O’Connell.

     

    I have always been impressed when he played for the first team.

     

    Strong and assured.

     

    A potential future captain.

  10. Dear Peter – get the biscuit tin out. Nobody left to punt to Southampton. the 35m has covered your UCL shortfall – but next year??- last chance saloon.com

  11. Wonder how O’Connell feels about this. Denayer away, VVD away, Boyata erratic and he still gets punted out on loan.

     

     

    Hmmmmmm. Strange one in my opinion.

     

     

    HH

  12. Agent Green

     

     

    It’s almost as if we are going to sign another CB today!?

     

     

    overseasbhoy

     

     

    Sorry, I didn’t realize it was Peter Lawwell who was supposed to mark Rosenberg at that corner. Useless!

  13. O’Connel away? Shocking .I thought we were going to rear our own under Ronny..but ist seems that any that get a chance are pumped out.. if he had played instead of Denayer who is to say he would not have done as well? Same with Fischer.

  14. Lennon n Mc....Mjallby on

    Ahh good old ‘innovation’,what that really means is doing extra work to generate more income on top of your core business/income or at least that’s what it means to an eejit like myself,a bit like overtime at work,that’s how you’re able to save to invest,I innovate by doing overtime and working part time hours on top of my core income.

     

     

    It strikes me that Celtic’s main business is of a football variety which is geared up to one,sometimes two matchdays a week,are Celtic innovating and working hard enough?

     

     

    I don’t know the different irons Celtic have in the fire to keep the core business healthy,hell I don’t even know the magnitude of the hard work involved in keeping the business of one maybe two matchdays a week running but I can’t help but wonder,what sideline businesses/overtime/innovation do Celtic put in?

     

     

    Could a business like Celtic not get involved in property development in an ethical way helping the housing crisis?

     

     

    If Tesco can morph into selling petrol and all manner of other things,can Celtic not innovate like that to a degree?

     

     

    If it’s Superclubs that are taking over football,why can’t Celtic take the mountain to Mohammed and plant seeds instead of relying on the lottery of the CL to tread water?

     

     

    Ah well,just a thought before I go innovate after an eight hour shift!

  15. OptaCeltic ‏@OptaCeltic 7m7 minutes ago

     

    Since 2010, Celtic have received over £63m from England clubs in transfer fees alone

  16. Would really have liked to see a strong and experienced .defensive midfielder brought in to protect the back four.

     

    Bitton while a very good player is not suited to this role.

     

    He is not great in the tackle . often gets caught wrong side and has a tendency to give the ball away in dangerous areas.

     

    I feel his best position is further forward.

  17. I am Not Lurking Anymore on

    Good luck to big Virgil a class act on & off the field hopefully he proves himself & gets a bigger club in a few year’s

     

    Just waiting for the distraught Jim White to appear on sly sports he must be gutted about his mate Chuckles

     

    The little rat Feruz back in Scotland with his tail between his legs

  18. Fantastic news selt oor best player

     

    great deal for us of course so they say

     

    Looking forward to seeing jozo

     

    hopefully we can sell him too

     

    that would be great news f

     

    eh

     

    this business model pisses me aff

     

    here’s a few facts

     

    cifti is shite

     

    as stokes is

     

    griff good

     

    no class tho we need a great number 9

     

    Fletcher fits the bill great player

     

    michu tae

     

    an experienced centre back

     

    experienced defensive midfielder too

     

    as we’ve no got wan

     

    that’s no gonna happen tho is it

  19. Greetings Paul67,

     

     

    Terrible news!

     

     

    As you may not be aware, on 17 June 2019 Virgil Van Dijk, suffering terribly, will be admitted to a state mental hospital on the outskirts of Southampton due to the Shoodnagon virus. A horrible condition that turns normal healthy people into mumbling wrecks unable to say anything other than ‘Shoodnagon’

     

     

    In better news though he will at least have company when he is admitted to the same ward as Victor Wanyama and Fraser Forster.

     

     

    rotit j

  20. Sheik Yerbouti on 1st September 2015 4:09 pm

     

     

    Fantastic news selt oor best player great deal for us of course so they say

     

    Looking forward to seeing jozo hopefully we can sell him too

     

    that would be great news f

     

    eh

     

    this business model pisses me aff

     

    >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

     

     

    Simple question – When were Celtic NOT a selling club?

  21. Afternoon Timland from a hot hun free mountain valley.

     

    Oh well, it looks like Anto is our new striker, if Catman and Lennybhoy are correct.

     

    Read an interesting stat earlier, since the year 2010, we have taken in £65 mill from english clubs alone.

     

    In the past two years we have taken in £30+ mill from the sale of VW, VvD, FF and GH, and spent the square root of feck all.

     

    And some wonder why we don’t qualify for the CL.

     

    Happy clapping.

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