Sun setting on striker flop, Football for Schmucks

681

News that the sun is setting on Amido Balde’s Celtic career will be welcomed far and wide.  His arrival on the back of a few YouTube clips and what now appears to have been a Portuguese marketing scam is a salutary lesson on how easy it is to expire transfer and wage budget, while incurring the even greater cost of poor recruits – Champions League failure.

We will never get them all right, but the processes Celtic went through to recruit a striker in the summers of 2012 (Lassad, Miku), 2013 (Balde, Pukki) and 2014 (Guidetti, Scepovic) are worth some urgent revision.  None were able to hold down a regular place in the team.

In mitigation, it’s easier to recruit a keeper or a defender (which we’ve done very well at recently) than a striker, but there will be lessons to learn from those six signings.  Quickly, I hope.

On the positive side, all of the aforementioned arrived with a degree of realism attached.  I noticed this morning: “Wabara really is in the mould of Barcelona great Dani Alves”.  This isn’t fun anymore.  Honest football fans (many are) are being treated like simpletons.

It’s like that Steve Carell movie, Dinner for Schmucks, where Paul Rudd doesn’t have the stomach to laugh at absurdly unfortunate guests.  Better they are put out of their misery than dragged through an ignominious humiliation before inevitably emptying their pockets at the alter of a Sports Direct retail contract.

Click Here for Comments >
Share.

About Author

681 Comments
  1. Pages:
  2. 1
  3. ...
  4. 7
  5. 8
  6. 9
  7. 10
  8. 11
  9. 12
  10. 13
  11. ...
  12. 18

  1. Awe_Naw_No_Annoni_Oan_Anaw_Noo on

    jmccormick

     

     

    The list changes you dumpling. It is not my fault you cant read or interpret the differences.

     

     

    I am now responsible for your stupidity ? not likely

     

     

    HH

  2. jmccormick

     

     

    20:10 on 29 June, 2015

     

     

    awe_naw_no_annoni_oan_anaw_noo

     

     

    WTF you on? So you have a list, it does gain impact by repeating it every 5 or 10 minutes.

     

    ———-

     

    can you imagine how long he spent compiling it?

  3. Awe naw

     

    The list is boring, add a few names take a few off, sorry it adds nothing …if I could not read would I not be able to write?

     

    Take responsibility for yourself.

  4. Awe_Naw_No_Annoni_Oan_Anaw_Noo on

    the_huddle

     

     

    3 seconds …… if you can use excel

     

     

    I reckon you dimwits don’t like what your reading. A predictable reaction

     

     

    Seriously though if you want to tackle the man instead of the ball bring it on … my goldfish is bored. I will set him onto the pair of yeah if you dont behave yourselves

     

     

    HH

  5. Awe_Naw_No_Annoni_Oan_Anaw_Noo on

    jmccormick

     

     

    That is what it is there for. Take the list put in who you dont think a flop is .. add who you do think a flop is .. it is called debate.

     

     

    I reckon that is too much work for the hard of thinking on here

     

     

    (i.e you canny dae) Not capable

     

     

    TheSpoomFedBrigadeCSC

  6. Awe_Naw_No_Annoni_Oan_Anaw_Noo on

    Ron

     

     

    I dont give a flying fu(K …. you are obviously still in Sevco´s gravitational orbit

     

     

    HH

  7. Awe_Naw_No_Annoni_Oan_Anaw_Noo on

    The Huddle

     

     

    Can you not read. That´s what I wrote.

     

     

    HH

  8. Anybody hear about the 7 guys who were in court last Thursday? They were arrested nearly 2 years ago for singing Roll of Honour, they’ll be back on 13th July for their 16th appearance.

  9. Jude2005, condolences my friend.

     

    Sometimes life hits you, sometimes with a double whammy.

     

    It is anything but fair.

     

    My thoughts are with Irene and her family.

     

     

    RIP David and George.

  10. Awe_Naw_No_Annoni_Oan_Anaw_Noo on

    I think we should call it the Lawwell list rather than my list as he has been the only constant player at Celtic these last ten years.

     

     

    What ya think ? … take an aspirin first ;-)

     

     

    HH

  11. Dreams of Lisbon on

    Some see a Flop list as an exercise in floccinaucinihilipilification. Others as a valuable debate. We should have a couple of lists to see who is who.

  12. Awe_Naw_No_Annoni_Oan_Anaw_Noo on

    You should see Perer Lawwells list .. Paul67 was talking about it only last week.

     

     

    Peter can have a list but Awe Naw canny ?

     

     

    HH

  13. Awe_Naw_No_Annoni_Oan_Anaw_Noo on

    BSR

     

     

    Alex Ferguson built teams. That is why I put the list up. We cannot build teams.

     

     

    HH

  14. bournesouprecipe on

    Awe_Naw

     

     

    Could be worse I posted a list yesterday, it got one comment.

  15. Awe_Naws bites worse than his bark!

     

     

    I love a list.

     

    That is a fairly damning one.

     

     

    One a thing I would want to know though, who actually signs these guys?

     

    Various managers? Might be, but on someone’s recommendation?

     

    On PL’s dictat? (Personally I doubt that one)

     

    Dig into that list, how many signed after 2007?

     

    How many before?

     

    Then again when buying in the lower reaches of a market you can only come up with the occasional rough diamond, most will simply be broken glass.

     

    A polished diamond is a once in a lifetime stroke of luck!

     

    What happened in 2007 to make that year the one I mention?

     

    Mr Park left Hibernian and came to CP.

     

     

    Ps, who the feck is De Ornelas?

  16. awe_naw

     

     

    Lot of good players on that list who have made good in their careers, good luck to them. A few who will never be successfully….so what ? Cannot believe you are getting your knickers in a twist about this.

     

    Incidentally, your personal insults are noted. You have gone down in my estimation, thought you were a more considered individual.

  17. cliftonville celt from belfast on

    corkcelt

     

     

    17:33 on 29 June, 2015

     

    WITS,We are all shaped by the family and environment we were born into plus our life experiences. How can a Scotsman with an obvious anti Irish bias living in Australia expect to have a reasonable debate with men who grew up with the Troubles on their doorsteps, This is not a good forum for such discussion and only breeds rancour and dissension.

     

    ————————————————–

     

     

    Most sensible thing said on this subject and hopefully the end of it

  18. bournesouprecipe on

    Awe_Naw

     

     

    Admittedly…..apples n pairs lists.

     

     

    But they also spend millions on ‘diddies’

  19. Awe_Naw_No_Annoni_Oan_Anaw_Noo on

    the_huddle

     

     

    Just scroll past …it is in my and your interest. If you want to act hun like and take on the (man ) cos you dont like what you read then be prepared to go down. As you will deserve it

     

     

    HH

  20. Ron Bacardi,re the flops list,who cares,it is only one persons opinion.

     

    I love discussions on this blog but everyone is entitled to there own opinion,but I liked some of the players on that list,others won’t.We are all Celtic supporters each to our own.Best memory ever at a Celtic Game was Joe Craig scoring against Deidco at Asbestos Dome.1-0.Not a win for 11games if I’m correct.

     

    A favourite player for a Celtic supporter is some other supporters dud.HH.

  21. Aw_Naw@20:28, that is where my hope for Ronny lies, he can build a team, at least from what I have seen he has given me hope he can.

     

     

    I just criticised John Park, I have been persuaded by CowieBhoys(God forgive me) argument, much of what is wrong with our transfers stems from that source, too much influence, not enough talent to back it up.

  22. Awe_Naw_No_Annoni_Oan_Anaw_Noo on

    BSR

     

     

    they can develop their own players from their own catchment area. We can´t

     

     

    HH

  1. Pages:
  2. 1
  3. ...
  4. 7
  5. 8
  6. 9
  7. 10
  8. 11
  9. 12
  10. 13
  11. ...
  12. 18