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.
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BOBBY MURDOCH’S CURLED-UP WINKLEPICKERS
11:07 on
30 June, 2015
But, but he’s totally been getting £1M bonuses since he arrived.
Burghbhoy
11:12 on
30 June, 2015
………………………………..
Ronnie’s trying to reduce the squad.. not play the “told you the grass is not greener” game!
Aiden could have joined Manchester Utd as a boy. He chose not to. He developed his talent and earned Celtic millions. He has made some interesting career choices.
He hasn’t flourished as I hoped though.
Could Kris’s misfortune be SA’s lucky break
If we’re talking McGeady why not Jason Puncheon? He’s the same age and his stats are much better. Probably cheaper too.
WEEMINGER
Stirrer…
He is still paid more than he should be,IMO. That level of remuneration should be a reward for greater achievement than I think he has shown so far.
Aiden was our top player whilst suffering a witchhunt against him
Weeminger
Jason P…cracking player from what ive seen.
Doubt we could afford him….probably cost 7 or 8 Million.
HH
BOBBY MURDOCH’S CURLED-UP WINKLEPICKERS
11:23 on
30 June, 2015
I agree he’s overpaid imo.
Bonjour fae Paris
a’wa tae climb up tae the Bastilique de sacre coeur then doon for a couple of pints in the Harp. Was oot last night wi Mrs Teuchter – 4.50€ a pint and 5€ for a wee bottle of coke. ……she’ll be watchin the windmill at the Moulin rouge go round when I’m in the pub later:-) Burghbhoy….Aiden McGeady….Yer havin a laugh, I’ll just run that one past bazza :-)
Vive le Celts
Any Dubai based bhoys on ?
Looking for somewhere to eat near the Dubai mall/water show area 2night for me and the girlfriend.
Nothing fancy just somewhere bit lively with nice view if possible ?
Last nyt here
Cheers
I think we have enough to qualify for the CL now.
I believe we are 1 player away from qualifying from the CL group stages
A striker (a big Pierre).
Without going crazy (he said going crazy), maybe we have a chance of winning the CL again this year.
Am I suffering from a Colonel Kurtz type Cult syndrome regarding Ronnie?
Bonjour TAL,
Dinny forget the factor 30. Hoat the day here.
The Harp changed hands a few months back, still the home of the Paris CSC, but not as Tmmy as it once was. Not sure what times they open during the week on non game days.
If you’re here for a few days, may perhaps see you at one of the Friendlies.
Proudbhoy- we had a good meal in a Chinese/noodle place.
Can’t remember the name, looks onto a statue of a horse/bull/camel?
Chile 2 – Peru 1 .
Both Chile goals scored by Eduardo Vargas. One of them was an absolute screamer .
Vargas is owned by Napoli .Signed in January 2012 for @ 12 million euros.Made 19 appearances for Napoli and was loaned out to Gremio in January 2013. He was then loaned out to Valencia and QPR..
Vargas went to Gremio in a hurry and appears to be in no hurry to return to Napoli.Story is that Vargas behaved inappropriately towards the daughter of a ‘Man of Honour’ and was advised to leave town.
Aiden
He will be 30 years old this coming season = no resale value.
His wage package (assume 3 years) circa £3-4M = no resale value.
His abilities can’t be dismissed. However he has shown tendencies to; drift out of games, an inability to conform to team-play and a disinterested attitude at times.
So! Exactly where would he fit into RD’s game plan? Too late in the day to try and convert him into some form of No.10 and unsuitable for a pressing midfield role.
Sorry but I can’t see how Aiden fits our current player template!
TAL
All those frogs legs must have addled your brain son.
Aiden is surely a winner for us?
Enjoy the trip brother.
See u August when I retain the Dundee medal!!!!
HH
A return for Aiden and Hoops?
It’s a no from me I’m afraid.
HH!!
I suspect Dundee United’s board will have made some kind of pact to sell Ciftci to anyone but Celtic given our recent purchases of GMS and SA…
PRAECEPTA
I loved watching Aiden playing for us. A typical match performance would have me whooping with delight then kicking the nearest cat,rarely boring and always with a sense of the unpredictably sublime-or otherwise!-when he got near the ball.
If he feels he has made enough money from the game to settle into our wage structure,and still knuckle down under Ronny,I’d have him back in a heartbeat.
If he returns as an overpaid primadonna topping up his pension,then no.
His call,I think. If Ronny thinks he can add to the team-subject to the above-Aiden has to do his bit too.
(His cousin stays in Swindon,btw. She doesn’t think he likes life on Merseyside much…)
As someone said before; wee Jackie must be planning a house extension
No thanks to Aiden from me,his final pass/cross has not improved and his decision making is still poor,so we want to bring him back and make him the best paid player at the club?? Nope.
Nothing about that makes sense.We need a couple of defenders and a goal scorer he fills neither role.
UCL Final 2017
Cardiff, Millenium Stadium.
LB
Put me down on the No to Ciftci, Hooper and McGeady list , please.!
BOBBY MURDOCH’S CURLED-UP WINKLEPICKERS
11:49 on 30 June, 2015
Spot on mate,nicely put.
new article posted.
Burghbhoy
Aiden has had his day I’m afraid mate. Don’t think his attitude would fit into the dressing room.
It’s the wife that’s got the frogs legs – I’ve just told her to hop doon tae the lobby and get me the paper.
Olivia is on couse for the tattie award………..trust me☺:-)
Kris Commons is now a ‘hapless hoops star ‘ according to SMSM
Somebody is hurting a lot more than his big toe CSC
TAL
Enjoy Paree and Vietnam bud.
Watch out for any stray goons!!!
Hail Hail bro
Captain Beefheart .
Good tribute to Jean Ritchie on the Smithsonian Folkways website.Good people Smithsonian Folkways , buy something and they will remember you forever.
TIMMY7NOTED
High praise indeed,mate-thanks for that!
burghbhoy
11:12 on 30 June, 2015
Understood……no need to worry, though……..we could have been born current bhuns…..now, THAT’s a WORRY … hahahahahahahahahahahahaha
Green man
No problem, sir……wouldn’t’ be much of a blog if we all agreed, all of the time ….. :)
BMCUW
If he were to do as you hoped – at 30 he still fails the ‘sell-on’ value test!
Outwith Broonie – no player is going to get a £3-4M wage package unless he has been ‘unearthed’ and has attracted the attention of the EPL. Signed at a reasonable fee and wage – developed and contract renegotiated (e.g. VW/FF/VvD) for selling purposes.
SJ/NB/SA/GMS are already in the ‘system’ – if they continue to progress they will be the ones to benefit from a £3-4M type package (pre-selling) not Aiden.
Meantime the Scouting Team will be up Wanlockhead looking to unearth another nugget or trawling YouTube for the next project!
Paul67
11:58 on
30 June, 2015
new article posted.
Naw there isnae!
LB