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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“His arrival on the back of a few YouTube clips and what now appears to have been a Portuguese marketing scam …”
I hope that’s a joke.
Because if that’s how easy it is to con our scouting team people should be losing their jobs over it.
What are our scouts doing if they get duped by a marketing scam
Scepovic deserves a proper chance ….the guy is a goalscorer
Just moved my lazy but it was 2007
“YouTube clips” and “a marketing scam”? Really Paul? That indicates that, far from running a professional & diligent scouting department we, er, don’t!
One would think the lesson on (striker) recruitment had already been learnt. Add in Bangura, Rasmussen et al to the names you’ve mentioned and one gets the impression of a “finger in the air” strategy.
An appalling waste.
wits,
Great talking to ye pal.
I’m feeling good today.
Left a wee bitch down at the vet to be spayed this morning.
I’m going for a few pints and I’m putting a fiver on each of those horses.
I’ll be collecting ma wee dog and hopefully some winnings later.
God bless ye.
Honest football fans (many are) are being treated like simpletons.
Not just sevconians.Pukki,Balde etc where they not on the extensive lists
Jude
You&your family in my thoughts n prayers.
Thoughts and prayers with Jude and his family.
If Amido Balde is indeed away then so too, fortunately, will be the worst song I’ve ever heard in “support” of one of our own players ;-)
Jude
My most heartfelt condolences to you and yours, especially Irene.
WITS
I’ve already backed two of them,so you can blame me and I’ll blame you.
Everyone’s a winner-except us,I suspect. Jinxed each other!
philmacgiollabhain.ie/the-belfast-te… Developing story…
If Amido Balde is indeed away, that leaves ole Jobo as our #1 Baldie.
Jude, thoughts and prayers are with Irene and your family, God Bless
gsu
Suuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuurely The shortest serving blazer at any club would be onto this :))))
http://www.philmacgiollabhain.ie/the-belfast-telegraph-and-the-rangers-supporters-trust/#more-6537
Jude2005
My thoughts are with Irene at this moment. I can’t imagine the pain she’s going through just now.
RIP David and George.
HH
jude2005 is Neil Lennon \o/
My thoughts and prayers are with you and your family at this time
its a sad time when someone close passes but two in quick succession is very hard on the family
May God give you all the strength required to get through these next few days
HH
Jude – a dreadful story, sympathy to Irene.
Jobo – Balde ‘chant’, indeed.
SANDMAN
I hope you read my post re COSYCORNERBHOY and the happyclapper comment the other day.
He forgot the smiley. Too old for these things,he actually thought he had put one at the end of the post but it didn’t ‘take’
Neither do mine. Apple have a whole screen of them things. It shows up in the screen prior to posting,gets left off.
Nouveau Tim,he loved that…
BOBBY MURDOCH’S CURLED-UP WINKLEPICKERS
The telly was on in the background this morning ,some prog about demolition company, they were at a shopping precinct in Blackpool ,the cafe was the cosy corner cafe
Jude
Sad news for your family mi amigo.
HH
YNWA
You’ll never walk a drone
RUGGYMAN
Correct,mate. No matter what,we always came up wi the goods up front.
I recall saying to my kid sis that Hartson had had his days with us when he only hit 20 goals one season.
Shocking.
Although his average was roughly a goal every two games for us,and I loved the big fella,20 goals is not IMO a top Celtic striker.
And I stand by that.
Bearing in mind the topic of the article,our next signing target up front should be the subject of one very simple question.
How many goals do you expect him to score for us this season?
Thoughts with Jude and his family.
Never has a Celtic player looked so lacking in the basic skills of being able to control a ball.
The amount of pish supposed goal scorers we have signed recently is disgraceful.
Never mind we can stop having to sign them soon and throw in unqualified youngsters.
Jesus wept.
TT
Adams is too full of himself to move over for Pearse Doherty .
Should have happened couple years ago.
BMCUWP
Correct …goalscorers tend to score goals…projects and punts tend not to
Very little chance of getting a real good striker on the cheap
It is undoubtedly a difficult task ….unfortunately one we are failing miserably at
leftclicktic
13:12 on
29 June, 2015
Suuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuurely The shortest serving blazer at any club would be onto this :))))
http://www..ie/the-belfast-telegraph-and-the-rangers-supporters-trust/#more-6537
Couldnt read the third letter ………
what will be interesting to see is if or when philmacgiollabhain ever gets a freelance gig at the “TELE” (thats how its shouted out by sellers) again..
for all her assertions I wouldnt hold my breath on much of an enquiry….
gutter press doesnt just exist in Scotland.. unfortunately
HH
Oh Dearie Me.
Keith Jackshun at his brilliant best.
As Wimbledon fortnight gets under way in sweltering London today a nations hopes once again rest with Andy Murray.
This man from Dunblane is a serious contender for the coveted crown this year but there are still some in this country that refused to give him the credit he deserves.
No matter to him though. Murray knows his worth and better still he has a thick enough skin to withstand the doubts that still remain.
When he walks out tomorrow on his beloved centre court we will be watching true sporting greatness.
At 28 he is nearing the peak of his powers and it would be a brave man that would bet against him winning his second Wimbledon title.
Of course if Murray needed any inspiration, he need only cast his eyes north towards Ibrox where Mark Warburton is busy wielding his own magic wand.
The former city trader has been quietly going about his business but may just be about to unleash a side every bit as potent as a Murray backhand return.
With Danny Wilson and Rob Kiernan already clad in light blue and the promise of more quality to come the former high flying banker is clearly following the sage advice afforded him by Walter Smith – assemble a team first of all.
Murray of course has his own coaching team behind him but he could do worse than pick up the phone to Warburton, who knows a thing or two about pressure having worked in the city.
The two of them could trade ideas as thrilling as any rally Murray has engaged in over his career.
Warburton has arrived at Ibrox with fresh ideas and a wind of change is blowing through the gates at Murray Park as innovative as anything Murray can conjure up from the baseline he prowls with such menace.
Of course others stand in Murray’s way as he launches his latest bid for another Grand Slam. The names of Federer and Djokovic in particular must cause the Scot to break out in cold sweats.
These are giants of the modern game but I’m sure if Murray lifts the phone over the next few days and reaches out Warburton can tell him something about overcoming obstacles in his path.
The former Brentford chief outlined his plans for the coming season to his staff only the other day and perhaps he could transmit some of these ideas to Andy Murray, who could absorb them like he does the most vicious of serves from an opponent.
This Wimbledon fortnight promises much. That the Petrofac Training Cup draw takes place on the opening day only adds to the undoubted thrill.
Just read Phils article
Why do Sevconians equate criticism of their club with some form of sectarian bigotry
Lefty
The thing that gets me about the hun, they should be thanking Phil for telling them the truth, but they are that thick, thankfully :-)
HH
Ludicrous claims are now the norm in the desperation to sell season tickets at Ibrox.
Most of the claims are not in fact made by journalists. They are made by someone with a connection to the individual being promoted. Whether it’s the risible claims about the guy released by Doncaster Rovers or the even more laughable claim made by a former colleague of Warburton that he guaranteed Rangers would be the best team in Scotland within 12 months.
Now i’m pretty sure many journalists are well aware that the claims are laughable. They know that the issue is keeping fans onside . Thats an editorial decision not a journalistic one. I suspect that even the most Rangers friendly journalist would rather offer a realistic assesment of what is going on . However in many cases they are not allowed to deliver the appropriate ridicule.
The problem the media have is that it is incredibly easy to very quickly prove that the PR puff pieces are nonsense. Unless of course the reader is allergic to any kind of reality about their club. The media are playing a dangerous game and I think an unintelligent one.
Better access to data and fact and alternative opinion nowadays , means that it is only those who want to be duped will continue to support the product. The better educated, those with an enquiring and cynical mind will do their own research. Which will result in the demographic of readers of the written media becoming less and less attractive to advertisers.
There are many reasons why paid for newspaper readership is in serious decline. Treating customers as idiots is akin to self harm . It also smacks of desperation from an industry at a loss to innovate and keep pace with the way former readers want to engage
Long time lurker 1st post , Jude prayers said for Irene , puts life in perspective. I enjoy the compassion of Dena, the irritability of weefra when discussion get away from Celtic , the quickwittedness of Jamesgang. The passion of Gerryfraethebrig and the wonderful posts of travellerbhoy . The seasons not far away I have a feeling Ronnies going to give us a good one.
I must admit,the treatment of P McG for simply telling the truth-albeit with some relish-is a disgrace.
So much for freedom of the press. So much for the right to free speech. So much for truth.
These publications are lying down to hun hordes when they should be telling them that if they don’t like what they are reading,don’t shoot the messenger.
A press wi cojones is merely a memory nowadays. And it’s not only in regional papers.
papajoe55
Welcome to the madhouse
TET
Equating a novice rookie manager and a second tier SPFL team with Scotlands greatest living sportsman ….
FFS ….do people buy that paper to read this bollox ..
that has to be the biggest load of shit ever written by Jackson,who are these players being signed by the tax dodging cheats,latest one to get star billing has just been released by doncaster ffs ,and this twat got sports journalist of the year award,the whole scottish press is just a big joke
TET,
Looking forward to the clumpany’s take on that, got to say I burst out laughing without his take but there gold in that thar article. :oD))))