Kelechi Iheanacho was the most gifted player in Scottish football last season and made crucial contributions to Celtic winning the title. He was not considered fit enough to start a game after a 2-0 defeat at Tannadice in March, after which he was used sparingly as a substitute.
If he returns to Celtic for the season ahead, he will doubtlessly be able contribute in a similar manner, but it will be an admission that we have no confidence to go into the transfer market and sign a striker who is trusted to regularly play from the start.
It might be that we left Shaun Maloney and Mark Fotheringham out in the cold during some crucial weeks last month, or it might be that the management team just don’t fancy any of the names placed before them. What we know for sure is that Celtic have a problem with recruitment.
I am concerned we lack a football identity. We should be a club who scout players with potential to develop profile and value. This would provide a trading model which becomes self-fulfilling. Developing young players who leave for England encourages more young players to come to Celtic. It encourages agents to want to do business with Celtic. Bringing in Oxlade-Chamberlain, and potentially Iheanacho and Saracchi, does the opposite. A lowering of risks today has a cost down the line.
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OldTim
HH
. A lowering of risks today has a cost cutting down the line.
Aye but 10 , ten new tops in store and online , we can all score one of them
But, wait a minute.
You told us recently that the ‘recruitment infrastructure was and remains in place’.
So, do we have a recruitment department or not?
I know what I think.
I think we are going t have to be patient with Martins press utterances. His gemial old man routine has been hond on the after dinner market for decades, He uses this well with the press to deflect, but for fans starved of information its not hitting the right notes.
I wouldnt read too much into anything he is saying at the moment.
Bringing in who we have or might do tells you exactly what Celtic is a club who will spend the minimum amount to cover the squad, scouting appears to be a joke and when it’s like this desperation sets in and players like Balikwisha are signed for a big fee offer nothing and drain the wage bill. With your contacts at Celtic tell the blog who is scouting and signing players? We appear to have a blindfold on and stick a pin on a list of names
This is an issue that sits with the board. No blaming BR for this shitshow. Out of their depth & incompetent.
Our recruitment has been poor for years or at least very hit and miss. Only Dom McKay and Ange and latterly Brendan had the right idea. You start from a higher base if you want to improve.
I find it rather bizarre that we now have a bedwetter writing the close season blogs now that his paymaster has gone
Resign Iheanacho
Kelechi Iheanacho
I just think you don’t understand
And if you don’t sign Iheanacho
Kelechi Iheanacho
You’re gonna have a riot on your hands
With Kels, I think it all turns on preseason. Either he gets properly tuned up with those hammies stretching like bungee cords, or we can look forward to long periods of absence as per last season.
For all of his very obvious qualities, he played less than 500 minutes of football for us last season, set in the context of Celtic playing 59 competitive matches extending to more than 5,300 minutes.
That’s less than 10% availability.
Also, of his 5 goals, 3 were from the spot. Two goals from open play in 500 minutes of football isn’t stellar. Johnny Kenny got 4 goals from 688 minutes but I’m not getting a sense of excitement on his return to Celtic from his loan.
Not everyone remembers the details of his season in hard numbers but Kels’s legend seems considerably greater than his contribution.
If he signs again it surely indicates that the medical team have confidence that he can recover his athleticism. A fit Iheanacho would be a serious menace to most teams we’ll face.
On such decisions are careers and reputations made.
Rather than just describe the pickle all us fans are aware of Paul, it’d be better to have an informed article that sought to unpack the specific reasons WHY…
WHY do we have no confidence to go into the transfer market and sign a younger starting striker ?
WHY (and WHO) chose to leave Shaun, Mark and Mick out in the cold during crucial scouting weeks ?
WHY (again and WHO) are we researching and presenting un-credible prospects for MON and co ?
WHY do Celtic still have a problem with recruitment (after it’s been a recognised issue for some time) ?
WHY do we lack a football identity when our tradition sets the blueprint of how fans expect us to play ?
WHY is every contemporary signing season angst-ridden instead or rewards driven ?
WHY is recruitment a black or white matter (either older lags or Peteresque punts) ?
WHY not a mix of ?
PorQueNoLosDos? CSC
I gather we’re signing a Columbian forward (Camilo Duran) from Azerbaijan that no one had heard of until last week.
We’re linked with an Egyptian winger from Spain today.
And we’re linked again with Kieron Bowie (ex Hibs) from Verona.
Doubtless there are myriad other opportunities in the pipeline that we are oblivious to, but I’m not getting the sense that our recruitment department has taken the summer off.
Quite the contrary, they seem to be fairy busy.
Retaining AOC, Iheanacho and Saracchi makes sense from the continuity perspective, not least as we can expect a few outgoings. Some experienced heads in the group is very much a positive, provided they contribute.
Let’s see whether recruitment delivers a performance this summer before we start imagining the worst.
My sense of it is that MON has some leverage within the club in the event that internal objects need to be moved.
Drip, drip. If only we could get Mark back…….
Condolences Taurangabhoy.
What a load of rubbish for the leader today. Duran deal is done; Iheanacho and Sarrachi deals are almost there – both want to come. the Ox is in the building (well, in Portugal). Julián Araujo is being pursued. There are deals on the table for at least 2 others who played in the World Cup and there are other players are being pushed. It doesn’t happen overnight and you know that.
Usual scaremongering pish.
Also, O’Neill said the delay on Fozzy and Maloney was down to him, but I suppose that doesn’t feed into the narrative, does it?
KATIE SWEEP was here cleaning my log burner. A young girl with university degree. We were telling her about YIR LUMS ON FIRE MISSIS. Any old tims remember lums going on fire.
So question is were does LUM come from.
vfr,
welcome back frankie bhoy.
Our recruitment ‘model’ has been pish for years
Some were too busy attacking a previous manager to notice
The veil has been lifted
The Dictionaries of the Scots Language (DSL) trace the history of this term for a “chimney… [or] a chimney stack” back to the 17th century. The earliest citation comes from the records of the Hilderstoun Silver Mines in 1609: “Great naillis to the lumb of the melting mylne”.
(2) in old rural houses: a wide wooden canopy suspended over the fire and serving as a smoke vent, the part projecting above the roof being usually bound with straw ropes. Cf. Hing, I. 9. (12); in more primitive buildings, a wood-lined opening in the ridge of the roof for light and ventilation and the escape of smoke (Sh. 1914 Angus Gl.).
Ags. 1725 Dundee Charters, etc. (1880) 164:
No Tradesman build or rebuild any clay, plaister, or timber chimnys or Lumms within this Burgh.
Abd. 1744 Abd. Estate (S.C.) 73:
To 2 days work for making a lumb and basin chimney and hanging the bellows . . . £1. 0. 0.
Bnff. c.1825 J. F. S. Gordon Chrons. Keith (1880) ix.:
A fire was set at the gable of a Dwelling; and above it, in the Roof, a Hole, or Timmer Lum, was left for ventilation and for the “reek” to escape . . . Then followed “Hinging Chumlies.”
Abd. 1845 Stat. Acc.2 XII. 1064:
The farm-houses with lum and earthen-floor have entirely disappeared, and in their stead plain and comfortable erections have been built with chimneys.
Rxb. c.1885 W. Laidlaw Poetry (1901) 34:
A curious rustic lum Of aiken rungs wi’ strae raips twined.
Ork. c.1912 J. Omond 80 Years Ago 8:
The lum or opening in the roof for the smoke was about 2 feet square, and made of wood tied round with simmons [straw ropes] outside, and was not placed over the fire, but 3 or 4 feet behind the back, [q.v.], and a board used for skylin was shifted to the wind side by a long pole fastened to it.
Abd. 1920 S. Wilken Ellon in Bygone Days 20:
A lang timmer lum, wippet wi’ strae rape.
FAVOURITE UNCLE
Question of the day 👏👏
Medieval Times CSC
BOGNORBHOY on 9TH JULY 2026 1:08 PM
Answer if the day 👏👏
my goodness the bloggers are full of sunshine today.
tell me this, is there a prize for who signs the most players the earliest ?
seriously, why is that used as a measurement on anything.
bognorbhoy on 9th July 2026 1:08 pm.
TA for that.
B S R thanks to you tae.
“ I am concerned we lack a football identity.”
I agree but for the purposes of transfers etc I am more concerned that we either lack a commercial identity when it comes to transfers , other clubs and agents etc or, worse still, that we do have one and it’s in the gutter.
Whatever business or profession you’re in your reputation amongst your own peers and those you do business with is critical. A good name is hard to gain and very easily and quickly lost if you’re not careful.
I fear that our apparent inability to get deals done quickly and relatively easily when it comes to buying in players may have damaged our reputation enormously
VFR
Good to see you posting.
I have supported Celtic for over 45 years…
I have read CQN almost daily since the very early days…but now it pains me to say that CQN…just like Celtic….have now become a Parody of themselves….
Suddenly we have a problem with recruitment despite the evidence being clearly visible for the last twenty four months.
We are already bleeding youth talent because we don’t have a recognised reserve league and very few players make it to first team level and often find their path blocked by players who we’ve bought and are trying to shift or the youth players aren’t good enough.
I’ve always maintained that we should never be buying back up players. Every player brought to the club should be better than what we already have for that position, otherwise you stagnate.
Whole he is an honest professional, Tony Ralston has been at the club for a decade and has never been first choice right back. Offering him a new contract is classic stagnation.
While bringing in players at their late twenties is a concern, surely there is room for a mixture of youth and experience, particularly if that experience takes you to two Champions League group qualifications.
Going by this metric, we would never have signed Moravcik.
What is clear though is that the recruitment system, whatever it was, has failed in recent years and needs reinvented and to do that we need time. While buying youth we have overplayed our hand in the risk and reward game. We’ve risked Champions League qualification too often resulting in no reward.
Ultimately this situation falls on the Board, Martin has clearly has told the Board that he doesn’t want “Club signings” but wants guys he can trust regardless of age.
Despite what has been said regarding the Celtic support, we aren’t that difficult to please: all we want is a realistic vision, direction, and ambition displayed by those who are in charge of the club and that mainly entails buying players early enough to make a contribution to Champions League qualification as well as on the domestic front.
When those in charge dither, haggle over the recruitment of the people who are going to carry out the recruitment then they are letting themselves, the support, and the club down.
P67, unless you have concrete inside info, it seems a bit early to be throwing in the towel. It’s barely the middle of July!!
See my cunning plan from last night👍
THE BLOGGER FORMERLY KNOWN AS GM on 8TH JULY 2026 9:50 PM
I have a cunning plan.
Sign a striker likely to start every game and have Ihenacho and Osmand on the bench.
Not too shabby.
In: None.
Out: Kasper Schmeichel, goalkeeper (retired); Luis Palma, forward (Lech Poznan, loan to permanent, undisclosed); Hayato Inamura, defender (Tokyo, loan to permanent, undisclosed); Stephen Welsh, defender (Swansea City, undisclosed); Ben Summers, midfielder (Ayr United, loan to permanent); Josh Clarke, goalkeeper (Partick Thistle, loan to permanent); Ben McPherson, defender (Partick Thistle, loan to permanent); Andrew Kyle, defender (East Kilbride, loan to permanent).
Loan ended: Marcello Sarrachi, defender (Boca Juniors); Julian Araujo, defender (Bournemouth); Tomas Cvancara, forward (Borussia Monchengladbach); Benjamin Arthur, forward (Brentford); Junior Adamu, forward (Freiburg); Joel Mvuka, midfielder (Lorient).
We supporters speculate too much. Mostly we don’t know what’s going on which is the norm at this time for all clubs for obvious reasons. But I think the older experienced hands mentioned could provide something of use on field and in the dressing room for another year at least. Our new striker could surely learn something from KI. But it’s more or less in the hands of the medics and the accountants, again for obvious reasons. Ox is already a done deal and the only other I have reservations about is KI. Quality wise I have no doubts, but fitness wise I have some.
Celtic are preparing to go “all out” to compete with Bologna – who are said to be in “pole position” in the race to sign Scotland Kieron Bowie from Hellas Verona. (Corriere di Verona via Daily Record, external)
Relegated Hellas Verona have slapped a £13m price tag on Kieron Bowie in a bid to keep the 23-year-old amid interest from Serie A clubs Cagliari and Sassuolo. (Daily Record, external)
Manager Martin O’Neill says Celtic are pursuing deals to re-sign 29-year-old striker Kelechi Iheanacho and 28-year-old left-back Marcelo Saracchi, who was on loan from Boca Juniors. (The Herald, external)
Celtic have bid £3.4m for 24-year-old Real Oviedo winger Haissem Hassan, who starred for Egypt at the World Cup. (Fondo Seguna via Glasgow Times, external)
Celtic would have to stump up £10m to land Egypt World Cup winger Haissem Hassan after his new transfer release clause from Real Oviedo was revealed. (The National, external)
MON in Portugal
I think we all suspect the recruitment department is located a c/o D&R Desmond, Ballsbridge (the big house), Dublin. Rumours of Kenny and Shin being foist on St Martin.
This seems to be an admission the recruitment is a failure, independent of Brendan Rodgers.
No, the answer is not to bring back Mark ‘Kwon’ Lawwell.
Nothing that can’t be repaired with a bit of management direction and action. Maybe the plan should be:
1. Accepting the fact of a failing recruitment function make do with the best options available this window; eg Keli, AOC, Saracchi.
2. Muddle through next season again to hopefully winning the league and use that time to restructure.
3. Commission an industry expert to conduct a properly independent review of governance, strategy and leadership. And of the recruitment function.
4. Implement the findings, uncoloured by old bhoys network loyalties and rewards for failure.
5. Given it’s a racing certainty it will be a review recommendation, replace the CEO with someone even half competent and on no more than half the salary. Celtic does not need to pay CEOs that much, it’s a nonsense.
6. Replace the CFO with a competent accountant who stays in their lane. Pay someone in Greater Glasgow £200K and you’ll get someone much superior to McKay.
7. Refresh the politburo, sorry Board, with some energetic, highly qualified Celtic leaning people, on max terms of 5 years.
8. Insist that the Desmonds operate in line with good governance practice as NEDs, not as Banana Republic autocrats.
9. Develop a robust succession plan for the Exec Team and Board.
10. Clearly communicate to the fans that the club has undergone an independent, first principles root and branch refresh and is now structured to be a modern, fit for purpose club in keeping with its status in the football world. That includes the unavoidable constraints on international ambition and achievement that the fans can reasonably be asked to calibrate their expectations and demands around.
PLB
There is not a hope in hell that DD would allow anyone to come in and tell him his company/club is badly run, look at the domestic success he cries look at the money in the bank.
Another schismatic lead reinforces my belief that there was serious splits in the Celtic PLC Boardroom and possibly among the main shareholders.
That being the case, the holding position led by Lennoxtown would seems to be the best we can achieve at present.
It is no coincidence to my way of thinking, that the senior Board member, the head Executive and trouble-shooting manager were in Dublin with the principal shareholder on Tuesday and on Wednesday we are for the first time talking about serious recruitment targets.
Some costing a pretty penny.
For me, this is the green shoots of the beginning of pre-season activity.
Now, Kelechi Iheanacho, Araujo, Sarrachi etc might not be everyones idea of a rebuild – with that I would concur.
Yet, with those who are returning from injury who were hugely missed last year – indications that players we sell will be replaced by quality, I’m happier with the direction of travel…
In a once your in a hole stop digging kind of a way…
Hail Hail
“ The Board recognises the inherent inefficiencies of holding excess cash, and, in conjunction with other cash commitments, the importance of investing in strengthening the team to deliver football success ”
Peter Lawwell 2024
Ahem CSC
CHAIRBHOY
Bought
🇨🇴Camilo Duran Undisclosed fee
Sold
🇭🇳Luis Palma £3.5M
( well done got our money back )
🇯🇵Hayato Ianamura £1M
( very well done, big profit )
🏴Stephen Welsh ( nominal fee undisclosed )
Retired
🇩🇰Kasper Schmeichel
Hail Hail