Signing players is easy, just ask anyone who has never done it. The selling club invariably wants to wait until the last moment, when they are sure no one else will bid up the price. The player occasionally wants to wait and see if you have Champions League football that season. This deal might be the only income the agent will get that year, so he needs to make the most of it.
Then you have the really complicated ones. Players have pitched up at Celtic Park from a far-flung part of Europe, terrified to sign because some shady character thinks he owns a part of him and has not been paid off.
There has been a time recently when everything was agreed, then the selling club told the player he would not receive his final salary. The player, not unreasonably, said, “This is not right, on a point of principle, they need to pay or we try again in January.”
You want to sign all your top targets, but to do that, you need to pay the top price the club, player and agent can imagine you will pay, even then, it’s not always going to happen.
It is only right to pay the top price you can afford on exceptional occasions. Your strategy should involve being prepared to fail in a negotiation, because to succeed at the prevailing price does not fit your overall budget.
In Scotland, we are still conditioned to some extent, by the bombast of David Murray. Old Zsa Zsa rattled his jewellery and boasted that he never allowed price to stop him buying a player he really wanted. I hear the echoes today, “Just pay the money!”
Murray made it sound like a virtue. It wasn’t. It was one of several vices that led to liquidation.
You have to lose some. Players will not come and some existing players, who are out of contract, will leave. Both will be painful, fans will accuse you of motives which have no internal consistency, but if you get a reputation for not letting players walk away due to money, you are dead in the water.
You need a bucket full of tactics, not cash, to sign players. Experience helps too, and not the good type, you will mostly learn from bad experiences. There will be times you phone the player’s grandfather, who is on your side, but you will still not be able to convince the player Celtic Park is the right move.
Then you will publicly turn your face to stone. “This is our line and not an inch more”, was the subtext of a recent Celtic Tweet. “Curious”, I thought, “What’s the chances this will work?”
The football business is mad, there is no other word for it. It is full of dafties, alpha males who are still trying to impress their decades-dead fathers, the occasional warlord and some fine young athletes. Try to understand it through the prism of normal life and you will misinterpret everything.
Oh, and if at least 50% of your transfers are not justifiably described as a “saga” you’re not working hard enough. Transfers, like sausages, are not meant to look good when they are being made.
Let’s hope David Turnbull passes his medical…..
I’m off to the CQN Charity Golf Day in Aberdour this afternoon, not to play golf, of course, but to hear Danny McGrain and Willie McStay.
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Pog…@ 2.03…”Peter Lawwell is more dangerous to the planet than the meteor that wiped out the dinosaurs, ? ? the man knows no shame!”
Don’t tell me the dinosaurs are extinct…I promised to take my wee grandson to Dino World to see them…
Oh, not to worry!….We just saw Alex McLeish and Walter Smith…that’ll do!
big wavy on 23rd June 2019 2:59 pm
£25m is a big chuck of Arsena;’s reported £40m for transfers – god knows where their money is going.
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Don’t know how acurate this is but:
PriceOfFootball @KieranMaguire Jan 28
Arsenal lost £800,000 a week last season before taking into account player sales, compared to a profit of £1million a week the previous season.
https://twitter.com/KieranMaguire/status/1089830454348472320
Cavan just scored a goal.
Donegal still 6 points clear
The Huddle
Looks much like wages gone mad and rubbish recruitment. They gave Ozil a huge hike and no champions league…
Donegal win 1-24 to 2-16
Cavan score a last minute goal but Donegal win by 4
1:23 to 2:16
Almore got the score right
Almore/sftb
Ta for clones updates.my wee radio app died couldnae get highland radio! Ta
HH
Replacement right back sorted.
Dani Alves: Brazil right-back to leave Paris St-Germain after two seasons
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/48735811
Arsenal go to hell, cheapskate bassas.
HH. ?
I see sevco are expected to pay Charlton £300k development fee for Aribo.
All I can say to Charlton is good luck with that one ?
Pog
It will be in installments, over ten years?
Meath finally score after 32 minutes. Dubs leading 0-5 to 0-1 with a minute to go to HT.
HT now. No change in score.
That time of year when the Irish Bus Timetables get posted on CQN…
The buses for flag day are already being booked .
The ferries are filling up.
You better be afraid were gonna win 9Iar again
ASUPPORTERWHOGOTLUCKY on 23RD JUNE 2019 2:55 PM
Kieran Tierney has moved to Arsenal on a £22 million pound swap deal that involves Arsenals highly rated head cleaner going on loan to Lennoxtown.
Neil Lennon set to make statement after the cleaner has completed her medical.
VG?
Good evening from the Victoria bar. Downtown Govanhill sends warmest regards to you all.
0-13 to 0-03 now with ten minutes to go.
I see Roy Keane has left the Forrest coaching set up.
DD might shoehorn him into our coaching set up :-)
Goal Dublin?
1-16 to 0-03. One minute to FT and nine in a row
Nine in a row?????????
A thrilling game Almore, you must have been relieved when the final whistle blew, I know I was anyway,
Corky: I think the Meath players and supporters were the most relieved:-)
Borrocks to that, it’s all liewell’s fault
Hope meath are suffering. I went to the hill in the 90s , Jesus the pain.
Karamoko Dembele
Remember in the next few weeks that the club can reject any offer and no player can be forced out of Parkhead against his will. We’re going to find out who really loves Celtic and who’s more interested in the money.
https://thecelticblog.com/2019/06/blogs/by-the-time-this-window-closes-well-know-who-really-cares-about-celtic/
ERNIE LYNCH on 23RD JUNE 2019 12:46 PM
Not the case
Well said, young Karamoko. Sounds like a bhoy with his head screwed on. I’m looking forward to seeing him develop in the first team squad next season. Big step up, but from what I’ve seen of him he can handle it.
Apparently the skinflints are back with an improved offer of £20million.
No deal.
I’d love to know where the £25millon quote came from though.
Is there a clause in the player’s contract?
Did the club let it be known that this is the asking price?
£25millon has been doing the rounds for too long now for it to be paper talk – that figure didn’t just appear from nowhere.
Seems like they want to cash in on the player, which isn’t surprising given their previous sell their own granny policy.
The club doesn’t need to sell, KT is under contract therefore if and when they do sell he will be punted for the £25millon requested, and not a penny less.
What an intigrate web we weave. ?
HH. ?
Good evening, friends.
The France v Brazil ladies last 16 tie should be a cracker although I expect France to win comfortably in the end. Henry (midfield captain) is a joy to watch.
Intricate.
A Little Knowledge Is A Dangerous Thing CSC. ?
To be honest if we turn down 20 million for KT we really need to up his weekly wage to keep him happy.
We should not exploit his love for our club [his club].
It is all about worth.And as a person who has ridiculed Motherwell for turning down big money [by scottish standards] whilst paying their player peanuts I have to be consistent here.
If KT is going to be worth 25 million plus we need to start by improving his current deal and paying him another 10 k a week on top of what he already earns .
16 roads
A couple of weeks back I “advised” Neil Lennon to take control of the decision making process, sign the Rosenberg left back, and sell Kieran Tierney for £50 million, assuming of course someone was prepared to pay it. At the very least we should put that price tag on Kieran, pour encourager les autres. Should such a bid manifest itself, Kieran faces a version of Hobson’s choice, or Mario Puzo’s. Neil is not controlling the narrative, but he is part of it.
JOBO BALDIE on 23RD JUNE 2019 7:49 PM
I have not enjoyed what I have seen of this Women’s world cup.
Very poor sub standard football completely over-hyped and everything that has gone wrong with modern sports equality.Lapped up by our virtue signalling BBC.
Woman’s football should be allowed to grow organically before world tv exposure like this.
And before I’m labelled a dinosaur I have to say I switched over to BT sport this afternoon and caught some female gymnastics on the floor at the European Championships.
I was blown away at the sheer athletic skill and agility of the young girls going for the gold.
Quite simply they were performing agility that men would find impossible to get close to.
CELTIC MAC on 23RD JUNE 2019 8:14 PM
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Agreed.
HH. ?
Womens world cup has been very good.
Some great skill and effort.