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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NFL
16 roads,
Ye are Mega as Mega is.
I needed a walk Bro. ;))
Went to the Norway-Australia WC game in Nice on Saturday. Terrific game. Caroline Graham Hansen was outstanding. I’d prefer watching women play like this to most men’s games I’ve seen recently.
Trump up the Jam
On KT, it will be impossible for us to say no to an offer at a certain level, and then the same will apply to the contract Arsenal put in front of the player…
Do we know if the injury problems that KT was affected by last season have been dealt with by the op he had? Or are there likely to be more issues down the line?
If he goes to Arsenal one contract will see him set for life. Then he can return on a Bosman for 13IAR.
HH
I have felt that KT to leave was just something in the `anything to undermine Celtic`category. Lennybhoy`s post has me reappraising.
Either KT or Calmac leaving would be a blow but I feel that Calmac in particular would be the bigger miss for our team .
A KT departure would remove an excellent player and some of our soul; a Calmac departure would remove the cog that makes us tick.
JJ
I might be wrong but if Celtic are offered around the rumoured £18m for CalMac they will take it and he might want to go. The Bhoy has been at Celtic Park an awfully long time, since he was 8 years old. We have quite a few midfielders so we might be able to suck that one up.
KT is a different kettle of fish, if he is sold I don’t believe the support will be particularly forgiving of the Board or Neil Lennon.
I’m also a pragmatist and know KT will be sold at some point in the future but if he is sold for less than £40m plus add ons then it proves that money overrides ambition at our Club which will be totally unacceptable to the support including yours truly. ??
If we sell KT for for the reported £25m I for one will be finding something else to spend my money on and it won’t be Celtic merchandise or using up what precious time I have left on this planet by making the 380 mile return trip to Celtic Park to help fund a crowd of PLC fat cats!
I believe there is an essential need for a degree of financial prudence but not at the expense of providing or retaining quality players.
POGMATHONYAHUN AKA LAIRD OF THE SMILES on 24TH JUNE 2019 8:43 AM
£18m for CalMac is good with you but £25m for KT and you will chuck it?!
Rationality going out the window already and Arsenal not even close to getting to talk to the player yet.
I think we need a bit of a reality check. We sold Van Dijk 4 years ago for about £12m and £25m plus for a left back, with potentially serious hip issues, would be very hard to turn down.
HH
Reasons why Celtic won’t sell Tierney
1. Celtic do not need the money. I’m sure everyone on CQN is familiar with our recent accounts & cash reserves
2. Tierney is on a long term deal. Celtic could feasibly keep him and win the ten. They would be able to let him move on for a reasonable fee with 2 years left on his deal.
3. Arsenal aren’t the type to go throw money around. It would take a once in a generation type of fee to dislodge him from Celtic. I can’t see Arsenal spending more than what they deem “reasonable”
4. Makeweights that have been discussed have little value to Celtic. Carl Jenkinson would be Celtic’s highest earner on his current salary. That’s why he’s perfectly happy to sit around and see out his contract at Arsenal.
5. 10 in a row is a massive motivation for Celtic to keep him. Celtic have broken a lot of records lately but this is historic. This is what they have been chasing.
6. Celtic currently have no other left backs. Selling Tierney would be a dereliction of duty.
7. In signing a long term deal Kieran Tierney gave an indication where his head is at.
HOT SMOKED,
I agree with you. Calmac is the cog that makes us tick.
Mind you, I still wouldn’t want us to sell KT for any fee, far less the reported figure.
I genuinely don’t believe Celtic will sell either KT or CalMac.
Maybe I’m delusional. I don’t see a good reason why we should sell two stalwarts of the side when they have so much of their contract to run.
There is an inherent bias in the media towards players being sold. That gives them the exciting story to write about. That’s why every detail of the KT “saga” will be sensationalized.
You could read 100 reports or blogs on the deal but not one will mention he is under contract until 2023. The perceived wisdom is that if a player is determined to leave you cannot stop him.
It’s not true. Even then KT & CalMac have said nothing on the issue.
9&10
Enhance Kierans Life @ Celtic with a £67M buyout clause and a bump up in cash.
Salford
I certainly don`t want us to sell KT ! Any price.
Anyway, this is just a cunning ruse by our sneaky, money mad Board to sell Calmac and, instead of criticism, draw a response of :
Phew ! Thank goodnes we kept Kieran ! Well done, Board.
JJ
Lets see whos on the flight today…
HH
Chris Sutton is right a lot of the Time.
I’m glad Aiberdeen are holding out for Bigger bucks for their CH. I sincerely hope an English club pay £10M or even more for the dude.
in ither news…………
” _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ reportedly, interested in……………………………..”
If something gets made up, let’s take a wild swing, by a scoddish “newspaper” with a fondness for all things bloo……..and an utter contempt for our great Club…..that made-up guff can then be cited as “it is reported” that _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ ”
Guff.
Not selling KT and CalMac will be like signing two players.
The fact that both KT and CmG are wanted by other clubs is no surprise
There should only be 2 factors that PL considers
I believe he will do an excellent job on one but I have my doubts about the second
PL will get as much as is possible in the market for the players he will also work a sell on clause into the deal giving Celtic a second financial benefit (like V V D) I trust PL do do the very best for Celtic financially
However what worries me more is who comes in to fill their boots
This is the bit that PL is not so good at
Worrying times
67ECW
ernie
:-))))
Hot Smoked,
Callum wants to be the Celtic Capitano wan day.
The Bhoy has so many attributes.
When he played Defensive Mid in Europe he was Incredible – the place where the Judgements are passed.
Though I think IBROX is going to be a hard place to get a result now.
And for what it’s worth regarding selling KT and/or CmG
We should not be selling anyone until we have qualified (or not) for the CL Group stages
At that point you can either up the price or refuse to sell
67ECW
The Madeupguff Weekly
” Bankiebhoy1 is konsidering buying a Bentley Continental GT….”
The 6.66 Nitely Snooze “Live”
” It is REPORTED that Bankiebhoy1 is shopping for a new kar and has his heart set on a new Bentley Continental GT…”
Guff.
Love is the Law
if a big money bid comes in for tierney celtic will take it whether he wants to leave or not.
likewise with mcgregor, ntcham and forrest.
it is the celtic way.
on the celtic website they list 12 defenders and 6 have left the club.
henry, simunovich, commper, ajer, ralston and tierney remain.
and tierney may be gone soon.
we have a champions league qualifier one week from tomorrow.
WESTCRAIGS on 24TH JUNE 2019 9:49 AM
if a big money bid comes in for tierney celtic will take it whether he wants to leave or not.
likewise with mcgregor, ntcham and forrest.
it is the celtic way.
___
This is based on absolutely nothing.
Celtic don’t tend to sell their best players when they are on long-term deals
Wanyama, Hooper, Van Dijk, Forster etc were all sold with two years or less on their contract.
Tthe overwhemimg, relentless, media message pumped at Celtic is a monotonous downbeat dirge of sleekitry and sly digs – a conscious down-playing of any achievements and the accentuation of any mistakes or mis-steps…………………….
Hhence the proliferation of the social media phenomenos only ………………………BlackCloudBhoysBrigade and……angrycelts.org etc etc etc etc……………….
The Club and it’s folks are far from perfect, but who is? The guff lumped in our direction should be treated with the intelligent scpeticism it deserves.
HH
Westcraigs
Doesn’t matter if Celtic accept a bid for Keiran Tierney, the player can’t be sold if he wants to stay, he can only be sold if he agrees to leave.
It’s the same with every single football contract, and wouldn’t be legal
Every player has a price, and the ‘Celtic way’ isn’t any different.
p.s the CL qualifier is two weeks tomorrow
FatFingers CSC……….
Magical Song.
Kieran is far to good for Arsenal anyway.
Another significant factor is MIBs, and their determination not to protect our players from being frequently assaulted.
KT is targeted in almost every game.
It would be understandable therefore if he did decide to quit Scottish football, before he is faced with a potentially career ending injury.
We are talking about a genuinely world class footballer here don’t forget.
HH. ?
timaloy. based on history.
they went to extraordinary lengths to sell mcgrory to arsenal.
crerand to man utd.
hay to chelsea.
read what charlie nicholas said about his transfer to arsenal.
if fergus had stayed on as chairman larsson would have been sold to man utd and martin o’neill would never have been our manager.
i forgot to incude eduoard of the list of potential sales.
WESTCRAIGS on 24TH JUNE 2019 10:11 AM
Wahey! Three ancient examples and one hypothetical.
Judge the current regime on their own record. Not boardrooms made up of men long dead.
bournesouprecipe on 24th June 2019 10:06 am
Westcraigs
Doesn’t matter if Celtic accept a bid for Keiran Tierney, the player can’t be sold if he wants to stay, he can only be sold if he agrees to leave.
It’s the same with every single football contract, and wouldn’t be legal
Every player has a price, and the ‘Celtic way’ isn’t any different.
p.s the CL qualifier is two weeks tomorrow
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………….
Get him tied up longer, I’m sure Kieran knows the score, £25M now is ridiculous.
The World has gone Mad.
Kieran is Definitely the better defender between him and Andy Robertson.
Starting point.
oops up Keiran.
£75k per week apparently.
I wouldn’t begrudge KT a move on those terms, although he won’t be playing CL football with that team anytime soon.
Maybe the Gooners are simply a stepping stone to genuine greatness in European football.
It’s good to see one of our own reach the pinnacle of football.
HH. ?
Aw the gither noo……
” A grey cloud had gathered, oootside of _ _ _ _ _ _ “
We’ve lost top players in the past to big money moves. We were told those players wanted out and had to be let go – all part of our strategy of bringing in potential, development of that potential, followed by a big transfer.
The strategy was prudent, realistic and has us top in Scotland for most of this century.
However, selling KT and CalMac is very different. These are home grown players that are not agitating for a move. These lads will not do a Dembele or a Boyata.
We could easily sell these players a couple of years down the line for the same if not more money.
If our young supporters can only dream of donning the hoops for three seasons before being sold to an English club then we’ve lost something about our club that no amount of money can replace.
We say we’re more than a club. Now we have to live up to that. KT and CalMac have to stay and deliver the ten.