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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DD
Good to see ya back posting.
HH
?⚽️
A few extra copies sold tomorrow.
Who needs advertising?
DD, know matter what you do or don’t! Always have your back! Anyway take care bud ! Petec take care bro! Kevj CSC
DD meant to say mothers ALWAYS have your back!!GMGB
Hunderbirds
Cheers pal. Forza Celtic
Weebawb
Too true
YNWA
Fred C Dobbs on 23rd June 2019 12:18AM
I read your posts, don’t stop them. More power to all your Iron Horses. A generation of Celts travelling to games hold on to such small ticks which are greater than the sum of the ones.
I don’t do name & address for away tickets and I couldn’t buy a seat at an away game after November last season. The wedges shown are too thick. It’s the case now where the punts aren’t for spares but to weigh in the allocated.
Still travel to any town Celtic are expected.
McKenna is good at punting a ball, the way he’s facing,usually the stand..
GUYFAWKESAFOREVERHERO,
Is it any wonder
Hail Hail.
Gary 67- good to see you back on HH
Why the fire sale of all our best assets ? KT Calmac, Ollie. More worrying is the 5 mil bid for the donkey at Aberdeen. No better than Joao or The statement of financial position will make big Pete happy.
The Celtic haters are on full voice tonight. Getting close to the 12th, can’t contain themselves.
I just checked and the Full Moon passed almost a week ago.
It hasn’t stopped the Moonhowlers in the MSM from selling our players.
Tierney, McGregor, French Eddy, Ntcham are headed out the door according to the latest rumours, concocted in the media’s search to ensure Celtic and the fans are in their rightful place at the rear of the march.
Next week I fully expect Turnbull to be headed to Torquay.
Bain to Bournemouth.
Forrest to Fulham
AJER to Arsenal. Etc
Meanwhile, downstream literally and metaphorically, the Huns are falling apart.
Ashley is extracting his pound of flesh.
Gillingham are beating them to sign players.
Agents from the bottom tiers of the English leagues are polishing up the videos of their third, or is it turd, rate players to offer them to The The Rangers. And a compliant press will do their best to polish that same turd into a world beating defender or goal machine that will prevent 10 in a row.
It’s like fly fishing and the trouts in the Celtic web sphere will rise to the bait.
Somebody on here, wiser and more of an artisan with words, once said it’s better to be positive for the week than to live in the fear of something bad happening at the weekend.
As of now KT is here on a long term contract. As is Calum, Rogic, James, Edourd.
If they leave it will be on our terms. If the players want to go and at a steep price.
In the meantime I for one am happy they are our players.
And will be tomorrow.
Sincere apologies for the following video from Billy Connolly responding to Arsenal’s bid for KT and for all the other moochers sniffing around our players and for the media trying desperately to split the Celtic support.
https://youtu.be/f8iaET3kge8
The first moderator awake can be assure I won’t take umbrage if I get up tomorrow and find out the post has been deleted.
Good night and may God shine His grace on you all.
Good morning CQN from an overcast but dry at the moment Garngad
Looks like this transfer windy its going to be even more interesting than the past 3 shitey windows.
We have had a clear out of back room staff, now according to some, we are having a clear out of the best players.
We have got to remember that the Scottish Main Stream Media will have everything negative about our club and then some. All we can do is wait and see.
What will be criminal is if we leave it to the last minute to announce that , KT, TR and ON are away and we do not have replacements or time to get some in. So if they are going get it done and get replacements sorted. Simples.
D. :)
Hello again all you young rebels.
Well what have i missed?
What ! all our players have been transferred?
Really ! Keiran as well?
Feck, am away to drink masel tae death.
What do you mean you’r daen that anyway?
Wait a minute who told you all this shite?
Wit, the Daily Riptarse, the Bun.
Fur fecks sake get a grip.
Ach am away tae huv a drink 8-))
H.H Mick
DAVID 66
G’day to the Gargadians in gods garden.
Hope it’s not as simple as that , ” sell KT and others, and get replacements
in pronto”
I for one am a happy clapper and i think you also, and patience is usually
my modus operandi, but i think if big Pete sells KT now even my anger
will be let loose and thats not a pretty sight.
So message to the board , don’t even think about selling the soul of our
club.
H.H Mick
SMSM peaking a wee tad too early.
If we sell KT for 50m.
NL will be lucky to see 5M
No point selling our players I would rather he played out his contract
In for McKenna. Surly not
Last week linked with a top class 10m French Center half
We now know what PL is up to. Sell KT keep the dembele money and Rodgers money and keep his large Bonus
Let’s be clear. PL has no interest in ten in a row
Paul 67 header a disgrace. Our European rival with less income than us. See a player and sign them. We have peter lawell who creates problems
He must go now
morning all from an overcast Cheshire, was expecting our 2 latest targets to be willo flood and Kenny misser?
MM – hope you are well, keep up the story’ s of the young team (football that is?) .
I agree, I personally think KT will stay, if we do not win the league next year then that is a different story.
I know signings take some time and we are only 20 odd days into windy, but I would have thought with lists of targets etc, we would be in a better position by at least a couple of players by now.
Oh and has David UTurnbull signed yet????? Anyone????
HH
D. :)
DAVID 66
Our youths are struggling at the moment, after a 3-2 defeat last week.
Because of an absence of strikers we came back from 1 down against the bottom
of the table today to win 3-1.
Lying third now but the weemhan is home from Vietnam on Tuesday after giving
everyone there a sight of the famous hoops top.
His big strike partner should be fit also this week so watch us go again.
I think KT wants to stay and if he’s pushed then watch for repercussions and i
don’t care how much any club bids, as i said, right now he is the soul of our club.
H.H Mick
Not surprised we bd for McKenna . He is known to the club , after all we don’t have a scout to source anyone else . Poor state of affairs . But that’s celtic for you .
No, Jimtim, that`s Celtic for YOU. Celtic for ME is a much happier place.
Each to his/her own.
Cheerio for now.
JJ
It seems no one on here rates Scott McKenna .
I posted a while back that I heard Willie Miller sing his praises, saying he was destined to play in the EPL. Suppose Willie might be a little bit biased being an Aberdeen man but most of us respect his opinion.
Jim Tim. Due to PL autocratic approach our club struggles with basic things
You Look at John Kennedy only there as he had to report everything to PL (. JK is kept away from players social nights for that very reason)
Our scouting collapsed a few years ago. One said to evening times that his only remit was to find bargains to sell to EPL
5 weeks in to transfer window. Another shambles
The following is for information purposes only, it neither makes me a Board apologist or a Board critic. If we are going to post things on a blog can we at least make sure that they are factual?
When does the transfer window in Scotland open?
The transfer window in Scotland opens on Tuesday, June 11, 2019.
When does the transfer window in Scotland close?
The summer transfer window will officially close in Scotland at midnight on Monday, September 2.
I stand corrected I was looking at EPL
However we have known for 1 year we need a right back and Center half
Poor again. But lawell now has history for putting balance sheet 1st
Never let the facts get in the way of a good rumour, So far the only player worthwhile that Celtic could have retained but chose not to is Lustig, and at the other end unless there is an even crazier U turn we will have brought in one & that’s Turnbull,
Beyond that it is just paper talk & gossip.
Gossip & newspaper talk is unsettling & affects all of us but I still say hold your nerve & don;t pass judgment till all the ins & outs come to fruition.
p.s. It appears I could be in a minority of one on this one but I think McKenna would be a decent signing, not sure he is worth 5 million but I think he is a decent player who could do a job for us, but if the Sheep don’t want to sell it won’t break my heart.
In ither news…………?
How the “saga” for that wee Kent goin’?
Aye.
PL pash still gettin rolled out. IMO
Ah tell you what rips ma knittin – 13 days into the transfer window but the Board and Lawwell haven’t managed to offload Callum McGregor, Kieran Tierney and Ollie Ntcham for megabucks. ?
buddycanyouspareadimecsc
It’s it strange that James Forrest never gets any interest or bids ?
Or is it scouts don’t see him in games lol
Mr invisible lol
If we get through this transfer window by strengthening the defence and other crucial areas and holding onto KT and CalMac and it takes until August I for one will be happy, even if it included the signing of McKenna. Is it only the Celtic support who don’t rate him? Time will tell?
SYDNEY TIM
Just a friendly wee question as i’m intrigued.
How do you know there are no bids or interest in Jamesy?
Interested . com
H.H Mick
It will be really interesting if Arsenal or someone else get Tierney signed before our accounts are due. We normally delay that kind of income to a new year. If Tierney goes it would be over £55m in player sales and compensation for the manager.
Turnover will be well up versus dropping wages.
The club need to decide what to do with the money in the bank and wake up and smell the coffee that the dawn of players going for as much as the Champions League income is here.
The key is to keep the conveyor going where you can afford to let one or two plus £20m players go and use the money wisely to ensure you have more coming through to keep the turnover high and justify higher wages.
We may just be able to convince players from abroad to come here as a launch pad to £60k a week but we may need to boost the wage ceiling to get there.
As for our old strategy of buying lots of £2m projects – that’s finished – we need to go for quality in Holland, Belgium, the Balkans, Nordics and even to Italy.
These players integrate more with our own British players and get it. We had a massive issue with a split in the squad between French based players and the rest.
After Tierney we need to look at the right time to review McGregor, Forrest, Rogic. I think Ntcham will go in this window and Edouard this one or next year. Too many clubs with money burning a hole in their pocket for players with their pedigree that they could get now for half what they can sell them for. Eg sign Edouard for £17m well him next year for over £30m. Wouldn’t be surprised if Lyon saw him as a replacement for Dembele.
What are we doing / will we do with all of that cash £60 or £70m in the bank and rising.
That’s a war chest that could be used to fund the purchase of the best young talent from those countries at an early age.
MM. most bids are end up in the press
I for one just don’t get JF. His cup final performance was a typical game for him
Invisible
POG
I know you like your knitting after sitting in a pub in Melbourne with you
and your good lady, the needles were going like the clappers, a bit like
the pints lol.
H H Mick