Three matters to discuss today: players in, players out and players who stayed.
As the transfer window closed, the clear need in the squad was competition for our only left back, Greg Taylor. There was never any doubt a player would arrive, but I am delighted (and maybe a bit surprised) we secured the loan signing of Uruguayan international, Diego Laxalt.
He will significantly bolster our effectiveness on the left, which will, in turn, make it more difficult for teams to double up on Jeremie Frimpong on the right, making Celtic far more effective.
You and I have talked through over 30 transfer windows. I don’t think any will top ‘the Robbie Keane’ window in terms of general satisfaction, but this one comes close. In Vasilis Barkas, Shane Duffy, Diego Laxalt, Albian Ajeti and Moi Elyounoussi, we have added five players who will be first choice in most games this season. This is an exceptional return. We have added more players in the past, but I don’t think we have ever added as many starters in a single window.
I know several Motherwell fans who speak very highly of David Turnbull. His early Celtic performances have showed promise. He is comfortable on the ball, very mobile and has a great set-piece delivery. £3m is a lot to spend at a Scottish club but we will have scouted David more than anyone else who has arrived in recent years. He should do well.
We got money for Eboue Kouassi – nothing like the £3m reported, but payment nonetheless. The annual cull of youths who did not make the step up included Jack Aitchison. Four years ago, Jack became the youngest player to represent Celtic in a competitive football game, and with true Roy Race style, scored with his first touch of the ball. It was an exhilarating moment for us all. Remember his name, it will appear in quizzes for the rest of your days.
Regrets? There is one. Fraser Forster will forever be a hero around these parts. He has the unusual distinction of performing just as well in his second period at the club as his first, a talent some embittered pundits who scarcely put a shift in second time around would do well to consider. He was the highest earner at Southampton when he arrived on loan a year ago; £4.5m annually. Celtic were ready to do a deal involving the fee but the keeper prevaricated. Still, as I say, forever a hero.
Fond farewell to Craig Gordon, Jozo Simunovic and Jonny Hayes, all of whom were part of treble successes. Jozo is still without a club and will struggle to make the most of his talents due to injury impairment.
For me, the most surprising outcome of the window was that none of our contracted first choice players were sold, despite the economic situation. Five agents were looking to move their clients south; my informed expectation was, at least one would have to go.
Buying and selling is a gamble, as is not doing so. But, who could gamble with ‘the 10’? When we report our financials soon, there will have been money for at year-end date, 30 June 2020. That will be the last of having savings for some time, we are about to lurch into debt.
The economic headwinds look ominous. Next year, season book renewals will not promote ‘the 10’ and aggregate supporter bank balances will be lower. Like now, next season will also be one where the ‘supporters’ step up, perhaps not the more casual fans.
Upshot of all of this is that we are going to need to get a Champions League qualification and trading policy in place rapidly. Celtic are better placed to meet these times than the vast majority of others; there will be better value in the player market, but only for those clubs who are prepared.
Welcome, Diego, and well played, Celtic.
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Now watch the SMSM go into action. Scribblers who can’t spell the word investigetiif will be demanding to know the precise movements of every Celtic player and persuading parliament to instigate ‘live’ twelve hourly ‘test the Tims’ sessions in a George Square just to ensure that we are reduced to a stump again ra peepil .
Markus my wordus!
Crikey big Eddy tested positive … goodness knows the knock on effect
Jinky – and staunch sevcoites will defend the testing stations.😁
D :)
Ekbhoy, hopefully like his knock ons from Sunday….
Interesting to see how the SFA react given someofour players are on Scotland duty now
SID – interesting point – if the French squad were tested so quickly after the weekend you would expect the same of Scotland (peut-être)
Jinkyredstar, the wee mhan had a book out in the 60s where he criticise the leniency shown tae deidco players, he said that they actually swore at the mitb with no punishment while Celtic players were dealt with differently. The Scottish freemason association fined him.
Celtic have confirmed no other players have tested positive.
Tontine – the book was called ‘Fire in my Boots’
I had it for years and it drifted away when I left home to become a student and life took over.
My favourite take if that book is that my pals’ mother wanted to buy him it but drew a blank at the book shops because she was asking fir a book called ‘Red hot shoes’ 😀
My dad had a test at Alloa positive.
Got retested 2 days later, negative.
Still had to do 14 days isolation before allowed back with the group.
please read.state implementing some fearsome rules
https://twitter.com/antearmann1967/status/1313297569678753792?s=19
.
Congratulations Papajoe55. Best wishes to mother and daughter and all concerned.
HH
Congrats Papajoe55!!
Health and happiness to all
Re Eddie- it was a stick on at least one of our players would test positive at some point.
The timing however could be terrible.
If we’re struggling we could always play Christie up front, eh Big Wavy?
jinky red star- soz for interruptin
fire in my boots- is that the jinky book? loved the last chapter.my future.- jinky talks of stayin at Celtic. ” astranomical fees” mentioned of over 200k as a total transfer fee.i recall re reading it the same week ronaldo broke the 200k a week wage.doesnt half make you think of jinkys value if he played today
hh
rip eddie van halen .eruption is a track
jump was of its time
https://youtu.be/SwYN7mTi6HM
hh
AN TEARMANN – yep, sad day for VH lovers and guitar fans everywhere. VH1 remains one of the rawest energy albums I’ve ever heard; been playing it all morning.
On the other legendary Eddie (apols) I was all for starting Albian against them anyway. HH
Mountain Biking mentalists :-))
https://twitter.com/RexChapman/status/1313612928067809287?s=09
hh
Quadrophenian
yeh Evh will be missed.i recall eruption was another great track:-)
on the legend that is Eddie i have no fears of beating them.
i hold fears for all these internationals taking place during a pandemic.crossing borders,testing juristictions etc its just mad.
:-)
hh
Just read a comment on the Celtic blog saying we could beat sevco with no strikers.
I just hope Neil Lennon doesn’t lurk or, even worse, post u see the blog name cairncross. :)
johnny nash rip
i can see clearly now(the transfer windae is shut)
https://youtu.be/g_rB4v75jqU
hh
Under the blog name
WEEBOBBYCOLLINS on 6TH OCTOBER 2020 7:22 PM
If we go on and win the 10 and Kris Commons turns up to the celebrations, do you boo him or cheer him
WBC
i do.
Kris Commons wore the hoops on the journey
A good human too by all accounts.
on those 2 counts alone he gets cheered.:-)
hh
Vatican Media Live.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MC-wB2gLpzM&ab_channel=VaticanNews-English
Ave Ave, X in Ordine.
🙋♂️ Hi Fellow Celtic Fans! 😊
A false positive for Odsonne Edouard is a possibility. Given Boligate, it is inconceivable that he would have travelled if he had any symptoms, surely? 🤔
My 18-year old daughter works in health care and recently had a false positive. Neither she nor her colleagues, nor my wife and I were displaying any symptoms. Sure enough, her next test was negative. What enraged me was that there is nothing in the NHS Track-and-Trace System to cope with false-positives so we had to Quarantine, wrongly IMHO, for 14 days. Also, if you don’t have symptoms, then the only way to get a test to prove that you DON’T have symptoms, is to LIE and say that you DO symptoms… 🙄
Odsonne is a well-paid professional athlete, so I expect that he will get another test soon enough and I hope/trust this will be negative. Time will tell.
The real issue here is that the harassing NHS Track-and-Trace System will DEMAND that anyone he has been in contact with will have to Quarantine for 14 days. For good folks like you and I we would have to suck it up and stay at home for 14 days. (Like my wife and I had to.)
Thankfully Celtic have the capability to test everyone at the Club again and again and again, so they are in the best position possible to be able to (and Be SEEN TO) manage this.
So, in my humble opinion, no need to panic just yet, despite the predictable garbage you will read in the SMSM/Press tomorrow. (If you DO read them: I don’t! 😊)
Yours in Celtic,
TB&F. 😊
Grace.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SMf6IyJI0e4&ab_channel=PaddyBarry
Ave Ave, X in Ordine.
Stand By Me.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YqB8Dm65X18&ab_channel=johnlennon
Ave Ave, X in Ordine.
Victor Jara.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rGGPhyAeVXw&ab_channel=TheRebelCollective
Ave Ave, X in Ordine.
long post Celts.
Mp’s back bill to authorise Mi5 and police crimes
MPs have backed the latest stage of a bill to allow undercover agents to commit crimes on operations.
The government says the legislation will give a “sound legal footing” for those who work to “protect the public”.
But backbenchers are divided over the implications for human rights and civil liberties, and many have concerns over if the right safeguards are in place.
Former Tory minister David Davis has warned the bill could “impinge on innocent people”.
During a debate on the bill, shadow home secretary Nick Thomas-Symonds said Labour would not oppose it at this stage.
But he said the party would “seek to improve [it] on the vital issue of safeguards, so the public can have confidence in the process and our law enforcement bodies can carry out that vital work of keeping us all safe”.
However, a number of Labour MPs broke party orders to abstain on the vote including former leader Jeremy Corbyn and former shadow chancellor John McDonnell who voted against the bill.
Speaking in the Commons, another Labour MP Apsana Begum said: “There is a grave, serious and very real danger [the bill] could end up providing informers and agents with a license to kill.”
BBC home affairs correspondent Dominic Casciani said the legislation would explicitly authorise MI5, the police, the National Crime Agency and other agencies that use informants or undercover agents to commit a specific crime as part of an operation.
The law will require MI5 officers and others to show the crime is “necessary and proportionate”, but security officials will not say which crimes they will consider authorising, as it could lead to terrorists and other serious criminals working out who is undercover.
However, the legislation stresses agencies must not breach the Human Rights Act, which requires the government to protect life.
A senior judge will report on how the power is used and there will be no role for the Crown Prosecution Service in reviewing the crimes.
Safeguards
Opening the debate earlier on Monday, Home Office minister James Brokenshire said the bill would “help keep our country safe”.
He said it would “ensure operational agencies and public authorities have access to tools to keep us safe from terrorists, safe from serious organised crime groups and safe from those who wish to cause harm to our country and citizens”.
And he also pointed to comments by the new director general of MI5, Ken McCallum, that claimed such operations had thwarted 27 terror attacks in the country since March 2017.
But a number of MPs from across the House raised concerns around safeguards to ensure agents would not be able to commit crimes such as murder or torture.
Tory MP Steve Baker said: “For those of us who like the red meat of law and order, it has forced us to look inside the abattoir and we don’t like what we see.
“I can’t imagine ministers will be authorising killing or torture, but [that should be] on the face of the bill so the public can have confidence.”
Labour’s Yvette Cooper, who chairs the Home Affairs Select Committee, also said the safeguards were “very vague and very broad”, calling for them to be “strengthened to get this legislation right”.
The bill will return to the Commons for its next stages on 15 October.
——-
Zarah Sultana on the above topic in HoC
https://twitter.com/kennardmatt/status/1313368323405631488?s=09
well worth a watch.
HH
Unite union cut contribution to Sir Keev by 10%
it appears Len unhappy at compo paid.
https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-54444143
hh
Good morning cqn from a dark,dry Garngad
Hopefully Eddie is a false negative if not I hope the lad like anyone getting this horrible virus pulls through.
So if it is possitive he isolates for 10 days.
Clear to play next week against Rankers but I highly doubt Lenny would start him.
I just hope the rest of our squad are ok.
There will be some pish spouted today from the SMSM of that there is no doubt.
Let’s circle the wagons and get behind Lenny and the bhoys, COYBIG.
HH
D :)
I also noticed on Sly sports that quite a few other players of other clubs/country’s have tested possitive whilst away on international duty.
I wish we could stop all of our players travelling to meet up with their national teams for at least the next 6-9 months.
D :)
I see its 7 days isolation in France for a possitive test.
D :)
Ah well, its that what has been affecting OE’s game ?.
Well have a good day bhoys and ghirls off to the coal face.
I wish French Eddie and anyone who has this virus all the best.
HH
D :)
I’m sure there was a player (maybe more) from a Scottish club – Dundee Utd? – who tested positive then had a further 2 tests that came back negative and he was still banned from playing for the 2 weeks.
Also, if he has tested positive in France – I’m not sure if it was here – would he only have to quarantine for 7 days, as per post, above or would he be able to travel back and carry on as normal?
scoddland rallies roon The Battle o’ Tendaysortwoweeks………………..
Aye!