Likely summer signing number two, Virgil van Dijk, arrived in Glasgow this morning for a medical after terms were agreed with the player and his club, Groningen. The 6’4” player, who will be 22 next month, is a Dutch under-21 international.
Virgil is two weeks younger than Victor Wanyama and emerged into the Groningen team around the same time Victor pitched up in Glasgow, they have made almost exactly the same number of appearances for their respective clubs, 62 top flight games in total, in the case of Virgil.
62 games is an interesting figure. Enough to bed in, catch local scouts’ eyes and have well-travelled men from Glasgow watch several times before making a recommendation. Not enough to catch the eyes of less well-organised, but no less resourceful, scouts in the bottom half of the English Premier League, who Celtic now seem to compete for talent with.
If Virgil is the real deal, another couple of dozen games might have changed the competition for his signature.
Is there a 50-80 game window which can deliver sufficient evidence of a player’s talent, but not too much evidence, which evaporates the value gap? This hypothesis would be easy to test and if it holds would provide an interesting filter on the hundreds of names pushed to the club each year.
Have you booked for the Lions Roar event at Celtic Park tomorrow night? Last and precious opportunity to watch how the European Cup was won with the men who did the work. In short, priceless. Tickets available here.
Speaking of the men who won it, buy Heart of a Lion here:
[calameo code=0003901713852289beccb lang=en page=10 hidelinks=1 width=100% height=500]
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SOAL
You’re only saying that coz he’s not reading the blog.
I really miss WG’s contributions, you know, The Teser and vouchers for cheap booze etc. And his stories!
Final Score from Rio-
Spain 10 The Tahiti Arms 0
BSR
Shes got a pal ?
She got a phone number ;)
Gluttonfirpunishment.com
Jimbo
” im nobodys child ” :(
Doc
Zombies say… no glory in being sporting losers
Is WG in self imposed exile like SFTB or has he given up altogether?
EDB
It was a real highlight for me .
TBJ, they did sort of cross my mind when watching that, they would have been trying to break legs.
Just checked stats for Kokkola game we were 9-0 up after 70 minutes -dont remember that but must be true
The boy Jinky
They would wouldn’t they?
MandyricedaviesCSC
TBJ
Do you mean WG’s stories or NAFOS allegedly being FAT:o)
This is brilliant…
http://www.buzzfeed.com/jessicamisener/the-30-most-hilarious-autocorrect-struggles-ever
Doc
SimpLEE the pest
Soal
Just the gate
Canamalar…….More power to you for your attempt to get some much needed answers, count me in as well. Let me know what needs to be done and when.
I must be obsessed!
Ralston Row
22:03 on
20 June, 2013
Just checked stats for Kokkola game we were 9-0 up after 70 minutes -dont remember that but must be true
I was at that Game. I seem to remember they had dark green strips.
Glen daly
We wore yellow?
Canamalar, more power to you mate, reading back a bit, that is an ambitious task you’re taking on. Good luck with it, seeing your getting plenty of advice, I’m sure you’ll take it on and use it.
If I can think of anything I’ll post it when you’re around.
Greenyin………@ 20.42
I got a leaflet through the door today saying that these new-fangled 4G phones are using the same bandwidth as Freeview boxes!
Mibbes that’s the problem!
HH
Noticed a few comments referring to Virgil’s surname as being pronounced Dick. Surely Van Dijk is the Dutch spelling of Van Dyke and is pronounced as such. No?
Good night all
New Celtic home strip launch Q & A
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=977zgISd4-Q
Charlotte Fakes, a Twitter user who claims to have audio recordings, emails and other documents relating to Craig Whyte’s tenure at Ibrox, has published material that suggests serious concerns about the condition of some parts of the stadium.
New revelations on June 19 appear to show a chain of emails between Jacqueline Gourlay, the former head of business management at Rangers, and Craig Whyte concerning capital expenditure requirements at the ground.
Of greatest concern to supporters of Rangers and its successor club will be references that Ms Gourlay makes, according to the Charlotte Fakes material, to the urgent need for roof repairs. In an email dated June 7 2011, a month after Craig Whyte took over, Ms Gourlay says, if the documents are genuine, repairs will cost an estimated £150,000.
She points out that spending on roof maintenance had been limited for “many years” and that by the time of the email the Ibrox roofs were now “in a dilapidated state and in places have become unsafe to the point that contractors have indicated they may not be safe enough to continue working on”. She makes it clear that the previous regime was aware of the situation.
By the end of January 2012, just weeks before Craig Whyte took Rangers into administration, the Charlotte documents suggest nothing had been done. In an email to Whyte dated January 27, Ms Gourlay appears to repeat the warnings from more than seven months earlier. Again, according to the leaked documents, she adds an update saying: “The roofs will clearly not get any better but continue to deteriorate. In the Broomloan (family) section feedback the dirty state of the roofs was noted and when asked if we could clean it we had to point out that you can’t clean rust.”
More than two years on, there still appears to have been no work on making these improvements. If the condition of the roofs at the stadium was “dilapidated” and in places “unsafe” in May 2011, supporters planning to attend matches in the coming season ought to ask for assurances that there is no risk to their safety.
If the Charlotte Fakes documents are false and there is no risk to the public, the people in charge at Ibrox today ought to come out and say so, to put people’s minds at rest.
Tom McLaughlin, it is pronounced Van Dyke, according to what I read yesterday.
Tom McLaughlin
van dyke,van dick
is it van go or van goff or van how
Who cares
Good to hear you got good news re the old health recently
Tom, I looked it up on the web, the proper pronunciation is Van Dake.
Tommysbboy,
I’ll no go counting chickens or ducks but it appears the greatest support in the world representing the one of the most intelegent debating forums in the Celtic world have stopped debating an issue that was toxic last week, football shirts football shirts la la la la la la l a no listening no listening
Glendaly
Did we not take 7 off Waterford in Dublin that season in the EC?
Tom,
We might not have a Dick at the back, but we could have A. Balde T. Watt up front!
http://www.pronouncenames.com/pronounce/van%20dijk
Hope this link works if not anyone interested just Google it.
Tom McLaughlin
I echo What is the Stars comment
“Good to hear you got good news re the old health recently”
Half worked. Just put in the name Van Dijk and you get the pronunciation,
Garrygillespieshamstring
We did. Big Jock let it slip ( intentionally) that we’d be wearing a new outfit. The media suggested it might be blue. No doubt 43 years ago there would have been doubting Thomases on an early 70s version of CQN who would have said they’d never be back if we’d blue in our strip. Instead we won 9-0 in yellow. An , apocryphally perhaps, the lost boy was Judas ‘Mo’ Johnston.
Oh and 70-1 – if Bobby Murdoch hadn’t done his shoulder in early Feb, we’d have won that Big Cup again
Jimbo
Marrakesh
Might be wrong, but I think we played sliema of Malta after kokkola.
I think Waterford might have been following year
CorkCelt, at least I was part way right, his name means from the dyke, but is pronounced Van Dayk as you said, used you link.
We played Waterford in 2nd round in 70-1 . 7-0 first leg , 3-2 ( at CP) in second
Jimbo
Canamalar1
i know m8.. Dont want to say the wrong thing but same old same old h.h
Thank you WITS and leftclicktic. I am staying positive.
CQNers have spoken very eruditely in the recent past about the real state of repair of Ibrox. They will know if the messages Charlotte has leaked ring true or not. So will some people at Glasgow City Council, so will some in the media.
When will the city council next have to issue a safety certificate, for example? And when will the Craig du jour next give a wee pep talk to Sevco poodles in the media? One of them needs to ask if the Charlotte information about the roof is true, and if it is, urge him to fix the roof and if it’s not, tell their supporters they have nothing to worry about.
If the roof is fine, Sevco needs to say so. These suggestions are very serious.
So, in the spirit of Tell All the Huns You Know, even if your Sevco-supporting workmates just dismiss this as the Timmy lies of the obsessed, show them the material. If it rings true, they owe it to themselves to seek reassurance. They cannot say they have not been warned.
The email thread is at this link:
http://www.scribd.com/doc/148863285/Running-Costs
Ggh
Pkayed waterford then lost to ajax next round..