Summer 2013 | Page 12 | Vital Football

Summer 2013

Or could it be that Pukki will become the overall compromise ......... ? Tapio Raatikainen his agent when asked about Celtic's alleged interest is quoted tonight saying that " it's true , there's no point in denying it " now it might be piss & wind but the cynical part of me instinctively believes there is substance to it .
 
At the risk of sounding like a sheep, it's been a while since Lenny and Lawwell let us down int eh transfer market.
 
Pukki doesn't fill me with confidence.......not the greatest scoring record but he is only 23 and played at a high level in the Bundesliga for a couple of seasons now so we could be about to get him just at the right time, would certainly be cheaper than Finbogasson though.
 
All depends how you define let down ..... the bottom line is that if Finnbogason is to cost over £3.5M we will go for the cheaper option as an outlay beyond that figure will compromise the rigid wage structure thats being adhered to presently ...... take Joe Ledley for instance ,, the club are in the process of negotiating an extended deal and will require him to commit for £xxxx in wages and terms working within the said budget ..... then we spend £5M on the new ghuy and pay him accordingly ,, or wages normally commanded by a player in his price range which amounts to £yyyy ,, what effect does that then have in the dressing room ? it's a catch 22 and our suits wont under any circumstance rock that boat ........ and thats how I would define let down ,, we need him ,, we want him ,, we have the finances for the expenditure ,, but we wont get him for the price being quoted end of .
 
NL on Teemu Pukki ......... " Teemu is a player we like , I was away watching him on Wednesday and we're trying to bring him in , he's a good player , intelligent , sharp and his movement is excellent , his first touch is similar to GH ...... our bid has not been accepted at the minute but negotiations are ongoing ..... WE'RE LOOKING FOR VALUE FOR MONEY ....... :emoticon:36 :emoticon:22 :emoticon:95 ....Peter has worked very hard on this one and we're not giving up on it just yet "

On Finnbogason ...... ' never say never but we were looking at other options as well ' .......... what he's saying and what I've been saying all week is that he is far too expensive for our purse .... but there's nothing wrong with window shopping as a means to implying that we can afford the wonderful wares on display eh ? :emoticon:92 :emoticon:06 :emoticon:06 :emoticon:06

On FF ..... " Yeah , big Fraser is practicing his Portuguese at the minute , theres nothing in that at all , he's not for sale , he's too valuable " .......... too valuable ..? aye right you are Neil ,, judging by Lukaz Zaluska's display in Dublin FF would be gone like snow off a dyke the minute a sizable offer came in ...... you know it and we know it ......... :emoticon:91 :emoticon:91 :emoticon:91

Readingbetweenthelinescsc .
:emoticon:69 :emoticon:69 :emoticon:69
 
I agree with everything you said except the Zaluszka part. There is no way Lenny would go with him as his No. 1 for any length of time. Not a bad deputy, but he is mediocre at best. When Forster had his early struggles, Lenny stuck with him and snubbed Zalooz routinely.

This value for money is bullshit given all the money we have raked in. Fucking hell. Drop pounds 5 million on a striker and move on to the next assignment.
 
I'm darkly suspect that the suits will be happy with an SPL title and a nice run in the Europa League as the savings account grows hugely fat. :emoticon:95
 
OK Welch so Zaluska is never a nailed on No1 I'll concede that :emoticon:17 but be under no illusion ,, if a phenomenal bid came late in the window for FF there is no question that LZ would be given the gloves and to hell with the outcry ......
 
I disagree. There has been interest in Forster even before the end of the season. I have no doubt that Park has scouted replacement keepers, which can be had far more cheaply than replacement forwards. I think the instant a serious inquiry is made about Forster, Lenny starts to look for a replacement.

Having said that, this club has not attempted to groom a first-line keep since Artur was in goal. We always seem to get one good keeper and blow off thoughts about the position until there is a pending raid. But I do think they are aware of the situation.
 
Well in that case we'll agree to disagree ,, as far as grooming a new keeper is concerned it's my opinion that we had better get cracking on that score because FF will be the next Wanyama ,, the projects we are working on now will need time to grow in stature and our No1 will be the next export to balance the books .... I'd be surprised if he is between the sticks for us next season .
 
Good chat lads!

FF won't go this season, I think NL will get his way with that one. He has already lost enough players, we don't have to sell FF and he has 3 years left on his contract.

LZ was superb against Liverpool but he won't be our No.1. He could be a No.1 for another club someday though.

We've had plenty of good keepers come through but keepers are notoriously difficult to bring through because it's not so easy to give them game time as subs. You'd have to be willing to put them in for cup games and things. It can take a while for some of them to really get to the level they are capable of. Scott Fox (now of Partick Thistle) is one such example. We have good young keepers but they don't get a chance, not even in pre-season or cup games. Need to get them out on loan but to go on loan, they would need to be almost guaranteed first team football or it would be useless.
 
We have a new recruit.....though not to our squad!

Former South African striker for Ajax, Porto, Blackburn and Celta Vigo, Benni McCarthy has joined our coaching team as he attempts his coaching badges. He was once linked with a move to us in his playing days.

He is staying in Scotland with his girlfriend while doing his badges which I assume he will be completing at the UEFA training centre that the likes of Jose Mourinho also attended in Scotland. I can't remember where the damn place is though. I want to say Largs......

Anyway, McCarthy and his agent approached Celtic and NL and asked if he could join them to learn while doing his badges and NL was more than happy to have him on board. McCarthy was a quality striker and could hopefully give some good coaching to our young strikers who I'm assuming he may work a bit more with than the first team but also help the likes of Tony Watt and Amido Balde with their progression.

This could prove to be a great move for the club.......we spoke about it a while ago that there had been suggestions of bringing in a dedicated striker coach to our set-up, it seems we may have done that in some form......
 
That can only be good news for both parties and I seem to remember us discussing the subject of coaching our forwards in recent times ,, Benni's wealth of experience can only benefit our younger and inexperienced forwards and it's a win / win situation for everyone .... :emoticon:07
 
Just watched a video of Pukki's Bundesliga goals from the past couple of seasons.......I can see why we're interested. I can see the similarity with Hooper. Clearly he doesn't have the same goals to game ratio (not even close) but I think considering his chances in games and the fact he was playing in the Bundesliga and is now still only 23.....I think he's done OK.

As I said before, if we get him.....we could be getting him at just the right time as he matures nicely!

[youtube=EQv3_VNpYBc]
 
All of our attempts to sign strikers seem to be flagging. Arnautovic doesn't want to play in the SPL. Pukki may not come because Huntelaar is injured. And we're blanching at the price of Finnbogason. The latter irritates me because the club is in clover after the player sales, and CL money. It's above budget, but certainly affordable and very fucking necessary.
 
You know ? I really do wonder where NL stands in all of this as it was he and his coaching staff who progressed the outgoing players to a standard whereby we were able to command such fantastic price tags for them ,, it was he and his coaching staff who got us to the last 16 & are on the verge of replicating that feat with CL qualification ,, they won a domestic double securing 2iar comfortably ...... they are quite evidently progressing our future stars at an impressive rate and all of this with minimum fuss .

We all knew full well in spite of all the bluster to the contrary that Hoops & Vic were leaving as far back as the last window so it's not as if their departure contained an element of surprise and I cant for the life of me comprehend why NL consistantly assures us that he has a first rate relationship with PL when in realty he should be beating a well worn track to his office pleading his case for a reasonable & fathomed return for his stalwart efforts .

At one stage in the game yesterday we seen Scott Brown trying miserably to play the CF role and as much as we love and value our captain ,, he couldn't hit a coo's arse with a shovel and neither should he be asked to do so ,, which brings us back to the diservice NL is being forced to endure ........ who carries the can if this latest excursion goes tits up on Tuesday ? who is to blame if our impotence up front ultimately proves to be catalyst to a disaster of Artmedia Bratislava proportions ?

It's crystal clear that our suits will not in any circumstances abandon their rigid cap on outgoing expenditure when it comes to recruiting new players and as much as that grinds our gears to the point of combustion lets put that to the side for a minute ....... why oh why weren't we in the market quicker whilst operating within that budget for a decent striker given that we stand to lose in the region of circa £24M should disaster strike ?

I'm on record here stating that I didn't want Neil Lennon in the managers role at Celtic simply because of his inexperience but he has went on to achieve great things and subsequently given detractors like myself food for thought ..... I now fail to understand why he is expected to continue producing the goods whilst denied adequate resources to accomplish that task ,, he is being asked / forced to fight with one hand tied behind his back and I don't get ( a ) why he is being treated so shoddily and ( b ) why he fails to raise his voice to speak out at such contemptuous discord ......

Our suits are playing with fire on every conceivable front other than their treasured balance sheet and could very well rue their dereliction of duty should they not only find themselves eternally castigated by the Celtic support but the current management team too who may one day eventually conclude that their call of duty will be far greater appreciated elsewhere .
 
Well, Lennon supposely got assurances of spending before renewing his contract. So one of two things is accurate. 1) The teams from whom we are trying to prise away strikers are playing hard ball and Lawwell is going to the brink to shave every nickel. 2) Lennon was lied to, or at given an exaggerated budget. Remember, it took until the last day to sign Hooper, so who knows?

But one thing is certain, they are playing Kazhaki roulette this week if we don't sign a good forward. And if so, Lenny has reason to be livid.

The suits are petrified about the loss of the huns. Attendance is down since we have no bigots chasing our tails. The support just don't turn out as much when the chief rival is St. Johnstone. I've said it before and I know it's unpopular, but every drama needs a good villain and the SPL doesn't have one. I mean, not one on the pitch anyway. The front office is loaded with them, but I digress. As villains go, SPL competition is like Philip Marlowe trying to crack a shoplifting ring at a dime store. :emoticon:11 :emoticon:37

Bottom line is that their newfound revenue source--the quid that will replace lost ticket sales at SPL matches--is to go as deep into the CL as possible. The Europa League is fun, but it just doesn't pay. Bottom line is that pounds 2- million in transfer money should break loose pounds 5 million for a forward.
 
I fully understand that the demise of rfc has removed the competitive edge somewhat resulting in lower attendance figures but as far as I'm aware the SB uptake has risen from last years figures and that particular revenue stream is as healthy as it was with their inclusion ,, in addition to that ,, we have also embarked on a few projects which are designed to further enhance the match day experience @ CP such as the Kerrydale Bar and the 1888 Cafe but these initiatives also secure further revenue streams and the PLC will profit greatly once their initial outlay has been offset ,,
I just cannot subscribe to the assertion that the loss of 18 K hun tickets p/a @ £42 has such a profound and detrimental effect on our income ... the footballing aspect is a different story and I do concede that the competitive edge has suffered from their demise and I'm afraid that CL qualification and all it's riches will only further compound that situation as supporters are likely to priorities and pick and choose their games ....... what would help tremendously is signing a couple of players who's talent and skill will entice more bums on to seats in the first instance then regularly give cause for those bums to levitate for large parts of matches as their owners marvel over their contribution ......... sounds like a plan to me . :emoticon:35
 
Not buying doesn't come down to finances - look at any of the official loss/earnings statements for the last few years. Celtic are in great shape financially and just sold nearly 20 mil. worth of players.

I don't think we'll spend until the CL money is guaranteed, which seems like an unnecessary risk. Let's say we spent 5 mil. on Finnbogason (which isn't outrageous for someone scoring goals in Holland) and did crash out of the CL against Shakhter (which isn't going to happen, but just for argument). I don't have any idea what we'd make in the group stages of the Europa League, but I doubt it's less that what we paid for Finnbogason. It seems like the wrong time to be cheap, but Celtic have their business model of buy low, sell high.

This team needs a goal scorer - you've got to pay for quality at some point!
 
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