Moussa Dembele

Delighted

 

His head is gone. Let him go.

 

20 million Dembele dollars

 

* this *.

 

£20 million that won't be spent on improving the team even more disco lights!!

 

Lawwell:

*to Lyon chairman*

You know whats cooler than 20 million Dembele dollars?

20 million BILLION Dembele dollars.

 

We need to spend this money on a new striker,centre half and right back in January. But knowing this board we’ll do * all.

 

20 million is decent for your third best striker.

 

Why are people surprised by this? It's been that way since Dalglish left the club in the 70's. It's been a well known fact. I get that it doesnt stop the hurt from happening, because we as fans have an emotional tie to the club. Few players can afford to have that. They are professionals and in the grand scheme of things, have a relatively limited professional career that precious few manage to reach 20yrs.

Is it any shock that no player has managed to follow in the footsteps of the likes of McGrain, Aitken and McStay - the last of those fortunate enough to get the spend their entire playing careers in the Hoops. It's the nature of football that most have to transition. If we only signed Celtic fans who also happen to be a professional footballer, it would hamstring us even further. Its been more than 20yrs since McStay retired, and even he flirted with the possibility of potentially having to leave the club to go to Italy because of the state that the club was in, in the early 90's. But not a single graduate from our academy who has gone on to play for the first team has ended up spending their entire careers here since then.

Even with all that goodwill toward the club and pride of having come through the ranks. James Forrest is in his mid-20's now, coming into the peak of his career. The form he is in now would be great to see him stay for the next 5 years, but there is no certainty of this. Tierney is even a more prominant case in point. With all the plaudits he has attracted many admirers down south. Will he remain a Celt for the next 10yrs? McGrain did, but the discrepancy in the financial terms of then and now are vastly more stark. The money on offer is a natural temptation for any professional, as much as it is the desire to test themselves at the highest level. The reality of the Scottish game is that is not always going to be the case.

So when players are brought in from abroad, it is with the promise that we can improve them, make and shape them into the finished article and sell them on then. Being on the doorstep of the EPL does provide prominance and the opportunity to be part of a successful culture is also there, as the more recent examples of Ki, Wanyama, VVD etc have shown. This success is part of our allure to recruiting, but as John Collins spoke about recently, this is also now coming to be used against us. Clubs we approach about a player, or contact made with agents then gives those clubs and agents that 'if Celtic are interested, maybe we can shop the player elsewhere for more money'.

That's what agents do. It's about money. It's a business, and Celtic FC is run like a proper business with a sustainable and successful model in place, unreliant on sugardaddies that pour a seemingly bottomless pit of money to buy success on the park. We need only look across the city for a reminder of how precarious that type of model and arrangement is, with deadco.

Not all players are jumping at the first chance, and not all players that leave is by their own choice. Just looking at this summer, the long term contract with Rogic underlines the first, and the return of Izzy underlines the second. We know that Izzy didn't particularly want to leave, but effectively went on loan for a £1m and is now back, lol. While Rogic signed a 5yr deal, this not only secures him as a Celtic player for the next few seasons, but also ensures that if and when he does move that Celtic do get a decent fee also, if that ever eventuates. But it could have been easier for him to not sign and go to the World Cup, see what his options were and if still wanted to come back sign then. He didnt. He signed, securing his future to Celtic before going and that demonstrates a player and club that do see mutual value in each other and who is not necessarily looking for a quick exit, rather is enjoying his football here and has that security to remain that some players lack or the temptation is too great.

Some times it's the players, sometimes it's the club, sometimes it's the agent, sometimes it's the money on offer and just can't say no. It's much rarer now that we sign players that are the finished article. The likes of getting players in their prime, a la a Larsson, Sutton, Hartson, Thompson, Naka, JVOH, Hinkel etc is not what it's about at the moment. If and when the bubble bursts down south (and for that matter, across Europe), maybe one day there will be a level playing field, maybe Celtic may need to leave Scottish Football in order to progress beyond what is sustainable at the moment, and having the Board not just looking after today and tomorrow, but the long term future of the Club, that we have a Celtic to support for generations to come is every bit as important.

We all want to see Celtic being successful on the park as well as off of it, and that is not an unreasonable ambition to have. Indeed, think that in this case of this summer, as Lawell & co has got some things wrong that has worked in the past, especially in terms of player recruitment. In other areas it has been successful. The sponsorship deals and share prices for example highlight this. But the truth is, the success of those dealings is built upon the foundation of how the team has performed over the past few seasons since BR arrived, winning back to back trebles. So some faith should have been placed in the ability of the team we have as well as maybe pushing out a bit more to improve and continue to evolve, without the recklessness of the 'speculate to accumulate' approach, which has no certainty of success and can prove to be incredibly risky.

It comes down to money. Like everything. As distasteful as it is, it's the truth. Celtic are a big fish in a small pond, and do incredibly well under the circumstances, but bemoaning the fact that some players do come to the club with ambitions that extend beyond this small pond of Scottish Football should not come as a surprise either. We loved Wanyama when he was here, his choice of wanting to wear 67, and we all got to see the player develop in front of our eyes. His affection for Celtic remains, even though he didn't necessarily grow up with an affinity for the Hoops, that affection is there none the less, and while it was sad to see him go, it was understandable that it was inevitible.

Players are an asset to the football club. While we are in Europe, it does mean that we can retain the best players, but just as we have seen in the past, if it means to offset that to make sure the books are balanced, then there is the possibility that players may be traded. It's the nature of the business of football, for 90% of clubs, up and down the leagues. Precious few have the type of Oil Sheiks willing to dump untold and endless wealth on them, and for those fortunate few, they can concentrate entirely on just achieving success at any price.

For the rest of football clubs, there is a responsibility and need to make ends meet.

This is nothing new. Jimmy McGrory was wanted by Arsenal and Celtic wanted to sell him, in order to finance the building of a new grandstand. McGrory didnt want to go, as he wanted to stay at the club... and how did the club respond? They had to sell another prized asset instead, but more than that, Maley and the Board ensured that McGrory would be on less money than all of his team mates at the time for the rest of his career. McGrory got to stay, but he had to pay the price for it, which was a scumbag thing to do by the Board of that time, but it also underlines that even the greatest striker of our club's history was not bigger than the club itself.

I understand that it was a different time and a different way in which Club/player relations happened, but if anyone can tell me that Dembele, had he agreed to stay, would have a lasting legacy as that of McGrory, and explain just how that is, I'd have said that they were touched in the head. £20m for a player is a decent bit of business, and it's a shame it has shaken out the way it has, and that not got time to find a replacement now, but let's be honest here, over the past year he has missed probably as much football as he has played, so it's not like we are not able to play without him up front.

Perhaps people are seeing the influx and turnover happening across the city at Ipox and wondering why not us. I wouldnt trade our position with them for anything. It's easier to attract players to them at the moment as they are shopping in a lower market in terms of improving the squad that they had, and have now. Improving on what we have is far less easy to achieve at the budget we have to work within, again all too well aware of the inflation going on down south, where even a midtable club like Leicester can afford to spend £13m on a player and then send them out immediately on loan.

It's the reality.

Anyhow, we are Celtic. Dembele or no Dembele, we still have the best team, the best squad and the best manager in the country, Hopefully the Board and the scouting team do learn from the lessons of this summer, and that our approach to player recruitment can be looked at, ways found to improve it and mistakes not repeated going forward.

Hail, Hail!

 

I'm finding it hard no to pish myself laughing at this post mate....and greet at the same time..

 

20 mill spent on right back centre back goalkeeper and a striker in January


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I'm chuffed

 

Brendan should have punched him for those tweets, instead he's just gave a blueprint for any other player who wants out

Thanks for the memories hunskelper, £20m is good for someone who missed loads of games with a dodgy hamstring

 

Did anyone else ever get the impression Dembele thought he was too good for Celtic?

Ffs a few weeks after he joined we were playing Astana and he was on the bench and when we scored a crucial away goal he sat with a dour bake.

An absolute * and it won't be his hunskelping i'll remember him for now, it was acting a complete * this last few days and leaving our season and preparations in jeopardy because he couldn't just * wait to January!

 

The club could easily prevent last day sales by telling all clubs that a full fee must be deposited in escrow 48 hours before speaking to players

or better still... just get our business done early in the transfer window

 

Heavily reliant on Ed in Europe now, ah well.

 

dont let the door hit you on the way out *, hope you dont tear a hamstring going up the plane steps.

 

One of those ones though no money could make things worse as in less investment compared to what is now.... I know sounds mental but might not be no players come in or more sold in that case best we can hope for is the working have a different view of doing things next year

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