I keep hearing that Pat Nevin is some sort of intellectual, and yet as the years go on I see less and less proof that this is the case. In fact, the more he talks the more I wonder if he’s not in fact stone stupid and simply tries to hide it with a big vocabulary and a pair of glasses.
The truth is, he’s not that bright and he’s shown it again today by wading into the Harry Kane business, and suggesting, in an interview with The Sporting Post, that Celtic fans should be concerned that Ange will come for Kyogo and that Kyogo will follow his former boss to the EPL.
Let’s start with the “nightmare scenario” should that happen. Spurs will bag in excess of £80 million for their talisman. Celtic would be quite entitled to demand one third of that at least to even consider the idea of letting go a player who just signed a new deal. Kyogo would not depart as a hero, but as a fraud who said one thing and did another.
Where would it leave Celtic? In a bit of a dilemma considering that Oh is out for six weeks. But it would be a dilemma significantly sweetened by a transfer pot overflowing, and plenty of strikers out there able to put the ball in the net. And this is where Nevin shows himself up to be a complete fool, and this so-called view impossible to take seriously.
I’ve long said that every player in this squad can be replaced. There is a better player out there within our price range, in every position of this team, than those currently at the club. There is a better player out there than Kyogo, affordable to us right now.
The trick is to find that player and move for him before others figure it out.
But of course, the more money you have at your disposal the easier it is, because as your price range increases so does the range of options. And that’s where Nevin- looks ridiculous.
Because right now that money is sitting in a bank account in Germany and waiting to be sent to England. If we can find a better player than Kyogo, within our current transfer structure, then Spurs definitely can and for much less than we would demand for Kyogo himself. If we’re talking about the £25-30 million bracket, Spurs can certainly find a better player than Kyogo for that kind of money, and that’s if they aren’t shopping at a much higher end of the market, which they will be, and pretty much have to be if they want to appease their fans.
If Kane goes, they need a bona fide superstar to replace him; their fans won’t accept anything else. This is the top scorer in the history of their club, the man who took that prize from the late great Jimmy Greaves. No offence to our Japanese Bhoy, but he’s not in that league and the idea that Ange could try to replace Kane with him is ludicrous.
Yes, such a deal – if it were even remotely likely – would “break Celtic’s fans hearts”; some of them anyway – but Kyogo is much easier for us to replace than Spurs will find replacing Harry Kane, and as good as the money they got for him was, a player of his calibre, a mere 40 odd goals away from the all time Premiership scoring record, would be difficult to replace with twice that … and they don’t have a whole lot of time to find somebody.
So that’s the nightmare scenario, one that leaves us with more money to spend than we’ve ever had at our disposal, and our range of targets vastly larger as a result of it, and all to find a player capable of scoring 30 goals a season in the SPFL. I suspect we’d be alright. Which is why I won’t get in a strop or a state over it whatever comes to pass.
But on the subject of Nevin himself, I don’t know how someone with the reputation of being an “intellectual” doesn’t spot this for himself. Unless, of course, he’s just stirring the soup and trying to get his name in the papers again …
I’ll never understand why Ange wanting to jump ship and join spurs with the Kane factor so strongly in play?
One of the biggest factors within any managerial career is the players they bring into the club?
And even moreso about how the player gets on within the club?
Such a poison chalice of a job, and possibly the biggest at spurs currently with the risk factors enormous, regardless of the pay packet.
Believe kyogo is worthy of being classed good enough for EPL myself, but spurs would be a ridiculous move for him also imo currently.
Yet the EPL, for all it’s money has wasted untold amounts within it also, with many looking at the Saudi market now, to recoup some of the drastic losses made.
What kyogo has at Celtic is nothing that any amount of money could buy for himself, and is the enjoyment you get from the game with the success earned, better than the bigger wage on offer?
Only kyogo could answer such a question, but at a guess the enjoyment would be a bigger factor imo, and will be a very wealthy man by staying with ourselves regardless.
Our club provides something that no other club provides within world football and remain head and shoulders above the cash ruined game that presently is in operation like never seen before.
Clubs remain jealous of how we operate and hope kyogo along with many others realise that moreso than taking a bigger pay packet without the joys of what Celtic as a club provides
Nevin is a snob
If ange ( the new SNAKE ) does come in for him just tell them the price is 50% of what they got for Kane or GTF .
We probably wouldn’t need to spend mega millions – as guys like Shankland would score a barrowload of goals at a club like Celtic – and a few guys like him pop up in The SPFL from time to time…
That’d more than likely keep us ahead of Sevco !
Europe though – perhaps that’s another matter…
But we ain’t gonna be European Champions again any time soon – but No1 priority is stay ahead of Sevco – (at least in The League anyway) !
Sorry my friend. But shankland, Celtic that’s going back to the days of Cascarino et al. Laughable idea. But I’m in the joke with you!
We’d stay ahead of sevco supposing we played Bernabei up front, after all he’s among our leading goal scorers so far this season.
Sorry did I use too many words there? I think I’m starting to sound like Mr Nevin. All sound and no vision!!
A tad harsh on Nevin who is guilty on nothing much more than lazy thinking. In Pat’s case however, there is a logic to that thought process because he has already gone on record to say that “Kyogo will score goals in any league, anywhere in the world.”
He clearly thinks he is good enough for the EPL and if Ange does as well, he may well come calling with a big cheque book and an offer which both Kyogo and Celtic think is too good to turn down. Ange might just as well take his cheque book elsewhere because the EPL, like it or not, is the promised land as far as many footballers world wide are concerned. My hope is for the latter as I don’t want to see Kyogo go just yet.
Inevitably he will go, but I want to enjoy him for another season or two at least.
Your last paragraph sums it up James. Pat has a new book out and is looking for publicity.
Nevin’s lost long brother is the potman in The Shipbank pub at the Gallowgate.
What PN says doesnae carry much weight. In fact, ye’d be hard pressed tae find anybody really that interested. The guy who once gushed about, how walkin tae Belvidere station with the fans after we won the league in 79 and beatin rangers 4-2, was his best memory ever as a Celtic supporter ! Now he claims he’s a Hibs fan ! Sorry mate, every shred of credibility went out the windae wi your cringeworthy ‘change of allegiance’. Two words ah would give tae PN, begins wi an ‘F’ and ends wi an ‘F’ !
Nevin does have a little more to him than most others with a Scottish football connection. I certainly get your point about him being overly promoted as an intellectual analyst through the years, but he’s noticeably and overtly less bigoted and that’s more than a step up from the others.
More’s to the point; what is the point to Jackson, Keevens, Thompson, McCann, Duncan, etc, etc, etc, and the shows that they put out there. All associated with subjectivity, bias, often not to well disguised covert bigotry and their other most common thing; falling readership, viewers and listeners..
The Blob obviously represents exactly the same values though weirdly more overtly for a more successful company in sly tv – the masters of anti discrimination – apparently. Contradictions are everywhere. He will thankfully be the subject of much continuous roasting from Sutton live on air. He was actually squirming under that pressure last week.
As the biggest club in Scotland they know we represent a far more professional approach, no C,ntwell like wee boy rantings here.
Aberdeen away will be promoted by them all as a banana skin game this weekend, hoping for us to do a rankers Rugby Park performance, but it’s that very professional big club approach that will see us through the game and onward to the title. C’mon a Hoops.
Nevin is not an intellectual. He started (maybe even completed) a business degree at Glasgow College of Technology. He hooked up with Brian McClair who did 2 years of Chemistry at Glasgow University whilst playing with Motherwell. He is intellectually strong.
Nevin was not intelligent enough to get to Uni.
In the world of football, where many of his generation had little or no academic qualifications, he may appear to be an intellectual but he is far from it.
His tenure at Motherwell should show that he is merely average, at best and on the scale of clown to genius, he sits much closer to the clown side. His change of allegiance from Celtic to Hibs is just one of the most ridiculous and laughable decisions I have ever witnessed. Trust me, he is no intellectual.
One thing we have seen from Ange he is often prepared for personnel changes. The Kane saga was there before he became manager and I would expect Ange to have 2 or 3 options already in the pipeline.
Kyogo seems happy and not so money orientated. If he goes it will most likely Celtic cashing in. £30m would be hard to turn down and we shouldnt let him go for anything less. Personally if Kyogo wanted to stay I wouldn’t let him go for any amount of money.
Nevin is an eejit. These ex footballers can get a grand for a comment especially if it affects an English agenda, the more outlandish the more eye catching.
I wish Ange all the best. Maybe he will go for Morelos. HH
NEVER trust anyone who changes his football club allegiance as Nevin did years ago.
It marks a man as a no user and a chancer; not to be trusted.
In addition, he has a whiny snivelling demeanour, particularly when he is sucking up to his “betters”.
A chanty wrassler of the highest order.
Good article. Enjoyed that. Thanks.
All players have an eventual price. Kyogo is currently a Celtic player and doing very well, at that.
Nevin commented that he couldn’t listen to IRA songs anymore so his teams were now Hibs, Chelsea and Scotland.
That’s the same Chelsea who’s fans had their black player Paul Cannoville in tears after constant racial abuse.
A chanty wrassler of the highest order,, ????,,,that’s the line to beat this season,,,, quality,,,,
This constant talk about Celtic losing players who are just in the door and it being considered acceptable as long as they get a big fee for them is getting a bit boring and, frankly, makes Celtic a club just to be used and s4it upon.
It`s getting to the stage where Celtic will have new signings arriving at the stadium on the bus for their first (and last) game, playing their full Celtic career in the 90+ minutes of the game and then heading away again on a bus after the game to either warmer climes or to marry the bus driver. Stay for two games and they will have their own song and three will rank them alongside the legends.
There was something suspicious about the Jacynta/Starfelt drama. She goes away and despite the rumours of a move to Russia he “conveniently” gets signed by a Spanish club near to his heart`s desire. It looks to me that Starfelt must
have had talks with Celta well before she made her move. On the other hand, maybe she was trying to get away from him and he hasn`t yet got the message.