The “news” today that Abada’s agent wants to fly to Scotland to have it out with Celtic over his client not being allowed to move to the US on loan has been greeted with predictable contempt across fan media.
Why should our club not call “bullshit” over this?
Abada, we’re told, is mentally unfit to play.
As I said in a previous piece, this smells suspect to me.
If he’s mentally unfit to play what good is a loan in the MLS going to do him? Will he somehow get over his “concerns for the family back home” who are apparently enduring a particularly tough war as their nation’s military buries uncounted Palestinian civilians under the rubble?
Let’s not piss about. Abada just doesn’t want to play for Celtic. You might think he has a case and you might not. The “Zionism” banner at the weekend, I thought was typical Green Brigade nonsense, a completely un-necessary provocation we could have all done without … but let’s not let that conflate this issue.
Abada is effectively on strike, and people can dress that up in whatever language they want.
If he’s mentally fit enough to play in America he’s mentally fit enough to play here in Glasgow and if he simply doesn’t want to do it in front of the fans, most of whom have given him unwavering support, then he can piss off to whichever club will take him.
Maybe he’s unaware of the tens of millions of Americans who want their own country to put a tight leash on Netanyahu and the other mad dogs in the Knesset. This issue doesn’t depart with him when he gets on a plane to leave Scotland behind.
Celtic seems resigned to taking a loss on him to get him off the wage bill; I personally think we should dig in all the way and refuse to let him go on the cheap. But even our clear desire to bring this chapter to a close doesn’t mean we should take a total loss. It doesn’t mean that we should let ourselves be messed about here, and right now I can’t shake the feeling that he and his agents are taking the piss.
Abada has just signed a new deal.
This club has been good to him, and nobody can say otherwise.
If his agents want to come here and make a song and dance over our holding him hostage on tens of thousands of pounds per week, they are welcome to come and make that case to the bloodless, calculating, money-oriented ghouls who run our club … but there’s a reason they are leaking their displeasure to the press in advance.
Because if we’re digging in our heels its because we’re right to and because we can’t afford to let ourselves get messed about any further.
If Abada has an issue with the Celtic fans, or if people around him are making issues for him, then let’s have it out in the public square, let’s have the debate, let’s drag it into the sunlight for review.
Whatever’s going on here shouldn’t be getting played out in the shadows. If people want to smear our club or our supporters, they should be willing to do it in public, and if they thought they had a case they would do that.
I’m well past bored by this phony baloney drama being played out behind the scenes. He’s either fit for duty or he isn’t. If he’s simply not willing to play for Celtic he should be fined for every week he sits in the stand. And that’s where he should have to sit.
Because if he’s not up to playing for us then he damned sure can’t claim he’s up to doing it somewhere else.
Why should we, as a club, accept that? It’s simply not on.
Well said James
Have said this for a few weeks he is working his ticket to try to get a cut price deal out of the club and get more money for himself. Should be now told if not fit to play for us but fit to play elsewhere we will transfer list him but there will be no cheap deal’s or loan’s.
Absolutely spot on. Could not agree more.
Any sympathy I had for Abada has now dissipated.
Abada – and his agent – knew exactly what they were signing up for when
joining CFC. A brief Google search would have shown that many of our
supporters empathise with the Palestinian cause.
But, Abada is a professional sportsman, and presumably CFC offered him
the most money?
CFC also offered Abada an opportunity to move directly from an israeli club
to the SPL ‘shop window’ – and the possibility of attracting a move to the EPL?
Abada could have chosen to put any personal reservations about CFC aside,
for the football opportunites and the money: and that’s absolutely fine.
IF Abada is now claiming that he’s OK to play football on loan to another club,
then he’s OK to play for CFC.
IF Abada doesn’t want to play for us, then he can submit a written transfer request.
[But, that would cost him his cut of the exiting transfer fee?]
CFC should indeed play hardball with Abada and his agent.
Can see this getting very messy, very personalised – and leaked to the SMSM.
A distraction we could all do without during this title struggle.
Was or is there not a price on our board, who called the fans anti semitic. Not too long ago. So I can’t see our illustrious leaders…
A doing the right thing by the player
Or
B doing and saying the right thing by the fans.
They’ll see this as an excuse to off load a player either for a fee or even just off the wage bill and it’s all the better for their bottom line
Just another disaster in the season of disasters…
However Incompetent the board are – and my goodness incompetent they are indeed – they cannot be blamed for this fiasco –
It’s over for Abada and Celtic – That much is certain…
What a shitty world we live in at times when Celtic are innocent victims in a war a million miles away, a side in that war taken by a significant section of the fan base that has pissed of a handsomely paid player that the most scummy media in the universe are exploiting for their very own hatred of Celtic FC !
Personally I’d punt him, he has been atrocious since coming back from injury. Whatever is in him is not going away any time soon and he will never reach the heights he did before or develop any more at Celtic.
Time to cut our losses before he impacts other players.
I think it’s the influence from elsewhere that’s mostly concerning him but his head is not in the game.
We need to win all our games and take at least 4 points from rangers, very do-able with a bit more belief in ourselves. that should be our focus not some sideshow.
IMO more countries will turn on Israel as they bludgeon the life out of the Palestinians.
Well if he is mentally unfit,put him in Carstairs for a few hours and I am sure he will rehabilitate quickly
Liel Abada and celtic are through. That’s fine. But why should we lose out? He signed a new contract pretty recently so can’t argue ignorance. This, to me, is cynical profiteering by the agents. I would say if he’s “on strike” then he should get zero pay.
On this one, I actually trust the board to play hardball.
Abada if he supports genocide can do 1
I’ve loved abada as a player for us, but that player is not there anymore, he is a shadow of the player he was. I think going over to the United States, is a decent move for him, great country as well. This is one problem, out of so many problems we have had this season. A manger who I was a big fan of can’t get anything out of the players that he has, our problem with the board, and also the green brigades behavior this season. The club from ibrox will be laughing at this, it’s just been a catalogue of errors on our part. Come on Celtic get it together for god sake.
The club has been good to him?
Allowing some of their customers to bring banners effectively calling for the end of the Jewish state.?
Who would want to work in such a toxic work environment.?
Like most things at the club right now, it’s been handled terribly by Celtic.
Well said agree with all you said
If I may play the Devil’s Advocate (no Giovanni do Stefano jokes, please), is sending him on loan an altogether bad idea? Whether he is de facto on strike or just ain’t feeling the love anymore when he is playing in front of Palestine flags, he is currently about as much use as an ashtray on a Harley Davidson and we’d be lucky to even recoup our outlay on him far less bring in the Dembele dollars we thought he’d be worth by the time we sold him on. If he goes out on loan somewhere and scores goals and plays well, he either increases his resale value or (unlikely though this seems right now) clears his head and comes back to play for us again after the IDF have flattened what is left of Gaza and can claim to have “won”. The obvious example of a similar loan working well is Ossie Ardiles going to PSG for a season during the Falklands. He came back and was as popular as ever afterwards.
Let him go but make sure we get our money back and then some or put him on the bench,if wants to go on strike fine but don’t pay his wages,he’s turning into a spoilt little brat.
Wee soul, the stress of watching your kith and kin murder tens of thousands of innocent people, including 13 thousand children, while supposedly fighting a force which has no aeroplanes or airforce, no navy or ships, no tanks or other armour etc etc, genocide no less.
He goes with the reserves or whatever until we can get full price for him, with his representatives told to fuck off!.
Hi Jim, I hope you bring your sarcastic wit to comment on other global conflict zones? And you do know that Hamas would wipe ALL Jews from face of the earth if they had the means…being impoverished doesn’t make them right, the issue is a little more complex than that
Accept the sick note provide help he requires and bench him like any other sick player !!!!
He will be sick on the bus going from Glasgow to play for the reserves at the likes of Wick Acadamy a million miles away – I guarantee you he will spew on that journey…
Time to ‘sicken’ him and give him horrible lessons like that I’d say !
If i were him i’d want to get away from those lunatics waving palestine flags, and if you cant see that then your blind
Well in that case Mark, Neil Lennon, Packie Bonner, Anton Rogan et all would never have crossed the front door at Liebrox or refused to defend the old ‘Coatbridge’ end at Parkhead when Rangers (as they were actually known as then) rocked up as there were Butchers Apron’s there everywhere…
Clearly The Irish certainly aren’t the snowflakes that The Israelis are in this life !
Agreed! Not seeing those concerned fans waving banners for any other oppressed people…. Just saying
So it’s ok that thousands of innocent children and adults have been murdered, ( lunatics waving flags)I think it you look in the mirror the lunatic will be looking right back at you.
Maybe the fact that the fans put banners up ‘Free Palestine ‘ literally hours after more Jewish people were slaughtered with mediaeval barbarity than since the Holocaust (which killed millions don’t forget) made him just a tad uncomfortable? Maybe he didn’t feel welcome that Celtic fans support barbaric terrorists who want to wipe his country and all Jews off the face of the earth. He should have left months ago…i suggest these fans read some history books, it’s not all black and white, no wonder Jews feel persecuted as they have for thousands of years.