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Hope Springs Eternal. Celtic Might Soon Be Back To Square One.

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I have some advice for my fellow fans; save the back slapping until we get these deals over the line.

Bernardo should be done. The manager was expecting it done within “hours.” That was yesterday, but there are those who will argue better late than never and I suppose I would agree with that. With Adam Idah, we might well get there by the weekend, if reports from south of the border are to be believed. I’ll take them with a large pinch of salt.

The transfer window has been open a while now. We’ve managed to conclude two deals, both for keepers. Be grateful for small mercies I suppose.

Don’t worry. This article is not going to be loaded down with cliches, nor is it going to be loaded down with doom and gloom. If we complete the deals for Idah and Bernardo and we do it without spending £12 million on them I will be pleased with that, and I should be as I’m the guy who raised the issue of whether it was wise to spend that money in the first place.

Would the board deserve credit for saving £3 or £4 million? As long as that money is invested in other areas of the team, yes, and that’s the caveat.

We’ve acted an awful lot like a team who are skint when in fact that’s the furthest thing from the truth. Yet, I objected to that £12 million spend because I was well aware that they might try and nickel and dime their way through this window and I was very nervous of such a large chunk of the boss’s budget being spent on those two in particular.

And why do I say that? Again, this is something I’ve explained.

We’re two months into the window. The campaign is about to begin. And Celtic is basically only now on the brink of being back to square one.

Even if we’ve saved £3 million to get here, there were no deals that could have been done whilst we waited on these two? The brutal truth of it is that we’re literally sitting here biting our nails that we can go into the weekend exactly where we were when last season finished.

I’ll temper my congratulations and my euphoria because that’s just not good enough. If we sign these guys, they’ll have managed to get us to the bare minimum of where we expected to be.

That’s what they’ll have accomplished in two months.

All of us want more, including the manager. All of us want the signings in those other areas of the team where we need them, and we know what those areas are because they were screaming to be filled last season. I still have my doubts. I’m not even 100% convinced we’re going to see Idah in the club’s colours, and certainly not by the weekend.

Not only do we want more, we deserve more.

That’s not entitlement. That’s a statement of fact.

The fans, as usual, have done their bit. We’ve smashed it, yet again, when it comes to backing this club. Buying season tickets. CelticTV subscriptions. Merchandising. We’ve come through, and when it comes time to buy those Champions League ticket packages the fans will be expected to spend again, even if this club has lamentably failed to do the same.

We deserve better than this, you’re damned right we do.

Still, I did say this wouldn’t be doom and gloom, so let me tell you where I’m more satisfied.

If we get Idah, I’ll be very pleased with that because I rate the guy and I’ve made that very clear. At the right price, and that’s important to note. I have never – unlike what some people seem to believe – suggested we pay whatever it takes for him.

I thought our opening offer was as ridiculous as those we’ve had for Matt O’Riley. We should have got real earlier, found the acceptable number and got this done and saved a lot of time and hassle. But it’s a signing that I will welcome regardless of when it’s completed – if it is completed.

Adam Idah is very obviously an excellent striker, and especially within this system, and I do not, not for one minute, buy the rubbish that I read yesterday that he would spend most of his time on the bench. That’s not what he’s coming here for, and it’s absolutely counter to what the manager himself has said about this.

Two “main” strikers is exactly what he said … not one striker and two backups. The third striker will be the backup. That’s the plan as the manager has explained it.

Would I have loved to see us go out and spend £8 million on the finished article? Yes, and I said so, that if we wanted to really push out the boat, we would skip Idah entirely and go for someone better. At that price bracket there are better footballers … but up to the level of about £6 million I think Idah represents a superb piece of business.

The much heralded “scouting setup” under Lawwell Jnr kept on pushing Mathias Kvistgaarden; I couldn’t understand that, and I have no doubt that people at the club were still pushing for his signing here. Rodgers knows what Idah can do. Our club subscribes to the theory that you can figure out everything about a player based on stats; that’s a number cruncher theory which pays no heed to the real nuts and bolts of football, such as application, hard work, the ability to play under pressure and a bunch of other stuff which the manager is best placed to identify.

Idah scored a late goal at Ibrox. He scored a late goal in the cup final. He can play under pressure. He can do it when it counts. That’s why he’s worth buying over other options in his price bracket. That’s why he’s a better signing than Miovski.

I’m curious to know who the other striker will be; Conway is probably going to Middlesbrough, who have apparently offered £5 million. There’s nothing to suggest he’s worth that, we’ve done the right thing not to get dragged into that. The Canadian striker, Jacen Russell-Rowe, is much more interesting and he has a good pedigree for someone his age and would be a very good option, and someone we could definitely develop into a better player.

We’ll see what happens over the course of today. If we get these deals done by the weekend then we’re back to where we were and they have a month to strengthen. The way we do things is scattershot, stupid and short sighted … and it is slow.

But like I said at the start, better late than never. Hope springs eternal.

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37 comments

  • David hìll says:

    We will never get to the next level withe this board right now its out there for all to see the board is all about taking all the fans money it can match day fans cost and team stripes tops ar at £70.00 each home & away tops £140 chepes ticket for Kilmarnock game £34.00 one ticket withe the cost of living clubs don’t care how fans are coping with the cost for fans as long as they get our money then they don’t invest in the team when this is the most that the team has ever had in its bank we have 2 new goals keepers and one midfielder in but apart from the goal keepers we signed up our loan player in midfield league opener Sunday and if kyogo gets injured we would be in deep pressure in games the board did this in the covid season and we need quality players put got duds a striker that dident have a good strike record a goalkeeper that couldn’t that didn’t perform like he did in previous teams we have been shafted again by the board if they dont back Rodgers to get players he wants he will end up leaving after 2 season of a greedy board that must answer the question what are yous up to withe the club mony withe the fans investment every season its went on to match this is a important season to win would give us 55 league titles more history in the making

  • Fergal says:

    The Celtic board seem content to win domestically and perhaps realize the gap in quality needed to be competitive in Europe is beyond them. They appear happy to have Rodgers take the flak and appear to have hoodwinked him to return on a promise and a prayer. They know the fans will, we’ll be fans, and exploit them to the max.
    Their mistake is that by not opening up the potential in the northern American market, they are resigned to past glories being their claim to fame. Copenhagen proved that with a little ambition, raising the clubs profile and giving the fans something to cheer us possible.
    CFC board are treating their manager and fans disgracefully.

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