Few things sum up the soul-crushing monotony of this transfer window like the trending story on Celtic fan sites today: Where is James McCarthy?
I have to admit, I was an advocate for signing James McCarthy three summers ago. Coming from a place where McCarthy is a local legend, seeing him in a Celtic strip was something I had longed for. Unfortunately, his time at Celtic has been underwhelming, to put it generously.
I don’t want to delve into why McCarthy didn’t succeed at the club. He never fit into Ange Postecoglou’s style, and his fitness was never where it needed to be. It’s disappointing how the deal turned out, with McCarthy barely making any first-team appearances.
So why are so many fans focused on McCarthy’s status at the club now?
It highlights just how little is happening at Celtic at this moment in time.
Yesterday, we saw a firestorm over a routine stock market filing. Today, McCarthy is the story, with side discussions about Daniel Kelly scoring for the B team and the club slapping a “not for sale” sign on Stephen Welsh; pity we don’t just do that with O’Riley and others.
Focusing on McCarthy or Kelly’s contract seems misplaced given our bigger concerns.
McCarthy isn’t part of the first-team squad; he’s an afterthought. Yet, speculation about him is rampant on social media and Celtic websites. This perfectly sums up the current state of the club—complete and utter stasis.
Under different circumstances, generating so little actual news could be positive. A well-run club is often boring to write about because everything runs smoothly. When things are quiet, it usually means the team is playing well, the manager is happy, and fans are satisfied. I’ve said, on the occasions when I’m asked why we focus so much attention on goings on outside Celtic Park, that our club can be boring to cover at times … and that’s usually a compliment.
But when a transfer window is approaching closure with only one outfield signing and a weaker squad than 60 days ago, quiet can easily be mistaken for stagnation. The McCarthy story is proof of a great big empty absence of actual news.
If the club’s management hasn’t realized this yet, they’re not paying attention.
A news vacuum will be filled, and our enemies will use it to spread nonsense, lies, and misinformation.
Today’s Daily Record featured a misleading headline about Celtic having signed Idah and some Argentine wonderkid; in fact the piece was about some fictious “dream transfer window” that existed only in the writer’s fevered imagination. And that’s a benign example of how an information vacuum will be filled.
We don’t even want to imagine what a malign version would be.
James McCarthy isn’t important.
Many fans assumed he had already left the club, and it’s news to us that there’s still confusion over this.
As someone who was initially excited about his signing, I can honestly say I don’t care much anymore.
It doesn’t mean anything to me, or, I suspect, to most fans.
McCarthy is a symptom and a symbol of where we are right now—desperately trying to fill the big empty silence where real news should be.
This club has 24 days to get its act together. I am not optimistic.
I was happy with Mccarthys signing but the length of contract is ridiculous & he should be loaned out to another spl team as should any players who aren’t going to feature
The McCarthy news matters to me. Why oh why did Celtic keep paying his wages with seemingly no effort to get him off the wage bill for all that time. That was money down the drain and it was scandalous that Celtic let it happen.
“Why oh why did Celtic keep paying his wages…” I think it’s called a contract! If you think anyone was going to take him off us with his injury history and match his wages you’re deluded. Why would he leave? He was on a long term contract with great wages, what’s not to love from his point of view? Would you leave your job and take a position on less wages just because your employer didn’t fancy you anymore if you had a contract? The club blew it by giving him his deal. Good luck to him, he’s done nothing wrong.
I did say ‘with no effort to get him off the wage bill’, did you decide to ignore that part?
We all know the ball was at his feet contract wise, but Celtic should have been touting him around to encourage other clubs to take him on loan. Failing that, if he was digging his heels in, cut our losses and give him a pay off to leave the club instead of hanging around like a bad smell. What I see now is that Celtic did nothing to solve the problem and I suspect that only now, far too late, that he has been paid off. A very costly mistake on our part.
I am not optimistic either James.
This board is just as bad as the Kelly’s et al.
We have an ownership that Mr McCann warned us to avoid and a Board that care about nothing but money.
The manager is being undermined by the board, the third transfer window in a row they have let him down. Dermot Desmond employed him over the board’s head.
Maybe he’ll start on Sunday.
I think McCarthy was a Dermot Desmond pet project,I just wish his wages were coming out of Desmond’s pocket but knowing his greed ,that’s highly unlikely.
I think it possibly was that indeed Jim…
That Scumbag for the game in Scotland Murray did something similar with Advocaat at ‘Rangers’ (asthey were then) by buying the then Scotland captain Colin Hendry for him… Possibly Flo as well as a ‘I’ve got money’ when it was ultimately paid for by taxpayers, but it still didn’t cost ‘Rangers’ –
It must be the egotistic ‘owners’ playing football ‘managers’ –
As for James McCarthy he’s just a Scottish / Irish wage thief of the highest order, but they gave him the contract and ultimately Celtic’s current Derk Boerrigtor like his Dutch equivalent is entitled to it !