Before I start let me apologise to all of you for the horrific version of this article which went up earlier. Sometimes I use speech-to-text to do pieces, especially when I’m out and about, and then tidy them up. That’s the only time I’ve ever accidently published one of those instead of the edit. I’m pretty pissed off with myself for not noticing that until people drew my attention to it. If I had been focussed on what was going on instead of hitting F5 to get transfer updates (waste of time that’s been) I’d have caught it much earlier. Won’t happen again.
Having already discussed at some length what Celtic’s transfer market priorities were going into this window—and how those priorities changed with the loss of Alex Valle and Kyogo, the second of them a self-inflicted wound of extraordinary scale—it was perfectly obvious what our board had to do today.
Part one of that job appears almost complete.
Jeffrey Schlupp is coming in on loan. Now, Schlupp hasn’t played at left-back for a couple of seasons, but he has played the bulk of his career in that position and has been more than capable there. He is a vast upgrade on the Barcelona loanee, and I am not disappointed by this deal.
As a short-term option, it will do fine. But there’s a larger discussion to be had about the way our club plans things, and everyone knows that discussion will have to take place. But for the moment, I’m going to move off us and peer across the fence to see what they’re doing on the other side of the city.
They too went into this window with a number of priorities. They wanted to strengthen the squad so they could put up some sort of token challenge to us in the league. They have not signed a single player of note.
They brought in a loanee defender and have agreed on a pre-contract deal for a Dundee midfielder for next season. That, as I have said before, is the shape of things to come for them. This is their strategic pivot. This is their acknowledgement that they are now living in the austerity age.
It should be impossible to spin that as a positive.
The drastic cutbacks. The lack of even a bling signing to pretend they’re an ambitious club. It should all be seen as an admission of utter failure, as people throwing up their hands and surrendering to Celtic’s dominance. But it is being spun. And for some people, it’s being spun successfully because a lot of the Ibrox fans believe this is a new beginning. And it is—just not in the way they think it is.
Naturally, there are doubts. But some of those doubts are being soothed over—or at least, the club is trying to soothe them over—with a series of stories designed to create the impression that they’re ambitious after all.
We’ve written plenty on here about certain Ibrox fan sites, and one of them tonight is doing an incredible piece of spin, claiming that, despite serious interest from serious clubs, they have managed to hold on to Dessers, Igamane, Hagi and Jefte.
I don’t even know where to start, except by laughing. They would have shipped out Dessers in the first week of this window if an offer had come along. It’s only because he’s scored a couple of goals recently that they are now talking about him having reinvented himself as a top striker.
A lot of their fans had hoped Hagi would go in this window and that they’d get as much as £4 million for him. What a laugh riot that turned out to be. His contract is up at the end of the season. They’ve offered him an extension on lesser wages. There is no way in hell his agent is going to let him take that. So he’s off for free—and clubs aren’t exactly queuing up for his signature.
But what’s truly hilarious are these stories about the two new boys, Jefte and Igamane. The Moroccan had a couple of good games and scored a few goals, but he’s playing so well right now that they’re keeping Dessers at the club and reimagining that as a triumph. And the Brazilian left-back? Don’t make me laugh. The idea that Premier League clubs are seriously looking at that guy is a joke.
I believe Premier League clubs were sniffing around these players like I believe Donald Trump belongs back in the White House. It’s ridiculous. This guy was playing in Cyprus last season, where local reporters thought he looked suspect at the back. What a preposterous story. And the Chelsea rumour? That’s the ultimate piece of moon-howling nonsense to believe he was ever on their radar.
But these are the kind of things they have to do with increasing frequency—trying to sell people on the idea that they’ve beaten off interest in their best players to maintain the strength of the squad when everyone at their club expected them to improve it in this window. Which they have singularly failed to do.
Like I said, these players have agents, and if their agents are reading this stuff, they should be marching into the boardroom and asking for huge pay rises just to stay.
And failing that, they should be asking to talk to any club that expresses an interest at a reasonable fee; and I mean a reasonable fee—not the ludicrous £25 million they were talking about just a week ago when the Spurs and Everton rumours were flying around about in the middle of last week.
It is absolutely desperate.
And just watch tomorrow as The Daily Record attempts to gloss over a window that has been an utter disaster—no quality players brought in, a handful of squad players lost who at least gave them options, and, worst of all, not getting a single big earner off the wage bill despite their best efforts to find buyers.
That club still has a world of problems—and no solutions in sight.
Photo by Joe Prior/Visionhaus via Getty Images
James were you drunk or having a stroke when you wrote this? The errors in it are terrible.
I wouldn’t blame him for getting drunk in this final day of this bloody transfer window KirkieBhoy73…
Still there’s still THREE HOURS to have Hopeium
Or perhaps I should accept that Hopeium makes me a big Dopeium !
Hahahaahahahahaa!!! Same to make a similar, but nowhere near as funny, comment! ???
James have you had a stroke?!?
Or are you trying speech to text?
Still point well made.
“They brought in a lonely defender” was my favourite bit, they love the damaged goods with bling names over there! It’s reads like AI trying to impersonate Keith jackson right enough
Hi James. Its a bit of a nightmare trying to read this with all the errors.
I think these are all deliberate mistakes, I liked Alec Valley. The tribute act have let Lovelace go too despite their fans thinking he’s brilliant. It’s a disastrous window for them with no money and no quality coming in.
Mate…how many beers in were you, when you wrote this??! ?
Haha yeah that was … a bit mad.
James has been on the sauce the night
Haha I wish the excuse were that … exciting.
Aye its a disastrous window for them. Tho that only encourages our own board, tae show even less ( if that’s possible) interest in spendin properly for Europe.
Jeffrey Sloop (if he arrives that is) will no doubt here Sloop John B in Scotland when Celtic rock up at Liebrox…
But it won’t be The Beech Bhoys lyrics for sure –
When they start the ‘why don’t you go home pish’
Jeffery should just think – ‘It has’ – The SPFL Premier League Trophy !
31 Yr old guy signs for celtic .. what the fuck is going on at our club.
Hope he’s not playing against the huns nxt month . Cerny or that wee dick mcausland will run him ragged and they’re shite
Liewell, get the fuck out, now.
Useless feckin wank.
Seen a story that someone wants to buy Desmonds shares, I hope so , then get the dross from the board room out out out
I don’t imagine that brendan is happy with this window , at least we will get to see what Johnny Kenny is all about as the second fiddle
BR will not be staying longer than his deal with this shit show running things. I don’t fucking blame him. This board has no right being head of our great club. Just happy being big fish in a small puddle that is the SPFL. Arseholes the lot of this Celtic board
Looks as though the Asian well has dried up. We have to hope that Idah and Maeda avoid any injuries.
I’m wouldn’t say I’m looking forward to your articles tomorrow more I need to read others absolute disgust at this Celtic boards actions. I’m fecking livid
I’ve been waiting for the transfer window to close before reacting. Well, it’s slammed shut and left me pretty annoyed with the board. I usually defend them from what I think is over reaction from many fans and I more often than not give them benefit of the doubt. I’m 46 and know what an ‘actually’ awful board looks like at our club.
However, selling Kyogo because he asked nicely, at the detriment of our club, before we had a striker waiting to sign the dotted line is indefensible.
We should be putting Celtic first before the whims of an under contract player. By not doing this, they are derelict in their duties.
As for Kyogo himself, well let’s just say he’s left under a cloud that I think will tarnish his legacy, as he has left in the middle of a job (not wildly different than BR leaving in the middle of a job last time).
Absolutely Not Good Enough…
Well The Scummy crayon scribbler that used that to mock Ange has my absolute blessing to use it about our board after that fuckin window –
I might not quite be so polite about them tomorrow for sure !
This is the worst window i can ever recall. Utter negligence
First of all, I have no interest in what the sons of satan have been doing in this transfer window, they are irrelevant.
Secondly James, since you have admitted to many errors in your text that you would have normally corrected, why don’t you afford the posters on here the same courtesy of an edit button?
Thirdly, our own transfer window results are very disappointing, we will of course live with it and get on with it, but underwhelming is an under statement. It is a damn poor show under the circumstances and whoever the culprits are, Paul Tisdale for a start, they deserve any criticism that is coming their way. However, Brendan is not blameless either, he has his finger very much on the pulse and should have been aware of the ongoing efforts to get players in, it was a collective failure as far as I am concerned.
However, onward and upward, it done now, let’s get on with it.
We have gave the SMSM an open goal to ignore the abject embarrassment of the Ibrox transfer window by duly following suit & doing the same.
Another player who BR has direct experience with. I think Mark Lawwell was the tip of the iceberg within the scouting department.
Paul Tisdale appears to have brought nothing to the table & who knows what any of the rest of them do but it’s clear Brendan has no faith in their ability to analyze a player.
Hopefully Schlupp turns out to be a decent signing, out of contract in the summer so potentially a good back up to KT next season if he can do a job.
No striker is just ridiculous especially when you consider they were looking at allowing Kenny going back out on loan.
I find it so bizarre that through the window nothing happens & then they all fly to London on deadline day.
It almost feels like they enjoy the buzz of deadline day & are treating it like the bullpen in the financial markets.