Moving from one of the better transfer ideas to one of the worst… Earlier on, I wrote about Bojan Miovski, and how he would have been a really good signing for Celtic a couple of years back, and how, if he’s available for a £2 million knockdown fee, he’s exactly the kind of player we should be considering going for in this window.
At the other end of the scale entirely are the stupid suggestions that we should make a move for Jamie Vardy.
I’m not going to discuss the idea that Celtic should move for him. That idea is so far-fetched and so stupid that it really isn’t worth doing a deep dive on.
He is precisely the kind of player we don’t try to sign—a famous name, a little bit of bling, but not very much bang for your buck. And for everybody who says, “He’ll still score goals in Scotland,” so what, really? Jamie Vardy? We should be topping up the pension fund of some faded EPL star?
It makes no sense. So better to just pass on it.
But it’s no surprise whatsoever to see that this is something that’s being widely discussed on the Ibrox fan forums, on the Ibrox fan websites, and in the media.
And if he really is a target for their club – and there’s enough smoke that you wonder if there’s fire – then what are we supposed to conclude from that except that it fits into a very familiar pattern with these people?
Over the course of the last few weeks, we’ve had the suggestion that Jordan Henderson might go there. We’ve had the suggestion that Luka Modri? might go there. And now we have Jamie Vardy’s name being thrown around. And the only thing these three guys have in common is that they’re famous names.
They’re bling footballers. One of them is edging into his 40s. But it’s the weight of those names, more than anything they might do on the pitch, that makes this seem like an attractive prospect to that club, to its fans, and to the press.
And yet, at the same time as they’re being fed this diet of rot, the same media and the same fan sites are talking over and over again about how that club is finally making a strategic pivot to a place where their transfer strategy will be built on value, development, potential, and resale.
None of those things apply to any of these three players. And this confirms what I’ve said before—that club’s fans, and the media which covers that club, are not remotely ready for a transfer strategy that is predicated on buying and developing players and selling them on for profit.
They’re just not in the psychological headspace for it. The idea holds no appeal for them whatsoever. They would rather have headline-grabbing signings. They would rather be chasing headline-making targets.
There’s always the hunt for the quick fix.
That’s why you haven’t heard the last of the Lawrence Shankland rumours. Those rumours will reappear over the course of this window. There will be urging, both by those around the club and in the press, to go out and get him. He’s not a big name, but he is a quick fix. And that is what they want more than anything else.
All the talk over the last couple of days has been of how that club’s new ownership is going to need time and patience.
They’re not going to get either of those things—not from a support that wants solutions tomorrow and wants to see real money spent on fixing its problems. These people don’t have any kind of tolerance for “slow and steady wins the race”. The idea that their next boss is going to get three or four years to get his ideas in place is for the birds. That is simply not going to happen.
Because the fans won’t allow it. And the media won’t allow it. That club will continue to live in a half-life of madness and short-term solutions. It’s all they know how to do. And if the owners—the Americans—have any sense at all, they will put the brakes on all this crazy talk as quickly as they can. They will dismiss any suggestion of signing bling players, and they will make it clear that those days are over with.
I’ll be honest with you—that’s what I expect them to do. I don’t expect that their board would sanction the pursuit of someone like Vardy.
It would be such a retrograde step, this early, that it would send completely the wrong message about how they intend to run the place. And yeah, there are certain advantages to a signing like that—most namely that he would be available on a free—but he would not be cheap.
At some point, some version of sanity will dawn over there. And I suspect the Americans will be the ones to bring it.
That club might not function better as a football club, but it will certainly function better as a business. And that means it is going to make choices that are not going to be terribly popular with the supporters. But those supporters, and this moon-howling media, can continue to pressure them for star names and big headlines… it’ll be interesting to see how the club handles that.
Agreed James, not with a barge pole. Been there and done that with Keane, Robbie and Roy, Ian Wright et al.
Their transfer “ strategy “ is all over the place if the press are to be believed.
They say they have battled and fought off EPL interest in three of their starlets, even though I think they have dumped reserve football?
It is implying this is part of the development or buying of young talent to kickstart a player trading model. How many of our starlets went on from promise to actual huge money makers?
Then they talk about Henderson, Vardy etc??On the manager thread they seem to genuinely believe that Martin’s appointment has killed off their chance to get Modric, who may now have to settle for AC Milan. What a come down.
Plus ca change.
Vardy even in his hey day is exactly the type of striker not suited to Celtic, he is a classic fit for a team that plays fast on the break. In domestic football Celtic are up against teams who play 10 behind the ball for 80 mins, and then if by some miracle they’re still in the game they’ll throw on a couple of forwards. Vardy would be looking for a big signing on fee, plus a fair whack in wages. I think he’ll end up with some lower EPL team with money to burn.
A penalty box striker like Miovski in my opinion would be a great signing, especially at his age and if the asking price was around 2 million.
Vardy. Definitely not. Shouldnae even be a consideration.
Ah well – The comedy gold continues…
Barton, Ramsay – Who on earth next – Let’s hope they were as ‘successful’ as the previous pair !
I agree that Celtic shouldn’t be topping up the pension of over the hill EPL stars but the board did it with the last 2 goalkeepers. Joe Hart was finished at EPL level about 10 years ago and Schmeichel is finished now. Maybe good enough against most Scottish clubs but it’s youngsters that should be getting signed. I would relegate Schmeichel to the bench now. It’s not difficult for Celtic to win the Scottish cup and they would have done with Sinisalo in goals!
I think there’s a big difference between goalkeepers and outfield players as goalkeeping is a specialised position. Both Hart & Schmeichel have made critical saves in critical games allied to their big game experience and leadership which has been crucial (especially in Europe) as we don’t have too many “leaders” in our squad – our playing trading model results in a general lack of leaders as most of the best players tend to get sold before they become “leaders”.
So I have no issue in us having signed those two as I think in general they have proved their worth BUT I do agree Sinisalo should have played in the Cup Final because he’d earned his place over the previous 6-7 weeks and because Schmeichel was clearly not completely over his injury! And I certainly would have no qualms about Sinisalo becoming our No 1 going forward!