Whilst we are probably more aware than most that any signings who turn out to be quite good will be off as soon as somebody down south wants them, its still a little disheartening to see players moved on before they even pull on the shirt.

Celtic have turned £10million into £50million and Kouassi

Eboue is next player to fit the ‘buy cheap sell big’ policy.

Note that for Celtic, it’s a policy. an exclusive policy, and whilst the article, written by David McCarthy, praises the” buy cheap sell big ” ideal, you can’t help but think there’s a criticism in there somewhere.

Or that we’re the only ones doing it.

Football is first and foremost a business these days. Manchester City aren’t buying up players who will never play for the team just to stop them playing for someone else. They buy them because they have a resale value and they will make money on them further down the line. Proces for players aren’t going to go down in general, so buy paying for a Denaayer, a Roberts or a Boyata they know that all they have to do is loan them out, and if they are a success, they make money.

Sort of a rent a player scheme, but unlike with cars, the value is more likely to increase.

All Celtic have done, as has always been the case, is find better scouts who can spot the Wanyamas, the van Dijks and the Dembeles who are available at the right price at the right time. Not to play this down, of course, its nice to have these players around , even for a couple of years.

The problem now is that other English sides will have seen the profit for Southampton and will look north for their next investment. That way they can snap a player up for £10-15m and sell him on for a huge profit.

For Celtic, and for everyone else, thats the reality now. It’s almost as though winning trophies is a secondary concern for directors, but we kind of knew that already.

McCarthy’s article, like so many in the media, misses the point, such is his enthusiasm to remind any Celtic fans daft enough to pay for his drivel, that we might have some good players in now, but they’ll be gone soon.

Its not just us. It’s football in the 21st century.

Fortunately for Celtic, we have a manager who knows the value of players. Then he adds a bit on because he knows that someone will pay it.

Quoted from the McCarthy article, rodgers explains at length how it all works..

“Celtic get a couple of million a year from TV money – down there (England) you are getting £100m if you finish bottom. So absolutely every penny we get in here at Celtic has to be worked for.

“There is a real unity here at Celtic and that makes for an integrity within the club because everyone understands what we are trying to do.

“We are trying to go down a different route and for me not having loads of money to go out and buy the big players means a real chance to get back on the training field and really go out and work with players and try to improve them and influence the club. That has been exciting. 

“You know at Celtic that if you get a really talented player then the cycle at best is a couple of years, like Wanyama and van Dijk and Ki.

“If they have that quality then it is a great platform for them to demonstrate that and then they know there is a better financial situation down south.

If he is enjoying it, then maybe the players are as well. If the players believe  the manager when he tells them they’ll get the big money move one day, then there’s less chance of their agent telling them its now or never.

Moussa Dembele is a case in point. He could get his big move tomorrow, and then at least two more during his career. If thats what he wants to do.

Rodgers, again from the McCarthy article, says;

 “Moussa and his agent could have gone somewhere else for a lot more money but there are still parts of his game he can improve.

“He wanted to go and develop but he wanted to do it in a pressurised situation and anyone who knows anything about Celtic will tell you that we are expected to win every game and deliver trophies.

“It (a transfer) won’t be January for Moussa. The difference for him is that now he’s with Celtic, if he does leave he won’t be going to a bottom-end Premier League side.

“The money can distort the reality for young players. It takes away from performing and winning things and having games under your belt.

“Now because the rewards can be given out so quickly, a lot of young players lose sight of that.

“It is the clever ones who put themselves on a pathway to perform, knowing that the rewards will come if they keep on producing.” 

You get the feeling that in the dressing room Rodgers plays down the financial aspect for the players, and concentrates on achieving on the field. After all, anyone at that level can get a big contract down south, but not everyone can tell the kids about his medals.

This , in turn , will lead to a team that is hungry for success, and the key word there is team.

You know, I’m still gutted we didn’t make the Europa League knockout rounds this year. Another final would have been nice.

Kouassi Eboue has had his medical, has agreed terms with the club and now has to wait for a work permit. If the club have gone this far you would like to think that there should be no issue with this, especially as we’re not dealing solely with the SFA.

This could see Nir Biton move out, with Fulham among those interested, where he would be re-united with Stefan Johansen.

Remember him ?

It would have been interesting to see if Rodgers could have ironed out the roughness in Johansens play, as his energy, eye for goal and ferocity in the tackle just needed that wee bit more direction and he could have been a top,  top player.

But maybe he didn’t buy into the medal idea. He recently became a father, and no doubt providing for his family was paramount when deciding to take the money rather than the chance to improve himself.

Forgotten defender Deydryck Boyata is paying the price for having a difficult to spell first name, and he will probably exit stage left this month. Having had his confidence shattered at Manchester City, he never really seemed to regain it at Celtic, and although there’s no doubt theres a player in there, no-one seems to be able to convince him there is.

Efe Ambrose will be away, so too will Nadir Ciftci.

The wages saved here will pay the wages of a couple of new players, and the forst chunk of van Dijk money covers the transfer fee.

I’d be surprised to see any of the Scottish players leave, unless they aren’t wanted. The rebirth of James Forrest and Stuart Armstrong has shown that if you work hard and perform on the pitch, you’ll get a shot. For those already on the books, the message is clear.

Perhaps the most remarkable improvement, though, is in Calum MacGregor.

Not yet a first choice, but a more than dependable back up, the youngster has not only turned his game around, but appears to have turned his life around.

His decision to move back home after his drink driving problem has paid off, and the one time Timmy big time is now a much more mature prospect. He simply does what he’s told on the park, and if you keep your eye on him during a game, he is always there to take a pass, and always quick to move it on.

Paul Telfer was the same. A type of player essential to any team, but never one to make the headlines.

Henri Lansbury, an attacking midfielder at Nottingham forest is interesting Celtic, if you believe what you read in the papers, and whilst I’ve no idea if there’s anything in that story-Celtic Park is on lockdown as far as information is comcerned-  its probably fair to say that the papers don’t know either.

The signing of Eboue came out of the blue, and because now other clubs will be watching hwere Celtic do their buying, secrecy is paramount, and so I wouldn’t pay a great deal of attention to the rags.

Popular blogger John James , a constant thorn in the side of “rangers ” and their directors has gone for the jugular with a complaint to the Financial Conduct Authority . you can see it on this link..

In it, he does what the SMSM should be doing, and draws attention to the unique financial activities at Ibrox, and asks for the Authority to have a look at it.

john-james-complaint

 The thing that strikes me, and no doubt it’ll hit you as well, is that no one else has thought of doing this. JJ deserves praise for taking on the issue, and any support that can be mustered, but again, the issue is confined to football related websites.

So I’d keep an eye on news websites if i were you, as I’m going to try to widen the issue….in view of this offering from Michael Grant of the times, who appears to actively condone tax evasion , fraud and cheating within the game.

Which is not quite what we meant when we asked the SMSM to look into the issue.

An issue they are looking into, presumably at the request of a PR company to deflect attention away from Mark Warburton, whose season will be finished if Motherwell beat “rangers ” in the Scottish Cup, by reminding readers of Paul le Guen, who tried to change things at the club and was bombed out when he upset captain Baz Ferguson by telling him he was bloody useless.

And not to be left out, The Record..

Former Rangers midfielder Gavin Rae blasts Paul Le Guen 10 years on after he ‘used’ him in Barry Ferguson row

clearly agenda based, and more importantly, clearly designed to take attention away from the fact that with no income for the next three weeks, the shit is about to hit the fan over there.

Yesterday we had this fond memory…

which gave us this memorable line which reminds us..