Scotland internationals Ikeche Anya and Steven Fletcher might not be coming to Celtic after all. According to Keith Jackson in the Record (yes, I know ) Watford want £4m for Anya and Fletcher will demand £60,000 a week.

Every week.

Jackson says;

 while Celtic manager Ronny Deila would like to have the duo in his squad ahead of the Champions League qualifiers, chief executive Peter Lawwell is believed to be uncomfortable with the sums involved. 

Uncomfortable ?

That’s not the word I would use to describe my feelings if i had to make the decision. In fact, i don’t think i would have considered it for long enough to become uncomfortable.

Fletcher ? £60,000 a week ? You could get a proper striker in for that.

Anya is arguably worth £4m, but he isn’t going to go straight into the first team, and if £4m is available, plus wages, then we could sack these two and get ourselves a champions league quality striker.

So, the headline, which read;

Celtic suffer double transfer blow

as they are priced out of moves for

Scotland duo Steven Fletcher and Ikechi Anya

could easily be altered to something along the lines of..

Celts set to spend to strengthen for Europe

Money is available, but club wants to get it right

Tell you what, I could even do the story;

Ronny Deila and Peter Lawwell were deep in the cabinet room at Celtic Park last night as they discussed how to splash the cash as the Scottish four in a row champions planned their campaign for an assault on Europes biggest prize.

 The highly rated manager knows what he wants ! 

And Peter has promised him he’ll shift heaven and earth to give his own prize asset some assets of his own to shape into the “dream team ” ready to rock the foundations of the established continental giants ! 

Already under consideration are a couple of Scottish internationals, but the scouting network at Celtic, which has eyes and ears all over the world, is looking for the next Gary Hooper, Ki Seung yeung, Virgil van Dijk, Fraser Forster, Nir Biton or Victor Wanyama . 

With Belgian stopper Deydrick Boyata already on board, the signs are the club wants to do business sooner rather than later, and as ever they are keeping their cards close to their chest. 

After all, with the success of previous signings making Celtic millions and millions  of pounds, forcing the club into the worlds top earners, despite having no tv cash to speak of, you can be certain the men behind the wire at Celtic Park won’t let anything slip to their rivals !

See, I didn’t even need to use “swoop ” , “Crack German team ” or “a source said ”

And i don’t even know if Ronny’s back from his break yet, but it’s a positive story, with a few facts and a little bit of conjecture.

Actually, the only bit that isn’t entirely factual is the bit about the two discussing their next move in the cabinet room.

So, why can’t the MSM throw a positive spin on what’s happening down Celtic Way ?

Indeed, why not even give Aberdeen a massive boost ahead of their Europa campaign ? Or Inverness, appearing in Europe for the first time ?

And if i’m not mistaken, St. johnstone are preparing for another campaign, which might offer the best chance of a Scottish side making the group stages of the Europa league as they are now an experienced outfit, who could well surprise a few.

Maybe they won’t, maybe none of them will, but surely they could at least be given some encouragement.

Instead, there’s an Irish chap about to sign for a lower league club;

Who ?

Wow. No wonder Timmy is scared.

It’s not Timmy who is scared. Not if thats the big story to try to shift season books.

Ach, at least we haven’t got a “crack German team ” in for any of our players… unless you read the Daily Mail….

Hamburg target Celtic star Stefan Johansen

as part of summer rebuilding process

So if they aren’t selling our players to lower league English sides, it’s lower league German teams. But then again, the Mail was always obsessed with Germans .

And it appears that the are right behind the new boss at Ibrox, offering their advice;

Johansen has no interest in leaving Celtic, but we did warn him of the company he keeps and perhaps we know where this story has come from, as this chap has a history of  making things up.

Liam Henderson will be back at Celtic after his Norwegian sojourn. Rosenborg wanted to extend his loan, but it appears Ronny has plans for him.

“I have been in contact with Celtic in the last few days and it seems that I will go back there for pre-season.

“I received a message from Celtic that they look forward to seeing me on my return.

“I cannot wait to go home and meet my friends and stuff, but it’s been nice here.

“When I came to Norway, it was important for me to learn about a new culture, a new way to play – and then go back ready to fight for my place at Celtic.

“Celtic is a club I have supported since I was little, and I hope to go back and fight for a spot.”  

Attitude, ability, what more do we want ?

It would have been easy for Henderson to throw a hissy fit and demand a move, but he has proved that he wants to succeed. On his time in Norway , he said;

“If Celtic decide that it’s best I go out on loan again, there is no problem for me to come back here.

“This has been one of the best experiences of my life, and I’ve met so many friends that I am going to keep in touch with for the rest of my life.”

It’ll be like a new signing…. and be honest, if we he wasn’t already a Celt, we’d be happy if we signed him .

Frank MacAvennie, whose media work , er, divides opinion between Celtic fans,  reckons Stefan Scepovic could be a hit next year.

Actually, he has a point, Scepovic does deserve a run in the team, as he does have the knack of being in the right place at the right time around the box, it’s just that the other players didn’t seem to have the knack of putting the ball there as well.

MacAvennie, no mean goalscorer in his day himself, said;

 “I like Scepovic. He is still there, I don’t what’s the issue. I just think he has not had a chance.

“No one wanted Nir Bitton to play. But I was one of the ones who said on radio, ‘go and give the guy six to eight games.’ All of a sudden they were playing them and he ended up probably Celtic’s best player.

“I would say to Scepovic, ‘here, you have six to eight games. Show us what you have got and then we will decide after that.’ You can’t keep taking him out and bringing him in. 

“I saw him when he played his first game last year in a European tie where he saw the keeper off his line, turned and hit one with his back to goal which missed by a yard or so.

“I was doing radio with Gordon Dalziel and said to him, ‘he looks a good player.’ Good players see that, bad players don’t. Gordon Dalziel wouldn’t have seen it!

“But to see a keeper off his line like that is a special talent. “I think you give him eight games and he could prove to be the striker Celtic crave.”  

But then he goes and spoils it. Pity , he was doing so well.

 “Griffiths has been magnificent, he stepped up to the mark. He has done well, but I don’t know if he is going to frighten defenders.

“We need a big striker and I think Scepovic could be that guy. He can save Celtic a lot of money if they give him a run.

“For some reason Ronny Deila doesn’t like what he sees in training. But sometimes you have to say the boy is a goalscorer and play him.

“Ronny wouldn’t have liked Gary Hooper or wee Scott McDonald because they are out and out strikers. He likes runners.

“But sometimes at a club like Celtic you just need a centre-forward. Not a target man, just a poacher who will be there to tap them in rather than these spectacular goals Griffiths hits.

“I would like to see someone who will tap in from a yard when the keeper drops it. I think Scepovic could be the man. I honestly think he could save Celtic a lot of money.”  

The tactic of waiting until the keeper drops it is unlikely to pay off against Barcelona.

We need a little more from our main striker.

But it’s a positive statement  in the main, and MacAvennie deserves credit for talking the club up. Something a lot of ex players have never managed to do.

If the professional hacks aren’t going to say anything nice, then the responsibilty lies with the ex players, and well done to MacAvennie for leading the way.

Afeter we started moaning about Sky TV in previous Diaries, it seems to have caught on and Sky must now be at the very least wondering why they’ve had a run of cancellations north of the border. Those who have cancelled by now would have received an email asking “what have we done wrong ?”

 But it’s multiple choice.

There’s no section where i can send them this picture.

Or, come to think of it, Charlie saiz’s more honest pic…

I’ve no idea what to do next as far as televisiual entertainment is concerned. I hardly watch it these days, as it’s all reality shows and shite soap operas . But i am curious about this little gadget, and would be most obliged if someone who knows about this sort of thing could fully explain it to me.

And, to  anyone else who doesn’t fully understand it, of course.

 A big thank you to the man with the gaelic name again-although I think I’ve worked out who it is !

Anyone watching the Womens World cup ?

I caught a game, purely in the interests of observation and education, and was surprised to see that it’s being played how football should be. And there’s no cheating, feigning injury or gamesmanship.

 Yet while men are paid millions to play the game, women earn a little more than say , a post man, and that has to change. It’s completely unfair.

 Time to get behind the National Postal Workers Union.

Elsewhere, and although they have a bright new manager, and are about to swoop for some bloke from Birmimgham, things behind the scenes at Ibrox are getting a little serious.

On the Rangerssupportersloyal site, it seems the scales have not only fallen off, but they’ve been hoovered up and we’re on to the polishing;

If you’re not that bothered about their ongoing saga, skip this bit. but if you have friends who are of the Ibrox ilk, read it, and then you can gloat. after all, you won’t be the only one. We hear of a former ibrox employee who will be glad when it’s all over.

The post reads :

If you have a look at the Ashley letter of 29 April, it clearly sets out the assets that have been secured. Every fixed asset, including the stadium, is tied to the £5M security.

Ashley has attempted to call in his security on three occasions. The first occasion was the meeting at SD in Mansfield, where Murray & Gilligan requested the draw down of the second tranche of £5M. This was followed by the letter on 20 April and the EGM request on the 26th May. Prior to the EGM, there was a statement in regard to diminution of share value and the concerns that shareholders should have now that RIFC is no longer listed. The letter stated that this lack of transparency and failure in corporate governance is exacerbated by the appointment of a convicted criminal as chairman of the new board.

The facts of the matter are clear. King and his new board are not going to repay this debt. They don’t have £5M and even if we exceed our turnover of last year (£25M – in season cards, matchday expenditure, broadcasting,sponsorship and income for cup competitions, including any prize money) they will continue to ignore this debt.

The operating costs of Rangers were circa £33M in 2014. £3.5M were stripped out of these costs when the eleven player contracts expired. Ceteris paribus, we need to find £4.5M to break even this year. King asked for 22,000 more season card. At my average 5% uplift on last season, you arrive at £4.943 M. Of course match day expenditure would also increase should 45,000 turn up for a mimimum of 18 home games and home cup draws. Once you repay the loans from Taylor & Park of £4.5M, you could, best case scenario, have £5M at your disposal to hire new players, or pay Ashley.

The priority would be to hire new players and hope that the 45,000 turn up every week as their matchday expenditure is the the key to solvency.

This is the model that the board are operating. It is predicated on the fans, the so-called co-investors, paying in advance for another season in The Scottish Championship and spending circa £20M in their Matchday catering experience.

As I have stated on numerous occasions, King will not bankroll the acquisition of the players required to compete in any cup competitions, including The Scottish Cup, which could provide a gateway to Europa Cup games.

The hostile takeover by King, Murray & Gilligan was underfunded. The electioneering promises were lies. In my informed opinion, neither King, Murray and Gilligan are collectively worth more than George Letham, who recently applied for an overdraft to contribute to the loans. Letham’s estimated worth is £600,000, if you exclude the sum he paid for his shares and stamp duties (circa £900,000).

We won’t be seeing much more of King. We now have a new MD to take the heat from the incompetent board. The shares will not be relisted on any exchange unless as FTBR points out, the renewal season ticket forms are used to prove the 18 months of operating income required for listing. There is an assumption of two years expenditure on each and every co-investor. Your debit/credit card will be at the new board’s disposal for next season, so expect to pay for 2016/2017 in May. If Warburton and Weir have won the league with games to spare, the withdrawals from our accounts will be expedited.

Incidentally, no-one seems to have questioned the 5% increase. Why must we pay more. We are still in The Championship with only 10 full time players, most if not all of which should not be playing for any Rangers team. Are we paying 5% for the dubious pleasure of King being our chairman? 

The final piece in this corporate jigsaw is Ashley. We know what he can do to regain the £5M. The money is not important to Ashley. It’s the reputational damage that counts. If every business partner thinks they don’t have to repay any loans, then his business will suffer. Court Action will be imminent. The £5M will be ring-fenced. As Gordon Smith points out, Warburton & Weir will have to hire out of contract players and use loan players extensively.

This model is not robust. I could easily drive a coach and horses through all of it.  

Of course, not all of them will read the signs…

Look, I don’t watch television, so I need to get my entertainment elsewhere.

I’m off. Lot to do  today, and remember, an apple a day won’t just keep the doctor away.

If you throw it hard enough, it keeps everyone away.