A Cock and Turnbull Story

SamTeàrlachH

SamTeàrlachH

Well-known member
It seems David Turnbull is moving to Norwich. Motherwell have certainly accepted a bid for him. The newly promoted EPL side will easily be able to pick up his wages. Relative to the fiscal conditions of the Scottish Premiership, this is like us signing a player and giving him £6000 per-week. It's peanuts to them, as is the alleged £3.25 million fee they'll pay for the 19-year-old. The narrative will already be pushed, by both our external enemies and the internal Black Cloud Brigade, that we 'lost' Turnbull. We did not. We pulled out of the offer after a stand off with his exceptionally dubious agents and then the Norwich story emerged. There are two ways of looking at this:

1) Celtic were entirely correct to not cave into Turnbull's demands - the ramifications of us paying £20,000 grand per-week to a 19-year-old lad who has played only one full season of senior football is absurd and would set a very dangerous trend for transfers going forward.

2) Celtic have lost a potentially brilliant young player due to the fiscal intransigence of those who run our club. This will be cited as yet another example of 'penny-pinching' by Lawwell and a 'biscuit tin' mentality.

In this scenario, I'm perfectly comfortable with not simply looking at but fully endorsing 1. Imagine if we caved to Turnbull's wage demands? Not only would this unsettle the young and perhaps even mature talent we have in our squad, but it would mean that every time we target a promising player, they're going to expect Turnbull money. Sevco, in their obsessive compulsion to beat us, might be willing to spend silly money on unproven English third tier players like Joe Aribo, but I'm really glad Celtic haven't went down this road.

As for Turnbull, I couldn't give a shit about his fate as a footballer. If the lad wanted to come and play at one of the biggest, most famous clubs in world football with a very good chance of experiencing playing in the biggest tournament in world football, namely the Champions League, he would've made the transfer happen. Agents are powerful, yes, but it's the player that fundamentally adorns them with such power. No matter their influence, their guile and their machinations, they are still employed by the player. I can only conclude that David Turnbull didn't want to play for Celtic.

I write this with very little bitterness, but he will very likely, save some huge change in the culture of the EPL where instant gratification is required (clubs rarely have time for projects when they face relegation and the full financial ramifications of it) and where teams like Norwich can spend big bucks on players easily better than the boy Turnbull, end up as at the very best a squad player for Norwich. He'll play against truly top quality opposition sparingly and he will win, barring a miracle, absolutely no silverware. I think it's true that anyone who turns down Celtic will one day, whether they like it or not, live to regret it, so I feel sorry for Turnbull that he won't get to experience being part of this wonderful club and its culture - he won't experience the constant stimulus of trying to break records and punch above our weight in Europe.

So the Turnbull saga is ended. I'm not going to initiate any more talk about it and I've been relatively surprised by the response of most Celtic fans to the whole affair. Though many distrust Lawwell and the board, reason has prevailed and it can be seen here that they were entirely in the right when it came to negotiations and offers.

So now we move on. And here I might introduce a mere sliver of doom. Sometimes it feels like we were cursed when it comes to transfers. We began last season with a similar saga and it went downhill from there. Is there a problem in our recruitment? Playing for Celtic ought to be an extremely attractive prospect, but it seems that every bit of business is a slog. I think the answer lies more in the general manner in which football is becoming an entirely greed-orientated endeavour. People want riches and fame - the glory, the grit and the hard work comes a distant last.

But there' a logistical side to all this. We're not far away from CL qualification and we seem no nearer now to signing anyone of true note in any of the positions we all know need to be strengthened than we were last summer - or so it seems. This is a major problem. We do need injections into the squad both pragmatically and in terms of re-energising our existing roster of players. I can only hope that there are big moves occurring behind the scenes and beyond the gaze of the hysterical tabloids and their unrepentant will to spout as much bullshit as possible during silly season.

As much as I am not stung, depressed or embittered by the Turnbull saga, I do feel like we need a major transfer lift in the coming week. A real headline grabber, but of course not simply for the sake of headlines. A player or players that will strengthen our squad and expand our horizons. Anyway, apologies for the length of this post, but I wanted to get that off my chest.

HH
 
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SamTeàrlachH said:
It seems David Turnbull is moving to Norwich. Motherwell have certainly accepted a bid for him. The newly promoted EPL side will easily be able to pick up his wages. Relative to the fiscal conditions of the Scottish Premiership, this is like us signing a player and giving him £6000 per-week. It's peanuts to them, as is the alleged £3.25 million fee they'll pay for the 19-year-old. The narrative will already be pushed, by both our external enemies and the internal Black Cloud Brigade, that we 'lost' Turnbull. We did not. We pulled out of the offer after a stand off with his exceptionally dubious agents and then the Norwich story emerged. There are two ways of looking at this:

1) Celtic were entirely correct to not cave into Turnbull's demands - the ramifications of us paying £20,000 grand per-year to a 19-year-old lad who has played only one full season of senior football is absurd and would set a very dangerous trend for transfers going forward.

2) Celtic have lost a potentially brilliant young player due to the fiscal intransigence of those who run our club. This will be cited as yet another example of 'penny-pinching' by Lawwell and a 'biscuit tin' mentality.

In this scenario, I'm perfectly comfortable with not simply looking at but fully endorsing 1. Imagine if we caved to Turnbull's wage demands? Not only would this unsettle the young and perhaps even mature talent we have in our squad, but it would mean that every time we target a promising player, they're going to expect Turnbull money. Sevco, in their obsessive compulsion to beat us, might be willing to spend silly money on unproven English third tier players like Joe Aribo, but I'm really glad Celtic haven't went down this road.

As for Turnbull, I couldn't give a shit about his fate as a footballer. If the lad wanted to come and play at one of the biggest, most famous clubs in world football with a very good chance of experiencing playing in the biggest tournament in world football, namely the Champions League, he would've made the transfer happen. Agents are powerful, yes, but it's the player that fundamentally adorns them with such power. No matter their influence, their guile and their machinations, they are still employed by the player. I can only conclude that David Turnbull didn't want to play for Celtic.

I write this with very little bitterness, but he will very likely, save some huge change in the culture of the EPL where instant gratification is required (clubs rarely have time for projects when they face relegation and the full financial ramifications of it) and where teams like Norwich can spend big bucks on players easily better than the boy Turnbull, end up as at the very best a squad player for Norwich. He'll play against truly top quality opposition sparingly and he will win, barring a miracle, absolutely no silverware. I think it's true that anyone who turns down Celtic will one day, whether they like it or not, live to regret it, so I feel sorry for Turnbull that he won't get to experience being part of this wonderful club and its culture - he won't experience the constant stimulus of trying to break records and punch above our weight in Europe.

So the Turnbull saga is ended. I'm not going to initiate any more talk about it and I've been relatively surprised by the response of most Celtic fans to the whole affair. Though many distrust Lawwell and the board, reason has prevailed and it can be seen here that they were entirely in the right when it came to negotiations and offers.

So now we move on. And here I might introduce a mere sliver of doom. Sometimes it feels like we were cursed when it comes to transfers. We're not far away from CL qualification and we seem no nearer now to signing anyone of true note in any of the positions we all know need to be strengthened than we were last summer - or so it seems. I can only hope that there are big moves occurring behind the scenes and beyond the gaze of the hysterical tabloids and their unrepentant will to spout as much bullshit as possible during silly season.

As much as I am not stung, depressed or embittered by the Turnbull saga, I do feel like we need a major transfer lift in the coming week. A real headline grabber, but of course not simply for the sake of headlines. A player or players that will strengthen our squad and expand our horizons. Anyway, apologies for the length of this post, but I wanted to get that off my chest.

HH
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A cogent and well reasoned analysis sir. I'm impressed. I tend to concur and agree that the Board has to stick to its wage policies. We do not want to copy our neighbours dash to liquidation. Every player in the squad has to feel valued and respected. Prima donnas do not fare well in a team. We have to be a united team with shared goals that gives the fans the victories they crave.
 
SamTeàrlachH said:
It seems David Turnbull is moving to Norwich. Motherwell have certainly accepted a bid for him. The newly promoted EPL side will easily be able to pick up his wages. Relative to the fiscal conditions of the Scottish Premiership, this is like us signing a player and giving him £6000 per-week. It's peanuts to them, as is the alleged £3.25 million fee they'll pay for the 19-year-old. The narrative will already be pushed, by both our external enemies and the internal Black Cloud Brigade, that we 'lost' Turnbull. We did not. We pulled out of the offer after a stand off with his exceptionally dubious agents and then the Norwich story emerged. There are two ways of looking at this:

1) Celtic were entirely correct to not cave into Turnbull's demands - the ramifications of us paying £20,000 grand per-year to a 19-year-old lad who has played only one full season of senior football is absurd and would set a very dangerous trend for transfers going forward.

2) Celtic have lost a potentially brilliant young player due to the fiscal intransigence of those who run our club. This will be cited as yet another example of 'penny-pinching' by Lawwell and a 'biscuit tin' mentality.

In this scenario, I'm perfectly comfortable with not simply looking at but fully endorsing 1. Imagine if we caved to Turnbull's wage demands? Not only would this unsettle the young and perhaps even mature talent we have in our squad, but it would mean that every time we target a promising player, they're going to expect Turnbull money. Sevco, in their obsessive compulsion to beat us, might be willing to spend silly money on unproven English third tier players like Joe Aribo, but I'm really glad Celtic haven't went down this road.

As for Turnbull, I couldn't give a shit about his fate as a footballer. If the lad wanted to come and play at one of the biggest, most famous clubs in world football with a very good chance of experiencing playing in the biggest tournament in world football, namely the Champions League, he would've made the transfer happen. Agents are powerful, yes, but it's the player that fundamentally adorns them with such power. No matter their influence, their guile and their machinations, they are still employed by the player. I can only conclude that David Turnbull didn't want to play for Celtic.

I write this with very little bitterness, but he will very likely, save some huge change in the culture of the EPL where instant gratification is required (clubs rarely have time for projects when they face relegation and the full financial ramifications of it) and where teams like Norwich can spend big bucks on players easily better than the boy Turnbull, end up as at the very best a squad player for Norwich. He'll play against truly top quality opposition sparingly and he will win, barring a miracle, absolutely no silverware. I think it's true that anyone who turns down Celtic will one day, whether they like it or not, live to regret it, so I feel sorry for Turnbull that he won't get to experience being part of this wonderful club and its culture - he won't experience the constant stimulus of trying to break records and punch above our weight in Europe.

So the Turnbull saga is ended. I'm not going to initiate any more talk about it and I've been relatively surprised by the response of most Celtic fans to the whole affair. Though many distrust Lawwell and the board, reason has prevailed and it can be seen here that they were entirely in the right when it came to negotiations and offers.

So now we move on. And here I might introduce a mere sliver of doom. Sometimes it feels like we were cursed when it comes to transfers. We began last season with a similar saga and it went downhill from there. Is there a problem in our recruitment? Playing for Celtic ought to be an extremely attractive prospect, but it seems that every bit of business is a slog. I think the answer lies more in the general manner in which football is becoming an entirely greed-orientated endeavour. People want riches and fame - the glory comes a distant last.

But there' a logistical side to all this. We're not far away from CL qualification and we seem no nearer now to signing anyone of true note in any of the positions we all know need to be strengthened than we were last summer - or so it seems. This is a major problem. We do need injections into the squad both pragmatically and in terms of re-energising our existing roster of players. I can only hope that there are big moves occurring behind the scenes and beyond the gaze of the hysterical tabloids and their unrepentant will to spout as much bullshit as possible during silly season.

As much as I am not stung, depressed or embittered by the Turnbull saga, I do feel like we need a major transfer lift in the coming week. A real headline grabber, but of course not simply for the sake of headlines. A player or players that will strengthen our squad and expand our horizons. Anyway, apologies for the length of this post, but I wanted to get that off my chest.

HH
Click to expand...
Less pressure for him playing for Norwich were avoiding relegations a huge achievement ?good luck to him ,he'll need it
 
Last edited by a moderator:
SamTeàrlachH said:
It seems David Turnbull is moving to Norwich. Motherwell have certainly accepted a bid for him. The newly promoted EPL side will easily be able to pick up his wages. Relative to the fiscal conditions of the Scottish Premiership, this is like us signing a player and giving him £6000 per-week. It's peanuts to them, as is the alleged £3.25 million fee they'll pay for the 19-year-old. The narrative will already be pushed, by both our external enemies and the internal Black Cloud Brigade, that we 'lost' Turnbull. We did not. We pulled out of the offer after a stand off with his exceptionally dubious agents and then the Norwich story emerged. There are two ways of looking at this:

1) Celtic were entirely correct to not cave into Turnbull's demands - the ramifications of us paying £20,000 grand per-year to a 19-year-old lad who has played only one full season of senior football is absurd and would set a very dangerous trend for transfers going forward.

2) Celtic have lost a potentially brilliant young player due to the fiscal intransigence of those who run our club. This will be cited as yet another example of 'penny-pinching' by Lawwell and a 'biscuit tin' mentality.

In this scenario, I'm perfectly comfortable with not simply looking at but fully endorsing 1. Imagine if we caved to Turnbull's wage demands? Not only would this unsettle the young and perhaps even mature talent we have in our squad, but it would mean that every time we target a promising player, they're going to expect Turnbull money. Sevco, in their obsessive compulsion to beat us, might be willing to spend silly money on unproven English third tier players like Joe Aribo, but I'm really glad Celtic haven't went down this road.

As for Turnbull, I couldn't give a shit about his fate as a footballer. If the lad wanted to come and play at one of the biggest, most famous clubs in world football with a very good chance of experiencing playing in the biggest tournament in world football, namely the Champions League, he would've made the transfer happen. Agents are powerful, yes, but it's the player that fundamentally adorns them with such power. No matter their influence, their guile and their machinations, they are still employed by the player. I can only conclude that David Turnbull didn't want to play for Celtic.

I write this with very little bitterness, but he will very likely, save some huge change in the culture of the EPL where instant gratification is required (clubs rarely have time for projects when they face relegation and the full financial ramifications of it) and where teams like Norwich can spend big bucks on players easily better than the boy Turnbull, end up as at the very best a squad player for Norwich. He'll play against truly top quality opposition sparingly and he will win, barring a miracle, absolutely no silverware. I think it's true that anyone who turns down Celtic will one day, whether they like it or not, live to regret it, so I feel sorry for Turnbull that he won't get to experience being part of this wonderful club and its culture - he won't experience the constant stimulus of trying to break records and punch above our weight in Europe.

So the Turnbull saga is ended. I'm not going to initiate any more talk about it and I've been relatively surprised by the response of most Celtic fans to the whole affair. Though many distrust Lawwell and the board, reason has prevailed and it can be seen here that they were entirely in the right when it came to negotiations and offers.

So now we move on. And here I might introduce a mere sliver of doom. Sometimes it feels like we were cursed when it comes to transfers. We began last season with a similar saga and it went downhill from there. Is there a problem in our recruitment? Playing for Celtic ought to be an extremely attractive prospect, but it seems that every bit of business is a slog. I think the answer lies more in the general manner in which football is becoming an entirely greed-orientated endeavour. People want riches and fame - the glory, the grit and the hard work comes a distant last.

But there' a logistical side to all this. We're not far away from CL qualification and we seem no nearer now to signing anyone of true note in any of the positions we all know need to be strengthened than we were last summer - or so it seems. This is a major problem. We do need injections into the squad both pragmatically and in terms of re-energising our existing roster of players. I can only hope that there are big moves occurring behind the scenes and beyond the gaze of the hysterical tabloids and their unrepentant will to spout as much bullshit as possible during silly season.

As much as I am not stung, depressed or embittered by the Turnbull saga, I do feel like we need a major transfer lift in the coming week. A real headline grabber, but of course not simply for the sake of headlines. A player or players that will strengthen our squad and expand our horizons. Anyway, apologies for the length of this post, but I wanted to get that off my chest.

HH
Click to expand...
great post Sam,we need quality, ambitious,"intelligent" players who can see the big picture,do their stuffand get their big move,Petrov.Henryk,gave us years of service,VVD,Wanyama,Moussa,we provided a stage,turnbull,championship next season
 
People wonder why our national team is pish - the fact many of our players would rather go and play in the hammer-throwing extravaganza that is the English Championship or warm the benches for lower-level EPL clubs has been extraordinary over the past few years. And then when they get down there, they make so much money and want to make even more money by prolonging their career (fine, I'm not opposed to that really), so they rarely want to play for Scotland after a certain age.

But I just can't imagine anything worse than bench-warming for Norwich City when you know you had the chance to play for Celtic - a club that's size dwarfs almost all of the bottom 10 in the EPL put together. But anyway, it's their prerogative. It'll be fascinating to see where all the actors in this saga are in 2 or 3 years.
 
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michael duffy said:
great post Sam,we need quality, ambitious,"intelligent" players who can see the big picture,do their stuffand get their big move,Petrov.Henryk,gave us years of service,VVD,Wanyama,Moussa,we provided a stage,turnbull,championship next season
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Absolutely. We, as Celtic fans, are used to losing our best players when the lure of big money and bigger leagues comes, but these are tried and tested players of the type you mention (a list whose name David Turnbull's will never be included in) who have served the club. Not 19-year-old lads who have played on 30 odd games of senior football.
 
SamTeàrlachH said:
It seems David Turnbull is moving to Norwich. Motherwell have certainly accepted a bid for him. The newly promoted EPL side will easily be able to pick up his wages. Relative to the fiscal conditions of the Scottish Premiership, this is like us signing a player and giving him £6000 per-week. It's peanuts to them, as is the alleged £3.25 million fee they'll pay for the 19-year-old. The narrative will already be pushed, by both our external enemies and the internal Black Cloud Brigade, that we 'lost' Turnbull. We did not. We pulled out of the offer after a stand off with his exceptionally dubious agents and then the Norwich story emerged. There are two ways of looking at this:

1) Celtic were entirely correct to not cave into Turnbull's demands - the ramifications of us paying £20,000 grand per-year to a 19-year-old lad who has played only one full season of senior football is absurd and would set a very dangerous trend for transfers going forward.

2) Celtic have lost a potentially brilliant young player due to the fiscal intransigence of those who run our club. This will be cited as yet another example of 'penny-pinching' by Lawwell and a 'biscuit tin' mentality.

In this scenario, I'm perfectly comfortable with not simply looking at but fully endorsing 1. Imagine if we caved to Turnbull's wage demands? Not only would this unsettle the young and perhaps even mature talent we have in our squad, but it would mean that every time we target a promising player, they're going to expect Turnbull money. Sevco, in their obsessive compulsion to beat us, might be willing to spend silly money on unproven English third tier players like Joe Aribo, but I'm really glad Celtic haven't went down this road.

As for Turnbull, I couldn't give a shit about his fate as a footballer. If the lad wanted to come and play at one of the biggest, most famous clubs in world football with a very good chance of experiencing playing in the biggest tournament in world football, namely the Champions League, he would've made the transfer happen. Agents are powerful, yes, but it's the player that fundamentally adorns them with such power. No matter their influence, their guile and their machinations, they are still employed by the player. I can only conclude that David Turnbull didn't want to play for Celtic.

I write this with very little bitterness, but he will very likely, save some huge change in the culture of the EPL where instant gratification is required (clubs rarely have time for projects when they face relegation and the full financial ramifications of it) and where teams like Norwich can spend big bucks on players easily better than the boy Turnbull, end up as at the very best a squad player for Norwich. He'll play against truly top quality opposition sparingly and he will win, barring a miracle, absolutely no silverware. I think it's true that anyone who turns down Celtic will one day, whether they like it or not, live to regret it, so I feel sorry for Turnbull that he won't get to experience being part of this wonderful club and its culture - he won't experience the constant stimulus of trying to break records and punch above our weight in Europe.

So the Turnbull saga is ended. I'm not going to initiate any more talk about it and I've been relatively surprised by the response of most Celtic fans to the whole affair. Though many distrust Lawwell and the board, reason has prevailed and it can be seen here that they were entirely in the right when it came to negotiations and offers.

So now we move on. And here I might introduce a mere sliver of doom. Sometimes it feels like we were cursed when it comes to transfers. We began last season with a similar saga and it went downhill from there. Is there a problem in our recruitment? Playing for Celtic ought to be an extremely attractive prospect, but it seems that every bit of business is a slog. I think the answer lies more in the general manner in which football is becoming an entirely greed-orientated endeavour. People want riches and fame - the glory, the grit and the hard work comes a distant last.

But there' a logistical side to all this. We're not far away from CL qualification and we seem no nearer now to signing anyone of true note in any of the positions we all know need to be strengthened than we were last summer - or so it seems. This is a major problem. We do need injections into the squad both pragmatically and in terms of re-energising our existing roster of players. I can only hope that there are big moves occurring behind the scenes and beyond the gaze of the hysterical tabloids and their unrepentant will to spout as much bullshit as possible during silly season.

As much as I am not stung, depressed or embittered by the Turnbull saga, I do feel like we need a major transfer lift in the coming week. A real headline grabber, but of course not simply for the sake of headlines. A player or players that will strengthen our squad and expand our horizons. Anyway, apologies for the length of this post, but I wanted to get that off my chest.

HH
Click to expand...
excellent post sam not much to add but we move on ,we were used lesson learned
 
SamTeàrlachH said:
Absolutely. We, as Celtic fans, are used to losing our best players when the lure of big money and bigger leagues comes, but these are tried and tested players of the type you mention (a list whose name David Turnbull's will never be included in) who have served the club. Not 19-year-old lads who have played on 30 odd games of senior football.
Click to expand...
Fisiani had a great post about skill but without mental strength,remember we signed Hartley, Robson,Ledley! decent players but by phuq,were they mentally strong! projects are fine,but imagine those three wi Broony at the biledome! hope Lenny recognises that. HH
 
SamTeàrlachH said:
It seems David Turnbull is moving to Norwich. Motherwell have certainly accepted a bid for him. The newly promoted EPL side will easily be able to pick up his wages. Relative to the fiscal conditions of the Scottish Premiership, this is like us signing a player and giving him £6000 per-week. It's peanuts to them, as is the alleged £3.25 million fee they'll pay for the 19-year-old. The narrative will already be pushed, by both our external enemies and the internal Black Cloud Brigade, that we 'lost' Turnbull. We did not. We pulled out of the offer after a stand off with his exceptionally dubious agents and then the Norwich story emerged. There are two ways of looking at this:

1) Celtic were entirely correct to not cave into Turnbull's demands - the ramifications of us paying £20,000 grand per-year to a 19-year-old lad who has played only one full season of senior football is absurd and would set a very dangerous trend for transfers going forward.

2) Celtic have lost a potentially brilliant young player due to the fiscal intransigence of those who run our club. This will be cited as yet another example of 'penny-pinching' by Lawwell and a 'biscuit tin' mentality.

In this scenario, I'm perfectly comfortable with not simply looking at but fully endorsing 1. Imagine if we caved to Turnbull's wage demands? Not only would this unsettle the young and perhaps even mature talent we have in our squad, but it would mean that every time we target a promising player, they're going to expect Turnbull money. Sevco, in their obsessive compulsion to beat us, might be willing to spend silly money on unproven English third tier players like Joe Aribo, but I'm really glad Celtic haven't went down this road.

As for Turnbull, I couldn't give a shit about his fate as a footballer. If the lad wanted to come and play at one of the biggest, most famous clubs in world football with a very good chance of experiencing playing in the biggest tournament in world football, namely the Champions League, he would've made the transfer happen. Agents are powerful, yes, but it's the player that fundamentally adorns them with such power. No matter their influence, their guile and their machinations, they are still employed by the player. I can only conclude that David Turnbull didn't want to play for Celtic.

I write this with very little bitterness, but he will very likely, save some huge change in the culture of the EPL where instant gratification is required (clubs rarely have time for projects when they face relegation and the full financial ramifications of it) and where teams like Norwich can spend big bucks on players easily better than the boy Turnbull, end up as at the very best a squad player for Norwich. He'll play against truly top quality opposition sparingly and he will win, barring a miracle, absolutely no silverware. I think it's true that anyone who turns down Celtic will one day, whether they like it or not, live to regret it, so I feel sorry for Turnbull that he won't get to experience being part of this wonderful club and its culture - he won't experience the constant stimulus of trying to break records and punch above our weight in Europe.

So the Turnbull saga is ended. I'm not going to initiate any more talk about it and I've been relatively surprised by the response of most Celtic fans to the whole affair. Though many distrust Lawwell and the board, reason has prevailed and it can be seen here that they were entirely in the right when it came to negotiations and offers.

So now we move on. And here I might introduce a mere sliver of doom. Sometimes it feels like we were cursed when it comes to transfers. We began last season with a similar saga and it went downhill from there. Is there a problem in our recruitment? Playing for Celtic ought to be an extremely attractive prospect, but it seems that every bit of business is a slog. I think the answer lies more in the general manner in which football is becoming an entirely greed-orientated endeavour. People want riches and fame - the glory, the grit and the hard work comes a distant last.

But there' a logistical side to all this. We're not far away from CL qualification and we seem no nearer now to signing anyone of true note in any of the positions we all know need to be strengthened than we were last summer - or so it seems. This is a major problem. We do need injections into the squad both pragmatically and in terms of re-energising our existing roster of players. I can only hope that there are big moves occurring behind the scenes and beyond the gaze of the hysterical tabloids and their unrepentant will to spout as much bullshit as possible during silly season.

As much as I am not stung, depressed or embittered by the Turnbull saga, I do feel like we need a major transfer lift in the coming week. A real headline grabber, but of course not simply for the sake of headlines. A player or players that will strengthen our squad and expand our horizons. Anyway, apologies for the length of this post, but I wanted to get that off my chest.

HH
Click to expand...


Is it bad to wish him a career ending injury?

He could probably push trolleys at asda
 
I spent a wee bit of time down in Norwich. Nice wee city, decent folk that love their club, but in relative terms Hearts, Hibs and Aberdeen are all bigger clubs given the same resources and opportunities.

I don't bear the boy any ill will. I hope he makes a decent fist of it for Scotland's sake, but he's yesterday's news - it's time to move on and strengthen the areas that need fixed now.
 
Why waste time over spilled milk. It;s over and done. (" For you David the Chase is over) Bring on the next contestant. The financial success of the season will be known by August 10th. We will by then either be in the lucrative Champions League Group stage in Pot 3 or we will be the Europa League. Europe is the possible icing on the cake. The most important goal next year is three points from every league game.
 
The scary truth is that it looks like Turnbull's agents were correct; he could easily get what seemed to us to be an excessive wage. I'm not advocating that we break our wage structure for one player - definitely not - but it's very worrying. If our "strategy" (if we actually have one) includes identifying and signing the best players from other Scottish clubs then this sets a precedent for those future prospects and their agents. In addition, whether or not we paid this salary, it will still play on the minds of our existing squad: "if Turnbull can get £20k when he's not a Scottish international, hasn't won anything and has had one goodish season, then I should be on £40k". There was a time when £10k per week was reserved for our best player but we soon had to catch up with the times. We might have to do so again, unless we are now content with (a) second tier Scottish prospects, (b) risky project signings from obscure leagues and (c) relying on the loyalty of academy players being severely tested every transfer window. Is there another option? Probably, but it would mean a full rationalisation of our squad size, business model and wage structure. I hope our leadership are carrying out strategic planning like this on an ongoing basis and not just scrunching up memos containing sensitive information and leaving them for cleaners to find...
 
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