A Cock and Turnbull Story

Nope, sorry FB, but there is not even an alternative universe where Celtic can be held to ransom by individual players and their representatives.

This is one of the areas that oft gets overlooked when we are in the market for players. We can often afford the transfer fees, but the emoluments are way out of our league and would eventually cripple the club.

Perhaps it is an inconvenient truth, but that is the world we operate in. I don't know the solution, but Celtic still have a part to play in being a springboard for young talent and if that talent choose to go straight for the big bucks, then financial prudence and good housekeeping have to take precedence.

Of all the things you can level at the board, the expectations of prospective signings and their representatives is a feature out with their control.

It's a problem that the club have to solve, but I admire their stance on this one. If it means we have to make do, then that's what we have to do.

If that other motley crew want to piss more of their bad money in the hope that it pays off, then that's on them, but they'll also have to learn to their cost, that for every VVD, there are two Kouassi's and a couple of any other dud you care to mention.

It may or may not prove costly in the short-term, but I guarantee you'll have a club to support in 10-years. By that time we'll be on Hunbot v4.0 and they'll still be firing more blanks than John Wayne.
 
For me the Turnbull deal stunk from the moment Motherwell put it out that we had a bid accepted
If Norwich are willing to pay him £20,000 pw then so be it but IMO Celtic are correct not too .

I think Celtic have been used to entice interest from down south and I don't think Norwich would have had scouts watching Turnbull last term .

The worry is that if we are getting noted for spotting good young talent then lesser English clubs might be persuaded to let us do all the donkey work and out pay us on wages
 
It's not that I think we should be held to ransom - I state in my post that we should not break our wage structure for this player - it's that whether we take a stand or not is irrelevant; we are going to find it harder again to recruit as a result of the Turnbull matter. If we are content just to let the face of football change around us without reacting, then fine, but you may find that in 10 years we're remembering the good old days when we used to be able to sign second tier Scottish prospects and our stadium still had the top tier open. And if that seems too pessimistic, consider whether we could bring in the players of 20 years ago or even 10 years ago now. The time to act is now, not when it is already too late.
 
The boy or his agent got gready imho.

My take on it is his agent last week thought he would or could hold our club to ransom telling us he had a better offer, when over the weekend he tried to hawk his player to the lower reaches of the EpL. They then came cap in hand yesterday taking the initial offer only for The cake makers club to come in at the last minute, Agent tried to bluff Celtic again only to be sent away with a flee in his ear.

If we had caved every 2 bit shyster that represents a up and coming target of ours would try (I know I know) the same tactic.

IMHO Celtic have played this game correctly, made what they consider a very good offer and stuck to it, we move on, couldn't care what happens now to whats his name (n):eek:
 
michael duffy said:
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
Click to expand...
Exactly MD. Those 3 were not the most technically skillful players (but all still very good), but they would run through walls for you. Robson is from a family of rangers fans but he always gave his all in every match. I think we'll need a couple of these hardened auld heads over the next season or two, as well as the brilliantly skillful lightweight young speed merchants we've been stocking up on recently.
 
Maria said:
No Michael, the sooner these thick fuckeit mercenaries realise what its like to live on a wage the better off the world will be.

Arrogant little fkr. Hope he snaps his cruciate.
Click to expand...
Now now Maria I hope he does both ACLs
Then he’s forced to push a trolley at Tesco’s with a Zimmer frame as they say Every little helps

HH ??
 
I completely agree with everything our board has done on this matter, including the tweet.
If Turnbull was a 24 year old player who had been dominating the SPL for 6 seasons then yes, by all means, his agent can demand more cash. But he isn't is he? Hes an unproven 19 year old who played well in 1 season.
If the worry is that our board have set a precedent for young Scottish players to head to teams like Norwich because they know they can demand more money then fuck them, and that includes our academy players.
I'm fully aware that it's getting harder to find young players who want to win trophies but that's why we have a scouting system. They are paid enough so they can work harder. For every Turnbull and McGinn there is a VVD and KT.
What is the alternative? What if our board buckled and gave into Turnbulls demands?
We would have a team full of angry players and we would find it difficult to sign any future young Scottish stars as their agents would demand the same.
The Celtic board, for once, have sent out the correct messege. If you want glory and the chance to be noticed. Come to Celtic. If you're only looking for a quick buck, need not apply.
Now if our Twitter team could just send out a wee tweet to let everyone know "Rangers" havent beaten us to the signature of Haribo or whatever hes called, as we have made no bid to sign him, just to shut the SMSM up, I would be very grateful.
 
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-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
Click to expand...

Good post and I agree he’s gone move on. The problem is are we moving? Not a peep about any of the main replacements we all know we need. Turnbull was not a player essential to our need to strengthen and it’s the lack of activity in the CB and RB areas.

One thing I am looking at is our wage structure. It’s normal to have one but here’s a question. What if what we think is ok is out of kilter with the real world of football as it is today? What if what we are willing to pay means every target we identify can earn more with shitty little English clubs? What then?

We can set a bar so low that maybe meets our internal financial model, but leaves us priced out of every player who is good enough to take us forward. One massive issue is the current and ongoing financial commitments we have to the minibus full of dross Rogers left us with.

That’s a fortune every week down the fucking drain due to his appalling eye for a player. Every single player in the, they will never play for us category needs to be loaned out to at least get some contribution to their wages. It will also put them in the shop window to hopefully get shot of them.

It’s over a week now and after a good positive start being linked with players it’s all gone worryingly quiet. We made our pitch to Turnbull who knows Celtic’s offer could be beaten by Barnsley. Now it looks like Norwich. It seems to me another example of any uk based player being out of our reach and the need to explore cheaper markets in Eastern Europe, the US and Africa.

Bottom line is we are a club holding a bunch of Provy cheques trying to shop at Harrods.

Starting to get twitchy, I won’t deny it. We need players in right now. Apart from the French lad none of those mentioned I feel are any better than what we have. In fact, not one would go straight into our team. I thought that was the objective?

Get the finger out. Today would be a good day to extricate it. There is a growing feeling of, here we go again. And that grows as each day goes by with nothing happening and will get even worse if those brought in are no more than squad players. Good money after bad should never be part of any financial model. They may fit the model, but if they don’t improve the team, what’s the fucking point?

Michael get the Stella in, I’m in a taxi. :)
 
jinxy67 said:
Yes. A carear threatening injury just because he doesn't sign for us??
Click to expand...


Yeah! For being a mercenary fuck and using my club to bait offers from down south whilst sitting at our table looking us in the eye.

Yeah a career threatening injury.

Might not go down well with you Jinx or others but its how i feel on the subject.

Hope he uses some of his coin to get a hair transplant. They widow peaks are scantily clad.
 
Theverdict1 said:
Good post and I agree he’s gone move on. The problem is are we moving? Not a peep about any of the main replacements we all know we need. Turnbull was not a player essential to our need to strengthen and it’s the lack of activity in the CB and RB areas.

One thing I am looking at is our wage structure. It’s normal to have one but here’s a question. What if what we think is ok is out of kilter with the real world of football as it is today? What if what we are willing to pay means every target we identify can earn more with shitty little English clubs? What then?

We can set a bar so low that maybe meets our internal financial model, but leaves us priced out of every player who is good enough to take us forward. One massive issue is the current and ongoing financial commitments we have to the minibus full of dross Rogers left us with.

That’s a fortune every week down the fucking drain due to his appalling eye for a player. Every single player in the, they will never play for us category needs to be loaned out to at least get some contribution to their wages. It will also put them in the shop window to hopefully get shot of them.

It’s over a week now and after a good positive start being linked with players it’s all gone worryingly quiet. We made our pitch to Turnbull who knows Celtic’s offer could be beaten by Barnsley. Now it looks like Norwich. It seems to me another example of any uk based player being out of our reach and the need to explore cheaper markets in Eastern Europe, the US and Africa.

Bottom line is we are a club holding a bunch of Provy cheques trying to shop at Harrods.

Starting to get twitchy, I won’t deny it. We need players in right now. Apart from the French lad none of those mentioned I feel are any better than what we have. In fact, not one would go straight into our team. I thought that was the objective?

Get the finger out. Today would be a good day to extricate it. There is a growing feeling of, here we go again. And that grows as each day goes by with nothing happening and will get even worse if those brought in are no more than squad players. Good money after bad should never be part of any financial model. They may fit the model, but if they don’t improve the team, what’s the fucking point?

Michael get the Stella in, I’m in a taxi. :)
Click to expand...


Sorry Verdict you asked the frenchies name and i meant to reply yesterday.

Its Christopher Julien.
 
Theverdict1 said:
It was more to do with where is the cunt Maria? The silence is deafening.
Click to expand...

Too funny. But yeah he looked the best prospect of all the names thrown up.

10M would be another record fee for us.

If Sky weren’t making the EPL so rich we wouldn’t look like the poor cousins in comparison.
 
Maria said:
Too funny. But yeah he looked the best prospect of all the names thrown up.

10M would be another record fee for us.

If Sky weren’t making the EPL so rich we wouldn’t look like the poor cousins in comparison.
Click to expand...

It’s not bidding for players it’s getting them. How will a £10m player fit into our 19th century chimney sweep budget?

If the market has moved on, which it has, why in the name of fuck do we even bother trying for British players who can make more at Barnsley?

We are wasting our precious time in a market we can’t even compete with Barnsley. I understand the reasons why we can’t compete, I cannot for the life of me understand why we bother.

Sky is a reality. We may think it’s awful but that changes fuck all. It’s the reality. Reality suggests our market is elsewhere. Not one of the players we are supposedly looking at, apart from Julien, looked worth a single fuck in relation to actually improving us.

That’s an absolute worry. The clock is ticking, a week has gone by and no moves for a RB or CB. That’s the two position we really need better than we have.
 
Theverdict1 said:
It’s not bidding for players it’s getting them. How will a £10m player fit into our 19th century chimney sweep budget?

If the market has moved on, which it has, why in the name of fuck do we even bother trying for British players who can make more at Barnsley?

We are wasting our precious time in a market we can’t even compete with Barnsley. I understand the reasons why we can’t compete, I cannot for the life of me understand why we bother.

Sky is a reality. We may think it’s awful but that changes fuck all. It’s the reality. Reality suggests our market is elsewhere. Not one of the players we are supposedly looking at, apart from Julien, looked worth a single fuck in relation to actually improving us.

That’s an absolute worry. The clock is ticking, a week has gone by and no moves for a RB or CB. That’s the two position we really need better than we have.
Click to expand...


With respect, i know what we need, its glaringly obvious.

What market would you look in and do you think Lenny has been given enough time thus far to look there?

I share your frustration but im more angry at those that cause the unfair imbalance to the game. Like Sky, Uefa etc.

Hopefully a good strong signing is en-route.

We cant all have the English CL winners at our disposal to plunder for loans and freebies
 
Maria said:
With respect, i know what we need, its glaringly obvious.

What market would you look in and do you think Lenny has been given enough time thus far to look there?

I share your frustration but im more angry at those that cause the unfair imbalance to the game. Like Sky, Uefa etc.

Hopefully a good strong signing is en-route.

We cant all have the English CL winners at our disposal to plunder for loans and freebies
Click to expand...

We need to look at markets whose wages are less than ours. At players who see us for what we are, a stepping stone to big money Inn a better league. That attraction requires us to be in the CL. Getting in there means we need to buy quality, we can’t affird the quality if they have options to move to England. Everytime I see a player we are linked with being also looked at by an English club I know it’s over. A pisser but just a matter of fact.
 
Theverdict1 said:
We need to look at markets whose wages are less than ours. At players who see us for what we are, a stepping stone to big money Inn a better league. That attraction requires us to be in the CL. Getting in there means we need to buy quality, we can’t affird the quality if they have options to move to England. Everytime I see a player we are linked with being also looked at by an English club I know it’s over. A pisser but just a matter of fact.
Click to expand...


What markets are cheaper? The baltics? The Nordics?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Members online

Total: 238 (members: 4, guests: 234)

Latest posts

Share this page

Back
Top