Sold Down the River

Winning Captains

Winning Captains

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Niall J's opinion piece on The Celtic Star yesterday has resulted in a huge reaction from among The Celtic support and opinions seem to be split right down the middle.

Don't know if you have been keeping up with this over the weekend, but if not here's a catch up.

Here's Niall's original article...

https://thecelticstar.com/sold-down...-weeks-deflections-tactics-from-celtic-board/

And some responses from last night...

https://thecelticstar.com/some-feed...-can-with-the-rebel-alliance-where-do-i-sign/

And more still from this morning...

https://thecelticstar.com/sold-down-the-river-more-supporters-respond-running-to-stand-still/

And here's a warning about what happens when Celtic sell their star player and do NOT re-invest the money into the team...

https://thecelticstar.com/his-departure-was-devastating-for-celtic-and-the-support/

Let's have your thoughts. Do you agree with Niall or is he talking nonsense?
 
Buttons for a player of his quality but still a huge amount of money for a Scottish club.Don't think he got dragged down there kickin and screaming ,i think the guy wanted to go.If we bring in a couple of quality players before the window closes i think its a good deal for both parties.HH
 
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"Deflecting to the player is somewhat shameful. Only the acceptance of a £25million bid even gave Kieran Tierney a choice to make. He was entitled to make that choice. I wrote early last month that should it come down to it I’d be happy to let Kieran make his own decision. The club did nothing to keep him. Not a thing."

This is just flat out wrong. I get the anger and the constant need to blame 'the board' and Peter Lawwell for pretty much everything, but, in the case of Kieran Tierney leaving Celtic, the anger is entirely misplaced.

Celtic accepted the £25 million offer ON THE BASIS of KT telling them that he wanted to leave. He was given an offer by Arsenal and, after a period of interpersonal consultation with friends and family, he decided to accept the offer. Don't take my word for it - take KT's own words for it. He has wanted the move since he first about it at the end of the season. He said that. He didn't say that Peter Lawwell was kicking him out the door or selling him, or anyone, 'down the river', but rather that he had told Celtic that he wanted to leave.

Celtic, at this point, could've said no to him and then caused a huge issue, with transfer requests and friction within the squad. Instead, they decided that they'd sell him at the over-reasonable price of £25 million with other stipulations, such as sell-on clauses. They were in a triple dilemma of 1) Tierney wanting to leave Celtic, 2) not wanting to sell him on the cheap, and 3) not pricing him out of a move and having an unhappy, restless player on your hands.

Kieran Tierney left Celtic because he wanted to leave Celtic. He said it in plain english. He had 'lived the dream' and now wanted to move onto Arsenal. It's on him. If KT said to Celtic that he didn't want to leave, he would not have been sold. Lenny and the Celtic hierarchy have stated this on numerous occasions.
 
Interviewer: "You're obviously a boyhood Celtic fan. How tough a decision was it to leave the club and why did you feel like Arsenal's the right move for you?"

Kieran Tierney: "Yeah, it was the hardest decision in my whole life that I've had to make. I had to speak to my family and my close friends and my agent as well because it's a hard decision to leave a club that you love so much. People need to know that as well. I feel Arsenal is a massive club and it's a great opportunity for me as well. I'm delighted to be here."

No talk of being forced out the door. It's a complete fantasy. If KT had told Lenny and the Celtic hierarchy that he wanted to stay at Celtic, he'd still be a Celtic player. If people really need to be angry, they ought to be angry at Tierney. But I'd advise not being angry about any of it. We move on. We always have. But all of this anti-Lawwell stuff is bordering on the absurd. Criticise the man for what we know he does, not for what we imagine he has done.
 
SamTeàrlachH said:
the above is from:

https://www.arsenal.com/news/i-was-down-park-when-i-got-call
Click to expand...

Sam, think you need to go back further to get what Niall is saying. Last summer Celtic tried to sell him to Everton, they seemed desperate to do so actually. The £25m figure was long agreed between the parties (club and player/player's agent). The truth is that after the season he endured last year and knowing that the club wanted to cash in on a £25m academy player, he'd got his head round the move and was ready for it. It is a win win IF there is money invested in the team, as happened when McGeady was sold.

Best of luck to KT, he'll do just fine down there.
 
Winning Captains said:
Sam, think you need to go back further to get what Niall is saying. Last summer Celtic tried to sell him to Everton, they seemed desperate to do so actually. The £25m figure was long agreed between the parties (club and player/player's agent). The truth is that after the season he endured last year and knowing that the club wanted to cash in on a £25m academy player, he'd got his head round the move and was ready for it. It is a win win IF there is money invested in the team, as happened when McGeady was sold.

Best of luck to KT, he'll do just fine down there.
Click to expand...

Sorry, where is the evidence that Celtic wanted to sell him to Everton? That's just a load of conjecture and it makes no sense. Again, since no one can prove that Celtic forced KT out the door physically, they now want to act as if he was psychologically programmed to leave Celtic? Seriously? Kieran Tierney could've stayed at Celtic. Kieran Tierney has said that the decision to leave the club was HIS OWN DECISION. What more do people want? The player has said what happened. Is he involved in a conspiracy to pretend that Celtic didn't want to sell him?

It's genuinely barmy lads.
 
Did Kieran tell them he wanted to leave? Or did he react to the acceptance of the bid? Or was it really all arranged last summer?
Interesting article from Green tinted specs site and the Radio Scotland interview with his previous agent.
https://greentintedspecs.co.uk/category/news/
You know what maybe they both had it done and dusted weeks ago but to absolve themselves of all blame by way of the club statement is disingenuous.
As for Arsenal statement. I wouldn't expect any talk of forcing out a door to be carried by the receiving club.
My point is and was, the club said they tried to keep him. Did they?
If he wanted to go fine as I said in the article. But what did the club actually do?
 
From what I remember, the entire rumour about Celtic agreeing to sell Tierney to Everton came about from the conjecture of a man, entirely unconnected to both Celtic and Everton, called Ian McGarry. His claims were entirely untrue and, as Tierney has said since he left Celtic by his own free will, his decision to leave Celtic was a personal decision. Not a foregone conclusion, but something he had to consult people about. You don't consult people about something inevitable. You don't use phrases like 'hardest decision in my life' if there was actually no decision to make at all, as is the claim from the conspiracy theorists. Or 'Kieran Tierney truth' movement, as they ought to be known.

But I really can't get my head around why people have chosen to believe this fantasy. I guess it's a means to release their anger at such a great young player choosing to leave our club. I personally of course wish he stayed, but I'm over it now.
 
Niall J said:
Did Kieran tell them he wanted to leave? Or did he react to the acceptance of the bid? Or was it really all arranged last summer?
Interesting article from Green tinted specs site and the Radio Scotland interview with his previous agent.
https://greentintedspecs.co.uk/category/news/
You know what maybe they both had it done and dusted weeks ago but to absolve themselves of all blame by way of the club statement is disingenuous.
As for Arsenal statement. I wouldn't expect any talk of forcing out a door to be carried by the receiving club.
My point is and was, the club said they tried to keep him. Did they?
If he wanted to go fine as I said in the article. But what did the club actually do?
Click to expand...

As Kieran Tierney said, the decision for him to leave Celtic for Arsenal was taken by him this summer. Do you think he's lying?
 
And, given it took Arsenal three bids to actually clinch the player, the idea that all of this was decided last summer is absurd beyond belief. Tierney might've known that a host of clubs were interested in him for years now, but none of that becomes reality until a bid comes in. Celtic did not want to sell Tierney, but once he had indicated to them that he wanted to leave, they had to ensure that their minimum selling criteria was met.

Unless it was all a big stage-managed conspiracy that involves all this being arranged last summer and where we have to think that Arsenal's failed bids were mere theatre that was all part of the deception, as was Neil Lennon saying repeatedly he wanted KT to stay and there was no need to sell him, as was Celtic saying they wanted KT to stay and there was no need to sell, as was KT saying that it was his own free decision to leave. KT's main concern was the two clubs not coming to terms - his main worry was Arsenal not coming in with a third bid; hence why he was down the park with his mates when he heard about it. Arsenal didn't produce the bid until the last minute, forcing his hectic departure to seal the deal. There was nothing pre-arranged about this.

I'm going to stop now, as it's clear that this is not a matter of rational debate, but of fantastical conviction regarding a fantasy narrative. So I'm bowing out. Peace to all.
 
SamTeàrlachH said:
As Kieran Tierney said, the decision for him to leave Celtic for Arsenal was taken by him this summer. Do you think he's lying?
Click to expand...
No Sam I don't and I'm sure he had a decision to make and I'd hope my article in no way made out a player I adored to be a liar. In fact I know it didn't and I know you don't believe I would call him that.
If you read past previous articles I've actually fully agreed with his being given the choice, in fact I wrote an entire piece on why the choice should be his. I even mentioned that in the article being debated.
My point was more the club statement absolving themselves of blame and using sources in advance to lay the road to blamelessness.
If Kieran accepted he wanted to go that's one thing and as I previously wrote I'd defend his position to choose. The club however in my own opinion saw a storm coming and left the player to take the fall and it's part of a strategy to sell the silver every year. Just be honest about that is all I was saying.
 
SamTeàrlachH said:
Sorry, where is the evidence that Celtic wanted to sell him to Everton? That's just a load of conjecture and it makes no sense. Again, since no one can prove that Celtic forced KT out the door physically, they now want to act as if he was psychologically programmed to leave Celtic? Seriously? Kieran Tierney could've stayed at Celtic. Kieran Tierney has said that the decision to leave the club was HIS OWN DECISION. What more do people want? The player has said what happened. Is he involved in a conspiracy to pretend that Celtic didn't want to sell him?

It's genuinely barmy lads.
Click to expand...
Great post 100per cent on the button you cannot hang cuff any one to a job get real he is not anyone’s property give the guy break you do what you do in life as the old saying in the Animals 60s hit (it’s my life and I do what I want) wish him all the best for the future ,will always remembered forever in GREEN real happy memories thanks Celtic legend
 
Niall J said:
No Sam I don't and I'm sure he had a decision to make and I'd hope my article in no way made out a player I adored to be a liar. In fact I know it didn't and I know you don't believe I would call him that.
If you read past previous articles I've actually fully agreed with his being given the choice, in fact I wrote an entire piece on why the choice should be his. I even mentioned that in the article being debated.
My point was more the club statement absolving themselves of blame and using sources in advance to lay the road to blamelessness.
If Kieran accepted he wanted to go that's one thing and as I previously wrote I'd defend his position to choose. The club however in my own opinion saw a storm coming and left the player to take the fall and it's part of a strategy to sell the silver every year. Just be honest about that is all I was saying.
Click to expand...

No, I'll briefly go back on my previous promise to bow out to clear up that I wasn't saying you were calling KT a liar, and nor did your article give that impression, but I was merely asking, given the logic of your comment, if you thought he was lying about the nature of his leaving. Look I understand your position on it. I disagree with it. I am now going to move on and focus on the future. I don't think the Celtic board did anything wrong, except perhaps for not holding out for more money, though if a player wants to leave and you price him out of that move, the omens would be ill.

But anyway, I hope that's cleared it up. Absolutely not saying you're calling KT a liar.
 
Chubbstar 51 said:
Great post 100per cent on the button you cannot hang cuff any one to a job get real he is not anyone’s property give the guy break you do what you do in life as the old saying in the Animals 60s hit (it’s my life and I do what I want) wish him all the best for the future ,will always remembered forever in GREEN real happy memories thanks Celtic legend
Click to expand...
It’s just like any job , if you feel the need to move so what ,it’s your decision,sometimes you really do need a change ! Who knows he may be back at some point ,? hh
 
SamTeàrlachH said:
No, I'll briefly go back on my previous promise to bow out to clear up that I wasn't saying you were calling KT a liar, and nor did your article give that impression, but I was merely asking, given the logic of your comment, if you thought he was lying about the nature of his leaving. Look I understand your position on it. I disagree with it. I am now going to move on and focus on the future. I don't think the Celtic board did anything wrong, except perhaps for not holding out for more money, though if a player wants to leave and you price him out of that move, the omens would be ill.

But anyway, I hope that's cleared it up. Absolutely not saying you're calling KT a liar.
Click to expand...
I knew you weren't doing that Sam, and as ever I appreciate a balanced response and debate from you in particular.
I actually fully respected Tierney's decision to move. No worries. I still hope he comes back and he's one of few players who leave whose career I'll follow with genuine support. I do think the board's statement was somewhat deflective and I felt it was pre-conceived and deliberate to avoid criticism.
My own opinion is Tierney wants to challenge himself and Celtic nailed a Scottish record fee happy days. The only issue I had was the club statement that they tried ever so hard to keep him. I don't believe they did. As ever Sam I fully respect your views as only ever in the interest of Celtic. HH.
 
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