If there is ever a ‘prize’ for the most confused transfer window in Celtic history it must be awarded to January 2010.
Unwisely, earlier in the season Tony Mowbray sent dressing room morale through the floor by joking that in an ideal world he’s want to bring in 11 new faces in January.
Gary Caldwell and Stephen McManus were among those that the new boss wasn’t keen on, across the Celtic support they weren’t held in particularly high regard but one of their replacements certainly required getting used to.
Scandinavia was thought on as a good source of players, used to the weather and the sturdy types that can adapt and revel in the demands of footballing life in Glasgow.
Mowbray liked with he saw at AIK Solna with £1.8m paid for the Dutch defender playing in Sweden.
An hour into his second game and the season was over for the iron man defender. February 2 at Rugby Park won’t be forgotten in a hurry as the January transfer policy came unstuck on Robbie Keane’s debut.
By the time Hooiveld had returned to fitness Neil Lennon was in charge and steering well clear of Mowbray signings.
Needs must and the grinning Dutchman was in the team that lost 3-0 away to Braga to end any thoughts of a return to the Champions League with a total of seven appearances before Christmas and a loan deal to Copenhagen.
Southampton was the next port of call where his game flourished with Celtic getting a chunk of their fee back when the Saints won promotion to the Premier League.
In front of Artur Boris and alongside names such as Ricky Lambert, Adam Lallana and Nathaniel Clyne, Hooiveld started 23 matches in the Premier League.
That high was followed by Championship loans to Norwich and Millwall, a return to AIK Solna then onto FC Twente in January although he has still to make his debut.
It’s rarely dull around Hooiveld, he’ll turn 34 next month with a few chapters still to write although a second stint at Celtic seems unlikely.