Soccer Football - Scottish Premiership - Kilmarnock v Celtic - Rugby Park, Kilmarnock, Scotland, Britain - April 16, 2023 Celtic non-executive Chairman Peter Lawwell in the stands before the match REUTERS/Russell Cheyne
Celtic fans are spoiled for choice when it comes to embarrassing transfer episodes.
Missing out on John McGinn to sign Youssouf Mulumba will take some beating but there are other contenders.
Switching from Steven Fletcher to Willo Flood was a statement of intent. With that Peter Lawwell set Rangers up for three titles in a row as the O** F*** brand was strengthened.
January 2018 was a job lot of dross to help push Brendan Rodgers out the door.
THE CELTIC WAY
Mark Lawwell excelled himself in the summer of 2023 with Paul Tisdale’s efforts last summer a close contender.
Ben Nygren and Kieran Tierney salvaged something from summer 2024 but with Tisdale gone Celtic have shown just how out of touch the entire club is.
Somewhere in what is left of the recruitment team the name of Joel Piroe was discussed.
More than discussed. Talks were advanced. At Falkirk Martin O’Neill mentioned looking at 4,000 players.
Out of them all some people at Celtic decided to make contact with Leeds to see if there was any chance of a helping hand towards scoring goals, winning matches and hopefully lifting the SPFL title.
On Monday the Yorkshire Evening Post published part of the story:
A loan request for Leeds United’s Joel Piroe was met with bemusement and laughed off this week, the YEP understands.
On Friday the YEP reported that reports north of the border that Celtic were in talks with Leeds over a loan move for Piroe were wide of the mark, for numerous reasons.
Club sources have stressed throughout the January window that although Piroe has suitors in the Championship and abroad, he wants to stay and prove himself as a Premier League player and there is no attempt to force him out of Elland Road.
What’s more, a loan would be far less useful to Leeds than a permanent sale, which would be far more helpful with their Profitability and Sustainability position and their hopes of signing another target-man in the window.
The YEP has learned however that Celtic did make the suggestion, which did not lead to talks but was laughed off in bemusement due to the Scottish club’s apparent lack of appreciation for the relationship between 49ers Enterprises’ two clubs.
The question was raised if Celtic’s suggestion was a serious one. Leeds and Rangers boast two entirely separate operations and two sets of decision makers when it comes to day-to-day business, but enjoy a close working relationship.
49ers Enterprises supremo Paraag Marathe is chairman of Leeds and vice chairman of Rangers. The idea of him sanctioning the move of a player from one of his clubs to aid a direct title rival of his other club is a bizarre one – particularly because the suggestion was for a loan.
While Celtic could match Piroe’s wages, the same can be said for a number of Championship clubs, so if Marathe and Leeds wanted the striker off the books in a temporary move there would be other options open to them.
49ers Enterprises got their Ibrox tenure off to a rocky start with the ill-fated appointment of Russell Martin, before Danny Rohl was brought in and the team’s fortunes changed on the pitch.
Marathe’s Scottish club now find themselves in a title race and have strengthened in the January window with a trio of new arrivals.
Hearts remain top of the table with Celtic, whose supporters staged angry demonstrations at the board after a defeat by Rangers, in second place ahead of Rangers on goal difference.
Hoops fans have vented anger at the running of the club, the disastrously short managerial reign of Wilfried Nancy and January transfer frustrations.
Sunderland hijacked their attempt to sign Jocelin Ta Bi and on Saturday night it was reported in Scotland that transfer target Franko Kovacevic was set to move to Robbie Keane’s Ferencvaros.
The almost inevitable fate of their Piroe enquiry led to further criticism online. Returning boss Martin O’Neill has said Celtic are making progress towards signings and deemed them ‘essential’ this month.
CELTIC’S REPUTATION IS TANKED
The Piroe story has been published. No doubt there are other stories of Celtic’s incompetence doing the rounds whenever CEO’s and Directors of Football get together.
Whenever a call or email comes in from Celtic smiles break out.
Clubs know that they aren’t dealing with a serious operator. They will take on board the message, knock it back and wonder how on earth a club operates in such a manner.
Meanwhile with the help of their obliging media messengers Celtic console themselves with the title of being the best run and most admired club in Europe.
There is more life in a tramps jacket lying inside a funeral parlour than what’s happening in transfer market at our club.
As for MON,rumours doing the rounds is that he is ready walk should no signings come in,and even if they do he still won’t see the season out with us.
.
Yir playing a belter Scud. With the Joker on the wing and Madman thru the middle and Stephen as backup yir lineup is better than anything Nancy Bhoy could conjure up.
Keep it up.
You wouldn’t believe this if it was any other clubs board,but alas it’s the Celtic board through and through ,rank amateurs a total embarrassment, remember the chairman of the Dutch club openly called Celtic amateurs and couldn’t believe a board could act like ours.I just wish Martin would jump ship and leave this lot totally rudderless and clueless,I know it may cost us the league but if we don’t get any decent first team ready players in this window the league is gone anyway,and if Martin went it would put our bunch of chances including the Irish bully right in the negative spotlight.I just despair how badly we have regressed and no one at board level gives a fuck,or so it seems.
Bunch of CHANCERS, predictive text grrr.
You can’t be this bad at your job unless you deliberately are trying.
Joe in your in relation to our enquiry forJoel Piroe you state talks were “More than discussed. Talks were advanced”. How could they be advanced if it was laughed at?
Editor: Internally at Celtic. The world class recruitment team assembled by Iron Man Nicholson thought that they were onto something.
Is there a world class breakfast to go with that.
?
Aye, buckleys
Embarrassed? You need to have some degree of self awareness to be embarrassed and these clowns have none..
Effin imbecilic.
Anyone else reaching the stage if someone asks who you support you just say “ am no really bothered about football”….
70-90m in the bank and hawking around for loanees.
Someone doesn’t want the balance to go down….wonder who that would be?
The biggest individual shareholder perhaps?
It’s gonna reach the stage nobody is going to want to do business with us at all.
They won’t even lift the phone when the secretary tells them it’s Celtic on the blower, why would you?
@ Bhoy4life.
What ???
Like what Nicholson did to Birmingham City in the summer transfer window when they were trying to sign Yang ??
Ah don’t follow football I support Celtic.
Jeezo.
…and that’s just what has been made public so far.
Perhaps it’s payback time to the Celtic Board for all the low-balling, protracted / frustrating dealings they have had over recent
years with other clubs?
If MN et al are regarded as time wasters / tyre kickers, then why would you even bother with them?
The Board might have the intent to spend money, but other clubs just don’t want the hassle…?
We have to accept where we are. We need MON to leave now.
That leaves the board open, and that is what we need. We need DD and the board to have nowhere to run.
What we do as a support now will set the path for next 20yrs.
All I can think of as Lucan was going down to negotiate with Leeds was…
Bellend at Ellend Road !