Celtic Rumours Archive January 23 2013

23 Jan 2013 21:46:46
would I be right in saying if Hooper remains at Celtic during this window and then leaves in the summer we will get less money? he would then be in the last year of his contract, come Jan 2014 he would be able to sign a pre-contract with someone, I just hope this doesn't backfire. wouldn't be good business if we end up getting 4m for him or zero come this time next year. Ian L

I think we would still get at least £5m even in summer.Having said that I would take £6-7m now..........green jhedi

Think that depends tho mate. if he scores the goal that puts us passed juve and into the quarters it might make losing out on 2-3mil for hooper worth it. any ideas what money is given for making the quarters? ... MrCheshington {Ed007's Note - There is a breakdown of CL money somewhere on a thread, I posted it up again earlier this evening.}

I think something else that will be factored in is that between now and the summer he will be capped by Engurland which will definitely raise his stock.
So £5M+ should be easily achievable.
HH
/BB

I don't think it will be a problem. Norwich may try a cheeky bid and try and get him cheap but we'll reject it. If there's competition for him in the summer we can easily get £7m-£8m for him.

I genuinely couldn't care less about how much we'll get for him or him. I pay hard earned dough to watch the 'tic and all I care about is adding to the best squad I've seen at Paradise in thirty years. Keep them all and lets win everything. It's all my auld man cared about and look at what Celtic achieved then. F**k the money!

Just let one of our biggest assets leave for free, good job your not the chief executive.

Sturridge joined LFC for £12m ! How much did Jelavic cost Everton when they signed him from the team that is no longer, £8m or so. So CFC are right in wanting a decent fee. He is worth at least £7.5m I would say. If he wants to go to Norwich then let him if we get a fair fee. Remember the grass is very rarely greener

It's a shame the players are not as passionate!! Hooper will leave this window, he has no Celtic blood, nor Scottish so epect him to leave, Celtic will still win the league and go out of CL to Juve if he is there or not, take the money now I say.

Not saying this is going to happen but what's to stop Hooper refusing to move in the summer, knowing that as from January he can sign a pre-contract with whoever he likes, potentially leaving CFC with next to nothing?.

Hoops is happy to let celtic take a transfer fee as it was us who put him on the map, he will go in summer in region of 6-7 million! fact. danny.

I think the OP may be right, a player over 23 that has served 2 years of his contract, he can buy out the reminder of his contract??

His new Agent will want to get the most money for him, as its his payday as well, so if he leaves in the summer it will still be for 5-6 mill or maybe more if Celtic play hardball. good strikers are hard to find and someone that can potentially get 20 goals a season in the EPL with the right club cost 10 mill plus so even at 6 mill its a good deal for any club
i have no worries about him running his contract down and leaving on a free as his agent would earn less

Its not as simple as buying out his contract the player or employee has got to show good reason for breaking his contract and show that the contract is preventing him from providing his family with a better quality of life like a worker in Portugal working for £4 a day with a chance to move to scotland and earn £6 an hour the main point in websters case was the club had told him he won't play again yet refused the chance of a transfer their for holding him to his contract was purely restricting him from providing his family with a better life style and am not sure but I think the club or employer has to show that they had offered or intended to offer a new contract one thing is lawwell is a strud man and will know this inside out

Chillax lads.......take a deep breath......and stop getting so excitable over something you cannot influence in any way.
If Hooper goes he goes, if he stays he stays, and if there's a transfer fee then the two clubs will come to an agreement. It's not up to you or me or anyone else. Speculation is the destruction of many a man!

Hail Hail
ChrisBhoy

I think at a minimum, if he just has a reasonable end to the season, we will get a decent fee for Hopper. Holding onto him is a gamble for Lennon and Lawell that I think the club are in such a financial position can afford to take. If he does well against Juve, Celtic win the title and possible the domestic treble and gets an England cap between now and the end of the season I think his value will go through the roof regardless of the contract situation. As I said I think because of the clubs financial situation and the other talent available to be cashed in on it could just be a gamble we can afford to take.

Toffeebhoy

I am a Norwich fan. Whatever you think about us as a club, Hooper will not sign for us under adverse circumstances to City. We are never bullied by agents or players and will therefore buy elsewhere. Good luck in Europe.

If there is competition for Hooper then we will get a descent fee. I believe we will get something in the region of £7 million. The difficulty is finding a replacement who has consistent 20 goals a season for less. Finding a diamond from somewhere. The last thing we need is a big name journeyman at the end of his career who is all about the wages

23 Jan 2013 20:54:29
Leeds/Celtic fan here. Rumour at our end is the Paddy McCourt was at Leeds today for a medical. What do you think-would he be a good signing for us?

If he can keep fit then he could well be a very good signing. Sometimes he can be caught wondering in a game and other times he can produce absolute strokes of brilliance... bit of an enigma really

Don't think that's going to be true mate. McCourt has 6 months left on his contract at Celtic, so unless the deal is a loan then I can't see it happening.

~seamus~ {Ed007's Note - McCourt wasn't at training today and has been linked with a move to the MLS (as always), Crystal Palace (Holloway is a known fan of McCourt) and Aberdeen (I know, I thought the same thing but he is settled in Scotland so it might not be that stupid an idea).

Honestly great player can turn on the magic and work wonders....one problem won't last 30min never fit & so injury prone. Had it easy at Celtic and is out of contract too

Lenny

He's got fantastic skill & vision, as good as anybody, but he's never really had a proper run in the team up here so it's difficult to tell how he'd do over the course of a tough Championship season - Dirt McGurt

He would be a cracken signing an absolute gem the guy is a world class superstar you should sign him as fast as you can ... ps... please don't send him back to us lol

I'm surprised that you would let him go but we are desperate for a tricky winger so it may just have some truth

If you pay more than a quid call the popo because you just got robbed.

MgC

Worst celtic player I have seen in a long time. Cant pass, run, shoot, tackle- in short, nothing you would want in a footballer. If I never see him in a celtic strip agsn it will be one time too many. Sorry, shocking footballer, can't understand why everyone raves about him.

Your going to have a riot on your hands if this is true!!! #dontsellmcourt lol

23 Jan 2013 22:51:48
Above un-named poster stop talking p*** and go back to supporting your 3rd div team. McCourt on his day is un-playable I reckon he has scored at least 6 wonder goals for Celtic, ordinary players can't do this or rank rotten players as you are describing the man certainly cant. McCourts time at Celtic is admittedly at an end and although never had the consistency of Lubo, in my opinion has been the most naturally gifted since.....Stevie

Could be a legend but not got any interest in playing, happy collecting a wage packet

He is not the worst passer of a ball, he is one of thne best in our team and is one of the best strikers of a ball to, he is injury prone is not the fastest but once on a run he is difficult to stop, has the skills of best when he is on his game.

The mere mention of his name seems to provoke some insane responses from some so-called Tims. Similar to a lot of the pish talked about McGeady. Always wondered why this is......Dirt McGurt

Above poster, I agree with what you say regarding mccourts skill and ability, but please don't compare him to best ffs. Killed your point dead right there

We should have got rid of him long ago and any money is good cause he has skill but only shows up or does something 1in9 times. Not a bad passer? He cost hooper his 6th goal when he had 5 and was such an easy pass

McCourt does this thing every 18 months where he turns into Messi for about 35 seconds. The resot of the time he's just messy! Really wish we'd bagged him ages ago. Daviebhoy

I'd say you could easily compare his ability to the best (British/Irish players anyway), what's held him back is his you could compare his fitness to Rab see Nesbitt -D McG

Very talented player although there is a question on his fitness but when he is on his game he is a joy to watch. I wouldn't compare his to any other ex celtic players as I don't think we have had someone who can go from looking lazy or unfit to blinding brilliance. He could light up your team.

Vambo

23 Jan 2013 18:47:51
Apparently the bid from Norwich for Hooper was £4.5m with £2.5m up front and the remainder over 4 instalements. The second bid wasn't much better with slighlty more up front.

While Hooper still wears the Hoops and is scoring goals, he will have my support ~ Mrs E

Embarrassing ... Will take at least twice that!!

I'd let him go for that, and bring in johnny Russell, better all round player, plus he'd score the same amount of goals, or more, on less money, scores with his head, scores outside the box, scores with both feet, scores freekicks, the lot, faster aswell.......

Hey fellow Celts,
I heard something similar about the payment structure and I've got to say that it is nothing short of embarrassing from a club from there self-titled greatest league in the world (Utter Tosh).
I don't for one minute think Norwich is a good enough team for Hooper but you would think if they were serious about retaining there place they would have made a bid that would at least have some chance of being accepted. I think Celtic should tell them not to waste there time making anymore bids for Hooper unless they are prepared to match our minimum valuation (which I happen to think might be in the region of 7.5mil with add ons). The way I see it is we hold the aces, 18months is a long time left, make it known to possible suitors we will only deal at the right price and on our terms.
Keep up the good work and sorry for the rant Ed.
HH
pfb79 {Ed007's Note - Rant away mate, rant away.}

Please tell me your not serious!!!!!!!!!!! {Ed007's Note - It is very serious. I have said all along that I have serious doubts whether Norwich could afford the financial package for Hooper, it is not just about a transfer fee.}

Wot is it with johnny russell every 5 mins on here. No where near good enough. Certainly no hooper that's for sure.

Raff

Raff your correct mate, the guy that would let hooper go for that, your either one of the deadco or you know nothing about football.Then again who at deadco know anything about football.
Tambhoy

23 Jan 2013 17:29:41
Much of the talk the past few weeks has been about hooper and wanyama but I think any of our squad are capable of performing in the spl, is there any intrest in any of our other players eg. Ledley Mathews sameras etc?

Should say epl** I don't think we will lose any players this window but could possibly see 4 or 5 moving on in the summer

23 Jan 2013 01:26:14
Hi ed007, don't post this if you think its too near the truth but feel free to reply to my email. this is my thoery re hooper. He is changing agents at the end of the month ? if correct why ? presumably he is not happy with them/him ! if true it would be safe to assume he has someone else lined up on a contract ! his current agent is obviously desperate for a final paycheck from him whilst his new agent will be telling him to sit tight and do nothing ! He seems happy enough and ledley / matthews have said as much in recent interviews. I believe he will wait until his new agents contract comes into play and then possibly sign a new contract which allows him to move in the summer ala petrov whilst assuring celtic a decent fee. I can't see him moving to a potential relegation canditate in the EPL just to give his agent a payday ! as you stated in a thread last week a transfer request would cost him a fortune ! perhaps celtic are p offering contracts which they know are unacceptable to suit him just now until he gets rid of an agent he clearly doesn't want ! but once te new agent is in place all this may change . your thoughts please. andybhoy {Ed007's Note - I've no problem answering that here Andy. You are practically spot on with everything apart from the signing a new contract. The club has been aware that Hooper wanted to leave since the end of last season, it is nothing to do with money, it is about proving himself in the EPL to gain international recognition.
The reason for the change of agent is that Dent failed to clinch Hooper a move in the summer, so he will be hoping his client gets a move before he is redundant.
In my opinion the details that have came into the public domain are coming from Simon Dent, I fully expect Hooper to be a CFC player until the summer but I just can't see him signing a new contract. I hope that covers it for you Andy.}

Thanks ed007, The only people who seem desperate to move hooper are his agent and that wee bald bloke with the big touchscreen on sly ! I don't think he is going anywhere for now, hopefully he will get capped and offered what he is worth ! whether its enough time will tell ! andybhoy

Totally agree with you Andybhoy. Agents are ruining the game. julieghirl

Agents have been ruining the game for years, I think it was fergie or another old school kind of manager that said years ago, agents would eventually spoil the game. Give the power back to the players and clubs when it comes to contracts etc and shut the january window for good...have one window or make it like it used to be...never shut and you can buy a player when one becomes available and no-one is paying crazy prices just to add to the squad before a daft window shuts and would stop unrest mid-way thru the season...I know if the window doesn't shut players could be bought anytime, but that way if someone doesn't want to be here...let him go straight away and get a replacement, its time clubs started showing players that they are not bigger than the club!

Ed if that's the case then why would Celtic wait till summer to sell him if we have no chance on him signing? Cause there is no way we will get any offers any better then now which we might get 8mill and a sell on, and going by our policy this is what should be done right? Even if he does do great in cl with a year left what would be a realistic bid 4mill but on the flip side if he does nothing then We might only get what we paid for him and that has happen before to us and thought they said never again. C-Bhoy {Ed007's Note - The club don't need to sell and the player doesn't (so far) want to leave mid season. If no club makes an acceptable offer, and Norwich haven't, he will remain a CFC player until the summer. We will get more than £4 million in the summer.}

Good post andy !

Right here's my too bob of what's happening. Look most players here, he wants the move down to the epl. Fair enough. Lennon knows how to talk to the players and I'm sure he is telling hooper see if a decent team comes in for you ill let you go ie spurs. Lennons agent Martin reily just missed out on being hoppers agent before bent got the job. Now remember when these players sign a new deal the agent gets a good few thousand pounds for it. (Think its around 50k mark could be wrong)

The most important thing is that crltic will stand there ground & just laugh at bids under 7m for hooper, they don't need to sell and England want a cheap deal....stump up the cash or the player stays

Lenny

I don't think he needs to move to Norwich to gain international recognition, Forster got a call up and Hooper would've if he wasn't injured in November, Grant Holt has been scoring in the premier league for Norwich and he hasn't been called up before.

Wiz that the same simin dent thit wiz involved in a accidint,
ur iz it jist me
aw ma luv fae panelbeetur pat
aw dodgy insurince claims settled no win big fee!
ps we dae licensis dae
telly your caurs

Can someone translate the seventh comment?

Wtf, ed you got a translator for the previous guys post lol, tbh I would sell hopper I think he has his eyes on a move and we don't need guys like this, don't get me wrong i'm one of hoppers biggest fans best striker at park head in a while

The only way a player would sign an extension is if the club offered him a big bumper percentage of the transfer fee ... if you look at hoopers position he wants to move back down south so far the only offer on the table is a 6 million bid and 30 grand a week from norwich suppose he signs a new deal 30 grand a week with agreement he can move in the summer that new deal can put the asking price up to 10 million and would need a salary offer of around 40 grand a week that would price norwich ( his only option ) out the game so where does he go ?? am sure clubs like liverpool and newcastle arrent sitting saying 6 million is to cheap lets wait to he gets to ten million then buy him the last thing hooper will want to do is limit his already limited options any more unless its money motivated and a player who has already decided to change agents for whatever reason sounds to me like a player that knows what he wants and won't let an already sacked agent dictate to him imo unless hooper gets an offer he is happy with he may stay to the end of the season but I don't expect him to sign any extension ... ch

If he's got an eye for a move at least he's still got his eye on the goal! He's not going to move with his current agent and he's not going to sign the contract on offer because he doesn't want his current agent getting a cut of that either. The landscape will change for him when he changes management. The new agent will be telling him to hang tight.

23 Jan 2013 17:11:22
AndyBhoy good post for discussion...

ED007 would it not be in Celtic's interest to offer say £30k week 2 1/2 year contract, but with an improved sell on clause.
I doubt Hooper will stay beyond summer, so give him better terms in short term, to get Celtic bigger fee in long term. Timalloy
PS I cannot understand Mjalby mentioning Austin as his fee will now double also.. {Ed007's Note - A deal like that would probably cost the club more in the long run unless Hooper scored the goal(s) to put us through against Juventus.}

Thats pretty much what I meant when I said ala petrov ! didn't he sign a new deal then move at the next window for much more than was mentioned before he signed ! ed ?
andybhoy {Ed007's Note - Yes.}

So how does it work with agents? The player has to let him see out his contract? Why can't Hoops just sack his ass? - Dirt McGurt {Ed007's Note - That would leave the player open to being sued for breach of contract.}