03 Sep 2018 22:05:57
Ed any info on what happened with Boyata towards the end of the window? Did interest dry up, did he accept he was staying but will leave next summer or is there a chance he now wants to stay long term?

I think the past few weeks have shown how important the big man is. I have no doubt that if he’d played in the CL qualifiers we’d be in with the big boys again.

{Ed007's Note - I don't know the ins and outs of it but basically Brendan Rodgers told Boyata that he wouldn't be allowed to leave during this window. There was some rumours going about that Boyata was changing his agent which if true would make me wonder what part his agent played in the recent mess, especially after what Rodgers said about him just turning up at Lennoxtown.
I'd offer him a 5 year deal with a pay rise and a buy-out clause in the £10 - 15 million bracket - with the prices in England just going to continue rising and Kompany's international career coming to an end we'd easily get that if we were getting at least £9 million for him this summer.}

1.) 03 Sep 2018
03 Sep 2018 22:42:55
Yeah I definitely think his agent had a lot to do with the mess. Determined for him to go for big money so he got a hefty fee in the process.

That’s a good idea. Are release clauses common for us? Anyone got one that you know of?

I just hope he stays. The games we played without him were a glimpse into our future if he leaves next summer and isn’t replaced with proven quality.

{Ed007's Note - I don't know of any players that have but clubs tend to keep them quiet unlike Spain where they need to register them.}

2.) 03 Sep 2018
03 Sep 2018 22:43:23
I think some of it goes down to the apparent actions of the player claiming injury when there wasn’t and the gung ho actions of the agent. I think any interested clubs didn’t want that type of behaviour at their clubs and Dedryck s actions and his agent scared them off? Be interesting to see who our number one pairing will be. I so enjoyed Sunday’s game maybe only 1 goal but a pummelling all the same, clammed a few newbies up facebooks been a bit quieter today 🙂🍀⚽️.

3.) 03 Sep 2018
03 Sep 2018 23:16:30
Looking forward to seeing Benkovic but hope it doesn’t hamper Ajer’s development. He plays very well beside Boyata.

4.) 04 Sep 2018
04 Sep 2018 00:36:06
I think the Moussa situation will not bode well for the future. Not that I blame the club in any way. The way I look at it if you don’t want to be here, don’t let the door hit your arse on the way out. But know players will know if the stamp their feet loud enough they will get their way. There’s no doubt big Boyata was flawless yesterday but my personal opinion still remains he should never have been given the opportunity to pull on our shirt again and that won't change. After the Dembele situation I wonder if he regrets accepting BR’s decision that he want being sold in the window? We’ll never know.

{Ed007's Note - It really doesn't work like that, Real Madrid wanted to sign Hazard and his reps met them a few times because he fancied it so how did Thibaut Courtois force a move and Hazard didn't?
Doesn't getting 22 million Euros for an unhappy player in Dembble, players like Wanyama, Van Dijk, £7 million for Armstrong etc, back to back trebles, winning trophies, working under Brendan Rodgers, watching KT, Ajer, Edouard and Ntcham etc develop, players like Rogic and KT signing new deals, LG due to sign on too and yes even the money in the bank and balance sheet bode us better for the future rather than a player that acted like a petulant child's ripple effect through the Club?
And maybe what's happened also sends out a signal that you don't want to cross the manager and tell lies about him while trying to work your ticket - if Dembele hadn't admitted lying to Rodgers he would still be a Celtic player.
Rodgers has sent out a message to players with both the Boyata and Dembele situations, he decides when you leave Celtic and when you do it will be on the Club's terms.}

5.) 04 Sep 2018
04 Sep 2018 06:40:36
Great post ed.

{Ed007's Note - Thanks mate, it's certainly not as much doom & gloom as some would like us to believe (not you, Ice Man) and there's still a lot to look forward too.}