craig

I dont think it was off, but their first goal must have been close - I THINK Tav played Rogic on, woudl have been good to see again

He was an example mate. However, if you watch him give his analysis post game on VAR type incidents he looks at them from a referees perspective. I mean, Pierluigi Collina would be the man for the job - point being it doesnt need to be anyone with an affiliation with Rangers or Celtic, just an ex ref who understands the rules as they currently stand

I have seen little snippets of this, what is the ACTUAL story there ?

Diallo isnt an attacking midfielder, he was supposed to be the right wing option. And he was/is highly thought of so that was actually an exciting loan. As was Ramsey, a world class player who came in. Not sure how we can really complain about those two other than hindsight.... Celtic managed it THIS season. They have had some terrible January signings in seasons past. Even this season, the players they brought in arent that good, they really arent. They have energy and desire but lack skill - Maeda is the proverbial headless chicken. Hatate scored against us, sure, but he was dross on Sunday too.

We are certainly over-egging it if we think we will get 2 or 3 NP's a season. We had Billy Gilmour who could have realised a fortune for us... but once they get their head turned by the big money down south we can't compete - in Patterson we somewhat got lucky because he was already on a contract and hadnt been seen by many anywhere else, which allowed us to get that fee. Even Leon King, one of the best prospects we have EVER had, part of the reason he signed is because he is a "home boy" - hates being away from his family. The club pushed the boat out on his contract which helped, but even with the best intentions in the world the Academy structure in Scotland doesnt give you the best opportunity to find those NP's. UEFA rules dictate at Academy level the restrictions on distancing from training facilities etc. Getting just ONE NP every handful of years is a push, not just for us but Celtic and the rest of Scottish football too. We do get players cheat but moving them on is a different question - did the Board and SG gamble on this squad getting us into the CL next season ? Absolutely. But was it a calculated risk ? Given the invincible season last year I would say yes. In fact, had SG done his job and negotiated against a 10 man Malmo, we would have been able to strengthen as we would have been in the CL THIS season. I don't think that all they are offering is keeping the lights on - I think that is very unfair given some of the improvements they have provided - we have strengthened the squad under their tenure exponentially, the Academy is a much more efficient, well-oiled machine than it was pre this Board, the ground has seen improvements made from what was a crumbling wreck under the previous custodians, and we have Edmiston House which, hopefully, will provide additional source of revenue for the club. Do they have their failings ? Absolutely. Are they receiving less credit than they deserve ? Again, absolutely. DO they deserve the opportunity to right the ship ? Yes, IMO. GvB was, for the most part, the only manager we all wanted to see, the club went and got him. They gave us who we thought was the best man for the job. He deserves the opportunity to have a pre-season under his belt and to see how recruitment goes. I know with you it isnt knee jerk as we all know how right you were about SDM - but many are knee-jerking their way through a poor season.

They actually ARE Bosmans. Paying a transfer fee is completely different to paying a development fee. A Bosman is, technically, an out of contract player ("The ruling allowed a player to leave a club on a free transfer as soon as his contract expired"). The fact we paid development fees for both doesnt negate that they were Bosman's. We didnt pay transfer fees for them, we paid development fees. Two different things.

What is the not so prominent one ?

They effectively were. They were out of contract and we had to pay a development fee for both, at 250k per player.

Neither, unless you have insight to the club finances. I will say it again, just because we didnt spend big in January doesnt mean that the funds werent there to spend if we wanted to. Hindsight is great but when we sold Patterson in January we didnt have a NEED to buy players as we were comfortably top of the table. Was it a mistake to not spend ? With hindsight, yes. In early January was there a need to spend ? Much as though as fans we love to see new, quality players, the reality is we looked very comfortable in the table and the Board probably felt we had enough to win the league. So, again, I don't think you can say that Wilson was lying - we sold Patterson not because we had to but because it was financially advantageous to cash in on a back up player with a fee that no club in Scotland would have turned down. And the Board/Wilson/Gio probably felt no need to spend those funds in January and wait till the summer given where we were in the table in January

All due respect Cammy, who are the club going to attract, in a footballing backwater, with the "financial ability" to take us to the next level ? These custodians have put their hands in their pockets to a massive extent. Anyone with the "financial ability" to take us to the next level have always had that opportunity to come in and buy the club or take a significant stake in it - why havent they ? I would love for Elon Musk to buy us as he has the "financial ability" - that doesnt mean he has any desire whatsoever to do so. So, who are these people that are just sitting in the wings waiting to take us on ? We don't have to settle for second best in Scotland at all - look at how much Celtic spent and yet we still beat them to the title last season with a team that cost a fraction of what theirs did. As for Europa - are we conveniently forgetting that we, or Scottish teams in general, have been abject failures in Europe for decades, the odd aberration aside ? We are significantly punching above our weight in Europe - whilst we all want to be successful there it is little more than a bonus. CL group stages every year would only happen if we get automatic entry - look at Celtic's history in the CL when they were getting the CL riches every year and spending a ton of money on players - they rarely got there. No reason to not want that for the club, but realism would suggest it is fairly unrealistic.

Re-read what you have said there and compare it to your original post and what Wilson said. He said we didnt need to sell players because we were OK financially. You are now not arguing about the selling of players, you are arguing about the re-investment of those monies. January is a terrible window for recruitment because, for the most part, it is teams in desperate need of replacements as they fight to stave off relegation or to get back in a title chase. In January we were 6 points clear and our main rivals were running scared. So why did we need to re-invest those monies in January when we were sitting atop the pile and looking comfortable ?

How did it not play out that way in January ? It absolutely DID play out that way in January. The only player we sold was Patterson - that wasnt because we HAD to, it was because 16 million was far too big a fee to turn down for a kid that has great potential but who was also a back up to the club captain.

Who do we need then ?

Not Weston ? Alegria ? McCann ?

In fairness (not aimed at you) I think it is churlish to be blaming Wilson for "Bosmans and loans" when we have, on Bosmans, secured Mcgregor, Davis (yes, they played their part previously, can't look at just this season), Aribo, Bassey, Jack (admittedly pre-Wilson), Lundstrum We have actually done remarkably well in the Bosman market

Which is why things aren't as dire as people think. They are not a good team. Look at their team throughout. Hart is a bombscare at times, Taylor at LB isn't very good, CCV is on loan, Starfelt is mediocre and Juranovic looked great in February but lacked discipline on Sunday. Hatate was DONE after 50 minutes on Sunday, McGregor actually impressed me, Maeda is a headless chicken who offers virtually zero quality, Rogic played well but part of that was because we didnt know how to play against him and Giomakis was pish. Maybe I am seeing them through blue tinted specs but I don't see a team that is any better than average there. Yes, they are coached well but they also have had an unbelievable amount of luck and refereeing decisions go their way this season, thanks in part to them calling refs out at their AGM. Just on Sunday alone we should have had two penalties (they MIGHT have had a shout for one too) but they also should have seen AT LEAST 2 red cards. I am not blaming refs for our demise this season but we have had a ridiculous number of decisions go against us that have been the difference between dropping points or not. Sunday being one, should have been at least a draw, Dundee Utd another when we drew and never got a stonewall penalty for handball..... Celtic never got a penalty against them at home to Livvy for blatant handball and how many offside goals have they had that have stood ? They are much closer, yes but they were miles away last season. Are they a better team than us ? Nobody is going to convince me of that, despite the last two results against them

Given it is a remote decision making tool there is absolutely ZERO reason that it needs to be someone inside the Scottish game. Get a Dermot Gallagher type ex-ref who still understands the rules to be the video ref. Let them retain their anonymity though otherwise, as we all know, the Tims will start threatening them and there goes your objectivity

If Bassey had more experience he would have halved Mcgregor given the space he had to run into prior to the first goal. Should have taken a yellow for the team

Everyone today suggesting Collum had a "decent game" because he "let the game flow". The usual Tim sympathisers. I am no lover of blaming refs for our negative results but absolutely nobody can legitimately claim Collum had a good game when he missed two stonewall penalties (Goldson shirt pull, CCV handball - and sould even possibly suggest he missed the Maeda one where McGregor clipped him, though I am far less convinced that was a penalty) and he also missed TWO red cards for Celtic - Ralston on Kent was a straight red - dangerous, studs up, endangered opponent - and Starfelt could have had about 4 or 5 yellow cards. Ref had a good game ? Aye, if you are Celtic-minded. Absolute shambles Collum was

Cringeworthy. Why the hell are we clinging to the "Old Firm" and handcuffing us to a club who have a class action lawsuit against them in a court of law for historic child sex abuse ? We should be distancing ourselves from them as much as humanly possible and making them the pariah they should be. But, no, our custodians decide to act like a 5 yr old and ram it in the faces of everyone that we are still connected to them somehow... Sickening. The poor judgement coming from the Board right now is astonishing.

The worst part in all of this is that we have absolutely capitulated to a team which isnt very good at all. Maeda is a headless chicken, Hatate literally couldnt run after 50 minutes because he was spent, and they fell like flies in the second half. And we have capitulated to that - worse, had we won the league and deprived them of CL funds we could, and should, have been out of sight of them for the next few seasons. Last season is looking ever more like a papering over the cracks rather than a new dawn.

Horrific statement from the Club too it has to be said. Together we are stronger ? They both (Club and C1872) are full of shite and lack even the remotest semblance of self-awareness

The Board hasnt changed much since Dave King departed - so if he is right about the Board (and I am not saying he isnt...) then he is culpable too for simply ditching and running.

They most certainly aren't playing with a straight bat - it is oozing out of that statement. Self-importance at the forefront of it.

They talk about April being a huge month (which it is) and how the club is threatening to distract from important matters on the pitch.... whilst at the same time they do the EXACT same thing they accuse the Club of. Are their allegations so serious they couldnt have waited till the end of the season ? I am so tired of all the in-fighting and Club 1872 simply cannot claim to be the moral bastions of the club when we know how they themselves have handled some of their own matters in recent past. Its like a pissing contest. An awful lot of their statement just seems so self-serving, self-righteous and oozing self-importance - they don't even represent that many of the Club's fanbase. Of course they are entitled to hold the club to account as anyone else is, but to try and dictate to the club commercial partnerships such as Crypto (every single other major club have jumped into bed with crypto firms, including the much-maligned fan tokens) - they talk about not wanting to return to 2012 but at the same time want the club to not engage in commercial partnerships just because C1872 don't like them (ignoring Oz, because none of us want that). They do have valid concerns but their timing is MILES off - it may not be a game week but we are literally balls deep in a title race, Europa campaign and Cup chase - there is no reason this couldnt have waited till the end of the season - because if you look at their statement, nothing is going to happen before then anyway. Yes Frankie, the club have brought much of this on themselves, but C1872 (of which I am a member) are trying to proclaim to be the defenders of the Club, whilst at the same time throwing a spanner in the works at THE most critical time for the club. They show their hand too when they talk about this "concerted campaign to forcefully remove C1872 directors". Unless they have evidence to the contrary that had fuck all to do with the Club. Again, merely trying to paint themselves as victims. After the highs of last year we are completely back to our normal of being nothing more than a bunch of dysfunctional fans, eating ourselves alive. Sickened