Look At Things From Celtic's Position.

[Rudolph Hucker 0]

Celtic and their former players have struggled to come to terms with a side like Norwich City making an offer for one of their current players. Their rejections are much more derisory than we are used to, some might say derogatory or disrespectful. They are like The Mariques of Grantham having to sell a large chunk of the Downton Estate to a pleb builder. It just sticks in their craw.

So, how might things look from their viewpoint?

They are a Club with a huge history (albeit steeped in bigotry) with a massive historic ground and world-wide Catholic fan base. Catholics gravitate to them like Catalans to Barcelona. It is an ethnic thing going on which makes their situation more difficult because those associated supporters who see their Club as their football Vatican have to be answered to.

To aggravate this even further they are equally concerned about how things might look across the sectarian divide from their wounded rivals who themselves took matters such as Whittaker leaving really badly.

There is a lot of face saving pressure going on but it''s hard to be publicly defiant when you cannot afford to be.

You play in a league full of comparatively tiny clubs, your rivals who with you, and prior to their demise, generated four of Britains greatest sporting occasions are no longer playing you; and when they did the set up to play them four time was in itself an admission of how weak generally your league is.

But, you have Europe because it is easy for you to qualify on a national level year after year. This season you have pulled off a remarkable qualifying run and cling to that like a drowning man to a life raft because it matches your world view of yourselves.

Your top striker doesn''t want to sign another contract but you want him to be available for the ECL knock out stages despite the risk to his valuation because of your distorted world view of your status.

In come an EPL side who, due to TV revenue have new money compared to your Downtonesque asset rich liquidity poor situation. It is aggravating but SKY TV isn''t interested in the SPL for the aforementioned reasons. Like women''s football, too few people want to watch it.

This EPL side isn''t a Man Utd. To sell a striker to an Everton is again face saving.''Oh! Yes, when Liverpool, Arsenal or Tottenham come calling we have to accept Clubs we see as comparable to ourselves attracting our players.'' But Norwich?

The only face saving thing here is to say. ''We sold to Norwich, we rinsed them, their offer was just too outrageously high.'' Trouble is, Norwich haven''t done that. Norwich haven''t even moved face savingly to your valuation so you can say, Hooper can go, and then hope a side you regard as much higher in status comes in and steals it under Norwich''s noses so you can have a good laugh at them.

But there is a risk Norwich might meet your valuation late in the day and get the player before other sides can react. Not only that but the bastards are dismissively saying they have other targets and this includes Dick Lupine from Lisbon who they have offered 8million for in an action which says, look, here is a player we consider far better than Hooper who we would pay out for.

And so, predators wait for Norwich to make their third and final offer but make none of their own. This little Club in Norfolk is cocking a snook at us and it has got under our skin so much we are reduced to unprofessional language.

This is how I see it from the Celtic angle and I wonder if we will end up crediting McNally for his stance. If we get Hooper we may take it for granted we had to hold off other clubs interest. It would be like slapping Lady Grantham on the @rse on the way out.

[Dubai Mark 0]

At first I thought, oh no not another thread about Hooper. BUT, I congratulate you on one of the best posts I have read on here for sometime...for me it sums-up the situation nicely.

[Lets be aving you! 0]

Cracking post from the OP, but seriously, "sums up"? It''s 669 words and I''m missing out on the latest transfer rumour frolics ...

[Stig 0]

Haha this is brilliant and more than probably exactly right! It shows a balance in football may actually be changing. I''d rather not have Hooper at the end of the day if we are held to ransom over him, because let us be honest... he isn''t THAT good. However, in the same breath I would want him here to have that laugh at Celtic, but not at the expense of our humility. In this case, I trust McNally and whoever else to know what is best and not to take our "small club roots" into account in this business transaction.

[Rudolph Hucker 0]

Thanks, folks. This transfer window can be a pressure as tension on this board has shown and I haven''t enjoyed some of the comments coming out of Glasgow but, I was attempting to show that pressure can be what we put on ourselves and there is plenty of pressure on Celtic.

It could well be our Board are handling things really well, lets hope it pays off.

[YankeeCanary 0]

[quote user="RUDOLPH HUCKER"]Celtic and their former players have struggled to come to terms with a side like Norwich City making an offer for one of their current players. Their rejections are much more derisory than we are used to, some might say derogatory or disrespectful. They are like The Mariques of Grantham having to sell a large chunk of the Downton Estate to a pleb builder. It just sticks in their craw. .[/quote]

 

If that were true they lost all scruples when digging around in Scunthorpe before adopting a new "family member."

[Rudolph Hucker 0]

There are a lot of people around the UK with ''blue blood'' Yankee. Mum was in service.

When Lady whoever carried one for the gardener it often ended up as a foundling.

Got a bit of ancestry, have you?!

[YankeeCanary 0]

[quote user="RUDOLPH HUCKER"]There are a lot of people around the UK with ''blue blood'' Yankee. Mum was in service. When Lady whoever carried one for the gardener it often ended up as a foundling. Got a bit of ancestry, have you?![/quote]

 

We all have Rudolph. Few of us are aware of all facts in what''s gone on before. It''s been going on since Moses ( and before ).

[Thirsty Lizard 3,215]

An excellent post Rudolph.

As you say - we appear to have got under Celtic''s skin.

As Shakespeare didn''t quite put it - "Methinks the ''massive'' club doth protest too much."

[CambridgeCanary 0]

Quite right Rudolf.

I have found it quite extraordinary that Norwich fans have been so self righteous about Celtic''s patronising attitude to us whilst continuing to deride Lambert for not going to a better club than Villa.

We all have a view of our place in the football hierarchy and it is a source of great pride and prickly defensiveness.

No one likes to think that someone has left their club for a lesser club or an insufficiently better club.

It is about self worth and status however odd or deluded it might objectively be.

[lake district canary 4,831]

Times have changed alright.   Twenty years ago it would us having to sell our best player to a club like Celtic.   The boots on the other foot now.  The SPL is not the EPL.  You can understand Celtic''s angst.

[nutty nigel 7,902]

Spot on post absolutely stacked with good points. Especially about Celtic''s history and fan base. As a good Catholic boy who lapsed when old enough to decide I know why some of my old school buddies from Willow Lane still support Celtic. Deep down much of the bigotry and intlerance of others remains ingrained in that club and it''s supporters. So much so that I was amazed how readily some of our younger fans, especially those that wouldn''t traditionly support Celtic, took to this "special friendship" which became fashionable after our friendlies last year.

 

Scottish football has become a comedy show but Celtic don''t realise they have star billing.

 

 

[Chunky Norwich 0]

Also they sing songs about the IRA

[Mister Chops 7]

[quote user="RUDOLPH HUCKER"]Look At Things From Celtic''s Position[/quote]"Och aye, we''re pretty far North.""Aye.  I hate the English, I do.""Aye, me too laddie.""Fancy a riot?""Nah, ah''m too fat and p*ssed and me heart''s nearly packed in.""Aye."

[IrishCelt67 0]

With respect, this is some generalised nonsense and as far from ''Celtic''s view'' of the Hooper situation as you can possibly hope to get."It is an ethnic thing going on which makes their situation more

difficult because those associated supporters who see their Club as

their football Vatican have to be answered to.

"Jesus wept. The club is open to all and always has been. It''s part of the official club charter. Football Vatican? How do you square that with the fact our most successful and revered manager, Jock Stein, who won the European Cup was Protestant? How do you square it with some of our most revered heroes - Danny McGrain, Kenny Dalglish - being Protestant?  "It is aggravating but SKY TV isn''t interested in the SPL for the

aforementioned reasons. Like women''s football, too few people want to

watch it.

"Um, Sky TV broadcast the SPL. And have renewed the contract for another 3 years. "But, you have Europe because it is easy for you to qualify on a national

level year after year. This season you have pulled off a remarkable

qualifying run and cling to that like a drowning man to a life raft

because it matches your world view of yourselves."It''s easy to qualify? We had to go through 2 qualifying rounds to get through this year - including beating the Swedish champions. I get that you''re an EPL fan so will automatically dismiss the Swedish champions as being useless but this simply betrays your own ignorance of football outside of your own country. In previous qualifiers we''ve had to go up against Arsenal. When Everton finished 4th and qualified for the CL they ended up facing Villarreal in the CL qualifiers and got put out. It is NOT an automatic entry into the group stages. Additionally, the last 2 times we''ve been in the CL now we''ve qualified for the last 16 - working our way through the qualifiers and then a 6-game league format to qualify. We''re fully entitled to feel we deserve to belong there on merit. Clinging to it like a drowning man on a life raft? How are we drowning exactly? We''re thriving despite the shitty circumstances modern football has delivered to big clubs like Celtic, Ajax, Porto etc by being mired in relatively poor leagues. All in all, this is not ''Celtic''s view'', it''s a Norwich fan''s view - and quite a smug one, apparently.As someone else on here pointed out a few days back, your turnover in League One was £18m, now it''s £75m. Can you guess where the majority of this increase has come from? Try Sky. The money and the hype seems to have gone to some of your heads, sadly.

[nutty nigel 7,902]

[quote user="IrishCelt67"]With respect, this is some generalised nonsense and as far from ''Celtic''s view'' of the Hooper situation as you can possibly hope to get.
[/quote]

 

It''s posted by Norwich fans on a Norwich forum. Your generalised nonsense is posted with the arrogance that you think we care.

 

 

[Norwich or die tryin! 0]

Religion eh.What a load of old bol*ocks.

[IrishCelt67 0]

[quote user="nutty nigel"]

[quote user="IrishCelt67"]With respect, this is some generalised nonsense and as far from ''Celtic''s view'' of the Hooper situation as you can possibly hope to get.[/quote]

 

It''s posted by Norwich fans on a Norwich forum. Your generalised nonsense is posted with the arrogance that you think we care.

 

 

[/quote]I think it''s safe to assume you do when A. There''s a post about ''Celtic''s view'' here and B. You''re now replying to it.You''re well named :)

[Yellowbeagle 0]

I think alot of the negativity to Celtic stems from Norwich fans having a look on Celtics forums and seeing a catalogue of bigoted anti-english premier league and arrogant derogatory comments about our club, i dont think they are the views of all Celtic fans in general and you shouldnt thinks of the views on here as being the majority of our club. At the end of the day theres alot of idiots support football clubs with very loud opinions and you being a club with massive support probably have three times as many tw*ts as we do, and thats more than enough to go around.

Congratulations on a great season in europe by the way.

[IrishCelt67 0]

[quote user="Yellowbeagle"]

I think alot of the negativity to Celtic stems from Norwich fans having a look on Celtics forums and seeing a catalogue of bigoted anti-english premier league and arrogant derogatory comments about our club, i dont think they are the views of all Celtic fans in general and you shouldnt thinks of the views on here as being the majority of our club. At the end of the day theres alot of idiots support football clubs with very loud opinions and you being a club with massive support probably have three times as many tw*ts as we do, and thats more than enough to go around.

Congratulations on a great season in europe by the way.

[/quote]Good post, agree with that. Thanks for the congrats. As I posted here a while back, I think you''ll be okay in the EPL this season in the long-run. Just having a bad spell right  now.

[Mike 68]

If you don''t like our views feel free to stay on the massive huge enormous Celtic forums..... Good man!

[IrishCelt67 0]

[quote user="Mike "]If you don''t like our views feel free to stay on the massive huge enormous Celtic forums..... Good man![/quote]Don''t be afraid of a little spirited discussion, Mike. It''s only football, after all. :)

[Mike 68]

Spirited discussion? You going to give it a go any time soon?

[IrishCelt67 0]

[quote user="Mike "]Spirited discussion? You going to give it a go any time soon?[/quote]You could try reading my posts, I guess.

[Mike 68]

Nope nothing there.....

[nutty nigel 7,902]

[quote user="IrishCelt67"][quote user="nutty nigel"]

[quote user="IrishCelt67"]With respect, this is some generalised nonsense and as far from ''Celtic''s view'' of the Hooper situation as you can possibly hope to get.
[/quote]

 

It''s posted by Norwich fans on a Norwich forum. Your generalised nonsense is posted with the arrogance that you think we care.

 

 

[/quote]

I think it''s safe to assume you do when A. There''s a post about ''Celtic''s view'' here and B. You''re now replying to it.

You''re well named :)
[/quote]

I am named particularly well. Baptised I was, in a cathedral no less, although it wasn''t at the time. Yep.. I got catholic paddy skeletons in the cupboard...

 

 

[Number 9 0]

Anyway what''s this about slapping Leslie Grantham an the arse?

[Flying Dutchman 766]

[quote user="RUDOLPH HUCKER"]Celtic and their former players have struggled to come to terms with a side like Norwich City making an offer for one of their current players. Their rejections are much more derisory than we are used to, some might say derogatory or disrespectful. They are like The Mariques of Grantham having to sell a large chunk of the Downton Estate to a pleb builder. It just sticks in their craw.

So, how might things look from their viewpoint?

They are a Club with a huge history (albeit steeped in bigotry) with a massive historic ground and world-wide Catholic fan base. Catholics gravitate to them like Catalans to Barcelona. It is an ethnic thing going on which makes their situation more difficult because those associated supporters who see their Club as their football Vatican have to be answered to.

To aggravate this even further they are equally concerned about how things might look across the sectarian divide from their wounded rivals who themselves took matters such as Whittaker leaving really badly.

There is a lot of face saving pressure going on but it''s hard to be publicly defiant when you cannot afford to be.

You play in a league full of comparatively tiny clubs, your rivals who with you, and prior to their demise, generated four of Britains greatest sporting occasions are no longer playing you; and when they did the set up to play them four time was in itself an admission of how weak generally your league is.

But, you have Europe because it is easy for you to qualify on a national level year after year. This season you have pulled off a remarkable qualifying run and cling to that like a drowning man to a life raft because it matches your world view of yourselves.

Your top striker doesn''t want to sign another contract but you want him to be available for the ECL knock out stages despite the risk to his valuation because of your distorted world view of your status.

In come an EPL side who, due to TV revenue have new money compared to your Downtonesque asset rich liquidity poor situation. It is aggravating but SKY TV isn''t interested in the SPL for the aforementioned reasons. Like women''s football, too few people want to watch it.

This EPL side isn''t a Man Utd. To sell a striker to an Everton is again face saving.''Oh! Yes, when Liverpool, Arsenal or Tottenham come calling we have to accept Clubs we see as comparable to ourselves attracting our players.'' But Norwich?

The only face saving thing here is to say. ''We sold to Norwich, we rinsed them, their offer was just too outrageously high.'' Trouble is, Norwich haven''t done that. Norwich haven''t even moved face savingly to your valuation so you can say, Hooper can go, and then hope a side you regard as much higher in status comes in and steals it under Norwich''s noses so you can have a good laugh at them.

But there is a risk Norwich might meet your valuation late in the day and get the player before other sides can react. Not only that but the bastards are dismissively saying they have other targets and this includes Dick Lupine from Lisbon who they have offered 8million for in an action which says, look, here is a player we consider far better than Hooper who we would pay out for.

And so, predators wait for Norwich to make their third and final offer but make none of their own. This little Club in Norfolk is cocking a snook at us and it has got under our skin so much we are reduced to unprofessional language.

This is how I see it from the Celtic angle and I wonder if we will end up crediting McNally for his stance. If we get Hooper we may take it for granted we had to hold off other clubs interest. It would be like slapping Lady Grantham on the @rse on the way out.[/quote]

This, just every single word.

[Rudolph Hucker 0]

Oooh! Stop your tickling Jock!

 

How much does SKY pay the SPL for its games? That is the bottom line. I do, however see massive potential for Celtic with US broadcasters as again a large chunk of New York, Chicago and Massachusetts love to celebrate their heritage and we''d all rather they subscribed to pay per view TV than Republican terrorism.

 

At least you get an easy pass into those ECL preliminary stages. Try playing in the EPL and getting anywhere near.

 

Protestants turned out for you? Well, I''ll have you know we''ve had the odd Binner turn out for us in the past but it doesn''t make us paid up kerb crawlers.  The bigger picture is something else though, isn''t it?

 

Celtic ARE one of the world''s great football Clubs with a worldwide fan base. They are an English Championship financed club playing in League One though.  What I was saying, is that it is hard for such a proud club to sell a top assett to a side they clearly look down on, however much time has changed unless they can justify it by seemingly ''rinsing'' the upstarts.

 

I enjoy your posts though, please keep posting.