Congrats on signing Hooper

[crabbycanary 2]

Perhaps another way of looking at it may be that McNally has not yet been knowingly ripped off in a deal, which, to me, is an excellent job done.

He has (by consensus on here) got some quality without paying the ''going rate'' for them, and in other deals paid what was perceived as just about the going rate for others. Some deals are like that, as each deal has its own anomalies, and we, as fans, judge it, in its simplest terms.

[Thisisbabyish 0]

You want 8 we pay 5

Mcnally 1 Mr Peter Celtic man 0

[Hackedoff 0]

Do you think he will request his iconic 88 shirt number or be given something a bit more traditional?

[IrishCelt67 0]

Bigger club? Ha! No chance I''m biting on that one. ;-)

[IrishCelt67 0]

[quote user="Thisisbabyish"]You want 8 we pay 5

Mcnally 1 Mr Peter Celtic man 0[/quote]McNally: "Here''s 4, you have until 5pm to comply"Celtic: "Hi, is that Harry Redknapp? Deal"McNally: "Ok, ok, you win!"I''m not sure where the £8m came from btw, doubt that was ever offered in January. Seemed to be tabloids.

[IrishCelt67 0]

[quote user="crabbycanary"]It''s totally subjective to say that Celtic got the price they wanted. They would have ideally liked what was floating around in Jan, but of course that wasn''t going to happen. They were in grave danger of having a player on their hands who wanted to go and play in the PL ( that we know) and who knew people were interested in.

Celtic got the price that a Club was happy to pay, no more.

IrishCelt- I would be intrigued to here your views on the Southampton CEO and the Wanyama money, if you felt you had done a job on McNally.[/quote]Given that only Southampton and Cardiff came in for Victor, I think we did a blinding job of getting £12.5m. I''m surprised bigger clubs didn''t move for him but the likes of Arsenal, United, Liverpool will likely wait and see how he does for a season in the EPL before moving. Seems daft to me to pay twice the price but that''s what will happen. Make no mistake, the boy is the real deal. Even Graham Hunter last season said Barcelona had asked Celtic to be kept informed of any deals. He''s a bit off being in their side yet though.As for ''doing a job on McNally''. No I don''t think so really but I do think Peter Lawwell, our CEO, did a good job of standing his ground and making Norwich pay up. You had a good 3 or 4 bids knocked back and we eventually got you to pay up or lose him to QPR. I don''t see how that''s anything other than a win for us. On the flip side, you''ve gotten a superb poacher for just over £5m which is small beer in today''s EPL.

[crabbycanary 2]

Thanks for that IrishCelt. My question was only in reference to your opening post, where you made reference to McNally being outdone by your CEO. Like I said, we have paid a fair price for a player, have Southampton? I''m not so sure that Wanyama is worth 2 1/2 times Hooper. If he is, then we''ve got a bargain ;)

[IrishCelt67 0]

[quote user="crabbycanary"]Thanks for that IrishCelt. My question was only in reference to your opening post, where you made reference to McNally being outdone by your CEO. Like I said, we have paid a fair price for a player, have Southampton? I''m not so sure that Wanyama is worth 2 1/2 times Hooper. If he is, then we''ve got a bargain ;)[/quote]Wanyama had 3 years left on his contract, Hooper had 1. Different types of players but Wanyama''s younger, stronger and more versatile than Hooper so he would always go for more. Had Hooper signed a new deal, I''d say we''d have wanted £7-8m.

[Juggy 0]

[quote]

Hooper had not intention of going to QPR

[/quote]

Journalist: "How close were you to joining QPR"

Hooper: "I was close"

[paul moy 235]

[quote user="The New Boy"][quote]

Hooper had not intention of going to QPR

[/quote]

Journalist: "How close were you to joining QPR"

Hooper: "I was close"

[/quote]Well, he was close mainly because we we unwilling to pay an inflated fee for a player with one year on his contract, and moneybags QPR were desperate. If we had backed out he would have gone there, but that would have been due to our actions and not QPR''s. So in reality he was always going to come here as long as we were interested.

[Juggy 0]

[quote user="paul moy"][quote user="The New Boy"][quote]

Hooper had not intention of going to QPR

[/quote]

Journalist: "How close were you to joining QPR"

Hooper: "I was close"

[/quote]Well, he was close mainly because we we unwilling to pay an inflated fee for a player with one year on his contract, and moneybags QPR were desperate. If we had backed out he would have gone there, but that would have been due to our actions and not QPR''s. So in reality he was always going to come here as long as we were interested. [/quote]QPR were the only offer on the table, that is why he almost joined QPR. 

It had nothing to do with "If we had backed out", it had everything to do with ''because we came in''. 

When Hooper was talking to QPR there was no offer on the table from Norwich, there was every possibility that he could have signed on the dotted line there and then. Thank god he didn''t. 

[paul moy 235]

[quote user="The New Boy"][quote user="paul moy"][quote user="The New Boy"][quote]

Hooper had not intention of going to QPR

[/quote]

Journalist: "How close were you to joining QPR"

Hooper: "I was close"

[/quote]Well, he was close mainly because we we unwilling to pay an inflated fee for a player with one year on his contract, and moneybags QPR were desperate. If we had backed out he would have gone there, but that would have been due to our actions and not QPR''s. So in reality he was always going to come here as long as we were interested. [/quote]QPR were the only offer on the table, that is why he almost joined QPR. 

It had nothing to do with "If we had backed out", it had everything to do with ''because we came in''. 

When Hooper was talking to QPR there was no offer on the table from Norwich, there was every possibility that he could have signed on the dotted line there and then. Thank god he didn''t. 

[/quote]We played the waiting game as we knew he would always come here if we wanted him, and we did want him.  Well done Norwich !!

[Indy_Bones 441]

[quote user="IrishCelt67"]Given that only Southampton and Cardiff came in for Victor, I think we did a blinding job of getting £12.5m. I''m surprised bigger clubs didn''t move for him[/quote]Are you for real?The only reason Southampton offered (and paid) that much is because they knew that bigger and better clubs would have no intention of paying that much for a completely unproven younger player (at EPL level anyway) purely on the back of a decent season or so in Scotland, and therefore it was the only way they could prevent themselves from being gazumped!Congrats on getting a ridiculous deal from Southampton, but don''t try to put it down to masterful negotiation behind the scenes from your directors, as it was clearly a simple case of Soton coming in with a crazy offer and your boys simply going into another room and laughing their heads off, before returning to bite their arm off...There was also incredibly strong rumours and belief that we genuinely DID offer close to 8m for Hooper in Jan, so I''m more than happy that we saved close to 3m by waiting a few months, and had QPR not come in when they did, we could probably have got him this coming Jan for around 2m as well (or simply agreed to sign him on a free next summer)...

[Juggy 0]

[quote user="Indy_Bones"][quote user="IrishCelt67"]Given that only Southampton and Cardiff came in for Victor, I think we did a blinding job of getting £12.5m. I''m surprised bigger clubs didn''t move for him[/quote]Are you for real?The only reason Southampton offered (and paid) that much is because they knew that bigger and better clubs would have no intention of paying that much for a completely unproven younger player (at EPL level anyway) purely on the back of a decent season or so in Scotland, and therefore it was the only way they could prevent themselves from being gazumped!Congrats on getting a ridiculous deal from Southampton, but don''t try to put it down to masterful negotiation behind the scenes from your directors, as it was clearly a simple case of Soton coming in with a crazy offer and your boys simply going into another room and laughing their heads off, before returning to bite their arm off...There was also incredibly strong rumours and belief that we genuinely DID offer close to 8m for Hooper in Jan, so I''m more than happy that we saved close to 3m by waiting a few months, and had QPR not come in when they did, we could probably have got him this coming Jan for around 2m as well (or simply agreed to sign him on a free next summer)...[/quote]

I actually think that Wanyama will prove to be well worth £12.5m. I''d still have chosen Fer over him at the prices paid, but Fer does represent a risk because he has knee problems at a young age. Different players anyway. 

A partnership of Wanyama and Fer would be a dream combo. Remember that Wanyama is an anchor man, and our player in that spot is Bradley Johnson. No contest there really, Southampton have got themselves a beast of a player.

[crabbycanary 2]

Is there REALLY an issue with Fer''s knee? Has anyone seen the scans? I''m not saying there is or there isn''t, but the Fellaini selling rumour (that didn''t happen) is equally as plausible as the Fer knee, and seeing as he went on to play a lot of games after the ''failed medical'', does give that argument credence.

[IrishCelt67 0]

[quote user="Indy_Bones"][quote user="IrishCelt67"]Given that only Southampton and Cardiff came in for Victor, I think we did a blinding job of getting £12.5m. I''m surprised bigger clubs didn''t move for him[/quote]Are you for real?The only reason Southampton offered (and paid) that much is because they knew that bigger and better clubs would have no intention of paying that much for a completely unproven younger player (at EPL level anyway) purely on the back of a decent season or so in Scotland, and therefore it was the only way they could prevent themselves from being gazumped!Congrats on getting a ridiculous deal from Southampton, but don''t try to put it down to masterful negotiation behind the scenes from your directors, as it was clearly a simple case of Soton coming in with a crazy offer and your boys simply going into another room and laughing their heads off, before returning to bite their arm off...There was also incredibly strong rumours and belief that we genuinely DID offer close to 8m for Hooper in Jan, so I''m more than happy that we saved close to 3m by waiting a few months, and had QPR not come in when they did, we could probably have got him this coming Jan for around 2m as well (or simply agreed to sign him on a free next summer)...[/quote]Yes, I am for real. Signed purely on the back of a decent season or so in Scotland? Lay off the glue. He was signed purely on the basis of a magnificent season in Europe, primarily 2 outstanding games against Barcelona''s midfield (when he dispossessed Xavi and Iniesta several times) and a superb showing in Moscow against Spartak. Martin Ferguson was at Celtic Park half a dozen times last season specifically to watch him, Graham Hunter said that Barcelona had asked to be kept informed of any bids. But you know more, obviously.As for the fabled £8m offer, it was uttered once on SSN and quickly dropped. Nobody else backed it up. It''s rumour, nothing else. You saved £3m by waiting a few months? Who are you kidding. There was no decision to wait. Celtic decided not to sell in January. You didn''t ''decide to wait'', you were told he wasn''t for sale. Repeatedly. In the end, Norwich tried (understandably) to get him as cheap as possible and when QPR came in, Celtic played one off against the other to get over £5m for a guy who had a year left on his deal. Good business.

[PurpleCanary 5,554]

[quote user="IrishCelt67"][quote user="Indy_Bones"][quote user="IrishCelt67"]...[/quote]Are you for real?There was also incredibly strong rumours and belief that we genuinely DID offer close to 8m for Hooper in Jan, so I''m more than happy that we saved close to 3m by waiting a few months, and had QPR not come in when they did, we could probably have got him this coming Jan for around 2m as well (or simply agreed to sign him on a free next summer)...[/quote]

As for the fabled £8m offer, it was uttered once on SSN and quickly dropped. Nobody else backed it up. It''s rumour, nothing else. You saved £3m by waiting a few months? Who are you kidding. There was no decision to wait. Celtic decided not to sell in January. You didn''t ''decide to wait'', you were told he wasn''t for sale. Repeatedly. In the end, Norwich tried (understandably) to get him as cheap as possible and when QPR came in, Celtic played one off against the other to get over £5m for a guy who had a year left on his deal. Good business. [/quote]

 

This is nonsense from start to finish, as the Celtic fan points out. McNally himself said we eventually bid twice our previous record fee of £3.5m, so a million less than £8m. And McNally also admitted that Celtic had no intention of selling Hooper in January. If we had offered something stupidly high - £10m or so - they might have changed their mind, but we were never going to do that. We pulled out on transfer deadline day when the penny finally dropped that Celtic meant what they said.Yes we have paid less than we offered, but the circumstances are vastly different, for us and for Celtic. Hooper was always going to go for less this summer than last January, whether to us or anyone else.As to your idea that we should have waited until next January to get Hooper really on the cheap, words fail me.

 

[RvWs 4 year contract 0]

So we got Hooper on the cheap- by leaving it in January and going back this summer- yet Norwich didnt do good business?

[Juggy 0]

[quote user="crabbycanary"]Is there REALLY an issue with Fer''s knee? Has anyone seen the scans? I''m not saying there is or there isn''t, but the Fellaini selling rumour (that didn''t happen) is equally as plausible as the Fer knee, and seeing as he went on to play a lot of games after the ''failed medical'', does give that argument credence.[/quote]

He ruptured his fibrocartilage and underwent surgery in early September 2012. He was back playing by the end of November, but not completely out of the question that Everton doctors were a bit concerned by it. Besides, every time you injure your cartilage it never fully repairs itself, it is always weaker as a result and the possibility of that same injury again (or even a worse one) significantly increases. 

You are probably right about Fellaini, that is my theory too. I don''t really know what we are supposed to be discussing here though, if it is Fer vs Wanyama then it is a silly debate. If both were playing in their best positions then they would be on a different part of the same pitch.

If Wanyama came here today he would be shifting Bradley Johnson from the team. Leroy Fer is our Tettey replacement, after it transpired that Tettey ain''t really all that good. 

[Juggy 0]

[quote user="Grant Holts 3 year contract"]So we got Hooper on the cheap- by leaving it in January and going back this summer- yet Norwich didnt do good business? [/quote]

What''s the point in arguing over who did good business. All parties win. 

Celtic kept their fans happy and sealed their league win (although it wasn''t really ever in doubt), Hooper got his move to the Premier League. Celtic got a fair price for a player with one year left on his deal, we paid a fair price for an ambitious striker who will probably score goals in this league.

Win, win, win. Everybody wins, nobody feels cheated, everything is lovely and rosy. Celtic fans will still have reason to like us a little bit, even though Lambert went goned away, and we can like Celtic a little bit because.... well.... cos they ain''t Rangers. 

[PurpleCanary 5,554]

[quote user="Grant Holts 3 year contract"]So we got Hooper on the cheap- by leaving it in January and going back this summer- yet Norwich didnt do good business? [/quote]

 

It isn''t a question of good or bad business in purely financial terms. It is that we didn''t get what we wanted in football terms. We didn''t want to wait until this summer to get Hooper. We wanted him - or some other class striker - in January because we thought - rightly as it turned out - that we were in danger of getting sucked into a relegation fight, and that a proven goalscorer (as evidenced by last night) was the best solution.Based on your argument we should, as another poster has suggested, wait until next January and pay even less, or wait until the summer and get Hooper for nothing. But we haven''t done that because we wanted Hooper now, just as in January we wanted Hooper then.