Window closes as The Wolf stays in Paradise. Victory for Brendan.

 

Well that is the window closed for another five months and it was a strangely exciting last day but not in a way we would have anticipated or experienced before.

Usually we are sitting hoping to hear about a last minute signing only to have the window slammed shut as we have our noses pressed against it looking for a new player.

Looks like old Mark Warburton had his nose against the window too!!

This January had a very different feel to it and with Eboue Kouassi tied up early Brendan expressed a wee bit of frustration that we could not get other deals done- not because of our reluctance to do the deals but because of other clubs. We may not like that but we have to respect it.

The tension this January was that other teams seemed to be prowling around looking to take players off our hands. Chief target was The Wolf aka Moussa. It appears that a couple of EPL clubs were strongly interested in taking the big fhella from our clutches. Celtic allegedly knocked back a lazy twenty million pounds offer from West Ham Utd. Brendan Rodgers made it clear that figure was well below our valuation of Moussa and that he would be going nowhere. My inner cynic led me to believe that we were trying to solicit an extra couple of million and before we knew it Moussa would be back playing football in London.

As the days passed Brendan played an absolute blinder. He spoke of the opportunity that Moussa has had to develop and grow his game and made it clear there was further improvement to come. Brendan spoke of the ambition and goals of Moussa and indicated he would help him to attain these goals and a massive move but only when the time was right. Brendan hinted that Moussa was a young man of integrity and honour but to be honest I was still expecting the Board to seize the money as the initial figure dwarfed anything we had been offered before.

The fact that Chelsea emerged to offer even more money must have tempted some Board members whose job is to maximise revenue to sell, sell, sell. The offer might not have crystalised in the form of a formal written offer but you can be sure that discussions would have taken place.That Moussa tweeted his now famous Wolf of Wall Street comparison cemented him as our first pick (when fit) centre forward for the rest of this season and gave a clear message to everyone that Brendan is holding the aces at Celtic Park at this time. If Moussa bangs a few more goals in we can expect to lose him in the Summer but it looks like he will move for a huge amount of money. I would love Moussa to stay a year or two longer than that  but I am a realist. So what marks Moussa out as a player of immense talent and value who is coveted by EPL teams? For me it is not his goalscoring record, impressive as that is. For me it is his ability to do it on the big stage at key moments in important games. I think the more prestigious the game the more likely Moussa is to perform well and score goals. All Hail, Hail The Wolf!!!

The Wolf of Wall Street and The Wolf of Kerrydale Street

It was a similar story when Chelsea came calling for Craig Gordon and again Brendan showed that he was not for losing a player he identified as a key performer for the next couple of years and spoke again about Craig’s qualities as a man and as goalkeeper. Who among us would have begrudged him that one final payday at Chelsea? However again Brendan appears to have worked his magic and a multi million pound offer for a goalie with a history of injuries could have been viewed as being good business. That the transfer did not eventuate is a significant sign that again Brendan is the primary decision maker at Celtic Park with respect to his players. I think Craig will be the recipient of new, shiny, improved contract very soon indeed. This may not look good on the balance sheet, but it sure looks good on the pitch. Incidentally do you say pitch or park? I think I alternate.

Other players mooted as being “possible targets” were KT to Sunderland (ten million quid, do not insult him or us), Erik to Leicester and Nir potentially to Fulham. Whether there is/ was any substance to the stories/ rumours I do not know but we end January with some players out on loan and a young , promising player welcomed to Celtic Park.

All in all not a bad window for us I would say.

We have a huge game tomorrow morning. With the Wolf and wee Leigh still apparently struggling we need a collective team effort to take the points against an experienced Aberdeen team. Come on The Hoops!!