Comments on: Celtic boss praises board for holding onto star striker

By: mikehawthorn1

mikehawthorn1 — Sat, 02 Feb 2013 16:58:01 +0000

FAR too often English teams attempt to ‘pillage’ our trusted stars as they are only plying their trade in the ‘lowly spl’. It is Insulting in the extreme given their Arrogance when one considers the £35 million paid for that DUMPLING
Andy Carrol…….I rest my case

By: salvador

salvador — Sat, 02 Feb 2013 00:08:22 +0000

Graham, You are the one looking at this as a them and us situation.. Its the concept of parity you don’t seem to understand.As in Hooper only plays at lowly SPL Celtic so a LOAN move to Norwich is a good idea.
Look at the enormous amounts journeymen players are transferred for in the EPL and then think again, the top scoring English player in Europe this season.

By: Graham

Graham — Fri, 01 Feb 2013 23:43:49 +0000

you are looking at this in an us and them view, because you think Celtic are bigger than Norwich. That is not the point, Hooper is an asset of Celtic football club and the value of that asset is decreasing. In just three transfer windows that asset will be gone and worthless to Celtic football club, so the club should be looking at managing that assets value to the best advantage of the club. If you took him out of the team Celtic would probably still be looking forward to facing Juventus because the squad has the talent. Running a football club is more about head than heart sometimes and this was one of those times.

By: Salvador

Salvador — Fri, 01 Feb 2013 22:36:40 +0000

Graham, the top scoring English striker in Europe this season, on loan to Norwich ????? Did you forget to take your medication this morning ?

By: Paddy

Paddy — Fri, 01 Feb 2013 16:07:22 +0000

Mr MacKenzie, Just explain to me where exactly Mr Hooper will be after the Juventus games where the Champions league has gone? What level of football will Hooper be looking to playing after that? Celtic are a massive team with fantastic fantastic support. But they work their trade in a league that doesn’t realistic stretch them. I have tremendous respect for Celtic as a team but Hooper needs to be improving week in and week out, not just in the Champions league.

By: Graham

Graham — Fri, 01 Feb 2013 16:07:00 +0000

Scott, I know what you are saying is what most people will be feeling and is mostly true, but I was just taking a longer term view of this. The player is refusing a new contract and making noises to indicate he is looking to be away, so Celtic should be ready to make the best out of the situation. I’m mearly exploring option to get the best from the situation.
Weather you like it or not it is true that any player coming towards the end of a contract has a declining value, the situation becomes a buyers market.
It is also true that any player who plays some games in the EPL will incline his value.
Taking all that into consideration, Celtic should now be looking to increase his value and sell in the summer. The next window after that will be to late so he has to either sign a new contract (no likely) or be sold in the summer. His true value is currently about £4 million tops in the summer his value will be less. but if he played in the EPL his summer value would be more like £6 to £8 million. Put that up against two games against Juventus.

By: Scott Mackenzie

Scott Mackenzie — Fri, 01 Feb 2013 15:35:43 +0000

Graham, you must be joking or have some sort of mental issue? as if celtic who are about to play juventus in the last 16 of the champions league are going to loan their most lethal striker, (proven at that level and with 18 months left on his contract), to a team fighting relegation, and for free no less – get real.

By: Graham

Graham — Fri, 01 Feb 2013 14:39:52 +0000

He’ll be worth even less in the summer if as he can leave for free soon after, the best approach would have been to loan him to Norwich as he then get’s a chance to prove himself in the EPL for free which would have raised his value by a couple of million. Norwich have also said they never offered the £9.2 Million reported, so I’m sure some of that has been made up either by his agent or Celtic or the media, who knows.