Starting Anew
Well-Known Member
The gap has never been all that big. That’s not much to do with either of us and everything to do with playing in Scotland. There is a limit to the level of player who will come here. Even if Celtic genuinely had all the cash, they still would struggle to attract a player worth more than £4-6mill. Because players at that level just don’t come to Scotland. They paid £9mill for Edouard but there was the unusual feature there of him already being at the club and liking it, more fool him.
In Scotland, we have to develop players internally, take gambles on players with question marks in their history, even from the championship much less the EPL, or have excdlllent scouting to find players in cheaper markets before the big guns do.
Celtic are ahead of us in that their scouting network had not been utterly destroyed and in that their promise of European football might have atttracted some players who otherwise would not want to come to Scotland. If they go out on Tuesday, it’s not just the financials that will hurt them in the transfer market.
However, we have done a lot to catch up with that. The star power of Gerrard does not match the glamour of the Champion’s League but does shine a big spotlight on us and draws the attention of players who otherwise would have little interest. And both Mark Allen and Gerrard come with contact to networks of EPL level scouts. I would strongly suspect that Liverpool scouts, on finding a player not quite Liverpool standard, would probably have little qualms on giving Stevie G a wee text. Rodgers has that too to an extent but I believe that his reputation is not that of a man popular with the folk he worked with.
A few players from our past failed managers are up there at celtic’s level. Tav, Jack, Morelos and Candeias could stand toe to toe with their Celtic counterparts. But teams are only ever as good as their weakest links and we had too many of them, especially at the back. Gerrard has really seemed to have upped the level of our recruits and i’d now strongly suspect that our entire back 5 are stronger than Celtic’s. Though we do still lack some of their strength in depth. Our front 6 have it all to prove. Morelos and Candeias are equal to Celtic. The rest may or may not be. But the signs so far are hopeful. We’ll see after the first round of matches.
Even if they are not quite there (and, with my blue tinted glasses, I think that they are), we will continue to build. Every single transfer window will see us catching up more and more. They have peaked. They can’t do much more within Scotland. We will catch them by building each year. In the not too distant future, it’ll be fairly equal in the first 11s. And then it comes down to managerial ability. That’s where the worry about having a rookie comes in. But right now i’d rather have a rookie Gerrard than anyone else in charge.
In Scotland, we have to develop players internally, take gambles on players with question marks in their history, even from the championship much less the EPL, or have excdlllent scouting to find players in cheaper markets before the big guns do.
Celtic are ahead of us in that their scouting network had not been utterly destroyed and in that their promise of European football might have atttracted some players who otherwise would not want to come to Scotland. If they go out on Tuesday, it’s not just the financials that will hurt them in the transfer market.
However, we have done a lot to catch up with that. The star power of Gerrard does not match the glamour of the Champion’s League but does shine a big spotlight on us and draws the attention of players who otherwise would have little interest. And both Mark Allen and Gerrard come with contact to networks of EPL level scouts. I would strongly suspect that Liverpool scouts, on finding a player not quite Liverpool standard, would probably have little qualms on giving Stevie G a wee text. Rodgers has that too to an extent but I believe that his reputation is not that of a man popular with the folk he worked with.
A few players from our past failed managers are up there at celtic’s level. Tav, Jack, Morelos and Candeias could stand toe to toe with their Celtic counterparts. But teams are only ever as good as their weakest links and we had too many of them, especially at the back. Gerrard has really seemed to have upped the level of our recruits and i’d now strongly suspect that our entire back 5 are stronger than Celtic’s. Though we do still lack some of their strength in depth. Our front 6 have it all to prove. Morelos and Candeias are equal to Celtic. The rest may or may not be. But the signs so far are hopeful. We’ll see after the first round of matches.
Even if they are not quite there (and, with my blue tinted glasses, I think that they are), we will continue to build. Every single transfer window will see us catching up more and more. They have peaked. They can’t do much more within Scotland. We will catch them by building each year. In the not too distant future, it’ll be fairly equal in the first 11s. And then it comes down to managerial ability. That’s where the worry about having a rookie comes in. But right now i’d rather have a rookie Gerrard than anyone else in charge.
