Everyone knows the line about patience being a virtue. Not many know the next bit from the original quote that mentions ‘an ass that trots beneath his burden and is quiet’. And the poem from the middle ages certainly doesn’t mention football fans tearing out their hair in the wait for new signings to arrive.
Celtic boss Brendan Rodgers admitted the other day there is a need for patience when it comes to transfers. He knows there is work to be done and, for the most part, Parkhead punters have been pretty chilled out so far. But there is definitely a sense some of them are getting a little tense as they hold on for the pics of new faces with scarves above their heads.
They’d be as well holding tight. Celtic will make signings. Historically, they might take their time but new recruits – and plenty of them – do tend to arrive eventually.
It’ll be the same this summer. No one remembers the ants in the pants in early July by the end of the window when there’s 10 fresh faces to get used to. Rodgers is the man who has to front up the constant questions about this kind of stuff while the men in suits stay out of sight.
But, make no mistake, it’s the club ties who will be judged by the time the transfer market is dubbed up at the end of August. And supporters won’t be so patient if there’s not been serious dosh spent in the coming weeks.
They know there is a pile of dosh swirling around the Celtic coffers. They quite like the fact their club is minted and in no danger of the bailiffs popping around any time soon. But they also see a chunk of that cash as their own – and they’d be right.
Celtic fans have seriously backed their club and they have every right to expect a chunk of that cash to be properly invested in the playing side. As it stands right now, this Celtic team is weaker than the one that finished the season with a Double. The departures of Joe Hart, Adam Idah and Paulo Bernardo have diminished the group. The latter two are likely to return but that still doesn’t get this side back to par.
Don’t forget, this is a squad that was already weaker than the one that finished the previous campaign. At some point, Celtic are really going to have to ramp things up again. Money isn’t always the answer but it certainly helps find a few solutions, even if there’s always the risk of taking on a few donkeys.
And supporters have done their bit. There’s currently a waiting list to get on the waiting list for season tickets. There’s another raft of new shirts coming out and the board knows they will leave the club shop like s*** off a shovel.
Last season they unveiled a home shirt so hideous the Elephant Man wouldn’t have used it to cover his napper, yet fans snapped it up in numbers. The Champions League packages will be announced soon enough and with an extra home game, those bad boys are going to cost a hefty wedge.
It all means more mullah to go on top of an already eye-watering stack. The share-price might be going through the roof but football isn’t played on the London Stock Exchange.
You don’t get Champions League points based on how much is in the piggy bank. That’s where the next few weeks will be interesting. Celtic have consistently spent money but usually balance the books with some of their sales.
The Jota move to Saudi last summer covered most of the Rodgers recruitment drive last term, and there’s every chance a huge cheque could come in for Matt O’Riley this time around. Will Celtic supporters accept another zero net spend summer? Unlikely.
Last term there was huge frustration at the cash in the bank versus the product on the pitch. The fact they did spend big to get a proven operator like Rodgers back got them out of a major hole by the end of the campaign.
The Irishman digging out a Double was an incredible job considering everything that went on. A lot of the shenanigans were out of the club’s control, like injuries, the Liel Abada situation and so on. It should be more plain sailing this time around.
Especially when you look at the shambles over at Rangers in recent weeks over Ibrox. Parkhead is like a happy clappy wellness retreat in comparison. But that won’t last unless the gears start turning and quality buys start arriving.
Celtic head to America early next week and Rodgers will want to have a couple of his major additions on board. If not, he won’t lose the plot. Rodgers has such confidence in his work you could haul 11 guys out of the Parkhead stands and he’d feel he could whip them into shape in a week to pick up points in the Premiership.
But he shouldn’t have to. A big time boss needs to be a proper platform.
He’s more chilled out than at the end of his first reign. That doesn’t mean he’ll just accept anything. He was the one in the firing line at times from punters last season – even if it was grossly unfair.
That grief won’t be heading his way following the heroics at the end of term and he’ll be desperate to deliver on his promise of an entertaining team that can compete in Europe. Celtic fans have parted with cash to play their part – and it’s now up to the board to make sure they don’t make an ass of it.
