IT’S Day 3 of our Poker game between Ayrshire’s Finest Big Billy Bowie and Pistol Pete from Gallus Glasgow’s East East. Yesterday Billy raised the stakes by introducing a bid (via the Record) from the Stadium of Light into the Mix, hoping that this would flush out the Pistol and make him lose his green bottle.
Billy appreciates that Pistol is not currently held in the highest esteem after losing last summer’s Poker challenge to Edinburgh’s Easter Rod who sent his star man to Peaky Blinders country rather than do the decent thing and allow his Bhoy to join his childhood heroes. And things haven’t got much better for Pistol among his own, as the masses have become increasingly frustrated at his penny pinching that have put paid to glamorous European adventures two years in a row. New players are required in the East End by Monday and Big Billy knows it.
That’s why he called Pistol’s bluff earlier this week slapping down a £3million price tag for his left back who has one year left on his contract – something that Pistol knows – and who won’t be making decent football wages in East Ayrshire – again a known known for Billy’s Poker opponent.
But Easter Rod produced a rabbit from his hat last August when the boys from Peaky Blinders found the money (somehow) to capture the prize asset from right under Pistol’s nose and Easter Rod message was quite clear – get it right up ye! No love lost there then.
But Big Billy is new to this Poker lark and Roker Park, or it used to be anyway, was where he looked to to tip off the gleeful Record and give them their latest bad news for Celtic story. Sunderland were going to bid for Billy’s boy. Get yer £3m bid ready Pistol or Billy will do a McGinn and send Taylor down south.
That bid duly arrived – but it was for £750k not the multi-millions expected – and much less than Pistol had indicated he’d pay, even throwing in a sweetener or two from his rather large Fringe. That was bad enough for Big Billy, then the news broke that Pistol has signed Moritz Bauer on a try before you buy deal from Stoke flaming City. Genuine moments of panic followed down on the plastic before a quick internet check revealed that the Austrian international full back was actually a right back. Thank God!
So there’s still hope. If Billy reads The Celtic Star though he’d have come across this from yesterday…
Bauer’s name was first mentioned by a poster on Kerrydale Steet forum today who suggested that Celtic would indeed make the three signings that Neil Lennon was talking about on Sunday. Three names he mentioned were…
Fousseni Diabate (loan – Leicester City)
Moritz Bauer (loan – Stoke City)
Birger Meling (£2.5m – Rosenborg)
That last bit, Meling – who went out of the Champions League the night before – Billy was watching this in the hope that Rosenborg would make it through and Meling would stay put – was available for just £2.5million.
Sunderland can do one – £750k? Yer having a laugh. So it’s all down to dealing with the Pistol.
It’s the end game now Billy – this game ends anytime between now and Monday but IF Pistol isn’t bluffing and where do you think that accurate information from yesterday came from, miraculously out of the blue (have you seen Diabate’s hair colouring, blue boots we can just about live with but come on!) – then you need to make your decisive move. Lower the stakes to realistic levels and get the best deal you can. It’s still a good result for your club and you got the best price possible.
Greg Taylor deserves his move, just as Kieran Tierney did last month. And Jack Hendry will be a fine player for Kilmarnock.
But maybe Meling will get his move and it will be an opportunity lost for Big Billy and his star left back, who is NOT going to Sunderland for £750k.
Also on The Celtic Star…
AIK v Celtic – ‘There is always going to be negativity. The reality is we had one little bad game,’ Broony…see HERE.
UEFA hit the Rangers with second Racist and Sectarian Charge…see HERE.
Missing Players from Celtic’s flight to Stockholm, likely starting eleven…see HERE.
‘Either Celtic will be superior or it will be a magical night for us,’ AIK Captain…see HERE.
