FAREWELL then 67; as Victor Wanyama departs Celtic for Southampton. This has to go down as a nice bit of business for Celtic. They took the gamble on bringing the then unknown Kenyan to Celtic Park, that gamble has paid off in spades with the £12 million selling price.
Not being au fait with his wages and conditions at Celtic, I can only speculate on how bit it is, but, after deducting wages, bonuses and so forth paid out to the boy during his period at the club, Celtic still made a healthy profit, which justifies their buy-cheap, develop then sell-on policy.
However, as someone who has seen the likes of Bobby Collins, Bertie Peacock, Paddy Crerand and Bobby Murdoch in Celtic shirts, I have to ask: if Wanyama is worth £12 million, what would the afore-mentioned quartet of midfielders be worth these days: and that's before we get around to discussing Jinky.
On the other hand, what does it say about Scotland's poor relations status that the player should be so-keen to leave a huge club such as Celtic for a minnow outfit such as Southampton? Sure, eh'll be paid more money, he will be playing in a higher class of league, but, I warrant, he will miss the roar which comes from a packed Parkhead on those stunning European nights, he will surely be thinking, as he sits in his Southampton home and watches Champions League nights on TV, I used to play in that.
Huge salaries help, but, football is a branch of the entertainment business and Wanyama will find - he has exchanged the (Glasgow) Palladium for an end of the pier south coast venue and, I am sure, he will notice the change and miss the acclaim.
There is, however, a potential down side to the Celtic management plan. I notice from today's online edition of the Daily Mail, Roman Abramovich is making a subtle change to his management style at Chelsea.
Quite how this will play with his new manager, I shudder to think, but, apparently, Abramovich is insisting that in future Chelsea begins to grow their own talent and wants to see more youngsters emerging from the club's Academy to push for first team places.
And that has to be bad news for the spend, spend, spend culture in the most-over-rated league in the world. Because, regardless of the fact growing their own is something Manchester United has been doing for generations, since the blessed Busby Babes, the rest of England has ignored this management method for the past 20-years.
But, if Chelsea set-off down that road in pursuit of United, the rest will surely follow. Really good young players will still be bought-in, 'twas ever thus, but, maybe, four or five years down the line, Celtic might find, buying cheap from abroad, developing then selling to England no longer worked.
I still say, developing young Scots players, then selling them on into the bigger English market is the long-term way ahead for the club.
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