MON is ‘optimistic’ signings are coming, and Silent Mike is ‘busting a gut’ in the background. Nothing to worry about then, is there?
Silent Mike is working away in the background to bring in transfers, panic over then!
Eric Knott 
Well, panic over, everybody.
You can all go back to your beds.
Martin O’Neill is ‘optimistic’ that signings are coming to Celtic.
And better yet, Michael Nicholson is ‘busting a gut’ in the background to get them over the line.
Be still, my beating heart.
Speaking to Michael Gannon of the Daily Record after the 4-1 pre-season humbling at the hands of Sporting Lisbon, the manager told us he’s in ‘constant touch with Michael’, and that Silent Mike is ‘working away in the background’.
In the background.
Where else would he be??
A cardboard cut out would achieve more than Silent Mike, and at least it wouldn’t need a coffee machine.
The last time Silent Mike was ‘busting a gut in the background’, it took him seven weeks to sign one player.
So forgive me if I don’t break out the bunting.
Because we’ve seen the evidence of what Michael Nicholson ‘busting a gut’ actually looks like.
We’ve been watching it for weeks.
We’ve been watching it, if we’re honest, for years.
Close to £70 million wasted on projects, duds, and loans over the last decade.
Nobody held accountable for a single penny of it.
The 33-day Wilfried Nancy debacle, gone up in smoke, nobody held accountable for that either.
And this is the man we’re now supposed to trust to deliver a monumental squad rebuild before the Champions League qualifier???
I shit you not.
When Celtic tell you a man is ‘busting a gut’ behind the scenes, history says the scene doesn’t change.
Let me get this straight.
O’Neill labelled Duran ‘Daizen Maeda Mark Two’ after his debut.
Fair enough, the boy pressed, and he scored.
I hope he’s a player, I genuinely do.
But the manager also confirmed Maeda himself is heading for the exit, with West Ham the latest to circle.
So we’re selling the original, and hoping the £6 million ‘Mark Two’ fills the hole.
While the ‘lengthy list on the radar’ grows longer by the day.
Utrecht’s Adrien Blake is on the radar.
Kelechi Iheanacho, we’re ‘trying to come to some sort of agreement’ with, amid offers from Qatar and Saudi Arabia.
Julian Araujo, the door has been ‘opened’ for a return, but there are ‘hurdles’.
On the radar.
Trying to come to an agreement.
Hurdles.
Where have we heard this language before?
Keeping tabs on, monitoring the situation, preparing to make an offer, and signing nobody.
It’s the same script, read out by a different manager.
The only concrete piece of business we’ve actually completed this week is shipping Shin Yamada out on loan to OH Leuven.
One out.
That’s the ‘busting a gut’ in action.
Meanwhile, as I wrote yesterday, Nottingham Forest have lodged a formal bid for Arne Engels.
So the sales machine is well oiled, as always.
Every pound a prisoner, cash above all else.
It’s the buying that this club treats like pulling teeth.
We’re ‘optimistic’, they’re ‘busting a gut’, and the Premiership kicks off in three weeks.
Three weeks.
And a Champions League qualifier hurtling toward us that we won’t be ready for.
We never are.
Ange wasn’t ready in 2021 either, but at least that summer we eventually got a squad through the door, even if half of it landed on deadline day.
This time we’ve got a less competent board, a shorter runway, and one injured signing.
But sure, the manager is ‘optimistic’.
And Silent Mike is ‘busting a gut’.
Behind the scenes.
Where nobody can see him.
Where nobody has ever been able to see him.
Set your expectations to the floor, and Celtic will still find a way to limbo underneath them.
Look, I want to believe it.
I want to believe that this time the man in the background really is busting a gut.
I want to believe that ‘constant touch with Michael’ ends in five signings and not five press quotes.
But we’ve been conditioned better than that, haven’t we?
We know what ‘optimistic’ translates to at Celtic.
We know what ‘working away in the background’ translates to.
A whole lot of nothingness.
A void.
And the same lame excuses trotted out on deadline day when the rebuild is cobbled together at last minute.com.
So no, I’m not reassured.
An ‘optimistic’ manager and a CEO ‘busting a gut’ where I can’t see him isn’t evidence.
It’s the same fax machine, humming away in an empty office.
Prove me wrong, Michael.
Bust that gut.
Rocky trained for a fight and you actually saw the montage.
We just get told there was one.
I won’t hold my breath, though.
At Celtic, it was ever thus.
Key Takeaways
- Martin O’Neill is ‘optimistic’ about forthcoming signings at Celtic, while Michael Nicholson is said to be ‘busting a gut’ behind the scenes.
- Fans express skepticism due to past failures and the lack of accountability for wasted money on previous signings.
- Recent transfer activity has been minimal, relying on loans rather than new acquisitions, which frustrates supporters.
- With the season starting in three weeks, there are concerns about preparation and urgency for signings.
- Celtic fans are advised to temper their expectations based on historical patterns of underwhelming transfer outcomes.
Choose Read Celtic as a ‘Preferred Source’ on Google News for quick access to the news you value.
Aodhán Ó Conchobhair 
Bhoycie 
Site Staff 
Watched that debacle last night it was four going on eight losing three goals in seven minutes, I thought an away training session was to integrate new players. is Martin really in charge of signings or is it he is doing what he is told if so he should tell them to get lost and walk and tell the whole truth how he was undermined we are a disgrace run by a disgraceful board. All this pish about sack the board ? Who is going to do it they are like the monarchy a law unto themselves.