Transfer deadline and there has been plenty of activity in the market-place generating hope, despair… and curiosity among football disciples
Today
- Celtic new signing Patrick Roberts on bringing a touch of Messi to Paradise!
- Colin Kazim-Richards joins Celtic after being allowed to leave Feyenoord having allegedly threatened a journalist who questioned his attitude
- Scotland striker Steven Fletcher makes French connection as he heads for Marseilles…
- … while international team-mate and rival Jordan Rhodes finally agrees to head from Blackburn to Middlesbrough
- Jordan McGhee move from Hearts to Middlesbrough falls through due to administrative delays
- Hearts bring in John Souttar from Dundee United and Abiola Dauda from Vitesse
- Nadir Ciftci out on loan to Turkish club Eskisehirspor for rest of season
- St Johnstone winger Michael O’Halloran has finally signed for Rangers
- Warburton promises that Rangers will make five or six summer signings
- Thistle present new signing Antonio German
- Morgaro Gomis joins Motherwell from Hearts on loan until end of the season
- Liam Boyce on why Ross County have best manager and owner in Scotland
- Curler Mouat gets set for two World Championships
- Hall claims badminton breakthrough win in Iceland
- Kangaroo Galloway puts himself in line for Scotland Four Nations call up
- Dave Denton says move to Bath can help give him the inside track on how to beat England
- Warriors centre Mark Bennett set to return from injury
- Athletics v Rugby – row over Scotstoun Showground grows as 1000 sign petition supporting athletics club
Celtic's Messi
Patrick Roberts reckons he can bring a touch of genius to the champions' bid to retain their title and win a double
If you're looking for trouble
Colin Kazim-Richards reckons he has come to the right place as he surprises himself by returning to the UK
Flying south for the winter
Steven Fletcher joins Marseilles on loan
Heading further oop north
Jordan Rhodes has completed his drawn out move to Middlesbrough
Souttar Johnnie on his travels
Youngster John Souttar is one of two new Hearts along with Abiola Dauda
Returning home
Nadir Ciftci is heading back to Turkey
First of many
Rangers boss Mark Warburton welcomes Michael O'Halloran and says several other newcomers will join him at Ibrox in the summer
New Jag
Antonio German settles in at Firhill
'Well man
Motherwell's new signing Morgaro Gomis
Cheerleader for the bosses
Liam Boyce reckons he and his Ross County colleagues are working under the best leadership in the country
Global double
Young skip Bruce Mouat is set to head to the World Junior Championships as well as the World Mixed Doubles Championships after leading his team to another title
Quality badminton Hall
Adam Hall returns from Iceland with a first international title
Returning to the fatherland
Former Australia Kangaroos prop Keith Galloway is looking forward to representing Scotland following his move to Leeds Rhinos
New Angle
Dave Denton reckons moving to England to play his club rugby can help him be ready for the weekend's Calcutta Cup clash
Shaping up nicely
Mark Bennett is reckoned to have a chance of being fit to play for Scotland in Saturday's Calcutta Cup clash
How about a swim off?
Athletics fans bid to prevent Glasgow Warriors changing the Scotstoun playing surface is gathering momentum
06.05 BBC Radio Scotland sports headlines
Colin Kazin-Richards had no desire to return to UK until Celtic came in for him... Patrick Roberts also joins champions as John Souttar and Abiola Dauda arrive at Hearts and Simon Church at Aberdeen... Pep Guardiola to take over as Manchester City boss in the summer... John Barclay desperate to play for Scotland again after recall to Six Nations squad
06.35 BBC Radio Five Live sports headlines
Uneventful transfer deadline day sees Stoke City break their club record in signing Gianelli Imbula while Everton spend £13.5 million on Oumar Niasse... no-one in top eight in English Premier League makes a signing as leading clubs refuse to panic buy... leaders Leicester the big winners by hanging onto best players... Pep Guardiola's summer move to Manchester City is the big news of the day... Eddie Jones says there will be at least two debutants in his England team at Murrayfield... Floyd Mayweather offered 'crazy numbers' to come out of boxing retirement
Back Pages
Evening Times readers of a certain age may fondly recall sports-writing movie 'Pat and Mike' - featuring Spencer Tracy and Katherine Hepburn - when they see the back page headline relating to Patrick Roberts and Michael O’Halloran and The National also splashes with Rangers’ new recruit while The Herald focuses more on Celtic’s other new signing Colin Kazim-Richards as well as news from the south of the border with Pep Guardiola’s recruitment by Manchester City and Jordan Rhodes move to Middlesbrough and there is a mention of rugby with Mark Bennett looking like being ready to face England.
Grandstanding – today’s sports comment
In The Herald Susan Barr suggests Scotland has shown disrespect for Andy Murray’s achievements with the lack of support for tennis, while Nick Rodger suggests that Jordan Spieth must look to avoid risking burn out and Northern Ireland boss and former Hibs player Michael O'Neill pays tribute to Alan Stubbs for changing the culture at Hibs from a place where players dreaded to play to one at which they have real home advantage.
In The Evening Times Neil Cameron explains why Nadir Ciftci was never going to be good enough for Celtic and in The National Martin Hannan makes the case for sportspeople accused of being ‘bottlers’ being shown more respect.
Sporting Twitterati
Feeling the love... new recruits are welcomed to the folds
Welcome to Celtic @patrick7roberts . Let's hit the ground running in Wednesday. 👍🏻
— leigh griffiths (@Leighgriff09) February 1, 2016
Well all the best to the new man. Hope he's great. https://t.co/7k3PwrSYK7
— Celtic Underground (@celticrumours) February 1, 2016
think @JamTarts have done a great bit of business tonight with @JohnSouttar. It wasn't working for him or @dundeeunitedfc but he'll go far
— Jim Spence (@JimSpenceSport) February 2, 2016
@JOHN_souttar welcome to the Hearts family bud!
— DAVID CUMMINGS (@DISCO1969) February 2, 2016
Abiola Dauda from Vitesse to Hearts on loan. That's fantastic!
— Peter McVitie (@PeterMcVitie) February 1, 2016
@1_pzj @bighilti Michael Francis O'Halloran WELCOME TO THE RANGERS FAMILY pic.twitter.com/dK2JKUh6pT
— GEORGEfromdaSHANKILL (@impongo2) February 1, 2016
Welcome to a windy Firhill Antonio German. @ThistleTweet new signing#partickthistle #transferdeadlineday #SPFL pic.twitter.com/Pi7GH946P7
— Deece (@Jagfox) February 1, 2016
Welcome to the club Morgaro Gomis! https://t.co/iXdqIELjJB
— The Well Society (@TheWellSociety) February 1, 2016
Behind the headlines
As the leading English clubs held their nerve and focused on having what they hold their remains time for some negotiation with the 'emergency loan' window still open, but it was a relatively unexciting transfer deadline day.
If, as that suggests, lessons have been learned with clubs refusing to get carried away with panic buying, albeit there was a bit more action in scotland than many of us recall this time last year, then it would seem like the wrong time to be considering changing the system again.
There is never going to be a system that protects smaller clubs from their predatorial bigger rivals, but this at least limits some of the potential damage. It is hard to imagine that Leicester City could have sustained their English Premier League title challenge had the old open season been in place with their best players prey to constant speculation. That they have kept things going this long has, in turn, bred the confidence to make the offers to those likely targets that have kept them at the surprise title contenders and who knows what may now happen with a Champions League place at the very least, now looking a realistic possibility.
It seems a real shame, then, that there is talk of the current system now being replaced, just as a calmness seems to have come upon the market as those engaged in it understand it better... but then again maybe that is the last thing that is considered desirable by the power-brokers in the world of hubris that is modern football.
Then again, maybe if we returned to the world of relentless transfer talk it would encourage a shift away from the constant querying of managers' positions and of referees' abilities that instead provide the daily supply of headlines, or is that too much to hope for?
Thanks for reading. Back with another day’s Scottish sport’s agenda tomorrow.
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