CELTIC'S star-struck striker Frank McAvennie yesterday became the most
expensive footballer to leave Scotland when he achieved his desire to
return to the bright lights of London. He signed for West Ham United for
#1.25m.
It is a deal which earned the Scottish club, who signed him for
#725,000 from the team which now has bought him back, a remarkable
#525,000 profit inside 18 months -- the kind of private enterprise which
surely would bring a glow to the hearts of most wheelers and dealers in
these Thatcherite times.
Such a notion was quickly dispelled, however, by Celtic manager Billy
McNeill, who was involved in the buying of McAvennie, as well as his
sale. ''I know people will say that this is good business, but I feel
only a sense of frustration. I honestly believe the player is a much
better footballer now than when we brought him here. I wanted to keep
him in Glasgow, but now that he is going, we will have to get along
without him.''
McNeill readily admitted that he had hoped to keep the 29-year-old
striker until the end of the season at least. ''I wanted him to go in
the quiet of the close season after all the targets had been aimed at.
But we will get along without him. There certainly is no sense of relief
here that the business is over, rather, as I say, frustration.''
The Celtic manager has taken some criticism for disguising the
consistently expressed dissatisfaction of the player, who had not long
returned to Scotland before he was beating a path to the manager's door
requesting a transfer back to London. McNeill still believes he was
right to do so.
''I felt it was in his, and the club's interests to protect him from
himself, and I believe that sometimes it is a manager's duty to do
that.''
Celtic will spend the money on new acquisitions, but to suggest that a
quick replacement will be found is optimistic to say the least. ''The
fact that the London clubs were willing to pay so much for McAvennie
surely is an indication of how difficult it would be to replace him,''
said McNeill. ''But Celtic fans can be assured that the money will be
used to boost the squad, not necessarily in the forward line.''
He also pointed out that the club recently had spent #500,000 in
bringing Dundee striker Tommy Coyne to Parkhead. ''It is a pity, of
course, that he is ineligible for the Scottish Cup.''
Celtic are not so badly off, despite these problems, in that Mark
McGhee and Andy walker are still on hand for the Scottish Cup and league
tests to come, but there is no doubt that there is great disappointment
in the Parkhead corridors that a man who had been plucked from the south
to fill the gap left by Maurice Johnston and Brian McClair -- and who
had done so with some style -- has been so eager to head back south,
even if that is the patch from where his glamorous girl friend comes.
If his decision was disappointing to Celtic, it is positively
devastating for Arsenal who, even as English league-leaders and based in
Frank's adopted idyll, London, could not persuade the one-time St Mirren
striker to opt for Highbury rather than Upton Park, where the locals
desperately are trying to beat off relegation to the second division.
McAvennie spent considerable time over the last couple of days
discussing his future with both teams, but eventually chose his former
haunt where he certainly was a most popular figure.
He returned to Glasgow last night, but is expected to make his second
debut (as it were) for West Ham against Aston Villa at Villa Park on
Saturday. ''Our supporters will be delighted,'' said Upton Park
secretary Tom Finn.
Celtic supporters will have mixed feelings, but in the end, they will
probably accept that a wayward wanderer like McAvennie only can be a
fleeting asset at the best of times.
Originally, he left St Mirren to join Lyall's side for #340,000 in
June 1985. Inspired by McAvennie's partnership with Tony Cottee which
produced 53 goals, West Ham finished third in the table in 1986. His
West Ham form earned him the first of five Scotland caps -- but he has
not figured in the international set-up for more than a year. Lyall sold
him to Celtic
-- West Ham showed their need of an
on-form striker last night when they
went down 3-1 to Norwich City in an
English Cup quarter-final replay This season, McAvennie has scored 17
goals despite missing five weeks with a broken arm. He played his last
game against Hearts in the controversial Scottish Cup game at Parkhead
The future of another Celtic player, Chris Morris, also is not clear.
The full back, who has benefited enormously from his #100,000 move from
Sheffield Wednesday, is not certain to re-sign when his contract is
completed at the end of the season, despite his public denials earlier
this month. Manager McNeill would say only that the player has been
offered a contract that would keep him at Parkhead for a long time.
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