Evidently we have made an improved offer for Hooper, interesting tweet halfway down this thread: http://services.pinkun.com/forums/pinkun/cs/forums/2/2850348/ShowPost.aspx
No harm to Norwich but it's unlikely that Gary Hooper will be sorry he missed their 5-0 drubbing by Liiverpool.
Played like a guy who wanted to show how much of a team player he is. I saw a lot of what is good about Sammy in the way Hooper played today. EDIT; a lot of what is good about Sammy showed in a lot of the team today. As much as I didn't like the way Strachan sent his team out to play, I think I understood when he called lads goid team mates. Now we have more good players who embody that ethos.
No. He would be a valuable and valued addition but not a replacement. I say it a lot but Hooper is a tremendous player when fully fit. A player who is twice as good as he was when we got him. We have developed a real proper player there.
Russell is a good player but he doesn't have the link up quality Gary has. I think he might go this window if I'm honest.
Very few players are irreplaceable but Gary Hooper's style of play and overall contribution, at its best, would be very difficult to replace. He is very clever, strong and his link-up play contributes all over the pitch as well as being a prolific goal scorer - I just don't see anyone who could come into Celtic's radar at the moment who could do the same job as well as him. Then again, the scouting team may well have someone in mind ...
7m might tempt Celtic as his value drops as he gets closer to the end of his contract but I'd say he's needed for the Champions League game, so Celtic would be stupid to sell now (unless the board see progress in CL as not wholey necessary). 5m in the summer ... still double yer money!
£7m is still not enough, we got more than that for Ki, McGeady and Petrov and at this moment in time, taking into account inflation and the fact that we can afford not to take it, he's more valuable to us now than those players were at the time they were sold.
I'm sure we only got about £5.5m for Ki but I'm happy to be proved wrong. I think Lawwell will take £7m. This is what we do now. Buy low, sell high. £5m profit will be hard to resist.
We don't really know how much we paid for him, obviously Lawell does and he'll do the sums, but I reckon he will want £5m clear profit on Hooper and a £7m or an £8m fee will not provide that. Only my guesstimate.
I think it was £2m outlay. I suppose it is stating the obvious to say that accepting a bid sends a clear message to the player. Not accepting the terms of a contract does not necessarily send the same message from the player to the club... Although we(the support) tend to read it the same way. I can only imagine that the lure of playing in the CL last 16 is pretty strong. Thinking about the two games, it is likely to be a tough shift for him with opportunities at a real premium but he has to think it is a real chance to shine. Even if he does a **** load of donkey work, and does it well, big teams(as distinct from big clubs) are likely to notice. That is a protracted way of saying that if we back him and reject offers now and he backs us and himself and shows well in the last 16 and beyond then we can both command whatever fee and wage we like.
I suspect the market in England has charged this season. MU reluctant to pay £10m for Saha, when a few years ago that sum of money would be next to nothing to them. Personally, I would keep Hooper and try to persuade him to sign a new contract, but agree with him a fee at which he can talk to other clubs. This would also allow him to say to prospective purchasers that he already has a substantial wage at Celtic, otherwise clubs can point out that they could easily double his current wage or more. Signing in funnily enough could enhance his bargaining position. Real problem is that the club have to look long term now, because we will lose Victor and Gary in the medium future, so realistically someone like Johnny Russell would have to be a replacement and not a team mate. Stokes may well surprise us all.
Given the same opportunity I think Stokes could score more than Hooper. I don't think his all round contribution would be anything like as good though.
