Aiden McGeady M Ayr Utd b.1986

[The Fly]

I take it Yapster's a troll then?

[geysir]

Just as expected, Celtic assistant manager states the obvious, as reported by the
BBC

"Every footballer has a price, I would suggest at any club," said Venus.
"So it would be folly of me to sit here and say that there's no way Aiden McGeady's leaving. But I would suggest it would probably take a lot of money."
McGeady is being tracked by a number of clubs in England and abroad, with Birmingham City being one known to have made a firm inquiry.
Blues manager Alex McLeish is thought to be considering a fresh move for McGeady, with Celtic likely to be looking for about £10m.

[drummerboy]

It sounded like a COME AND GET HIM statement to me.

[osarusan]

and as for Mcgeady - moving south just for the sake of it, is wrong. If a top club comes along, then ok. But b'ham, s'land etc would be a step down, imho.

Maybe the club he'd be playing for would be a step down, but the clubs he'd be testing himself against would certainly be a step up.

Personally whether Celtic win or lose every game means nothing to me, I'm only interested in how McGeady does for Ireland. I think a move to a league which sees him up against better players would do something to show us his true level.

[rebelmusic]

A move to Birmingham is a step up imo. So he wont play in the champions league for a while. He'll be up against decent oppositon most weekends and will have to up his game to get his place. At the mo he walks into the celtic side, don't think the same would happen in brum if he wasn't playing well.

[Murfinator]

The champions league was the only platform for Aidean to really test himself at Celtic and with the new qualifying rules and Celtic no longer assured of winning the SPL every year I don't think he can bank on getting that every year.

[as_i_say]

mcgeady is ok, i like him, but moving to birmingham is a bit uninspiring. I guess it's good coz he will be playing in a different environment and more likely to see him on highlights but i expected more. cant believe anyone would invest so much for him. he's decent but that would be a rip off.

Agreed re price tag, but when we still see clubs spending 25m on donkeys like joleon (rubbish name as well) lescott then inflated player prices are still alive and well in the soon to be bankrupt Premier League.

[Leeside Swagger]

He's not worth anything near 10mil imo, I would say about 5mil would be more realistic. The Premier League will be a massive step up for him, Its going to be sink or swim for Aiden.
I hope im wrong but I can see him back on loan in Scotland within a year or two.

Re: Comparing his valuation to the crazy money spent on Lescott etc, Man City are competing in a different market to Birmingham, its completely skewed by the blank cheque they have at their disposal and Everton didnt want to sell him so they had to pay a premium.

[tetsujin1979]

Re: Comparing his valuation to the crazy money spent on Lescott etc, Man City are competing in a different market to Birmingham, its completely skewed by the blank cheque they have at their disposal and Everton didnt want to sell him so they had to pay a premium.

True, but comparing him to the transfers of the better players from the SPL over the last few seasons (Craig Gordon, Alan Hutton, etc) gives a better idea of the cost of buying the top players from the SPL.
Whether or not he's worth £10million+ is a different argument to what he'll cost to buy

As a different example, is Shay Given really worth 6 million? Probably double that and you're closer to his true value, but that's what Newcastle were willing to sell him for.

[Brendan 82]

I think the whole concept of "worth" can be thrown out the window. What matters is how much it will cost to buy him, eloquently described by numerous posters above.

[Maroon 7]

He's not worth anything near 10mil imo, I would say about 5mil would be more realistic. The Premier League will be a massive step up for him, Its going to be sink or swim for Aiden.
I hope im wrong but I can see him back on loan in Scotland within a year or two.

Re: Comparing his valuation to the crazy money spent on Lescott etc, Man City are competing in a different market to Birmingham, its completely skewed by the blank cheque they have at their disposal and Everton didnt want to sell him so they had to pay a premium.

Celtic have seen less talented players like Craig Gordon and Alan Hutton both go south in recent years for 9M so they are not going to undervalue McGeady. They are in a fairly solid financial position so they don't have to sell him unless the price is right for them.

[Junior]

They are in a fairly solid financial position so they don't have to sell him unless the price is right for them.

Absolutely! Similar to one half of the situation with the Lescott sale by Everton. i.e. Celtic also dont need to sell. Birmingham might not be a Man C but they are as close to an 'open cheque book' as we are likely to get seeing as Man C are not in the market for him.

[Leeside Swagger]

They are in a strong Financial position in so far as they dont have any debt and refuse to use leverage as a means to raise funds. Its not as if they are flush with cash for transfers though.

[third policeman]

I think Celtic's willingness to consider offers might have something to do with McGinn's advance. Another goal last night. It's beginning to look like a serious lost opportunity him playing for the North.

[Brendan 82]

I think Celtic's willingness to consider offers might have something to do with McGinn's advance. Another goal last night. It's beginning to look like a serious lost opportunity him playing for the North.

McGinn always wanted to play for the North

[Stuttgart88]

Didn't Gordon go from Hearts?

[Acornvilla]

he did i think they ment that they have seen other scotish clubs recieve those amounts? either that of he was mistaken but yep he was hearts keeper won spl player of they year whyle with them

[co. down green]

McGeady going to Birmingham would be a positive move for him, career wise.

He's 23, yet to reach his peak & staying in Scotland is an admission that he does not believe he has the ability to perform at a decent level.

[Razors left peg]

McGeady going to Birmingham would be a positive move for him, career wise.

He's 23, yet to reach his peak & staying in Scotland is an admission that he does not believe he has the ability to perform at a decent level.

There is no doubting that he believes in his own ability, but I dont think anyone should doubt just how much McGeady loves his club. People might laugh at that and say its not exactly professional but while I do think he will move on eventually he will not be in a big hurry to leave

[co. down green]

There is no doubting that he believes in his own ability, but I dont think anyone should doubt just how much McGeady loves his club. People might laugh at that and say its not exactly professional but while I do think he will move on eventually he will not be in a big hurry to leave

I've no doubt that McGeady has a huge passion for Celtic and irrespective of his future career choices he will always be a Hoop, but i don't see how, if he's ambitious to further his footballing career, he can expect to do that at Celtic.